Granger smiled. Gabriela gently touched his arm, letting it linger for a moment, long enough to cause Granger’s breathing to become labored. She physically guided him to the glass display case of men’s jewelry. He bought two pairs, one in silver and one in gold, and promised to return the following week to get a new suit for a friend’s wedding.

From Gabriela’s research and solid background checks, Granger had the money she was looking for. When she googled him and found his wife and kids on Facebook and Instagram, she decided he wasn’t the right one. Not because of his wife, who in her opinion looked old, dull and puffy, but because of his kids. Gabriela could suffer a lot of things but she did not enjoy children. Separating a man from his wife is quite easy but kids are another story, she often reminded herself. Granger’s kids were on the younger side, too, which from Gabriela’s perspective meant they’d be hanging around the second Mrs. Granger for far too long. She also considered all the money that would be funneled in their direction for college and weddings. Based on the Facebook pictures of his snaggle-toothed kids she figured they would all need an orthodontist. Three kids, three sets of braces, ka-ching! Granger was crossed off her potential husband list.

Over time she narrowed down her criteria and ultimately determined husband number two should not have any children at all. She must be the center of his world and not have to compete with demanding, annoying and expensive children. If husband number two had an untimely death, which he no doubt would, she didn’t want to share the money with his offspring.

Shortly after her “no kids” revelation, a tall, good-looking, well-dressed man walked through the main door of Thayer and Co. When Gabriela spotted him, she raced towards the front of the store at the same time as two of her male colleagues.

“He’s mine,” she hissed as she pushed past the two salesmen, nearly knocking one of them over.

“Forget it,” said one salesman to the other, stopping in his tracks as he grabbed his co-worker by the shoulder. “Vampira already has her fangs out.”

Plastering an unctuous smile on her face and thrusting her chest up and out, she walked confidently towards her new customer like a jaguar homing in on an antelope. “Welcome to Thayer and Co,” she said, “I’m Gabriela, what can I do for you today?”

From the minute he saw her, he was stunned by her beauty and she knew exactly what he was thinking by the way he looked at her. While the tall stranger attempted to explain he had just started a new job and needed to update his wardrobe, it was clear his mind was on one thing only, and it wasn’t new clothes.