The Right Swipe

by Amanda Horton

  “That would be an excellent place to start,” Senator Tompkins told her. “An article with these kinds of facts will be a good warning and head’s up to all women out there.” He paused for a moment and then asked, “Can you back up the story?”

  “Of course, but I’d like everyone to remain anonymous as much as possible.”

  “I understand that, however, I think in this instance, keeping the football player’s identity a secret is nearly impossible with his face plastered all over the city on the ads.”

  “I realize that and frankly, I don’t really care about him, but I would like to keep my name and this office out of the press.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  Later that evening, when Veronica met with Steph for drinks, she told her all about the article and let her read it.

  “Girl, I’d fry him as much as I could. I can’t believe he used you like that. Both of them used you.”

  “I know. It sucks. I was just beginning to think decent men still existed.”

  “Don’t give up all hope, but maybe try meeting one in person. Like you said, the online dating apps are nothing but hotbeds of victims in waiting.”

  They finished their drinks, and Veronica decided she needed to see Joel and tell him that things between them were over. She got in her car and headed over to his place, her mind rehearsing the words she wanted to say. She was waiting at the lights across the street from his apartment building when a sporty little car pulled up in the tow-away zone next to the building’s entrance. Normally, that wouldn’t have piqued her interest, but today a familiar head got out of the little car capturing her complete attention.

  She glanced at the driver’s side and was shocked to see that the driver was the beautiful Giselle. The person getting out of her car was none other than Joel. Veronica was stunned. She couldn’t believe that he could go out with another woman so soon, and it just went to prove to her that Joel was a womanizer, as she’d thought from the very beginning.

  She was staring at the evidence. When he leaned back inside the car and then rose with a smile on his face, she felt her heart break. She’d been duped.

  She waited for the light to turn green and then went the opposite direction, leaving Joel and his lies behind. She headed home, heartbroken, and more determined than ever to get her story out there and save other women from the heartache she was currently experiencing.

  Duets and other online dating applications needed to be shut down. Plain and simple. If she could be instrumental in making that happen, using her own experiences, so be it. She’d take one for the team – the women everywhere team.

  She was filled with purpose as she went to bed that night. Tomorrow morning, she’d begin revising her notes into a readable newspaper article and then see if she could get anyone to publish it. Having Joel’s name attached to it would certainly help, as the news loved to print dirty stuff about public figures, and Joel was a public figure. The fallout from such notoriety would be only part of what he really deserved.

  Chapter 17

  The next day…

  Veronica waited to act on what she’d seen the night before until she’d slept on it, but she’d awakened the next morning feeling the same way. It was over with Joel, whatever “it” had been. She waited until she got to work, and then she sent him a text message.

  V: Joel, I just wanted you to know that I’ve thought things over, and you and I just won’t work out. I also wanted to give you a head’s up that I’m going to be writing an article about Duets and your association with the application will be mentioned in detail. I feel it is my duty to let people know what’s happening and that the online dating world is not all it appears to be. I won’t name you, per se, but with your picture plastered on the ads around the city, people will put two and two together.

  She sent the message and then shut her notifications off. She didn’t want to hear from him or have anyone try to convince her of a different course of action. This needed to happen, and with the senator’s blessing, she was going to re-write the article today and get it sent off.

  She started revising her notes from the day before, making sure to make it as generic and anonymous as possible, with the exception of giving enough clues as to the specific online dating application the story was written about — even a moron could figure it out. To name the actual app or Joel would be to open herself up to a libel suit. She didn't about step into that legal arena.

  She worked throughout the lunch hour, and at the end of the day, she had what she considered a very tasteful and honest appraisal of the online dating application currently being promoted heavily in the Boston area. She went into detail about how celebrities were being paid vast sums of money to endorse these apps. She also gave stats and figures for the number of sexual harassment cases in the state directly related to online dating applications and how they had sharply risen in the last few years.

  She outlined how those numbers seemed to coincide with the arrival of online dating applications and that there were not enough regulations in place to make them a safe place for men or women to seek relationships.

  “Veronica, did you ever take lunch?” one of her co-workers asked around 2 p.m.?”

  She looked up from her computer screen and stretched her arms over her head. “No. Hey, have you got a minute to read something? I need an unbiased opinion.”

  “Sure thing, sweetie. Hand it over.”

  She hit print and then nodded to the cadenza where the printer was located. “It’s printing out now. While you read it, I’m going to go scrounge at the vending machines, and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Oh, don’t waste your time at the vending machines. They haven’t restocked them in over a week. There’s hummus and a vegetable tray in the fridge. Help yourself.”

