"No, just some notes I made at a meeting. What's up with you?" I asked, hoping to divert his attention from the file.
We talked about his latest project and then he admonished me for not going out with him for a long time and I promised we'd go out one night soon.
Then, he left me alone with the file.
I had to open it once more and read the story again.
The man in the grey flannel suit was not my Mr. Big but he was a pretty damn good substitute...
Before I could get more than a paragraph in, Marcella showed up and I had to close the story once more and try to ignore the ache in my groin.
"Here you are, Joshua," she said and placed five files on my desk. I moved the red file into my briefcase, and then instead of taking matters into my own hand as I had planned, I tried to turn my attention back to the matter at hand. Finding a suitable wife and mother of my future children.
It was not at all what I wanted to focus on at that moment.
"What have you got for me, Marcella?" I asked, trying to be positive, considering I was paying her handsomely to headhunt a wife for me. "Someone good, I hope."
"Some very good candidates. Any man would be very lucky to have such women as their wife. First up, is Dana Rae-McPherson, daughter of John McPherson and Lisa Rae, who you will remember is the heir to the Rae fortune in shipping. She's twenty-eight, has a BA from Brown in Communications, and currently runs her own media company with fifteen staff. She's also very attractive, as you can see from the photo."
I opened the file and examined the image. Yes, I'd seen Dana before, having met her at a charity function with my father, but I had never even thought twice about her. She was quite brash, with a big personality and a cutting wit. She took over any room she entered and you could almost feel her assessing everyone in the room as to whether they would benefit her or not.
She was not my type, although she certainly ticked all my boxes.
Except the chemistry box.
I'd never even considered her as a sex partner, let alone a life partner.
"Sorry," I said and closed the file, handing it back to Marcella. "I already know her and am not interested."
Marcella took the file back and appeared a bit taken aback by my fast refusal.
"May I ask why?"
"No chemistry. When we first met, she rubbed me the wrong way and having met her several times, my opinion hasn't changed."
"Can I ask what it is about her that you don't like?"
I shrugged. "She's not nice."
"Not nice?" Marcella frowned. "What do you mean, not nice?"
"I mean, she's not a nice person. She's cold and calculating. Like she's always sizing everyone up. Judging. And she isn't warm at all."
Marcella nodded. "I understand. That's good to know. You want warmth of personality. Someone who is nice." She sifted through the files and handed me another one.
I opened it and saw the picture.
The woman was attractive, with fair hair and skin and blue eyes.
"This is Theresa Rutherford. Daughter of Pat and Elaine Rutherford, of Baylor Industries. She has a BA in Music and is a flute instructor as well as a performer in a small quartet. She is a volunteer on the Humane Society International board of directors and does a lot of charity work in addition to her teaching. She's thirty and loves to travel."
I read over her resume but she seemed bloodless. Pleasant but not someone I felt I wanted to get to know better. In fact, I had the sense she'd be boring. She had no spice to her. Flute? She was a flautist. She taught the flute and gave money for animal welfare. I could have yawned as I read her resume.
"A little too nice, maybe."
Marcella raised her eyebrows but sorted through her files and handed me another.
"Alicia Barnes, daughter of Jack and Nancy Barnes, on the Fortune 500. Bachelor of Commerce, has her own fashion line. Attractive and smart."