The Amish Buggy Horse BOXED SET Books 1-3 (Amish Romance Book Bundle: Faith, Hope, Charity) (Boxed Set: The Amish Buggy Horse) (10 page)

Book 2. Hope
.

Chapter 1
.

Melissa fidgeted with her bonnet. It was all quite a shock.

"And so," Melissa's boss, Irene Blackwell, continued, "you can see why I have to leave you in charge of the difficult clients. There's just no time to look for someone to replace me, and I don't know how long I’ll be away."

"I don’t feel confident speaking to clients," Melissa said. "Ever since I started working here at the
Marriage Minded Agency
, all I've done is filing."

Irene waved her concerns aside. "Nonsense. We don’t have many difficult clients, and Milly will do all the other face-to-face work. The clients will be more respectful of you because you're Amish; they won't give you a hard time. Now you'll have to watch what you say; try not to be as forthright as usual."

Melissa sighed. "I'll do my best." She knew there was no use arguing with Irene, and besides, with Irene's son suffering a badly broken leg in a motorcycle accident in Barcelona, and Irene having to leave so suddenly, it would be selfish of her not to help out.

"Why can’t Milly handle the difficult clients?" Melissa knew that Irene's mind made was made up, but it was worth one more try.

Irene frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Melissa, Milly handles all the face-to-face work with the clients; she's overwhelmed as it is. More to the point, if a client progresses to the place where they need more input, they need to see someone different, and it's always been me. Now it will have to be you, at least until I get back."

Melissa nodded.
I don't have any choice
, she thought,
but perhaps it won’t be as hard as I think
.

"And Melissa," Irene continued, "can you work five days a week while I'm away?"

Melissa thought for a moment. "Sure, I suppose that will be okay with my mother."

Irene shoved some papers into her briefcase. "Great, I'm so thankful, Melissa. Now I've got to run; take the rest of the day off, but be here for an early start tomorrow. I’ll call you when I get to Barcelona; well, I’ll call you tomorrow some time. You'll be fine." With that, Irene snatched up her briefcase and rushed out the door.

Melissa sighed. She thought of the Scripture, Proverbs chapter twenty seven, verse one:
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring
.

That's for sure
, Melissa thought.
I never really thought about that verse before. I do hope this is all in Gott's plan; I had no time to pray and think before agreeing to what Irene wanted. All I can do is hope
.

The afternoon off was a small consolation to the thought of working five days a week and dealing with the agency's difficult clients, but at least the afternoon off would give Melissa a chance to catch up with her
gut
friend, Isobel.

Melissa hurried the few blocks to where Isobel worked, hoping to catch her in time for lunch. The Old Candle Store was always dimly lit, a fact Melissa always found amusing; after all, one would expect that a candle store would be bright. The brick walls and small, front windows added to the atmosphere, and the fragrance was delightfully overwhelming. Aged, wooden tables were crammed with every manner of candle, as were the old, wooden dressers which lined the walls.

Isobel looked up from behind the counter. "Melissa!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here? It's not our day for lunch."

"Do you have time for lunch today? I've lots to tell you."

Isobel scrunched up her face. "Oh, sounds exciting. I was about to go to lunch soon; I’ll just ask my boss if I can go now. Won’t be a minute."

Isobel disappeared into the back room, and soon returned. "
Jah
, Mr. Harrison says I can go right now."

The two friends walked arm in arm to the nearby café where they met for lunch once a week. Unlike the candle store, the café had bright lighting and was modern, all sleek and sophisticated. The girls sat at their usual table, which was right by the floor to ceiling glass windows which overlooked the street.

"What's all this about?" Isobel asked, as soon as they sat down.

"We'd better order first, and then I’ll tell you everything. You know how they don’t like to wait for anyone to decide."

Isobel chuckled, and nodded at the waitress who was already making her way over. "I'm going to have the same as I always have," she said to Melissa, and then to the waitress whose pen was already hovering over her notepad, "The smoked ham, cold sandwich on multi-grain, sunflower bread please, and a chai tea latte."

"And I’ll have the smoked salmon bagel, and a sugar and spice latte, please."

When the waitress left, Isobel laughed. "We're creatures of habit. Always ordering the same thing."

Melissa shrugged. "Well, we know it's good." Taking in her friend's impatient expression, Melissa hurried to tell her the whole morning's events, an explanation that lasted half way through their meal.

"Are you sure you'll be all right with the difficult clients?" Isobel asked through sips of her latte.

"
Nee
,
nee
, that's what I'm worried about. Milly and Irene are always talking about the difficult clients, how they're never satisfied. The difficult clients all have deep issues but don’t know it, and Irene is always telling them straight."

"But you're good at setting people straight," Isobel said. "You're quite blunt and say what you think."

Melissa cringed. "That’s just it. Everyone's always telling me that I'm not tactful, yet I don't think I’ll be able to say anything blunt to these
Englischers
."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Isobel said, but her tone was not convincing in the slightest.

Proverbs
24: 14.
Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Chapter 2
.

The following morning, Melissa and Milly stood over by the Nespresso coffee machine in the tiny, office kitchen. "I'll have to order more coffee soon," Milly said, throwing an empty packet of
Livanto
capsules into the trash. "Hey, Melissa, you're a million miles away."

Melissa bit her lip. "I'm worried about the difficult clients."

"I would be too, if I were you." When Melissa raised her eyes, Milly laughed. "Sorry, but there's no point sugar coating it, as you'll find out soon enough what you've gotten yourself into." Milly chuckled to herself.

"I didn't volunteer, that's for sure; Irene said I had to do it. I've always been happy just doing the filing," Melissa said, "especially after all the stories you've told me about some of the clients. Seriously, that's why I don't want to get married - ever."

