Page 5 of It Had to be You

Oh wow, Tatum struggled to control her expression, this should be interesting, because she doubted that Martina would be happy with any other solution than following the set schedule.

Holding her phone aloft, Blair’s grin was like a klieg light outside a movie premiere. "It’ll just take me one moment." And to emphasize her point, she held up her pointer finger in the air before she turned to the gentleman she’d walked up with. "Don’t go anywhere."

Striding away on her Louboutins, she obviously had a miracle worker on speed dial as she began to speak almost immediately.

To his credit the man standing before them had a contrite look on his face. "I’m sorry."

Martina was a champ, a total professional. "I’m sure we’ll work it out, Alexander. There really is a reason that we do things the way we do."

"I don’t doubt it, but you should know, Blair had someone hack your computer systems to find out her match ahead of time."

It took Martina a moment to respond. "That was… resourceful."

His laugh was just as gorgeous as he was, warm and real enough to send a little shiver over her skin as if he’d actually touched her. "I have a feeling you don’t let much knock you off your game."

Tatum nodded. "Martina could tame wild animals if given half a chance."

"I have a feeling that Blair might be too wild, even for you, Martina."

"This is only the first night, Alex."

He heard her words, and he’d likely heard the determination in her voice like Tatum had. "I think if anyone has a chance, it would be you."

Martina was back in the fight again, ready to meet this challenge head on. Tatum could see the way her friend straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. "I’m going to give it my best try."

Almost on cue, Blair returned with a triumphant smile on her perfect face. "I’ve just spoken to the chef-"

"The chef?" Martina’s eyes crinkled at the corners.

"He’s agreed to let us sit at the chef’s table in the kitchen. That way we don’t have to disrupt the

introductions for the others and we can continue exploring our connection. I think it’s a solution that’s best for everyone."

Tatum understood the slight hesitation on Martina’s part. Giving in now might mean that Blair could cause another disruption later, but a quick look at the watch on her wrist told Tatum that they were already late to start the official introductions.

She didn’t envy her friend the necessity to make a decision that she’d quite possibly regret.

"I’m agreeing to this, Blair, with the understanding that you did sign an agreement to abide by our rules. I can see that connecting with Alexander has really been a shock and I can understand how that might be distracting, but tomorrow-"

Blair waved off her concerns with a perfectly manicured hand. "Yes, I agree. Tomorrow is another day, and we’ll start over, okay?"

She didn’t really wait for Martina to answer the question. A busboy who looked like he’d run flat out from the kitchen to thefront door of the dining room showed up to escort them back into the kitchen for dinner.

When they were gone, Martina blew out a loud exhale. "I knew she was a handful, but that was just wild!"

Tatum agreed. "I’m sorry that happened."

"Well," Martina sighed, "he said he wanted a woman who knew what she wanted. I just didn’t know how resourceful she would prove to be. Now, I need to go inside and make sure all the ladies are in their assigned seats. Would you text me and remind me-"

"To call your website hosts and beef up your security?" Tatum felt so bad for her friend.

"Yes, please!"

Alexander was really trying to enjoy dinner. The food was impeccable. The shrimp and octopus cassoulet was something he was going to remember for a long time. Looking down at the braised pork belly and langoustine he had a feeling he was going to be enjoying it alone.

Blair had already stepped away from the table twice to answer her phone and if she stayed away much longer, even a heating lamp isn’t going to be enough to save her plate from the trash. A sous chef walked up and leaned closer with a bit of a smile. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

Sitting back in his seat, Alex gave him a shake of his head. "No, really, I’m fine. I’m sorry that we put you through all of this trouble."

---