Page 21 of Meet Cute Reboot

“We’ve met,” I say.

Todd looks confused for a moment, and then realization sends his eyebrows toward the ceiling. “The blind date. I forgot.”

“Yep,” I say. “I was the lucky guinea pig.”

Cassie’s eyes narrow.

“So, I guess I should—I assume she doesn’t know you—” Todd falters.

“Right.” I meet Cassie’s eyes and will her not to go ballistic at my next statement. “She doesn’t know I’m a silent investor in MatchAI.”

“Majority silent investor,” Todd adds.

I watch Cassie’s jaw muscles clench and her lips tighten.

Bethany fluffs her hair and looks from me to Cassie. She’s a full-figured middle-aged woman with gray roots and wide-seteyes that are framed by large, red-rimmed glasses. She can tell something’s up. Todd seems oblivious.

“That’s wonderful,” Cassie says in a tight voice.

I clear my throat. “Since I have a stake in the company, I thought I should be here while we figure out why the site is down.”

“Drew is on the phone with our hosting company,” Bethany says. She crosses her arms in front of her large bust, which is accentuated by a pink and white vertically striped blouse. “We should know something shortly.”

I glance over at Drew. He’s still hunched over, his head nearly touching the keyboard like he’s about to fall asleep. It doesn’t buoy my confidence in him.

“I think I’ll grab some coffee,” Cassie says. “Anybody else want some?”

Todd and Bethany shake their heads.

“I’ll help,” I say.

Cassie eyes me like she wants to say something snarky. Bethany catches the exchange and casts me a questioning look.

“I can make my own coffee,” Cassie says in an unnatural sing-song voice, “but if you insist.”

I follow her into the break room. As soon as we enter, she whips around and lays into me. “What are you doing?” she hisses.

I place my index finger on my lips and gesture to the door. “They can hear,” I mouth.

Cassie’s chest puffs and she clenches her fists. “Do you like hazelnut?” she says a little too loudly. She knows I hate hazelnut coffee.

“Sure,” I say.

She walks over to the sink and turns on the faucet to fill the Keurig’s water reservoir. I join her and she flashes me a look like I’m the spawn of Satan. I might be. I hope not.

“We need to talk,” I whisper, allowing the rushing water to muffle my words.

“You should have told me,” she says before shutting off the faucet with a dramaticThunk!She walks over to the Keurig, opening the space between us.

I spot an empty coffee grinder near the backsplash and grab it. “Fresh coffee sounds great,” I say loudly, echoing Cassie’s sing-song tone.

When I scoot over to Cassie, she’s already popped the pod into the machine. She presses the ten-ounce button and folds her arms, purposefully angling her back toward me.

I tap her shoulder. “Cassie, let me explain,” I whisper, “I want to come clean.”

She spins toward me, grabs the coffee grinder, and smashes the top. As the machine whirs, she says, “Nothing you say will convince me that you aren’t a complete nutjob. Did you take down my site just so you could meet me here?”

“Of course not. I—”