Page 20 of The Match Faker

‘Shit, I hear you. I’ll speak to Annalise again and get back to you.’

I hung up and shook my head. Was that really the best they could come up with? Pairing me up with Kandi fucking Beaumont or making me out to be a sex addict?

This was worse than I thought.

Fucking Sunrise. More like Sunset. If things went on like this, my acting career would be over. And I still didn’t know why she’d even released the photo. Revenge? Just for shits and giggles? Well, I wasn’t laughing.

Whatever the reason, the damage had been done.

Before shit had hit the fan, I’d worked hard and played hard. Now, not only had my work dried up, my social life was non-existent too.

I was about to leave the bathroom when my phone pinged. It was a message from Trudy.

As I read her text, my eyes widened.

Interesting.

Maybe I wouldn’t be at a loose end after all…

9

Mia

‘Hi, is that Mia?’

‘Speaking,’ I replied, grabbing the notepad on my desk.

‘This is Joss. You set my friend Carly up with Horace and she recommended you.’

‘Oh, hi! I love Carly, and Horace is such a sweetheart. How are they?’

‘They’re great—madly in love and that’s what I want. I’m tired of the apps.’ She huffed. ‘At first they were fun. Now swiping is so frustrating! You match with someone, but then they want to keep messaging like a bloody pen pal and never meet. Or you meet and it’s a disaster. Or you like them, but never hear from them again. I get so fed up that I delete the apps, but then end up downloading them again and going through the same crappy cycle. Finding love shouldn’t be this hard!’

‘I understand.’ I found myself nodding, even though I knew she couldn’t see me. ‘That’s why I’m here. I do all the hard work to find you the perfect partner so you don’t have to sift through the apps.’

‘That’s exactly what I need. So how does it all work?’

‘I send you a form, which you complete and send back to me. Then we meet for a chat, so I can get to know you, find out what you’re looking for and see whether I can help.’

As much as I needed the money, I couldn’t take on everyone. If I got the slightest whiff of someone being sexist, misogynistic, racist, violent or abusive, that was an automatic hard no. I’d rather go broke than knowingly set someone up with a partner who was toxic and could affect a client’s mental or physical health.

And people looking for hook-ups, sugar daddies or seventy-year-old men searching for hot eighteen-year-old playthings weren’t for me. No judgement. If that floated their boat, that was fine. But my members wanted long-term, committed, monogamous relationships.

‘Okay.’

‘Then if we both want to go ahead, once you’ve signed the terms, provided photo ID and paid the fees, I arrange for a professional photo to be taken and prepare your profile to approve, then I start searching for a match.’

Checking their identity was essential. I’d heard too many stories of catfishing to take the risk. Same for photos.

Some apps were like the Wild West. Anyone could post a random photo from the internet and you had no way of knowing whether it was real until you met them in person.

That was why I always sent Penny, a freelance professional photographer, to take a photo of new members in their natural setting. That helped make sure everyone’s photos were up-to-date and representative of how they looked now. Not twenty years ago.

It also avoided members having to see those annoying photos of men flexing their biceps in the bathroom mirror, posing in front of flashy cars they didn’t really own, or holding a cute baby that wasn’t theirs.

‘And how do you find a match?’

‘Because I interview everyone personally, when I meet you, I often get a feel for who could be a good fit, but I also take into account their age, location, hobbies and what they want for their future.’

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