Page 66 of The Matchmaker

“What are you doing here on a Saturday?” I ask her.

“Says the lady who’s also here.”

“I admit it, I have a problem. I appreciate you holding down the fort, but after everything you’ve been through, you should be taking it easy.”

“Work’s been exactly what the doctor ordered. A few more minutes and I’m out of here,” she assures me. “I’m heading to Samir’s folks’ in a few for dinner.”

“That sounds great. Are things any better with them?”

“Actually, yes. Maybe it’s finally hitting them now that we’ve secured our deposits that this wedding is happening. I feel like they’re starting to thaw toward me. Samir thinks so too.”

“Good! It was going to happen sooner or later.”

I grab the notebook I need from my desk. The one filled with half-legible scrawls about the potential clients I’m meeting tonight. When I’m back in the main office, Darcy’s pensively studying the computer screen.

“Uh-oh. More hate mail?” I ask.

“Not hate mail.”

“Darcy…”

“Promise you won’t freak out?”

“That only makes me freak out more.” I stride toward her and look over her shoulder.

“I’m keeping track of online chatter. Someone posted on a subreddit devoted to Lena and Tanvir. They’re talking about Avani’s wedding implosion,” Darcy says.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I read through the thread.

Banditxyz345: Look, I know you’re all going to call me a conspiracy theorist or whatever, but I don’t think the whole “Farhan being the kidnapper” is the whole story. My dad isfriends with his father, and I heard Farhan was using Piyar to get matched up himself. Did Nura set up Lena and Farhan first, before she met Tanvir?

Starlight4U: Avani Patel is my cousin. My aunt shelled out serious cash for the Piyar agency to match her daughter up, and the wedding blew up the night before. Turned out the guy the agency said was all vetted and perfect was actually a criminal! My mom was going to introduce me to Nura that night. I dodged a bullet.

There it is: My worst fears brought to life on a website.

“Don’t panic,” Darcy says quickly. She points to the screen. “It’s not all bad. These people stuck up for us.”

JinMarDo7658: This agency’s been around for decades. You’re talking about two weddings that went south out of hundreds that went off without a hitch. They’re not God.

KnightlyRu: Lena said this guy was obsessed with her since college, but sure, keep reaching.

“It’s only this one post,” Darcy says into the silence. “It’s been up for three days and it’s barely gotten any traction.”

For now.It’s only a matter of time before others connect the dots. Like Logan. He must have come across this thread. He’s getting closer and closer to a story that will sink my agency into the ground. Farhan had been dead set on destroying my reputation; it looks like his work continues beyond the grave.

“I know it’s impossible not to worry,” says Darcy. “But try to put it out of your mind as much as you can. I’ll get the PR teamin the loop before I head out for dinner. Nothing else we can do right now. Go to the wedding, have fun. Send Azar my love.”

“How are you so amazing?” I ask her.

“It’s why you pay me the big bucks.” She winks.

“No, it’s why you’re my friend.” I give her a hug.

Twenty

Light-filled lanterns shine among the trees surrounding the property when I at last make it through the winding roads and arrive at the farmhouse wedding venue. I take in the sloping hills and the hint of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.

---