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Make You Mine by Tawny Taylor#p#分页标题#e#
Chapter 1
Roughly three hundred sixty three days a year, I knew without a doubt I had the world’s best job. Spending afternoons lounging in a café, mainlining white chocolate mocha Frappuccino, and nights sipping top shelf wine was not a bad way to make a buck. Especially when I was doing so while socializing with single men who were--for the most part--extremely pleasing to the eye, unbelievably rich, and in the market for love,.
But every now and then, I had a day like today.
“I need to find a man.” Poking at my salad, I cast a hopeful glance around the restaurant-slash-jazz-bar where my best friend and I were having our regular Friday night dinner, or at least, I was eating dinner. Sasha had opted for a liquid meal, as usual.
“Don’t we all, honey,” Sasha said with a chuckle as she gave her long hair a flip. “I haven’t been on a date in months.”
“Not for me, silly. I need to find a new client. I haven’t closed a deal in over a month. Not one.” I stabbed a tomato with my fork.
“Don’t worry. Your boss loves you.”
“Loved. Past tense, Sasha. I’m new. And the honeymoon’s over. The way things are looking, I’ll be collecting unemployment soon…and living under a bridge. Marguerite doesn’t smile when she sees me anymore; she glowers. It’s only a matter of time before I’m kicked to the curb.” I poked at my house salad, light dressing, with my fork. Clearly my definition of light didn’t match the waitress’.
“You’re exaggerating.”
“I wish I was.” Sasha, a novelist who was still living at home with her parents, hadn’t sold a book in two years, and had recently “parted ways” with her agent, might be neck deep in denial, but I wasn’t. As the sole source of income in my household, and a girl who’d learned not so long ago that I needed to do whatever was necessary to survive, I knew I needed to land a new contract. Soon. Like, yesterday.
Or I’d have to go crawling back to my mother’s sister for help.
I’d rather die than do that.
After my mother and father had been unjustly convicted of murdering my little brother four years ago, my aunt had been shoved into the role of surrogate parent. It wasn’t a role she filled eagerly.
I had to get a new contract. Had to.
But signing a new contract was easier said than done. Premier was the most prestigious matchmaking company in the state, catering to highly selective clients who required discretion and complete privacy. The chances of stumbling upon a man who’d meet Premier’s minimum requirements in a place like this--not that it was a dump--were slim to none. Regardless of the fact that it was a Friday night. And every booth and table was packed. And eligible men of all shapes, sizes, and ages were filing through the door at a steady clip.
The crappy odds weren’t going to stop me from looking, though. For one thing, because I was desperate. For another, it was fun. And lastly, because I was a firm believer in miracles.
“You ask me, that’s where you’re going wrong, Daryl.” Playing with her unlit clove cigarette, Sasha shook her head, her trademark let-me-tell-you-how-it-is look firmly in place. “Girl, you keep handing all the keepers over to other women. You deserve a good man too. Or a bad boy, as the case may be.” She winked.
“Mmmm,” I said, intentionally ignoring Sasha’s last statement. This conversation played between us at least once a month. She told me I needed to find myself a man. And I told her I was one hundred percent content to remain single for the rest of my life. It was ironic, I knew, that I was selling the one thing I would do just about anything to avoid, but I had my reasons. Call me jaded, but I’d come to the conclusion that bachelors my age didn’t want to settle down. No matter what they said in an interview. At least, they didn’t want to settle down with a girl like me. Especially not the kind of men who paid for a Premier membership. “Seems to me, we’ve gone down this road before.”
Sasha sighed so hard her bangs fluttered in the breeze she stirred up. “I’m so tired of arguing about this.”
“So am I.” There was one surefire way to put a quick halt to this conversation before it got out of hand. “Look at that,” I said. “You need another beer. Maybe we’d better order two.” I waved the waitress over to order a couple more beers for my annoying but loveable friend.