JON

The next couple of days, I let India keep her distance.

She has a lot on her mind, with her mom recovering in the hospital and the specs she has to review on the new satellite. She'll come to me when she's ready and when she needs me.

In contrast, I want her right now.

I want to take her home to my place at night and fuck her brains out. I think it would be good for her during this time of stress. God knows how great sex distracts me from any stress I'm feeling.

But India has her own way of dealing with things. I have to give her room and accept her for what she is.

I listen to the mix playlist she gave me after we first met, filled with songs her parents like – an odd assortment of music from the seventies that I would never have heard if I didn’t know her. My father was into country music, and I listened to metal most of my life.

One song plays on the playlist by Cat Stevens, “How Can I Tell You.” It seems like a metaphor for our relationship.

I'm not an overly sentimental type, but that song just gets me in my gut and I can't get it out of my head. For the rest of the day, it plays over in my mind, even – especially – when I'm trying to sleep.

I want India in my bed. I want to fuck her brains out. It's only a matter of time before she comes around and asks me.

Friday comes and so far, India has not given in to her desires and asked me to fuck her brains out.

She does, however, come into my office Friday afternoon.

"I'm going to Marina's party tomorrow."

"That's good," I say, hoping it's a sign that she's feeling better about her mother and things in general. "Maybe you can come by to my place after. I miss you."

She doesn’t say anything. "Marina thinks you're coming as well."

I nod. "Oh, yeah. I did say I'd come. She wanted to match me with someone else, though," I say with a frown. "I'll have to tell her no."

"She wants to match me with someone new as well," India says, her voice soft. "I was thinking we should play along with her. Humor her."

I glance at her, focusing on her eyes. "What? You really want to meet her match for you? You want me to meet her match for me?"

India shrugs. "I don't really want to, but I promised I would before this happened between us. Since we're keeping it quiet—"

"At your insistence, not mine."

"At my insistence, maybe it would be good to just play along. Neither of us have to actually go on a date. We could both go to the party, meet our respective matches, make Marina temporarily happy, and then say goodnight to them. No harm, no foul."

I sigh. "India, I don't want to meet Marina's match for me. And I don't want you to meet yours. I want you."

"I want you," she says softly. "But this is for her app and—"

I interrupt her. "Be honest. You just don't want her to think we're together."

"This is for her app," she repeats, "and both of us promised to help out. I want MATCHED to succeed for Marina's sake."

"This is ridiculous. We should just admit the truth – that we want to be together – and to hell with Marina," I say, looking deep in her eyes. "I want you. I can't stop thinking about you. I don't want to go to Marina's party and meet her match for me. I want us to go together and then I want to take you home and fuck your brains out."

She smiles, her cheeks flushing in that way that I love.

"I want that too, but I have to work on Marina and she's already arranged the date. Don't worry," she says and squeezes my hands. "I'm not interested in her matches for me. They've been total busts. I want you."

I lean down and kiss her, and she doesn't pull away so there's that at least. Her kiss feels like it's passionate. She even leans into it willingly so I think I can believe that she truly does want me and doesn’t want to meet whatever stuffed shirt academic Marina's matched for her.

The door opens and Janice, my admin, sticks her head in the door.

"Oops – sorry, you guys."

She quickly pops back out and I shake my head and press my forehead against India's.

"The cat is really out of the bag now, I guess."

"It really is," she says. "Liza as much as said so. She said she thought it was so sweet that we were finally making it public. I didn't know we had. Grant must have said something and sworn her to secrecy."

I tense at that. "Dammit," I say, my fists clenching. "I warned him what would happen if he told anyone."

"They all suspect it, Jon," India says and squeezes my shoulder. "They all suspected it for years, apparently. Don't blame Grant. I know you said you'd fire him, but I think that would be wrong."

I shake my head. "Loose lips sink ships. He should have kept his lips zipped and let us decide when to confirm the rumors."

"He should have, but he's still a good employee. It's our fault for even considering getting it on at work, even on a Sunday. We shouldn't be kissing at all unless we're fine with the staff knowing."

"No, we shouldn't," I say, because she's right. Still, I don’t want to stop showing her how I feel, so I lean in and kiss her once more. She slips her arms around my neck and kisses me back and that gives me some heart that maybe, just maybe, she's coming around to letting this really happen between us.

I want her to be happy about it, and not feel like we have to hide it.

Dammit Marina – quit messing with India's head.

"You have to tell Marina."

She bites her lip guiltily. "I know. Just this weekend – let's let her match us up. We can look across the room and make meaningful eye contact at each other when we meet our latest match."

