Tycoon (Book Boyfriend Dating Agency)
CHAPTER ONE
Amara
The restaurant’s delicious smells assaulted my nostrils, but I wasn’t hungry. I loved to eat, and nothing usually limited my appetite unless I was sick. But this anger coursing through me had me not appreciating the cozy setting of my favorite restaurant on this Saturday afternoon.
“He’s a fucking bastard!” Stacy spat out her brown eyes narrowed with indignation then she sipped her iced water, her frustration reflecting in my own brown orbs.
“I agree,” I started to say and stopped when the waiter approached our table, interrupting our conversation with a polite smile and a menu held outstretched in his hand. We exchanged perfunctory greetings as we grasped the menus.
“Do you need time to order?”
“No, I know what I would like.” I decided not to allow Darriun to ruin a perfectly good meal with my best friend.
“I do too,” Stacy replied, and we gave the waiter our orders.
“Your orders will be out shortly,” the waiter replied before walking away.
“Darriun is an insensitive jerk, to say the least!” Stacy grunted out, her voice carrying a mixture of disbelief and anger that matches the storm brewing within me.
I traced the rim of my water glass with my finger, the condensation cold against my skin. The invitation sits on the table between us like an uninvited guest, mocking me with its white envelope and delicate script.
“I just can’t wrap my head around it,” I confessed, my voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking any louder might shatter the slight calm I've managed to maintain.
Stacy reached across the table, her hand finding mine in a gesture to comfort me. “You deserve so much better, Amara. Darriun doesn’t know what he’s missing.”
Her words are somewhat encouraging to my wounded pride, but they offer little relief to the ache in my chest. Darriun, my once-devoted boyfriend of three years, now feels like a stranger—an intruder in the pits of my soul.
“I thought I knew him,” I murmured, my gaze drifting to the window where the afternoon sunlight danced across the clear blue sky. “But maybe I never did.”
Stacy squeezed my hand gently, her expression softening with understanding. “Sometimes people change, or maybe we just didn’t see them clearly from the start.”
Her words caused me to pause, maybe she’s right. When Darriun and I first started dating our minds and bodies were in tune with one another. Then as the first year passed, we got into a somewhat boring routine. Maybe we started taking one another for granted. I was busy with work working for Smith you mean to tell me she found Malcom on this app. Why am I just now hearing about it?”
“I didn’t want to tell her business, but this is for a great cause. I want you to stick it to Darriun and this is a great way to do it. Download this app and pick you out the hunkiest man available. Make that bastard regret ever letting you go.”
Could this really work? I could accept the invitation to my ex’s wedding and keep my pride by bringing a date at the same time?
For a moment, I entertained the notion of not being petty and get back at Darriun but as quickly as the thought arises, I pushed it aside, reminding myself that my pride is worth salvaging. I handed Stacy’s phone back and picked up my own. I quickly typed out a message letting Darriun know when and where we can meet. Then I clicked on the apple store to download The Book Boyfriend Dating app.
“That’s my friend,” Stacy gave me a satisfied look before we began eating again. Already my heart felt lighter. The thought that a swipe of a screen or the click of a button could give me this much hope lessens my anger and fills me with optimism.