you found Holly? And didn’t you confess to me over a bottle of Johnny Walker that that particular matchmaking service had loads of good-looking gold-diggers on their books?’
Richard frowned. ‘You’re right. I did say that. But, in hindsight, maybe I misjudged them. I was in a pretty cynical state of mind at the time I dated those women. They probably weren’t as bad as all that. I mean, Reece found Alanna using that agency. No one in their right minds would call her a gold-digger.’
‘There are always the exception to the rule,’ Mike said, his mind momentarily going to Reece’s lovely and very loving wife. ‘Alanna is that exception. Wives Wanted will have what I’m looking for. What I need from you, Rich, is their contact number. Do you still have it? If you don’t, I could ask Reece.’
‘I have it here somewhere,’ Richard admitted.
No use protesting further, he realised as he opened the top drawer in his desk and went through the pile of business cards he kept in the corner, looking for the one from Wives Wanted. Mike was clearly determined to do this. And who could blame him? A partnership with Chuck Helsinger was the chance of a lifetime.
Still…
Holly wasn’t going to believe him when he told her about this tonight. Mike was the most anti-marriage guy they knew. Anti-marriage. Anti-love. And anti-women.
No, that was going too far. He wasn’t anti-women. There was always some beautiful dolly-bird on his arm. Women buzzed around Mike like bees to the honeypot. Richard wasn’t too sure why, since Mike wasn’t conventionally handsome. Holly said it was because he was tall, dark and dangerous-looking.
Richard conceded that Mike’s macho appearance might be the main contributing factor to his attractiveness. He had wall-to-wall muscles. And then some.
He also rarely dressed in suits, favouring jeans and leather jackets. Black, like the one he had on today.
Whatever it was, Mike was never lacking in female company. Fortunately, Holly didn’t go for that type. She preferred his own more conservative, well-groomed style. Thank God.
‘Here it is,’ he said as he picked up the card and handed it across to Mike. ‘The woman who runs the place is called Natalie Fairlane. Her name and number are on the back. She’ll want you to come in for an interview before she matches you up with anyone. She never takes on a client over the internet. I suggest you don’t tell her up front what your agenda is. Ms Fairlane takes her matchmaking services very seriously. One other little word of warning, too. The women on the Wives Wanted database whom I dated were all drop dead gorgeous. It might be wise if you didn’t pick one who’s too beautiful. Otherwise, it could be hard for a man like you to keep your hands off.’
Mike bristled. ‘What do you mean, a man like me?’
‘You like your sex, Mike. Don’t pretend you don’t. You’ve had more girlfriends in the few years I’ve known you than the stock market has ups and down. I think you’re very wise not consummating this marriage. But will you be able to resist temptation? The reality is that during the time that you’re going to be…“married”—’ Richard made quotation-like signs with his fingers ‘—you and your new bride will be together quite a bit. You’ll have to share a cabin on Helsinger’s yacht, for starters. If she’s too pretty, you might find it hard to keep your hands off the merchandise.’
‘You underestimate me, Rich. I can do celibate. No problem.’ He’d been doing it for a few weeks now. ‘For the amount of money at stake here, I’d become a monk for life.’
Richard didn’t look too convinced. ‘If you say so. Now don’t forget what I said about Natalie Fairlane,’ he added when Mike stood up. ‘Watch what you say to her.’
‘I think you’re being a bit naïve about the owner of Wives Wanted,’ Mike replied. ‘Ms Fairlane is in the marriage business strictly for the money, just like ninety-nine per cent of her female clients. Wave the right amount under her nose and the old bag’ll find me the right girl before you can say Jack Robinson.’
A wry smile pulled at Richard’s mouth as he watched Mike leave. He’d love to be a fly on the wall when his friend met the formidable Ms Fairlane.
Mike might be right about her being as mercenary as some of the women on the Wives Wanted database. He didn’t know her well enough to judge. But an old bag, she was not.
CHAPTER TWO
‘MUM, this is terrible,’ Natalie said. ‘How on earth did you and Dad let your finances get into such a mess?’
Even as she asked the question Natalie already knew the answer. Her father had always been attracted to get-rich-quick schemes. He wasn’t a gambler in the ordinary sense of the word. He didn’t waste money at casinos or on the racetrack, but he was a sucker for the kind of investment or business idea that sounded too good to be true, and usually was.
Natalie hadn’t realised what a poor businessman he’d been when she’d been growing up. She’d never lacked for anything. As an only child, she’d actually been rather spoilt.
It wasn’t till Natalie had grown up that she’d realised her parents lived mainly on credit.
She’d been helping her mother out with her housekeeping budget for quite some time—slipping her a hundred dollars or so every time they saw each other. But now, it seemed that things had really hit rock-bottom. Her father could no longer continue with his latest venture—a lawn-mowing franchise he’d foolishly borrowed money on top of his already hefty mortgage to buy, and which required a fit young man to run.
Natalie’s dad was reasonably fit. But he was fifty-seven.
Last month, he’d fallen and broken his ankle.
Naturally, he hadn’t taken out any income-protection insurance. What sane insurance company would have given it to him, anyway?
The bank was threatening to repossess their house if they didn’t meet their mortgage, which was already running months in arrears. Natalie could cover a couple of months’ payments, but not the many thousands of dollars they were behind.
Which meant her parents would shortly have no money and no place to live.
Natalie shuddered at the thought of having them live with her. She was thirty-four years of age, long past the time when you enjoyed living with your parents.
On top of that, she ran her business from home, using one of the two bedrooms in her terraced house as an office-cum-computer room, and her downstairs living room as her reception and interviewing area.
Things would get very difficult with two more adults in the place. Especially two miserable ones.
‘Don’t you worry, dear,’ her mother said. ‘I’m going to get a job.’
Natalie rolled her eyes. Her mother was as big a dreamer as her father. She hadn’t been properly employed for over twenty years. She’d been busy helping her silly husband with all his crazy schemes. On top of that, she was even older than Natalie’s dad.
No one was going to employ a fifty-nine-year-old woman with no certifiable qualifications.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Mum,’ Natalie said more sharply than she intended. ‘It’s
