The Billionaire Glitch Date (Billionaire Online Dating Service Book 6) Read online

  “You can think of my dating service as a little thing. Don’t let it bother you. Let the system do the work of finding the right person for you.”

  “To date,” Ariana stated. “I’m only promising to go on one date. I’m not ready for anything else.”

  “One date,” Leslie agreed. “You’ll see. BODS will match you with the right person. It’s up to you if you want to see him after the first date.” Leslie squeeze her arm. “I’m certain you’ll be happy with the results and want to see more of him.”

  “One date,” Ariana insisted. “That’s all I’m promising.”

  “Okay.” Leslie guided her past an open door to a conference room with a large dark table and white leather chairs all around it. She passed a closed door on the left and stopped at another door, pushing it open to reveal a small desk with a white leather chair and a computer. “I’ll help you get set up, logged on and save your photo. Then, as I told you before you came, I have to leave before you finish entering your profile. You can leave when you’re done. If you want someone to walk you out to your car in the parking garage, the security guard on the first floor can help you.”

  “Thanks, Leslie. I know I need to get back out there, and I appreciate that you care enough to help me.”

  “If I didn’t think you could be happier, I wouldn’t push so much. Give yourself a chance.” She hugged Ariana. “Now, let’s get this system up and running.”

  Leslie logged on, brought up the software program, helped Ariana snap a good photo of herself using the webcam and saved it to her profile. Then she stood back and nodded. “The rest is up to you. When you leave, just pull the door to the office closed behind you. It will lock automatically.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Ariana said, waving her away. “I’ll do my best.”

  “You’re an amazing woman, and I can’t wait to see who BODS comes up with for you.” Leslie smiled and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her with a soft snick.

  Ariana frowned. She had forgotten to ask what BODS stood for. She could guess the letters “ODS” were for Online Dating Service, but the B?

  She shrugged. Next time she saw Leslie, she’d remember to ask. In the meantime, she had a questionnaire to fill out and her life to change.

  After she entered the standard information about her age, height and occupation, she started into her preferences, likes and dislikes. This part was harder than she’d anticipated. At one time in her past, she’d been very structured and had liked keeping tight control on everything in her life. She’d worked at a Fortune 500 company, scheduled meetings, worked with others and kept a regimented work and home life.

  Until Sam had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

  All through his treatments, she’d tried to maintain control of her world, but found the control slipping, slipping, slipping until Sam had died in her arms. She’d felt like a shadow of herself by the time the funeral was over, and she’d run out of leave. Returning to the corporate world had been a disaster. She hadn’t been able to make it to meetings on time, lost focus on her work and hadn’t wanted to be there. Within a week of her return, she’d handed in her resignation and wallowed in her grief for a couple more weeks, until she’d gone to see her doctor for anti-depression medication.

  Her doctor had asked her to consider grief counseling first. That’s when she’d found the Good Grief Club, and met Leslie Lamb, Emma Jacobs, Ava Swan and Fiona McKenzie. They were the ones who’d helped her to regain her balance and encouraged her to learn more about meditation.

  Meditation had led her to yoga. Still searching for what she wanted to do with her life, she’d decided to open her own studio to help others find their balance. She’d learned that she couldn’t hold onto the past. She couldn’t control everything around her, and that was okay.

  Now, she sat in front of a computer and tried to think of her preferences in a mate, or in her case, a date.

  Someone who didn’t take life too seriously. No one comes out of it alive. Someone who lived each day to the fullest like it might be his last. He had to love animals, especially cats, and it would be nice if he was into yoga. Size and shape didn’t matter. Although tall and fit wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Sam had been tall and fit. It hadn’t bought him any extra hours of life. Maybe short and pleasantly plump would be a better choice this time around. A man who liked to eat would be easy to please, and she wanted to learn how to cook.

  A guy who didn’t live every second dependent on a schedule. He had to be spontaneous, living in the moment, awake to the world around him, not just a narrow lane of existence. Someone who wasn’t afraid to stop and smell the roses.

  Ariana finished her list of preferences. Before she could change her mind, she saved her profile and exited the software program. She stood, stretched, and was about to head out of the room when a huge crash of thunder shook the building.

  The clouds she’d seen through the window, building to the west, must have moved in while she’d been filling out her profile and questionnaire.

  As she reached for the doorknob, the lights blinked out, followed by another impressive blast of thunder.

  Ariana jumped, her heart beating hard in her chest. She waved her hand in front of her where she thought the doorknob should be. Her fingers brushed against the metal. She wrapped her hand around it, yanked open the door and stepped out into the hallway.

  Darkness surrounded her. The only light she could see was a faint red glow at the end of the hallway, possibly in the reception area. Maybe a battery powered exit sign…?

  Following the glow, she walked down the hallway, her eyes wide, trying to adjust to the lack of light.

  The sound of a door swinging open beside her made her turn. A large dark shape emerged from a room and slammed into her.

  She bounced against a muscular chest, the force of impact pushing her backward, off balance. Her back hit the wall on the other side of the hall, and her arms flailed but couldn’t help her as she fell hard on her ass.

