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

Part 3

"Good luck," Whit said. "Let me know if we need an emergency happy hour tonight."

By the time Riley made it back to the agency's office, she could tell she had sweated through her silk blouse under her blazer. That was two days in a row she had ruined her shirt, she thought, and decided to leave her jacket on as she went straight to Veronica's office.

"You didn't tell me McKnight had a date last night," Veronica said when Riley walked into her office, accepting the coffee Riley handed her with a nod of thanks.

"Oh. Well, it came up last-minute," Riley said, nervously sinking into a chair and cupping her own coffee in front of her with both hands.

"And it went well?"

Riley hesitated, suddenly unsure how much Veronica knew. She doubted the other woman would calmly enquire as to how the date had gone if she knew it had been Riley who had been sitting across the table from Trevor McKnight. "Is that what he said?" she asked in a small voice, feeling like a foolish middle schooler asking her friend if a boy liked her. Actually, a letter with a simple Yes / No / Maybe checkbox would certainly help clarify the situation.

Veronica made an exasperated sound in her throat. "All he said was we could close his case, our contract was satisfied. Who was his date with?"

"Well... I set it up with a new client I met yesterday," Riley hedged, chickening out on the full confession at the last moment. What Veronica didn't know might not hurt either of them, she reasoned.

"Interesting choice," Veronica said, and Riley winced. That was Veronica code for, I think you might be an idiot.

Riley rushed to rationalize her interesting choice. "Well, I did manage to get the background check and credit check run in time, and they did have an 88% compatibility. I know it wasn't standard procedure, but--"

Veronica waved off her explanations. "We'll talk about it later. Go ahead and schedule his exit interview in the meantime."

Obviously dismissed, Riley stood and left Veronica's office in a state of bemusement. She had been sure Trevor wanted to sever his contract. In fact, she still suspected he did--after all, he hadn't gone out with the fitness model Harvard grad last night. He had accidentally gone out with Riley Brennan, vegetarian workaholic and reality TV aficionado. Could Veronica have misunderstood what Trevor had meant when they had talked?

Her desk phone rang as soon as she walked into her office, and she answered it automatically to hear a now-familiar six words from Julia: "Trevor McKnight is here for you." 

Riley's numbness was seared away in instant nerves, though her general confusion remained. Still standing, she simply turned to to see Trevor already making his way down the hall towards her office. His slow deliberate stride reminded her of the way he had kissed her the night before

"You're leaving Noble Matchmaking?" she asked.

He stepped into her office and shut the door behind him. "I don't want to be your client anymore."

"I see," Riley said stiffly, his words hurting more than she would have expected.

He studied her. "I don't think you do," he said softly. "I don't want to be your client when I ask you out on a real date."

She blinked. "What?"

"I'm sure it's considered a conflict of interest to date your own matchmaker," he explained, then smiled. "And I am very interested, Riley Brennan, no conflict there. I wanted you from the moment we met, you and those damn little skirt suits of yours, so it's no wonder that  none of those eight dates worked out."

She was having problems keeping up. "So... you're not breaking your contract?"

He shook his head, looking at her with warm eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, I found what I'm looking for."

"But I'm not your type," she reminded him, afraid he hadn't thought this through. Though it would hurt to have him back out now, she knew it would hurt so much more if she let herself get attached only to have him walk away later.

"Screw types," Trevor said heatedly. "Screw compatibility algorithms. Maybe that Noble Formula wasn't working because I already had a woman in mind. Will you have dinner with me again?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes."

That gorgeous smile spread across his face. "Then I'd say I've met my match." 

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If you liked "No Match for a Millionaire," Part 2 of the Noble Matchmaking Series, "Make Me a Match" is available from my Wattpad profile. :)