LITMIR.BIZ

      Prologue

      Elise Montgomery hit the print button on the copy machine in the lounge of Waterfront Realty in Southern Delaware where she worked and perched one hand on her hip to wait. As the machine clicked and whirred, she caught a glimpse of her best friend walking down the hall. “Liz, got a sec?” she called.

      Liz backed up, checking her wristwatch. They were dressed similarly in gabardine skirts and jackets with white silk shells beneath. Elise’s “power suit” was a soft salmon; Liz was wearing navy.

      “I’ve got ten minutes,” Liz said. “New clients coming in to look at the condos at Mallory Bay.”

      Elise grabbed one of the copies the machine had spit out. “Here we go. The checklist I was telling you about that I found in that book.”

      “Not another self-help book.” Liz lifted a skeptical eyebrow as she picked up a book from beside the copier and read the spine. “The Husband Finder?”

      Elise shrugged. “So it has a bad title, listen to this.” She opened it to the first chapter. “According to the author… ‘Women today spend more time researching the cars they purchase than the men they marry. When an educated, career-oriented woman of the new millennium buys a car, she makes a list of the qualities she is looking for such as good value for the money, gas mileage, aesthetics, etc. Then, she test drives various cars and rates them according to her list of requirements. She purchases the car that best suits her. A woman should seek a husband in the same logical manner.”’

      “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Liz muttered. “Like buying a car?”

      Elise set down the book. “It’s a perfectly valid observation, when you think about it, Liz. Now, I’ve made a copy of the suggested checklist for each of us.” She leaned against the copier as she indicated the high points with a pen. “There are various headings and subheadings. You fill in the qualities you’re looking for—the author makes suggestions—and then you just total up the numbers!”

      Liz stared at the photocopy.

      “The fact of the matter is,” Elise explained, “we don’t have time for men who aren’t good candidates for long-term relationships.”

      “You mean for marriage.” Liz studied the sheet. “Let’s see, type of car—sports car, sport utility, sedan. Bonus for cars costing more than forty K. Good. I love a man who drives a nice car.”

      Elise laughed. “Seems a bit much, but I guess that’s important to some people. And it can indicate a man’s education and socioeconomic status.”

      “First date,” Liz continued to read. “Check one—dinner, dinner

Скачать книгу