by Tina Martin
Regal released a breath. “I suppose…”
“Look—I’m heading out. If you get a chance, stop by the house later.”
“No thanks. You and Gianna need all the privacy you can get.”
Ramsey chuckled. “You’re not going to walk in on anything man.”
“Are you sure about that? I don’t see any signs of the fire dying down since you two have a child now.”
“When you’re truly in love the fire never burns out, and God knows I love my wife.”
“God and everybody else knows that. Other life forms on different planets know how much you love Gianna.”
Ramsey grinned. “I’m out. Me and the fam are taking the yacht out tomorrow.”
“Nice. The weather is perfect for it.”
“Indeed it is. Later brother.”
“Yep.”
Regal stood up and reached for his briefcase. He thought about driving over to the bakery to see if Felicity was there helping Gianna today but after receiving the phone call from her assistant, he didn’t have it in him. He needed to regroup, think some things through and so he decided to head home instead.
Chapter 9
Even though the weekend flew by, Felicity was well-rested and mentally and physically refreshed – a big improvement from last week. This week, she made it a goal to be on her A-game, dive into and enjoy her work again for a change. And she’d provide creepy Donald with whatever information he needed to help her locate her daughter. Enough of feeling sad for herself. She had to have a positive outlook if she wanted positive results.
She walked into her suite thirty minutes after nine, coffee in hand. She greeted Zandra at the front, then continued on to her office where she put down her purse, briefcase and coffee cup on the desk. She logged into her computer. Checked her emails. She was surprised when she didn’t see one from Regal. In fact, it shocked her that she hadn’t heard from him all weekend – made her wonder if Zandra relayed the message. She picked up her phone and dialed Zandra’s extension.
“What’s up?” Zandra answered.
“Did you remember to call Mr. St. Claire on Friday?”
“I did.”
“How did it go?”
“Uh…I basically told him what you said.”
“And he didn’t say anything?”
“He asked to speak to you but I told him you were out of the office.”
“And that was it?”
“Yep.”
“That was all he said.”
“Yep. I could tell he was a little upset though. He sort of hung up on me. Hey, I don’t think I recall a Regal St. Claire coming by here for an interview with you.”
“That’s because he stopped by last Monday when you had your appointment. I agreed to meet him at a restaurant after-hours on Tuesday to review his questionnaire.”
“So are you seriously not going to take him on as a client?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Why not?” Zandra asked.
“It’s complicated.”
“Wait—don’t tell me you got a thing for him or do you got a thang for him?” she mumbled.
“I don’t.”
“Then why’s it complicated? You rarely, if ever, turn down clients. How can you secure your bag if you’re turning away money?”
Felicity folded her fingers to look at her nails when she said, “It’s like this—it’s complicated because he’s my best friend’s brother-in-law and I don’t feel like he’s serious about finding a wife. He just wants to annoy me.”
Zandra laughed. “Sounds like some unfinished business to me. Hey, somebody just came in. I gotta go.”
“Who is it? I don’t have any appointments this morning.”
“Let me go see,” Zandra whispered. “I’ll let you know.”
Felicity set about organizing her clients by priority. Brayden had been on three dates with three different ladies but had only requested a second date with one of them. Felicity called her to set it up for this Friday, then she called Brayden to confirm, only to discover that he and his date had already exchanged numbers. She smiled. She loved it when a man knew what he wanted and it was obvious to her that Brayden wasn’t playing around. He found exactly what he’d been searching for.
Noah, on the other hand, was like a toddler in a candy store – he couldn’t take a pick. She’d already sent him ten profiles, and he requested a few more in order to filter them down to only three who he deemed date-worthy.
The sound of her door opening took her attention away from her notes. She felt a pain in her chest when she watched the tall, well-dressed Regal St. Claire fill her office with his larger-than-life presence.
Zandra came in after him. “Sorry, Felicity. I told him you see clients by appointment only, but he insisted on seeing you.”
Felicity played it cool. At least she tried to. “It’s okay, Zan. This is Regal St. Claire. Regal, this is my assistant, Zandra.”
Regal didn’t say a word. He didn’t look at Zandra to offer a nice to meet you or anything of the sort. His eyes were loaded and heavy, locked on Felicity. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk and crossed his legs, showing off a pair of argyle socks. Fendi loafers.
“O-kay,” Zandra said. “I’m going to head back to the front,” she told Felicity. “Are you good?”
“Yes. Everything’s fine,” Felicity told her.
After Zandra left the office, Felicity looked at Regal but soon found that she was no match for his hard, determined, intimidating gaze.
Jeez!
