Page 9 of The One That I Want

‘Great,’ I reply, thrilled I came up with such a suitable solution on the spot. ‘So, when should we meet with Greta?’

‘Well, I wouldn’t want to spring this on her immediately, what with the launch and everything, so how about the end of the week?’

‘Sounds good. And one more thing…’ I say, adopting a cautionary tone. Her smile falls away and she peers at me, her jaw tensing. ‘I think you need to be prepared… It’s quite possible that Greta will connect the assignment with your true intention – to find her a match. Maybe not right away, but she’s obviously an intelligent woman.’

‘So how do we prevent that?’

‘Well, it might help if you come up with an angle that reallysellsthe assignment. Dating is a hot topic… It will be a drawcard for new readers… That kind of thing.’

‘All right. I’ll mull it over and come up with something. Thank you, Poppy. There’s a lot more to consider than I originally thought, but I think this is going to be brilliant.’

‘I do too.’ I stand and hold out my hand. ‘Welcome to the Ever After Agency.’

‘And welcome back toNouveau,’ she says, firmly shaking it.

3

GRETA

‘You took the right one this time.’

It takes me a moment to realise that someone’s talking to me and when I look up from my laptop, there he is, the James McAvoy lookalike – Owen. Or maybe it was Ewan?

I smile and pick up the now-empty cup. ‘Ah, yes. Although, I’ve been here every day this week and they’re still getting my name wrong.’

‘So, not Gretal then?’

I shake my head. ‘Nope.’

‘Is it close to Gretal?’

I nod. ‘Mmm-hmm. So close it’s almost forgivable.’

‘Only almost?’

‘I’ve been here five times in five days. I even spelled it out this morning.’

‘Well, that’s less than forgivable in my book. Are you going to reveal how badly the baristas are murdering your name?’

‘It’s Greta. Greta Davies – German mum, Scottish dad.’

‘Greta’s a lovely name.’

‘Thank you. I don’tloveit, but I suppose it could be worse. My poor brother got lumped with Dolph.’

His eyes widen and he breaks into a lopsided smile. ‘Dolph, as in Lundgren?’

‘Yes – although he’s far too young to know who Dolph Lundgren even is.Andhe goes by Ru.’

‘Ru?’

‘Yep. He likes to pretend his real name is Rudolph, which he’s shortened to Ru. We all call him that – his friends, his teachers, even my dad. Everyone except Mum.’

‘She’s sticking to her guns.’

‘She is.’

‘And how old is he? Obviously not old enough to have watchedRocky IV.’

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