Page 45 of Swiped

He had arrived at their designated spot right on time, and in a perfectly tailored dove gray wool suit.

He wore a navy-and-pink paisley pocket square and navy socks with bright pink geometric accents under his toffee brown brogues.

Of course, he had matched his accessories to the BuzzFill branding.

It also explained why he had urged her to wear the navy-and-pink striped sweater she was currently sporting.

She squirmed in it, wishing he’d just said it was to coordinate with his look, which was coordinated to the event.

Instead, he’d given her a line about how the colors brought out her beautiful complexion, and now she wondered if that were even true.

“Exciting.” Nat nodded and pulled on her denim jacket.

Rami approached the stage in a brisk walk-run. A curvy, red-headed woman wearing an emerald dress and a determined expression followed behind him. This, Nat guessed, was Allison. Even out of breath from clearly having rushed here, she was still prettier than Nat had hoped. Much, much prettier.

They took their seats next to her and Thom.

Nat felt Thom stiffen beside her at Rami’s entrance. She put her hand on his leg to calm whatever storm was brewing. “Hey, lovebirds!” she sang to Rami, waving.

“Cool it,” warned Rami.

“What? I can’t be happy for the couple about to try and destroy me?”

Rami turned to Allison, whose curls seemed to naturally settle into perfect formation as soon as she sat down. “Just ignore her.”

Thom leaned in and extended his hand to Allison. “Hello, lovely to meet you.” He flashed a brilliant grin. “Don’t worry, these interviews never last long and viral content has a mercifully short shelf life.”

“Oh, I know,” Allison answered, giving him a perky handshake.

Rami shot Thom a murderous look. “Isn’t it lovely to see me, Thom?”

Thom chuckled. “Let’s just keep it civil, mate.”

“Hey, Nat.” Allison gave a dismissive wave and tugged at her dress as she squinted into the beauty lights. “Is it supposed to be this hot up here?”

“Yep,” V answered with unusual simplicity as they fastened lapel mics onto everyone in the group. “It’s basically the surface of the sun, literally and metaphorically.”

Nat shot Rami a cautious look while Tracy breezed in, flanked by assistants. He glared at Thom, his whole face puckered in an oversized frown like he’d eaten a lemon and then dedicated his life to scorching all citrus fruits from the earth.

Tracy perched on the stool and crossed her long, brown legs and smoothed her already liquid-glass-shiny hair.

“Great, we’re all here and looking cute?

” She gave them an approving glance, letting her eyes linger a beat on Thom.

“Outstanding. So, we’re live in two minutes.

” She ran her tongue over her printer-paper-white teeth and smiled.

“Dates, just keep it natural. Keep it fun!”

Allison nodded as if she’d received CPR instructions. “And those are all the cameras, right?”

Thom hit Tracy with his own dazzling smile and crossed his legs.

Tracy arched a laminated eyebrow and appraised him for a beat before she pointed a finger at Nat and Rami. “And you two? Remember, discontent makes good content.”

Thom gave an approving laugh and elbowed Nat. “Oh, she’s good,” he whispered in a low rumble.

“Heh, yeah.” Nat fidgeted with her jacket buttons as crew members wheeled in more cameras and speakers and tested audiovisual connections.

Nat scanned the auditorium. She watched as Jo and Justin tapped away on their phones in the front row, wearing their matching Team Nat T-shirts.

There was an empty seat next to them that they could have only been saving for Sara.

Nat felt her heart clench. There were only a few minutes until it started.

It looked like Sara had opted not to be on her team after all.

Then, seemingly all at once, V was shooing everyone out of the way, and attendees were streaming into their seats, and the lights were dimming, and the little green lights on the cameras were blinking.

They were live.

“Good evening, Buzzers!” Tracy cried, standing in front of the audience with her arms held aloft. Applause, or a stampede of elephants, filled Nat’s ears. The stage lights glared in her eyes as Tracy gestured toward the four of them.

“Well, here’s what you all have been waiting for — the big moment of truth in the #BeTwoChallenge.” She began a slow walk in front of her guests. “Which kind of dating is better?” She stopped in front of Rami and Allison. “The old-fashioned way without apps to introduce us?”

