Chapter 52
EDEN
“Thanksso much for meeting me on such short notice.”
I glance over at Ava, who’s sitting at her desk in her office. When her secretary called me yesterday asking me to meet with her this morning, that it was urgent, I was too shocked to ask what the meeting was about. I just mumbled “yes” and spent the rest of the evening freaking out with Kayla.
Now that I’m here, I’m feeling woefully unprepared. I have no idea what in the world she’d want to talk about with me.
“It was no problem,” I say. I contemplate staying quiet and letting Ava broach the subject, but I’m too curious. And confused. “Ava, what’s all this about?”
She hesitates for a second. I take in her tired eyes, how she looks exhausted and sad.
She takes a breath like she’s nervous. “I asked you to come here so I could apologize to you, Eden. I’m so, so sorry for what a coward I was when you asked me to publicly defend your business. I made the wrong call. It was a mistake for me to say no to you. And now I want to make it right.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t expecting that.
“Also, I have news to tell you. I know who’s responsible for the blog article that kicked off the backlash against Dream Guy. I know who the anonymous source is.”
“You do?” I sputter.
“It was Brock.”
My mouth falls open. “Brock?”
“When I read the article, something about it felt off—and familiar. The tone of it was so nasty, so cruel. So I did some digging.”
She mentions how she put her IT team to work investigating the blogger and the article. Holy crap. Ava has an IT team to investigate random hunches she has? File that under things about mega-rich people I never knew.
“When my team came to me with the irrefutable evidence that my ex Brock was the source, I couldn’t breathe. But at the same time, I wasn’t surprised. He was always so petty, so cruel. I mean, remember our breakup?”
I nod, recalling how he cheated on Ava right in front of her, then laughed in her face. Then posted about it on social media.
Her gaze turns distant as she looks out the nearby window in her office. “I called him and confronted him with the evidence. I gave him a chance to explain himself—a chance to apologize.”
A sad laugh falls from her lips. “He didn’t, of course. He doubled down actually—said that he wasn’t sorry, that he was happy to see Dream Guy go down in flames, that it was payback for how I humiliated him when I hired Danny to come with me to that gala and show him up.”
I swallow back the sting that just the mention of Danny’s name brings.
“Brock said that he was coming after me next,” Ava says. “His plan was to out me on social media for using Dream Guy because he knows that my buttoned-up proper family would be devastated to hear that I used the app. He told me he had the articles and the social media posts all lined up and ready to go.”
I try to decipher Ava’s expression, but I can’t. I take in how she purses her lips as she swipes her phone off her desk. She drag her finger quickly across the screen before turning it to face me.
“But I beat him to it,” she says.
I stare wide-eyed at the post on her social media, which she had uploaded a few hours earlier, according to the time stamp.
I’m sure that by now you’ve all heard of the drama surrounding the dating app @dreamguy. You guys know that I happily post photos of my personal life on my social media accounts, but I don’t often talk about what goes on behind closed doors. I’ve definitely thought about it though, especially whenever I see a gossip website run a story about my personal life. But I’ve held out—until now.
I think you all know my ex Brock Wellington—and you’re aware of the very public way we broke up when he cheated on me and livestreamed it on his social media accounts. I was absolutely heartbroken. I was in love with Brock and I couldn’t believe he could hurt me like that. But he did. Since we run in the same social circles, I knew I’d be seeing him at work functions and social events for the foreseeable future. I knew he’d be bringing along the woman he cheated on me with—because that’s the kind of guy he is. He’s a cruel jerk who relishes in making people feel like nothing.
I was tired of feeling hurt. So I decided to do something about it. I contacted the app @dreamguy and asked for the ultimate dream date to bring to an important social event. Someone who was smart, kind, handsome, and could hold his own in an uncomfortable social situation. And man, did they deliver.
The dream guy they matched me with was incredible—the perfect date to have by my side when I inevitably ran into Brock. Brock tried to humiliate my date. He tried to talk down to him and disrespect him, but my date wasn’t fazed. My date verbally handed Brock his ass while being the perfect gentleman. Brock fled with his tail between his legs, and I had a wonderful rest of the evening with my date.
That’s the kind of service that @dreamguy provides. I’ve never had such a positive experience with a dating app. They’re unique in that they give users exactly what they want and they don’t make you feel judged or ashamed of your needs and wants.
