Thirteen

by Scarlett Finn

  “You send me one dick pic, Oakley, and I will report you to the MatchMate emergency complaints line. I have them on speed dial,” she said, glaring at him as she finished writing.

  He was grinning when she let her stern eyes drift up to his. Why did he enjoy her so much? He wasn’t supposed to, he should be offended, but he looked so… happy.

  Pulling his hand upward, she pressed her lips to the back, leaving an imprint of her shocking red lipstick directly above her number. Then with a wink, she pocketed his pen, turned and left.

  four

  Two weeks later, Evie was given an office on the top floor, in the corridor on the way to the boardrooms, where she would be heading in just a few minutes.

  Ian Blundell was a sweetheart who was so accommodating. Anything she even hinted at needing, he made sure she got in quick time. After going through the employee records, Evie knew who everyone was, though she’d still to meet every individual in person. But this was just the start of her journey with MatchMate; she had plenty of time.

  They were coming to the end of the workday, meaning she’d be heading out after this conference. Evie had only attended a few meetings here over the last couple of weeks. She liked to ease people into seeing her around, so she always made the effort to get involved with the business of her client. If people recognized her, they were more relaxed about talking to her, and honesty was vital to her doing a good job.

  Evie was hoping this last-minute meeting wouldn’t take long. It was Monday, it was late, and everyone would be ready to be done with the day, her included. She was still typing when someone darkened her doorway. Without breaking her pace, she didn’t acknowledge her guest because she was determined to finish her thought. Evie didn’t want to come back to her computer after the meeting. Once she was done, she’d shut down the machine and be out of her office in record time.

  She had a MatchMate date tonight.

  “Can I walk you to the meeting?”

  Oak.

  Concealing her smile, Evie kept typing until she’d finished her sentence, and only then did she let her eyes flick to his. “Want to carry my books too?”

  “If you’re bringing books, sure. But we keep most things on computer and your laptop’s lighter so…”

  “Maybe I want to test your strength,” she said, saving her document, then closing down the program to scan her emails. “I like a guy with a bit of muscle.”

  “I go to the gym three or four times a week,” he said. “Run every morning.”

  “Stamina’s important,” she said. “But not as important as drool-worthy abs. How could we ever go to the beach together if you didn’t have a six-pack? What an embarrassment.”

  His laugh made her smile. “See a lot of people you know at the beach?”

  “Depends on which beach,” she said, firing off a quick response to an email before closing down her machine and leaving her chair. “How long do we think this meeting will take?”

  He backed out of the doorway and seemed surprised when she looped her arm through his, but he had offered to escort her after all. “No more than an hour,” he said. “It’s just a catch-up. We usually have these meetings in the mornings, but things keep coming up and getting in the way. It’s overdue, but everyone will want out of here.”

  “That’s what I hoped,” she said, and he opened the double doors at the end of the hallway that led to the boardroom reception, though it was deserted now.

  “Why? Are you desperate to get out of here? Have you got a hot date?”

  Her mouth reacted automatically, and she clasped her hands at the small of her back as she strolled through the door he was holding. “Actually… yes, I do.”

  Evie wasn’t sure which boardroom they were going to, a couple still had lights on and the blinds were closed, so she couldn’t see if there was anyone inside. Oakley wasn’t much help, it took him more than a few seconds to release the door and come after her.

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, trying to see where on the door she would find a number. “It’s downstairs… I tell you, working here is going to do wonders for my sex life. I don’t even have to go home, I can change right here in the building. And you have beds on the premises too. You know, I was never sure how you came up with the idea for MatchMate, now I get it, it makes so much sense.”

  Laughter rose in one conference room and she smiled as she strode across the hallway. When she went inside there were already half a dozen people present.

  Ian stood up and went to pull out a chair for her opposite Kody. “Do you want coffee? Something to eat?”

  Evie perked up. “You have food?” she asked, sitting as he pushed in her chair.

  “No,” Ian said, faltering as he moved away. “But we can order something if—”

  “No,” she said. “Let’s just do this.”

  “We’re just waiting for my dearest brother,” Taylor said, taking the seat to the left of the head of the table while Ian sat opposite.

  Evie turned her focus to the door. Where was he? “He was right behind—”

  Oak came in and she stopped. “Everyone here?” he asked, closing the door like he’d already done a mental headcount and didn’t need an answer. “Ok, what’s first?”

  “Convention in Washington,” Ian said.

  “Oh, I love Seattle,” Evie said, though her reaction wasn’t needed.

  “Good, because you’re coming,” Oak said. Why did he seem pissed off? His face was all scrunched and he wasn’t looking at anyone, just sitting there twisting his chair back and forth. “We’re all going. This weekend, right? We leave Thursday.”

  That would give her enough time to do some interviews. She could take paperwork with her and interview anyone who was going to the event while they were there. Evie considered arguing, but why should she? It was a free trip to Washington and she needed a little R&R.

  They raced through another couple of items on the agenda. Evie was feeling good, this was going well, at this rate she’d have time to shower in the employee changing room before her date and probably even blow-dry her hair.

