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How my world fell apart the instant our mouths fused. My reality shattered, and then came together in a brand new way that felt so good and right. Me and Parker. Together at last. I remember thinking:This is it.
Then, when he left town again, I learned that all life’s incredible, breathtaking highs come with equally extreme lows. I also learned that if you’re going to sob for hours and hours, you’d better have water handy because your throat is going to go so dry, you feel as though you’ll never be able to speak another word in your life.
“... and he’d rise to the challenge, I think, if he feels the right motivation,” Mitch says. “Besides, he can delegate all the tasks he doesn’t want to do or doesn’t know how to do. He doesn’t have a head for business, as far as I can tell. But when it comes down to it he’s good with people and that’s what being a CEOreallyrequires. People skills.”
Welp. Now I’m lost.
Flashbacks: One. Gemma: Zero.
I stare blankly at Mitch, and then slowly his meaning catches up to me. He wants Parker to take over as CEO for Manning Light Fixtures.
But what does this have to do with me and Right Match?
Mitch tips the framed photo back his way and then picks up his whisky glass. “What’ll get him back on track, you ask me, is a good woman. He’d stop messing around and finally want to take the reins from me, earn a steady income so he can provide for a family. What do you think?”
All I can think about is the taste of sweet bubble gum.
Mitch waits.
I do my best to collect myself andnotthink about Parker’s body pressed against mine, down on that rec room couch. “I guess I’m wondering what this has to do with Right Match.”
He smiles. “Now, now. Come on now, Gem! You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you get the picture. I want you to put your process to work for Parker. Like that company motto of yours you mentioned. Don’t just find him a match, find him therightmatch.”
Well, at least he was listening to my pitch.
My stomach twists. I’m sure my face has gone pale.
All the blood swirling so merrily in my veins at the prospect of getting oodles of funding for my brand has been drained away at this sudden detour into Parker-land.
Mitch goes on. “If you find him a girl he’ll tie the knot with, then you got yourself a deal. How does five-hundred thousand sound to you?”
How does five-hundred grand sound? Great, obviously.
This other stuff, about finding Parker a wife? Not so great.
“Er. Um…”
“I know, I know. It’ll be tough. I’m sure Parker will resist. He barely answers his phone these days, and you know how he is about technology. He’d rather spend the day out on that old mountain bike of his than on a computer answering emails from dear old dad, or anyone else for that matter. Sometimes I wonder if he even owns a computer. And you know for yourself how wild and stubborn he is.”
Oh, I know.
You don’t kiss a guy like Parker and then ignore the press about him. And his shenanigans kept plenty of journalists busy, over the course of his eight-year stint of pro tennis.
They loved snapping photos of him with his arm draped around various women, from professional beach volleyball players to underwear models. Or out on the town downing shots of tequila the night before a big match. The wild-child of men’s pro tennis captured the hearts of millions, but most of those photos only made me feel resentful.
Turns out, resentment is fine fuel that can motivate a girl straight through college, graduate school, and into a fantastic line of work that she absolutely loves with all of her heart.
I really do love my work. I love helping people find their right match. I love getting Christmas cards from happy couples that met thanks to our services. I love that we have a mission and a purpose. I have a chance to make a difference in people’s lives every time I step through my office door and sit behind my spotless glass-and-chrome desk, with the white orchid in the corner and my white Macbook front and center.
And if fixing renegade, wild, stubborn Parker up with a match is what it takes to take my company to the next level, that’s what I’m going to have to do.
Half a million dollars.
If I had half a million to invest, I could absolutely, no-questions-asked turn Right Match into a multi-million dollar company by the time I reach thirty.
That’d be pretty freaking amazing.
And I know my process works. Technically, finding Parker’s perfect match should be straightforward. Once he answers the questionnaires, I’ll run the info through our system and the database will provide potential matches. A few dates later, he’ll havethe oneright at his fingertips. And who can say no to walking down the aisle, once they meetthe one?
