Page 80 of The Billionaire Mismatch

“Really?” I ask.

“Yep,” she nods. “It’s on my way to work.”

“Yeah? Your studio is nearby?” I ask, taking another sip of what might be the best coffee I’ve ever had. I make a mental note to remember this place.

“You could say that,” she says with a funny smile, and I narrow my eyes at her. “Come here,” she says, and the next thing I know she’s pulling me through another door, though it doesn’t lead us outside.

“This says employees only,” I tell her as she heads up a flight of stairs.

“It does,” she states, and considering there is no other direction to go, I follow her.

Olivia unlocks and opens another door, and immediately it hits me. We are in her podcast studio.

“So this is where the magic happens,” I say, looking around.

“I don’t know about magic, but this is where I work, yes,” she answers with a proud smile.

“It’s quaint,” I say. And it truly is. It’s no bigger than my childhood bedroom, actually. The walls are painted white, save for the wall that the old paneled windows are on which is original brick. There’s a shag carpet rug, an old wooden table with a couple rattan chairs, recording equipment, and a 70’s-esque couch against a wall with halo lights above it.

“We don’t need much,” she says, in no way taking the comment as an insult. I’m glad because it’s not intended to sound that way. I guess it’s just eye-opening to see how her job and my job are so different and the same at once.

“That must be nice,” I say. “I’ve lost count of how many people it takes to run a dating app.”

“Have you really?” she asks with a disbelieving edge in her tone.

“No. There’s forty three,” I admit. “How many people work with you?”

“Two,” she answers, and my eyes drag away from a Warhol canvas on the wall over to her.

“Including you?” I ask.

“It’s Kiersten and me, and then Henry,” she answers, and I just blink. “Podcasts don’t take an empire,” she says as she walksover to the couch and sits down on one end. She’s hugging herself with a timid smile. It’s like she’s proud and humble. Like she’s taken off a layer of skin in front of me and is a little shy. Yet, there’s confidence there. It’s intriguing. And sexy as hell. “Just a couple of people with good radio presence telling the truth.”

“The truth,” I nod, sauntering over to the couch and taking a seat on the other end. “And what is the truth about love?” I ask.

“Do you really think we should be talking about this?” she asks with a small smile.

“Why not?” I casually ask. “You’re an expert in organic matchmaking, and I’m an expert in formulaic matchmaking. Between the two of us, surely we have it figured out, don’t you think?”

Olivia studies me for a moment, probably trying to figure out where I am going with this. I just want to see inside her mind a little. It’s a fascinating place I’m finding.

“The truth is people are lonely,” she states. “People want connection. To be understood. The world is hard. Life is hard. It’s beautiful too, sure, but that’s not always easy to see. Not when things don’t go the way you expect them to or hope they will. At the end of the day, everyone wants the same thing. To not have to do it alone.”

I nod.

“Too romantic for you?” she asks. “Not enough algorithms?”

“No, I think you’re right. I think that’s exactly what people are looking for,” I admit. “Though I do have a hard time understanding how you can believe that all of that can be found through happenstance.”

“There are billions of people in the world, Luca. Running into someone that you could be compatible with isn’t that far-fetched,” she says, pivoting on the couch to face me. She’s wearing jeans today with holes that expose her knees, a white tank top that is tight enough to give her shape but not too tight, and black and white knock-off espadrilles.

“Exactly. Billions of people,” I say. “The more people the lower the odds are of finding what you’re looking for.”

“How do you figure?” she asks, skeptically taking a sip of her coffee.

“Think of it like seashells,” I say. “The waves wash all these seashells onto the shore with every swoop, right? Each time there are dozens of new ones that catch people’s eyes. But here’s the thing…while people like to have variety, they aren’t looking for variety. So let’s say you are looking for something specific. A sand dollar, perhaps. No amount of augers, scallops, or conchs shells are going to change the fact that you are looking for a sand dollar. And to a lot of people, that’s going to feel overwhelming. Hopeless. Impossible even. So that’s what we do. We figure out what people want or need based on the information we need. We weed out the augurs and show them a lineup of sand dollars.”

I wait for her reaction. She is smiling, though there is something behind it. And the subtle movement in her head isn’t exactly a nod but something less committed.