She Made a List of the Perfect Man — Then Fell for the One Who Failed Every Rule
Chapter 1
Jessica Parker had spent three weeks creating a list of the perfect man.
She had written it in a leather notebook she carried everywhere.
Handsome.
Successful.
Intelligent.
Polite.
Well-dressed.
Adventurous.
Emotionally mature.
Financially responsible.
Good with people.
And, preferably, British.
Jessica stared at the list across the table from Nina Collins, the editor of the magazine she desperately wanted to write for.
Nina read every word with an expression that became increasingly amused.
“That’s not a man,” Nina finally said.
Jessica frowned.
“What?”
“That’s a unicorn.”
Jessica laughed.
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Jessica closed the notebook.
“I don’t think I’m asking for too much.”
Nina leaned back.
“You’re twenty-eight. You’ve dated accountants, lawyers, photographers, musicians and one man who claimed to own three restaurants but actually managed one food truck.”
“He was dishonest.”
“He was also six feet four.”
“That doesn’t make him honest.”
Nina smiled.
“Exactly.”
Jessica folded her arms.
“I just want a good man.”
“No,” Nina said. “You want a perfect man.”
There was a pause.
Then Nina’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
“You want a story?”
Jessica immediately sat up.
“Always.”
“Go into the business world.”
Jessica blinked.
“What?”
“Get a job at a major company. Meet these men you keep describing. Date them. Test your theory.”
Jessica stared at her.
“You want me to infiltrate corporate America looking for a husband?”
“I want you to write.”
Jessica slowly smiled.
That was how the idea began.
Within forty-eight hours, Jessica had rewritten her resume.
Some qualifications were stretched.
Some were exaggerated.
One internship had never existed at all.
It wasn’t exactly ethical.
But Jessica told herself it was temporary.
She only needed one opportunity.
And when a prestigious investment firm called her for an interview, she knew she had found it.
The company belonged to Michael Harrington.
A thirty-five-year-old CEO known throughout the city for turning struggling investments into enormous successes.
He was wealthy.
Successful.
Well-dressed.
British.
And, according to every article Jessica found online, completely impossible to impress.
Jessica smiled at the screen.
Four boxes checked already.
She had no idea that the man she was preparing to investigate would eventually become the man she was desperate not to lose.
