Her perfectly waxed brows arched as she blinked at me. “That crap? What are you talking about? It’s not crap. Every person on this campus, including you, has one of his apps on their phones.”
“Both came pre-installed on my phone, and I’ve deleted them.” I sniffed, reaching up to fix my earring. “I’m not interested in finding either love or sex.”
“Bullshit.” She pointed her finger at my chest. “You, my friend, might be lying to yourself about your interest or lack thereof in using his apps, but you have to admit his strategy was genius.”
“All he did was revamp ideas that have been out there for decades. How is that genius?” I turned away from her to hunt down my headphones on my desk. There was a mound of paper on there, but the headphones had to be underneath it somewhere.
The springs on my bed squeaked as she moved to swing her legs over the side of it. “It’s genius because it’s more than just a revamp, and you know it. Girl, he completely revolutionized the way people go about searching for what they want.”
“Revolutionized?” I tossed her a look over my shoulder before I resumed my packing. “That’s a really strong word for what he did.”
She pursed her lips to hide her smile. “It’s a strong word but an accurate one in his case. Think about it. He created a safe space for people searching for love and a judgment-free zone for the ones who only want to hook up.”
“No, he created algorithms that filter through people’s messages. It’s an invasion of privacy being lauded as a revolution.”
“You can’t seriously think that.” She laughed, tossing a rolled-up pair of socks at me. “In fact, I know you don’t really think that. This is just the nerves talking.”
“Okay, so it’s not an invasion of privacy, but why do people think he’s such a genius? He’s just a really good programmer.”
“A really good programmer who had the foresight and business acumen to corner the online-dating market from both sides,” she said, her teacher’s assistant voice coming out. Her tone was a mix of patience, gentleness, and listen-the-fuck-up. It was impressive really. It was no wonder she was one of the favorite TAs around.
“Those algorithms he created might be doing the work for him now, but they were a stroke of genius,” she explained. “People looking for love register on All for Love. Those people are automatically protected from any unsolicited dick pics, sex requests, and other inappropriate content.”
“Sure, but you even have to tell it what words you find offensive when you’re registering.” The admission was out before I could stop it.
Anna snapped her fingers, grinning at me like a cat about to get a whole bunch of cream. “So you have used it?”
“I, uh,” my cheeks flushed, “I might have registered before I uninstalled it.”
“Did you register on Just for Fun, too?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “I bet you did.”
“I did.” I sighed. “I suppose there’s no point in hiding it. I’ve never used either of them, though.”
“Sure, but then you know how it works. If you’re looking for love, you’re in charge of the kind of content that even makes it to your device. Certain things are automatically blocked, but the rest is up to you.”
She waved her hand in the direction of my window. Beyond it was another red-brick building covered in winding ivy that had probably been growing on it for centuries.
It was an undergraduate student dorm. “Every one of the prudes within those walls can decide for themselves whether he or she is comfortable with the word ‘fuck.’ They can decide whether they’re okay with it so long as it’s not followed by the word ‘me’ or ‘yourself.’”
“I know.”
“They’ll also never know the comedic value to be found in an unsolicited dick pic of a frightfully unfortunate-looking dick.”
“Anna,” I said, but she just lifted her eyebrows at me. “Yeah, okay. I know I’ve laughed with you. To be fair, it’s not like any of them are fortunate looking.”
“No.” She shrugged. “But some are definitely worse than others.”
“True.” It wasn’t like I could disagree with that. “But how does that make Jude Hudson a genius?”
“Because he created an app that protects those virginal few from getting their retinas and minds scarred for life, while at the same time providing a safe zone for those who want that and nothing else.”
“I guess.”
“Those were also only the first two programs he wrote. There’s a ton more. His firm is into everything from education to weather to space tech.”
I shrugged. “Sure, but does that qualify as being revolutionary?”
“Yes,” she insisted. “If you don’t believe me, believe yourself. You once debated the merits of his strategy with me for a paper we had to write in Economic Strategy.”
“Fuck. I was hoping you’d forgotten about that. In my defense, we finished an entire bottle of wine before we had that debate.”
“We finished an entire bottle of wine together,” she said. “That’s like two glasses each. You were fine.”
“Yeah, okay,” I mumbled. “I guess I’ve just been trying to find fault with him since I found out who my mentor was. Spending six months with someone I find attractive and admire for his brain isn’t going to be fun. Not even when the tabloids love him for the sensation he creates over there.”
“Only a psychopath would be complaining about this situation.” Anna hopped off the bed and held the phone in my face again. “Look at him, Rose. Look at him. Nobody is going to feel sorry for you. I certainly don’t. Hell, I’m tempted to chop off your hair and make a wig out of it so I can pose as you and get all close to him. Do you think I could pull off an American accent?”
“No,” I said firmly. “And remind me never to trust you with scissors.”
Chapter 4
JUDE
Downtown Sydney was alive with activity this morning. Cars snaked down the streets, tourists were already getting in line for the attractions around the harbor, and pedestrians scurried to get to work on time.
The sky was bright blue with only a few wisps of white clouds drifting here and there. We were technically at the beginning of autumn, but the weather was holding, and I had no doubt the beaches would be packed.
Sitting in my office high above the city streets, I heard my people arriving and making chitchat through my closed door. I squinted at my computer, scanning the lines of code I’d gotten done since arriving a couple of hours ago.
Something wasn’t quite working, but I couldn’t figure out what it was just yet. The cursor blinked in and out of existence as I scratched my chin, my eyes flying across the screen searching for the elusive mistake I must have made.
A whoosh of my outer doors caught my attention. I thought it was Ted, my assistant, finally back from sick leave until the door opened to reveal my best friend.
“Okay,” Shane said as he walked in. He held his tablet out in front of him and pulled the stylus out of the sleeve at the side. “Let’s go over your schedule for this fine Wednesday, shall we?”