SecondSightDating (8 page)

Chapter Seven

“Mr.
‘Four-eighteen’, this is Miss ‘S’.” Serena did the
introductions inside the restaurant’s lobby as they waited to be seated.

The blonde eyed Dan up and down and extended her hand to
him.
“Hi.
You can call me Monica.” Her smile couldn’t hide the bored, unhappy
greeting Serena immediately picked up on.

Damn.
She should have seen this coming.
Well, she did, in
her own way of knowing.
After all, more things didn’t match than did on their
lists, even if their number and letter matched.

Sort of.

In Serena’s sight.

Damn again.

“Hi, I’m Dan.” He grabbed the woman’s small hand in his and
pumped as if priming for water.

This wasn’t going well.
Serena envisioned a quick evening if
this beginning were any indication.
She watched Monica pull her hand away from
Dan and cross her arms.
The blonde made some excuse about checking out the
restaurant’s lobby entrance area and walked away.

“Dan.
You’re trying too hard.
Relax.” Serena said these
words just as a voice in her head screamed out something entirely different.
Idiot.
This is good.
He can’t take advantage of her if she hates him.

“Sorry.
I’ll go over and talk to her.” He
walked away, leaving Serena to wonder when her own date would make an
appearance.

Ten minutes later, she had to admit the evening would be a
disaster.
Monica barely spoke to Dan, circling the small lobby as if utterly
absorbed in scrutinizing the décor.
Serena watched the woman avoid contact with
him by moving away every time Dan headed in her direction.

Dan didn’t seem to get the hint.
He kept following her
around, making Serena more convinced than ever that he was on the level.
No man
could be so pathetic and clueless about his lack of charm unless socially
challenged and weird to begin with.
How could poor Dan really be a cad?

And, where the hell was Sean?

Serena decided not to prolong the night.
Better to have
dinner and get the evening over with as soon as possible, regardless of whether
or not her date showed up.
She, Dan and Monica would make an uncomfortable
threesome, have dinner, then part company.
With any luck, she could be home
commiserating with her brother by nine.

The hostess brought them to a semicircled booth.
Serena slid
in, leaving ample space for her clients.
Monica eased in next to her leaving
space for Dan.
Dating Disaster Dan pushed in next to Serena on the other side,
causing both women to glide over the booth seat to make room for him.

Great.
Sandwiched in the middle
.

Monica declined a drink or appetizer and complained about
what she perceived to be only fattening food on the menu.
Dan gushed over the
menu selections, excitingly pointing out all the wonderful choices available.
Serena, attempting to squelch any stomach knots, tried to sound pleasant and
interested in the many dishes he discussed as her brain glazed over at his one-sided
conversation.

She and Dan had wine and shared two appetizers.
Monica
stared off into space, refusing any offers to taste foods after telling the
waiter to be sure and bring a box for her leftovers.

As their meals were served, Sean rushed in to join them, an
overdone smile covering his face and a hand placed over his heart.
“Sorry I’m a
little late.
Got tied up at work.” He delivered his greeting with a curt nod to
Dan and brief smile to Serena.
His eyes then focused on Monica and remained
there as he took inventory of the woman seated next to Serena.
“I’m Sean.”

He leveled a very long look at Monica, one of a man sizing
up his next date.
Totally ignored, Serena slouched in her seat, witnessing a
definite unplanned and mismatched “love at first sight” scenario unfolding
before her eyes.

Monica’s grin accompanied her batting eyelashes as she held
out her hand toward Sean.
Serena knew that “I’m interested” stare Monica aimed
at Sean meant Dan didn’t stand a chance.

“Well, hello there.
I’m Monica.
Why don’t you sit down right
here next to me.
You must be exhausted after a long day at work.” The woman
practically purred with interest.

Serena almost choked on her forkful of linguini.
Sean?
Work?
The man worked as a security guard at some corporate office and sat on his rear
end all day, watching monitors.

Sean grinned at the blonde and slid onto the seat next to
her.
Serena couldn’t help but notice how the woman scooted away from her and
closer to the new arrival.

Curious to note how Dan processed the scene between his date
and hers, she casually glanced at him.
The man continued to eat his meal with
gusto, seemingly oblivious to the budding interest between the other two
clients.
As he chewed he smiled at Serena, never hinting his date’s behavior
bothered him in the least.

“Hey, I’m Dan.” He offered a greeting to the other man then
slid closer to Serena.
“How am I doing?” Dan whispered to her.

Like a brick wall.
Dense.
Off in left field, more interested
in your food than the fact that your date is getting chummy with Sean.

How could she still wonder if he was out to meet women for
his own agenda?
Mr.
Nerd?

Thanks, Morgan.
I feel like an idiot.
Dan kept
shoveling food into his mouth, regardless of how much his stomach churned from
aggravation over continuing his little charade.
Keeping up the pretense of
being clueless about Monica’s interest in Sean and obvious revulsion over him,
caused his insides to clench.

No point in making a scene since the blonde
warded off any and all moves he tried at catching her attention.
Maybe he
wasn’t her type.

