Page 1 of An Unexpected Match
Chapter One
“The thing is, Arden, I hear Brendan Ferguson is a by-the-book kind of guy.”
Arden Glover looked at her best friend and temporary roommate in surprise. Slowly buttoning her brocade vest, she shrugged.
“Then I’ll give him a by-the-book kind of interview.”
Patti hooted with laughter. “You? By the book?”
Arden grinned and studied her reflection in the mirror. This was the third outfit she’d tried on. If she didn’t decide soon, she’d be late for the interview and then it wouldn’t matter if it went by the book or not.
This would have to do. The dark blue skirt brushed the tops of her knees. The multicolored, jewel-tone brocade vest contrasted nicely. It was too hot to bother with a blouse. May had been warm all month and her legs were tanned enough to forego stockings.
Eyes twinkling, she glanced slyly at her friend.
“You doubt I can pull it off?”
“Somehow, I can’t imagine you as a follow-the-rules kind of person. Of course, you could be hiding that aspect from me. We’ve only known each other a few years.”
Patti grinned at her own joke.
Arden looked at her in mock surprise.
“I’m amazed you doubt me. I never speed when driving. I balance my checkbook every month, and I always look both ways before crossing the street. How much more follow-the-rules could I be?”
“You start work at four in the afternoon and don’t stop until four in the morning, then sleep all day. You eat pizza for breakfast and pancakes for dinner. And you keep your great-aunts out long past curfew. How’s that for starters?” Patti said.
“Curfew for women in their eighties is ridiculous. And it was only that one time. Besides, I like pizza anytime of the day. What should I do with my hair?”
Slipping on her sandals, Arden studied her hair. How should she fix that? The wild tangle of blond curls was the bane of her existence. All her life she’d longed for glossy straight dark hair. Of course, she’d also longed to be petite with an air of fragility, too. None of her wishes along those lines had come true. She believed she had accepted the fact that she was tall and slender with wild hair. But the old dreams sometimes surfaced. Today was one of those times.
“Wear it pulled back, with a bow that picks up the blue in the vest,” Patti suggested, stretching and sitting up on the edge of the bed. “Worn loose, you look about fifteen and he won’t think you’re old enough to watch his little girls. If you do anything elaborate, he’ll think you’re too sophisticated. I don’t know why you have to do this, anyway. You’re welcome to stay here. I’ve told you that a dozen times.”
Arden smiled at her friend.
“You’ve been a lifesaver. I don’t know where I would have gone when the aunts moved into that retirement home if I couldn’t have come here. But what works for the two of us while Doug is out on deployment won’t work when he gets home. You won’t want a third around and you know it.”
Patti’s husband was a submariner currently finishing a three-month cruise and scheduled to return before the first of June. Arden knew how much the newlyweds would want their own space. She was determined to find something by then that would allow her to move into a place of her own.
Patti blushed and shrugged, but stars filled her eyes. “I guess.”
“I know for sure Doug won’t want me here. If I get this job, it’ll solve all my worries. The ad mentioned a place to live. Combine that with the tidy salary offered and the kind of work I can do while I continue with school, it’s all absolutely perfect.”
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Besides, you’ll never make it. He’s a real rules-and-regulations kind of guy,” Patti warned.
“For heaven’s sake, Patti. Brendan Ferguson is a security expert. They’re the kings of spontaneity having to cover all contingencies. How by-the-rules can he be? My understanding of the breed is that they counter any attempts at security breaches, foil kidnappings of rich businessmen, think fast on their feet and still come out ahead. Doesn’t sound like he crosses every t and dots every I to me.”
Studying the effect of her hair, Arden nodded, clasping on a blue bow.
“I guess this will work.”
“You’ll knock him dead,” her friend said loyally.
“Oh, that’s great. I need him alive to hire me.”
Arden arrived at the high-rise office building for her interview well before her scheduled time. She refused to acknowledge the nervousness that plagued her as she stepped into the elevator. Instead, she concentrated on how best to make a good first impression. Patti had seen the discrete job posting on the bulletin board in the building’s coffee shop, and told Arden about it. Now she was about to meet the man who needed a nanny for his preschool daughters.
Stepping off the elevator a few moments later, she glanced around with interest. She’d never been in a high-security company before and was curious to see if she could spot any of the devices they probably used as a matter of course. They must have monitors, video cameras, laser beams everywhere.