Matched

"I knew he was a jerk when I laid eyes on him," Jon says dismissively. "So much for Marina's stupid dating app. I'd say MATCHED was a big failure when it came to matching you with someone."

"Don't tell Marina that. You'll break her heart. I promised to help her develop it and so did you." I pull out my cell to check for messages from Marina.

MARINA: How did it go? Fill me in on the deets. I'm curious how my match worked.

I text her back, not eager to rub her nose in her failure, but convinced that she needs to fix it. She'd been so sure that the questionnaire was honed to perfection. I'll have to set her straight.

INDIA: Not good. He talked about himself the entire time. I didn't get a word in edgewise.

MARINA: What?

INDIA: I swear he asked me about myself once and I said three sentences. That was it.

"Who are you texting? Marina to let her know how much of a failure her app is?"

I glance up at Jon, who's leaning back, a huge grin on his face like he's won some battle.

"Yes," I reply. "I'm telling her she needs to work on the questionnaire."

"That's an understatement. She should give up while she's ahead."

I frown at him. "Hey, she's my BFF. Be nice. So, the questionnaire needs work. Usually, she's a genius at matching people up. There was Grant and Mona. They were like two peas in a pod. And then Elaine and Chris. Even you have to a

dmit those were perfect matches."

Jon shrugs, not ever wanting to admit defeat. Marina's skills at matching people are legendary. That's why we all backed her efforts to start the app. I even gave her some seed money, I had such faith in her and her coder.

INDIA: Maybe you better do some more work on the questionnaire. It sure matched me up with the totally wrong guy. I mean you couldn't have matched me with a worse date than Thomas.

MARINA: That's so strange. I usually have such a great instinct for people who belong together. Oh, well. I'll run your questionnaire again and find someone else. I'm having a party next weekend at the cottage so maybe you can come and meet who I match you with.

INDIA: I don’t know…

MARINA: You know you want to. Trust me about this. I know what I'm doing.

INDIA: Thomas isn't very good proof of that.

MARINA: One mistake. Let me try again.

INDIA: Okay. Talk later. Jon's here and no doubt he'll work me until the wee hours.

MARINA: He's a slave driver.

INDIA: Don't I know it… Later.

MARINA: Later.

I put my cell away and glance up to see Jon staring at me, his eyes curious.

"What did Marina say? Is she crushed that her app failed to find you the man of your dreams?"

"She's hosting a party at the cottage on Saturday and wants me to come and meet another match she has for me," I say and raise my eyebrows, exhaling dramatically. "We'll see how well it does this time."

"Why do you bother? MATCHED obviously failed. I could have told you that before you even saw him."

"She's usually so good at this. I trust her instincts."

He sits forward and opens a file on his desk. That's the signal he's going to start working and I should as well.