‘What, do you mean have I thought about you over the last eight days, eleven hours and, let me check, forty-seven minutes? Yeah, you could say I have a little.’
Both men smiled.
‘Now can I ask you something?’ Alex continued. ‘When we spoke on the phone the first time, you told me you took the Match Your DNA test even though you didn’t believe in it. So why do it?’
‘My girlfriend, well, my fiancée, wanted me to. We’re getting married soon and she wanted to reassure herself we were genuinely suited.’
Nick noticed Alex edge ever so slightly away from him when he said this, as if the news had come as an unwelcome surprise.
‘And when she found out that you were Matched with a guy …?’
‘She found it hilarious. But it was Sally who insisted I met you, which is why I made that appointment with the fake name.’
‘Why didn’t you just tell her to back off?’
‘It was important to her … I don’t really know why and I guess, even though I didn’t want to admit it, I was a little curious about you too.’
‘Most women wouldn’t have let us anywhere near each other, let alone encourage it.’
‘Sally and I have always had an honest relationship with no bullshit … We tell each other everything.’
‘So she knows where you are right now?’
Nick averted his eyes. ‘I think you already know the answer to that. Where does Mary think you are?’
‘Out for drinks with the rugby boys after the game. She’s not expecting me home until tonight.’
The streets of suburban Birmingham were quiet for a Saturday afternoon as Alex’s Mini Cooper made its way out towards the M6.
‘Where are we headed, then?’ asked Nick.
‘Mate, I don’t have a fucking clue.’
Chapter 45
ELLIE
Tim hiked his eyebrows. ‘Are you kidding me?’ He let his body sink into the soft cushions of his sofa as he digested Ellie’s revelation – it was she who’d discovered the gene that formed the heart of Match Your DNA and had used it to build one of the world’s most successful businesses.
Then, much to Ellie’s surprise, Tim began to chuckle, which developed into a full-on laugh. She was puzzled by his reaction and glanced at Andrei who stood in the corner of the room, hoping for reassurance, but Andrei simply lifted his broad shoulders and shrugged.
‘So let me get this right,’ Tim said, wiping his eyes. ‘You’re telling me that I’ve been on two dates with the person who is my DNA Match and it turns out she was the person who invented it?’
‘Well,discoveredit is probably a more accurate description, but yes.’ Ellie nodded.
‘And the company? As in, the company that’s bigger than Facebook, Amazon and Apple … all that belongs to you?’
‘Most of it, yes.’
He shook his head and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. ‘You couldn’t make this up.’
‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth before now,’ Ellie said earnestly. ‘I honestly wasn’t sure how to.’
‘No, I get it, I really do. You didn’t trust me, and that’s fine because, given your situation, I’d probably have kept shtum too.’
Ellie gave a nervous half-smile but didn’t appear convinced that he was OK with it. Tim placed her hands inside his, and immediately she felt that familiar sensation return. It spread throughout her body as it had when he’d kissed her on their disastrous second date.
‘Look, Ellie, you could be working behind the checkouts at Lidl and I wouldn’t give a flying fajita. I mean, the fact you could afford to own Lidl and still have change to buy Morrisons and Tesco doesn’t matter to me either. But you need to see it from my perspective – my first date in yonks is with the person who single-handedly reinvented the concept of dating. It’s bloody hilarious.’
