Chapter Ten
Aton
Jessie, the female with the Intergalactic Dating Agency, was in her office. Caid, the interloper, watched Earth vids in the waiting room. I paced the hall, my kel boots squeaking. I squinted to block out the flickering overhead lights. The strobe effect was giving me a headache.
On the phone, Toni had sounded concerned I was at the IDA, but her anger had cooled, for which I was grateful. Still, I anxiously awaited her arrival. I needed to fix matters between us.
I blamed myself for what had happened. I never intended to place Toni in any kind of jeopardy—I’d only tried to find a solution to a dilemma. If I’d followed the rules, I wouldn’t have been permitted to come to Earth, and I wouldn’t have met her.
Toni burst out of the stairwell—this hut didn’t have one of those metal boxes that moved between floors. “Aton!” Relief and joy gladdened her voice.
I caught her in my arms. “I missed you so much.” I inhaled her wonderful scent. We turned our heads, and our mouths clung in a kiss that made everything better.
“I’m sorry I broke the rules, threatened your work, and made you angry.” I regretted having to do what I did, although I didn’t know what I could have done differently and still come to Earth. If I’d guessed, my former friend had intended to dash my chances, I never would have asked him for a recommendation, but how could I have foreseen that?
“No, it was my fault. I overreacted. I’m happy you’re here—by whatever means it took.” She grabbed my head between her palms and stared into my eyes. “I love you, Aton. Having met you, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
My heart swelled with happiness, and I pressed a hand to my chest. “You are the life in my existence. I was afraid you hated me because I jeopardized your work.”
“Never. I’m so sorry for making you feel that way.” Grabbing my arm, she glanced at the door leading to the waiting room outside Jessie’s office, before drawing me away a couple of steps. “However…we need to be cautious about what we say. What have you told Jessie so far?” she asked in a hushed tone.
“Only that I’m your mate—not Caid.”
“And you didn’t mention anything about your lack of a visa?”
“No.”
“What exactly did you say?”
“I told her you were unhappy with me, and I wanted to make things right between us. Before I could say more, Caid walked in, we growled at each other, I almost punched him, and she called you.”
“Here’s the plan: we keep quiet about the visa and how you stowed away. If we’re lucky—she’ll assume your comment about making it right means you want to get rid of Caid.”
“I do want to get rid of Caid.”
His affections were as fickle as the storms on Dakon. After showing up at Toni’s hut and attempting to claim her, he’d strolled into the Intergalactic Dating Agency and tried to woo Jessie with terms of terms of endearment and flattery. I’d heard that type of behavior was called flirting, and men who did it weren’t truly interested in the object of their attentions.
He acted like Jessie was the most beautiful female on two planets, when in reality, while very congenial, she was unassuming in appearance, with unattractive orange hair, washed-out blue eyes, and polka dots scattered across her too-pale nose.
Better that he pursued her, and left my female alone, but his mercurial behavior proved he couldn’t be trusted.
“Caid is going to be the answer to our problems. We want Jessie to focus on him and not you.” She looked up at me. “When we see her, please let me do the talking. Just agree with whatever I say. The facts are what they are, but we need to draw her attention away from them.”
“Isn’t that lying?”
“No. I am going to be honest, but selective. Besides, all’s fair in love and war. We’re about to go into battle for love.”
“On my planet, we say all’s fair in love and courtship.”
* * * *
Jessie stood up as Toni, Caid, and I entered. “Thank you all for being here. Please have a seat.” She gestured to some chairs. One of those ubiquitous screens all the humans used took up a big portion of her work table.
Horns twitching, Caid paused in front of it. “Hello again, gorgeous. Did you miss me?”
Jessie gave him a brushoff with a little shake of her head. “Sit down, Caid.”
He flashed an unrepentant grin and sprawled in a chair.
Jessie folded her hands on the table. “Let me apologize to each of you for the mix-up. I assure you this is the first time two men were matched to the same woman.” She nibbled on her lip, and the open gaze she fixed on my mate appeared sincere. “From what I’ve gathered from Caid, you’re interested in dating Aton, is that correct?”
“Yes,” Toni replied, “I’ve already established a connection with him.”
“You’re fully satisfied with the match?”
She smiled at me. “Absolutely.”
“We’re mates,” I couldn’t resist adding, although I’d promised not to speak.