When I saw that blog article accusing @dreamguy of being an illegal escort service and for encouraging infidelity, I was irate. Those are outright lies. How do I know this? Because Brock admitted to me that he orchestrated the entire smear campaign against @dreamguy as a way of getting back at me. He’s that much of a scumbag.
So I’m here to set the record straight once and for all: @dreamguy is totally legitimate and completely legal. I know that users and employees of the app have been posting since yesterday in defense of @dreamguy and that’s helped clear things up for the public, and I want to add my voice too. That blog article is all lies. Brock Wellington is a piece of garbage. @dreamguy is legit, legal, and absolutely amazing 3
When I finish reading Ava’s post, I’m sputtering.
“Ava. You have no idea what this means. Thank you.”
A sad smile tugs at her glossy lips. “I don’t deserve to be thanked, especially when I initially told you no after you came for me for help.”
“No, it’s okay. I get it why you didn’t want to do it. Family dynamics are tricky and complicated. I’m blown away that you decided that my business was worth putting your relationship with your family on the line for.”
“It’s about time I did,” she says. “When you first came to me and asked me to defend Dream Guy and I told you no, I felt awful. I knew it was the wrong thing to do. I spent those first few days thinking hard about the person I want to be—and the business woman I want to be. I knew what the right thing to do was. And I chose not to do it. And it felt so shitty. I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”
“But what about your family’s finances?” I ask. “Aren’t you worried they’ll cut you off when they find out you’re associated with Dream Guy?”
This time when Ava smiles, the sadness is gone. It’s still a small smile, but it’s so much more joyful. “Not anymore.”
She stands up and rounds the corner of her desk before leaning on the edge. “I have money saved on my own. It’s not nearly as much as what my family has, but when I sat down and ran the numbers it’s more than enough for what I have planned. And really, I should have done this years ago. I just didn’t have the guts. But now I do.”
The way she taps her fuchsia nails on the edge of her desk comes off as giddy, like she’s bursting to tell me some good news.
“What do you have planned?” I ask.
Her chest heaves as she takes a breath and looks at me. “I want to go into business with you, Eden. Dream Guy is a brilliant and innovative dating app, and I think you and I could take it to the next level.”
As I sit in the plush office chair, my mouth is hanging open for the second time this morning. Did I just hear her right?
I hold up a hand. A nervous laugh falls from my lips. “Hang on. Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. This app is exactly what the dating market needs right now. And it’s already made incredible strides. But it can be so much better and bigger with more funding. I want to help you take it nationwide. I want to help you take it global.”
I let Ava’s words sink it. Holy shit. She’s serious.
“I have the capital you need to expand. I have the IT resources. If you let me be your business partner, we could take over the dating app world.”
She’s beaming now. And then I realize I am too.
I’m on my feet, sticking my hand out to her. We shake on it.
“I’d be honored to go into business with you, Ava.”
Ava pulls me into a hug, and for a solid ten seconds we’re squealing and hugging and jumping.
“I’ll draw up the paperwork. I have a whole business plan I’ve started, but I want to do the rest with you. I know this is your baby, Eden. I want to collaborate on every aspect of the expansion with you.”
My hands are shaking, I’m so excited. “I want that too.”
I know there are a million things to sort out—contracts, lawyers, schedules, budgets, and so much more. But instead of feeling stressed about it all, I feel enlivened. My business is taking off. My dream of taking Dream Guy international is actually happening.
My mind races with everything I want to do, but I halt the flurry of thoughts. I close my eyes for a long second. I need to savor this moment, this moment when I realized my wildest dreams were about to become reality.
“This is happening,” I whisper to myself when I open my eyes.
“Oh, it’s happening.” Ava trots over to her mini-fridge and pulls out a bottle of chilled champagne. “I know we have a lot of work to do, but a toast is in order.”
As I watch Ava pour the bubbly into two glass flutes, a memory from months ago flashes in my head. The first time I met Ava, Danny was with me. We had champagne then too.
A familiar cracking sensation lands at the center of my chest. I wish Danny were here. I wish I could tell him the good news. I wish I could hug him and kiss him and celebrate with him…
I banish all thoughts of Danny from my brain. He made it clear just how much he needs space from me. We’re over. I shouldn’t be thinking about him anymore.
Instead I accept the champagne glass from Ava with a smile when she hands it to me. We clink glasses, and I focus on the moment, on my dream coming true.