Free Project Date by Kate Perry Page B

it be postponed for a month. Or five.
    But my mom dashed my hopes. “It’ll be on the twenty-first.”
    Considering that was Daphne’s actual birthdate, I wasn’t especially shocked. But how was I going to find a viable temporary boyfriend, much less a soulmate, before then?
    However, I was surprised on one count. “That’s in two weeks. Can Daphne get the time off right away?”
    “When I spoke with her last night she said it’d be no trouble. Have you talked to her?”
    “Yes.” I didn’t tell her it’d been a week. I wasn’t in the mood to hear the lecture on keeping in touch with my only sister.
    Actually, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of this. It’d been a tough week, starting with Ian, peaking with Jeremy, and ending with Johnny.
    Johnny. Shudder. I had to nip that in the bud.
    All I wanted was a good workout and some time to myself. Searching for your soulmate—or even a temporary stand-in—was tiring work.
    “... number so maybe you could extend the invitation for me. In fact, how about if you two come to dinner this weekend?”
    I shook my head. “What was that, Mom?”
    She sighed. “Focus, Philomena.”
    “One of my employees needed my signature,” I lied. I hated it when she got that disappointed tone in her voice. The only thing that’d distract her was reminding her how important I was.
    “I was saying that I don’t know how to get in touch with Barry.”
    I stifled the instant panic in my chest and asked, “Why do you need to get in touch with Barry?”
    “Weren’t you listening at all, Philomena?” She didn’t bother to wait for the answer. I guess she already knew. “I wanted to personally invite him to Daphne’s party. And also to dinner this weekend.”
    Yikes! “He can’t make it this weekend, Mom.”
    Pause. “Why not?”
    “Um, he’s out of town. On business.” Thank God she wasn’t here in person—I’d never have gotten away with the lie.
    “Oh.” She sounded immediately appeased (no one turned down an imperial summons, even by proxy). “Well, that’s too bad. Maybe sometime next week.”
    I’ve taken Kung Fu for over nine years. I’m trained to recognize openings and opportunities.
    This moment was one of them.
    I knew if I was ever going to tell my mother that I’d broken up with Barry, this was the moment. The path was open and clear—I just had to seize it. “Listen, Mom. About Barry ...”
    “I can’t tell you how proud I am that you’ve found someone like him.”
    I grimaced. “Right. Um, Mom?”
    “I wish Daphne were more like you in that regard. She never talks about her personal life. Does she tell you if she’s dating anyone?”
    “Well, no.” Daphne and I had never been open with each other, despite the fact we were only thirteen months apart. Besides, Daphne wasn’t a dater. Her work defined who she was; nothing else was important. “But about Barry—”
    “I’m so happy about the balance you have in your life, Philomena. I hope on this trip Daphne sees how well-adjusted you are and decides to take your example.”
    Sigh or growl? It was a toss up; I could have gone either way. “Listen, Mom. I have to go. The production environment for one of the Web sites went down and I need to check the error logs.”
    “Okay, honey. I’ll talk to you later.”
    Always worked. Talk tech and my mom was so outta there. I said my goodbyes and hung up.
    Then I growled.
    The guys around me frowned at me from behind their monitors. I heard one of them mumble, “Someone get a leash.”
    I opened my mouth to tell him what he could do with the leash when the phone rang again.
    Never say I don’t learn from my mistakes. I checked the caller ID this time, but I didn’t recognize the number so I picked it up, figuring it had to be a vendor or something.
    It wasn’t. “Hello, Mena. It’s me.”
    Me, as in my archrival.
    I was about to ream Daphne for calling me at work. (What did my family think? That I lounged around and ate bonbons all