The Feline Gaze

“I’m not staring at the phone.”

“You’ve been staring at it for an hour,” she points out, and I roll my eyes. Disrespectful? Yeah, absolutely, but I’m going a little crazy. It’s been over a week since my not-actually-a-date date with Matthew. It wasn’t a date, but it totally felt like one, and I’ve been daydreaming about him ever since.

The problem is that I have no idea what his last name is, what he does for a living, where he’s from, or if he’s even available. I don’t know if he liked seeing me. I don’t know anything. All I know is that we had a great time together and then it ended. That was on me, I suppose. I probably should have tried harder to get him interested in me.

Maybe I should have worked harder at making him feel interested in me.

But it doesn’t make any sense.

Didn’t he feel that spark?

That zing?

That zap?

Didn’t he feel anything when we touched?

Didn’t he feel anything when he looked at me?

For years I pushed down my desire to find a mate. I convinced myself that I didn’t need anyone except for myself and that the idea of falling for a guy – any guy – was dumb. Silly. Useless. Only now, I’ve met someone who is none of those things, and I don’t know how to find him, or if I’m even supposed to. If we’re true mates, will we naturally run into each other? Will we be drawn to one another? Will we have some sort of strange, chance meeting?

I don’t know.

I have no answers.

So, I’m staring at my phone, and I’m hoping that somehow, he’ll find me.

It’s stupid.

Danielle, my assistant, seems to think I’m being totally ridiculous, and I hate to admit that she’s probably correct, at least this time.

“You’re Cassidy,” she says. “Queen of the Real Estate Empire. You don’t need this guy, okay? You definitely don’t need to be doing this,” she motions at me. “Thing. Whatever this thing is.”

“I know you’re right,” I drop the phone. It’s a little pathetic to sit around waiting for a guy I’ve only met once. There will be other people, other meetings, other dates. Besides, I can find someone else for Alastair’s wedding. It doesn’t have to be Matthew, but I kind of want it to be. Besides, he’s already going to the wedding. How strange would it be to suggest that we go together? Would he be cool with that? Or would that be totally awkward and inappropriate?

“Of course, I’m right,” Danielle points out. She loves to be right. It’s one of the things that makes her an incredible assistant. Whenever I have a problem or issue, she helps me get it under control, and quickly.

“I should go,” I finally say. “I have a meeting with Alastair, like, right now.”

I stand up and start to gather my papers.

“It’s pointless,” she says in a sing-song voice.

“I know.”

“Then why do you keep trying? You practically run this company, you know.”

I would never say that out loud, but Danielle’s observation is fairly precise. I do a lot for our organization that Alastair doesn’t see. In fact, most of my job consists of doing things he never needs to know about. Ideally, he’ll never realize exactly how much work I put into running the company. Alastair is a kind-hearted man at his core, but is dad is a real dick.

If his father realized that the majority of the company was run by a girl?

Well, there would be hell to pay, and I’m not in the mood to do any spending.

My uncle knows that Melanie and Alastair launched Cambridge Real Estate as a couple, but as far as he’s concerned, it’s my cousin’s organization. Melanie handles a lot of the website and database stuff, whereas Alastair is the face of the company. He’s the one people go to when they want to make a sale or buy a home. Melanie is the one who makes sure the paperwork is in order, the website is fantastic, and that everything constantly stays as up-to-date as possible.

I’m annoyed with my cousin, but there’s no time to sit around feeling frustrated or upset. It’s time for our appointment, so I decide to head over to Alastair’s office. It’s past time for me to talk with him again about our next steps. There’s a huge meeting in a few weeks that’s basically going to decide the future of the company. Besides, we have to announce to our corporate team how we’re going to play things with the changes happening in Lyon County.

The reality is that Ridge Construction is moving in whether we like it or not. They’re buying, selling, and renting out properties throughout the town, and there’s a lot of room for growth with them.