Page 105 of The Billionaire Mismatch

But Matt clicks his tongue for what I think might be the third time, and I am about to rip it out of his mouth.

“But was it?” he asks.

“Can you make up your damn mind about which side you are on?” I demand. “One minute you’re in my corner and the next you’re saying it was all a ruse and I shouldn’t have expected differently. And then you’re back to telling me I should talk to her about it.”

“Yeah, well, welcome to my world. It’s a mindfuck.”

A knock comes to the door, and I can’t imagine who would think it’s appropriate to interrupt me right now. But when it cracks open and Bernadette pops in, I know I need to reel it in.

“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Laurent, but if we are going to cancel the reservation for the party, we need to do it soon and–”

“We aren’t canceling,” Matt says, and my gaze jerks from her over to him. But Matt just meets my eyes before looking back at Bernadette. “We aren’t,” he says. “Because it would look bad on us. The podcast has already made you look bad enough. Canceling a nonrefundable party at one of Boston’s most wait-listed hot spots would be suicide considering the rumors buzzing around about you being the king of catfish.”

He’s ballsy, that’s for sure, but he’s not wrong. It would look bad. Especially since the entire room out there is probably buzzing with my blow-up a second ago.

“Sir?” Bernadette asks, and I do appreciate her not letting Matt go entirely over my head.

“Yes. Keep the reservation,” I say, and she nods before stepping out.

Matt looks at me with a smirk, but I don’t smile. “I still expect people to pull their weight. Now more than ever. Because my reputation is very much on the line.”

“Understood,” he says, shoving up from his chair. “And I’ll make sure everyone knows that. But I want you to think about something.”

“What?” I ask, a headache brewing behind my eyes.

“Talk to her again. Let her talk this time. Love isn’t a light switch. And girls like that are hard to find. On the apps or in the wild.”

Chapter 38

Olivia

“Welcome back to Unmatched,the only dating podcast that tells you to delete the apps because if there is one thing boomers might have been onto, it was meeting your soulmate without the help of a smartphone,” Kiersten says into the microphone while I stir my iced macchiato.

A lot has happened since I walked out of the studio. A lot and nothing at all. Obviously, they had to do some damage control, and thanks to their creative minds (and maybe a little help from AI if I had to guess), they were able to come up with a new podcast series. One that takes the limelight off me and Luca and puts it all on the listeners.

“As some of you know, we had to cut our last series short because Olivia has mixed feelings about catfishing the catfish. But don’t turn the channel just yet. Because while we might have made a mistake, we also know when to admit that we were wrong. Relationships are messy. Dating is messy. And nobody knows that better than all of you. So we are making you the stars of this current series. It’s called Real Love Stories, and every episode is inspired by you. Today’s story comes from Rose Parker and herenemies to friends to lovers story that will have every one of you believing love can conquer all, including opposite opinions on the right way to fold socks.”

I let Kiersten take the lead, cutting in only once in a while and sticking to a carefully written, no-frills script. But by the time the episode is done, I feel like I just got dental work done. I’m numb and tired of holding my mouth open.

“Well I think that went great,” Henry says. “I was skeptical considering…well. Considering. But we haven’t lost more than a thousand listeners, which is honestly not bad. You know…”

“Considering,” I say. Then I turn to Kiersten. “That was good. I think it’s going to be a hit.”

“Not as much as a catfish series with live fish,” she says, tapping on her tablet. “But it’ll do.”

I study her, and I know she can feel it. Eventually she looks up at me, and we hold each other’s gaze for a moment.

“I’m still mad,” she says.

“I understand,” I tell her.

“But I get it. Playing people isn’t you. Even if it is for the greater good,” she says.

“No, it’s not,” I agree.

We look at each other for a moment longer, and Kiersten eventually cracks. “God. You know I can’t be mad at you forever. Even if you did almost burn the bridge, we all stand on in order to pay our bills.”

“You’re so kind,” I kid.