Page 57 of No Match Found
Maybe not the maple bar itself but the fact that I’d deviated from my very reasonable plan to go straight home from work and to the gym in favor of said maple bar. With Grant.
I should’ve been doing burpees right now, not testing how fast my pulse could race at the thought of checking the results Alex had generated. My heart wasn’t the only organ that was working overtime, either. My brain had been at it all day, analyzing why Alex would’ve run the results to begin with—and why he’d have thought his coworkers would care.
Former coworkers.
Had he observed Grant and me together and wondered if something was going on?
Had employees been speculating because ofmybehavior?
The thought made me a little sick.
Whatever the compatibility percentage, though, it was based on faulty information. There wasn’t a single reason to be nervous to look at it. It was just a number.
I clicked the login button, and a notification that I had a new message from Leo popped up.
I ignored it and went straight to the tab with my matches.
Leo was on top with his 76%, then Tanner, then Jeff. And finally, Grant.
At 12%.
My heart sank into the depths of my stomach. Had I ever seen a match percentage that low? Not that I could recall.
It was a ridiculous reaction, especially when I knew the 12% was based off of Grant’s made-up responses and my own choose-the-least-wrong ones. And I wasn’t actually looking to date Grant. Obviously.
So, why was the number so jarring?
I navigated away from it and to my message folder, where the new message from Leo sat.
Leo, my 76% match. It had seemed so low at the time, but compared to 12%, Leo and I were fated mates. Twin flames.
Hey Vivian,
Sorry to keep you waiting so long—just wanted to make sure we’ll have a great time together on Friday night! Can you meet me downtown at 9? It’s a brand new place, so I’ll paste the address below. We can get some drinks and some grub and chill to the music.
Can’t wait to meet you.
Leo
I glanced at the address and recognized the street name. I could think of a couple businesses around there, which was the only reason I didn’t respond immediately asking for more details. Given the rest of the message, it sounded like our date was going to be at a live music venue. Nine o’clock was pretty late for me to be going out these days, but musicians seemed to thrive on that schedule, and I’d be able to sleep in the next morning.
Not that I would. My body didn’t sleep in. My brain was analyzing quarterly reports before my eyes were even open.
But I could be adventurous for one night.
I responded that I’d be there at 9, then closed Matchify.
“Let’s hope you’re right about Leo and me,” I said to it.
After my business lunch with Jeff and my date-turned-meet-and-greet with Tanner, I really needed Grant to witness a Matchify win.
SEVENTEEN
I wasn’tthe type of person to stew about what to wear, but I also wasn’t the type of person to catch live music on a Friday night. What did you wear to that sort of thing?
My wardrobe was largely business attire, but I pulled out some jeans, a fitted T-shirt, and a blazer.
When my car declined to start at 8:30, I refused to take it as a bad omen. I considered asking Leo to postpone only to quickly discard the idea. I was pretty sure I needed this date.
