*Reese

This man needed her so badly it hurt.

Reese could transform him, eventually, but in four days? Show him how to seduce a woman in time for a date on Friday? Although, if he really stuck to his sliding scale (candidates on a sliding scale? Was he even a human being?) and picked a good match for his personality, her job might be a piece of cake.

"I don't know," she said. "Four days is a rush job. It would be a hack at best."

Kenneth held up his hands in supplication. Damn, they were big. "I'll pay extra. I've been reading up on your column and others, too. I can show you my detailed plans and reports. My work-out log. Hell, I can show my abs." He yanked his yellow-and-green paisley shirt from his maroon pants, exposing the rippling ridges of his muscular stomach. He had a slim waist and a mouth-watering washboard in smooth pale skin.

Reese's eyes flicked up to check his lips. Full and plump, but very masculine. Sculpted features and pale-blue eyes? She drew back. Maybe he is a vampire.

Would she be so lucky?

"All right, put the abs away." Closing her eyes, she waggled a finger at him. She wasn't supposed to drool over the clients. When she checked again, the abs were safely stowed out of her sight. "Success in dating and wooing is not, contrary to what many sites for men will tell you, about muscles and showing dominance. Women are more nuanced." She was having a hard time breathing, remembering his awesome six pack—but really, she was nuanced.

Truth be told, she was lonely and had been since things went to hell in a handbasket between her and Jeff about two years ago, but seriously. There was more to courtship than great abs.

Or shoulders.

Or thick golden-brown hair paired with light eyes.

Or—

"Reese, please. I am man enough to admit that I am lost in the jungle of the dating world and will never find my way out alive without help. This date means everything to me. The lady has stellar credentials, acclaimed published papers, genuine blond hair, and a smile to die for." He gave her a crooked, guilty smile, as if admitting his attraction was like stealing cookies. Her heart swelled. This woman had no idea how lucky she was. "I can't let this go up in flames like the last one. Name your price. Four days, whatever you think we need to work on."

"I don't know," she said. Reese had advised dozens of men and women online in short private sessions. Life goals, weaknesses, strengths, how to focus and live in the now in order to move forward with their love lives, all while her own was non-existent. She had done it, and they were happy with the results.

But a one-to-one client in real life? This was a big step forward.

"Based on the rates I noted, coaches charge anywhere from twenty-five to three hundred dollars an hour, but four days of intensive coaching sessions? You tell me," he said.

This could be a ton of money.

She would have her first real-life client. It would be a success. This could finally bring much needed funds to invest in her venture, complete with a happy client to quote. There would be book deals and conferences. Little funds made more funds, like rabbits breeding in her garden of dreams—making more clients.

She could be a life coach to men, teaching them about what women want and need, as well as how to be the best version of themselves.

Wasn't that what everyone wanted? Some people needed more help than others.

And Kenneth—whoa baby. Kenneth needed some hands-on work. Her hands clasped together to stop getting too handsy at that very second. But the foundations for success were already there.

But they would have to be discreet.

She risked getting fired if this got out. No one at work could know. A flush rose to her cheeks imagining her boss scrolling through her list of top ten bedroom games for relighting the fire.

Kenneth cleared his throat. "Five hours a day at one hundred dollars an hour?"

Then again, four days was really tight. "Kenneth, this might not work, there are no guarantees."

"At one hundred fifty an hour, plus I advertise your help to the copious number of geek friends I have in the area when it is a success, which, of course, it will be."

Her accountant brain fired through the calculation. Three thousand dollars and word-of-mouth advertising for free? Buffalos stampeded the last remnants of her doubts, and her hesitation was nothing but a puff of smoke on the distant horizon.

"Let's do it." She stuck her hand out to shake.

*** Hit the star if you enjoyed reading! ***