Page 3 of Djinn in Love

Dammit, why was he always off balance with this woman?

“You seem upset. Perhaps it’s best if you tell me what’s troubling you,” Dominique said, drawing his attention away from Veronica.

A flash of annoyance spiked his temper again, but he ground his molars together and took a deep breath.

“I would prefer to deal with Veronica. She has been my point of contact since I started with your agency.”

Good. His voice sounded calmer. More even.

Dominique opened her mouth, probably to argue with him, but Veronica interrupted. “Of course, Mr. Bayat. We can talk in the conference room. It’s this way.”

Jasper followed her as she rose from her chair and walked toward a small room to the right. The wall between the front part of the office and the room was glass, but they wouldn’t be overheard inside.

When Veronica shut the door behind them, Jasper turned to face her.

“How was your date this weekend?” she asked.

He couldn’t control his frown. “Gillian was a nice woman, but we weren’t a good fit. That’s why I’m here today.”

Veronica tilted her head, nodding and listening without interrupting, so Jasper continued.

“I told you when I signed up that I needed a date for my brother’s wedding. The event is this coming weekend. Even if Gillian was a good match for me, she likely wouldn’t want to attend a four-day family event with me, even though we would have separate rooms.”

He realized that the space between them was much larger than he wanted, so he moved around the table until he could see her face clearly.

“I don’t have enough time to keep up with this trial and error. I need to confirm whoever my date will be this week. My brother is breathing down my neck about this because the wedding planner needs my date’s name for the place cards at the reception. My mother is foaming at the mouth because I won’t tell her anything about who I’m bringing and insisting on introducing me to a slew of “suitable” woman, none of whom I’m actually interested in dating. This process isn’t working for me.”

Veronica nodded. “You’re right. Your date probably wouldn’t be comfortable spending four days with you, even if you met her and hit it off today. But waiting until six weeks before your brother’s wedding to start looking for a date might not have been the best choice.”

She was right. But godsdammit, he was a busy male. And he hadn’t realized his mother was going to insist he have a date or provide one for him, whether he agreed or not. Fuck. He had to get back to his plan.

“None of that matters. My sole purpose in coming here was to find a date for my brother’s wedding. A woman I wouldn’tmind spending time with. Someone I’d like to get to know better. You haven’t fulfilled your end of the bargain…yet.”

Veronica frowned at him. “What do you meanyet?”

“So far, you’re the only woman I’ve met through Mystical Matchmakers who I can tolerate. And, since you haven’t found another woman to go with me, I think you should be my date.”

There was a long silence as she stared at him in obvious disbelief.

“If this is a joke, it isn’t funny,” she stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

The hint of hurt in her expression made him clumsier than he already was. Jasper found himself fumbling his words. Something that very rarely happened to him. Most people accused him of being too blunt, but there was something about Veronica that left him nearly tongue-tied.

“It’s not a joke and it definitely isn’t funny,” he said. “You owe me a date and, since you didn’t manage to find a suitable match for me, you’ll have to do the job.”

“Do the job?”

“Either that or I cancel my membership and demand a full refund.”

“We don’t offer refunds unless you’ve been with our service for at least three months,” she replied. “It was in the contract you signed.”

“Then, I’m sure there are a lot of your current and potential clients that would like to know your service isn’t effective or worth the cost.”

Oh, holy shit, this conversation was going off the rails and in no way resembled what he intended to say to her. How had this happened? Then, he remembered the man who’d smiled and winked at her and found himself grinding his teeth again. That was right, he saw a man flirting with a woman he wanted to make his own.

He watched as Veronica closed her eyes and lowered her head, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Shit, shit, shit. This wasn’t what he wanted. He tried to find the right words, a way out of this mess, but before he could come up with something that wasn’t completely asinine, Veronica was speaking.

“We’ll talk to Dominique. She could take over your file. Her magic makes her especially suited to finding your perfect match. I’ll also suggest she offer you a refund since you did tell me that this was an important weekend for you and your family, and it was vital that you have a date.”

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