He eyed his rival, noting how he himself might look to a
woman in comparison to the new arrival.
Hmm.
Dressed casually, there was
nothing fancy about his own attire.
Sean, on the other hand, wore a suit and
tie, presenting a “richer” image.
Maybe the guy was out to lure a wealthy
customer and fingered the blonde as someone who had money.

Dan guessed it could be a possibility the woman was a target
although her file didn’t indicate her monetary status.
As a model, or an
aspiring one, she dressed expensively.
Could have a fortune hidden away
somewhere that only Serena might be privy to.
Maybe the woman wanted to keep
that part of her life a secret and off her file info.

If her interest demanded finding someone with money to burn,
there remained the possibility that Monica channeled her attention on Sean
because he seemed a more likely candidate.
Although he came across as a slick
loser, maybe the guy was really a rich idiot in disguise and Serena knew this.

Then, what the hell was he there for?

To play chaperon?

Make the meeting look legit?

Could be.

Dan returned his attention to the conversation going on
between Sean and Monica.
Neither seemed interested in including the other two
people at their table.

Serena’s head ached.
Although she’d hoped for some success
for Dan if he truly wanted to find someone and wasn’t a con artist, the evening
wasn’t going as planned.
She couldn’t deny a tiny twinge of jealousy over
Monica being his date, then relief when the blonde dismissed him for Sean.
The
night would end quickly if Serena moved fast.

Sean hadn’t ordered a main dish, only a dessert that he
shared with Monica.
Dan and Serena chose decaf coffee.

When the bill was presented, the foursome split the tab.
Dan
and Serena exited the booth while the other two stayed seated.

“Uh, hope you don’t mind but Monica and I want to finish our
discussion.”

Grateful for some type of closure and the ability to exit
gracefully, Serena smiled.
“Not a problem.
I don’t know much about hard rock
music anyway.
You two enjoy yourselves.”

She then directed her attention to Dan, wondering how he’d
take the news.
After all, the man had just been dumped.

Like me
.

He had the air of someone not at all affected by his date’s
snub.
“Sure.
I don’t much care for that kind of music.
More of a country music
fan myself.
Nice meeting both of you.”

With a humbling graciousness Serena wished she could
portray, Dan shook hands with the happily seated couple.
He then escorted her
out of the restaurant.

“Nice couple.
Sorry your date ignored you.” Dan’s comment
came as they settled themselves inside the car for the ride back to her office.

Serena bristled at his comment.
“He wasn’t really my date.
I
mean, uh, we just went out to make up the foursome.
Sorry Monica didn’t work
out for you.”

“Well, I know I made lots of mistakes tonight so I can’t
blame her.
You’ll just have to give me more help in getting ready for my next
dinner date.”

Neither spoke during the rest of the ride.
Dan tried to
review the evening’s disastrous scenes.
First, he’d made a fool of himself by
hounding Monica in the lobby and following her around like a lovesick puppy.
Then, he’d acted the complete buffoon and talked incessantly about food,
something his date obviously had no interest in.
His switch in gears and
rambling on about the insurance business only succeeded in gaining yawns from
everyone at the table.

The only spark of interest developed when Sean joined the
group trying to speak Italian.
Dan’s only dilemma—figure out if the airhead
blonde’s goal pushed her to chase Sean or if Mr.
Phony Italian Accent was
putting the moves on Monica.

Hmm.
Either one of them might have viewed the other as a
potential target with money.
Monica had talked about all her lucrative modeling
jobs in the works.
And, Sean did mention an inheritance becoming available in a
month.

So, who was Serena setting up?
Her plan all along must have
been to get the two together.
Maybe their number and letter didn’t match
initially and using the guise of a foursome gave her the chance to throw Sean
at Monica…or the other way around.
After all, she had said she and Sean weren’t
actually on a date.

This whole “sight” thing didn’t sit right with
Dan.
Hell, Monica had nothing in common with him.
She wasn’t his type at all.
He preferred someone like, well, Serena.

But, how could he fall for a fraud?

* * * * *

Serena thanked Dan for the ride when they parked next to her
car.
A near-blinding headache would only subside as soon as she could put the
disastrous evening behind her.
She opened the car door and scooted out of the
seat.

“I’m sorry the night didn’t go as planned.
I’ll call
tomorrow to set up your next dinner date.”

“That’ll be fine, as long as you tag along, too.
Now that
you’ve seen me in action, you have to admit I need help.”

Maybe.
Maybe not if it’s just a game.

“We’ll practice again before going out.
And, don’t worry.
I
definitely will bring a date and make it a party of four.”

With a fake smile, Serena slammed the car door shut,
purposefully staying rooted to the ground while waving to Dan as he drove away.
Maybe now the pounding in her head would stop.

Instead of going right home, she’d make a quick stop into
her office.
There she’d pull out the file for Miss “E”.

Serena reviewed their evening, wondering how it had gone
from anxious to flop.
Could Dan be so much of a loser he just didn’t have any
charm to throw at women?

He’d been more interested in his food than the blonde, who
happened to be a model.
Didn’t he find her attractive?

Hmm.
Maybe beauty didn’t interest him.
Perhaps his mode of
operation dictated he approach and dazzle plain-looking women, ones who might
be thrilled at his attention.
He was, after all, a handsome man.
Someone she
found herself attracted to.