The Matchmaker

by Fiona Wilde

  But first things first. There was still the issue of the date with the man who knew her as Lola. In a way, the deception was comforting. With Gavin not knowing her real identity, it would make it easier for her extract herself if he turned out to be completely not her type. And if he was her type? Well, she'd have to cross that bridge when she came to it.

  Cassie dressed early, keeping a wary eye on the driveway in case Barry arrived home early. She was relieved to be on her way into town early enough to avoid him, even if it did mean arriving down the street from Leonardo's two hours early. She took advantage of the extra time to browse a few of the independent bookstores.

  When it was finally time go to the restaurant, Cassie's heart began to flutter wildly in her chest. She briefly considered turning around but didn't. When she arrived at Leonardo's it was already getting crowded. Cassie was scanning the crowd, wondering which of the men might be Gavin, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

  "Lola?" she turned around and - finding herself face to face with the buttons of his shirt - looked up at a man who was over a head taller than she was. Even in the low light of the restaurant she could see that he was handsome, with sandy hair and wire-rimmed glasses. While build was more slender than Barry's, Gavin possessed the tanned skin and athletic build of someone who spent a lot of time outdoors.

  "Gavin?"

  He held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you," he said. "I hope you like the restaurant."

  "It's charming," she replied. "I've never been here before."

  "Then you're in for a treat," he replied. "The best linguine in town." He motioned to the hostess. "I have reservations for two under Peterson."

  "Right this way," said the girl, and led them to a cozy table in the corner. Gavin held out the chair for Cassie before sitting down himself.

  "Is it as awkward for you at it is for me, using a dating service?" he asked, handing her the wine list. "I wasn't sure what to think but the girl I talked to today was very helpful."

  "Oh, thanks!" said Cassie.

  "Thanks?" Gavin looked puzzled.

  "F-for not making me feel like a loser for using a dating service," Cassie quickly covered. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one who's feeling awkward."

  "So, Lola, tell me about yourself," Gavin said. "I don't know much about you except that you share my traditional- some would say antiquated - views about relationships." He paused. "And that you're very lovely."

  Cassie colored deeply, hoping Gavin would see it as modesty and not nervousness over being questioned. "Well, I almost have a master's degree in psychology. I have a year left and plan to go back. I live in Southwood....What else would you like to know?"

  "What do you do?" he asked.

  "I'm a counselor," she said.

  "Really?" he brightened. "I am too. I'm a counselor for New Beginnings. It's a program for troubled teens. It's interesting that you're working towards your masters. I went back to get mine after I started at my job."

  "Oh..." Cassie was struck by the irony of how much they had in common given that she couldn't even tell him her name. "That's wonderful!"

  "Where do you work?" he asked.

  "Oh, I - I ..." Cassie faltered. "I'm working with a new psychologist in our area, helping to set up his office. He's coming here from...England."

  "Really, what's his name?" Gavin asked.

  "Dr...." she looked down at the wine list, with Sauvignon Blanc at the top of the list. "White," Cassie replied. "Dr. White."

  "Where are you originally from," he asked.

  "Jersey," Cassie said. "Can't you tell?"

  "I figured from your accent," he said. "I'm from Iowa."

  The waiter came over to take their order for wine and Cassie breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been a little honest; she was working towards her masters and she was from New Jersey. But she'd lied about her job and her name. Two for two.

  "Red OK with you, Lola?"

  "What?" Cassie looked up nervously.

  "Red wine. Is it OK with you?"

  "Fine," she said. "Red is fine."

  Gavin ordered wine and dinner and while they waited he talked more about himself. He told Cassie he'd briefly been married fifteen years before, but had ended after two years with no children. He was 38 and hoped to start his own counseling center someday.

  "But you don't really want to know about that," he said. "Like me you're probably curious about my philosophy on relationships, why I am the way I am. I'm equally curious about you."

