Meeting His Match

Chapter 1-2

Natalie shoved through the door of her apartment and her roommate Jillian greeted her by taking the pathetic banker’s box from her arms.

“How are you, sweetie?” she asked.

The question made things worse. Nat didn’t know why she was still so upset. They’d given her notice her position was being cut. She’d known for weeks. But actually cleaning out her desk and walking out of the library that had been her home for the last two years was damn hard.

“I feel like crap. At least when people retire or quit because they’re having a baby, they get a party.” She tossed her purse on the chair and flopped onto the couch. “All I got was a bunch of ‘I’m sorrys’ and pitiful looks.” She slowly tipped to the side until her face was in the purple pillows Jillian had bought to brighten up the place. “What am I gonna do?” she moaned into the soft cotton.

Jillian nudged her leg. “First, you’re gonna sit up and have ice cream with me.”

Natalie shoved up and accepted the pint and spoon. She scooped the first bite of chocolate peanut butter bliss into her mouth. She didn’t think even her favorite ice cream could remove the pain of this day.

Jillian sat with her own, peanut butter-free ice cream. Natalie didn’t know how she’d lucked out finding such an excellent roommate. They’d started out as strangers while both still in graduate school—library science for Natalie and law school for Jillian. In those early days, they hadn’t seen much of each other, but over time they became best friends. Natalie couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather have at her side right now.

Natalie stuck the spoon in the container and reached up with her free hand to let her hair down. Jillian smiled. “Maybe you should go out tonight. Gem could always use a new video,” she offered, referring to Natalie’s onscreen alter ego.

“Both Natalie and Gem are off the market for tonight. We want to wallow. Even Gem could appreciate that.” For a moment it struck Natalie as strange that she spoke about both herself and her alter ego in the third person. But then, everything about this day felt strange. She wasn’t a librarian anymore.

“You’re wrong. Gem always wants to go out.”

Nat rested her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes. “Really, Jillian. I can’t dress up and be bubbly and flirty. Not in a bar and not in front of the camera.”

“I’ll go with you, even if you don’t go as Gem. Be Natalie. No video. We can still have fun.”

Nat huffed. She’d discovered after her failed marriage that no, Natalie Hale was not fun. After that discovery, she’d done what she did best: research. She read everything she could get her hands on to learn how to attract men. Then she dated.

Gem was born because she needed an outlet for what she learned about herself and dating, but she wanted to keep that part of her life separate from her life as a librarian. It started as a blog and then she tried videos, recounting her dates. She’d never expected any of them to gain traction.

“Speaking of Gem,” Jillian said. “I looked into that email you told me about.”

Natalie opened her eyes and looked at her roommate. “And?”

Jillian smiled. “I don’t know. I looked them up. Klein Studios is a real production company.”

“What do they produce? p**n?”

Jillian laughed and Natalie felt a little better. “They do talk shows and a few local reality TV things. Might be legit.”

“Why the hell are they emailing me? Sounds like a scam.”

“It can’t hurt to check it out. You’re unemployed. If you do an appearance, it would be a paycheck.”

Natalie sighed. Was her life really reduced to doing whatever possible just for a paycheck? “I don’t know if I’m good enough to be Gem in front of other people.”

Jillian licked her spoon. “Sure you are. I’ve seen it hundreds of times.”

“I never thought something like this would happen.” Things had gotten weird since a couple of her videos went semi-viral. The upside was that the monetization was kicking in, so she’d made enough money last month to treat herself to a mani-pedi. The downside was that the trolls came out in force so she had to be vigilant about monitoring comments.

“Well, it’s not like either of us thought you’d become so popular with your blog and videos. I mean, I always knew you were special. I just wasn’t aware the rest of the world would realize it.” Jillian tapped Natalie’s thigh. “No more moping. You’ve had weeks to moan about losing your job. Time to move on.”

“I don’t wanna,” Natalie whined.

“Think of the example you’re setting for all of your followers. You’re the first to tell them to get back up, dust off their butts, and get in the game.”

Natalie hated it when Jillian threw her own words back in her face. But she had a point. Pity parties wouldn’t fix anything. While finding a date wouldn’t fix her job situation, it would at least take her mind off it for the night. “Okay, let’s go. You pick the place.”

Jillian stood, still holding her ice cream. “Crap. I didn’t think you’d agree. Now I have to get dressed again.”

As Natalie marched toward her room to change, she called over her shoulder, “No lawyer clothes.”