Aisha looked up, impressed. ‘You’ve certainly done very well,’ she said.
‘Thank you. I always stress this is not, and never will be, a dating agency. It’s a way of bringing like-minded people together, without all the time-consuming and tacky business of hanging around in bars and clubs, waiting to be picked up. I’m highly selective, Aisha. I only take professional, interesting and well-rounded people. I screen out anybody with emotional baggage.’
Aisha paused in turning the pages and briefly wondered if she was guilty of having ‘emotional baggage’, but decided she hadn’t had enough experience to acquire baggage of any sort.
‘So,’ Belinda continued, ‘that’s how it all started, and I’ve continued in much the same vein ever since. I always work one-to-one with my clients. Once I have met them and have a clearer understanding of the type of person they are, and I know they’re suitable for my books, I spend quite a bit of time talking to them, then complete a short questionnaire. From that I know what qualities they are looking for in a partner and who would be most suitable for them. I always have a large number of clients on my books, but I only select one at a time for introduction. That’s why I say we are not a dating agency. I’m meticulous and only introduce a couple when I’m completely sure they are suited to each other.’
Aisha flicked through the last few pages of the portfolio which contained photographs of more recent weddings and engagements and returned it to the coffee table. ‘But supposing the couple aren’t suited?’ she dared to say. ‘I mean, you’re obviously very good at your job, but supposing they’re not right for each other and don’t get along after all?’
‘Absolutely no problem,’ Belinda reassured her. ‘In that case, I select again. Then a third, fourth, and even fifth time if necessary. After that I’m more likely to suggest they wait for a week or so as new clients join daily. But it rarely happens, Aisha. Usually the next thing I receive is a telephone call saying they won’t be needing my services anymore.’ Belinda gave a small laugh. ‘By then the couples are saying they met through a mutual friend and don’t want anything to do with me. Strange, isn’t it? Nowadays we happily discuss everything else, but finding a partner through an introductory agency is still taboo.’
Aisha nodded and smiled weakly. She met Belinda’s gaze. ‘I wouldn’t want anyone to know either. I mean, if I went ahead, I wouldn’t want you phoning me at home, for example.’
‘I completely understand,’ Belinda said. ‘Your wishes are paramount. I could call your mobile or work number at a prearranged time. Whatever my client asks for I respect. After all, without you I wouldn’t be in business.’
Aisha nodded again. ‘My work at lunchtime would be best,’ she found herself saying. ‘My mobile is off during the day. I eat at my desk and I’m usually alone between one and two o’clock.’
‘Good. And you’re happy with what I have told you so far? It’s important you are able to put your trust in me.’
‘Yes.’ Aisha nodded. She was trying to adopt the same objectivity to what Belinda was telling her as she used at work, but something kept getting in the way. ‘And you vet all your clients?’ she asked.
‘Absolutely. I wouldn’t take anyone on if I had any doubts. I’ve been in this job so long I form an immediate impression and I haven’t been wrong yet. Is there anything else you would like to ask before I take your details?’
All the questions Aisha should have been asking – the exact nature of the client vetting, for example – flew easily and happily out of reach. And in their place stood the obvious and irrefutable: Belinda was good at her job and may even be able to give her what Aisha so desperately needed; assuming, of course, she was to be included among Belinda’s very select clientele.
‘I can’t think of anything else at present,’ Aisha said. ‘From what you’ve seen of me so far, would you say I was the type of person you would accept?’
Belinda leant forwards in earnest. ‘Most definitely. You are a professional and well-qualified person, with an open and honest nature. I have no doubt you are sincere in your wish to be in a long-term committed relationship. I’d say you were exactly right. Shall we start on the questionnaire then?’
Aisha took a deep breath and told herself that if she ever did one thing that could be described as self-centred and impulsive, it had to be this and it had to be now. ‘Yes, please, I’d like to go ahead; I haven’t got anything to lose.’
‘Excellent,’ Belinda said, picking up her pen. ‘But let’s make it a bit more positive and say you have everything to gain.’
An hour later, when Aisha had answered all Belinda’s questions, and the receipt for the fee of £475 was safely tucked in her purse, she congratulated herself; not only had she made a possibly life-changing decision, but in talking to Belinda she had discovered her likes and dislikes, attitudes and preferences, a personality, which had somehow become lost along the road to success, and which Belinda had approved of.
‘It’s been lovely meeting you,’ Belinda enthused, seeing Aisha to the door. ‘I’ll phone you as soon as I’ve done my homework; Monday at the latest.’
Aisha thanked her again and said goodbye; then went back down the stairs, past the antique shop, which was now closed and night-lit, and out onto the street. Her shoes clipped a newfound confidence on the pavement as she headed towards the tube, a lightness, a little risqué freedom, which hadn’t been there on the inward journey. Before she went down into the tunnels and lost the signal on her mobile, she phoned her mother. ‘Sorry, I was held up in a meeting. I’ll be home in an hour.’ Which was all she intended saying now or in the future, to save them all embarrassment, and her parents the futile job of trying to dissuade her from going ahead.
Chapter Five
‘It’s a Miss Mayhew,’ Aisha’s PA said, her hand covering the mouthpiece of the phone.
Aisha glanced up from the printout she was studying. ‘From which company?’
‘She said it was personal.’
Aisha frowned, puzzled, and took the phone from Grace. ‘Hello,’ she said, and was surprised to hear Belinda’s voice. She hadn’t known Belinda’s surname, and it was not her lunch hour yet, and only the day after the interview. ‘Just a moment,’ she said into the phone. Then to Grace: ‘Can you give me five minutes, please?’
She waited until Grace had left her office and closed the door behind her. ‘Hello Belinda. What can I do for you?’
‘I’ll be quick because I know you’re busy, but I just had to tell you. I have an introduction for you! Already!’
Aisha heard the excitement in Belinda’s voice and knew she should have felt it too. ‘Yes?’ she asked tentatively.
‘Let me explain. By the time you left yesterday evening I already had three gentlemen in mind. All absolutely charming and meeting your criteria. So, in keeping with my usual policy, I telephoned each of them with a few details about yourself, and from that I was able to proceed and select one. He’s so right, Aisha, so absolutely right! Perfect. You’re very lucky indeed.’
Aisha admired the diplomatic way Belinda passed off the rejection of her details by the other two; they were probably looking for someone younger, she thought, or more vibrant, or both.
‘Now, before I go any further,’ Belinda continued, ‘there’s something I need to clarify with you first. I am right in thinking you are happy meeting someone from a different ethnic