  She praised herself for having the foresight to pack a bag before coming to work. She hadn’t been kidding when she said working here was going to do wonders for her social life. Ok, so out there in the hallway she’d said sex life, but Oak didn’t need to know the truth about that.

  “Evie?” Ian asked. Everyone, except Oak, looked at her. “Anything to report? Any issues? Any support you need?”

  “Nope,” she said. “I’m good.” She was used to working alone and it was too early in the game to start tipping her hand. “I’m still in the honeymoon period.”

  “The honeymoon period?” Taylor asked.

  “It’s a process,” Evie said. “When I start somewhere, the first couple of weeks everyone’s nice as pie. The next two weeks, people go above and beyond, they go out of their way to be accommodating and helpful. Then there are two weeks of paranoia, two more of gossiping and bitching, and the last month is pure hostility.”

  “You won’t get that here,” Oak said. His finger was curled over his mouth, so his words were quiet, and he was looking at the floor somewhere behind Ian, but he was trying to be nice all the same. “If anyone is rude or at all hostile, come see me.”

  “It’s ok,” Evie said, glancing at everyone who was looking at her. “I’m used to it and I understand their point of view, I’m a stranger who was brought in to judge them. I’d feel the same way… And we all know that I can handle people whether they like me or not.”

  “I like you,” Taylor said.

  It was so nice to see the blonde by the head of the table grinning at her. “Thank you, Taylor, I like you too,” Evie said, sharing a smile with her.

  “You terrify me most of the time,” Taylor said. “And you’re the most confident person I’ve ever met in my life. But you’re… invigorating.”

  “Thank you! I think you’re very sweet, and sincere, and absolutely gorgeous,”
Evie said, then when she saw Oak’s glare, she flattened her lips. “In a completely non-sexual way.” Oak’s eyes fell again, and Evie winked at Taylor. “But I’d still totally do you.”

  Taylor blushed as everyone around the table laughed. Everyone except Oak. Something was bugging his ass and that made it bug hers. She wanted to call him out, but it wouldn’t be professional to do that here in front of these people.

  “Last item,” Ian said and nodded at Kody.

  The marketing guy seemed more nervous than usual as he opened the binder in front of him. “Ok, I have the final three candidates,” Kody said and took out three plastic folders, each containing a few pages. “If you could rank them in order of preference, we can approach the first woman tomorrow.”

  Kody was seated opposite her. Evie glanced down at the folders and saw a MatchMate profile page on top. “Oh,” she said, drumming her hands on the table. “Is this for the patsy? Let me see!”

  “We’re not calling her a patsy,” Kody said. “She’s—”

  “Right, right, the marketing strategy, fake Oak lover, whatever,” Evie said, rolling her eyes. “Let me see!” Lunging over the table, she took the three profiles from Kody and laid them out flat. “Taylor, come down here and we’ll pick one.”

  Taylor laughed as she left her seat, but Oak grabbed his sister’s arm to stall her. “This isn’t a fucking game.”

  “That’s exactly what it is,” Evie said, skim-reading each of the profiles. “You’re going to play with this woman and ultimately, she’s going to get hurt.”

  When she glanced up, Evie noticed that no one was smiling, even Taylor looked dejected. “Why will she get hurt?” Taylor asked.

  “Oak’s not going to fall in love with her,” Evie said and couldn’t believe that these people appeared to be clueless. “You’re picking a woman who has signed up to find love. She wants love. Wants to get married and have kids and find her Prince Charming. As soon as you ask her to do this, she’ll say yes, fake or not, because she’ll expect it to be a fairytale. She’ll think that as soon as she spends time with Oak and they start talking and flirting and dating, that he’ll fall for her.”

  “Why will she think that?” Ian asked. “We’ll make sure she knows it’s not real.”

  “Wow,” Evie said aloud, sinking back in her chair. “You people don’t understand what you do at all. She’ll think that because it’s what they all think every time they go on a date. Every time they show up to a mixer. Every time they go to your speed-dating sessions or the coaching sessions on dating, and your conventions. Every time they show up to anything. Every time they pay their membership they think, ‘This is going to be the one.’ They think the next date will be it. The next month’s membership will be their last… You don’t get that these women are vulnerable, they want love.”

  “You don’t,” Oak said. “You’re a member and you don’t want love.”

  She dismissed him with a wave. “I am the exception,” Evie said. “You said it yourself, how many women join dating agencies and want to put guys off? I’ll answer that for you now, the minority, the teeniest, tiniest minority. And those who don’t want love will usually only pay a month or two and then find a new hobby. These women.” Looking at each of the smiling headshots, she felt bad for each of them. “They’ve been members for over a year. Women who pay for membership to a dating agency for over a year… they want love… bad.”

  “Oh God, she’s right,” Taylor said, putting her hand on Oak’s shoulder. “I was so fixated on you falling in love with them that I never stopped to think about what would happen when they fall in love with you!”

  “They won’t fall in love with me,” Oak said.

