The CEO Daddy Next Door by Karen Booth Page A

feel like such a clod.
    Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley saw a woman approaching the table. She had a piece of paper and a pen in hand.
    â€œI think someone’s coming over for my autograph,” she whispered to Marcus.
    â€œReally?” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Oh. So I see.”
    â€œAshley, I’m your biggest fan,” the woman said, trembling as she inched closer to the table.
    Marcus’s expression said that he was truly embarrassed. This made Ashley want to invite the woman to join them.
    Ashley scooted over on the banquette seat and patted the cushion. “What’s your name?”
    â€œMichelle. Can I have your autograph?”
    Ashley took the piece of paper and scrawled her signature, personalizing it and adding a bit about hoping she had a life full of true love. “I hope you enjoy this. It was very nice to meet you, Michelle.”
    Tears began to stream down the woman’s cheeks as she looked at what Ashley had written. “My boyfriend broke up with me. I don’t know why. I thought he was the one, but I guess he wasn’t because he left.”
    Marcus noticeably bristled, and Ashley shot him a look. This poor woman was hurting so badly that Ashley could feel the pain square in the middle of her chest. Breakups were always the worst kind of heartache, the kind that felt permanent, a life sentence, like it would never go away.
    Ashley rummaged through her purse for a tissue and handed it to Michelle. “Sometimes we have to be with the wrong ones just to help us learn what we want out of a partner.”
    Michelle nodded, wiping the tears from her cheek. “It just feels so hopeless right now. I feel so hopeless. I don’t even know what to do. I walk around this city all day long like a zombie and I have to just smile and go to work and pretend I’m not feeling any of it. I hate it.”
    Marcus stood. “You ladies will have to excuse me.” He stalked away. Everything in his body language said that he was annoyed. Ashley wasn’t sure where he was going, and she wasn’t entirely sure that she cared.
    Ashley thought back to the months after the breakup with James. He had made her feel so important at first, as if she truly belonged in this unfamiliar world of money, stature and fame. He’d propped her up and helped her see her own worth. Just as easily, he’d torn her down, claiming that she’d led him on since she wasn’t ready for marriage. She wasn’t ready for children. He didn’t care that she felt so overwhelmed by her life that the idea of marriage and children just made her stressed out. And for that, she’d been turned into a zombie, just like Michelle, forced to smile and do her job while her heart crumbled into tiny pieces.
    She had to help this woman. Without hesitation, she pulled a business card out of her purse and handed it over. She wouldn’t normally give her contact information to a fan, but this was important. “Tell you what. I want you to go on the show’s website and fill out the dating profile and an application to be on Manhattan Matchmaker .”
    Michelle’s tears made a swift reappearance. “Really? I’ve heard it’s practically impossible to get on the show.”
    Ashley smiled wide. These were the moments she lived for, when she had a real chance to help someone. “And that’s where my card comes in. Send me an email when you’ve done it and I’ll have the producers move up your application.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œNo promises, but we’ll give you the best chance possible. If there’s a match for you in our database, I’ll find him.”
    â€œYou’re being so nice to me. I don’t even know what to say.”
    â€œYou know what, Michelle? I’m helping you because I know exactly how you feel. Exactly.”
    * * *
    Marcus waited for the water in the sink to heat up, glaring at his