She was glad to be sitting because she doubted if her legs would be strong enough to stand. She wondered if he had any idea that her heart was beating so loudly, it almost deafened her. From the very first time she’d laid eyes on him, way back when, she thought he was a fine, handsome, well-built man. Everything about him was regal – his eyes, nose, the structure of his chiseled face – everything – and whenever she saw him, his looks only got better, heightening her attraction.
She broke the staring match to glance at her computer when she saw an email come through from Zandra:
To: Felicity James
From: Zandra Rice
Subject: Gurl……
That’s Regal St. Claire!!!! That tall glass of chocolate milk is Regal St. Claire?! He’s HOT! I’m literally sitting at my desk fanning. Woo, Lord. Help me, Jesus. I’m too young to be having hot flashes. LOL!
Zandra Rice
Administrative Assistant | Wedded Bliss, Inc.
___________
Felicity bit back a smile and glanced up at Regal again, waiting for him to say something and when he didn’t, she met his cold stare and just sat there taking in all his handsomeness. He looked delicious in his gray suit and since she last saw him, he’d gotten his beard trimmed, hair cut and doggone if that didn’t add to his already provocatively striking appeal. He described himself perfectly on the intake questionnaire – he was the ish. She knew it then and his presence was reiterating that fact now. There was just something about a man who knew he was the full package. And there was something extra special about Regal – a man who was usually carefree and funny – now sitting in her office with a straight, stoic face. He almost looked mad. Had she ever seen him upset before? She couldn’t recall.
Drawing in a breath to find a slither of courage to deal with him today she broke the silence by asking, “How can I help you today, Mr. St. Claire?”
“You tell me.”
“You came into my office, so you must want something.”
“You know want I want, Felicity.”
Felicity shook her head.
“First, I want to know why you insist on making things hard for yourself,” he said.
“And I want to know why you, a man who describes himself as, and I quote, the ish, need a matchmaking service to find a wife. You have everything, Regal. Nice cars, house, money – you walk around like you’re the unofficial king of Lake Norman.”
“First off, Ramsey’s the
king of Lake Norman—not me. As for me hiring a matchmaking service—we’ve already discussed this, Felicity. A better question would be why are you afraid to take me as a client?”
She raised a brow. “I’m not afraid of you—”
“I didn’t say you were afraid of me. I said you’re afraid of having me as a client, and I would like to know why? Do I intimidate you?”
“No. I already told you about my workload and—”
“And you still made time to meet with me last week, regardless.”
“Okay. I’m just going to level with you, Regal. I don’t think I can work with you. There I said it.”
“Why not?”
“Your personality will rub women the wrong way and I take my work seriously. These women are looking for husbands. They want real love—not a playboy boy toy.”
“And that’s what you think I am? A toy?”
“That’s how you present yourself. You kissed me for goodness-freakin’-sakes! I can’t set you up with women when I don’t think you’re taking this seriously. This is my job. My livelihood. This is not a game for me.”
“I understand that, but you haven’t given me a chance. I want that and I won’t stop until I get it, so it’s up to you at this point. How much longer are you willing to test me?”
Felicity rubbed her eyes. “My goodness…”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Something about the small smile on his face stirred something inside of her in that moment. Why was she so attracted to him like she’d never crossed paths with handsome men? She ran into them all the time and easily dismissed the ones who tried to holla.
Remembering Gianna’s suggestion, she thought that if she worked nonstop to find his perfect match, he’d get off her back. It was looking like the only option at this point.
“Okay—I’ll take you as a client.”
His cheeks dimpled. “You’ll take me?”
“As a client. Yes.”
“Are you certain about this, Felicity, because nothing infuriates me more than someone going back on their word.”
“I won’t go back on my word. You’re a client. I do have several requests of you though.”
“Which are?”
“We keep this professional. No nickname calling and do not ever bring those lips anywhere near my face again.”
His cheeks dimpled. “Okay, Dub.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“I’m kidding. Alright. I’ll keep my lips to myself and chill with the nicknames, but if I slip up and call you WB once, or twice—okay, three times—don’t hold it against me.”
“You’re making me regret this already.”
“You won’t regret it. I promise.”
The way he looked at her when he made the comment sent a shiver down her spine. It was as if he was speaking directly to her soul – speaking in a way that beckoned her to believe his words even when she didn’t want to believe them.
“I’ll get started right away. This evening, I’ll send you three matches of which you would go on a date with all three. Do you have a race preference?”
“Excuse me?”
“Race. Do you prefer a particular race? I know I shouldn’t have to ask this question because when it comes to falling in love, race shouldn’t matter. However, it has come up with past clients so I feel I need to broach the subject upfront.”
“Well, now that you ask, I do have a preference. I want black love. My queen will be my everything and I want a woman who can relate to me in every way—physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally.”
His straightforward answer surprised her. There was no playing around with this one. “O-kay. I’ll get to work on that.”
“And one final thing,” he said standing.
