The Billionaire Glitch Date - Elle James Page 0,3

feel that way. Emma felt the same about Marcus and look how happy she is with Coop. We’ll find someone for you. Trust me.”

“What scares me is the thought of finding someone else and losing him, too,” Ariana said. “I think it’s safer to live alone than to give my heart away a second time, only to have it broken all over again.”

“You can’t live life expecting the worse,” Leslie said softly. “You don’t teach that at your studio, do you?” She took Ariana’s arm and walked her around the desk to the hallway leading into her suite of offices. “No, you don’t,” she answered for her. “You help your clients to see the beauty in life that makes it worth living. You show them how to let go of the things they can’t change and change the things they can. You help them find their mental balance as well as their physical balance.”

“Life is all about balance,” Ariana said, nodding. “When you lose someone you love, it shifts the balance.”

“And it’s up to the individual to redefine their balance.” Leslie grinned. “I learned that from you. In your yoga class.”

Ariana smiled. “I said that, didn’t I?” She drew in a deep breath. “Change can be good. But not all change can be controlled.” Her brow furrowed. “Sam proved that. Since his death, I try not to let the little things bother me.”

“You can think of my dating service as a little thing. Don’t let it bother you. Let the system do the work of finding the right person for you.”

“To date,” Ariana stated. “I’m only promising to go on one date. I’m not ready for anything else.”

“One date,” Leslie agreed. “You’ll see. BODS will match you with the right person. It’s up to you if you want to see him after the first date.” Leslie squeeze her arm. “I’m certain you’ll be happy with the results and want to see more of him.”

“One date,” Ariana insisted. “That’s all I’m promising.”

“Okay.” Leslie guided her past an open door to a conference room with a large dark table and white leather chairs all around it. She passed a closed door on the left and stopped at another door, pushing it open to reveal a small desk with a white leather chair and a computer. “I’ll help you get set up, logged on and save your photo. Then, as I told you before you came, I have to leave before you finish entering your profile. You can leave when you’re done. If you want someone to walk you out to your car in the parking garage, the security guard on the first floor can help you.”

“Thanks, Leslie. I know I need to get back out there, and I appreciate that you care enough to help me.”

“If I didn’t think you could be happier, I wouldn’t push so much. Give yourself a chance.” She hugged Ariana. “Now, let’s get this system up and running.”

Leslie logged on, brought up the software program, helped Ariana snap a good photo of herself using the webcam and saved it to her profile. Then she stood back and nodded. “The rest is up to you. When you leave, just pull the door to the office closed behind you. It will lock automatically.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Ariana said, waving her away. “I’ll do my best.”

“You’re an amazing woman, and I can’t wait to see who BODS comes up with for you.” Leslie smiled and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her with a soft snick.

Ariana frowned. She had forgotten to ask what BODS stood for. She could guess the letters “ODS” were for Online Dating Service, but the B?

She shrugged. Next time she saw Leslie, she’d remember to ask. In the meantime, she had a questionnaire to fill out and her life to change.

After she entered the standard information about her age, height and occupation, she started into her preferences, likes and dislikes. This part was harder than she’d anticipated. At one time in her past, she’d been very structured and had liked keeping tight control on everything in her life. She’d worked at a Fortune 500 company, scheduled meetings, worked with others and kept a regimented work and home life.

Until Sam had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

All through his treatments, she’d tried to maintain control of her world, but found the control slipping, slipping, slipping until Sam had died in her arms. She’d felt like a shadow of herself by the time the funeral was over,