Twice the Charm Read online

  Twice the Charm

  The MFM Dating Agency

  Marie Carnay

  Contents

  Twice the Charm

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Also by Marie Carnay

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2017 by Marie Carnay. Cover and internal design © by Marie Carnay. Cover image copyright © Deposit Photos, 2017.

  All rights reserved. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  The use of stock photo images in this e-book in no way imply that the models depicted personally endorse, condone, or engage in the fictional conduct depicted herein, expressly or by implication. The person(s) depicted are models and are used for illustrative purposes only.

  This book is for sale to mature, adult audiences only. It contains sexually explicit situations and graphic language which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store this e-book where it cannot be accessed by minors.

  Twice the Charm

  An MFM Dating Agency Novel

  We deal in money, not curvy blondes.

  Foster and Dixon run their development company like a well-oiled machine and have the bank accounts to prove it. But when they set their sights on a tiny matchmaking company, the gears grind to a halt. The owner’s not just a sexy blonde with a feisty personality; she’s the one woman who can give them both a run for their money.

  Between a day job and her matchmaking business, Harlow has no time to think, let alone date. When Foster and Dixon offer to buy a stake in her company, she turns them down cold. She never expects a final meeting with the sexy as sin developers to turn into a night she’ll never forget.

  With more than just money on the line, can these three find a way to a happy ever after? Or are they destined to say goodbye to not just the deal, but the chance at love?

  Chapter 1

  HARLOW

  “I can’t thank you enough for setting me up, Harlow.” Maddie’s happiness bubbled through the phone line and Harlow smiled despite the day she’d had.

  “That has to be thank you number five thousand. Message received.” If her boss and coworkers at her day job heaped the same sort of praise on her shoulders, Harlow would be on cloud nine every day. Unfortunately, the only time she heard such kind words were when she dabbled in her part-time matchmaking business.

  “Refusing to let you use your skills for so long was a colossal mistake. Huge. Enormous. Epic.”

  Harlow laughed at her best friend. They had met years ago in college and stayed close ever since. With Maddie head over heels in love, Harlow hadn’t seen her lately, but it was worth it. “I’m just glad you finally found someone.”

  Maddie laughed. “Two someones!”

  “Don’t remind me.” It had been Harlow’s screw-up that sent Maddie on a blind date with two men. Lucky for her, she’d found not one, but two soul mates out of the embarrassing ordeal. Had it not worked out so well, Harlow would never have forgiven herself for the mistake.

  Matchmakers don’t double-book. It’s rule number one.

  Thankfully, Mitch and Clark gave Maddie everything she needed and then some.

  Maddie’s exuberance cut through her thoughts. “Now you need to put those skills to work on the girl in the mirror. If you can find me two perfect matches, you can find yourself at least one!”

  Harlow exhaled. “I’m too busy to date and you know it.” Clicking open the window on her computer, Harlow glanced at her calendar. Practically every little box contained a colored stripe, reminding her of work assignments, potential matchmaking clients to meet, interviews to give, and a million other not-to-be-missed appointments.

  She didn’t have time to cook, let alone date, and Harlow liked it that way. The busier her day, the easier to forget about all the what-ifs. Relationships and Harlow didn’t mix. She might be a skilled matchmaker for her clients and friends, but she struck out when it came to herself.

  “Quitting that dead-end job of yours would free up some time.”

  “This dead-end job pays the bills, thank you very much.”

  “Your matchmaking business would too, if you let it.”

  Harlow opened her mouth to respond when a familiar scent of stale coffee and greasy donut filled her nose. Crap. Sometimes Maddie had a point. “I’ve got to go, the boss is coming.” She ended the call as Maddie said goodbye and stuffed her phone in her purse.

  A pair of pudgy forearms appeared over the edge of her cubicle and Harlow looked up. Her boss captured the classic overworked middle-management vibe perfectly: too-long hair hiding a bald spot, short-sleeved dress shirt with a coffee stain on the pocket, and a smirk that said he owned her from nine to five and never forgot it.

  Harlow wished he’d go back to whatever bad comedy movie he’d crawled out of and stay there. It would make her day job a million times more bearable.

  She smiled, instead. “Hi, Bill. What can I do for you?”

  He leaned closer as he smacked his lips. A foamy blob of spittle clung to one corner of his mouth and Harlow stared at it, unable to tear her gaze away.

  “Do you have the latest stats on the rollout?”

  The what? She blinked Bill back into focus. “I gave them to you last week.” He came by to ask me about the launch? It’s weeks away. She frowned. “We’re still on schedule for an April launch.”

  “About that.” He paused and a prickly ball of dread rolled down Harlow’s throat as she swallowed. A pause was bad. “I’m going to need you to push that up to the middle of March.”

  What?! Her eyes bugged, but Harlow managed to keep the screech of shock from coming out her mouth. Mid-March? She ran the calculations in her head, ticking off all the yet-to-be done requirements.

