Page 16 of Sunset Serenade
“Oh yeah. That’s a newer feature; we haven’t really done anything with it yet.”
She clapped her hands together. “Yes!I thought it might be new, because only about twenty percent of non-active members reported back. Anyway, I used that to build a model to figure out which questions were most influential in predicting a successful match.”
Craig’s mouth dropped open. “You didwhat?”
She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, was I not supposed to – ”
“No, it’s – that’s wonderful.” He leaned in, scanning her screen. “I’m amazed, actually. And a little bit annoyed no one else has thought of doing this yet.”
She laughed. “It’s hard when there’s so much data. Sometimes you need a fresh set of eyes.”
Craig couldn’t stop smiling. Barney had nothing to worry about. Rose was amazing. She was thekeyto everything. “You’re right. Sometimes a little attention is all you need.”
Chapter Eight
Without meaning to, Rose stayed late on her first day. It wasn’tentirelyher fault. Though her new model was more complicated than initially expected, her concentration kept getting interrupted by visitors.
No fewer than a dozen people stopped in to introduce themselves, one even bringing welcome cupcakes, but Rose couldn’t chat for long. She was a woman on a mission.
By seven that evening, however, she had to pause that mission. Her computer screen was filled with errors and her eyes were having a hard time focusing.
She left the office and got dinner on her walk back to the company-sponsored apartment. The building was only a block away from the office, and as Craig had said, it wasn’t anything fancy – a small studio with a kitchen in the corner – but it was clean, and after a long day, it felt like home.
Rose was just settling onto the couch with her burrito bowl when a video call lit up on her phone.
Lucy!
She smiled and answered it. “Hey.”
“Hey, girl, hey!” Lucy yelled.
“We miss you!” Lillian said, pushing in.
Rose laughed. “I miss you too.”
“How was your first day?”
Rose puffed out her cheeks. “Amazing. Terrifying. And tiring.”
Lillian leaned closer. “Did you say terrifying?”
“Must’ve been the flight.” Lucy shook her head knowingly.
Though her sister had confronted her fear of flying, she hadn’t exactly conquered it. “No, the flight was beautiful. It’s terrifying because everyone is so nice and welcoming and helpful.”
Lucy cocked her head to the side. “I’m sorry, what? Why are you scared, then?”
“She’s scared of messing it up,” Lillian said.
Exactly. Rose hardly had to explain things to Lillian. “I know I’m not qualified for this job but…I feel like I can still dosomethingcool here. They have all this data on users, and today I found information on who matched and how long they dated. It’s really fascinating!”
“No one is qualified for this job,” Lillian said, “because no onecouldbe qualified. It’s a made-up job.”
“Yeah,” Lucy added. “It’s not like there’s a matchmaker school churning out new grads.” She paused. “At least I don’t think there is one. If so, I should look into enrolling.”
“Lucy, no.” Lillian held up a hand. “You don’t need to go to any more schools, and this isn’t about you. Rose! Tell us all about your day.”
Rose took a deep breath and started talking. She hadn’t wanted to babble as long as she did, but there was so much to tell – the car that came to get her, her fancy office, the office birthday cupcakes Cassie (or was it Cassandra?) from customer service made that morning.
