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Her phone rang and she hesitated answering since she was on Eli’s clock, but then figured he wouldn’t notice anyway. He spent every day entrenched in…something, rarely coming out of his office. This job had become like monitoring a wild animal. Feed it, stay out of its way, and try not to disrupt its normal and natural pattern.
“Chloe, hey.” Isa stood from the table and half ran/half walked to the kitchen where there was an additional partial wall between her and Eli.
“Sorry, hon. No luck.”
“Did you try Tracy?”
“Yeah, he’s getting married that day.”
“Oh. Wow.”
“I know. Unlucky, right? I heard back from the other guys on your list.” Chloe had started reaching out to Isa’s professional and personal male friends last week to ask if they could attend a social event with her. Isa hadn’t elaborated further.
“And the rest of them?”
“All nos.” The sound of Chloe flipping through pages of notes accompanied the saddest checklist ever. “Brandon is out of town for work, and Nathan said his wife would kill him.”
“My gosh, Nathan is married too?”
“Uh-huh. And Travis and”—more paper flipping—“Jacob and Antonio…No, wait, Antonio isn’t married. He’s gay and his partner’s birthday is that weekend.”
“Stop.” Isa couldn’t take any more. “I’ll have to make a plan B.”
“Escort service?” Chloe joked.
Isa groaned. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
“What do you need a date for anyway?”
Isa would gladly have avoided this conversation altogether but found herself in need of a sympathetic ear. She lowered her voice and cupped her hand to the phone. “My parents are trying to get Josh and me back together.”
There was a measured silence. “Why?”
“The usual.” She dropped her hand. “Breeding of the strong bloods, world takeover, yada yada.” Isa kept her voice down when she added, “I told them I was dating someone. I didn’t think it’d be this hard to find a stand-in by the time of the banquet.” Yet here she was: dateless, and the ceremony was next week.
“Crap.”
“Yeah.”
“What about my brother?” Chloe chirped. “He’s twenty-three but very mature.”
“Absolutely not.”
“He looks older.”
“The idea was to be discreet and keep everything professional. Plus, doesn’t your brother live in Maryland with your family?”
“Good point.”
“Thanks for trying.” Isa walked from the kitchen to the living room, careful not to say anything too revealing. “I’ll work it out on my end.”
“You sound formal. Are you pretending to work in case you’re overheard by Beast Crane?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Would you settle for a pretend girlfriend? I look great in a cocktail dress.”
Isa let loose a laugh as she paced back to the dining room table. “I’ll consider it. There would be the added bonus of stealing Josh’s thunder.”
