#Blessed by Malakai, page 7
There were so many things that could happen and cause this plan to fail. For starters, Malakai could decide not to be as open about his dates and relationship status during the live counseling sessions as he’d agreed to be. Second, live videos can be tricky, so he could reveal more than what they’d originally discussed.
Third, the matchmaker could fail to find him a person who he really connects with despite her success rate. And fourth … You know what the fourth thing is. Just say it! Even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself, the fourth and only reason that truly affected me was the fact that he might find the woman he wants to marry during this process.
True, I wanted him to find love and my job was to help him improve his image so that he could go about doing so. However, I couldn’t deny that a part of me wished I could be the woman he falls for. Mixing business and pleasure was wrong, especially in this case. But it didn’t stop me from daydreaming about his brown-cinnamon spice complexion and luscious lips. Or wondering how deep his hazel gaze got when he was all hot and bothered. Sometimes, my tongue grew heavy as I thought about the places I’d love to lick and explore along his body. Or I’d be in meetings and have to stop myself from staring too long at his crotch area. I didn’t have an obsession with staring at dick or anything, but his imprint through his pants was hard not to look at. He walked as if it were big as hell, and judging by that online photo, he was packing some long and thick heat. Something told me his dick could put me in a wheelchair if I wasn’t careful. But if I had to lose all function in my legs … “What a way to go.”
“What is that, dear?” Ms. Woodstock asked.
I shook my head from its lustful fog. “Uh, nothing. I was just thinking about a movie I saw.”
“Um, hmm.” She glanced at me above the rim of her glasses. “Must have been some movie based off the way you were moaning.”
Moaning? Instead of mentally slapping my forehead with my hand, I went ahead and did the movement. On cue, the object of my outburst came strolling past the elevators.
He was sporting a blue-grey suit and walked with a sort of confidence that would make some men wish they could be that smooth. My eyes lifted to meet his and the wink and smile he flashed at me had me inwardly fainting to the floor. I remember my grandma once telling me that my grandfather used to walk into a room and instantly, her lips began to quiver at the sexy sight of him. “He was so irresistible, there wasn’t a part of me that wasn’t wet,” she’d said.
At the time, I shuddered at the visual she’d placed in my head, and although she went on to explain that all she meant was that she was nervous and sweating all over, the damage had already been done. I couldn’t listen to the rest of the story after that.
It may have taken me years to appreciate Grams’ sentiment, but I finally knew what it meant to have your lips quiver at the sight of a man. Don’t stare at him too long, Nightingale. Otherwise, you’ll never make it through this meeting. My hand flew up to my bottom lip just in case my lips didn’t listen to my warning.
“Are you ready?” I asked as he approached.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
“Great, because Dr. Walker and Dr. Parker are already here.”
He took a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with.”
I motioned for him to go ahead so I could compose myself. I hadn’t even known Ms. Woodstock had been watching my every move until I heard her say, “Dear, try not to drool during the meeting.”
My eyes flew to hers. “Was it that obvious?”
“Only because I was paying attention,” she replied. “Besides, he stares at you just as hard, so don’t sweat it.”
My girly parts did a somersault. I tried my best to keep the hopefulness out my voice when I said, “He does?”
Her eyes grew concerned. “Yes, he does, but he needs you and not in the dating kind of way. All of us are impressed by what you’ve done so far and we think you may just be the one to really turn around his image. He needs you more as his consultant than his lover.”
Well, damn. While I wanted to ask her why I couldn’t be both, I settled for, “I understand and I agree. I want what’s best for him and I plan on doing a great job.”
“Glad to hear it.” She reached over and lightly squeezed my hand before reminding me that the meeting was starting.
When I reached the conference room, introductions were already being made. I waited a few seconds before saying, “Let’s get started.”
While Dr. Walker and Dr. Parker gave me hopeful smiles, Malakai’s forced smile seemed that of someone doped up on Novocain after leaving the dentist’s office.
“Mr. Madden and I would like to thank you both for being here,” I stated, focusing on the task at hand and diving into my speech. “As you both know, our goal is to find Mr. Madden the woman of his dreams while also changing his image in the public eye. However, I think to get to the solution to the problem, we must start at the roots.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Dr. Walker turned his attention to Malakai. “Mr. Madden, I know you aren’t completely on board with having live counseling sessions, but I want to assure you that at the end of the day, I want you to feel comfortable. I’ve been with my wife for nearly fifty years and I have over thirty years of experience in relationship and marriage counseling. What I’ve found is that there is something extremely vulnerable and uninhibited by opening up in front of an audience whether that be in person or online.”
Malakai clenched his jaw. I wasn’t sure the others noticed it, but I did. “I’ve researched your methods, Dr. Walker, and although it’s clear that you’re great at what you do, I find little comfort in baring my soul in front of a bunch of strangers.”
“That’s understandable,” Dr. Walker said. “I can’t promise you that some of the discussions won’t be more private than you’d like, but I think after a few sessions you’ll find it therapeutic.”
Malakai didn’t look convinced, but I figured it would take more than this meeting to truly convince him. He had to experience the process for himself. He had to get familiar with sharing more about himself to the public.
