Kate moved her fingers around in her pockets. She felt like she didn’t really have an option. She had tried everything under the sun when it came to the dating world. Plus, the idea of having the attention of an intense, sexy shifter was very exciting.
She nodded frantically. “I am going to do my best,” she replied.
“Good,” Gerri said. “My next question is this, how good are you at table tennis?”
Kate laughed, having been thrown off by the question. “Um, anything athletic eludes me,” she replied. “I was always more of a book person.”
They had returned to the chandelier, and Gerri glanced up at it, the glimmer of the metal chain reflected in her deep gray eyes. “What about walking in heels?”
Kate looked down at her feet, which were currently decked out in comfortable running shoes. She didn’t wear heels as much as the average woman, but she felt damn hot on the rare occasions that she did. “I can do that,” Kate said, smiling.
Gerri took out a business card from her purse and handed it to Kate. Kate slipped it into her pocket, making sure Phil didn’t see.
“Give me a call after your shift, and we can discuss details,” Gerri said. “I promise you, darling, this is all going to be worth it.”
They said goodbye, and Kate watched as Gerri popped out a sleek umbrella and strolled casually in the rain. The woman was an enigma, but that seemed to comfort Kate.
The sight gave her a good feeling, even though she was apprehensive about the idea of meeting someone like a shifter. She couldn’t stop thinking about the idea of intensity. It was the intensity that she was truly missing in her life.
Kate worked the rest of her shift excited beyond belief. She finally had something to look forward to, and she had a feeling he wasn’t going to let her down, the way so many dates and men had over the years of putting herself out there.
THREE
DEVLIN
Devlin showed up to the table tennis tournament decked out in his best tracksuit and surrounded by his entourage. He was a man who always made sure he looked good for business reasons, but there was an extra reason to look nice that day, the possibility of meeting the woman Gerri was going to set him up with.
The men who came with him were his coworkers, other business owners, his driver, and his assistant. Work didn’t stop, even on days that he wasn't in the office, so he had to have someone who had their finger on the pulse at all times.
It was especially important because he hadn’t been able to concentrate since Gerri had agreed to set him up. He hated the idea of hoping for something so silly, like love, so he tried to play it cool with work, but all of that had completely failed.
Though he doubted she would get the job done so fast, he felt that bit of hope sparking in his chest as he approached the sign-in entrance. He felt a little ridiculous partaking in a table tennis tournament and, once again, didn’t want to show off his skills as a shifter.
But all of that went out the window the moment Gerri approached him at the table with a big smile on her face.
“Good afternoon,” she said, a twinkle in her eye.
“Good afternoon,” he replied politely, then raised a brow at her. “You are looking more excited than usual today, Gerri.”
She scoffed at him, pushing at his arm lightly. “There is always a reason to be excited,” Gerri said. “I think you will agree with me.”
Devlin moved away from the sign-in table, waiting for the ball to drop with Gerri. He had a feeling that she thrived on making people wait to hear their fate, like a psychic looking into a crystal ball.
He had known her long enough to joke with her about her uncanny ability to know people better than they knew themselves. He knew that there must be something beyond being a good observer of human and shifter nature, but he had never explored it deeply enough.
“I want to thank you for doing this for me,” Gerri said. “I know it isn’t exactly your cup of tea, but I appreciate it nevertheless.”
They ended up at the refreshment table near the bar before the tournament was set to begin. The irony of drinking and eating before getting physically active was not lost on Devlin. Luckily for him, it took a lot more alcohol to get him drunk than the average human.
Devlin smiled, leaning an arm against the bar and raising a hand to order two gin and tonics. “That sounds ominous,” he quipped.
Then Gerri glanced over her shoulder, looking at something in the distance. “I was thankful that I found you your very own paddle girl,” Gerri said with a wink. “Well, paddle woman, of course.”
The smug grin on Devlin’s face melted while the rest of the room grew silent. He thought perhaps, for a moment, that he had lost his hearing or was about to faint because the sight of the women before him was so magnificent the strength in his limbs nearly vanished completely.
She had dazzling red hair that stood out in the room like a raging, seductive fire. Her sparkling sequined cocktail dress glimmered beneath the fluorescent lighting of the venue, with a plunging neckline that traced the tantalizing sides of her bulbous breasts that looked like they were being held up as a decadent offering. Her eyes moved around the room like luminous spotlights, a green sea that captivated him with the sweetness of a siren’s song.
She was walking toward them with a tray hung over her neck filled with balls, paddles, and fine cigars. She looked to be searching for someone, and that someone was Gerri, who she greeted with a blindingly beautiful smile.