Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2)(82)

She crooked her finger. “Follow me.”

Easy. Truth be told, he’d follow her anywhere. A shower, a hot, wet, steamy place where they could get tangled up in each other? That was a no-brainer.





Chapter Twenty-Five


“IT’S REALLY TOO bad we’re conflicted out of dating apps.” Akash sorted through the papers in front of him.

Katrina pulled her legal pad closer to her and smiled at the computer screen. She was getting used to taking her conference calls from the little house’s living room. “Did you come across something good?”

“Yeah, get this: it’s called CatFishr. You can upload any pics you want, so you never know what the person you’re talking to looks like until you meet. You have to go wholly on the text conversation.”

Katrina chuckled, then realized Akash was serious. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Who the hell would want that?” Carol exclaimed.

“Oh, I don’t know. I thought it was kind of revolutionary. You know, leaning into the fear people have with dating apps. It’s kind of like a surprise grab bag, and not knowing what the person looks like is a way to focus on substance over appearance.”

Katrina rubbed her temples. Sometimes she felt very old. What was the world teaching these youths? “Crush spends a great deal of money to combat bots and catfishing. The idea of a grab bag first date is ridiculous.”

Carol popped her gum. She’d already gone through two pieces of nicotine gum during the call, which told Katrina her friend was deep in another quitting attempt. “Dangerous, too. Bet ya anything the creators are heterosexual men who are bitter about women not swiping right on them.”

Akash gathered himself up. “Not all—”

“No.”

“Nope.” Katrina folded her arms on the table. “Think about what could happen if someone shows up for a date, and the person they’ve been talking to is their abusive ex.”

“Or a stalker,” Carol added.

“Or simply someone nefarious who doesn’t want any trail of who they’re talking to. I can think of ten other dangerous scenarios off the top of my head. Do you see why it may not be a great idea to have an app where people are encouraged to pretend to be someone else?”

Realization dawned in his dark eyes. “Oh. Oh.”

That was the nice thing about Akash. He was teachable. “Sometimes tech people get wrapped up in their own genius. You have to look ahead to the consequences. Conflict or not, I’d hard pass this one.”

Akash made a note on his tablet, then moved on. “How about an AI system? It’s so you can play with your pet when you’re not home.”

A loud crack came from the kitchen, and Katrina glanced that way. Jas had been very quiet while she’d been on her call, thankfully. She smiled at this noise, though, the reminder that he was nearby.

They’d slept in this morning, and though she’d had grand plans to make waffles for breakfast, she’d been too tired to put together anything more complicated than oatmeal. She’d watched Jas carefully, and he’d eaten every bite with apparent enjoyment.

She still wasn’t really sure of anything, except that they liked each other. That should have been enough. She should be satisfied with that, and the fact that he’d opened up as much as he had.

It should be enough.

“Katrina?”

“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Send me more details about the pet AI.” It sounded absurd, but she was always willing to take a chance on the pet market.

“Will do.” Akash closed his tablet cover with a satisfied smile.

“Is that all?” Katrina asked, her finger hovering over the end button.

“I actually have something I need to discuss with you. Akash, can you give us a minute?” Carol tugged on her bright blue blazer.

Katrina waited until the young man had left the office. “How’s he working out?”

Carol’s smile was faint. “He’s smart and trainable. He’s not Lakshmi yet, but I see some potential. They’re definitely related.”

“No one’s Lakshmi.”

“Truer words.” Carol clasped her hands on the table. “How are you doing?”

The sympathy in Carol’s eyes tipped her off. “You heard about the viral thing.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.” Carol twisted her wedding ring. “You have someone there with you? Rhiannon?”

Unease slithered through Katrina. “What’s going on?”

“I have some bad news. Your dad somehow got my digits.” Her lip curled. Carol had always seen right through her dad. Which was the main reason Katrina had hired her later. “He called me today and asked if I have a contact number for you.”

Her mouth went dry. “That is bad news.”

“I’m so sorry, Katrina. I stonewalled him, but I assume he’s calling everyone you used to work with.” Carol’s gaze was worried. “If he digs and finds out I work here . . .”

“He’ll probably rightly assume I’m behind the fund.” Damn it.

You have a plan for this. You have multiple contingency plans in place for this. “Text me his number.” She was proud of how well-modulated her voice was.