  “Do I want to know why those items are in the employee lounge fridge?”

  Kevin shook his head. “Probably not but help yourself. Everyone else has today.”

  “Good to know. I’ll be right back.” She made a quick trip to the ladies’ bathroom and then loaded a plate up with carrots, celery, broccoli, and humus and went back to her office.

  Kevin was just finished reading what she’d written, and she sat down and waited for him to say something.

  “Sweetie, I’m guessing you’re the victim in this story, but my lips are sealed. As for the article, it’s pure gold. The women of this city need to read this and protect themselves.”

  “Thanks. That’s kind of how I feel as well. I called the Boston Globe earlier, and they said as long as it’s over there by four this afternoon, one of their editors would be able to read through it and tell me if they’ll publish it. If they won’t, I’ll find someone who will.”

  “They’d be crazy not to publish that. You go, girl.” Kevin glanced at his watch and then stood up in a panic, “Seriously, Veronica, you need to go girl. The Globe is on the other side of the city and the traffic is already bad out there.”

  Veronica glanced out her window and saw exactly what he was talking about. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll email it over, and then I should probably head out now. I was told it would have a higher probability of getting published if I was there in person.” The senator was out for the rest of the week so there was no problem with her leaving early and no one to approve it. She gathered up her coat, transferred the file to a flash drive, and then finished her plate of veggies.

  Kevin watched her and then chuckled, “You need to start taking care of yourself. Eating is at the top of the list, just so you know. I’m going to be watching you from now on.”

  Veronica smiled at him as she tossed the now empty plate in the waste can. “Yes, mother.”

  “Don’t push me, I can get mean if I need to,” Kevin warned her.

  “I won’t skip lunch again. Scout’s honor,” she held up two fingers.

  “You’re female, and even I know they don’t let bonafide bad girls into their sacred ranks.”

  “Caught that did
you?” she teased him as she headed for the elevator.

  “Yeah. Drive careful, and I look forward to reading your article in the paper.”

  “I’ll let you know if and when they plan to publish it. Wish me luck.”

  “Luck.”

  She arrived at the Globe with just ten minutes to spare and was ushered into one of the editor’s offices. She waited anxiously for the man to arrive and then sat nervously while he read her article.

  “Are you sure about all of this? You can back everything here up with facts and dates and times?”

  “Yes, sir, but I’d prefer it to remain anonymous as I believe it applies to every online dating application, not just the one referenced in the article.”

  “The one you didn’t actually name but whom everyone will immediately associate with this. Duets.”

  Veronica hid a smile at the man’s comic expression and nodded. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

  “I don’t believe you actually said anything,” he reminded her.

  “You sure you didn’t go to law school?” Veronica asked the man.

  “Yes, I’m sure. But in the newspaper business, there’s not a day that goes by when someone doesn’t want to sue us for something. I know where the boundaries are.”

  “Good. So, is this something you might print?”

  “This is big news, and I’m going to run it right away. Look for it in tomorrow’s paper.” He picked up the phone and told the person who picked it up on the other end, “Send Marci up here. I have a replacement for page one.” He paused for a moment and then gave an exasperated sigh. “Yes, tomorrow’s page one. The file’s already in digital format,” he covered the mouthpiece and then looked at her. “It is, right? You brought a flash drive?”

  Veronica handed it to him, and he smiled. “Yes, I emailed it over. I also have a flash drive with me.”

  The editor beamed and nodded. “She’s on the ball. Look for the email, but I have a flash drive as well.”

  “Well, now the only question that remains is whether or not you want to be named as the writer, or if you want that to remain anonymous as well?”

  “I’d prefer to remain anonymous, but I don’t really care. Just have one of your writers run it. I’m more concerned with getting the information out there to the public.”

  “Anything is possible. Do you mind me asking, do you have a vendetta out against the football player? Joel’s been riding a high horse for a couple of years now. Always out there in the limelight and such. Bringing him down a few pegs will be a good thing.”

  “No, why? I didn’t come here to discuss Joel, I just want the article to run,” Veronica told him.

  “Just making sure you know what you’re doing. There will be backlash from this article. You know that, right?”

  She nodded and then told him, “Maybe the backlash will prevent this type of behavior in the future.”

  “Maybe,” he agreed. “Well, thanks, and if you want to get paid just leave your information with the receptionist.”

