“Thank you both.” The young woman disappeared through the doorway, but her voice floated back to them. “See you in the morning.”
When they were alone, he gave his aunt a look. “You’re too nice. People will take advantage.”
“Carla is a devoted employee because I’m a very generous boss. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar, Gabriel.”
“Okay.” He couldn’t dispute that, but he was going to watch out for her just the same. “You are in charge.”
“And don’t you forget it,” she teased. “Oh, by the way, how did your talk at the high school go?”
“Good.” Instantly an image of Courtney Davidson popped into his mind. Mom, nurse and really pretty. A favor for his friend had turned out to be more interesting than he’d expected. “The kids were polite. And asked a lot of questions.” Especially Courtney’s daughter.
“I’m glad to see you involved in the community. A very positive sign,” his aunt said. “Would you mind manning the reception desk in Carla’s absence? We don’t have any appointments on the books, but just in case someone drops in, I think a Make Me a Match representative should be there. And I have some phone calls to return.”
“I’m just working on spreadsheets, so doing that at her computer isn’t a problem.”
“Thank you, dear. In case I don’t tell you enough, it means so much to me to have you here. And I’ll try to restrain my romantic streak.”
“No, you won’t.” He moved away from the desk and headed for the door. “And I wouldn’t want you to. You’re the heart and soul of this business, and with your personal touch and excellent instincts about people, you are going to be very successful.”
“Right on, as they say.” She grinned, then picked up the phone and said, “Shoo.”
“And that’s my cue.” He left and closed her door before heading down the hall that led to the reception area.
Carla’s desk was neat as a pin, thank God. He sat in front of her computer and logged on. After pulling up the files, he started to go over the monthly data, tracking revenue trends and client numbers.
It had been an adjustment working at a family-owned business. Normally his role while under contract was to advise existing management without taking an operational responsibility within the company. Here at Make Me a Match, things were different. And now he was the receptionist.
Make Me a Match occupied the top floor of a building centrally located in a Huntington Hills business park. There were two offices, a large conference area and a break room with a refrigerator and coffeepot. It was tastefully decorated with a mixture of cozy floral love seats and leather chairs. Pictures of couples walking on the beach or strolling cobblestone streets hung on the walls.
The building’s elevator opened right into the reception area, and he was surprised when it stopped. Aunt Lil had said there were no appointments and drop-ins were unusual, but it seemed he was getting lucky. Contrary to what his family thought, he could be charming when he wanted to be. An opportunity to shake the rust off that skill seemed to be presenting itself.
When the doors opened, a young teenage girl got out and walked up to the desk. He recognized her from his high school talk earlier that day. She was the one who’d asked a lot of questions and pried out of him that he worked at Make Me a Match. Her mom was the pretty nurse he’d enjoyed talking to. He knew that because Courtney had pointed her out, and she had her mom’s dimples.
Gabe wasn’t sure charm was part of the skill set he was going to need, though. “Can I help you?”
She was putting on a confident face, but the nerves showed. Just like her mom. “I’m here to fill out a dating profile.”
“How old are you?”
“Fourteen.”
That’s what he’d figured. That class was all ninth graders, but asking was better than assuming. “To become a client, there’s a minimum age requirement of eighteen. I’m sorry.”
“Oh no,” she said quickly. “It’s not for me. I want to do one for my mom.”
Gabe had a hard time believing the smart, funny woman he’d met earlier needed help meeting men. It had crossed his mind for a moment that in another time, another place, if he was a different person, he might have asked for her phone number or invited her for coffee. Then he remembered who he was, what had happened, and the anger kicked back in to set him straight.
“Well, Ava—”
Suspicion darkened her big brown eyes, her mom’s eyes. “How do you know my name?”
Gabe was only a little surprised he remembered it. “I met your mom today when we were speaking to your class. She pointed you out.”
“Oh.” She slid the heavy-looking backpack off her shoulders and rested it on the carpet. “The thing is, I want my mom to meet someone and be happy.”
“Maybe she’s already happy.” Business 101 didn’t recommend talking someone out of becoming a client. But this definitely wasn’t business as usual. He glanced at the phone—one of the lines was lit, which meant he couldn’t turn this girl over to his aunt. “She has you. And she’s very proud of you, by the way.”
“I won’t be around forever. Today you said all kinds of stuff about career goals and college. I listened and plan to go. What then? She’ll be all alone.”
“You’ve got a couple of years before that. It’s not something you need to worry about yet, and—”
“You don’t know my mom.”
True. He couldn’t say it hadn’t occurred to him that he might want to know her better. “Isn’t this something you should discuss with her?”