“How will you find the women I’m supposed to date?” he asked.
“That’s where I come in,” Dr. Parker said. “Within the next couple days, you and I will sit down and talk about what you’re looking for in a relationship. I will do my best to match you with five women who fit what you’re looking for.” Dr. Parker linked her hands together. “And if I’m being honest, Mr. Madden, I must tell you that I’ve already received several calls from women who asked if you were one of my clients.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “You can’t be serious. We haven’t even shared news yet about me dating.”
“It doesn't matter.” Dr. Parker shook her head. “As soon as you posted a tweet confirming that you were indeed trying to find the woman you would marry, my inbox was flooded with emails and the phones wouldn’t stop ringing. You are quite sought after, Mr. Madden, which is why I can’t wait to pair you with some amazing women.”
“From what Ms. Nightingale has told me,” Malakai began, “it’s not expected that I marry someone at the end of this like those reality television shows, correct?”
“Absolutely not,” Dr. Parker answered. “We don’t expect you to propose after this process, but I wouldn’t be one of the top experts in my field if I didn’t try and pair with you five women who could be potential mates for life.”
“We’ve done some research on you,” Dr. Walker interjected. “You have a lot of good to offer in a relationship, but as you well know, because of everything that happened on Twitter, most of the public only sees you as a sex symbol and the media is all too happy to portray you that way. Our goal is to wipe that image clean. We don’t need or want to change you. We just want the public to get a taste of the real Malakai Madden.”
“The process will last for a few weeks,” I said, chiming in. “At certain times throughout the process, you’ll decide which women you want to continue dating, eliminating the one you have the least connection with. You can choose to stop dating more than one or maybe none for the first couple of weeks. All I ask is that the last week, you have your choice narrowed down to no more than two women.”
He squinted his eyes. “Hmm, sounds a lot like those reality shows I warned you I didn’t want to be like.” His eyes were laughing, but I knew it was a real concern of his.
“It’s not,” I said quickly. “Well, sort of, but not really.”
“Not really?” His smile was full-fledged now. “Should I hand out roses after every elimination?”
I smiled back at him as I shook my head. “There isn’t going to be any live eliminations. You will simply decide who you no longer want to date. And the only roses you will hand out are ones you choose to buy for any of your dates. The women we choose to do this process with will be aware of the situation.”
“Precisely,” Dr. Walker agreed. “During your sessions with me, we will show highlights from your dates and then dive into our chat.”
“The first live session with Dr. Walker will kick off in a few days,” I added. “It’s a chance for the public to get to know you and for us to introduce this new venture on your journey to love.”
He grinned at me, the curve of his lips doing crazy things to my insides. “My journey to love? Is that what we’re calling it?”
I shrugged off the unwanted butterflies, along with his comment. “I just made it up, but we can come up with a better name.”
Dr. Parker clasped her hands together. “I have a team of people who could help us create something catchy. I’ve asked that Dr. Walker assist me in the matching process. We’ve worked together before and we both want you to ultimately find what you are looking for. All we ask is that you let us help you any way we can for this part of your journey.”
The sincerity in their voices seemed to coax away some of the worry lines in Malakai’s forehead. As Dr. Walker and Dr. Parker continued to go over the details of the process that we’d previously discussed, I took a moment to observe Malakai. Sometimes he seemed confident about the plan, while at other times, he appeared unsure.
That makes two of us. As his image consultant, I had to maintain my optimism and ensure that I came across confident in my plan so that he felt comfortable as well. Inwardly, I was a nervous wreck, but there was one thing I knew for sure … Dr. Walker and Dr. Parker were right. Malakai Madden was an extremely good catch and it was about damn time the rest of the world got to know the side of him that he often kept hidden.
Nine
Malakai
* * *
There were a few times in my life when I found myself in bullshit that I couldn’t get out of. Like now. The Twitter bullshit had caused me to have to deal with public image bullshit that had now morphed into live video bullshit that I didn’t want to do.
Don’t get me wrong, I understood the benefit of working with Dr. Walker and Dr. Parker, but damn, I wished I didn’t have to get on camera to get back my private life that Twitter stole. To top things off, Avery was running late and would probably arrive toward the end of the segment. As much as I hated to need anybody, I wanted her there and wished I could soak in her calmness and warmth before we started the first live video.
One would think that by now, I could identify that SOB named bullshit a mile away, especially given my intimate acquaintance with him. No, scratch that … bullshit was definitely a woman since my love for women was what got me into this mess in the first place.
The first time was back in grammar school when my family lived in Little Rock before moving to Cranberry Heights. I let some idiots talk me into breaking into our school to log into the main school computer and change our grades.
It was stupid and the crazy thing is, I didn’t even need my grades changed. I had already been getting A’s and B’s. When the security guard found us, everyone scattered and I was the lucky bastard who ran into the desk chair and fell, taking the computer with me. Not one of those guys stopped to help me up. The school didn’t play with break-ins and decided to use me as an example. Instead of getting suspended like I’d hoped, or working off paying the fee for the computer I’d broken, the new principal expelled me, no questions asked. My parents had been pissed, but not as much as I had been at myself.