“What’s that?”
“I can tolerate being professional but I refuse to allow you to call me Mr. St. Claire like we don’t know each other. You’re practically family.”
“I’m not family—”
“I said practically.”
“I’m your sister-in-law’s best friend.”
“Yeah, like I said—family.”
“Okay. I’ll forego the formalities. Can I have my office back now?”
“Sure. I’ll be waiting for your email this evening.” He walked toward the door.
“I’m sure you will,” Felicity mumbled.
“What was that?”
“I said, I’ll get the email right to you.”
He slid his hands in his slacks while standing in the doorway. He was so tall, his head nearly touched the top frame. “Hey, by the way—the guy who was here last Monday—older, gray-blonde headed, Donald-Trump-looking cat…is he a client of yours?”
When Felicity realized he was talking about the private investigator she’d hired, she said, “No, he’s not a client. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Regal replied, although he had a good reason that had now grown into suspicion, especially now since he knew he wasn’t a client. Why was the man sitting in the parking lot outside of her office building? “Enjoy the rest of your day, Felicity.”
“Thanks. You as well.”
Regal walked down the hallway toward reception and when he came upon Zandra’s desk, he said, “I’m sorry about the confusion earlier. Your boss drives me insane sometimes.”
“It’s not a problem, Mr. St. Claire. Have a good day.”
“You as well.” He left the office and took the elevator down to ground level and when he exited, he noticed the white man still there, sitting in his car. What was he up to?
Chapter 10
“So that’s the guy you had me decline services to on Friday?” Zandra asked as she invited herself into Felicity’s office, all smiles after Regal left.
“Yeah, that’s him. Regal The-Death-of-Me St. Claire.”
“I see why you didn’t want him to be a client. A man like that should be kept for yourself and girl I don’t blame you one bit.”
“You got the wrong idea, Zan. He is hot, okay, but I didn’t turn him down because I wanted him for myself.”
“Then, you should have! My goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy so dreamy and gorgeous.”
“He is gorgeous and just so that you’re aware, he’s also a client now.”
“O-M-G—you’re just going to give him away?”
Felicity chuckled. “You act like he’s mine. I don’t own him. He’s a client and I’m going to do everything in my power to find him a wife.”
“Well, girl, make sure you throw your name somewhere up in there.”
Felicity laughed. “What part about him being a client don’t you understand, Zan?”
“What part about him being fine don’t you understand? I’m literally having heart palpitations right now and he’s already left the office.”
“If you can get over his looks, you’ll see that he comes across as a man who wouldn’t be serious about a relationship—at least to me he does.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I told you—I know him. His brother is Ramsey St. Claire. Remember him?”
“Oh yeah—I thought that surname sounded familiar.”
“Yeah, and Ramsey married Gianna—my best friend. Therefore, I know Regal by association and it’s through that association that I’ve learned his mannerisms. He likes to joke and play around.”
“That’s a good thing in my book. I love a man that can make me laugh. Shoot—in this messed up, crazy world, we need all the joy and laughter we can get.”
“I can’t argue with you there, but for the hundredth time, Regal is a client now so we have to be professional with him. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. Alright, let me get back to work.”
“Me, too,” Felicity said already logging back into Wedded Bliss’ database to search out matches for Regal. She put in all of his search criteria and as a match came up on the screen, her cell phone rang. She saw County Investigative Services on the caller ID.
&nb
sp; She answered with, “You got something?”
“I do, and you’ll need to see this for yourself, Felicity. How about we meet after you get off work today?”
“Why can’t you just tell me now? I’m pretty swamped, Mr. McConnell.”
“Donald,” he corrected.
Ignoring him, she asked, “What have you found out?”
She heard the man sigh.
“Okay, fine. We can meet at The Tavern. Six-thirty. Is that good?”
“That’s perfect. See you then.”
Felicity hung up the phone feeling nervousness settle into her stomach, hopeful that Donald could offer up more information than he had last week.
Later that afternoon, she focused all her attention back to Regal’s candidates. She had filtered and searched through her database until she found who she believed were the top three candidates. She brought up a blank email screen and attached the women’s profiles. Then she drafted an email to Regal:
To: Regal St. Claire
From: Felicity James
Subject: Your Top 3 Candidates
Good afternoon, Regal. Attached, you will find the top three candidates who fit your interests. I can arrange your first date for Friday depending on whether you find any of these women suitable to your liking, which you should by the way. Browse through them and let me know how you would like to proceed.
Thanks,
Felicity James
Certified Matchmaker | Wedded Bliss, Inc.
___________
Felicity was about to pack up and head home when she saw a reply from Regal:
To: Felicity James
From: Regal St. Claire
Subject: Re: Your Top 3 Candidates
Call me. 704-555-2748
Regal St. Claire