  Creating real-time tracking software for a company as massive as their client that updated on every customer’s screen the instant a sale was made wasn’t easy. It was one of the main product lines for their business, but customers didn’t come to them for an off-the-shelf version. They came for custom-tailored software.

  Harlow exhaled. Unless she cloned herself, there was no way to finish the coding and testing in time to meet that deadline unless she worked around the clock.

  She pressed her lips together. Keep your voice calm, babe. “Is there a reason for the change?”

  Bill narrowed his eyes, gaze darting around her tidy cubicle like a rat scoping out a kitchen cabinet. After a moment, he shrugged. “If you don’t think you can do it, I can always add another team member to the project.”

  He leered at her and Harlow suppressed a shiver.

  “Steve asked about it yesterday.”

  Oh, God. Steve made Bill seem like a dream come true. The man oozed smarm and letch and everything nasty about the wrong type of man. Harlow could feel his hands on her shoulders as he leaned over to stare down her shirt. Ugh.

  They’d collaborated on exactly one project in the past and Harlow i
ntended to keep it that way. No way could Steve be a part of this launch. She’d rather quit than deal with him again, but quitting wasn’t part of her plan. She needed a nest egg the size of Lake Michigan before she could quit this job.

  Damn it. She chewed on her cheek as Bill stared down at her with that same stupid grin.

  At last, she sighed. “There isn’t anyone else?”

  Bill smacked his lips for the millionth time. Are they dry? Coated in donut glaze? Harlow never figured her boss out. He seemed to revel in other people’s misfortune. It made her skin crawl. She didn’t know if she could survive Steve.

  “No one else has—”

  A perky voice spoke up from the other side of Harlow’s cubicle, cutting Bill off. “I have time. I could help.”

  Leanne popped up from the other side, the black and red waves of her hair bouncing as she smiled. “I just finished the matrix for grocery products and need something else to do.”

  Harlow mouthed a silent thank you. Leanne had only been with the company a few months, but since she’d snagged the desk one thin cubicle wall away from Harlow, the two had hit it off. Some days Leanne was the only reason Harlow didn’t slap a fish on her desk and call it a day.

  A huge added bonus were Leanne’s real-time warehouse tracking skills. Her ability to program software for suppliers was one of the main reasons she’d been hired. If it weren’t for Harlow’s web coding expertise and Leanne’s workload, she’d have been assigned the project from the start.

  Bill frowned at them both, but there was nothing he could do. After a few scratches of his bald spot, he gave in. “All right. Leanne, you help Harlow with the launch. But March fifteenth is firm. Not a day later.”

  Both women bobbed their heads up and down. “Understood.”

  With another brief glare, Bill thumped the padded wall of the cubicle and walked away.

  Harlow leaned back in relief. “You have no idea how grateful I am right now.” She turned to Leanne. “Thank. You.”

  “You’re welcome.” Leanne leaned over the wall with a grin. “I couldn’t let you get trapped with Steve. You’d probably quit and then who would I have to sit with and complain about work? Besides, you’re the only person here who lets me borrow their stapler.”

  Leanne held out her hand and Harlow plopped the bright blue Swingline into it. “We should probably talk about the project. I can get you up to speed—”

  Her coworker held up the stapler for silence. “No talk about work until you tell me all about the matchmaking business. From what I hear, you’re amazing, incredible, and worth your weight in diamonds.”

  Harlow raised an eyebrow. “When did Maddie stop by?”

  “Yesterday. She wanted to know if the coffee here still tasted like motor oil and if the break room ever had cookies. I think she’s sending a gift basket.”

  Harlow shook her head. If Maddie didn’t cut it out soon, the whole office would know about Harlow’s side business. “She’s overreacting.”

  “Not the way she tells it.” Leanne stapled a collated stack of papers and handed the stapler back. “Is it true? Did she really fall in love with two guys?”

  Harlow crossed her heart. “One hundred percent truth.”

  “Wow. Any pushback?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Friends, family, bosses? I can’t imagine Bill being too supportive if one of us wound up in a threesome.”

  Harlow snorted. “Bill can go to hell. If she’s happy, then it really isn’t anyone else’s business, is it?”

  “I guess not.” Leanne waved in Harlow’s general direction. “If you’re so good at the matchmaking thing, why haven’t you found the perfect guy?”

  That one was easy. “I don’t have time to date.”

  Leanne raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I should have let Steve help on this project. If you’re using work as an excuse to stay single…”

  “It’s not an excuse. It’s the truth. I work here full-time and run the matchmaking business every spare minute. It’s lucky I can fit in yoga and groceries at all. Half the time I fall asleep on the couch at night and don’t wake up until the morning.”

