She Made a List of the Perfect Man — Then Fell for the One Who Failed Every Rule
Chapter 3
Two nights later, Jessica went out with Jean to celebrate surviving her first week.
They ended up at a crowded downtown bar.
Music filled the room.
People laughed.
Glasses clinked.
And then Jessica saw him.
He was standing near the bar wearing a dark jacket, holding a glass of wine.
He looked relaxed.
Confident.
Sophisticated.
When he smiled at Jessica, she felt something she hadn’t felt all week.
Curiosity.
Jean noticed immediately.
“Oh no.”
“What?”
“That face.”
“What face?”
“The face you make when you’ve found another candidate.”
Jessica laughed.
The man approached.
“I’m Cody.”
“Jessica.”
They talked for almost an hour.
Cody told her stories about traveling through Europe, South America and Asia.
He spoke several languages.
He had apparently climbed mountains, sailed across the Mediterranean and once spent six months traveling without knowing where he would sleep the next night.
Jessica was fascinated.
British.
Check.
Handsome.
Check.
Traveler.
Check.
Polite.
Check.
Adventurous.
Check.
By the end of the evening, Jessica was convinced she had found the man her article needed.
Their first date was even better.
Cody took her to a small restaurant hidden behind an old bookstore.
He remembered everything she had said.
He asked questions.
He listened.
Jessica went home floating.
Jean was waiting for her phone call.
“So?”
Jessica fell onto her bed.
“He’s perfect.”
Jean groaned.
“Nobody is perfect.”
“You haven’t met him.”
“I don’t need to.”
Jessica smiled.
Meanwhile, at Harrington Capital, Michael sat alone in his office.
He was reviewing Jessica’s employment file.
Something didn’t feel right.
Her university records were strangely difficult to verify.
The company where she claimed to have interned had no record of her.
And the dates on her resume didn’t quite match.
Michael leaned back.
He could fire her.
He should probably fire her.
But there was something unusual about Jessica.
She worked harder than anyone expected.
She made mistakes, but she learned quickly.
And she had an instinct for presentation and fashion that nobody else in the company possessed.
Michael closed the file.
“I’ll give her one chance.”
He had no idea that Jessica’s biggest secret was much larger than a fake resume.
