CHAPTERFOUR
“Hallie? Come on in. I was glad you called.” Gerri’s warm smile made Hallie feel at home.
“Sorry if I sounded so unsure about meeting you. I’ve never done anything like this. I mean, I don’t know. How does any of this even work?”
“Well, you could say I work with a very select group of clients. Exceptional people with exceptional desires.”
“Um, I hardly think of myself as exceptional. Are you sure I can be one of your clients?” Hallie glanced down at her jeans and sneakers. They certainly didn’t scream exceptional. Neither did her red, straight hair that lacked any sort of volume or curl.
She definitely wasn’t the runway-model type with a slender waist and long legs. Nope. She was a whopping five foot four with more curves than she could count, and she was well gifted in the breast department. Hell, she probably had large enough breasts that could be broken down into several tiny breasts for those slender-waisted, flat-chested models who most people considered exceptional.
What Hallie didn’t know was that Sierra had previously called Gerri. She wanted to make sure it would be okay to share her contact information with a human. But even Sierra knew there was something very special about Hallie. She sensed something about her. There were shifters out there whose fates hadn’t been revealed. Perhaps Hallie was one of those, she wondered. And she hoped Gerri could help.
“Oh, you’re definitely exceptional. Have a seat, relax, and tell me about yourself.”
Hallie sighed and sat on a comfortable, overstuffed chair. “Well, I guess I’m a bit of a nerdy bookworm in some ways. I completed college with a degree in zoology. I went on to work on my master’s, and I’ve been doing field research with the university ever since.”
“So, you are also adventurous. You like being out in nature, exploring.”
“Yeah. I’m really into my work, and I love being out in the field more than anything.”
“That’s great. Where are you working now?”
“Bayou Rouge. Locals have been reporting a lot of unusual activity, and I did find some huge cat tracks. But it all turned out to be nothing more than a dead end. I’m starting to think it’s all part of an elaborate hoax. It does happen. I did happen to catch a glimpse of a very exceptional specimen of the male human species, so I guess it wasn’t a complete waste of my time.”
“Large cat tracks? And a hot man. Interesting. So, tell me what you’re looking for on a personal level.”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure. I want to just explore what a real relationship could be like. You know, meaningful, not superficial. But yet with … umm …”
“But with passionate sex?”
“Yeah. A whole lot of that.” Hallie laughed.
“Are you thinking of long-term?”
“You mean like love-of-my-life, happily-ever-after sort of thing? I don’t know. Maybe someday.”
“Hmm. Okay. Now, what if I told you that the man you spotted down in the bayou just so happens to be a potential client of mine.”
“What?” Hallie nearly choked.
“Yes. Only, he doesn’t know it yet. His best friend wants me to steer him toward someone. Someone like you.”
“Huh? No way! Really? Oh my God.”
“Yep. His name is Rev. His friend happens to be Eddie, who is Sierra’s partner. So, this is going to be different than the way I normally work. We are going to work together to get you on Rev’s radar. But you are armed with the knowledge that he is lonely and looking for the same thing you are. What do you say? Are you up to the challenge?”
“Are you crazy? Of course, I am. But you have to tell me what to do because I’m totally awkward when it comes to meeting a guy, much less a man like him.”
“It’ll be easy. The key is to keep you in your most comfortable element, in the field.”
“Great. So, you think I should go slink around the bayou and stalk him like he’s a rare wild cat?”
Gerri laughed with a knowing look in her eye that Hallie didn’t understand. “That’s exactly what I want you to do. We need to engineer this, so Rev has no idea that he’s being set up. I guess he’s completely opposed to the idea of being on a blind date with anyone. He’s a bit of a loner, and Eddie and Sierra just want the best for him.”
“And that includes finding the right girl for him?” Hallie asked.
“Exactly. So, what do you say? Are you up to the challenge?” Gerri asked with a sparkle in her eye.