Rami nodded with furrowed brows. Allison giggled and shrugged.

Tracy continued. “Or the modern way, with all of its swiping and sexting?” She gestured to Nat and Thom.

Nat gave a small wave as Thom seemed to give a kind of seated bow.

Tracy took her seat and turned to Nat. “Let’s start with the side for technology. Here we have Nat Lane, creator of the app we all use, BeTwo, and the boyfriend she found through said app, Thom.”

The crowd responded with polite applause. Thom sat up even straighter, raised an eyebrow, and adjusted his open shirt collar to show more of his skin.

“Nat, you obviously succeeded in finding a partner through your app, but how was the experience for you?”

“Amazing,” Nat said without hesitation. “You know, Thom and I actually scored at a ninety-nine percent match, which is the highest possible percentage ever generated on the app.”

She felt Rami cringe as Tracy nodded and fired her next question.

“Cute. So did you find that your algorithm was accurate with your other matches?”

Rami leaned in and gave Nat a pointed look.

Thom butted in. “Oh, now, let’s not talk about the other matches while I’m right here, shall we? I might get jealous.”

Tracy and the audience murmured with soft laughs as Rami rolled his eyes. “Wouldn’t want that,” he hissed under his breath.

Nat wanted to swat his attitude away like a fly. Instead, she gazed at Thom with adoring eyes and patted his thigh.

Thom took her hand and turned his charm on full blast into the cameras.

“The point is, Nat’s algorithm was so accurate, it matched me with another career-minded go-getter.

” He arched an eyebrow and brought a hand to his chin, the model of casually deep thought.

“As the lead of an award-winning interior architecture studio, I don’t have time to go on frivolous dates when I could be perfecting my new designs for dining chairs, chaises longues, and more, launching soon under the prestigious Design For All brand. ”

Rami caught Nat’s eye again. He slow-blinked his round eyes as his face lengthened in mock disbelief.

Nat knew exactly what he meant. This guy?

Really? But she just kept smiling. She noticed a very tall man in a silk shirt emblazoned with a snarling dragon sneak into the auditorium.

She squinted. He held up a hand-scrawled I Am Here for Rami sign.

She heard Rami laugh and point this out to Allison, who squeaked and wiggled a few fingers in greeting.

“All right,” said Tracy. “Now, Rami and Allison, how did Cupid match you two IRL?”

Rami sprang into action. “You’ve heard of meet-cute? Try meat-cute! M-E-A-T!” He paused for laughter, but there was only a beat of silent confusion. “Because we met at a brunch!” he added, his pitch rising. “It was her birthday!”

“Oh, so you met at her birthday party?” asked Tracy.

“Well, no,” said Rami. “We were both dining alone.”

Allison squirmed. “I just moved here . . .” she added in a meek voice.

“That’s right!” Rami raised a finger in the air. “I was the first person she met in San Francisco! Talk about fate.”

Tracy zeroed in on Allison. “So, tell us, what drew you to Rami? You’re a beautiful woman — you must have guys approach you all the time.” She tented her fingers under her chin. “What made him stand out to you?”

“Well . . .” Allison twisted a strand of her curls with her index finger. “Like I said, I just moved here and I didn’t know anyone else.”

Nat scoffed. “That tracks,” she muttered.

“And he’s just so nice!” Allison gave the cameras a pageant smile. “And he wanted to show me all these cool places and, I don’t know, I could only watch baking shows on my sofa for so long.”

Nat let herself look Allison up and down, her eyes lingering for a moment on the spot where Rami’s leg was pressed against her. She dropped Thom’s hand and leaned in. “So, he was literally just better than being alone?” She gave the audience a stage-y smirk. “Have you tried my app?”

Allison’s face dropped. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant—”

“Oh, right, the magic algorithm that you trust more than the fact that I know your date is a liar.” Rami glared at Nat and put a hand on Allison’s shoulder.

“Wait.” Tracy held up her hand. “Rami, are you saying Thom misrepresented himself on BeTwo?”

Nat balked. Tracy had jumped to that conclusion very quickly, even for a top journalist. She started to respond, but Rami cut her off.

