Page 5 of The Billionaire Mismatch

They aren’t wearing the rose-colored glasses that tell you John from marketing is a good guy just because he’s a vegan. For all you know, John is running a puppy mill.

So when Sadie, who has most likely been crying at the bar for thirty minutes or more, rushes over to me, I pull her into my arms to comfort her.

I think the direness of the situation is clear.

“I hate him,” she blubbers.

And with that, everyone who was staring looks away and goes back to their own conversations. Because if there is anything people understand, it’s a date gone miserably wrong.

“I know, I know,” I tell her as I guide her back to the bar.

Her glass is empty, and her breath tells me why. That’s alright though. She’s probably staying the night with me anyway.

Sadie is a very put-together woman, always dressed to the nines, hair done in the morning, makeup routine that takes longer than it takes me to do my taxes. Wailing at a wine bar with mascara streaks on her cheeks is not a Sadie-approved thing to allow, which tells me this wasn’t just a date gone wrong; it was a disaster.

“Chardonnay, please,” I tell the bartender.

“Two glasses?” he asks.

“The bottle,” I say, and he nods.

Then I turn back to my friend who is blowing her nose in a small square napkin meant to be a coaster.

Yes. This is an emergency.

“I hate him,” she says again, setting a snotty, wadded-up napkin on the bar top.

I snag it and shove it in my purse because it’s starting to give other people at the bar the ick.

“I thought you loved him,” I say softly. Is it the right thing to say? Probably not. But I have to start somewhere.

“I thought I loved him too, but he used me and now I hate him,” she mutters, reaching for her glass as soon as the bartender fills it.

“I’m just going to let you be in charge of this,” he says, setting the bottle in front of me.

“Okay, so you don’t love him after all,” I say.

“Nope. I could never love him. Not after what he did to me,” she says coldly as she takes a sip. Make that chug. I look back at the bartender and mouth the word water and he nods.

“Alright, sweetie. I know you told me about this guy before. But I’m going to need a little more context,” I softly explain. “What is his name?”

“Luca,” she says the word as if it tastes like a Warhead candy.

“And you work with Luca, right?” I ask.

Sadie snorts out her response. “He’s my boss,” she says, and the conversation takes a hard left turn.

Because it’s one thing to get involved with a co-worker. But going out with your boss? That’s a whole other kind of problem.

Unmatched Dating 101- Rule #10: Keep the professional, professional and the personal, personal.

In other words, don’t date people you work with.

And more than that? Never date people you work for.

Not if you value your job or your reputation.

Not that I would personally mind if Sadie got a new job.