Page 63 of A Lot to Unpack
Jordan says something to him in Italian.
Giorgio laughs.
‘Enjoy,’ he tells us.
‘What did you just say to him?’ I ask.
‘I was trying to say I was hungry, but I might have said I was famous,’ he replies with a chuckle. ‘Anyway, dig in.’
I take a bite and, okay, I feel like I could be in Italy right now.
‘Okay, wow, I can see why you come here often,’ I reply. ‘To a different continent. For a meatball. They’re actually worth it.’
‘It’s nice to have someone to share them with,’ he says with a smile and a shrug. ‘I don’t think people believe me when I tell them they’re the best.’
‘I can officially vouch for them,’ I reassure him. ‘So, how many times have you been here? And do they do dessert?’
Jordan laughs.
‘I lived here for a while, when we were launching Matcher US,’ he tells me. ‘So I’ve eaten here more than a few times.’
‘That must’ve been cool, living here,’ I say.
‘It was,’ he replies… but something seems off.
‘Are you sure?’ I check playfully.
‘Yeah, I mean, the work was great. I love my job,’ he replies. ‘And the food, obviously. But Paige…’
‘Ah,’ I say simply.
‘She really struggled with the long-distance thing,’ he explains. ‘Looking back, I understand how she felt, but at the time I just thought she was being irrational, jealous for no reason. She was convinced I was cheating on her.’
I don’t say a word, but he must be able to read my mind.
‘I wasn’t,’ he tells me. ‘But we were having other problems, we just didn’t want to admit it. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, right?’
‘Yeah,’ I reply, stabbing another piece of meatball – these things are addictive. ‘I know that feeling.’
Ben and I had plenty of problems, looking back. The cheating was just the last straw.
‘Oh, really?’ he replies.
I nod as I finish my mouthful of food, then push my food around my plate a little.
‘Are you okay?’ he asks. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
‘I’m not sure you want to hear it,’ I reply.
‘Try me,’ he insists. ‘If you want to, that is.’
He doesn’t need to hear about how selfish Ben was. The way he talks about Paige is so mature – I’d probably just rant like a woman scorned. There is one thing I haven’t told him though…
‘My ex. Ben. When he was… erm… sending photos of himself, to other women, behind my back,’ I begin, refreshing his memory – like anyone could forget. ‘He… erm… he was using Matcher to do it, it turns out.’
Jordan winces.
‘I’m sorry,’ he tells me. ‘That’s not what I want people to use it for. Paige thinks the money is better if we lean into the hook-up angle, but honestly? I want it to help people connect. And, I know it’s not very cool or sexy, but I want to make sure our users feel safe.’
