Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
Zoe
I walk into work with a little pep in my step after last night’s text exchange with David.
It was short, but somehow left an impression on me that I thought a lot about before I went to bed.
It’s so weird, not knowing who he is, but knowing at least one of my friends thought he was cute makes me feel a little bit better about the situation.
I have to admit, though, the unknown kind of excites me.
Once I’m at my desk, my mood must be noticeable because Jana is quick to catch on.
“Oh, okay, it’s like that today, huh?” she asks, pointing her finger up and down at me as I hum a little tune to myself. “What’s put you in such a good mood?”
I jump at the chance to tell her all about the guy I matched with last night.
“So, my friend’s brother is involved in this start-up company that’s creating a blind-dating app. I joined yesterday, and I already have a match.” I smile big with a shimmy of my shoulders.
She places her hands on her desk and leans toward me. “Did you say blind-dating app? Why haven’t I heard of this until now?”
“It just launched yesterday, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what to think. I just signed up to help him out because he’s like a little brother to me.”
“How does it work?”
“You add your friends to your account as accepted judges, let’s call them, and they get to choose whether they think you’d like the guy or not. It’s pretty cool how it works.” I reach for my phone to show her when David walks toward us.
“Are we actually going to work today or just gossip?” He approaches my desk with his arms crossed.
I side-eye Jana, then let out a sigh and reluctantly give him my attention. “Good morning to you too. How can I help you?” I fake politeness.
“Did you work on those drawings I asked you to do yesterday?”
“Of course I did. Should I be worried you aren’t doing your part? You seem awfully concerned about what I’m doing. Should I feel the same way about you?”
His jaw tics, and I have to admit, it makes me a little happy to see I’ve gotten under his skin.
“My part is already done, which is why I’m asking you for yours so I can include it in mine. Can we head to the conference table to go over what you’ve completed?”
“When I’m done with my conversation, sure. Why don’t you go wait, and I’ll be there in a moment?”
I turn back to Jana, and it takes all my power to not laugh out loud at the way he stomps away.
“You know he’s only like that with you, right?” Jana points out.
“Yay. How did I get so lucky?” I roll my eyes. “We’ll continue this later. If you want to download the app, it’s called Mystery Match. I’ll show you how to add me when I finish with the dipshit over there.”
I gather my drawings and walk over to the conference table, laying out the two he liked yesterday and the new one he asked me to blend together in front of him to judge, rip apart, or whatever evil thing he has planned to absolutely ruin my day.
He doesn’t say a word as he picks up each one, examining them, then moving on to the next. I have to take a deep breath and look away before I open my mouth and say something that might make this situation worse.
After a few minutes of silence, he pushes the new drawing toward me. “I was right. The blend of the two is perfect. We’ll present this to Christina on Friday. Can you please put together the marketing package with colors and fonts to be used?”
“Friday? What about the marketing plan? The budget analysis and the timeline? And when did we decide what I’m doing and what you’re doing?”
“Christina already told us why she chose us to work together. I’m the numbers guy, and you’re the … girlie part.”
I sit up straight and place my hands on the table in disgust. “Girlie part? I’m more than just a girlie—”
He holds his palm up to me. “Just stop. Those were her words, not mine. If you have an issue, bring it up with her. And everything else is already done. I’ll forward it to you so you can familiarize yourself with it, but that’s my role in all of this.
Your role was to make it pretty, which you did very well. ”
He gets up and walks away, leaving me scratching my head, thinking that was meant as a compliment but also a slap in the face. My role was to make it pretty? Why do I feel like that’s all he thinks I can do?
I walk back to my desk, set my papers down, and open my laptop. Just like he said, his presentation is in my inbox, like he was sending it as he walked away. Sometimes, I wonder if he’s a robot and not an actual human being. If he was truly able to get all of that done, I’d be shocked.
I click on the PDF and scroll through the pages upon pages he put together.
“Why that look on your face?” Jana asks, pointing her finger up and down and in circles around my face.
I turn my laptop toward her. “Check out this presentation David put together. How could he possibly do all of this in such a short amount of time?”
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Don’t you know he has some fancy degree? That’s why Christina loves him so much. He might not be the best when it comes to artistic shit, but he has the other stuff down.”
I let out a breath and turn the computer toward myself, closing his presentation and moving on to my other emails, not wanting to give him any more space in my head for the day—especially if that space is some kind of praise, which he absolutely does not deserve.
When my workday is over, I grab a bite to eat from the little Italian place around the corner and take it to go.
As I enter my apartment, I hear a distinctive ding from my phone, knowing right away that it’s the app.
I set everything down and pull it up, instantly smiling when I see it’s a message from David.
How was your day?
I think about my morning and wonder if I should say anything about my stupid coworker, but decide against it, not wanting to come off as whiny, and I don’t want him to think that way about me, so I just keep it neutral.
