LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter One

      Lonely.

      How long had she been feeling that way? Jett St. John frowned in consideration. Months? Years? Or, more likely, since birth, thanks to how awful her life had been before she was adopted. Oh, sure. She now had more friends and family than she could count. Was adored by them and adored them in return, particularly her adoptive parents, Daisy and Justice St. John. But in the ten years since they’d created that family, years in which she’d gone from a cocky, abrasive sixteen-year-old to a cocky, abrasive twenty-six-year-old, she realized she was missing one vital element in her own life.

      Love.

      But all that might soon change.

      Jett pulled out a round glass disc and set it on the table. Checking to make sure her office door was closed and locked, she touched a small button on the disc. Instantly a hologram of a man appeared, standing on the disc like something out of an old Star Wars movie. “PM-5468,” the computer chip announced, reeling off the identification code the man had been assigned by the Pretorius Program.

      The Pretorius Program was the crown jewel of the software branch of Sinjin, Justice St. John’s robotics firm. At sixteen, Jett had started working on the program alongside its developer, Pretorius St. John, her father’s uncle. Of course, the program had nothing to do with robotics and everything to do with creating perfect matches for business, pleasure or matrimony. Ironic, to say the least, considering Jett’s current plan.

      “Tell me about yourself,” she requested.

      The recording the man had made kicked in, giving her an opportunity to study—and appreciate—the way he moved and spoke. “I gather I’m not allowed to tell you my name,” he said, his mouth curving into an appealing half-smile. “Let’s see… I’m an engineer in the electronics field and love my job. I have to admit I’m a bit of a workaholic, but I play almost as hard as I work. I enjoy sports, hiking, and prefer reading over TV or movies.”

      He was gorgeous, Jett conceded, his movements clearly those of an athletic man, yet she could see the intelligence reflected in his aquamarine eyes and carved into the stunning planes of his face. But she also caught a hint of wariness there and couldn’t help wondering about it. Since she’d made a similar recording for the Pretorius matchmaking program, she knew what questions he’d have been required to answer and asked one from the list.

      “What are your goals in life?” she asked.

      PM’s hologram flickered and when he reappeared, he lounged against a large desk made from a dark, glassy material that resembled her own desk. “I guess my goal is to be the best.” A determined intensity echoed through his words and body language. “To beat out my competitors and be the top in my field.”

      Okay, that reminded her of her father, and not in a good way. “And your dreams?” Jett prompted.

      The wariness reappeared, as though the question touched a part of him he normally kept hidden. “I suppose it would be to find you…my perfect match.” His honesty was devastating, his smile filled with a self-mocking amusement. But it was his quiet stoicism that slipped into her heart and took root. A weariness that told her he expected the rug to be ripped from beneath his feet at any moment, a feeling she was all too familiar with. “Assuming you even exist.”

      “Oh, I exist,” Jett murmured. “I just didn’t know you did.”

      She hadn’t expected him to touch something inside of her, a longing she’d kept carefully locked away. But listening to those brief comments had filled her with a yearning that became a physical ache. She wanted this man. Wanted to meet him. Talk to him. Dig down and find out what he hid behind his stoicism and wariness.

      A soft, rapid knock sounded at Jett’s door and she quickly turned off the disc and tucked it away before unlocking her office door. Her best friend and coworker, Bailey, scurried inside, waving a paper in her hand. “Got it! The flight reservation just came through.”

      “No one suspects PW-5467 is me?” Jett demanded. “You’re positive we managed to slip my accessing the Pretorius Program past Dad and Uncle P?”

      Jett had been hesitant to use the Pretorius Program. Knowing her father, he’d no doubt laced the software code with booby traps for anybody who tried to hack the system. Even her careful search for the perfect soul mate could have set off alarms, warning the system—and her father—that she’d accessed the program. Even though she considered herself an outstanding hacker, there was always the chance they’d discover

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