There were only a few people in the café. Allie found Evan in a quiet corner.
"Good evening, Mr. Mori," she greeted formally as she took a seat.
Evan was still in his corporate suit, so Allie assumed he had just finished work.
"Why are you late? I hate tardiness the most."
Allie fought the urge to roll her eyes. The man really annoyed her in everything he did.
"I was at a team dinner. Pardon me."
He sipped his coffee and placed it down, staring at her. Evan noticed the defiance in Allie's eyes despite her apology. His brow shot up, but he didn't comment on it.
"I didn't order anything for you since I don't know what you want. You can get something. I'll pay for it."
"No need. I just had dinner, like I said. I'm good. Thanks for meeting me despite your busy schedule."
Allie was diplomatic. She wanted to treat this professionally.
She pulled her tablet from her bag and showed Evan Amethyst Lee's profile. She was the first prospect.
"I'm sure you know her family. Miss Lee is being pressured by her father to get married, but she's a career-driven woman who doesn't want relationships. I'm sure if you offer her a marriage for convenience like what you want, there's a big possibility she would say yes."
Evan stared at the woman on the tablet and scrolled through her information.
There was a moment of silence, and Allie couldn't guess what Evan was thinking based on his expression. He didn't have any expression at all.
"She's an achiever, beautiful, and has a good family background. She's perfect for you, Mr. Mori."
Allie was confident that he would like the woman. What was there not to like about her?
"Nice pick," Evan spoke after a moment.
He raised his head to look at her, placing the tablet on the table.
"She's perfect, but as you said, she's a career-driven woman. She's just starting her work as a doctor, and she must be very busy. I don't think I can just call her anytime to attend social gatherings or family dinners."
"So you want a wife with no work, then? That means I am not suitable to be your wife. I have two jobs, and I would be as busy as she is."
He smirked as if amused by how desperate she was to untangle her life from his.
"The situation is different. We work in the same field. And if the acquisition of your company goes through, you'd be working under me. That means it would be easier for us to meet. As for your other job, I'm sure it doesn't require a lot of your time."
Allie wanted to laugh, finding the whole situation ridiculous.
"Fine."
Evan's brow twitched.
Allie pulled her tablet back and clicked on the profile of the next prospect.
"Let's move to the next one," she said, showing it to Evan.
"This is Loraine Atkinson, daughter of Senator Atkinson. She finished her master's degree at a prestigious university here, and she's currently not working, but she's active in charity events. She's amiable and has been pressured by her father to marry a businessman for funds for the upcoming election. The businessman is Roy Fisher who divorced his second wife earlier this year. Obviously, Loraine doesn't want to marry him. If you offer her a way out by marrying you on your own terms, this could work for both of you."
"Hmm," Evan seemed to be thinking as he looked at the photo of the woman and her information.
Allie waited to hear his response.
"Not bad," he nodded and looked at Allie. "But not good either."
She hissed softly.
"I don't want a politician's daughter. Politics is messy, not something I want to involve myself in."
Why was he so picky? Allie thought to herself. He didn't want commitment and couldn't provide any affection to his future wife, and yet he had too many demands? This man was impossible!
"I can hear you cursing me in your mind," Evan's eyes narrowed darkly at Allie. "Is that your way of expressing your gratitude? If it weren't for you and your agency, I would have been happily married by now. I could have sued you and everyone behind it, but I'm giving you a chance to make it up to me."
Allie pursed her lips in annoyance as she watched Evan talk.
"You don't have to keep reminding me, Mr. Mori. I am doing my best."
"Good, because I won't be expecting anything less."
Allie presented the third prospect, then the fourth, and the fifth.
But just like the first two, Evan found faults in each one of them. When he mentioned the fifth prospect's fault, Allie couldn't help but sigh in annoyance.
She was so close to slapping her tablet onto Evan. At the moment, she only had five prospects. They were the best candidates according to Cole, but Evan had shown interest in none of them.
"That's all I have for now." It was a struggle for Allie to stay calm at this point.
The only thing that consoled her was the fact that she still had a week to find a solution.
"That's disappointing." Evan glanced at his wristwatch.
When his eyes returned to Allie, he said, "I can't meet you every day, so you have to look for the best prospects and discuss it with me two days later."
"I understand. But I don't think there's a need for us to meet, Mr. Mori. I can just email you the files."
He cocked his head a bit, as if something displeased him.
"My marriage is like a business deal, Miss Gray, therefore it is an important matter to me, so I'd prefer to discuss it in person."
"I just thought it would save us time."
"You know what would save us time?" Evan's tone was mischievous.
"Marry me."