‘I should say yes, but no, you haven’t.’
Nick was pleased to hear it. He sat and pondered his next question, trying to phrase it properly in his head before posing it. ‘This will sound really tragic but I have to ask: have you thought about me much since we saw each other last?’ He looked away and waited for Alex to reply, hoping his answer would be positive.
‘What, do you mean have I thought about you over the last eight days, eleven hours and, let me check, forty-seven minutes? Yeah, you could say I have a little.’
Both men smiled.
‘Now can I ask you something?’ Alex continued. ‘When we spoke on the phone the first time, you told me you took the Match Your DNA test even though you didn’t believe in it. So why do it?’
‘My girlfriend, well, my fiancée, wanted me to. We’re getting married soon and she wanted to reassure herself we were genuinely suited.’
Nick noticed Alex edge ever so slightly away from him when he said this, as if the news had come as an unwelcome surprise.
‘And when she found out that you were Matched with a guy …?’
‘She found it hilarious. But it was Sally who insisted I met you, which is why I made that appointment with the fake name.’
‘Why didn’t you just tell her to back off?’
‘It was important to her … I don’t really know why and I guess, even though I didn’t want to admit it, I was a little curious about you too.’
‘Most women wouldn’t have let us anywhere near each other, let alone encourage it.’
‘Sally and I have always had an honest relationship with no bullshit … We tell each other everything.’
‘So she knows where you are right now?’
Nick averted his eyes. ‘I think you already know the answer to that. Where does Mary think you are?’
‘Out for drinks with the rugby boys after the game. She’s not expecting me home until tonight.’
The streets of suburban Birmingham were quiet for a Saturday afternoon as Alex’s Mini Cooper made its way out towards the M6.
‘Where are we headed, then?’ asked Nick.
‘Mate, I don’t have a fucking clue.’
Chapter 45
ELLIE
Tim hiked his eyebrows. ‘Are you kidding me?’ He let his body sink into the soft cushions of his sofa as he digested Ellie’s revelation – it was she who’d discovered the gene that formed the heart of Match Your DNA and had used it to build one of the world’s most successful businesses.
Then, much to Ellie’s surprise, Tim began to chuckle, which developed into a full-on laugh. She was puzzled by his reaction and glanced at Andrei who stood in the corner of the room, hoping for reassurance, but Andrei simply lifted his broad shoulders and shrugged.
‘So let me get this right,’ Tim said, wiping his eyes. ‘You’re telling me that I’ve been on two dates with the person who is my DNA Match and it turns out she was the person who invented it?’
‘Well, discovered it is probably a more accurate description, but yes.’ Ellie nodded.
‘And the company? As in, the company that’s bigger than Facebook, Amazon and Apple … all that belongs to you?’
‘Most of it, yes.’
He shook his head and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. ‘You couldn’t make this up.’
‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth before now,’ Ellie said earnestly. ‘I honestly wasn’t sure how to.’
‘No, I get it, I really do. You didn’t trust me, and that’s fine because, given your situation, I’d probably have kept shtum too.’
Ellie gave a nervous half-smile but didn’t appear convinced that he was OK with it. Tim placed her hands inside his, and immediately she felt that familiar sensation return. It spread throughout her body as it had when he’d kissed her on their disastrous second date.
‘Look, Ellie, you could be working behind the checkouts at Lidl and I wouldn’t give a flying fajita. I mean, the fact you could afford to own Lidl and still have change to buy Morrisons and Tesco doesn’t matter to me either. But you need to see it from my perspective – my first date in yonks is with the person who single-handedly reinvented the concept of dating. It’s bloody hilarious.’
‘So you’re not angry with me?’
‘No, of course I’m not. But I still don’t get why that nutter outside the restaurant threw red paint at you? We looked like we’d spent the evening clubbing seals to death.’
Ellie sighed. She hated thinking about this side of her job. ‘Because not everyone is pleased with the consequences of Match Your DNA. While my discovery has Matched millions and millions of people around the world, it’s also broken up an awful of a lot of couples who thought they were made for each other and it turned out they weren’t. And I get the blame for that – more often than you can probably imagine.’ She paused, trying to gauge his reaction before continuing. ‘And getting to where I am today, it’s not been easy. Like most large businesses, sometimes corners had to be cut and people felt they were hurt, but it was all for the greater good to get us to where are today … I don’t want you to think badly of me.’