  “I don’t want to get paid; I just want to get the word out there. You've made that possible and I thank you.”

  She left the Globe feeling completely drained. She headed home and changed into her warmest jammies. The weather was finally starting to act like winter, and she heated a cup of soup and settled down to watch some television, something she rarely did.

  She was just getting interested in the sitcom she was watching when a sharp knock sounded on her door. She frowned because no one had asked to come up.

  She looked through the peephole and frowned when she saw Joel standing there looking completely pissed off. She removed the chain and then opened the door, glancing into the hallway to see who was with him. “How did you get up here?”

  “Your neighbor downstairs let me ride up in the elevator with them.”

  “They’re not supposed to do that.”

  “Well, you can take that up with them, but first, explain this text message you sent me.”

  Veronica nodded and then stepped back to allow him into the apartment. Her neighbors didn’t need to know everything that was going on in her life. She crossed her arms over her chest and stated her case.

  “I told you that we were finished. I also wrote an article about Duets and their deceptive practices and how the rise of online dating applications corresponds to an increase in the number of sexual harassment cases we saw in the city last year.”

  “I can’t believe you would do something like this. Taking that money from Derick was for a greater purpose, but you don’t want to hear about that, do you? You’ve labeled me the worst of the worst, and I really don’t know why. I thought we were working on something special here, with trust and mutual respect at the center, but I guess I was wrong,” Joel told her passionately.

  Veronica held her ground and refused to give him any indication that his words had penetrated the invisible wall she’d surrounded herself with. “You’re acting like the injured party here, but I’m the one who was used.”

  “How exactly were you used?” Joel demanded.

  “You lied to me.”

  “I never lied to you. I told you I was paid to use Duets and promote it. I didn't tell you paparazzi sometimes stalk me and write about me in the press, but when exactly would that conversation had come up? Huh? While we were making love on the beach, or at one of our apartments? Maybe in the locker room at the stadium? Besides, have you never seen me in the press before? You’ve got a head on your shoulders, use it.”

  Joel thrust a hand through his hair and then shook his head, “You know, you were right earlier. We are finished. I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me, and baby … you have some serious trust issues to work through. At this point, I just hope we don’t cross paths again anytime soon. Have a good life, Veronica.” Joel stormed out of her apartment, slamming the door and she calmly walked over and locked the chain and the deadbolt.

  Well, that was a conversation I could have done without, but after tomorrow morning, when the paper comes out, it would have been officially over anyway. This way, I won’t have to see him again and he won’t have to see me. He can deal with the fallout from the news article and I’ll get on with my life.

  Chapter 18

  The next morning…

  Foul Play Called Against Patriot’s Football Star and an Online Dating App

  Recently, a new online dating application has been advertising around the greater Boston area, using the face of a well-known Patriot’s running back – Joel Marketis. The player joined forces with the owner of the app earlier this year to drive memberships to the online dating platform, which promises lonely singles the opportunity to meet their soul mates without trudging through bars and nightclubs.

  One woman says Marketis used her as nothing more than a publicity stunt to further the growth of the application and to pad Marketis’ already overflowing bank account. Here is the account of a woman who was matched with Marketis just hours after filling out her membership application and she wants to warn other women out there...

  “Marketis, you want to explain to me what the group of reporters is doing outside the stadium gates, demanding to talk to you?” Coach yelled across the locker room.

  Joel put down the pads he was holding and followed the coach back to his office. “Coach?”

  “You heard me. There are almost a dozen reporters outside the damn stadium gates, demanding you stop hiding inside here and come out and talk to them about some article that hit the news this morning.”

  Joel was shocked that Veronica had made good on her threat so quickly. He’d just visited her the night before, telling her it was completely over between them, and now…well, he’d not taken time to read the morning newspaper, and that was a huge mistake. But he'd been up at dawn to leave for practice. “I might be able to explain.”

  “Please do. I’m all ears,” Coach told him, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive move. The phone on the wall rang, and Coac
h held up a hand, “Hold that explanation a minute.”

  “Yeah?”

  Joel watched Coach thrust a hand through his hair and stand up a bit straighter. “Yes, we’ll be here.”

  “Well, you’ve done it now. Mr. Jenkins is on his way down here and wants to speak to you.”

  “Why is the owner of the team coming down here to talk to me?” Joel asked, even as the answer began to take shape in his head. Shit!

  “Why indeed,” Coach said sardonically. “Best get dressed and in my office before they arrive. This type of shit show is not what I had planned for the rest of my day.”