Switching schools in the middle of the year hadn’t been as bad as I’d thought, and by the time we moved to Cranberry Heights, it was almost time for me to start high school. High school brought an entirely new set of problems. I’d gone from this awkward, gangly pre-teen to a tall, athletic teenager with more curly hair than I knew what to do with. I had a lot of guy friends on the surface, but for the most part, there were only a handful of men who truly knew me. It took a while for me to be accepted in high school, but I quickly got the hang of it and learned how to be myself.
Regardless of the clarity I eventually got in high school, I still had to deal with certain bullshit. Some of the guys despised me because I seemed to come in and automatically gain popularity status, while some of the girls didn't care to want to know me, but rather, only wanted to fuck me.
After high school, bullshit came to grace my life with her presence a few more times, and then bam, I’m hit with my current predicament.
“We’re starting in two minutes,” said Steve, Dr. Walker’s cameraman.
I nodded my head and adjusted my bowtie, unsure of what to expect and trying to remember that I had to just be myself.
It had been three days since Dr. Parker and Dr. Walker met with Avery and I to go over the details of the live sessions. Today, we were all gathered at Dr. Walker’s place of business and were introducing a series of live videos that were unfortunately titled “Malakai Madden’s Journey to Love”. It wasn’t that I hated the title, but damn, it really did make me feel like I was in one of those wacky reality love shows.
“Are you ready?” Dr. Walker asked.
“I will be.”
Dr. Parker was also seated with us for the introduction. Although I’d already met with her a couple days ago to discuss what I wanted in the women I dated, she wanted to ask me a few questions live to help with the segment.
As I saw Tyler talking with Ben, the director, I was glad that I’d asked him to come along for the session. I didn’t care about all of the technical details, but Tyler loved that shit, and despite the fact that Dr. Walker and Dr. Parker seemed trustworthy, I needed someone in that room who was looking out for me.
When Ben gave us the countdown, I pushed aside my nerves and focused on the task at hand—giving America a taste of Malakai Madden.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Dr. Walker said. “Today, I am excited to announce a very special guest who will be doing a series of live counseling sessions with me, Dr. William Walker, and a dear friend, matchmaker extraordinaire, Dr. Ruth Parker.” He motioned his hand in my direction. “Mr. Malakai Madden, I am so honored to have the pleasure to work with you. How about you remind the people who you are and we’ll tell them a little about this live video series.”
“Sure, thank you for having me, Dr. Walker.” Adjusting myself in my seat, I briefly glanced at the screen to the left of where we were recording that had displayed the number of views and tweets coming through. “As some of the viewers may know, a year ago, some extremely private information was leaked about me and as a result, I opened up about the fact that I was anxious to be in a serious and committed relationship that would hopefully result in finding my wife.
“I was overwhelmed by the amount of feedback I received, and after careful consideration, I’ve decided to partner with Parker Matchmaking in hopes of finding the perfect woman for me.”
Dr. Walker smiled. “That’s very exciting to hear. I’m sure folks can’t wait to follow along on your journey.”
“Thank you, Dr. Walker. I sure hope so.”
“And that’s not all,” Dr. Walker said enthusiastically. “In addition to partnering with Parker Matchmaking, I will also be doing counseling sessions with Mr. Madden along the way to peel back his layers and discuss his dates in an intimate setting.”
Intimate setting? I highly doubted laying out my feelings in front of everyone in Twitterland was intimate. More like the complete opposite. “Yes, we will. And we have a great name for it.” Just as I was explaining, Avery walked into the office. Her eyes scanned the few people in the room before landing on me and blessing me with a beautiful smile.
Per usual, she looked breathtaking. Today, she was sporting a green dress that was tight at the top, but flared out at the waist. Immediately, my eyes went to her sweet, dark honey legs. Legs that I knew would feel amazing wrapped around me.
She shook her hands and only then did I notice the umbrella and the fact that her hair looked slightly damp. Despite the rain she’d clearly been caught in, her curls still looked full and bounced as she made her way to a corner of the room where Tyler was standing. When she reached up to her hair to fluff it out, I noticed she was wearing her feather ring again, only this time, she was wearing matching feather earrings.
“Mr. Madden?”
My head swung back to Dr. Walker. “I’m sorry, what was the question?”
He chuckled and Dr. Parker stifled a laugh. “I didn’t ask a question. You were speaking, but I guess you needed a few moments to gather your thoughts. You were just about to share the name of this video series.”
“Right.” I shifted in my chair. “The name of the video series will be ‘Malakai Madden’s Journey to Love’. The name was suggested by a friend, but it’s slowly growing on me.”
I smiled as I stole a quick glance in Avery’s direction before turning my attention back to Dr. Walker.
“I think ‘Malakai Madden’s Journey to Love’ fits precisely what you’re about to embark upon,” Dr. Walker said. “Now, Dr. Parker, I understand that you’ve already met with Mr. Madden regarding his expectations for your partnership. Is that correct?”
