Page 42 of Sunset Serenade
Annalise was quiet. It seemed like the line had gone dead, but then her voice came through. “Fine. Why not. Let’s do it.”
Rose squealed. “Yay! You won’t regret it.”
It was clear Rose didn’t need him to micromanage her every move. She was brilliant all on her own. Any excuse he made to watch her work was just that: an excuse.
He was playing a dangerous game. Maybe she didn’t know why he was spending so much time with her, but he knew, and it had to stop. He was her boss and he was the COO of this company. He couldn’t spend his time pining after her. It was a waste of time, and inappropriate.
Craig allowed himself to stare at her for one last moment before slipping out of the room.
Craig did an excellent job staying away from Rose and found many ways to fill his time. In the meantime, Rose got Annalise on a date ten days later, and within a month, her review was in.
The match went brilliantly. Rose had done it again, and Annalise released a video detailing how she met her Prince Charming through SerenadeMe’s matchmaker. “Seriously, I had my doubts, but it wasamazing. I take back everything I said. I guess you really dohave to kiss a few frogs before you find your Prince Charming. Not literally, because ew, but you know.”
By the end of the week, the video had more views than the original, and the matchmaker service had over five hundred new applicants.
Craig was reeling with the news when Barney walked into his office and dropped a newspaper onto his desk. The headline wasMYSTERIOUSMATCHMAKER ELEVATES DATING APP TO A MATCH-MADE-IN-HEAVEN.
The author didn’t know much about the “mysterious matchmaker,” but they detailed how SerenadeMe’s stock prices had increased twenty percent.
“You struck gold with Rose,” Barney said. “She’s incredible. We’re on top of the world, man!”
Craig nodded. “I know. I can’t believe it.”
“I’m going to retire. In three months, I’m going to get on a boat and you’ll never see me again. We just have to close this deal with Brett and we’re out.”
He could never discuss this with Barney, but Craig was starting to wonder if he was going to miss working at SerenadeMe. He liked the employees, even the pushy ones from PR and legal, and he enjoyed responding to problems and crises. What would he do with himself in retirement? Craig didn’t want to own a boat. He could barely swim.
“But we’ve got a problem,” Barney said.
Craig snapped out of his daydream. “What’s that?”
“Brett’s insisting on meeting Rose. Says she’s a company asset.”
Thatwasa problem. “Tell him he can meet her when he buys the company. She’s a company secret.”
Barney laughed. “That’s not going to work. He’s been here almost every day this week, making up reasons for meetings. He says he needs to get to know every department.”
Craig rubbed his face with his hand. As impressed as he was with Rose, and as good as she was with handling everything they threw at her, she didn’t need to get dragged into this deal. She didn’t need to jump through hoops for Brett or have his beady eyes watching everything she did.
“Can’t do it,” Craig said.
“We don’t have a choice.” Barney shrugged. “What’s the big deal? Let him sit with her for a day or two. He says he wants a match of his own. Let him have the royal treatment, see how it all works.”
He waved a hand. “Rose is too valuable.”
A scowl formed on Barney’s face, his stare fixed. “Craig.”
“What?”
“You let Brett sit with the programmers for a day. And with PR.”
“That was different. They loved it,” Craig argued. “I could hear them laughing from down the hall. I think the programmers are convinced he’s a real cowboy.”
Barney tapped his hand on the desk. “This is something else. You’re being weird.”
“I’m not being weird. Rose…just…we can’t risk losing her.”
“I’m surprised you trust her so much.”
