Free Truly, Madly by Heather Webber Page B

voice snapped me out of my miserable reverie.
    ''LucyD, I'll have you know I was running this office years before you were born. Years before your father was born. So stop looking like that.''
    Actually, I hadn't been thinking of her at all, but she also didn't need to know about the skeleton in the woods. ''Sorry. Just scattered in my rush to get here.''
    ''I could have covered your first appointment.''
    ''What happened to just answering phones?''
    She smiled, much like the Cheshire cat. ''I'm being hypothetical.''
    ''Right.''
    The buzzer sounded on the door, and Dovie bounded to the intercom on Suz's desk.
    ''It's Mary Keegan.'' The sounds of the morning's traffic were a noisy accompaniment to the small voice.
    ''Come right up.'' Dovie released the button.
    ''My first appointment,'' I said, trying to tamp down a feeling of dread.
    ''Not quite.'' Dovie adjusted her bangles. ''Lola Fellows is in your office. And she doesn't seem happy.'' Leaning in, Dovie whispered, ''That woman scares me.''
    Lola? What was she doing back so soon?
    ''Go, go,'' Dovie urged. ''I'll handle things out here.''
    That's one of the many things I was afraid of.
    Taking a deep breath, I strode into my office. Lola stood, looking out the window into the narrow alley behind the building. She turned when I came in, arms folded against her chest, her eyes steeled for war.
    ''Good morning,'' I said, trying to keep my tone light.
    I set my tote bag on my desk and pulled out the files I'd brought home the night before. ''Would you like to sit down?''
    Lola glared. ''No, I do not want to sit down. What I want is my money back. You're fired, Ms. Valentine.''

EIGHT
    I sank into my chair. My worst fear was coming true—I was ruining the family business. I'd been in charge of the company for one day and it was already headed down the tubes.
    That had to be some kind of record.
    ''Can I ask why?'' I asked.
    Lola tapped her foot furiously. ''Adam Atkinson is why.''
    I recognized the name immediately. He was the man I'd found with an identical shimmery blue swatch as Lola's. ''Why don't you sit down for a minute?''
    Her red lips thinned. After a brief hesitation, she sat. Legs and arms crossed, she said, ''I knew I should have waited for your father to handle my case. Now I want nothing to do with Valentine, Inc. What a laugh.''
    Worried about losing one of my father's clients, I asked, ''Something wrong with Adam? All our clients are put through an extensive background check—''
    ''Yes, there's something wrong with him! He's, he's a . . .'' Her jaw locked. ''He's a sanitation engineer,'' she squeezed out between clenched veneered teeth.
    ''A sanitation engineer?'' I blinked. ''You mean a trashman?''
    She growled. ''Yes, a trashman. How on earth could you think I would match with a trashman ?''
    Letting out a deep breath, I leaned back in my chair, trying to tamp down my rising anger. ''I take it you spoke with him?''
    ''He's a trash man, Ms. Valentine. As soon as I learned of his profession the conversation was over. Our worlds would never blend.'' She jabbed a manicured finger in the air, its red tip flashing. ''Something you as a matchmaker should have realized before you embarrassed me in such a way. Can you imagine him at the symphony? At a corporate dinner? Dressed in Armani?'' She shuddered.
    I bit my tongue.
    She stood, shivering in self-righteousness. ''I want an apology, I want my money back, and I will have a word with your father when he returns.''
    Forcing myself to unclench my hands, relax my shoulders, and sit up straight, I wondered how best to handle this. As Lola strode to the door, I casually threw out, ''Do you know why my father, one of the wealthiest men in the country, one of the most dashing, debonair, sophisticated men you'll ever meet, has a trashman as a client?''
    Slowly, she turned around. ''I'm sure I don't care.''
    I rose from my chair and was surprised my legs didn't wobble. ''Adam, like you, is a client because love, true love,