‘Can you give me a little credit to come up with my own opinion?’
Ellie hesitated. ‘That woman with the paint … I wasn’t honest when I said I didn’t know her. Do you remember that incident in Edinburgh seven years ago when a man started stabbing shoppers in the city centre?’
‘Didn’t he kill, like, half-a-dozen people before the police got him?’
Ellie nodded. ‘The killer was her son. He had mental health issues and had been living under her supervision until he found his Match. His Match was already married and, well, once she learned of his problems, she left him and went back to her husband. Her Match started stalking her and then one day stabbed her to death in the shop where she worked before attacking random people. It was awful.’
‘And his mum blames you?’
‘Yes. We’ve told her – through the courts – that we can’t be held responsible for who takes the test, but she refuses to accept it.’
Tim nodded, appearing to understand her. ‘I’m sorry for upsetting you. Let’s move on to a lighter subject. Take me back, how did you discover this DNA thing?’
‘Thanks,’ Ellie said, feeling more at ease. ‘It started twelve years ago when I hadn’t long left university. I was carrying out some freelance research work at a lab in Cambridge, examining the links between DNA and depression. One day I was thinking about a conversation I’d had with my sister Maggie about why she married her husband, John. She was adamant it was love at first sight, and even though they were only fourteen when they met, they knew they’d end up spending the rest of their lives together. I’m a scientist so by nature I’m sceptical about that kind of thing, but it did get me thinking – what if she was right? What if love at first sight actually exists? Perhaps there’s something tangible inside all of us that we’ve been confusing with sexual attraction. Having not experienced it myself, I couldn’t imagine how you could just look or talk to another person and immediately know they’re the one.’
‘This isn’t going to get too sciency is it?’ Tim laughed. ‘I failed all my exams in anything that involved Bunsen burners or dissecting frogs.’
Nick was pleased to hear it. He sat and pondered his next question, trying to phrase it properly in his head before posing it. ‘This will sound really tragic but I have to ask: have you thought about me much since we saw each other last?’ He looked away and waited for Alex to reply, hoping his answer would be positive.
‘What, do you mean have I thought about you over the last eight days, eleven hours and, let me check, forty-seven minutes? Yeah, you could say I have a little.’
Both men smiled.
‘Now can I ask you something?’ Alex continued. ‘When we spoke on the phone the first time, you told me you took the Match Your DNA test even though you didn’t believe in it. So why do it?’
‘My girlfriend, well, my fiancée, wanted me to. We’re getting married soon and she wanted to reassure herself we were genuinely suited.’
Nick noticed Alex edge ever so slightly away from him when he said this, as if the news had come as an unwelcome surprise.
‘And when she found out that you were Matched with a guy …?’
‘She found it hilarious. But it was Sally who insisted I met you, which is why I made that appointment with the fake name.’
‘Why didn’t you just tell her to back off?’
‘It was important to her … I don’t really know why and I guess, even though I didn’t want to admit it, I was a little curious about you too.’
‘Most women wouldn’t have let us anywhere near each other, let alone encourage it.’
‘Sally and I have always had an honest relationship with no bullshit … We tell each other everything.’
‘So she knows where you are right now?’
Nick averted his eyes. ‘I think you already know the answer to that. Where does Mary think you are?’
‘Out for drinks with the rugby boys after the game. She’s not expecting me home until tonight.’
The streets of suburban Birmingham were quiet for a Saturday afternoon as Alex’s Mini Cooper made its way out towards the M6.
‘Where are we headed, then?’ asked Nick.
‘Mate, I don’t have a fucking clue.’
Chapter 45
ELLIE
Tim hiked his eyebrows. ‘Are you kidding me?’ He let his body sink into the soft cushions of his sofa as he digested Ellie’s revelation – it was she who’d discovered the gene that formed the heart of Match Your DNA and had used it to build one of the world’s most successful businesses.