"You're not worried that I'll like my date a little too much?" I ask, taking a lock of her hair in my fingers and playing with it. I glance in her eyes, trying to look coy. "Because, I'm worried that you'll like your date a little too much…"

"Jon," she says and punches me playfully on the arm. "She's been totally wrong so far. I think the questionnaire is a bust, so I'm not worried in the least. I promise you that you and I will go back to your apartment and spend the night together, laughing at her matches and doing whatever you want, okay? Just indulge me."

I exhale, resigned that I'll have to go through with it. "Okay, but we do whatever I want to do, right?"

"I promise," she replies, her voice a bit breathy, like the idea arouses her. It immediately arouses me, a jolt to my dick at the thought of having my way with her. "You can count on it."

"Good," I say, and kiss her once more, this time more passionately. "You can count on it being really pleasurable."

Then, I gesture to the door. "Shall we? I believe we have a conference call with the General."

"Lead the way."

I grab my laptop and India grabs hers and together, we take the hallway to the conference room where my admin is busy setting up the conference phone and screen so we can videoconference about the contract.

India leaves the office early to go to the hospital and visit her mom, and I go out with the rest of the staff for a beer after work. It's a bit of a tradition to go out together every second Friday to a local pub that has great appetizers and cheap beer. I buy everyone the first round of draft beer and the first tray of appetizers, and we bond over alcohol and snacks.

Out of the blue, Janine, a married mother of five and one of our admin personnel, blurts out a question about India and me.

"So, are you two a thing now?" she asks, her eyebrows raised.

Kal, beside her, gives her an elbow. "Janine…"

I take a sip of my beer and then carefully put the glass down, trying to form my words carefully.

"I know you’ve all thought India and I have been having a secret affair all these years, but honestly, we haven't. It's only been recently – very recently – that we have finally decided to give it a try. India wants things to remain private, so I hope you all can give us that privacy. We won't make a big deal of it and hope you won't either."

"See, I told you," Janine says and elbows Kal back. "I knew it. I've always said you two should get together if you weren't already. You're both so cute. You belong together."

"Thanks for the endorsement, but seriously, don't say anything to India. She'll kill me for confirming it, but I don't like to lie to you guys."

"We all knew you were either in love and together, or in denial. At least now we know we're not all crazy."

I lean back and laugh. "I can't get over how comfortable you guys all feel asking me outright about it. I'm your freaking boss. You should show proper deference and all," I say, only half-jokingly.

"We've been talking behind your backs for three years," Janine says, grinning.

"So I hear," I reply. "Now, you can still talk behind our backs but at least it’ll be something real instead of just your filthy fantasies."

"Or your filthy fantasies," Janine quips and gives me a wink.

"I hope so." I take another drink of my beer.

I check out earlier than usual, citing a late night, and everyone goes “Uh-huh” and gives me the eye.

"Serious," I say, holding my hands out in supplication. "India's at the hospital and won't be coming back to my place tonight, so calm yourselves. And remember, nothing about this to India until I give you the a-okay. It'll be when she feels comfortable, okay?"

I make a point of looking them all in the eye. To a person – with the exception of Janine, who is recalcitrant – they nod.

"Janine?"

"Oh, all right," she says and waves her hand. "I'll zip my lips, but don't make me wait too long."

"I hope it won't be too long, but that's up to India."

We say goodnight and I leave, enjoying the friendly and casual relationship I have with my staff. It’s only possible because they are truly professional in the office and I know I can reply on them to do the work and do it right.

I return to my apartment and take off my clothes, then pace around like a caged lion, feeling like I want India here right now so I can calm down and get some sleep after a good fuck. I want her in my bed. I want to wake up with her beside me.

I'll be sleeping alone at least until Saturday.

It's going to be a long night.

The next day goes fast, and it's almost eight when I finally leave work and go home for a quick shower.

MARINA: Are you coming tonight? I have your next match coming by at around nine to meet you. I think she's right up your alley.

JON: Yes, I said I would. I'll be there. Just remember my terms – if I don’t want to go on a date with her, no harm, no foul. I'll meet her and give her a chance to wow me but after that, it's entirely up to me.

MARINA: And her, of course. She may not like you when she meets you, but we won't know that until you two meet. See you at nine.

JON: I'll be there.

I dress in something a little classier and check myself out in the mirror. I look presentable. I know India likes this suit and the shirt-tie combination, since she picked it out for me once when we were in New York for a conference and my suitcase had been lost in transit. The suit is black, and the shirt white, the tie a deep blue. India says it plays off the color of my eyes. The way she looked at me when I put it on in the store said all I needed to know. It passed muster.