  “Damn!” A deep voice echoed off the walls. “Who’s there? Are you all right? Hell, where are you?” The shadowy figure bent in front of her.

  Ariana felt a large hand on her leg, patting its way up her thigh to her arm. When knuckles brushed against her breast, she gasped. “I’m okay.”

  He gripped her arm. “Are you sure? I’m sorry. I didn’t see you. Hell, I can’t see a damned thing. What the hell happened to the lights?”

  “The lightning?” Ariana offered.

  “Let me help you up.” His hand slid down her arm, sending tingling sensations throughout Ariana’s body. When he found her hand, he wrapped his around it and tugged.

  She flew to her feet and crashed into the big man’s chest, the air knocked from her lungs. At least that’s what she told herself. Surely it wasn’t the sensation of being held against a muscular man’s body that made it difficult for her to breathe. A strange man, at that.

  “I thought I was the only one here,” she said when she could collect enough air in her lungs to pass it over her vocal cords.

  “Me, too,” he said. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  She nodded then realized he wouldn’t see her head move. “I’m sure.” She took a step backward, finding it easier to breathe when her breasts weren’t smashed up against his chest.

  “I was headed out,” he said. “Maybe we can find the exit together…?” Still holding her hand, he ran his fingers up to her elbow and held her there.

  She liked that his grip helped her find her balance in the darkness. She didn’t know him from Adam, but she had an uncanny feeling that she could trust this stranger. “Are you one of Leslie’s clients?”

  He grunted. “Yeah,” he said. “How about you?”

  “Just signed up.”

  “Me, too. Though I’m not yet convinced a computer is the best way to match people.”

  “You and me both.”

  He guided her down the hallway, toward the red glow. When they em
erged in the reception area, Ariana could see the red glow was indeed a battery powered Exit sign, hanging over the entry door. She looked up at the man guiding her, seeing his face for the first time since they’d bumped into each other.

  He was tall compared to her five feet two inches, almost a head taller than her. He had broad shoulders, which she already knew, having run into them. The red light didn’t really tell her what color his hair was, but if she had to guess, by the lightness, it was blond. And she’d bet he had blue eyes to go with that thick blond hair. A shiver of awareness rippled through her.

  “We should be able to find our way out of here if we follow the exit signs.” The stranger pushed through the door and held it open for Ariana.

  Ariana was oddly pleased that he hadn’t released her arm and was still escorting her as they left the office. He closed the door snuggly and checked that it was locked before he started toward the elevator.

  “Did Leslie talk you into trying out her matchmaking system?” Ariana asked.

  “Ha,” the man said. “My sister is pushing this agenda. She’s convinced it’ll be good for me.”

  Ariana tilted her head. “You don’t agree?”

  “What do you think about it?” he asked without answering her question.

  She smiled in the darkness, glad they’d stepped away from the exit light and he couldn’t see her expression. “It could work.”

  “But?”

  “I’m not convinced I’m ready for anything to work.”

  “My sister made me promise to go into it with an open mind.”

  Ariana chuckled. “And I, of all people, should be following that advice.”

  “Why of all people?”

  “I teach meditation and the art of Zen at my studio to people who have far too much stress in their lives.”

  “Maybe I should become one of your students,” he murmured.

  She glanced up at him. “Are you stressed?”

  He shrugged. “Only when things get out of control.”

  They stopped at the elevator.

  “The electricity is off,” he said. “The elevators won’t be working. We’ll have to take the stairs down.”

  “Are you stressed?” she repeated.

  “No more than usual,” he responded. “Why?”

  She could almost hear the frown in his voice. Ariana smiled. “The elevator isn’t working. You can’t control the fact the electricity is out.”

  “True. I can’t make the electricity come back on,” he said. “I can control what I do with the knowledge I have.” He nodded toward the red light of the exit sign above the door at the end of the hall. “I can take the stairs. I think I can manage twenty flights. I’m still in control, so I’m not stressed.”

  “What situations cause you stress?” she asked as she walked with him to the stairwell.

  “The kind where I’m reliant on other people to make a decision or get work done on time. Sometimes, like the electricity, I can’t make them go faster, or get the work done on time. It frustrates me.” He opened the door.

  She stepped into the stairwell. “And stresses you,” she said. “That’s where I come in. I can’t help you control everything in your life, but I can teach you how to meditate, lessen the stress and let go of the frustration.”

  “Impossible.” Still holding her elbow, he started down the stairs with her.

  “It’s possible, if you believe. You soon learn that you can’t control everything in life. Sometimes, you have to accept that you can’t and let go.”

  He chuckled. “That’s where I’d fail miserably as your student. I can’t let go.”

  “Is that why you have difficulties accepting that Leslie’s software program might actually choose a good match for you?” she asked. “Because you’re not in control of the choosing?”

  His hand tightened on her elbow. For a moment he didn’t answer. Then he relaxed his hold. “You’re probably right.”

  “In this case, you could let go and let whatever happens, happen.”

