The Matchmaker Bride (The Bride Series) (2 page)

“We have a reputation to maintain, my dear,” Janice Stone, CEO of Stone Inc. Matchmaking Services explained in her faint British accent.
She sipped her tea from her tea cup as she sat in the boardroom talking to her latest recruit.

Sophie was sure the woman was scrutinizing her choice of clothing by the way her eyes scanned her entire body from top to bottom. This was, after all, an elite agency. She was supposed to be a preschool teacher, not this. But she had no choice right now. Rubbing noses with the rich and famous was not really her thing, not that she had anything against them. She was just more low-key, down to earth. She found herself feeling terribly awkward in a lot of social situations. But, oh, God, she really needed this job.

“We all want love, dear, or at least companionship. That’s why matchmaking and online dating are
big
business,” Mrs. Stone continued, eyeing Sophie as she sat before her. “One must present a level of professionalism in manners and appearance, discretion and…well, knowledge. You must be thorough in your assessment of the client to provide a perfect match.”

“Right.
Got it.”
Sophie swallowed hard. “I mean…I understand, Janice.”

She noticed her boss flinch.

“I mean Mrs. Stone.” Sophie corrected herself,
then
noticed Mrs. Stone calmed down a bit. She reminded Sophie of an older British comedy actor who played Hyacinth Bucket pronounced “bouquet” on Keeping
Up
Appearances. She was very old-fashioned and proper. This was not going to be an easy task but she was determined not to screw this up. She just couldn’t afford to. Luckily she’d passed all the security checks and references since she was a qualified teacher who had gone through meticulous police background checks and personality tests. Still, she had a private situation that she’d gotten herself into that needed to be sorted out fast. She loved a job where she could make people happy, namely disadvantaged kids like her volunteer work she did on Saturday mornings but still, matching up couples was a good deed. Both parties would get what they desired in the other, whether for love or companionship. She’d have to learn to like it or it’d show in her job. But for her, she had no intention of getting involved again after her own personal heartbreak which left her with a temporary moment of emptiness and despair. Being single was just fine for her.

“Good. Now, let’s go through the rules of the agency again.” Mrs. Stone took another sip of her tea and placed the cup back on the saucer. She wore heavy makeup and bright red lipstick with a wide-brimmed hat fit for the Ascot Racecourse. Her British accent was somewhat subtle but ever so present.

“Rule number one, privacy is a must. Rule number two, under no circumstance do you get involved with a client. Rule three; do not get personal with said client. Rule four; be accurate in your findings. Rule five, honesty and professionalism are crucial,” she said carefully.

Sophie nodded thoughtfully as she took mental note. She’d heard from a friend of hers that Mrs. Stone was a society woman with countless connections. You screw anything up and you’d be blacklisted faster than a speeding freight train. She had no intention of screwing up ever. Oh, God, she wished she could just teach and work with children. She felt more comfortable around children. What was she doing there? She really didn’t like working around adults with the politics, backbiting and rivalry.

“Now, the procedures have been read, I trust.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Any questions about procedures before I present you with your client’s file?”

“Well, you did mention that it would be necessary do a surveillance of some kind. Is that right?”

Mrs. Stone rolled her eyes and leaned forward in her chair. “My dear, it’s not quite a surveillance…it’s more of a reality check to ensure the applicants are who they say they are. One can only rely on the internet so much. We don’t need to divulge exactly how those checks are followed through to the client. That information stays here at the agency. Besides, the only thing that’s unethical is people misrepresenting themselves. That’s why Stone has always had a one hundred percent success rate. No other agency could boast that. Anyway, let’s get down to your responsibilities,” she finished, not inviting any more questions.

Sophie could tell that she was slightly peeved and tried not to ask any more silly questions.

“First of all, we sent a few profiles without the pictures at his request to Mr. Bradley who is in need of a wife for a specific period of time.”

“Specific period of time?”
Sophie asked incredulously.

Again, the eye roll followed by another verbal lashing from Mrs. Stone. “My dear, did you not read any of our offerings? We do marriages of…let’s just say convenience as well as marriages for companionship and love. Both have their suitable purposes,” she emphasized, flipping through some folders on the desk.

“For instance, one of the ladies he has chosen is the daughter of one of my dear clients, Lady
Dextworth
,” Mrs. Stone continued, eyeing the contents of one of the manila folders. “In order to gain her inheritance she will need to marry by the time she turns thirty, which is soon. Her name is
Sandrina
Dextworth
but she prefers to be called Sandy. Anyway, Mr. Bradley needs a wife for at least thirty days for a personal reason he did not disclose. Do you see how both parties win? We’ve matched them perfectly. In fact, I’m quite pleased with this match. You will be very careful not to mess this one up, dear. Your background check and references are unimpeachable. I trust that I can rely on you.”

Sophie felt her heart beat in her throat. She really wanted to ask her boss why she would trust her with such an important match.

“Yep, I’m your…woman.” Sophie felt her stomach squeeze. “I mean, you can absolutely count on me, Mrs. Stone.”

“Very well, then. You will meet tomorrow at two o’clock in the afternoon at his office and find out what type of person he really is before we allow both parties to meet next week. We often put a lot of time into our matches; that’s
why
we have a one hundred percent success or satisfaction rate and that’s why our fees are what they are.” Mrs. Stone handed Sophie the file with Carlos Bradley’s preliminary information.