  So Cassie was as honest as she could be, and found it easy, for Gavin put her at ease. He was so different from Barry, she realized. Barry constantly reminded her he was in charge but something about Gavin exuded the kind of quiet authority she realized she'd never experienced in a man. Cassie told him that she was leaving a relationship and - taking a deep breath - gave a scaled-down synopsis of her life with Barry. She told him Barry had started out as dominant but that they'd grown apart, and deliberately left out details about the daily commands, the spankings and the reasons she decided to leave.

  But Gavin hadn't judged her, and told her he could understand why she was extricating herself from her current relationship. Sometimes, he said, they didn't work out and told her that he had been on a flip side of such a relationship. His ex-wife, he said, had started out as a traditional woman before deciding to 'find-herself' and deciding Gavin's old-fashioned approach to gender roles wasn't for her.

  After dinner they continued to talk as they walked along the riverfront. Gavin talked more about himself, and about how he wanted a woman who wanted to be obedient and guided by a man who loved her. "She'd have to trust me," he said. "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't respect her opinion or her feelings. If I have to correct her, she'll know why and she'll know it's only because I want to keep her safe."

  "I want a woman who believes she deserves a good man to guide and protect her," he said, and then reached out, cradling Cassie's chin in his hand. Gently he leaned down and kissed her. Cassie blushed and looked down.

  "So charming," he said. "Can I see you again, Lola?"

  She could hardly believe it. "Y-yes," she said without hesitation. "I'd like that."

  "When?" he asked.

  Cassie thought about the next day's move. "I'm busy through the next days," she said. "I'm moving, actually."

  "What about Wednesday. Valentine's Day?" he asked. "I'd like to call dibs on you before some other guy from the dating service snatches you up."

  "What? Oh. Valentine's Day." Cassie's mind flashed back to her first date with Barry. She could either look at a Valentine's Day date with Gavin as an omen or a new beginning. She preferred to think of it as a new beginning."

  "Sure," she said. "That would be great."

  "Leonardo's again?" he asked. "Not to be boring, but it's a romantic place and I'd need to make reservations now."

  "Leonardo's sounds great," said Cassie, who didn't say what she was thinking, which was that a restaurant off the beaten path made it less likely for her to run into someone she knew. She decided she would tell Gavin the truth the next time they were together. Part of her knew she shouldn't wait, but with the move and inevitable showdown with Barry looming the next day she didn't think she could cope with anymore stress. Her night out with Gavin had put her in the most relaxed state she'd ever been in, and she wished she really was Lola - a psychologist's assistant with less baggage than she pretended.

  "Until Valentine's Day, then," he said with a smile. "I guess I should call that girl at the dating service and thank her for setting me up with you. She picked well."

  "Yeah," Cassie smiled. "She did."

  ***

  Cassie called in to work the following day to say she had to request an emergency personal absence. Because she knew Jill would be worried, she called her extension afterwards and told her friend that she was moving out of the house she shared with Barry.

  "Jesus," Jill said. "What happened?"

  "It's kind of complicated," said Cassie. />
  "Do you need any help?" her friend asked.

  "No," said Jill. "I've got movers on the way. I just need to tell Barry and you can't help me with that."

  "You haven't told him?" Jill's tone was incredulous. And then she began to laugh.

  "I don't think it will come as a huge surprise," said Cassie.

  "You know Elaine is pissed with you," she said. "She was in here bitching this morning that you didn't sign up one of the referrals, a Gavin Somebody-Or-Other."

  Cassie got quiet. "Jill, can you keep a secret?"

  "Sure," said Jill.

  "Something happened yesterday and --" Cassie looked up to Barry come into the kitchen.

  "Listen, Barry just came in. I need to go. Catch you later?"

  Jill groaned. "You start to tell me something juicy and then stop because Barry walks in? No fair!"

  "Really, Jill I have to go," Cassie said.

  "Alright," Jill replied. "But call me later."