Just a normal day. Pretty uneventful. How about you?
Same. Just going over last-minute details for a big presentation.
Fun. How do you feel about it? Are you ready?
Yeah, I’m ready.
Then I notice he’s typing again, so I wait to see what he has to say.
Do you ever just have this little doubt in the back of your head, wondering if you’ve done enough?
All the time. I think it’s normal. Don’t stress.
I smile at the way he just showed his vulnerability to me.
I don’t think a guy has ever really questioned things or showed worry like this, especially with him barely knowing me.
The thought makes me wonder if this is how he would act if we were in person on an actual date and not hiding behind the screen.
Can I ask you a personal question?
Shoot.
Do you think you would have asked me that if we were in person, face-to-face, on a real date?
Hmm … probably not. I’m not sure why I texted it at all, to be honest. Just needed some reassurance, I guess.
Don’t get me wrong. I liked that you felt you could ask something like that. It just made me wonder if that’s part of the appeal of this app. It’s easier to say things like that when you don’t have to face the person. It’s like you can be a little more yourself in the comfort of your own home.
You’re totally right.
The point is to get to know the person on the inside and not just the outside.
Yeah, but I won’t lie and say I’m not curious as hell about what you look like on the outside.
I laugh out loud at this.
Yeah. Me too. But it also makes me think maybe this app has some more reasoning behind it than just introducing people. It’s like you’re getting an inside edge on someone you just met.
Inside edge?
Yeah, like who they really are. Normally, people hide that kind of thing. For example, I think the best way to get to know someone is to look at their social media feed. See what kind of algorithms they’ve tripped. That will tell you a lot about a person!
Never thought about it that way, but again, you’re right. You can go deeper though by checking out the memes or videos they sent to their friends and which friends they sent those to.
Like how?
One of my little brothers, honest to God, the only way I know he’s alive is because he sends me reels.
No words, no asking how it’s going. Just reels.
It’s his way of keeping in touch, and it’s my way of knowing what he’s into.
He’s not too talkative, so it lets me see who he really is since I can’t be there with him.
I love that.
Ha! You should see how much he sends me. Let’s just say, he has a lot of time on his hands.
Do you watch them?
Every one. It’s our way of keeping in touch. I’ll send him some every once in a while too. Just to show him I’m engaged with what he’s doing.
How old is he?
Just turned 17.
What kind of videos does he send you?
They are all over the place. Let me look to give you a real idea.
I give him a few minutes. Then he responds.
The last three videos were a straight piped Honda Civic, a video of the Grand Canyon, and a guy creating an art piece.
Really?! Those are very random.
Yep. Shows me what he finds interesting though.
And what do you send him?
The last one I sent him was a meme of a guy in a big lifted truck, talking about being a Country Boy Uber and how he will tow your car if you need a sober ride home.
Does he drive a lifted truck?
I grew up in Montana, remember? Every guy drives a lifted truck.
Then you did too?
Yep, he actually drives my old truck. It didn’t really fit in here.
I laugh out loud because, yeah, that’s not really something you see a lot of in the city.
Tell me about your other siblings.
I already told you about Katie, who is getting married. JJ is the brother I was just talking about. Then there’s Tommy, Gemma, Luke, and Cindy is the youngest.
How spoiled is Cindy?
You have no idea. She’s everyone’s baby, so she can do no wrong. At least in my eyes, she can’t.
So, you’re saying she has you wrapped around her finger?
100%, and I’m not afraid to admit it. She’ll be coming out with Katie when they pick up her dress, and I can’t wait to see her. Gemma will be here too. All the girls and my mom will be flying out.
Are they staying with you?
Yep. I have my own place, but it’s not very big. They are excited about the sleepover aspect. I’m not looking forward to sleeping on the couch though.
You’re giving them your bed?
Of course. My three sisters will share my bed, my mom had a twin air mattress sent here from , and I’ll be on the couch. Not much room for anything else. I wouldn’t let them stay in a hotel though. I don’t get much time with them, so it will be worth it.
When are they coming?
Two weeks.
I would have loved to grow up in a big family like that.
It has some perks. But don’t think it’s all roses. It can be pure chaos sometimes.
I have my friends that feel like family, and believe me, they can be chaos sometimes too.
Found family can be just as important. Especially in a big city like this.
Do you have any found family here?
My college roommate, Donny, and I stay pretty close. He created this app. That’s the only reason why I’m on here actually.
My eyes widen when I read his text. He knows the guy Joey created the app with.
So, does Joey know him too? Maybe he can give me some insight on who he is.
I wonder if I should tell him I know Joey, but decide against it.
I’d love to be able to find out more about who this guy is before he can do the same to me, just in case he turns out to be a real creep.
Well … maybe you should thank your friend for me for making you join.
Yeah, I was just thinking I should thank him as well …