Free Operation Soulmate by Diane Hall Page B

personal trainer type with the hot bod.
         “Hi, I am Antonio,” said an overly polite-sounding voice coming from behind her. She turned to see a tall, Spaniard with thick, dark curls and penetrating eyes. Hmmm... Not bad. Not Toby but not bad. Ben was really coming through for her today. But then, of course he would. Why wouldn’t he? That was the whole point of this excursion, surely. What on earth was Brogan’s problem?
         “Hi, I’m Geraldine,” She said, offering her hand for the second time that morning... From across the room, she could feel Toby’s eyes burning into her now, and with her peripheral vision, she was sure she could see Ben smirking. He seemed to be everywhere at once and aware of everything that was happening in the room, all the time.
         By the time they actually went into the seminar, Geraldine was exhausted. She’d never seen Brogan looking so happy. She was like the proverbial kid in the candy-store and was, on reflection, the perfect choice for the assignment.
           “Thanks for doing this Brog,” she said squeezing her arm, affectionately, as they took their seats.
           “Are you kidding me hon?? I wouldn’t have missed this for the world !!”
           The seminar itself was amazing, and just the perfect thing for shoring up Geraldine's optimism about the rest of the day ahead. She couldn’t help noticing that another really gorgeous guy seemed to have made an effort to sit next to her; she’d also noticed him watching her earlier. She glanced across their row just in time to catch a big, ‘thumbs down’ from Ben. He seemed to be rubbing one of his fingers. That wasn’t a code she remembered. What was finger-rubbing a code for? Geraldine panicked for a second. What did it mean ? Did this man have chubby fingers? Ben knew she had an aversion to chubby fingers. She glanced down at the hunk’s hands, just in time to see him struggling surreptitiously to remove a thin wedding band. Geraldine was disgusted. She looked back at Ben, and shook her head to demonstrate her indignation but for some reason, he pretended not to see her and kept his eyes on the speaker and on the rest of the room. Message received and understood.
    He was a consummate professional.
          Eventually, the first tea-break came and Ben was already signalling separation again.
         “So, what did you think of the first part, Geraldine? Or can I call you Gerry?” It was Toby, gratifyingly back for more. Ben was always so right! Toby’s return increased her confidence enormously and signalled a turning point in her approach. She could almost feel the neurons shifting. This time, she even found herself feeling relaxed enough to start flirting with him a little. Antonio hovered in the background, keeping her in view, while listening to an older gentleman wax lyrical on the subject of mind-maps. He looked a bit bored. Geraldine jumped when her phone, suddenly, rang unexpectedly. She’d completely forgotten to switch it off during the seminar. Ben’s name appeared on the display. What could he possibly want now?! She hadn’t even said anything yet!
         “Excuse me, just a second please Toby,” She said apologetically. “Hello!” she whispered into the phone, smiling nervously at Toby before turning away from him slightly.
         “Okay,” said Ben “now listen to this carefully. You’re going to have to force the issue with this guy. There’s someone else interested in him, someone very persistent. In order to get him to make a move, you’re going to have to do something drastic or it just won’t happen.”
          “Okay, I’m listening” she mumbled quietly and cryptically into the phone, quickly submerging her irritation in light of Ben’s proven wisdom.
        “Now, when you get off the phone, make your excuses and tell Toby that something has come up at home. You have to leave. Your friend needs you. You make nice - good to