Lunar Love (22)

Back at my desk, Operation Destroy ZodiaCupid is off to a slow and confusing start. I stare at the blinking cursor on my screen trying to come up with bullet points for my “10 Reasons Why ZodiaCupid Is Flawed” article for WhizDash. Obviously, I need to make it clear that ZodiaCupid is a total scam. What did Bennett tell me? Oh, right. His app is the opportunity he saw as available and seized it without care or concern for anyone else.

This should be easy, yet I can’t seem to find the words. Why couldn’t Bennett have been completely awful? A horrible villain who wants to match incompatible people together just to watch them suffer while he laughs maniacally under a green snowfall of dollar bills and scrapes icing off the top of every dessert he can find. Children wouldn’t have frosting on cakes because he got to it first. Chefs, cookbooks, and cooking schools would be destroyed because he has all the best recipes in the world, and no one dare try to say otherwise.

Instead, the man threw himself on the ground for me. He made me laugh. Multiple times. Then he had the nerve to ask for my number. How can I try to hurt a seemingly decent man with an unforgettable smile and a soft spot for the Chinese zodiac? I roll my head back and groan. What’s gotten into me? It’s a workday, and I’m daydreaming about Bennett. Of all people! In an alternate world, maybe I could entertain thinking about him without consequence. But that’s not the world we live in.

The still waters of my pond have been disturbed by Bennett. I can’t let the ripples throw me off balance. I have to get back to a state of calm. And what this man does to me is the opposite of that. He’s cannonballed into the pond and splashed around, slapping his hands against the surface of the water. It’s just plain rude.

Bennett is a Rat, and I’m very much a Horse. Whatever that “date” and our meeting at the bakery was doesn’t matter. It can’t matter. I can’t go down that path again. Even if I wanted to, I know better. Spending more time together wouldn’t be good for either of us. In fact, I’d be doing a good deed by putting this to an end with my article. Bennett might be hurt by it, but any brief aggravation he’ll feel is nothing compared to the heartbreak he’d feel when it all comes crashing and burning down, as incompatible relationships inevitably tend to do.

I peek at the photo of a fish with a parasite tongue on the background of my phone and remember the mission. Be the parasite. I’ll just start with a little Vent Drafting where I’ll type out all of my feelings and allow myself to be angry and mad. After that, I’ll write the nicer version that I’ll actually send out. If I don’t let myself vent, my frustration could evolve into something more destructive from the inside out.

I summon the words from within, wrangling each word out into the open. My fingers move cautiously over the laptop keys as my emotions find their voice. Before I know it, I’m pounding furiously against each key, pouring my wrath into the sentences.

There. Vent Draft done. Seeing the list in its entirety, there’s no way I could’ve actually sent this out. Especially not with my real name on it. It’s way too cruel. But now I feel better. Does Vent Drafting count as self-care? Because it totally should.

I exhale a long breath, clearing the air of any pessimism. Now I can focus on hyping up Lunar Love. I tap out a happier article focusing on the positive of what we do instead of getting sucked into the negative vortex of ZodiaCupid.

I lose track of time, only realizing that the workday has started when Alisha and Randall walk into the office together bubbling with excitement.

“Guess what?” Alisha asks breathlessly.

“What?” I ask, drawn into her enthusiastic tone of voice. I quickly save the completed version of the Lunar Love article into a folder in our shared company Google Drive. I move my Vent Draft to the trash, deleting it so that it never sees the light of day.

“I booked you on the Dating in La La Land podcast!” Alisha shares. “They’re doing a live panel interview with an audience. It’s on Saturday. I hope that works for you.”

I clap my hands together. “That’s amazing! I love that podcast. Consider all plans canceled. Plans being a TV marathon. Wait, who else is on the panel?” I ask, nervous that a certain competitor might be in attendance. If Bennett’s there, I’ll be exposed. But then again, I’m outed when the episode airs. If I want more information on ZodiaCupid, I’m going to have to do my digging before Saturday.

“It’s an all-women panel on dating in Los Angeles. There will be a relationships editor, a consumer research manager, some reality TV producer, and you. Sounds cool, right?” Randall joins in, plopping his bag into his chair.

I breathe out in relief. “Very. Nice work. An audience, too. I’m already nervous.”

“You’re going to be great! We’ll get you prepped before the big day. I’ll email the details over,” Alisha says, writing on a pad of paper.

I jot down the event into my planner. “Thank you! Also, I wrote an article for WhizDash. I dropped it into the shared Lunar Love folder. Search for listicle, and you should find it.”

Alisha shoots me a thumbs-up. “Good! I’ll send that to my contact. She said she was Team Lunar Love and excited to promote us.”

With the listicle out of the way, I turn my attention to my upcoming client meeting. This is where I should be putting my energy, not on some wannabe imitator app. With what feels like a tsunami wave of cancellations, I need to be at the top of my game.