Each date she made consisted of two parts: a meal and an activity. The clients were responsible for paying for the date, which usually fell on the guy, so Morgan made sure she had a section in her questionnaire that addressed how much each person was willing to pay on top of their DateMakerfee.
Most students didn’t think twice about dropping a decent chunk of change of a date. They were rich kids going to a private college in Florida, after all. But there were always outliers, like Morgan, and she wanted to be sensitive to everyone’s dateexpectations.
When Morgan was finished writing out the plan, she copied it. Part of the fun was delivering the plan to both parties. Each one would have an outline of what the date would entail, with a picture of their match. After that, they were ontheirown.
A couple of weeks later, Morgan would do a quick follow-up interview with each person. What they liked about their date, what they didn't like. If they’d foundtruelove.
This would be the fifth couple she set up. Not too shabby for such a short time, and yet she wanted to do more. She set the date pages on the counter, then spent a few minutes moving pictures around. She had two girls who might be a match for one guy. Morgan also had two other girls who were well-suited for another guy. How would shechoose?
Looking at the pictures, it was clear the sexes were still off-kilter. Morgan sighed and closed her eyes. There were two more guys in the top drawer of her nightstand. Two guys who had paid for the Date Makerservice.
Two guys she didn't think would make good boyfriends in a hundredyears.
And yet, they'd paid, and Morgan neededmoreguys.
She grabbed the photographs and looked down at the smiling faces of Declan and Conrad. She'd downloaded the pictures online and printed them up using a one-hour photo. If the employees paid any attention to their customers and what they printed, they must think Morgan was apsychopath.
Between the bulletin board and the intimate notes she had on different people, Morgan wasn't so sure she wasn't already at the psychopath level. She wasn't sleeping, she was stressed beyond belief, and she'd barely made enough money for the recent oil change for her car. She’d been able to hide it from Lacey so far, but really needed this week to go well, or her friend would indeed find a different person after spring break: a totalcrazymess.
Determined not to despair, Morgan took the dates she'd just written up off her nightstand and waited for spring break to end so she could deliver the good newspersonally.
ChapterFive
Springbreak went by a lot faster than Morgan thought it would. She'd only worked four days at the coffee shop, but between those shifts and some projects that were due after the break, she hadn't gotten as much accomplished with the Date Maker as she thought shewould.
Not from want of trying. She'd interviewed ten more candidates, with a surprisingly high percentage of males, and set up three more dates. Bookings were back to full-price, and people kept messaging Morgan to schedule theirinterviews.
It was amazing to see an uptick in profits, and satisfied customers were rolling in. Two sets of exit interviews were completed, and both couples seemed really happy. They loved their dates and were on their way to falling in love with one another. Most importantly, they loved telling their friends how great the DateMakerwas.
Things were looking up, and Morgan finally felt like she had a handle on life when Lacey returned from Iowa. She was just finishing up the last of her schoolwork when Lacey burst throughtheirdoor.
“I’m baaaaaack!” She dropped her suitcase on the floor and lifted her hands dramatically. After allowing enough time for Morgan to appreciate her theatrics, Lacey pulled her sunglasses from her face and looked at her friend. “Did youmissme?”
“Of course I did!” Morgan jumped off the bed and ran over to hug her. "How was Idaho?" she said, purposely saying the wrong state just to get a rise out of Lacey. It drove Lacey nuts, and it never got old forMorgan.
“Iowa.”
Morgan scrunched up her face. “Samedifference.”
“No, they are most definitely not thesame difference, you hick. And you know better.” Lacey paused and gave an exaggerated shiver. “It was so cold, and I'm glad to be in Floridaagain.”
“Didn't Farmer Brown keep you warm?” Morgan waggled hereyebrows.
Lacey's face fell. “Farmer Brown isengaged.”
Morgan tilted her head. “It's not like you liked him though.” When Lacey didn't respond, Morgan's eyes went wide. “Oh, my goodness! Is that why you've never done any serious dating? Because you were pining for that guybackhome?”
She shrugged. “I don't know. I guess I just assumed I would act crazy at college, move back home, and that he'd be waitingforme.”
“Lacey, you spend more time in Florida than Iowa. Of course he's moved on. And soshouldyou.”
Lacey straightened and put on a plastic smile. She grabbed Morgan's hand and lifted it, turning her wrist just so, causing her to twirl like they were dancing. “Which is why we're going outtonight.”
“Tonight?” She had expected they would get to her booming social life after Lacey had some time to settle back into Florida. Maybe get a week of school done, as well as some last minute Date Makerthings.
Lacey nodded her head, narrowing her eyes. “Yes, tonight. Is that aproblem?”
Morgan shook her head. She’d promised Lacey she’d be ready at the end of break. Sure there was more work to be done, but she’d missed her friend and was ready forsomefun.
