"Morning," said one.
Suki"s return greeting was barely audible and both men studied her as if she"d rebuffed them at a club.
"Whoa," said one. "Time to move on."
As they boarded the elevator, the other said, "Was that the police? Weird."
Suki mouthed, d.a.m.n d.a.m.n.
Milo said, "Let"s talk in your office."
"Fine. But no promises."
SukRose.net"s dark, empty suite gave way to fluorescence as Suki punched wall switches on the way to her office. Vacuum tracks and an orangey-chemical smell said the s.p.a.ce had been cleaned overnight. But the aroma of last night"s Mexican takeout fought to be noticed and the crew had left packets of hot sauce next to one of her computer screens.
She frowned, brushed them into a trash basket, and looked past us.
The computers hummed. Hardware and software collaborating to align rich men with young female flesh.
I supposed it wasn"t that different from what had const.i.tuted marriage for centuries, before the ideal of romantic love went from fictional device to social norm. And who knew? Maybe the concept of soul mate would one day reduce to bytes and bits.
Right now, a beautiful girl with a missing face made it feel wrong wrong.
As we"d waited in the lot, Milo had asked me to begin the questioning. You know how I feel about that math science c.r.a.p You know how I feel about that math science c.r.a.p.
I said, "Suki, how random is your process?"
"You"ll have to be more specific about what you mean by "process.""
"Matching Daddies with Sweeties."
"The process process is we provide data and people find their own way." is we provide data and people find their own way."
"All by themselves."
Her eyes shifted to the left. "That"s what I just said."
Milo walked to her window and parted the drapes. The blade of light that shot through was harsh and white.
She kept her eyes on him until he returned to his seat. "What were you looking at? Are there more of you out there?"
He said, "Great view. You"ve got yourself a really sweet setup here."
He has a way of making pleasantry sound ominous. Suki Agajanian swallowed. "Whatever."
I never enjoy lying glibly but I"m better at it than I"d like to think. "Suki, we had some math types examine your site. The consensus is that for you to succeed in a compet.i.tive field, the likelihood of random sorting as your dominant mode is about the same as sticking a monkey in a room with crayons and paper and expecting it to produce a Shakespearean sonnet over a long weekend."
She swayed from side to side. If she were a boat, she"d be taking on water. "Is that so?"
I nodded.
"Then your so-called math types don"t know what they"re talking about."
"You"re saying you never narrow searches in order to maximize compatibility."
Her eyes repeated the same journey portside. "There are steps we can take if people request. So what?"
"What kind of steps?"
"Constructive focus."
"Zeroing in on common interests."
Nod.
"Favorite foods and such?"
"Deeper than that," she said. "Values, experiences, intellectual pursuits."
I tried to imagine a deep conversation between Markham Suss and Tara Sly.
"In order to zero, you use word-search software."
She held out two palms. "Uh-uh, no way I"m going to get into technical aspects. Wouldn"t do it even if we were already copyrighted-and we"re looking into that. Because anything can be modified and ripped off."
"We"re the last people you need to worry about stealing your stuff," I said.
Her arms crossed over her chest. "Nope, no can do. Now, if there"s nothing else you-"
"So we agree that random surfing for true love might be fun in theory but narrowing the focus works significantly better."
"Significance is a statistical concept," she said. "You mean importance."
"Okay, focus is important."
"I guess that depends."
"Do you word-search routinely or is it an option?"
She didn"t answer.
I said, "My guess is it"s a paid option, the geezers get a do-it-yourself base-rate or pony up additional dough for a.s.sisted loving."
Suki Agajanian"s crisscrossed arms tightened, folding her shoulders inward, as if someone had laced her into an oppressive corset. "Relationships aren"t a joke."
I said, "They"re anything but. Do you charge per word, or is it a package deal?"
"I don"t see why you"d care about that."
"Are Sweeties and Daddies both eligible for a.s.sistance?"
"Everyone finds their own way, that"s the beauty of-"
"Daddies pay to enroll on the site but Sweeties don"t."
"Brian already told you that."
"So if there is an extra for-fee service only Daddies get to use it, correct?"
Long silence. Petulant nod.
I said, "Sweeties fend for themselves."
She said, "Trust me, they do fine for themselves." Sweat beaded her pretty Levantine nose. She dropped her arms, laced her fingers. A knuckle cracked. The pop made her jump.
When your own body scares you, you"re easy prey.
I said, "Obviously, you see where we"re headed."
"Obviously I don"t."
"Cohibas."
She wheeled back in her desk chair. Hit an obstruction and came to a jarring halt, braced herself on the desk-edge. "We did absolutely nothing wrong."
"No one"s saying you did, Suki."
"Then can you please leave so I can go about my business? I"ve got a ton of emails to deal with."
"As soon as we have the exact dates Tara Sly and Markham Suss registered with you."
"Uh-uh, no way, I can"t do that," she said. "Not before I consult with Brian."
Her iPhone lay on the desk. Sparkling pink case, like a toy you might give to a three-year-old girl. I held it out to her.
She didn"t budge.
"Call him, Suki, so we can all go about out business."
"That"s everything you want?" she said. "Just dates and then you"ll leave me alone?"
"You bet."
She laughed. "Then you really wasted your time cause the dates are right out in the open, at the top of each profile."
Exactly.
Milo pulled out Stylemaven and Mystery"s ventures in creative writing. "According to this, Mr. Suss registered twenty-three months and four days ago."
"If that"s what it says."
"And Tara aka Mystery came on real soon after, three days to be exact."
"Okay."
I said, "How much do you charge for keyword prompts?"
"You asked me that already."
"Don"t recall any answer, Suki. And frankly, we don"t get why you"d want to be evasive if paying extra for prompts is a policy that all new Daddies learn about when they enroll. Unless it isn"t and you fool with the fee based on some hidden criterion. Like how much you think they"re good for."
"No! Everyone pays forty dollars for three words and each additional word is twenty each."
"Per month?"
"Per two months but they can change the prompts if they"re not getting results and there"s no extra fee."
"What percentage of your members opt to pay for any prompts?"
"I don"t know."
"Is it the majority?"
"We"ve never counted."
"Quants like you and Rose?" I said. "That"s hard to believe."
She sagged. "It"s about half."
Quickie math made that serious income.
She said, "Now can I get to my emails-"
"Half the Daddies pay for advanced searches while the Sweeties rely on their wits." I smiled. "So to speak."
"You"d be surprised," she said. "Some of them are smart and educated."
"Tara Sly must"ve been really smart to snag her Daddy that fast," I said. "Though you"d never know it from her spelling and grammar."
"Whatever."
"Either that, or she had ESP."
"What do you mean?"
"You don"t know?"
Another eye jog.