“I have! She isn’t easy.” All the drama and angst of being a teenager was reflected in her eyes. “Finding her someone could take a while, because she’s pretty stubborn. She’ll be all alone and it’s my fault. Because she has to take care of me.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t see it that way.”
“That’s what she says, but I don’t believe her.”
“You do realize that even if you fill out her profile, at some point she has to be involved in this process. If she doesn’t cooperate, it’s not going to work.”
“I’m hoping that she’ll be okay with it when she sees how much this means to me.” The distress on this girl’s face was almost an exact copy of her mother’s when she’d warned that she might throw up. “If you’re worried about your fee, don’t be. I’ve saved up money from my allowance and babysitting.”
She was killing him. “Look, Ava, because you’re underage, taking you on as a client is walking a very fine ethical line on company policy.”
“You have to help me.” Frustration wrapped around every word. “This company stands by its commitment to make meeting someone easier. I know that because I checked you out on the internet.”
The internet was a blessing and a curse. Gabe had a bad feeling that if he didn’t do something, there were a lot of bad places it could take this kid. And Ava, with her saved-up babysitting money, really got to him. So he made a snap decision.
“Okay. I’ll put together some paperwork for you to fill out. Contact information for your mom, a questionnaire about her likes and dislikes. That sort of thing. We’ll get some notes and go from there to get her on board with this whole idea.” He pulled open one of Carla’s lateral file drawers and pulled out a sheet of paper, then indicated one of two chairs in front of the desk. “Have a seat and we’ll get this rolling.”
“Thank you, Mr. Blackburne.” She sat down, took the pen he held out and started filling in the information.
The hopeful look on her face followed by relief when he relented made him feel like slime for deceiving her. He would get Courtney’s phone number from the contact sheet, then let her know what was going on. He was in over his head and eager to pass this on to a parent.
When Ava had completed it, he took the single sheet and handed her a clipboard with several
more attached. “The questions are general, designed to create a profile to generate interest. But that shouldn’t be a problem. You seem to know your mom pretty well. Do the best you can with the answers.”
“Okay.” She smiled. “Thanks.”
Please don’t thank me, he thought. “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, water, soda?”
“A soda, maybe,” she said hesitantly.
“Okay. You start working on that and I’ll go get it.”
“Okay.” She nodded then bent her head and concentrated on the paperwork in her lap.
Gabe took the single sheet with him to the break room and pulled out his cell phone then punched Courtney’s number into the keypad. She was probably dealing with a coding patient or something, but he could leave a voice mail with bullet points of the situation along with his heartfelt appeal for her to call him back ASAP.
“Hello?” A familiar female voice answered on the fourth ring.
“Courtney?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“Gabe Blackburne. We met today at the high school.”
“I remember.” There was a pleasantly surprised note in her tone before it changed when she asked, “How did you get my number?”
Bullet points, he reminded himself. “I work at a company called Make Me a Match. Ava is here to fill out a dating profile for you. She’s determined that you meet someone.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Your daughter is in my office doing paperwork right now. I thought you should know.” There was no reason she should believe him, so he added, “This isn’t a joke. And if you want a character reference for me, call Brett Kamp at the school. I promise you this is for real and I’m just trying to help.”
There was a brief hesitation on the other end of the line, as if she was weighing his words. Finally she said, “Okay. Thank you. If you’ll give me your office address, I’ll come right over and get her.”
“Of course. I’ll text it to you.”
“Fine. This must be an awful inconvenience for you. I’m very sorry.” Then she hung up.
Gabe wasn’t sorry. And that was a surprise. Courtney Davidson had raised an independent and caring young woman who would go the extra mile to see her mom happy. That intrigued him and, against the odds, he was looking forward to seeing her again.
Copyright © 2020 by Teresa Southwick
Love Harlequin romance?
DISCOVER.
Be the first to find out about promotions, news and exclusive content!
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Instagram.com/HarlequinBooks
Pinterest.com/HarlequinBooks
ReaderService.com
EXPLORE.
Sign up for the Harlequin e-newsletter and download a free book from any series at
TryHarlequin.com
CONNECT.
Join our Harlequin community to share your thoughts and connect with other romance readers!
Facebook.com/groups/HarlequinConnection
ISBN-13: 9781488069963
Her Man Behind the Badge
Copyright © 2020 by Stella Bagwell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For questions and comments about the quality of this book, please contact us at [email protected].
Harlequin Enterprises ULC
22 Adelaide St. West, 40th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.Harlequin.com
Her Man Behind the Badge Page 22
