Page 31 of Someone Like You

Ahh, hell, there’s so much to consider.

My bout of navel gazing is cut short when my text notification chimes – probably Raff telling me he’s broken Lorrie and Quinn’s hearts and needs me back at the office ASAP.

But when I check my phone, it’s not Raff, it’s Poppy. I read the text and break into a smile, chuckling to myself.

Hi Gaby. This is Poppy. Looking forward to this arvo. And don’t worry – will make it painless. Have a fully stocked bar! *LOL emoji*

The more interactions I have with Poppy, the more I like her. But I still don’t know what the hell a screening has to do with matchmaking.

‘Hey! Great to see you,’ says Poppy. ‘Come on through.’

She leads the way to the back of the office and – I’ll be damned – there’s an actual screening room. As far as I knew, only rich people and film directors have these. I half-expect someone to hand out popcorn.

‘This is Ursula,’ says Poppy, and the woman sitting in the front row turns around.

‘Pleased to meet you,’ she says with a taut smile. She’s either notpleased to meet me or that’s as much as her face can move. Her eyes seem warm and welcoming, so I guess it’s the latter.

‘Hi, Ursula.’ I sit next to her and Poppy sits next to me.

‘So, when you said “screening”, you meant…?’ I ask her.

‘You’ll see but, first, did you want a bevvie? I wasn’t kidding about the bar.’

‘You weren’t?’ I ask with a laugh. ‘Matchmaking may be more fun than I thought.’

‘Just a perk of working after hours.’

‘Ahh, of course. For some reason, I had this image of bar carts and day drinking, like inMad Men.’

Poppy, laughs. ‘Yeah, no.’

‘Oh, I adore that Jon Hamm,’ says Ursula, and when I turn to her, she’s wearing a dreamy expression. ‘So dishy…’ She says the last part to herself and I don’t ask her to expound.

I turn back to Poppy. ‘I’ll have something if you are.’

‘Cool.’ She presses a button on a console between our seats.

‘Hi, Poppy. What can I get you?’

‘Hi, Anita. A G&T for me, please.’ She leans past me. ‘Ursula?’

‘I’ll have the same.’

Then she looks at me, her eyebrows raised. ‘Umm, yeah, a G&T sounds good.’ Until I moved here, I never drank gin, but when in Rome and all that.

We chit chat for a few minutes, then the agency’s receptionist shows up with a tray bearing three highballs.

‘Thank you, Anita,’ says Poppy. ‘Anita makes thebestG&Ts,’ she tells me as she hands out the drinks.

Anita chuckles. ‘Only because I put myself through uni working behind the bar. Right, I’m heading off,’ she says. ‘I hope it goes well.’

So do I, even though I still haven’t a clue what to expect.

‘Mmm, that is good,’ says Poppy, licking her lips. ‘Okay, so howthis works is: based on the client questionnaire Freya completed, the additions you provided, and the recording of theNouveau Lifeinterview, Ursula and I have assembled a longlist of potential matches. We’ll take you through those now so you can help us create a shortlist.’

‘Okay,’ I say, still confused why we’re doing this in here.

Poppy picks up a huge remote and presses a couple of buttons. Instantly, the room goes dark, and a photograph of a woman appears on the screen.

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