  She knew the more she defended herself, the more desperate she sounded, but Harlow couldn’t stop. She had to set the record straight. “I don’t need a man to be successful. I’m making my own way.”

  Leanne crossed her arms and gave Harlow an I’m-not-buying-it look.

  “What?”

  “Doesn’t sound like you have a lot of time in your life for love, but everyone needs some. Even you.”

  Leanne motioned at the cubicle walls full of photos. Happy couple after happy couple, all smiling for the camera. Harlow’s successful matches, every one. “Don’t you want to look like one of those women?”

  “Pfft. Don’t be silly.” Harlow pulled up her calendar. “I look like that every time I make a match.” She pulled her calendar back up on her computer. “I’m all about love. Love is my business.”

  Pointing at the screen, she waited for Leanne to take a look. “See all those red lines? Appointments for my matchmaking service. Look at all the love on my screen. It’s like Valentine’s Day every day.”

  “Are any of those a date for you?”

  Harlow grinned. “Of course. I’ve got an appointment tonight with two eligible bachelors.”

  “But are they interested in you?”

  “I’m going to help them find their perfect match. It’s all the love I need.”

  Chapter 2

  FOSTER

  “As soon as she finds out what we’re really after, she’ll walk out.” Foster leaned back in the chair, waiting for his business partner to come to his senses.

  “No she won’t.” Dixon swallowed a mouthful of scotch and motioned with the empty glass for a refill. “One look at the offer and she’ll be all ears.”

  “Is that before or after she throws a drink at you?”

  “Don’t let that underused dick of yours affect your judgment. She’ll be pissed, sure. But we can get past it.”

  “Really? And how do you think we’ll manage that?”

  Dixon grinned. “With my charm of course.”

  Christ. Foster rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the front door of the restaurant. Dixon might be one of the best closers in the startup world, but the man’s ego could give Mount Everest a run for its money. The air was so thin up where his head was at, he couldn’t smell his own shit.

  It had been three months since Foster stumbled across the Crane Matchmaking Agency. According to the website, Harlow Crane single-handedly created and built the business in her spare time, doing everything from web design to personalized matchmaking.

  The woman had taken a fledgling idea and turned it into something with serious potential. It was exactly the type of business MacSwift Development looked to purchase. With their business acumen and money behind it, the company could grow from a tiny, local service to nationwide in a matter of months.

  They just had to convince Harlow to sell.

  A fresh drink arrived for Dixon and he held it up in a toast. “To the future of matchmaking. May it multiply and prosper.”

  Foster clinked his glass and sipped. “You seem awfully confident, Dix.”

  “When have we ever struck out? Every business we’ve bought has turned a profit, and every sale we’ve closed has netted us a tidy sum. We’re good at what we do. That’s a fact.”

  Foster couldn’t deny it, but so far, Harlow had been a brick wall of not interested. “I’ve been emailing and calling her for three months. She’s never given us the time of day. Pretending to be a pair of eligible bachelors isn’t going to change that; it’ll just make her hate us more.”

  “Stop selling us short.”

  “I’m not. But maybe we should go about this a little differently.” He’d been struggling with Dixon’s decision to pose as clients all week.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Foster knew Dixon wouldn’t like his ide
a, but he didn’t see another option. “Let’s make it legitimate. We can use her services and make the sale. She can’t blow us off if we’re clients, too.”

  Dixon scrunched up his face. “Use a matchmaker? What the hell for? I’ve got more game than a college hoops team.”

  “But you don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “And I don’t want one. I tried that once, remember? It didn’t work out.”

  Foster exhaled. Here we go again. “Kendra was years ago. Plenty of people strike out the first time. It doesn’t mean you can’t find another woman to love.”

  Dixon shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m interested in the money this business can make, not in the services it provides.”

  Foster raised his brow. “After all the positive things you’ve said about the woman, I’m surprised. I’d have guessed you’d want to know what she can do.”

  “Look who’s talking. The first time you told me about the business, I swear you had a hard-on. Just thinking about a wife gets you all hot and bothered. I bet you jerked one off as soon as I set this meeting up. Am I right?”

  Foster gave Dixon the middle finger before breaking down into laughter. With the constant bickering and pot shots, outsiders assumed the pair hated each other’s guts, but in truth, they were as close as brothers.

  If Foster had any siblings, he’d have wished for one like Dixon: bold enough to tell him when he was being an asshole and strong enough to take all he could dish out.

  The two of them might disagree on everything from strategy to where to eat dinner, but that’s what made them closer friends and better business partners. Dixon was a major pain in the ass, but he was the best friend Foster ever had. He couldn’t imagine not being by his side.

  “You’re wrong about the business. Hiring a matchmaker could do you some good.”

  Even if he wouldn’t admit it, Dixon needed Harlow’s services. It had been five years since his fiancée walked out on him. Sure, he dated, but no woman stuck around longer than a week or two at best.