be just fine, but don’t be discouraged if it isn’t. I can’t be sure the system functioned properly. Last night’s storm did a number on it. I’m going to reload the program from a backup and run it again. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your date.”
“Thank you for letting me know,” Dillon said.
“Sorry to inconvenience you. I know how busy you are.”
After Leslie ended the call, Dillon sat with his hand on the steering wheel, wondering if he should text Ariana and tell her what had happened and cancel their date. Then again, Leslie was likely calling her now to tell her what she’d just told him. He glanced at the clock on his dash. Five minutes until 2:00. He’d be a jerk to cancel now. She might actually be punctual and already be sitting there, waiting for him to show.
Dillon wasn’t keen on the idea of online dating, but if a woman put herself out there, he’d be damned if he stood her up. It took a lot of courage to go on a blind date.
A car honked behind him. The light had turned green.
He pulled forward, still on course for the coffee shop.
Emma didn’t have to know about the glitch. He could get the one date he’d promised her out of the way, glitch or no glitch, and she’d get off his back. Thirty minutes. He could do that.
Chapter 5
Ariana had planned on being at the coffee shop fifteen minutes early. She’d left her house in plenty of time, but the traffic had played against her. Someone had had a wreck at a major intersection, blocking traffic for twenty-five minutes. She’d been blocked by the vehicles around her, or she would’ve turned down a side road and found another way to get to the coffee shop.
She’d spent the morning rushing from one place to the next, looking for someone who could fix her cellphone. In the end, she was told the phone was toast. She had to buy a new one. Thankfully, her data card hadn’t bit the dust in the fall into the bathtub. She was able to download all of her data from the card to a new one and upload it into the new cellphone. All in time to text Dillon Jacobs a few minutes before noon.
While she was waiting in traffic, she remembered to call Leslie and ask if Dillon Jacobs was Emma’s brother.
At first, Leslie didn’t answer the phone. The second time she tried to call, she did.
“Online Dating Service, this is Leslie.”
“Leslie, Ariana. Are you busy?”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m glad you called. I’ve been here since midnight, trying to figure out what’s wrong with the system.”
Ariana watched a tow truck back up to one of the wrecked vehicles ahead. “Something’s wrong with BODS?”
“Apparently, the building was struck by lightning last night and suffered a powerful electrical surge. It did something to my server and the software. I can’t be sure how much was damaged yet, but it’s been glitchy ever since. Did you get a text from BODS with a potential match?”
Ariana stiffened. “As a matter of fact, I did. I’m on my way to meet him now.”
“Oh,” Leslie paused.
“Should I be worried?”
“No, dear, not worried. I vet all my clients before I allow them to join BODS. It’s just…” She cleared her throat. “I’m not sure BODS sent you an accurate match.”
Ariana studied the wrecker driver as he loaded the smashed car onto the back of his truck. “Should I call and cancel?” She glanced at her watch. Hell, she was going to be late anyway. Still, if it was Emma’s brother, she didn’t want to stand him up. Emma was her friend. Friends didn’t do that to family of friends. Ariana sighed. She wouldn’t do that to anyone. It took a lot of guts for a man to join an online dating service to get a date.
“I don’t think you have to cancel. I’m sure you’ll have a good time,” Leslie said, though she sounded distracted. “But if it doesn’t work out, don’t be disappointed. I’m going to reload the system from a backup. It’ll be up and running by the end of the day, and it’ll find you that perfect match.”
“Okay. I’ll meet him,” Ariana said. “Do you think thirty minutes at a coffee shop is enough, if we don’t have anything in common?”
“Thirty minutes should be fine. No use spending more time, if you don’t hit it off. Frankly, I think in the first fifteen minutes you’ll