  "I will." Cassie hung up the phone.

  "What's going on?" asked Barry.

  Cassie pushed the phone back across the counter and stared at the man whose bed she'd shared for the last few years. She tried to think of a gentle way to say what she had to, but couldn't. "Barry, I'm leaving. The movers are going to be here in an hour."

  Barry looked at her, stunned. "You're kidding."

  "No, I'm not," she said.

  "Why?" he asked.

  "Barry, if you have to ask that then you are truly clueless," she said. "I just don't think we have anything in common anymore."

  "Cass." He approached her, his arms out. "I told you I'd spank you again if you wanted. And I left Commands for you yesterday. Didn't you look at them?"

  "No," she said softly. "I threw them out. Too much as changed for us to go on. But it's not all your fault. Looking back on it, we never had much of a real relationship. It's not your fault, entirely if that makes you feel any better."

  "Is there somebody else?" he asked. "Just tell me."

  "Would it matter?" Cassie asked, sidestepping the question. "I feel like there's been somebody else since you started your new job. Not another woman, but other people influencing your life, how you approach me, everything. I don't want a man whose attraction to me is based on whether or not his friends approve. I don't need this, Barry. I need something real."

  Barry stood for a moment, speechless, and then turned to go out the door. Just before leaving, the man who swore he would never bear her being out of his sight stood for a moment before leaving, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

  "Leave the keys on the kitchen counter," he said, and walked out.

  Chapter Five

  "You know you would totally lose your job if Elaine finds out." Jill unwrapped another cup and handed it to Cassie, who put it in the cabinet. "I still can't believe you - timid little Cassie Bernard - has dumped her boyfriend, got her own place and risked her very livelihood by dating a client, all in the space of three days.

  "I didn't plan it," said Cassie, sighing heavily. "But I think it may take some careful maneuvering to think my way out of this mess. I should have just told him my name."

  "I'm sure he'll understand," said Jill. "After a good roll in the hay most men are ready to fall in line, anyway."

  "He's not like that, Jill," Cassie said.

  "All men are 'like that,'" said Jill. "Even Ed."

  "No, I don't think so," Cassie persisted. "This one's different. He's old-fashioned."

  "Oh god, not another Barry," said Jill. "Hon, when are you going to learn that you need a man who respects women, not one who wants to tell them what to do?"

  "Who's to say a man can't be head of the house and still be respectful?" Cassie asked. "Besides, this guy is no Barry. He's different."

  "Yeah, Cassie, but remember. He called a dating service. There might be something wrong with him if he can't find a woman without help."

  "Maybe," Cassie conceded. "Or it might make him very special."

  "Whatever," said Jill. "Let's get these curtains hung. Your new place is finally starting to shape up!"

  ***

  "Cassie! Cassie!"

  Cassie couldn't see who was calling her, only a bright light when she opened her eyes.

  "Cassie!" This time the voice was unmistakable. It was Elaine.

  She shielded her eyes from the light. "Elaine? Where am I?"

  "You're in the interrogation center." Cassie looked around and realized she was sitting in a metal chair in a dark room. At the front stood Elaine, backlit by the bright light held aloft by the man behind her.

  "Interrogation center? Wha-?"

  "You've been brought here for violating MatchYou policy," Elaine barked, and stepped forward. Cassie's eyes widened as she took in the form of her boss, who was dressed in the uniform of a prison guard.

  "Did you or did you not make personal contact with a referral?" She held up a piece of paper. "One Gavin Peterson? Is that true, Cassie? Or should I call you ---LOLA?"

  Cassie jumped. "It's not what you think, Elaine. I didn't mean it. It's just that he seemed so right for me. I've been looking for a man who --"

  "Who what? Who will tell you what to do? Who will punish you when you're bad?" Elaine leaned down and sneered at Cassie. "You don't need a date to get that. Here at MatchYou, we take our rules very seriously, and since you've decided to break them, you will now pay the price!"

