The Greek Billionair's Marriage Matchmaker(14)

Ever since Melinda had seen Zoey and Stelios together, and seen for  herself the authentic attraction they had for each other, she had been  consumed with the idea of helping other people to experience the kind of  love her daughter now felt. For years, she had matched people together  for no other reason than it paid well, but now she yearned to help  someone, anyone, to become truly happy. As those thoughts raced through  her mind, a sharp knock rang out on the office door. It opened a moment  later to reveal Annie and a tall gentleman in a salt and pepper suit.



"Ms. Forde, this is Mr. Branden Kingston," the receptionist started. "He  says he's a former client of yours. He's been widowed for three years  now, and feels it might be time to start dating again."



Mr. Kingston stepped forward and offered his hand, as Annie quietly  slipped out of the room. Melinda started at the name, and turned to see a  man with a stalwart gleam in his eye. He had short brown hair, a  rectangular face, and a well-kept goatee. He wore large round glasses  that made him look something like a software technician, when in fact he  was the retired owner of a greeting card company. Of all the clients  she had encountered over the years, Branden was one of the few Melinda  had ever truly cared about.



"Mr. Kingston!" Melinda exclaimed. "You were one of our earliest  clients. It's wonderful to see you again. I was so sorry to hear about  Claire. She really was a good woman."



"The best," Branden replied. "When she died, I didn't think I'd ever be  able to love again. But it's been three years, and I think I'm ready to  try." His tone was earnest, and it was plain that he felt guilty about  even approaching Melinda for her help.



"None of us are meant to live alone," she said reassuringly. "I know  Claire. I helped you to find her, after all, and I know the last thing  she'd want is for you to be alone. So please, Mr. Kingston, don't feel  apprehensive about anything, and just have a seat right here," she said,  indicating the leather ottoman in front of her desk. "Let's review your  profile in case anything has changed, and then I'll be able to make a  recommendation for you."



Branden agreed, and for the next fifteen minutes, Melinda's heart  swelled as she worked on his profile. Not only had she been granted the  chance to bring love into someone's life, but that someone was Branden,  one of only a handful of people she had matched properly in her  company's history. He had always been a wonderful man: someone who  exuded gentleness and was loyal to a fault. She internally celebrated  the opportunity to help him find love once again. And then she saw  something that pretty much brought tears to her eyes. It was something  she had failed to consider before: Melinda Forde's match list.



The longer Melinda scrolled through the list, the deeper her heart sank.  She might have experienced a profound change that morning, but her list  of clients remained depressingly familiar. Names like Brie Hudson  leaped out at her, and she cringed at the horror someone like that could  wreak in Branden's life. There were women on the list that made Brie  look like an angel. Cruel, heartless, greedy, women. They wouldn't be  able to plunder his business because he had sold that when Claire died,  thinking the entire thing seemed hollow without her. The sale had,  however, earned Branden several million dollars and, given the chance,  they'd be on that like flies on honey.         

     



 



There was nothing for it except to bring everything to a halt, and Melinda had no choice but to tell Branden as much.



"One of the reasons I decided to come to you was because of your candor,  Ms. Forde. Less reputable people would probably pair me with anyone  just to earn a fee, but I know that's something you never do here."



"No," Melinda agreed, shaking nervously. "These are all current clients,  Mr. Kingston. Give me a few days to go through our older records, and  I'll give you a call. I'm certain we can find someone who will  complement you perfectly."



With a resigned expression, Branden agreed.



The pair shook hands, and the gentleman left Melinda feeling better than  she had in years, but still very uneasy; no matter how far she went  back in the agency's records, it was still going to be difficult to find  someone good enough for Branden.





FOURTEEN





At ten-thirty that evening, Zoey returned to her apartment feeling  happier than she had ever imagined possible. She and Stelios had  reprised their yacht adventure, and though there had been no romantic  night sky, everything else had been perfect. On top of that, Stelios had  insisted on pampering her all day to make up for all the stress the  lawsuit had caused. He had taken her to the finest spa in the city, and  even now, hours later, Zoey could feel herself glowing. Every cell of  her body seemed to be at peace, and for once, her mother was doing  nothing to disturb that.



Her mother had called sometime between the date on the yacht and her  time at the spa, to tell her about her appointment with Branden. When  she heard that her mother had helped a customer, Zoey gave such a large  whoop of celebration that Stelios nearly leaped a foot in the air. Zoey  was certain everything was coming together at last, and she couldn't  imagine how things could get better. When she fell asleep that night, it  felt as if Stelios had purchased cloud nine and moved her there to live  forever.



Over the next few days, Zoey resumed her post at Melinda Forde, and with  each passing hour, she and her mother grew closer. Melinda's newfound  devotion to genuine relationships made Zoey's job twice as hard as it  had been before. She now found herself counseling the people she met  with, trying to convince them to consider factors other than money and  potential advancement.



At first, the effort was a disaster. Zoey's clients were noncommittal.  But eventually, people began to come around, aided by Melinda's  unrelenting showmanship and politeness, and within a few weeks, many of  Melinda and Zoey's matching efforts had resulted in steady  relationships, as clients slowly learned to let go of their pasts.



Much to their dismay, however, Mr. Branden Kingston remained single and  alone. Well, he wasn't quite alone. He had gotten into the habit of  showing up at Melinda Forde every two or three days. He always arrived  just before lunch and visited with Melinda in her office. They went over  his profile and talked about old times, he about Claire and she about  William. Their conversations often went on for hours, unless there was  another client that needed Melinda's attention. Noticing this, Zoey  began to work to make sure that happened as rarely as possible. She kept  a close eye on Mr. Kingston, but his behavior never changed. All he  ever did was show up and talk.



"I'm going to have to earn my ‘Relationship Specialist' title," Zoey murmured to herself one afternoon.



She waited by her door until she saw Branden leaving Melinda's office.



"Mr. Kingston!" she called. "Can I talk to you for a second?"



"Oh, hello, Zoey. I was just having a lovely chat with your mother. What can I do for you?"



"I just wanted to make a little suggestion."



She began to whisper in his ear, and as she did, Branden's expression became skeptical.



"What makes you think … " he began quietly, when Zoey had finished.



As a reply, the young woman simply pointed to the title emblazoned on her office door.



"Trust me. I know these things. It'll be perfectly easy. I promise."



Reluctantly, the older man nodded and headed toward the front entrance.         

     



 



The moment he was gone, Annie called Zoey over to Reception. She had been able to see everything perfectly from her desk.



"What did you whisper to him, Ms. Forde?"



"Never mind that," Zoey replied playfully, "not any of your business today I'm afraid."



"With all due respect, if it gets me fired, it is my business. What I  mean is, your mother clearly likes that man, and I just hope you didn't  tell him anything that might keep him from coming back."



"I didn't say anything like that, and don't worry, you won't be fired," Zoey said gently.



She was certain she knew what Annie was really worried about; Melinda  had never been in this good a mood for this long, and the receptionist  was worried that the honeymoon period was going to end.



Zoey didn't blame her. Granted, it had been nearly two months since her  mother's attitude had changed, but there had been several horrible years  before that. It was going to be some time before everyone accepted that  a new Melinda Forde had come into the world, and Zoey only hoped her  whispered suggestion would be enough to help things along.



When work ended at four thirty, Zoey went outside and was pleasantly  surprised to see Fulton standing on the sidewalk, next to Stelios' town  car.