I’m halfway to the bathroom when I hear footsteps behind me.
“Hey,” Lara calls out gently. I pause and turn, waiting as she catches up.
Please don’t let this be the moment where she tells me I don’t belong here—or worse, that I’m trespassing on something that’s hers. I have too much peace to throw hands or shade today.
“I just wanted to say,” she pauses as two women squeeze past us. “I know everything that you’re doing for us with such a short notice is a lot. I know working with Eli isn’t always the easiest. But I saw Eli smile today. I heard him laugh loudly. I haven’t seen that in a long time. Not since Vanessa."
My stomach clenches at the name.
“I thought for a second you were going to pull me aside and stake your claim, telling me Eli was your man or something.”
She laughs, the sound easy and real. “God, no. I love Eli like a brother. Unfortunately, I’m hopelessly in love with the other one.”
My eyes widen. “Drake?”
She nods. “Not that he has a clue. And I would never tell him.”
“The HR issue?” I ask, nodding slowly. “Against policy?”
She shakes her head, dismissive. “No. I don’t report to Drake, so there’s no real policy against it. It's more about the man. Drake is the kind of guy who doesn’t settle down. I know he thinks I’m attractive, but I’d never cross that line for a fling. I’d barely cross it for someone I work with.”
“I get that,” I say, hearing him crack jokes with the team just outside the hall we’re standing in.
“We met outside of work,” Lara continues. “But once we started working together, I never allowed things to move in that direction.”
“But you would,” I press, “if it could be something real?”
She narrows her gaze, her voice dropping an octave. “Potentially.”
Oh. Sweet. Baby. Algorithms.
“You ever heard of MatchSense?” I ask, my lips curling into something mischievous.
She furrows her brow. “Wait—MatchSense? The dating app for elite, high-intensity professionals?”
“That’s the one,” I say, grinning. “My best friend, and boss, built it. Smart. Exclusive. Zero creeps. You should let me set you up with a profile.”
Lara snorts. “Max, I’m not elite. And the only intensity in my life is caffeine-induced anxiety.”
She narrows her eyes at me, suspicious but clearly amused. “But let me get this straight. Your master plan is to make me a profile on some ultra-curated dating app so I’ll—what—forget that I’m hopelessly in love with a man who builds furniture like it’s foreplay?”
I bite back a smirk. “I never said that.”
She crosses her arms. “What exactly are you saying?”
I shrug, leaning back as the idea takes shape. “Maybe we set you up with a profile on the app. Maybe I find a way to get Drake to set up a profile on the app. We find out if you’re both looking for the same type of relationship and ensure you’re matched accordingly.”
I say it with a grin, as if it’s the most brilliant plan in the world. Just because it didn’t work for Nyles and me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for Lara and Drake.
Lara rolls her eyes, but her cheeks go pink. “You are dangerously close to meddling, Max, and I don’t even know you.”
I grin. “It’s not meddling if you consent.”
She groans, half laughing. “You’re relentless.”
I am. It’s kind of my thing. My best friend, Eslin, has an entire calendar of holiday traditions she never asked for because I bulldozed my way into her life and made her my sister in every way that counts.
Lara feels safe. Centered in a way that I need right now to keep me upright while I’m here. And I’ve always had a soft spot for a good matchmaking project.
