Page 101 of The Billionaire Mismatch

I mean, what does someone say to that? It’s a harsh accusation. A word nobody wants to be associated with. There may or may not be an entire MTV series written around the concept of it. And trust me when I say, the catfish are never likable people. At least not 98% of the time. And I am pretty certain that based on the look on Luca’s face, I am not part of that privileged two percent that was just part of a big misunderstanding.

“I can explain,” I say, and his eyebrows move for the first time since I walked in the door. They crawl from a furrow to his hairline, which isn’t much more promising because he is still able to glare at me.

“Oh, really?” he asks. “Tell me, Olivia. Or Livv. Or whoever the hell you really are. What exactly is it that you are going to attempt to explain?”

“I take it you listened to the podcast,” I say, even though I was under the impression he already had. Apparently, he missed some episodes, namely the ones that recently aired.

“Luca,” I start to say, but he cuts me off again.

“You know, when Sadie came to me telling me that you’ve been fucking with me all along, I didn’t want to believe her. I mean, I knew that you and I were toying with each other, yes. And that we cleared the air, or so I thought. But I didn’t know that you were actively smearing my name all over your little show, attempting to defame me and destroy my reputation so you could make your podcast more interesting and prove that dating apps are the devil.”

“Luca. I wasn’t trying to do any of that,” I shake my head, taking a step closer to him. But Luca holds up a finger, stopping me from going on.

“You said yourself that you created a Realr profile so you could get revenge for Sadie,” he says.

“Yes. I did. And I also said that once I met you, I knew we were wrong about you,” I tell him. My voice is growing shakier with each word, while his scowl grows deeper. “If you listened to the podcast, you’d know that. You’d know that I walked out–”

“Oh, I listened to it, Olivia,” he cuts in again. “I typically wouldn’t take Sadie’s word over yours. In fact, I don’t think I’d take Sadie’s word over pretty much anyone’s. But after listening to a few episodes, I realized I was wrong. And that made me question if Sadie was right.”

I nod, biting back a sob. “Can you at least tell me what Sadie said?” I ask. “So I can tell you if it’s true or not?”

“I thought she was your best friend,” he sneers as though he is backing me into a corner.

“She was. She is. But, like I told you, Luca, we got into a huge fight recently. About you. And I told her off. I told everyone off,” I defended myself.

“Really?” His words cut like a blade. “Because on your podcast it sounded an awful lot like you were trying to convince the world that I am a bad guy.”

“Oh,” I let out, my voice growing small. And in contrast, Luca’s voice grows bigger. “You listened to Right Swipe, Wrong Person…”

“Oh, I listened to it alright,” he says. “And you know what else I listened to? My own voice. Because apparently, while I was talking to you on the phone during what I assumed was a private conversation, you were broadcasting it to the whole fucking world!”

“I know it was wrong,” I start to say.

“You think?” he booms.

“And I admit it. Getting revenge for what you did to Sadie, or what I thought you did to Sadie, was my idea. But you have to see things from my point of view,” I say, and Luca laughs. A gritty, angry, triggered laugh.

“Your point of view? And what point of view is that, Olivia? The point of view where I am a monster because I think people have a better shot finding love when the hard work has been done for them in a sensible, logical, psychological way instead of just throwing themselves into traffic?” he grinds out.

“No. The point of view of someone who believes in love just as much as you do and believed that her friend was hurt by you. If it were Matt, what would you have done?” I ask.

“If Matt had gotten involved with someone at work and listened to the head on his dick more than the head on his shoulders, I would have told him it served him right,” he mutters.

“Well, I’m not you. And I believed that Sadie was hurt by you because she was my best friend. But after you and I went out a couple times, that belief system changed. Because slowly you proved that you weren’t who she said you were. Who everyone thinks you are,” I tell him, making no attempt to hide the emotion in my voice. Because the emotion is real. And if I am going to convince Luca I’m not a terrible person, he needs to know the emotion is real. Along with my words.

“And yet you still continued with the podcast. And the dates,” he says.

“I continued with the dates because I wanted to,” I say, and it’s the truth. “Even though I could tell with every passing day that I betrayed my friend more and more, I still went out with you. Because I was falling for you.”

“And the podcast series?” He asks, not seeming phased whatsoever by the vulnerability and transparency of everything else I just said.

“The podcast is my job, Luca. It’s how I pay my rent. Not all of us have more money than they know what to do with,” I say in a strangled voice.

“No. Some of us just have more content than they know what to do with. So they throw it on the air,” he says.

“That’s not fair,” I snap back, but he comes at me again.

“No, what’s not fair is that there was a turning point in our dates,” he says, stepping close enough to me to look down at me. “I don’t know when exactly, but it happened. And when it happened, in my mind all bets were off. I didn’t care if you were trying to ruin my life. I knew that you were falling for me, and I was stupid enough to assume that the games would stop. Turns out, the intimacy we shared just spiced up your show.”