Milly shrugged. "They're not all that bad. It's just that some of them - oh well, you'll see."

Melissa took a mouthful of coffee and looked at the clock on the side wall. It was nearly nine, almost time for her first appointment. She made her way to Irene's office and turned on the computer. "I really don’t want to do this," she said aloud to herself.

The notes on the computer screen in front of her told her that her first appointment was Brian Adams. He was thirty two years old and, according to the notes, the agency had sent him on many dates and he had found none of the women suitable in the slightest.

Milly had attached a note to the file stating that Brian Adams was one of the most difficult clients that the agency had ever had. The note stated that Brian Adams was unhappy with the agency and was looking to go elsewhere. Melissa had to keep him happy by finding the perfect woman for him, or at least, a woman close enough to perfect to keep him at the agency. Irene did not like to lose a single client and took such matters personally.

While Melissa was pondering the pressure under which her boss had placed her, there was a knock on the office door. She looked up to see Milly, with a man standing behind her. “Brian Adams is here to see you, Melissa.”

“
Denki
.” Melissa coughed to cover up the fact that, in her nervousness, she had just spoken in Pennsylvania Dutch. No one else at the agency was Amish, so they would have no idea what she was saying. She amended her words to, “Thank you, Milly.”

Melissa stood up and smiled at Brian. “Hello, Brian. Take a seat, please.”

Brian sat heavily in the chair in front of Melissa’s desk.

“Mrs. Blackwell has been called away on a family emergency. I hope you don’t mind me helping you while she’s away.”

Brian's face contorted into a deep frown. “
Humph
, you couldn’t do a worse job,” he said rudely.

Melissa was taken aback by his attitude. “I see," she said slowly. "I've looked at your file and see that we’ve sent you on quite a few dates. Can you tell me your problem with these ladies?”

Brian crossed one leg over the other and waved his hands in the air as he spoke. “It’s like this; none of the women were up to my standard in the looks department.”

Melissa had heard that
Englischers
focused heavily on looks, and working at the
Marriage Minded Agency
led her to believe that what she heard was entirely true. “Brian, if you don’t mind me speaking candidly to you -”

“Go right ahead,” he snapped.

“Looks don’t last.”

Brian breathed out heavily and avoided eye contact with Melissa. “I need to be attracted to a woman, or it just doesn’t work for me. I know people age and all that, but it would be good if they had looks to start with. I'm only attracted to younger women, but the agency keeps sending me on dates with women my own age. You know?”

Melissa nodded her head. What else could she do? She was working in a matchmaking agency after all, and from what Milly always told her, most of the men were the same. They all wanted young, attractive women who looked as though they were models. However, Brian Adams was not attractive at all. Melissa fought the urge to tell him that he was older and unattractive, so why would an extremely attractive, younger woman find him appealing? It made no sense to her, but apparently it made sense to Brian Adams.

Melissa gritted her teeth; she had to do her job. “I’m sorry we’ve been unable to match you successfully so far, but there are two new women on the books that I can match you with.” Melissa pushed forward the two photographs for him to look at.

He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” He chuckled in a predatory way, which made Melissa feel quite sick to the stomach.

He pushed the photograph of the blonde woman toward Melissa. “I’ll start with that one. Can you arrange for us to meet soon?”

Melissa nodded and forced a smile. “Certainly. I’ll arrange it and email you the details."

Brian Adams left the office with a smile on his face.

Melissa felt sorry for the woman he ended up with, as all he was interested was the outside of a person. She was grateful that she belonged to a community where modesty and humility were valued.

Her next appointment had her unconsciously straightening in her chair and wondering if her cheeks were pink and whether she had any sugar around her mouth from the donuts she’d had with her morning coffee. He was a handsome man. His name was Anthony Pollard and he was new to the area. The notes stated that Anthony came from a large family. At first appearances, he was softly spoken and appeared to be a respectful type of person. There was just something about him that made Melissa’s heart pound inside her chest. Maybe it was the way his dark eyes sparkled when they looked at her. Or, it could have been the little indentation in the bottom of his strong chin.

“I have to ask you some questions, to help me find out why the dates have been unsuitable for you.”

“Ask away.” Even his voice was dreamy.

“What do you look for in a woman’s personality?”

“Humor, I'd say. I like someone who can laugh at themselves and not take life too seriously.” A particularly charming smile crossed Anthony's face.

“And? What kind of traits?”

“The usual kind of thing that people want, I suppose: kind, polite, respectful.”

“And you definitely wish to get married?" The
Marriage Minded Agency
only took on clients who were serious about getting married, and Irene frequently checked that the clients were still in agreement.

“I’m ready to get married. I am looking for someone who wants to settle down.”

“Why are you looking for a serious relationship at this point in your life? Why now?” Melissa knew that Irene always asked that question.

“I’m ready to have children." He chuckled. “And I can’t do that by myself. What about yourself?”

Melissa looked up in fright. “Me?”

“Are you married?”

Melissa frowned. “No, I’m not.”

“You have a boyfriend?”

“I’m the one asking the questions.” Melissa was pleased that she had cleverly avoided his question. "Now, can you tell me why your last date with Kate didn’t work out?"

Anthony nodded. "Yes, I didn't choose her; Mrs. Blackwell did. She said that Kate was age appropriate for me. I don't want someone my own age; gee, I'm getting on, how many children would a woman be able to have if she were my own age? And I want lots of kids; I want a whole baseball team." Anthony laughed at his own joke.

Melissa sat there with her jaw dropped open.
Not another one
, she thought.