He gave a loud and genuine laugh. “No, Tracy, that’s the thing. He represented himself with perfect accuracy! BeTwo just doesn’t have the data on whether someone cheats on their partner and treats women like trash.”

A gasp went up from the crowd. Thom bristled beside Nat. “Now, wait a minute—”

But Tracy held up her hand to silence him. In her eyes, Nat caught a loaded, knowing glint of recognition. “I think I’m going to let Nat respond to that one, Thom.”

Nat looked out into the crowd. Sara’s empty seat stared up at her like a wine stain on a white dress.

Maybe that part of her life was ruined, but there were Justin and Jo in their Team Nat shirts, counting on her to keep them employed.

And an audience full of people staring at her.

And an entire world that would be watching whatever she said next in perpetuity on the internet.

Then there were the two men sitting next to her and her wildly different feelings for both of them.

She wished she could start all over. She wished she believed more in what she knew that she had to say, but she said it anyway.

“BeTwo said Thom is my perfect match, and I trust my algorithm completely.”

Tracy shot her a pinched smile. “All right.”

Rami crossed his arms. “So? Come on, who wins?”

Tracy scanned them for a beat with sharp eyes.

Rami gestured to himself. “Is it the couple who met by following the rules, fair and square?” He waved a hand to Thom. “Or the guy who cheated and got a second chance?”

The crowd gasped.

Thom turned to Nat with a clenched jaw. “Can you please control him?” he muttered in her ear with the tone of a threat.

Nat kept her eyes on Rami and leaned forward. “No, really, who wins?” She pointed to herself. “The couple who was united by a strategically perfect matching algorithm?” She waved a hand to Allison. “Or the guy who’s clearly just using someone when she’s lonely?”

The crowd gasped again, with a few boos this time.

Allison had gone pale and was looking at her hands.

Nat held Rami’s furious stare.

Tracy cleared her throat. “Well, first I think our audience might have some questions about how closely either of you followed the rules . . .”

Now, Nat and Rami turned to Tracy together.

“What do you mean?” asked Nat. “We just met up for drinks a couple times!

“Yeah, and the kissing was a one-time thing!” said Rami.

Allison jumped in her seat. “You kissed?”

Nat scoffed. “It was a little more than that.”

Thom huffed like he’d been punched and shifted in his chair.

“OK, fine, we kind of almost had sex, but we both agreed that it didn’t mean anything, Tracy!” Rami was starting to gleam with sweat as his voice grew louder and more high-pitched. “Tracy, it was basically just a kiss!”

Tracy blinked, her face frozen in a stony expression.

Nat realized this must be what it looks like when someone with extensive media training cracks.

She could guess that because she, for comparison, felt like waves of lava were radiating through her body as rainforests of sweat formed in her armpits.

Nat wanted her old life back, and she would do it all differently this time.

But since that was impossible, she just desperately wanted off this stage. “Just tell us who won!” she snarled.

Tracy grinned back into her professional self.

“It looks like you both did. Now let’s take a quick break!

” She stood and drew the cameras away from Nat and Rami.

“How about we throw to our live coverage of the BuzzFill Cuteness Overload Petting Zoo tent where I’m told there are baby sloths?

” She clasped her hands in front of her chest. “Let’s all look at some baby sloths for a bit. ”

The lights dimmed as V scurried forward to confer with Tracy.

Allison stood and pointed a finger at Rami’s face. “This changes everything.” She pulled off her mic and stormed off the stage.

“Bye,” said Nat.

Rami jumped up and whirled to Nat. “Now I understand why you made such a heartless app.”

He ran after Allison.

Nat turned to Tracy, who was pulling off her mic.

“So, that’s it?”

Tracy gave her side-eye. “They literally left. And do you really want that trainwreck to continue?” She waved her glowing phone toward Nat. “Looks like the online mob is saying that you won, so just ride the trending topic for the next twenty-four hours and enjoy our open bar.”

Thom stood up and smoothed his suit. “A stiff drink is definitely in order,” he said coldly, but he turned and held out his hand to Nat.

Nat hesitated, but all she could seem to feel was the glare of the lights and the adrenaline crashing through her chest. She took his hand and followed him offstage.