Gerri sighed as she inhaled the strong aroma of her first cup of coffee. “Divine!” she said as she sat down, sipping her drink and opening her laptop and her emails. “Hmm, what do we have today?”
Her long, red painted nails tapped the keyboard, deleting the crap that seemed to filter through into her inbox no matter what she did. Then settled down to work through her business emails. The Paranormal Dating Agency was booming and she couldn’t be happier. Matching up people was something she had a true gift for but it was more than that . . . she truly loved what she did. The fact that it paid the bills was an added bonus.
There were several that needed her attention, but one that piqued her interest stood out and that’s the one that she focused on. She read the email once, then again, her lips twitching up at the sides as she reached the end. “Well, well, Connie. You’ll offer yourself up as, basically, to be my slave for my services to help your friend, huh?”
Gerri shook her head, her curiosity now well and truly captivated by the girl who would go to such lengths for her friend. She read the email again before clicking on the attached video which showed a young woman with long dark hair, dark eyes that were pools full of melancholy and her aura was shrouded in a sadness that Gerri was certain only she and possibly the girl’s friend, Connie, could see. “Aww, sweetie, you definitely need my help. Dontcha?”
She sat back, tilting her head to the side as she paused the video on a close up of Cyndi’s face, staring hard into the young Shifter’s eyes. In those dark eyes she saw so much and knew she couldn’t just close the email down and move on. No. She had to help and in the back of her mind there was a niggling thought of someone, a passing vision of a young man . . . all she had to do was grab onto it because she was sure she had already met this girl’s mate.
He wasn’t a client. That was certain. Gerri had met him. Now where was it? When was it? “Think, woman,” she told herself aloud.
She got it! It was at one of her Masquerade Balls! He was only there fleetingly but he was there and she knew just where to get in touch. She closed down Connie’s email and opened a new one, typing furiously to ask a favor, knowing that it wouldn’t be refused. She’d wait for the reply before responding to Connie but as she did she opened her email and pressed play again on the video to watch the rest.
As it resumed she saw another, slightly younger girl bounce onto the screen, short blonde hair and blue eyes joining Cyndi. “Hey, Connie.” Cyndi smiled.
“Hi, aren’t you coming to join us?”
“I’m fine here,” Cyndi replied, sipping her drink.”
“Sure?” Connie said. “Why don’t you come to Silvers with us?”
“No, you go. I’m going to have an early night.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ll stay here. I should probably get an early night too. It’s not as if there’s anyone new there anyway.” Connie sat on the table, swinging her legs, her voice low and tinged with sadness.
“You never know, Con, tonight might be the night that you might meet someone.”
“Come on, Cyndi, we both know that’s not going to happen.” Connie shook her head. “I’m tired anyway, let’s go home and watch a DVD and if we’re lucky we can find where Mom’s stashed the cookies.”
Cyndi laughed, getting up and grabbing Connie’s hand. “Sure. Race you.”
Before Connie could get off the table Cyndi had turned and ran off. “Not fair!”
At that point the camera had panned around, taking in other members of the Pack, drinking and heading off in all directions. But Gerri’s attention was no longer on the rest of the people showing, her mind wandering as she frowned, her matchmaking alerts tingling inside her as she thought on the girl who’d offered herself as payment to help her friend. “Oh boy. Looks like I’ll be coming back to you, Connie dear. But not now. Now I have to deal with your friend.”
Gerri dealt with several other business related emails while she impatiently waited on the reply to the one she’d sent earlier. If she didn’t hear back soon she’d phone the Alpha involved because she’d like to get this show on the road as quickly as possible. Once she saw someone in need of her services and knew for certain who the mate in question was, well, what was the point of hanging around?
Going for a refill of caffeine when she returned she smirked when she saw a new mail in her inbox. “Good boy,” she muttered aloud as she sat, opening and reading through quickly.
“Are you sure? What if he decides to stay with her Pack? He’s a good Beta, Gerri, and I’d rather not lose him, but if you’re certain, then I’ll get it organized. I know Chad, the Alpha of that Pack, so I can make something up as to why he’s going.”
Gerri scowled as she hit reply. “Excuse me? Of course I’m sure and I can’t say if he’ll decide to stay or not. That’s up to them to decide between them. We can’t stand in their way of happiness. Just get his ass there and let nature take its course, but we need to ensure their paths cross, so he has to interact with Cyndi. From the information I have she helps the Pack Healer, so make something up to do with that. Okay?”
She pressed send and sat back, waiting, knowing she’d have a reply almost instantly. She wasn’t wrong. Several minutes later she got another email.
“Fine! I’ll get him on his way tomorrow. I’ll call Chad and make something up to do with our Healer sending something or other and asking for advice on some other stuff. Yeah, I’ll need to go speak to ours . . . as if I don’t have enough to do today, but I’ll do it, just for you, Gerri.”
Gerri’s head fell back as a throaty laugh erupted. “You cheeky pup! Just wait ‘til I see you at the next Ball. I’ll box your ears for you!”
Hitting reply she simply typed. “Good!”
Then she set about putting Connie out of her misery. “Dear Connie, firstly, let me assure you I don’t require you to be my slave to pay for my services. I will take on Cyndi as a client and am sure we can come to some agreement regarding payment without you having to sell your worldly possessions. I do indeed have someone in mind for your friend, and have already put in place my plans for them to meet in the near future. Yours sincerely, Gerri Wilder”
Gerri sat back, smiling as she hit send. She’d been so tempted to change the email and ask Connie to come live with her for a week and wait on her hand and foot, wondering if Connie would have done so. “That’s just wrong,” she chortled as she rose, shaking her head, still thinking she would have to come back to dear little Connie in the future. That girl deserved happiness too and Gerri was the woman to give it to her, but she’d make sure Cyndi found hers first.