When her friend told Sophie about the agency she really could not believe it. She could not believe there were such secretive matchmaking societies like this one. But still it was a job and one she needed. She was grateful that she had a solid background and had worked for police services as a civil servant prior to going back to college and switching careers to childcare.

Her eyes widened when she saw the fee code on the front of the file.
Holy
crapola
.
That was quite a tall fee to pay to be matched up.

In the past, Sophie had been matched up with her now ex-fiancé, her first real love, so she thought. He was her very first and only love so far. She’d trusted him and thought that she meant as much to him as he did to her.
Boy,
was she naïve. She gave it up to someone who didn’t really care for her. She had a condition that first appeared during childhood and during that period of time it was difficult for her to form relationships but he was less than understanding. Since then, she’d been back to more extensive therapy and racked up a lot of credit card bills for her treatments but was slowly paying them off. They were matched up by a mutual friend. Of course, she found out later that the mutual friend, her
best
friend, only wanted to get him off her shoulder because she had so many guys swooning over her. But she obviously had a change of heart when she saw how happy Sophie was with him.

Her face heated up like a furnace as the thought slid into her mind of Randy the charmer with her best friend from childhood.
God,
did that sting her ego and smash her heart into a million pieces. She lost what she thought
was
a best friend and a boyfriend all in one go when she caught them together. She cringed and squeezed her eyes shut at the thought. To make matters worse, they were getting married soon and all their mutual friends would be in attendance.
Everyone except Sophie.
Her parents felt so horrid for her. She really wanted them to feel that she’d gotten over it and that it didn’t hurt as bad so she buried herself in her work and left the police services where they had both worked together. Well, she got over Randy alright—just not the betrayal. She never got too close to anyone again after that.

Mrs. Stone peeked over her specs as she surveyed Sophie’s eager expression. Sophie pulled the file open and froze when she took out the 8x10 colour photo of the potential match for Lady D’s daughter, Sandy.

      
Oh. My. God!

       To say the gorgeous man staring back at her in the photo stole her breath away was an understatement. But she had to remember, she was there to match him with Sandy, not with herself.

So why was her heart beating hard and fast in her chest? Why did she suddenly have butterflies in her stomach? And why couldn’t she tear her gaze away from this devilishly sexy man in the photo? He had the most beautiful dark, captivating eyes that she’d ever seen. He was strikingly good-looking though he looked a little tired in the picture. His hair was midnight black and cut short. He had a smooth rich honey-tanned complexion. Even with the slight shadow of unshaven stubble on his face that made him look more like a corporate bad boy, he looked deliciously handsome.
Appealing.

How could this man not get his own bride?

Judging by his specs, he was the typical tall, dark and handsome at six foot four inches and filthy rich. This matchmaking venture had just gotten more challenging than Sophie originally thought.

3

The next day Carlos
Bradley  leaned
back in his executive leather chair at his desk in his office. He was on the phone making another deal for his latest software design. He fiddled with the note on his desk from his attorney. He was drained to the max but had a lot on his plate right now. It appeared that Tessa was trying to smear his reputation as a womanizer and therefore unfit to care for his sister.  He could not believe he was really going to go through with meeting the representative with the matchmaking agency but this agency guaranteed results and results were what he wanted.
Now.
This was crazy. He hadn’t yet seen the woman but she would be perfect for his purpose. She only wanted to be married to fulfill an obligation to her father’s lawyers. How brilliant. How perfect. No strings attached. Just the way he liked it. Romance would certainly complicate things. And that was the last thing he needed now. He’d had his share of drama queens going after his self-made fortune. After all, his father had given him nothing in
  life
but solid advice. Learn to rely on yourself. He smirked without humor. He was
glad  Julian
came through for him with this hook up. This woman had her own fortune and wouldn’t want any of his or his
name
. Perfect. He glanced at his appointment schedule on the desk, Sophie Wilson – 2:00 p.m. She sounded perfect, like a nice elder lady who could easily be a grandmotherly type or fairy godmother of some sort. Ms. Sophie Wilson sounded like a widow of some sort. Still, Mrs. Stone herself said that his file would be handled with discreet, protective care just as if it were his own mother doing the match. She sounded very professional and warm on the phone and her success rate had been checked out. He’d received and checked the referrals himself just to be sure Julian hadn’t misunderstood the agency.

* * *

Sophie’s heart thumped hard and fast in her chest. She could not believe she was stalking a man.
A gorgeous guy at that.
Sophie really wished she could have met her own Mr. Right. She took out her binoculars and peeked as he walked into the building. Did he say hi to the cleaner sweeping outside his office? Yes, he did! Bingo. Check one for Carlos. Okay, so he wasn’t a snob. Good! She loved that in a man. Wait a minute. Sophie had to remember that he was for someone else. Later, the next step would be to interview him. He even passed the pusher test. The agency arranged earlier for someone to bump into him on the street, to see what his reaction would be. Would he turn around and slug the guy? Did he have hidden anger issues that could explode during his courtship? Would he curse, laugh or shrug it off?
Hmm.
She felt guilty for going through these investigative steps but reminded herself it was for the best match just to ensure he really is who he said he was. It was a long morning for sure but it was a necessary part of the job.