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Blank was good, she thought, understanding dawning. When the brilliant doc went blank, he was listening, not rejecting. Raven considered “blank” to be progress!
“Dating apps simply match up two people and allow those people to read each other’s profiles. There are some that are a bit more complex, but they all are basically the same. If a person is looking for a female, the app will give you a list of females in a specific area. You can then see the person’s picture, read their profiles and hobbies. However, my service is more personalized. I get to know each person before I introduce them to each other. I study them in detail. I understand what they want and desire, things that they probably don’t even realize about themselves. I use my behavioral analysis background to see through the façade that each person presents to the world and get to know them personally.”
His eyes narrowed at her explanation and Raven knew that she was getting through to him. Tim wasn’t going to win this battle of wills. “And how often are you right?”
She grinned. “At the moment, I have a ninety-two percent success rate. The people I match up together are either married or in a serious, long term relationship.”
He paused, nodding at that piece of information. Before he spoke again, she noticed that his fingers tightened around the cup slightly. “And you do financial backgrounds on everyone?” he demanded. “I’m not interested in a woman who wants to flirt with me for a steady meal ticket.”
Raven tried to smother the bubble of success at his words. Tim probably didn’t even realize what he’d just revealed, but that was fine with her.
“All of my clients are extremely wealthy. I try to match up couples that understand the challenges and time constraints of wealthy, powerful people. You probably work eighteen hour days, six days a week, don’t you?”
“Yes. Most of the time.”
“And even your evening social activities are generally business oriented, am I correct?”
Tim shrugged dismissively. “Most of the time, yes.”
“So, I use all of that information to compare your likes and dislikes with various women. I’ll find eligible candidates that are in similar types of roles. Or the opposite,” she offered. “If you are looking for a wife who wants to be a stay at home mother, that’s an option as well.” She leaned forward, wrapping her hands around her cooling chai latte. “You tell me what you want in a spouse, and I find it for you.”
He gazed across the age-beaten table at her for a long moment before he asked, “And if the women you present to me aren’t what I’m looking for?”
Raven lifted her hands in the air. “I have a one hundred percent money-back guarantee. If I can’t find you the perfect spouse, then I refund the fee to Bailey.”
In a startling flash, his eyes turned angry. “How much is your fee?”
Raven was undeterred by the abrupt question. She merely smiled back at him and shook her head. “I never discuss my fee with non-paying clients.” Raven laughed at his scowl. “If you’d like to hire me, then I’ll be more than happy to provide you with my fee scale.” When he didn’t reply, she clicked her pen again. “So, are you in? Are you going to tell me the reasons you ended your previous relationships?”
He sighed and looked around but he wasn’t seeing the other patrons. “Fine,” he grumbled and leaned forward. “What do you want to know?”
She shrugged. “First, are you interested in a man or a woman?”
“Woman,” he snapped.
Raven almost laughed at his outraged expression. She wrote that down in her notebook. “Just checking. I never make assumptions.”
“I’m completely heterosexual,” he asserted with a bland, almost amused expression.
“Good to know,” she replied and looked at him again. “So, your last relationship. What was it about the woman,” she emphasized the gender, “that attracted you to her initially?”
Tim shifted in his chair and Raven knew that his discomfort wasn’t physical. The man obviously didn’t like talking about himself. It would be cute, if the guy wasn’t so…so…? What was it about Tim Armstrong that was different from other men? Matteo had a dangerous, almost lethal aura about him. Zahir had that power-thing going for him. There was that duke guy that she’d met at the wedding…Edward something or other…he was interesting, but in a “don’t mess with me” sort of way.
But Tim…she watched as he contemplated his answer. Maybe it was the glaringly obvious intelligence in his blue eyes? Yes, that was true. But there was something more, something…compelling that drew women’s eyes to him. The broad shoulders and height were part of his allure…but there was something more, something deeper that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“I don’t know. She was…pretty, I guess.” His answer startled her, snapping her back to the present. The mystery of the man would have to wait. She needed data.
Glancing down at her notes, she checked her next question. “Do you prefer tall or short women?”
“Tall.”
Well darn! That put her out of the running! “Busty or athletic?”
His hard, commanding lips curled up at the corners with amusement. “Can’t a woman be both?”
She laughed. “Absolutely. However, I use the term ‘athletic’ more as a physical type rather than a preference for sports or activities. It’s more of a…body type, I guess. I don’t like referring to women as flat chested. It feels derogatory. Also, many athletic women eat in a way that lowers their body fat down to levels where their breasts are very small. Some men love that type of body. Other men prefer a different body type. Nothing is wrong or right. Everything is just a preference.”
He angled his head, acknowledging her explanation. “Busty, then,” he replied.