“Then, we’re good there. For Caid”—she glanced at him, and then averted her eyes—“we’ll find someone else. The database of women seeking men is much larger than men seeking women, so I’m sure we’ll identify someone quickly.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Caid straightened. “I’ve since met my female.”
“You have?” The bridge between Jessie’s colorless brows creased as if her head ached. “Who?”
“You.”
“I’m flattered, but I can’t be your date.” She let him down more gently than he deserved. “That would be against the rules. The Intergalactic Dating Agency has policies against staff fraternizing with clients.”
“I don’t want to fraternize with you. I want to have relations with you,” he said. “I would like to caress your beautiful plump body and—”
“OMG, he’s a hashtag waiting to happen,” my mate muttered.
“Caid!” Jessie blushed pink to the roots of her orange hair. “That is inappropriate. Please don’t say any more. You completed the assimilation class, didn’t you? Didn’t the instructor go over how to talk to women?”
He nodded. “But, she also said etiquette relaxed with one’s female—and that’s you, sugar.”
“I am not your female or your sugar, but the agency is going to find you a woman. I’ll oversee this project personally to ensure you get the best match as fast as possible.”
“I would like to be your project.” His voice lowered, and his horns twitched suggestively.
Toni smothered a laugh. “He’s like a duck—he imprinted on the first woman he saw.”
“Then, I’m like a duck, too,” I whispered. “Because I imprinted on you when I saw you for the first time. It is like that with Fated mates.”
Jessie rubbed her temples. “I’m glad that everything worked out for you two, but the glitch concerns me. The system shouldn’t allow two matches; it defaults to the one with the highest compatibility rating. I would hate to see this happen again. Some aliens can be territorial. I’m hoping this occurred because of the immigration visa error. I don’t know why the department didn’t notify us of Aton’s approval.” She sighed. “I’m going to file a trouble ticket. I hope nothing I did caused the double match, but if it was, I’ll accept full responsibility.”
“There’s no need to file a report,” Toni said.
“Well, it’s required procedure, and I need to get to the bottom of this. I stake my reputation and honor on the integrity of the matches I oversee.”
“How long have you been with the Intergalactic Dating Agency?” Toni asked.
“Five years—the last two as match coordinator.”
“And what does your job involve?”
“I review the computer matches. We rely on personality assessment testing to pair our couples. A computer program analyzes the data and makes the selection, but a real person—an IDA match coordinator—reviews it. The personal touch is especially important in hard-to-place cases.” She glanced at Caid.
He winked.
She sighed.
“Do you enjoy your work?” Toni asked in the same tone she used in court.
“It’s my dream job!” Jessie’s face lit up. “I love helping people find true love and live happily ever after. It’s the most rewarding job in the galaxy! I would hate to lose my position.” Her mouth drooped.
“Like if they found out you made a big mistake?” Toni asked.
“Yeah. I might be reprimanded, and a mark would go on my record. Or, I could get demoted or fired.”
“How many matches have you reviewed in your two years as coordinator?”
“Oh, thousands—at least. Twenty-five hundred maybe?”
“In two thousand five hundred matches, how many mix-ups of this nature have occurred?”
“Just this one.”
“You’ve done an exceptional job. Aton and I are happy together. Caid will get his mate. It would be a shame if someone who loves her job and is as good at it as you are got fired. Maybe…maybe…you don’t need to report this? I won’t say anything. Aton won’t say anything.” She glanced at Caid. “I don’t think Caid wants to see you lose your job.”
“I will do anything to protect my mate,” he said.
Jessie nibbled on her lip. “I have a responsibility…”
“Do yourself a favor. You deserve it.”
“I guess I could wait and see what happens…if it occurs again, then I could file a report.”
Toni nodded. “That’s a good way to proceed.”
“We don’t want to see you get into trouble,” I agreed.
“Absolutely not,” Caid said.
“That’s what I’ll do, then. Thank you so much for your discretion. I appreciate it,” Jessie said.
The meeting concluded, and the three of us left her office. Caid proceeded to the stairwell, leaving Toni and me alone in the hallway.
“You were good,” I said in awe. She’d never once uttered an untruth, but steered the situation in our favor.
Toni blew on her fingernails and polished them against her shoulder. “Thank you.” She grinned.