  She stood and turned. "Take her!"

  Strong arms grabbed Cassie and pulled her to her feet. She couldn't see who the man was, only his tall, lanky form before he sat down in the chair she had occupied and pulled her across his lap.

  "What's going on?" Cassie cried.

  "Just giving you what you want, need and deserve," said a male voice and then her captor began to spank her, hard. Cassie squealed and bucked, but to no avail. The blows were hard and random, some landing to the left, other to the right and others to the crest of her bottom. When the tears began to flow, her captor pulled up her skirt and began to spank her with renewed fervor, this time across her thin bikini panties. Cassie began to bawl as the heat built in her rear, and just when she thought she could stand it no more, the panties came down and the spanking resumed on the soft skin just above her thighs.

  "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she screamed, and felt a hand go over her mouth, muffling her cries. Suddenly, she realized she couldn't breath. The hand wore some sort of padded glove, a thick padded glove that covered her mouth and nose. She had to escape. She had to. Using all her force, she rolled hard away from her captor until she was sitting up. The room was suddenly bright and the growing beep-Beep-BEEP of her alarm clock jarred her back to reality. For a moment she was disoriented, looking around the strange bedroom of her new apartment.

  "Geesh," she said, flopping back down onto the mattress. "What a crazy dream!"

  Cassie rose and dressed quickly. She wasn't looking forward to going back to work but looked forward to her date with Gavin later that evening. They'd exchanged emails the day before after she got her phone and Internet hooked up, and he'd said he looked forward to seeing her again. The only dim spot in her plans was knowing she had to come clean about the identity. Cassie hoped that Jill would be right and that Gavin would be understanding.

  But now she had to focus on work, and she knew right away the day was going to be a rocky one when she walked in to find that Elaine had called a meeting.

  "We didn't meet our quota for premium plans last month," Elaine said. "And as manager I can't begin to tell you how angry that makes me, and how my mood will negatively affect this office until you're all performing up to my expectations."

  She paced back and forth. "And you can't perform up to my expectations if you leave me understaffed or fail to sign up referrals, such as this one - Gavin Peterson - a promising individual whose referral went unanswered. By now he's likely signed up with one of our competitors." She paused, hands on her hips. "Some of you in here have allowed you poor performance to put you right on the
brink." Elaine looked directly at Cassie, who felt the accusing eyes of her co-workers boring into her like lasers. "One more misstep and I think the guilty parties will know exactly what a bitch I can be." She took one more look around the room. "Now get to WORK!"

  "I told you she was mad at you," said Jill as she and Cassie walked back to their cubicles. "I'd lay low if I were you."

  "Tell me about it," said Cassie, and went back to her cubicle.

  The lights on her phone were flashing, so she checked her message. The first was from Marci, the blonde Paris Hilton wannabe, demanding a refund because the man who was supposed to take her out for a Valentine's date had canceled. "He said I was shallow!" she screamed in the phone. "Can you believe that? I've had it with all of you. If you can't find me better men than that then I want my money back!"

  The second was from a woman calling to cancel her counseling session due to the flu. And the fourth was the familiar voice of the man who'd taken Cassie out the night before. "Hi Cassie, this is Gavin Peterson. I just wanted to call and say thanks for setting me up with Lola," he said. "She's a great girl and we have a date tonight. I really appreciate it."

  Cassie breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she'd missed his phone call. Even though he apparently didn't recognize her voice, the idea of talking to him from the office again felt awkward and wrong. The last thing she needed was for Elaine to walk in and hear her having a conversation regarding a date set up for a non-paying client. She smiled. She'd see him soon enough and looked forward to spending more time with him without fear of being discovered.

  ***

  Cassie found Gavin at the bar where he was waiting for her over a drink.

  "Sorry I'm late," she said. "Traffic was bad."

  "I would have been happy to have picked you up," he replied.