Page 51 of Written in the Stars
Margot shrugged. “Sure, Elle. Anything’s possible.”
Right. “Thanks. I didn’t mean to get us off track. What were you saying? Engineers and emojis?”
Margot snatched her notebook off the table and slid her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Back to business. “We’ve got to pick a sampling of placements because, according to the team, the rest of the chart won’t be accessible unless users go premium.”
Fair enough. OTP had to make money somehow, and as far as incentives went, access to the rest of a match’s chart would be a solid draw for users to upgrade. Curiosity was an incredibly powerful motivator. Didn’t Elle know it.
“All right. Sample... Sun’s a given so I’d say... Moon, Rising, Mars, and Venus. Shoot, Mercury’s important, too.”
Without a complete chart, it was difficult to determine compatibility. But most people who hadn’t studied astrology extensively—and to be honest, few had, despite the absurd number of astrology accounts cropping up claiming to know what they were talking about—wouldn’t be able to parse out the nuances of a natal chart.
Behind the scenes, she and Margot were working with engineers at OTP to fine-tune the algorithms behind matching in a way that considered a more thorough approach to synastry. Most users didn’t need the nitty-gritty. And if they wanted it? They’d have to pay.
Margot twirled her earring between her fingers and frowned thoughtfully. “I’m right there with you about Mercury. So much of communication isn’t what we say, but how we say it.”
Wasn’t that the truth. And not only when talking face-to-face, either. It was as important in text, which mattered morethan ever. One too many exclamation points and you’d sound too eager. Whether you choselol,rofl, orhahasaid something about you, about the conversation. How you spelled the wordokaymattered, each iteration distinct in tone.K, of course, was in a league of its own, and if there was a period behind it? Chances were, things were not, in fact,okay.
But not everyone was aces at that, understanding how what they said mattered or how it might be perceived. How a single reply could sink a conversation or how a joke gone wrong could get you blocked. Or ignored. Ghosted.
Texting was a minefield of miscommunication and uncertainty, especially since everyone had unique styles of—
“Margot, you are a genius.” Elle lurched over the table and kissed the side of Margot’s head.
“What?” Margot’s eyes widened behind her lenses. “What did I say?”
“OTP’s chat feature. You know how OTP already does an awesome job of encouraging dialogue? Like when a conversation lags and no one texts for two hours, you get a notification with a helpful hint from the person’s profile? ‘Jenna enjoys watchingEuphoria. Why don’t you ask her about the latest episode?’”
Margot nodded.
“What if we pitch it to Brendon and the rest of the team that, in addition to those helpful profile convo starters, if users upgrade to premium, they’ll get guidance on how best to communicate with their matches based on what sign their Mercury is in?”
“So premium users would basically be getting us as virtual dating assistants?”
“When you put it like that...” Elle winced jokingly.
For whatever reason, it was easier to solve other people’s problems than her own.
A slow smile tugged at the corner of Margot’s mouth. “This is amazing, Elle. Not only would we potentially be able to increase the number of conversations that lead to first dates, but encouraging users to continue to text through the app versus their regular messaging platform would increase retention, which increases revenue from ads. Brendon’s going to eat this up with a spoon.”
Elle snatched her phone, itching to tell him before he heard along with the engineers during their next meeting.
ELLE:mar and i have the coolest idea about the apps chat feature. youre gonna have kittens
On second thought, he’d have kittens and then demand to meet up for coffee to talk about their idea ASAP becauseimpatiencewas Brendon’s middle name. That conversation would undoubtedly somehow segue into a chat about how things were going with Darcy and no. Elle’s headspace was wacky enough when she was on her own; adding Brendon’s interference into the mix would only convolute her already tangled web of feelings. Elle pressed the back button, deleting the message. Maybe, for now, avoidance while letting Margot run interference was the smartest solution.
While Margot jotted down a few notes for their next meeting with OTP, Elle started a new list for Oh My Stars based onHow the Zodiac Signs Text.
As soon as she was finished, she flipped over to her own text messages, rereading the last messages she and Darcy had exchanged earlier that morning.
ELLE (3:14 A.M.):do you think hotel california inspired season five of american horror story?
ELLE (3:19 A.M.):the whole checking out but never leaving part
DARCY (5:32 A.M.):Why were you listening to Hotel California at three in the morning?
ELLE (7:58 A.M.):because that’s the best time of day to listen to the eagles
ELLE (7:59 A.M.):obvi
