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Chapter One
Sofia
I hate being late. My eyes flick to the clock again and I grimace. I know I’m just meeting my best friend for dinner and drinks, and that the world won’t stop turning because she’s had to wait for me for twelve minutes, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling on edge.
I shift my gaze back to the red light in front of me, tapping my fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. It seems to take an eternity before it finally turns to green, but once it does, I keep heading towards the restaurant we’re meeting at.
It’s less than two minutes later that I pull into a space in the parking lot, and I scramble out, locking my little SUV behind me with a satisfying beep. Once I’m inside, it doesn’t take me long to find Josie sitting alone at a table, scrolling through her phone.
I all but run over to her, flustered and breathless. “Hey, sorry, got held up at work.”
Josie looks up. “Hmm? Oh, you’re good, I just got here like five minutes ago,” she tells me, “Grab a seat.”
I pull out the chair across from her and sit down. A server comes by and takes our orders before retreating back towards the kitchen and leaving us to chat.
There’s been a smile on Josie’s face since I walked in the door, and I can tell from the way she’s sitting straight up in her chair that she’s excited about something. “What’s going on with you?” I ask her, “You look like you’re ready to burst.”
“We have a prototype,” she says, a grin spreading over her face.
“Wait, seriously? It’s done?”
“Mostly, yeah, now we’re on to the beta tests, but as long as there’s nothing catastrophic that needs to be fixed, the app could potentially launch in as little as six weeks!”
Josie’s been actively working for over three years on a dating app of her own invention called MysteryMatch, and recently, her development team had been making some serious strides. I hadn’t realized just how close she was to the finish line, but I was thrilled for her.
“That’s awesome, Josie, congratulations!”
“You wanna see what the interface is going to look like?” she asks.
Even if I weren’t already interested in seeing it, the hopeful enthusiasm in her voice would be enough to make me want to. Her excitement reminds me of a little kid on Christmas, and it’s downright infectious.
“Of course!”
I scoot around the table so she can show me her phone screen more easily and she opens her apps. I can’t help but feel a little surge of pride and happiness for my best friend when I see the now-familiar logo on the screen. I’d seen the very first sketch of that logo, and now to see it as the real icon of an app…I can definitely understand why Josie is buzzing.
She taps on the icon and the app opens and loads. “So obviously mine’s slightly different because I’m on a special administrative account,” she explains, “There are some features here that won’t show up on a normal user’s interface, but for the most part, this is what anyone will see when they log in.”
I had seen some of the work in progress, but even so, it’s impressive to see it all put together. It really looks professional and sleek. “This is amazing, Jo, I’m seriously so proud of you,” I tell her.
“Thanks! I kind of still can’t believe it’s really happening; I’ve been working on this for so long that it still doesn’t quite feel real.”
Our server returns with our drinks, and I lift my glass out to Josie. “To your upcoming success,” I tell her.
She grins and clinks her glass against mine and we each take a drink. “Thank you, really. Couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Me?” I scoff, “I didn’t do a damn thing. My only contribution was some feedback on your logo designs.”
“That’s not your only contribution,” she reminds me, “Some of your suggestions became some of the most important safety features. And even if you hadn’t contributed anything to the app, your emotional support through all of this has meant the world to me.”
I smile. “You say that like it was hard. You’re my best friend, Josie, of course I want to be here for you.”
Josie smiles, then fiddles with her glass for a moment before taking a sip. “You know, funny you should say that, because I could actually use your help with something.”
“Yeah, of course, you name it,” I tell her.
“Well, like I said, we’re about to start the beta testing, but right now it’s kind of skewed, I don’t have enough women.”
“I can ask around at work,” I offer without a second thought, “I know a couple of the girls would probably be interested.”
“That would be great,” she says, absentmindedly plucking off the little paper ring holding the napkin around her silverware while she speaks, “but I also have kind of another issue. The beta testers are supposed to give their feedback and all, but I need someone on the inside, someone I can trust who can be completely honest with me about the entire experience.”
