No Match for a Millionaire (Noble Matchmaking Series #1)

Part 3

Though Riley normally would have ridden the high of a kiss gone well for days, she woke up the next morning knowing in the pit of her stomach that she had made a mistake. She had kissed a client--and not just any client, but Trevor McKnight, Veronica's most important client. She could not believe she had let herself do that. There had been no thought of the risks, no cost-benefit analysis, just him and that damn mouth.

Looking on the bright side, she told herself that at least now she knew how Trevor behaved during dates. He had been funny, charming, interested--all the things a woman wanted from a dinner partner.

And the kiss had been hot, exciting, and very interested.

She pushed that thought away. It might have been a once-in-a-lifetime kiss, but that was because it was only going to happen once.

Arriving at the office, Riley began her morning routine, booting up her computer and checking her unread email. Already off-kilter, she was unprepared to find an early-morning message from Veronica: "Just got a call from Trevor McKnight. Let's talk. V."

Riley's stomach dropped. She re-read the message twice, remembering Trevor's words from the day before: Be prepared to explain to Veronica exactly why I left Noble Matchmaking. Somehow she doubted Veronica would appreciate the explanation. She could just imagine herself saying, "Oh, sorry about that, Veronica, but I broke every rule in the Noble Matchmaking Handbook and made out with a client, and guess what? Now he has no respect for either me or this agency. Oops!"

She couldn't tell if she was more upset about losing Veronica the millionaire--or losing the millionaire herself, as well as the only job she had ever loved.

Focus on the positive. She could always go back to traditional consulting. She had plenty of opportunities, both professionally and personally. She was going to be fine. And at least she hadn't spilled coffee on herself today.

In fact, she hadn't even had a coffee yet that morning. Delaying the inevitable, she decided to head down to the second floor coffee stand. After that, it was once again time to woman up and apologize.

As she stood at the coffee counter waiting for her order to come up, mentally practicing her apology for Veronica, a familiar voice asked, "Are you ok?"

She glanced over to see Whit by her side, studying her in concern. "I tried texting you this morning. You look awful. Is everything alright?"

"Gee, thanks," Riley said, glancing at her phone to see a missed text and a missed call from Veronica. Great. "I've been better," Riley said. "I may have lost a client last night."

Whit's eyebrows shot up at this news. Riley never talked about her cases. "What happened?"

"I made out with him," Riley admitted, glancing around to make sure no one was within hearing distance.

His jaw dropped. "What?" he squawked. "Miss Perfectly Professional made out with a client? You never even did that at Accenture, and it's practically expected there!"

"I know," Riley said miserably. "I don't know what I was thinking. Just because he's hot and smart and funny doesn't give me an excuse."

Whit considered this for a moment, then said, "Well, it kind of gives you an excuse. Just not a very good one. What are you going to do?"

The barista called Riley's name and placed two cups of coffee on the counter: a soy latte for herself and a nonfat cappuccino for Veronica. Riley hoped the drink would ease the other woman into Riley's upcoming confession.

"I've got to tell Veronica what happened," Riley said, grabbing the cups and turning to leave. "Maybe if I'm lucky, she'll let me explain before she fires me."