  “Yes, they will,” Evie said and even though everyone else at the table looked at her, she kept her focus on Oak whose stern eyes were at the top of their sockets. His chin was turned down. He supported his head with a hand, his elbow propped on the arm of his chair. “Take it from someone who knows… They will fall in love with you.” Slowly, his head rose, and she realized she’d have to do some fancy footwork to explain. “You’re patient, you’re smart, you’re decent. You have a regular income, a good relationship with your family. The only cons in your column are your long hours and traveling for work, but trust me, these women will be desperate enough that they won’t even factor those in.”

  “So, we don’t do it,” Taylor said, lowering herself into her chair.

  The intensity of Oak’s attention was making Evie itch, but she was too bull-headed to break eye contact first. “No, you should do it,” she said. “Go with Lana first, she’s in finance and will make a good asset to MatchMate, if she should join the company.”

  “If they should fall in love, you mean,” Ian said.

  Oak’s eyes dropped, and Evie turned to stack the profiles into her suggested order before pushing them back to Kody. “Hope springs eternal, right?” she said, grinning at the marketing boy before she pushed away from the table. “And if we’re all done, I have to go get laid. Excuse me.”

  The time she took to shower and do her hair turned out to be therapeutic; it gave Evie the chance to think about what she’d said and why she’d said it. How could she be so sure that a woman would fall in love with Oakley Orion? And why did she feel so bad for the woman who’d have her heart broken by him?

  It wasn’t until Evie was zipping her dress that she looked into the mirror and saw the answer staring her in the face. Her eyes were moist, her mouth straight, her whole demeanor was flat. She felt bad for the woman because she was the woman. Except, she’d never given him a chance, never let herself feel for him.

  But it was the possibility she mourned.

  There was chemistry between her and Oak. If she was any other woman, she’d be desperate to explore it. That she never would broke her heart. Evie would never know what it would be to love Oakley Orion. But she’d never know what it would be to love any man.

  With ten weeks left on her contract, she didn’t know how she’d be able to stay away from him without making her attraction to him more obvious. But she’d find a way, she had to.

  Oak knew she was attracted to him, he must know it. There had been too many times when they’d shared a smile or held eye contact for a little too long. She couldn’t be the only one who felt the spark.

  It didn’t matter. Evie couldn’t be with him. She just had to find some way to get him out of her system and get over it. Making that decision was easier than figuring out how she’d go about it.

  five

  Yeah, he was a dick, but he’d get over it.

  Evie might not be so quick to forgive him, but so what? Oak felt better. When she’d said she had a date it was like a slap in the face. He’d felt sick and angry and… jealous. What else was he supposed to do except sabotage it? Especially after what she’d said in that meeting.

  Why was she so sure that some random woman would fall in love with him? It was the way she’d said it that hooked his interest. “From someone who knows.” If that meant what he thought it meant, she wasn’t going to be going on any more MatchMate dates, certainly not one-on-ones.

  Leaving the building through the backdoor, Oak pressed the button on his key fob to unlock his car that was parked in the closest spot in executive parking.

  “I don’t have a ride.”

  Evie’s voice startled him, and when he turned around to see her leaning against the wall near the door he’d just come out, he couldn’t tell if she was pissed or playing. “Thought you had a date.”

  “He cancelled,” she said, pushing away from the wall to strut toward him. Those goddamn hips. He’d dreamt about those goddamn hips and the way she moved them with that sway every time she walked. “Turns out, he called the bar about ten minutes after our meeting upstairs finished.”

  “That’s funny,” he said, staying stock-still when she walked right into his personal space. “What a prick leaving it so late to cut out on you.”

  “Hmm,” she said, her eyes
so narrow they almost cut him. “I don’t think he’s the only prick in my life tonight.”

  “No?” he asked, playing it innocent, but he was actually happy that she suspected him of sabotaging her.

  It was true, and he didn’t like secrets. He’d happily admit that he’d canceled the date for her.

  “Oh, Oak,” she said like she knew something he didn’t, and although it made him edgy, he kind of liked it too.

  Plucking his key from his hand, she sidestepped and curved that sweet body around his to sashay toward the car. Without even asking his permission, she opened the door and slid into the passenger side.

  Ok, he’d have offered to take her home anyway, and he shouldn’t have expected Evie to be anything less than direct. It was good to know that even when she was pissed at him for doing something he shouldn’t have done, she still trusted him.

  Heading for the car, he got in quickly and put his hand out for the key. But she didn’t give it to him. Instead, she bent over his lap, deliberately sliding her breasts across his thighs as she elevated her ass.

  Oh fuck.

  Yeah, she trusted him, but she was going to get payback. It took her thirty seconds to find the slot for the key and even once she did, she stayed there, draped over him. Tossing her hair, she turned to glare up at him, her head right there in his lap.

  It didn’t even matter that she was pissed, all his dick sensed was proximity to her tits and to her mouth; he was ready for action. Holding his hands up like he was surrendering, Oak had to keep them away from her, far away from her. He’d never allowed himself to touch her like he wanted to and if he started here, now… Hell, he didn’t even know what would happen.

  “You’re going to make it up to me,” she purred, and he found himself nodding though he didn’t have a goddamn clue what she meant. “GPS?”

  Bending a wrist, he pointed at the center console. She sat up, not enough that her hair left his lap, but enough that he could think about finding a fucking gear. Wait… where the hell was the gear shift?