I take my SUV and drive to Marina's place, parking on the street for a quick escape if I want to make one, and walk into her house. The sky is dark, and the interior of her house is lit up with a warm yellow light. Music wafts to me as I walk up the path to her door. I enter, checking the place out to see who's there. I see a few of Pacifica’s staff, and a bunch of people I don’t know. After saying hello to my staff and giving them the reminder not to talk about India and me, I'm accosted by a smiling Marina who has a pretty blonde woman in tow. That's apparently my date.

In any other circumstances, I'd be licking my lips when I see her and realize she's there for me, but now? Now, I feel deflated.

Yeah, she's attractive. Tall, built, a real blonde, perfect teeth, and perfect breasts underneath a silky dress.

"Jon," Marina says, her voice carrying across the room. "There you are!"

She pulls my date across the room and stands her in front of my like she's a specimen rather than a person.

"Here she is," Marina says, her eyebrows wagging in this ridiculous way. "MATCHED's latest match for you. Jon, this is Cindy. Cindy, this is Jon. You already read his profile. You two are almost a perfect match. Please – enjoy each other! I have to go and take care of business."

She smiles at the two of us, and then leaves, and it's then I see India walk in from the patio. She looks fantastic, dressed in this amazing black dress with thin straps that shows all her curves in a sexy but not too trashy way. Her dress is to her knee, and she's wearing my favorite strappy sandals that play off her shapely calves.

God, she's a sight for sore eyes.

I smile at her, forgetting Cindy for a moment, and she sees me, but she's not smiling back. Behind her is a tall dark bearded guy wearing a very fashionable suit. He takes her arm and leans in to say something to her over the sound of the music, which is a touch too loud.

I hate him.

Instantly, I want to go over there and plow him one in his handsome face. Yeah, I can recognize a handsome man when I see one. I'm secure in my sexuality. This guy is definitely debonair, in a Clark Gable kind of way. Dark eyes, neatly trimmed beard, taller than India by a foot at least, well-dressed, hair slicked back and a bit longer.

He whispers in her ear and the two of them laugh, and India glances surreptitiously in my direction.

She thinks he's funny.

She likes men with a sense of humor.

My fists clench without me thinking and so I take in a deep breath and try to talk myself down a few notches.

She's doing this for Marina's sake, as I am. So, I turn to Cindy, or whoever she is, and try to make polite conversation.

"So, Cindy, tell me about you. What do you do for a living?"

I watch her as she talks about herself, trying to focus, but all the time, my mind is thinking of India and her date and whether she thinks he's a better match for her than I am.

I know Marina thinks so.

Cindy is in banking, working as a teller at a local branch in downtown SF. She took a securities course and would like to be an investment advisor at her bank eventually. She's well-spoken and attractive, and if I didn’t want India, I'd be happy to give Cindy a roll in the hay. I might even consider a second round, if she was particularly adventurous in the hay-rolling department.

But all I can think of is whether India likes her match.

They're laughing together at something he says. He seems like a real joker. He's leaning in closer to India, their eyes locked together, and I feel like I have to go over and interrupt, fill him in that India is not his.

Of course, I can’t do that because she's technically not mine either.

If she was, we wouldn't be at this party pretending to be interested in Marina's dates for us.

"What about you?" Cindy asks, and I have to pull myself back into the moment.

"I'm the CEO of a tech firm."

"I know that," she says. "Marina showed me your bio. Tell me more about you – personally. I already know the C.V."

I frown, and try to make conversation but I can't help but glance quickly at India and see that she's alone while Mr. Tall, Dark, and Loathsome goes to get her a drink at the bar, which is set up in the corner of the room.

"Can you excuse me for a moment?" I say to Cindy, who nods and says sure.

I make my way over to where India is standing and she frowns when she sees me coming.

"Hey," I say and lean in closer. I want to kiss her – kiss her in front of everyone and let them know she's mine – but of course, I don't.

I can't.

"Jon," she says, her voice miffed. "You should be with your date."

"I wanted to say hi. Can't a guy say hi to his business partner?"

Her brow is furrowed. "I know what you're doing. Go and play nice with your date."

I exhale heavily. "This is ridiculous, India. We should be together, not with other people. I don't like putting on a charade like this. You should just tell Marina her app needs to be fixed and get it over with."

"I can't and you know it. After tonight, we'll come clean, but tonight, just go along with it, okay?"

She gives me this pleading look that I can't resist and so I nod.

"Okay, but I expect fun and games when we get back to my place. Fun and games."

"You'll get them, now go," she says and pushes me lightly on the arm. I see that Mr. Loathsome is on his way back, carrying two drinks. He sees me and raises his eyebrows as if he doesn’t like the fact that his date is talking intimately with another man.

