Jamie had done a little bit of research on Dylan Schaefer. He was the next client she was supposed to meet, and from what she could tell, he was an upstanding citizen. He was in line to become Alpha, and at thirty-six, he was still unmarried. Shifters usually got married pretty early, just so that they could make a family quicker. Jamie wasn't used to dealing with those types of people, though. She was used to the men that wanted to play the field a little bit longer, until it was too late. Then they came to her to find them a bride, and hopefully love as well.
Ever since Jamie had found out about William, she had certainly been getting into backgrounds a lot more, and Dylan sounded practically dreamy. The pictures of him were scorching hot, and not only was he rich, but he managed multiple businesses and wore many hats. Jamie had found several other clients attractive, but there was something about Dylan, the twinkle in his eyes as he looked at the camera to take the picture.
Jamie was actually looking forward to meeting Dylan. If he was half as good in person as he was on paper, Jamie was sure that it would be no problem to find him a mate. Women would be lining up to be with him, so why was he going through her? It was one question that she had. Jamie would find out soon enough.
When she got there, there was already a limo pulled up to the side. It didn't take much to realize that it was Dylan, and she tried her best to hide her amusement. She was fantasizing about a client. That couldn't be good.
Jamie got out of her vehicle and went to the office door to unlock it. She waved to the limo and then went inside. Jamie knew that he would be in shortly and she was thankful that she was given a few minutes to collect her materials and her thoughts before he came in.
It took her a moment to say hello properly. It took her another couple of minutes to realize that she was supposed to be professional. The man was even better than the pictures, and he was a lot bigger than she thought he would be. Sure, most shifters were huge in general, but he was even more so. She had to crane her neck to look at him fully, and when she did, a devastating smile spread across his face, and her heart started to palpitate in her chest.
“Sorry about that, Dylan; it is nice to meet you.”
She moved forward to take his hand in a handshake, and his large one enveloped hers. It gave her a strange feeling inside, and Jamie looked down at the connection. Why did she feel such electricity running through her when they touched? It was such an innocuous touch, but it meant something. What? She didn’t know.
“Jamie, your reputation precedes you. It is good to finally meet you in person. I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised.”
She smiled a little wider than she wanted to. It was like Jamie couldn't stop her lips from curling up on the sides. She wanted more than anything to feel normal, but instead, she felt demure. She just wanted to be a woman in his eyes, not the professional. That thought alone worried her.
Moving to her desk and inviting him to sit across from her, Jamie needed that extra bit of space between the two of them. She did not even know him, though it almost felt like she did because of all of the research that Jamie did on him. And then that smile. How was she supposed to think of anything else when he was looking at her like that?
He did not say anything for several moments, and she finally decided that somebody should be talking. The silence was stretching out in front of them, and it was making her uncomfortable, shifting in her seat with nerves.
“So, what can I do for you?”
“Well, I need a bride.”
They both chuckled because she knew he was there for a bride, obviously. It helped to slice into the tension that was surrounding them, though. She started to feel a little more at ease, and Jamie wanted to think that she was feeling more like herself. That moment of confusion was gone.
“Right, a bride. Of course. So, what exactly would you like in a bride? What do you want her to look like? Are there any temperaments or traits that you would like to find in her? Family background?”
Jamie had a notebook and a pen at the ready, waiting for him to explain to her exactly what he wanted in a woman. Some men found it hard; others would just flow out information that hit her in the face. Jamie was curious how Dylan would be. She wanted to say that she cared about all of her clients, but Jamie cared a little bit more about Dylan’s preferences than she should have.
“Well, wow. I guess that I think it would be hard to narrow it down so much. I do have a type physically, but I have dated all sorts of different women. I have dated in my own race, within the human race—even dated a vampire once, but I wouldn't recommend it.”
Jamie was a little surprised by how open he was being. Dylan came from a very wealthy family that had old traditions. She would imagine that he was really going to start shaking them up. Jamie couldn’t imagine what they thought of him using her service to get a bride. They were most likely livid.
“Well, why don't you first tell me about your type. And then, at least I will have a baseline to go off of.”
She looked down a little too carefully, and Jamie caught herself doodling on the page. He was watching her, and she couldn’t meet his gaze again. She could feel the intensity in his eyes, and it did nothing for the quivering inside of her body. It only made it worse, and the only way to settle herself was to cut the connection.
“I like dark-hair, tall, because if not, we won't line up sexually, you know?”
Jamie didn't know if she could handle how open Dylan was being. It didn't seem like he even knew how he was affecting her, but she was shaking inside now.
“Right, so is that it? Brown hair and tall enough to screw?”
“I guess we can get a little more specific if you would like me to. Dark brown eyes, a few freckles across the face, and a nice smile…”
Dylan described her to a T, and he even had the gumption to add in that he liked businesswoman especially. He might as well have described her clothing as well. It was obvious he was talking about her.
