“Ten again.”
“Helping you attain your fitness goals?”
“Maybe eight, but that was probably my fault, not his. I like the idea of being a runner, but in reality it is just a bit boring, isn’t it? I’ve bought some Rollerblades though, so—” Avery cleared her throat and gave her a hard stare. She was getting off topic. “Sorry.”
“How physically attractive did you find Rob?”
“Oh definitely a ten.” She made a perfect sign with one hand. “Kudos to your engineers. Wowzers. Though do Paul Mescal and Adam Brody know you stole their DNA sequencing?” She laughed, because she was joking, but Avery shot her a stern look. “That was a joke,” she said weakly. “I wasn’t suggesting that’s how it worked.”
Avery returned to the questionnaire. “Did you kiss Rob?”
“Yes.”
“How did it feel? Did it feel real?”
“Yes. It felt real. It was nice.”
“Did you have sexual intercourse with Rob?” Avery asked, blinking her ice-blue eyes.
“Little personal, Avery,” Chloe said, laughing nervously, “but no. It was a first-base situation.”
Avery smiled, a real smile now, as though this answer clarified everything.
“That may explain the outcome.” She tapped her fingers on the desk. “We remain committed to your long-term happiness, Chloe. As such, we can offer you a complimentary six-month trial extension, plus partial reimbursement of your expenses. Many users report feeling differently once they experience thefullpackage.” Avery shot her a knowing smile. “You don’t buy a Ferrari and then stick to driving in first gear.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m good,” Chloe said.
Avery looked ruffled. “Can I ask why? Rob is everything you wanted, he’s perfect for you.”
“Because I don’t think I need perfect, and I know I don’t want a Ferrari. Maybe sometimes we just need to turn off all the machines and go look at the sun, you know?”
Avery tilted her head sharply. “No, I don’t.”
“People are messy and flawed. Unpredictable. Sometimes they get things wrong, do things they can’t explain, articulate themselves poorly. They can be selfish and smelly and irritating.” Chloe grew more animated. “They’ll contradict you, tell you you’re wrong, forget your birthday, and leave their wet towels on the floor however many times you tell them not to. But then—then—they’ll also say something so ridiculous that will make you cry with laughter until you can’t breathe. They’ll surprise you, disarm you, love you in a million tiny ways that you never even thought to imagine. And I love that about us.”
Avery straightened in her chair, her expression unmoved. Perhaps she saw now that Chloe was a lost cause. “Just sign here, then,” Avery said, handing her a digital form with “Contract Termination” written at the top. “I trust I don’t need to remind you that your NDA is binding for life, and we are extremely litigious.”
“Gotcha,” said Chloe, scribbling her name. She got up to leave, then paused at the door. “Can I ask what will happen to Rob?”
“I’m afraid that’s confidential,” Avery said. As Chloe turned to leave, Avery called, “Wait.” Chloe paused. “I can see from your data that you have a mild pecan allergy. I thought you’d want to know.”
Chloe couldn’t hide her surprise, then said, “Thanks, Avery. Goodbye.”
Walking out of that building, she assumed she would never see Rob again, but that proved to be not quite true. Two months later, as Chloe was enjoying a Sunday breakfast with her parents, her mother pushed a copy ofHello!magazine in front of her.
“Oh look,” her mother said. “The Duchess of Dorset has a dashing new boyfriend. I’m so pleased. She never seems to have much luck with love. That last chap spent all her money,” she tutted. Chloe looked where her mother was pointing, and there, on page 19 ofHello!magazine, arm in arm with the duchess, was Rob, or someone who looked exactly like him. He was dressed differently, more European prince than preppy city guy. His hair was styled differently, parted in the middle, but it was definitely him. Same smile, same posture, same impossibly perfect face.
“You all right, love?” asked her father, resting a hand on her arm. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Not a ghost, he just looks like somebody that I used to know,” she said, passing the magazine back to her mother.
Epilogue
One Year Later
“And cut!” the director, Mel,called out. Chloe jumped up from behind the monitor and headed over.
“You happy?” Chloe asked. “Or you want to go again?”