Tough luck, buddy. She's fucking well mine.

"Hello," Mr. Loathsome says, handing a drink to India. "You're the business partner, right? Jon Thorson?"

"That's right," I say, certain that he put emphasis on business, like he wants to accentuate that I am not a romantic partner, but maybe that's me being slightly paranoid. I wouldn't put it past myself, the way I'm feeling, seeing India with a really handsome man.

"Who are you and what do you do for a living?"

"Jon, you have a date to talk to," India says and gives me the evil eye.

Mr. Loathsome smiles. "John McMaster. I'm a portfolio manager and angel investor. When I'm not doing that, I surf, snowboard, and base jump."

"Ahh," I say, hating him even more. "That's something we share in common."

"You base jump?" he asks, like he's the only rich alpha in the world who likes the adrenaline rush.

"I do. Spent time in Argentina and Chile. Also skydive when I can get a chance."

Mr. Loathsome nods, sizing me up. I think he realizes I feel possessive towards India and is now going to bring out the big guns. "I love to jump."

"I jumped with the 75^th Ranger Regiment."

He nods even more meaningfully at that, realizing now that I'm a veteran as well as being a very rich business owner. "I was with the 507^th, Bravo Company during my service," he replies.

"Jon, your date is waiting for you," India says, her eyes wide, her voice frustrated.

"Oh, yeah," I say, feeling guilty for being such a terrible date, but needing to check out this guy before I can relax.

Now, I can't relax.

He's like me, except dark-haired and -eyed. Former military. Investments. Adrenaline junkie.

"See you later," I say and point at India.

Then I return to Cindy and feel like I've scored a point, but it feels hollow. Even though I hate his guts, I realize that India should be with someone like Mr. Loathsome. He's smart, successful, good looking. He probably looks at India and sees an amazing catch – someone he could use both as arm candy and maybe even a wife he could show off to all his banker buddies. He probably is one of those guys who's ready to settle down and wants to find his wife. I imagine India in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle with him and it makes my gut knot.

I talk to Cindy about her job and her aspirations. She's definitely hot, and most men would be happy to have her as a lover. She's not the dip that Marina matched me with the last time, but she's about as interesting as yesterday's newspaper. I've been there and done that with a number of women just like Cindy. They're looking for a rich husband so they can work less and spend more time at the spa.

I don't want to be someone's conquest.

I can practically see the dollar signs in her eyes when I tell her about Pacifica and our current round of contract negotiations with the US military.

India isn’t like that. She's on my level. She's as ambitious as me. She wants to run her own show and make a real contribution in life. She wants to make a difference and build something that will last.

She is my equal.

When I glance over at Mr. Loathsome, I see someone else like me and it unnerves me. I can't help but think that he would be so much easier for her than I would be.

I'm standing there, half-listening to Cindy, the other half of my brain thinking of India and Mr. Loathsome, when Marina comes up to us.

"How are things?" she asks, her eyebrows wagging in that disgusting manner.

"Great," Cindy says, meaningfully.

Marina turns to me expectantly. I realize she wants me to wax poetic about the great time I'm having with her match for me.

"Oh, fantastic," I say, only a little too emphatically. "Of course." I give her a big smile but at that moment, the only thing I want to do is get another drink and down it as quickly as possible. "Excuse me," I say and point to the bar. "I'm going to get another drink. How about yours? Do you need a refill?"

Cindy shakes her head. "No, thanks. I'm good."

I turn to Marina, who apparently isn't going to leave. "You?"

"I'm fine as well."

I turn to the bar and exhale, my only wish that I can escape as soon as possible. First, I have to make sure that India will be following me home, because that was our deal and I intend to collect on my end.

I'm searching through the bar fridge for another beer when Marina walks over and stands beside me.

"Things are going really well tonight, I think," she says, her eyes bright.

"Oh, yeah?" I find my beer, open it, and drink down a third of it. "How so?"

"I think India really likes John. He's right up her alley. He's a veteran."

"He didn’t see any action," I say. "He wasn't deployed to a war zone."

"Whatever," Marina says. "He's rich, professional, alpha, and he's incredibly hot in the looks department. What's not to love?"

"Yeah," I say, silently fuming. "What's not to love?"

"I think she may have finally found someone who can give her what she needs."

What India needs is my cock deep inside her. That's what she needs.

Damn, woman. It's like Marina's deliberately rubbing my nose in the fact that India has met her perfect man. She's so unaware of the fact that India and I have been fucking behind the scenes, lusting after each other, but are reluctant to dive in head first because of our business relationship.

How can a matchmaker be so blind?