Excerpt: Tabitha Golden, P.I.

The door opened. But it wasn't Sharon who came in. It was a man. A tall, dark, and quite likely even mysterious man whom I'd never seen before. A tall, dark, mysterious stranger.
I nearly fell off my chair. I'd fantasised about something like this happening for a long time – ever since I took the job, probably – and here it finally was! This was going to be my big case, the one that would set me up for the rest of my life. I would be rich within a matter of hours! And then I'd become Mrs Tall Dark Mysterious Stranger, and we'd live happily ever after and have lots of tall, dark, mysterious children – because they would all take after their father, of course – and a little dog called Gregory.
He looked me up and down with dark – can I say bottomless? – eyes. I hoped he couldn't tell what was going on inside my head, although if he shared my fantasy he would already know that we were destined to be together, et cetera. "Tabitha Golden?" he said, in a voice that made my pulse go up two dozen beats.
"Who wants to know?" I said. I've always wanted to say that, and just because the future father of your future children is standing in front of you is no reason to waste a good line.
At this point, the fantasy went slightly wrong. The tall, dark, mysterious stranger sighed, and thrust a clipboard and a pen towards me. "Just sign there, luv."
I didn't think that was supposed to happen, but I thought I'd play along for now. I took the clipboard and glanced at the piece of paper – something about a delivery, but no mention of a marriage contract or anything? – and squiggled illegibly at the bottom of it. I handed the clipboard back to the man and received a parcel in return.
"Ta, luv," my future husband and father of my children said. "Have a nice day." And then he walked out my office, and out of my life.
That bastard!