A voice answered, flat and low. “Hello.”
“Hi. Is this Annalise?”
A pause. “It is.”
“This is Rose from SerenadeMe. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today.”
Her tone brightened. Slightly. “Sure.”
The lawyer waved her hand and whispered, “Recorded line!”
Rose stirred, sitting up straighter. “I do have to let you know we are on a recorded line for quality purposes.”
Craig winced. What a painful statement to have to interject. What else was legal going to make Rose say?
He had full faith in her, but he was feeling more uneasy about this conversation going well for anyone.
“Uh. Okay.”
Rose took a deep breath. “Listen, Annalise. I watched your video and I felt awful. I wanted to do something to make it up to you.”
The PR manager tapped a pen on her notepad, pointing at the phrase, “I’m here to improve your SerenadeMe experience.”
Rose kept her head down, pretending not to see.
Smart.
“Well,” Annalise said slowly, “Can you make sure that guy doesn’t find out where I live and jump out of my closet while I sleep?”
Rose frowned. “If you need to place a restraining order, I can connect you with the Chicago PD. My specialty, however, is matchmaking.”
“Yeah, I heard. I’m not interested. I’ve seen what you people do.” She sighed. “I don’t know what I expected from this call, but I don’t need some overpriced call center operator trying to make me feel better.”
Craig took a step forward. That was enough. There was no point in talking to this woman. She was hostile. Rose didn’t deserve that.
He realized he was clenching his jaw and released it, raising a hand to get Rose’s attention.
She didn’t look up.
“I took a look at your profile,” Rose continued. “You said you’ve watched all your friends find love. You’re sick of being alone, sick of booking single seats on airplanes, sick of pretending like you don’t like going to the movies because it’s not as fun when you don’t have someone to laugh with. Right? Those were your words?”
The PR manager’s mouth was hanging open. Craig had to look away so he didn’t laugh out loud.
Rose went on. “You said you’re done waiting. You want to meet your husband and make your own happily ever after.”
“I forgot I wrote that,” Annalise said. “I must’ve been drinking.”
“Give me one chance,onedate. I’ll match you with someone awesome. I can’t promise he’ll be your husband, but there’s a chance he could be and your search will be over. I’ll also do a background check and vet him myself so you don’t get any surprises.”
There was silence for a beat, then Annalise said, “Ah, I don’t know.”
Rose looked up, caught Craig’s eye, and winked.
He grinned. She was about to close the deal. He didn’t know how, but he could feel it.
Rose leaned into the phone. “What do you have to lose?”
Why was she so good at this? Was it because her old boss yelled at her so much? Was she just super skilled at defusing tense situations? Or maybe she was really a salesman and had him fooled.
