Page 28 of The Alibi Club

Oritte continued, “You had a very specific list on this one, but I think I’ve narrowed it down to this woman.”

Lorna opened the file and inspected a new photo as Oritte listed out the details.

“Shannon Parsons, thirty-nine, successful pharm rep, transplant from Delray Beach, Florida, living with her sister, has had a bit of a hard time fitting in judging by her rapid descent into spray tans, hot yoga classes, and hair extensions. Note her hobbies.”

Lorna felt a glow of anticipation bloom across her face. “Nicely done.”

“Thank you. Tomorrow evening at around six, Shannon will be leaving her hot yoga class on Upper Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach.”

Lorna stuffed Shannon Parsons’s profile into her Longchamp bag and pulled out her lipstick. She raised one eyebrow toward Oritte and said, “Great work. Are we ready for Jamie?”

“She filled out the paperwork online, and I printed it out for you.” Oritte handed Lorna another slim folder and added, “Jamie should be here shortly. I’ll escort your next target into the conference room as soon as she arrives.”

“If by target you mean an unsuspecting single whose life I am about to change by showing her how to find the true love she deserves, then yes, by all means escort the target in when she gets here.” Lorna gave her a wink.

“Copy that, Chief.” Oritte gave her a wry smile in return.

“One more thing, Oritte.” Lorna handed her a news article. “Could you do a little digging on this man?”

Oritte glanced at the article concerning an exhibit closing at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The accompanying photo was of an older gentleman and an attractive younger woman trailing behind, the director and assistant director of the exhibit. She examined the name under the photo and said, “Basil Grimsby. Is he a candidate for Dinner for Six?”

Lorna continued to apply her lipstick without answering. Oritte got the message that that particular piece of information was a need-to-know basis and she did not have clearance.

“Consider it done.” Oritte accepted her orders with a confident nod and walked out of Lorna’s office.

One down, one on deck. Four to go.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A Cold Slap of Reality

JAMIE

Redondo Beach remained one little beach town providing all the exact things a beach town needs: hardware store, wine shop, cheese shop, butcher shop, guitar shop, surf shop, several nail and hair salons, coffee houses, and a feast of options for restaurants, bars, and live music. Somehow Redondo Beach had kept its OG charm, even though the beach cottages were being quietly and methodically razed and replaced by steel and glass mansions.

Jamie arrived at the offices of Lorna Gray’s matchmaking company located in a shared mixed-use building upstairs from a hopping gastropub in South Redondo. The smell of French fries and malt vinegar wafted up to remind her she hadn’t eaten since last night. Her stomach announced its displeasure at this decision with a hostile growl. Jamie touched her stomach to let it know she was aware and it would be receiving those fries as soon as this was over.

After her preliminary phone call with the enthusiastic matchmaker’s assistant named Oritte who had a charming slight Indian accent, Jamie was instructed to fill out some paperwork online and then show up for an intake meeting. Even though her initial reaction to Lorna was one of suspicion, when Lorna had offered her a way out of online dating, Jamie jumped at the chance. Now, however, standing in front of the door to Dinner for Six, her apprehensions about Lorna roared back.

Jamie hesitated, considering what she might be getting into, but she opened the door anyhow. The reception area was decorated in midcentury modern style complete with an English cream leather chair in the corner and a Nespresso machine. On the wall behind reception was a poster with silhouettes of six people seated at a heart-shaped table. The slogan read: Dinner for Six. Modern Matchmaking.

What did that even mean?

“Hello! You must be Jamie Frisco?” A slender, olive-skinned woman in a lilac knit dress and chandelier earrings greeted her with a warm smile.

“Guilty as charged.”

“I’m Oritte. Care for an espresso?” She gestured to the little machine in the corner.

“No, I’m fine, thank you.” Jamie followed Oritte down a short hallway until she opened a door into an upscale conference room with beach vibes: white-washed walls, natural-edge wooden tables, and colorful splashes of ocean-hued art hung on the walls. Oritte directed Jamie to one of the soft-as-butter white leather chairs.

Jamie’s nerves were under control thanks to a last-minute glass of white wine coursing through her veins, but she felt slightly nauseous. Perhaps it was the circumstances. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something artificial about the polished and poised Lorna Gray. She’d done her research online and although the information was scant and curated, all signs pointed to her talents as a master matchmaker, with credentials and reviews to support it. She took a long slow breath and let it out.

Derick had dismissed her concerns and chalked it up to Jamie’s hostility toward dating in general, so it wasn’t such a leap for Jamie’s warped mind to consider Lorna an enemy of sorts when she could be Jamie’s saving grace. “I don’t need saving,” Jamie admonished. Derick responded by buying her lip gloss and making her promise to go meet Lorna.

Lorna Gray walked in the office, her svelte figure clad in a bright white leather pencil skirt and a black cashmere sweater, her wavy auburn hair falling perfectly against her shoulders. She was angular and sharp, completely glamorous.

“Hi, Jamie, I’m so pleased you decided to come. Forgive me for being so forward, but I get the sense that you’re a little put off by this whole thing.”