Then, much to Ellie’s surprise, Tim began to chuckle, which developed into a full-on laugh. She was puzzled by his reaction and glanced at Andrei who stood in the corner of the room, hoping for reassurance, but Andrei simply lifted his broad shoulders and shrugged.
‘So let me get this right,’ Tim said, wiping his eyes. ‘You’re telling me that I’ve been on two dates with the person who is my DNA Match and it turns out she was the person who invented it?’
‘Well, discovered it is probably a more accurate description, but yes.’ Ellie nodded.
‘And the company? As in, the company that’s bigger than Facebook, Amazon and Apple … all that belongs to you?’
‘Most of it, yes.’
He shook his head and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. ‘You couldn’t make this up.’
‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth before now,’ Ellie said earnestly. ‘I honestly wasn’t sure how to.’
‘No, I get it, I really do. You didn’t trust me, and that’s fine because, given your situation, I’d probably have kept shtum too.’
Ellie gave a nervous half-smile but didn’t appear convinced that he was OK with it. Tim placed her hands inside his, and immediately she felt that familiar sensation return. It spread throughout her body as it had when he’d kissed her on their disastrous second date.
‘Look, Ellie, you could be working behind the checkouts at Lidl and I wouldn’t give a flying fajita. I mean, the fact you could afford to own Lidl and still have change to buy Morrisons and Tesco doesn’t matter to me either. But you need to see it from my perspective – my first date in yonks is with the person who single-handedly reinvented the concept of dating. It’s bloody hilarious.’
‘So you’re not angry with me?’
‘No, of course I’m not. But I still don’t get why that nutter outside the restaurant threw red paint at you? We looked like we’d spent the evening clubbing seals to death.’
Ellie sighed. She hated thinking about this side of her job. ‘Because not everyone is pleased with the consequences of Match Your DNA. While my discovery has Matched millions and millions of people around the world, it’s also broken up an awful of a lot of couples who thought they were made for each other and it turned out they weren’t. And I get the blame for that – more often than you can probably imagine.’ She paused, trying to gauge his reaction before continuing. ‘And getting to where I am today, it’s not been easy. Like most large businesses, sometimes corners had to be cut and people felt they were hurt, but it was all for the greater good to get us to where are today … I don’t want you to think badly of me.’
‘Can you give me a little credit to come up with my own opinion?’
Ellie hesitated. ‘That woman with the paint … I wasn’t honest when I said I didn’t know her. Do you remember that incident in Edinburgh seven years ago when a man started stabbing shoppers in the city centre?’
‘Didn’t he kill, like, half-a-dozen people before the police got him?’
Ellie nodded. ‘The killer was her son. He had mental health issues and had been living under her supervision until he found his Match. His Match was already married and, well, once she learned of his problems, she left him and went back to her husband. Her Match started stalking her and then one day stabbed her to death in the shop where she worked before attacking random people. It was awful.’
‘And his mum blames you?’
‘Yes. We’ve told her – through the courts – that we can’t be held responsible for who takes the test, but she refuses to accept it.’
Tim nodded, appearing to understand her. ‘I’m sorry for upsetting you. Let’s move on to a lighter subject. Take me back, how did you discover this DNA thing?’
‘Thanks,’ Ellie said, feeling more at ease. ‘It started twelve years ago when I hadn’t long left university. I was carrying out some freelance research work at a lab in Cambridge, examining the links between DNA and depression. One day I was thinking about a conversation I’d had with my sister Maggie about why she married her husband, John. She was adamant it was love at first sight, and even though they were only fourteen when they met, they knew they’d end up spending the rest of their lives together. I’m a scientist so by nature I’m sceptical about that kind of thing, but it did get me thinking – what if she was right? What if love at first sight actually exists? Perhaps there’s something tangible inside all of us that we’ve been confusing with sexual attraction. Having not experienced it myself, I couldn’t imagine how you could just look or talk to another person and immediately know they’re the one.’
‘This isn’t going to get too sciency is it?’ Tim laughed. ‘I failed all my exams in anything that involved Bunsen burners or dissecting frogs.’
