Page 34 of Heat Me

"My gut tells me there aren’t any high matches in this pool. I only found some possible Half Mates, weak ones. But I’ve got an unusual idea. I know these clients opted out of open fairs, but as I checked their contracts, there’s a small clause that gives us a certain chance!"

"I see you’re taking this seriously, which I appreciate. What’s the chance?" Mr. Ragu asked, sounding curious.

"In each contract, there’s an annex stating that if we have trouble finding a match, Fate’s Choice can call the clients to an open fair. It’s part of the company’s general policy—they didn’t sign it directly in their individual contracts, but they agreed to comply with the general term of use while registering on the site. This loophole means we can b***ring them to an open fair orauction. It’ll boost our chances, especially for omegas like Star and Darien—they’ll definitely draw a lot of interest from alphas."

Mr. Ragu was silent for a moment.

"Hmmm. In their questionnaires, they all said they didn’t want to participate in open fairs or auctions. But you’re right—the company’s general policy does give us this small option in, let’s say, emergency situations. We could technically apply it here, but I expect they’ll resist."

"I can talk to them, try to convince them," I offered.

"Are you really sure this will work? Fairs do have a good success rate, but agreeing to participate doesn’t guarantee they’ll accept any offers. I’ve seen this before—clients get proposals but reject them if they’re picky, and some of these definitely are!"

"I get that. But from a psychological standpoint, they’ll see we’re really trying hard to find good matches for them. Some might even agree to extend their contracts instead of demanding a fine if they realize we’re putting in the effort. And if the fair doesn’t work, we still have a week left to set up meetings with a few people I’ve picked out. It’ll be their last chance, and they’ll feel the pressure, making them more likely to accept a Half Mate offer from the database. Even if it’s just aweak match, it doesn’t matter—they won’t be able to deny that we gave it our best shot! So, by sending them to the fair, we’ll have two last-resort options instead of just one."

Ragu coughed and cleared his throat.

"Okay, I see your point. I think it’s a good idea for you to talk to them. Maybe emphasize that they should be more open to accepting proposals, even if it’s for a shorter contract."

I let out a relieved breath. "I don’t want to sound overconfident, but I have a good feeling about it. My intuition is… almost supernatural."

Mr. Ragu coughed impatiently. "I hope it is, I really do, Storm. Oh… I forgot to tell you, there’s one more case in fiveweeks—a young alpha. If we can’t pair him up, he’ll be your next case."

"For now, I have these four, and I really have a good feeling about the fair idea."

"I’m glad you’re on it. To give you some motivation, if you find at least high matches for these clients, you’ll get one-third of what we’d have to pay them as a fine! Does that sound good?"

Such a high amount?

One-third of all their fines would be over a million! I rubbed my chin, feeling tempted. The money would be a game changer for my life.

Damien… maybe he’d start seeing me as more than just a freak working for a strange company? But I knew I’d have to fight hard for it first.

"That’s… great. I’ll do my best. Just send me their contact details."

"Star lives a few hours away, so you’re in for a bit of a trip," Mr. Ragu muttered.

I felt a twinge of anxiety. I wasn’t sure how things with Damien’s heat would go, but I couldn’t say no to Mr. Ragu—time was running out. It was Monday, and the fair was about to start on Saturday.

So, I said goodbye and hurried over to Damien’s apartment.

He opened the door almost immediately, like he’d been listening for my footsteps again. I gave him a warm smile as I walked in, immediately surrounded by a sweet, tantalizing cloud of his scent.

"Everything okay?" I asked, inhaling deeply. That smell stirred my blood, and I could tell the next wave was close—I’d narrowly avoided being too late for it.

"Yeah, everything’s fine. I finished studying for the exam," he said, hesitating a bit before adding, "And I made dinner for you."

I raised an eyebrow. First pizza, now dinner? Was Damien going out of his way for me… or was he just trying to make the heat period easier? I decided not to overthink it.

I sat down at the table, and he set down a pile of colorful sandwiches. Damien leaned against the counter; his eyes fixed on me as I ate. It looked like he wanted to say something but was struggling to get it out.

"What’s your major?" I asked, even though I already knew it was computer science. I figured it’d be better to let him tell me himself.

"Computer science and visual design," he replied.

"Nice, that’s a solid choice. Must be a lot of work, though, with all those programming languages."

"I focus on a few—C, Python, JavaScript, and Java."

---