Veronica was silent for a long moment. Dylan figured that the woman wanted to continue the discussion and was trying to determine the best way to go about it.
"Don't worry, Ms. Salt," Dylan continued. "I don't have any expectations when it comes to Clay. We've only been out once, but it went better than any of the two dozen dates I went on while I was using the dating apps. If it doesn't go well tomorrow or we fizzle out, then I'll definitely be open to other clients you want to match me with."
"All right, Ms. Hayes. Have a nice day and I hope your date tomorrow goes well. Please don't hesitate to call if you have any other questions or you want to meet someone else."
"I'll call if I do," Dylan said. "Have a good day."
They hung up and Dylan finally put her phone away.
Veronica Salt had given her a lot to think about.
Was she making a mistake by refusing to see anyone else while she was seeing Clay? They'd only been on one date, but there was something there, some sort of spark, and Dylan wanted to explore that.
It had been far too long since she'd felt anything like that for any man. Even longer since she genuinely liked a man after one date.
Maybe she was being impetuous, but the decision didn't feel like a poor one. As she had told Veronica, she had no expectations. Even if things didn't work out, she didn't feel as though it would be a mistake.
She was doing exactly what Dominique Proxa had encouraged her to do when she went in for her initial interview.
She was giving Clay a chance.
Dylan sighed and gave the flowers one more sniff before she left the office.
She had a lot to do today.
ChapterSix
Veronica Salt was worried as she hung up the phone.
While she was glad that Dylan Hayes had clicked with her first match, she was still concerned that the woman was setting herself up for heartbreak.
“What’s wrong?”
Veronica looked up to find her boss, Dominique Proxa, standing in the doorway between their offices, her arms wrapped around her waist and her shoulder propped up against the doorjamb. Even in the relaxed stance, she could have been posing for a magazine cover.
“I just got off the phone with one of our clients, Dylan Hayes,” Veronica said. “She went on a date with her first match last night and I contacted her to follow up. I also offered to put her in touch with Nathan Beaumont because I thought he would be a good fit for her.”
When Veronica stopped speaking, Dominique asked, “Why did that put a frown on your face?”
“She declined to meet Nathan. She said that she clicked with Clay Dugan last night and they’d already set up a second date. She didn’t want to go out with anyone else until after she spoke with him about it.”
“And you’re worried that Clay doesn’t feel the same way and she’s going to be disappointed?” Dominique asked.
Veronica nodded.
“Did you mention any of this to her?”
“Of course, but she said that she would discuss it with Clay and accept whatever his decision was.”
Dominique straightened from her leaning position and walked over to Veronica’s desk. She sat on the corner, a position she often took when she and Veronica were brainstorming. “You can’t take this on, Veronica. We can set our clients up with people we know would be good matches for them, but they also have to make their own decisions. If Dylan doesn’t want to meet anymore matches for now, we won’t offer them. We can call her every week to check in and offer help or advice, but it’s up to her whether she takes it or not. The same with Clay Dugan.” Dominique smiled. “Though he didn’t like either of the first two matches I sent him enough to ask for a second date, so this is promising.”
“Still…” Veronica said. She didn’t finish the thought because she knew her boss was right. She shouldn’t be investing so much of herself in this job. People, well, supernatural species that is, were going to do what they wanted to do. She could only offer them advice and help when they asked for it or accepted it when offered.
Dominique patted her arm. “How about this? You call Clay and check in with him about his date last night, just like you did with Dylan. Mention that you might have found a match for him and see what he says.”
“But I haven’t found a match for him,” Veronica replied.
Dominique sighed. “I know that and you know that, but if you’re worried he’s going to keep going on dates with others while Dylan is seeing only him, you’ll have your answer.” She paused. “Just remember that you may not like it, though.”