“I want a woman who has her own life and doesn't need to revolve around me. I have met too many women that can't get their own thing together, too worried about having children and being a wife. I want to woman that wants to be more than that.”
The last bit made her face turn a little red with embarrassment. He was complimenting her in all the right ways, and even though he had mentioned something about her nice, supple body, she had really liked the last one. It was a compliment she had actually earned.
“For someone who said they didn't really know what they wanted, you nailed it down pretty quickly. I will say that you are being quite narrow in your views now. Are there any of these things that you're willing to consider going another way with?”
Dylan shrugged. “I think I already know who I want.”
Jamie could read between the lines, and her face was bright red with embarrassment. She was not on the menu, but it would appear that he wanted her to be. She was flattered, really, she was. The man was gorgeous and came from a really good family. What woman would not want someone like him?
“That's not really how it works, Dylan. You tell me what you're looking for and then I find the right girl for you. That's the whole point of the service. If you already know who you want to marry, then you should go to her and see how that works out. It is always better, I would think, to go with somebody that you know. Matchmaking can be a messy business, and it takes a little while to find someone. If you already have someone in mind, you really should look into that more.”
He frowned at her. “You know damn well that I’m talking about you, so how would I go about taking your advice?”
She smiled. “I'm starting to realize that, but you have to understand that I run the business. I am not one of the women looking to get hitched. I’m the matchmaker.”
“I notice you don't have a wedding ring. So, what is the holdup?”
“How would you know that I am not with someone?”
“Because you wouldn't look at me the way you are right now if you had a prop
er man in your life.”
Jamie couldn't believe that he said just said such a thing. She looked away quickly, embarrassed even more. Was it that obvious? How was she looking at him? Jamie could only imagine, considering all of the thoughts that were going through her mind.
It had been a long time, too long, since she had a proper man in her life.
Dylan had not gone into her business thinking he would be hitting on the boss. He was actually being dragged tooth and nail to the altar to begin with.
When it came to Jamie, though, it was different. She just popped up out of the blue, and he knew then that she was exactly what he wanted. It wasn't even a conscious feeling or thought; it was just a knowing sensation that she was the one. That was hard for him to come to grips with, even for just himself. Why did he feel something so quickly for a woman he didn't even know?
Jamie was his type. He did like them tall, with long legs and large breasts. Her blonde hair touched the top of her breasts, and he wanted to play with it, sweeping it away so that he could see more of her. Her red lips clashed well with her alabaster skin that was perfect in all ways.
She was the woman that he needed, and even though he did not know her, Dylan knew that he was right about that. If nothing else, she was the one for him, and he had to figure out how to convince her of it as well. Dylan had a feeling that he had his work cut out for him.
At first, Jamie was acting like it was completely out of the question. Dylan knew better, though. In business and in life, he did not take no for an answer. He never had. There was always a way to get to yes; he just had to find out. He liked a little competition.
“I think you are making a lot of assumptions, Dylan. You know what they say about assumptions.”
Another snicker. “I never said that I wasn’t an ass but correct me if I am wrong. You are single, aren’t you?”
She was fidgeting in her chair for a moment and gave Dylan the answer that he was looking for. Jamie didn’t have to stutter through a response.
“I am, however, that is really none of your concern. I run the business; I'm not part of the services that are available to the clients. Sorry.”
She backed up and he knew that he was pushing her too far. There was a coolness in her words, and he knew that he had to back out too.
He sighed loudly.
“I want someone who works, looks like you, and smiles like you do. You are a great example of what I desire.”
He was trying to placate her little bit, however, he wasn’t going to tell her that he didn’t want her. He did, and Dylan thought she should know.
He just had to remind himself that sometimes people didn't want the same honesty that he was willing to give them. He had to sugar coat it a little bit. Dylan just needed to rein in the desire before he spooked her for good.
“You do have very smooth answers, Mr. Schaefer. I will get back to you.”
“So, will you accept an offer of a date then?”
Jamie shook her head. “Like I said, I'm not part of the program, but I will find you someone perfect to match with. If you give me a couple of days, I will give you a call when I'm ready to set up meetings for you. I did not get an idea of your timeline when I talked to your assistant. When do you need to be married?”
“I should have been married a long time ago, but I have about a month for the ceremony to happen.”
Jamie wrote it down in the book in front of her and said that it wouldn't be a problem. “That is actually a long time, considering we have clients that need to find a bride in less than a week on occasion. This will give us plenty of time to find the right woman for you.”
Dylan was satisfied enough with the answer. She had made it clear that she wasn’t interested in that sort of set-up, but Dylan had a feeling that she was the one, and he was going to go with it. Slow and steady wins the race.