  He snorted. “And here I thought I was uptight about the whole thing because I don’t have time and the project I’m working is not going to make the deadline.”

  “What will happen if you don’t make your deadline?”

  “I built my reputation on my ability to bring a project in on budget and, most of all, on time. Speaking of the project, I still need to make half a dozen calls tonight and make sure the right supplies are delivered in the morning.”

  They’d descended fifteen flights by then.

  Ariana was enjoying the man’s company. She was about to ask his name when the lights flickered and came on. “Well, looks like we can take the elevator the rest of the way down.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I was enjoying the walk,” he said, smiling down at her.

  “Me, too,” she admitted. “Only five more floors to go.”

  “Might as well walk them,” the stranger said.

  “Don’t you have some calls you need to make?” She tilted her head to the side.

  He smiled. “I’m sure cellphone reception in this stairwell is lousy. I’ll make those calls later.”

  “See? You can do it. You can let go of that control. Even if only for a few minutes.”

  He grunted. “You’ll make a convert of me before we reach the bottom.”

  “I doubt that, but you’ll have a start.”

  “The next thing you’ll have me doing is goat yoga and singing ‘Kumbaya’.”

  “As a matter of fact, I lead yoga classes as well. I’d be glad to show you some poses. As for the goats, you’ll have to bring your own. And, unless you can sing, I’ll leave ‘Kumbaya’ to those with more vocal talent than I possess.”

  He laughed out loud. “If it makes a difference, I feel more relaxed already.”

  She smiled up at him. “And here we are. At the bottom.” She pushed through the door into the lobby of the office building.

  “Will you let me escort you to your car?” the stranger asked.

  “I’d appreciate that, as the security guard appears to be busy answering calls.” She nodded toward the front desk where a guard had just hung up the phone when another call came through.

  They nodded to the guard as they passed and left through the door to the garage, descending one more flight of stairs.

  Ariana wished there were more stairs. She wasn’t quite ready to leave this man. She liked how relaxed and comfortable he made her feel after how tense she’d been over coming to the BODS headquarters. Here she was talking to a strange man, and it wasn’t awkward or difficult at all.

  “This is my car,” she said as they approached her Audi SQ5, the car her husband had always wanted and had just purchased when he’d gotten his diagnosis.

  “Thank you for keeping me company on the tower descent,” he said, giving her a little bow.

  “Thank you for seeing me safely to my vehicle,” she said with a nod. “If you decide you want to come to my meditation class, get a hold of Leslie, she can tell you how to find me.”

  “What if I want to know how to find you before that?” He took her hand. “I like talking to you.”

  She smiled. “We’ve just committed to letting Leslie’s system find our matches.”

  “Didn’t you just say I should let go of my stress and the things I can’t control?” He raised an eyebrow in challenge.

  Ariana wanted to do like he said and let go of that stress and uncertainty. Still… “Leslie is convinced her software will find the one who is right for each of us.” She looked up into blue eyes. “We should at least give it a chance.”

  He nodded. “I get it. You don’t want to go out with me.”

  “I didn’t hear you ask.”

  “If I did?”

  She shook her head. “BODS is churning away as we speak, now that the electricity is back on. It could already have found someone perfect for you.”

  “And you.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe.”

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sp; “Will you let me know if it doesn’t work out for you?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I’d like that.”

  The man held out his hand. “It’s been nice talking with you.”

  “And with you.” She placed her hand in his, and the electric current that raced up her arm excited and frightened her. Ariana could see herself falling for this guy, and she just wasn’t ready for that level of intensity. Not yet. She dug her keys out of purse and clicked the unlock button.

  The stranger opened the door and held it for her.

  She hesitated. “As I probably won’t see you again, I just want to say I enjoyed our conversation. More than you’ll know.” She slipped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss her.

  And he did.

  Deep, sexy and thorough. She liked the way he tasted and how he held her in his arms. Gentle but commanding.

  When he stepped back, she climbed into her car.

  He closed her door and watched until she started the car, shifted into drive and pulled out of her parking space.

  She’d reached the outer exit when she realized…she hadn’t even asked for his name, nor had he asked for hers.

  Chapter 3

  Dillon could have kicked himself. He’d let his stairwell companion get away before he’d remembered to ask for her name.

  Then again, she’d been adamant that they should give BODS a chance. If all else failed, and he didn’t like the woman the system chose for him, he could always hit up Leslie for the redhead’s name.

  He hadn’t realized she was a redhead until they’d entered the stairwell with the emergency lights illuminating her long straight hair. And then, it wasn’t until the regular lights had come on that he’d noticed she had hazel eyes.

  Normally, he would have said he preferred brunettes, but that hair… He found himself wanting to run his hands through it and test to see if it was as soft and silky as it appeared. She’d worn a long, floral skirt with a marigold top cinched at the waist by a gold chain belt. What he liked most were the pointed-toe cowboy boots on her feet. Not true. What he’d like best were her eyes.

  Hell, he liked the whole package. Why did he need a system like BODS to find a date? He’d bumped into someone he could see himself going out with, without going through a matchmaking algorithm.