‘That’s what you will have to wait to find out!’ I smiled, remembering Jimmy’s instructions not to give too much away.
She smirked. ‘Why you three, though? Because of The Dicktionary Club project you have at home? Or have our American men broken your hearts already?’
The three of us glanced at one another, and Katy piped up. ‘Unfortunately, yes, I have had my heart broken by one American so far. And what I will say is, men are men – Scottish or American. They’re all liars and cheats!’
Tia looked surprised. I nudged Katy to rein it in.
‘We’re making this app because we believe good guys do exist, and .?.?.’ I trailed off.
‘Do we?’ Zola shot back, almost drawing the eyes off me for attempting that sentence.
I laughed, batting her remark off as a joke while darting her a shut-your-face kind of look.
‘Sorry to be outspoken, but I’m not sure there are so many good – single – men out there anymore! I prefer sticking to the safety aspect of the campaign,’ she snapped.
‘And that’s a really great element to mention too.’ I forced a grin, feeling panicked with how badly this was going.
Tia blinked. ‘So, you’re Zola?’ She glanced at me. ‘You’re engaged?’
I shook my head. My heart ached for Zola.
‘That’s me.’ Zola flicked her hair. ‘And yeah, I stick by it. I’m not sure good men exist.’
There was a moment of awkwardly heavy silence at the table.
‘But like I said, that’s what we aim to find out!’ I added, sticking up my thumb in a corny bid for positivity.
‘Yeah, sure. OK then,’ Tia agreed, still slightly unnerved. ‘I know you have made The Dicktionary Club website in the UK. Do you have a new name for the app? Or are you sticking with The D Club?’ she asked, giggling a little nervously at the name.
‘Stars and Swipes,’ we said in unison. At least we agreed on something, I thought.
‘Great! Stars and Swipes hits on Thanksgiving eve. I’ll check it out!’ Tia grinned, though I had my doubts.
She reached for her phone and pressed to stop recording.
‘Thank you, ladies. If you all smile, Jeff will take some publicity shots for the article.’
We leaned in together, smiling and laughing as bright camera flashes flickered in the office. I wondered if Philip would see the article and if he’d reach out. In anticipation of his eyes on me, I sat up straight and gave my best smile.
‘What the hell was that?’ I mumbled through my teeth, still posing.
Zola grinned back. ‘Pure and utter honesty.’
*
Later that day, I was reading the findings from Katy’s street-survey trip with Tanya. The notes showed that American women cared much more about a man’s salary and ambition than Scottish women, as well as about religion and emotional intelligence. The drug-dealing, Turkey-toothed man-child racing down Strathy Park in a souped-up Golf didn’t seem to have the same appeal as he did back home, interestingly enough.
Zola and Katy stumbled into the office around five and slumped down at their desks.
‘I need a drink,’ Zola stated.
‘Me too,’ Katy agreed. Both of them immediately glanced at me to agree.
I smiled. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Urgh, Ethan still hates me, so he doesn’t talk, and now Darren’s off to have a stupid baby, so it’s been a long few hours!’ Zola groaned.
‘Well, I’ve had a great afternoon. We rounded up some students and we’re paying them to write reviews on men.’ Katy grinned. ‘Hey, have you heard anything more from Curtis?’ He had been the elephant in the room since we arrived at Flirtify that morning, but there were too many people around to delve into the situation without risking a total breakdown, given how fired up Zola was during the publicity interview.
