Page 56 of No Match Found
But it wasn’t only that making me angry. Alex had handed Grant a bad angle on a silver platter—and after I’d assured Grant about our data security.
Jackie looked at me for a second and grimaced. “You’ve got to fire him, Viv.”
I let out a sigh. “I know.”
SIXTEEN
When Katie learnedthat her protegé was the culprit, she had a few choice words for him—words I didn’t let her communicate directlytohim, for obvious reasons. The person who actually talked to him and let him go was Laurie, our HR manager.
It was for the best. If I’d been the one to do it, it probably would’ve seemed personal. He’d violated my privacy, and he’d violated Grant’s—or at least Grant’s hypothetical privacy.
But it was about more than whose privacy he’d violated. We couldn’t have employees running unwanted and unsanctioned matching. We relied on user trust way too much. Brooke had called the idea of keeping him on at Matchify a “PR nightmare waiting to explode in my face.” For perhaps the first time in recent memory, every one of the Founding Five—including Katie and Nick, who generally played devil’s advocate against each other—had agreed that Alex couldn’t stay on board.
The amount of whispering after he’d left made me feel like we’d stepped onto the set ofMean Girls.
“Not quite the day you’d planned for,” Grant remarked as we packed up to go home.
I rubbed my eyes beneath my glasses. “Not really.” It was a good thing I’d been so busy handling the whole Alex debacle, because it meant I hadn’t had time to do…the thing.
I was determined not to do it. For that very reason, I’d be heading straight for the gym when I got home.
Grant opened the door for me. “Ready for today’s question-for-a-question?”
The only reason I didn’t sigh is because I was still out of air from the last one. I was feeling off and unprepared for a Grant question, no matter how innocuous it was. But I was also the slightest bit relieved that he stillhadquestions for me after yesterday’s skip.
“Shoot.” I passed by him, inhaling a wave of cologne.
“All right.” He rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain planning his world takeover.
I braced myself.
“Do you need a donut?”
I glanced at him. “Is the question that bad? I need a giant dose of fat and sugar to prepare me?”
He chuckled as we approached the elevator. “Thatisthe question. Do you need a donut, Vivian?”
I stopped, and so did he. This felt like a trick.
He let me stare at him warily for a few seconds, then shrugged. “It’s been a long day, but there’s nothing a maple bar can’t fix, right?”
I tried to ignore the relief and warmth trickling through me. Grant was giving me a free pass on today’s question—and he was offering me food. Delicious, warm, maple-glazed food.
It was…thoughtful. Like,reallythoughtful. And unexpected.
I’d taken Grant for someone who valued truth over everything.
Apparently, maple bars and some occasional sympathy were right up there, though.
“Can I ask my question first?” I asked.
“Shoot,” he said.
“Doyouneed a donut?”
His mouth pulled into a grin. “That’s your dumbest question yet.” He walked over to the elevator and pushed the button. “But also your best.”
I sat in bed,my laptop on top of my blanket, my mouse hovering over the magenta login button. I blamed the situation on the maple bar.
