knowledge of compatibility to hone our matching system. What most people focus on is incompatibility. If an alpha and an omega don’t have sufficient affinity, there is no benefit to their being paired together. But similarly, if they have extremely high levels of compatibility, over eighty-five percent, that can cause problems of its own.”
“What kind of problems?” William finally had some idea where this conversation was going, and it was nowhere good.
“It is almost guaranteed to lead to a romantic entanglement. Essentially, it means finding someone their perfect life partner. You can see why that would be a problem for an agency like ours.”
William remembered what Micah had told him during their first meeting.
“You’re not a dating agency.”
“That we are not. We match alphas with omegas who can provide the inspiration they’re lacking in their professional life. Many of our clients are happily married or otherwise not looking for a life partner. Introducing a muse with ultra-high compatibility all but guarantees…”
“It would wreck marriages, destroy homes.”
“Exactly. Which is why we never pair two people whose compatibility is above eighty-five percent if one or both of those people is in a relationship. With single people, we allow up to ninety percent compatibility.”
William took a moment to absorb that, knowing there was only one question to ask.
“What percentage was my compatibility with Harper?”
“Our algorithm had you at eighty-nine percent when Micah initially approved your pairing. But a recent update to our systems had introduced an error that went unnoticed for several days. This was subsequently corrected, and all errant scores were re-calculated. You should have been informed immediately and your contract terminated. Micah failed to do that, and we’ve had to let him go. But I’m afraid that leaves me in the awkward position of breaking this news to you.”
“You’re saying that Harper and I should never have been paired up?”
“Never. I understand that you’re both single, so I hope the potential fallout from this has been minimal.”
William choked back a laugh, thinking of their current situation.
“Ah.” Francis accurately interpreted his almost-silence. “Do I take it you were requesting a break because yours and Mr. Jones’s situation had gotten somewhat complicated?”
“Complicated? That’s one word for it.”
“I can’t undo what’s been done, Mr. Riley. Here is what I can do. We’ll put your contract on pause effective immediately, so you can have some time to decide on your course of action. We do intend to terminate the contract by the end of the month, pay out in full to Mr. Jones, and repay any money you’ve invested in this.”
William thought that seemed only fair, but Francis wasn’t finished.
“You’re welcome to get your lawyer to look over our contract. We have it watertight to prevent us from being sued in cases such as this, but you or your lawyer might feel differently.”
“Believe me, a legal battle is the last thing I want.”
“You may change your mind once you’ve had some time to think it over. If you’re willing to forgo legal action, we are prepared to pay compensation to both you and Mr. Jones equal to the value of the year-long contract on top of what I’ve already mentioned.”
“That sounds like a generous offer.”
“It does come at the cost of signing a non-disclosure agreement. When our reputation is at stake, we take no chances.”
“I understand. Can I ask one thing before we go any further?”
“Ask away.”
“Can you hold off on doing anything except pausing the contract for the moment? Things are… very difficult right now. Harper doesn’t need the added stress of this on top of everything else.”
“We will certainly go ahead with pausing the contract, but we do have a legal obligation to disclose what I’ve told you to Mr. Jones. And a moral one, as well.”
William felt bad for having asked. It wasn’t his intention to keep Harper in the dark or hoodwink him. He was just trying to buy them time before everything imploded.
“Yeah, I guess I can see what you mean.”
“You are now in possession of some very powerful information that affects both of you. You’ve been in close contact and presumably had a rather close relationship for several months now. I hope I’m misreading the situation, but in case I’m not, I should also mention that the agency will pay for psychological support for both of you to help you work through this. From a therapist of your choice, of course.”
William almost laughed at the offer. “I see you’ve thought of everything.”
“Unfortunately, while this situation is now extremely rare,