He left not too long after their meeting ended. Dylan really wanted to spend more time with Jamie, and he asked her if she would go out and have a drink with him. She must have known that he had ulterior motives, though, because she looked at him with suspicion and said that she couldn't.
“I have a full caseload today. Thank you for the offer, though. I am sorry that I must decline.”
He left wondering why she had denied him. He had dated beautiful, smart, successful women that hadn’t made him feel quite the way he did when he was around Jamie. There was something about her, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that from that point on, no one else was going to do for him.
“Have you changed your mind?”
“Pardon?”
“Have you changed your mind about going out with me? I was hoping that was the reason that you called.”
There was a silence on the line for a moment, and Dylan waited for an answer. The quiet was an answer, though. She was not going to go out with him and was merely trying to figure out a nice way to blow him off.
“No, that is not what I was calling about, Mr. Schaefer. I found a couple candidates that I would like you to meet with. One woman is named Melissa Carolinai. She has a lot of the physical attributes that you requested, as well as a thriving business, so she won’t be too clingy.”
“And the other?”
“Christy Selenium. She comes from a well-known family—”
Dylan cut her off mid-sentence. “I already dated Christy. Trust me, I don't want to go back down that road again. She may look good on paper, but she is a bit of a loon. Beautiful, but crazy as hell. She got us matching T-shirts after one date.”
“Must have been some date.”
Jamie sounded surprised, but he heard her scratching out the name on the paper. She made a sound of disapproval, and Dylan realized he probably shouldn’t have said anything disparaging to her about Christy.
“Okay, good to know. Well, I can have you set up with Melissa later this evening. Are you up for it?”
He agreed, only because he knew that he still couldn't have her. Maybe he would play the game for a little while, if only to get a little closer to Jamie in the end. He was really grasping at straws at this point. Usually, the more direct approach was what worked for him, but this time around, it had not. That left him floundering and trying to find something to hold onto.
“Sounds good, Jamie. Will I meet up with you afterward to go over it?”
There was another moment of silence before she agreed. “If you guys don't stay out too late, I'll probably still be at the office if you want to swing by. You can tell me what you think of her, or you can send me an email. Either way. Most of my matches work.”
Dylan insisted that he wanted a face-to-face and she agreed. He got off the phone feeling a little bit better. He didn't have her like he wanted her just yet, but a little bit of a challenge was good for him. It built character.
Chapter Four
Jamie wasn't sure what to think of Dylan. He was certainly the sort of man that she could see herself with if she was looking for that sort of thing. When he asked her out, she wanted to say yes, but then again, she wasn't looking. That's what she told herself anyway. Repeatedly.
After contacting Melissa about the meet-up, there was a little bit of jealousy that ran through Jamie. She did not like how it was all playing out, and she didn’t like setting up the man she wanted with someone else.
Melissa hadn’t been as enthused as Jamie would have liked her to have been. She seemed blasé about the whole thing, and Jamie wanted to tell her that she was meeting the man of her dreams, so she needed to pay attention. Dylan was a great catch, and she surprisingly found herself wanting someone that would see how great he was. He deserved it. At the end of it, though, Melissa didn’t know if she wanted to meet up with him or not, mainly because of his age. She decided to reluctantly give it a try.
Jamie tried to be professional. She tried to keep her emotions to herself, although it was harder this time around than she could have imagined. For one reason or another, Dylan had really gotten under her skin, and she di
dn't know what to do with it. He was haunting her.
Was that why it was so hard for her to find what he was looking for? Maybe she didn't want to, because deep down, or not even that deep at all, she wanted him for herself.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind and started to do research on another client that had come up. Jamie had to keep her mind in the game, and that meant throwing herself into work so she didn't think about a particular client that had gotten her attention. It had been flattering, if nothing else, and that's how she had to look at it. It was just a little ego boost that Jamie undoubtedly needed.
Jamie worked most of the day, and thankfully she was able to keep Dylan out of her mind for a large portion of it. She was about to lock up for the night, ready to go home, when a figure came out of the reception area and darkened her doorway. Jamie pulled back abruptly, a gasp passing through her lips quickly.
“William. I should have known that you wouldn't call before you came. Are you alone or do you have someone in tow that needs to come forward?”
Jamie had worked with William for too long. She knew that he did not do things the right way. He had his own way of doing things, like sneaking up on her in the middle of the night when everyone else was gone.
“It's just me, Jamie. I figured that we could use a little time to ourselves and I didn’t want to alert your employees that I was here. They might send a message to some of your clients that are looking for me.”
Jamie agreed, although she would have rather not been alone with him. He gave her the creeps, and William certainly didn't do anything to dispel the vibe that he brought with him. Jamie truly believed that he enjoyed making her uncomfortable. If not, it was unhappy happenstance.
“So, what can I do for you, William? Is this going to take long?”
Alpha Shifter Bride Service: (A Paranormal Romance Series) Page 23
