ONE
“What are the numbers for the week?” Jo asked to the room of her colleagues. She stood in front of the conference table, looking at the chart reflected back on the screen. Today, she was wearing a white suit and heels, the clothing annoying but necessary in a business atmosphere even if their current office was lackluster. Her team was made up of various supernaturals, other business-minded individuals who had shown promise. Each and every single one was handpicked by her, the best of the best, and it was paying off.
“We’ve seen a three hundred percent growth in users in the last month,” Polly spoke up. “Half of that is just in the last week.”
Polly was an elf, her beauty rivaling some of the most impressive artwork. Though Jo usually didn’t want to work with elves because of their mentalities and nature, Polly was the sweetest. She knew her stuff, majoring in data analysis and putting it to good use. She always knew her numbers.
“And how many permanent matches have been reported since our inception?” Jo asked, glancing over at Iliad, their resident relationship expert.
“We’re reporting a ten percent permanent love match currently, but I think with the new algorithms we implement, we can see that doubled within the next few months.”
Iliad, a demon who was obsessed with the dynamics within a relationship, was a literal godsend. He’d been essential in creating their algorithms and questionnaires for the app, making sure each item was important. This wasn’t just some regular dating app where you swiped right or left. It was bigger than that. Jo had made sure of it.
“Those are high numbers,” Jo murmured. “What are the chances of us increasing that the longer we’re in action?”
“High,” Iliad confirmed. “Though we can’t help those who match with the date itself, we give them the best opportunity to do so. We can’t do it all, but we can certainly get them as close as possible. It’s up to them to hold their mate’s attention.”
It also helped that Iliad was in a long-term committed relationship with a fae male. They’d had their own hardships to overcome, a fae and a demon dating, but in the end, they were the most wholesome couple Jo had ever seen. Not to mention, they were both gorgeous. If there was a healthy relationship to hold everyone as a standard to, it was the unlikely couple.
Jo smiled at the room. “We’re doing it. It’s working.”
And it was all because of a single idea, a spark of inspiration, before she’d started coding the app and building her team. It had taken years, but it was finally here.
MateFinder was the single highest growing app in North America. It was making the supe news almost every night. A dating app specifically for supernatural creatures, encoded to make sure humans didn’t accidentally stumble upon it. The algorithm was an in-depth questionnaire that asked everything from preferences to what your relationship to the moon was. It was revolutionary, and the supe community was eating it up. The fact it had a small monthly fee of eight dollars didn’t matter. They were willing to pay for the chance at finding a mate.
The slogan, “your mate is out there”, resonated with thousands. It would continue to do so.
Now, they just needed headquarters big enough for them to up size.
Right now, their headquarters was a small rented out business office that they all had to squeeze into. Their computers needed updating to bigger systems that could support the coding and make things more efficient. They needed land, but the finances for such a large purchase wasn’t there yet. At this rate, even with the success of MateFinder, it would take them a decade to afford the equipment and land they’d need. Businesses were already hovering around them like buzzards at their success, waiting for an excuse to offer to buy them out, but Jo was determined to keep it within their group. No investors who owned part of the company, not yet. This early on, investors would start demanding changes and that wasn’t what MateFinder was about.
It was about finding your forever.
“What are we going to do about. . .” Iliad trailed off, gesturing at the room they were in.
As far as offices went, it was terrible. The ceiling tiles were stained from rain leaks, the carpet was threadbare and pulled in some places. The tiny conference table they sat around was missing chunks. One of them was from where Jo had accidentally dug her claws in. They definitely weren’t getting the deposit back. Everyone sat in chairs but some of them were older than others. A few of them were uneven and tilted if you moved the wrong way. Luna, the window even had a crack on it from who knew what. It was shitty.
“We don’t have the funds yet for land,” Gidget spoke up. The tiny dragon was a whiz with finances, crunching numbers in her head as quickly as most people blinked. “At our rate of growth and with the current market values, we’ll be able to afford a piece of land in. . . six years.”
Everyone grumbled. The housing market was atrocious right then, and even more so for a decent chunk of land. Unfortunately, it was the only way to get things done without selling out.
“You know,” Iliad began, and they all looked toward him. “I’ve heard the next Race Games has a prize that might interest you.”
Jo glanced at the demon in confusion. “The Games? What prize could be great enough to risk death over?”
Iliad shrugged. “Rumor is the prize is a hundred-acre plot of land in Georgia, complete with a large warehouse and all. Prime business land. Not to mention the cash prize that comes with it.” Iliad’s eyes glinted. “Seems like a good way to skip ten years of struggle to me.”
“But whoever races could possible die,” Polly pointed out.
“Risk is always dangerous,” Iliad argued and then pointed at the room again. “Look at this place. The market is fucking bullshit. We should all be able to afford a better office, but the fucking fae are buying up land faster than anyone else can attempt to. Soon, there won’t be anything but rental properties and sadness.”
Jo worried her bottom lip, contemplating it. “Obviously, if someone were to enter the race, it would be me.”
“Jo—” Polly began, but Jo held up her hand.
“I won’t allow y’all to take that risk. I have far less to lose than the three of you.”
“You literally have your life,” Gidget pointed out.
Sighing, Jo ran a hand over her forehead. “I’m not saying I’m going to do it. I’m just saying I’m thinking about it. It would help.”
“Big decisions like that are best slept on,” Iliad offered. “But in the meantime, let’s go over the new questions we’re adding into the algorithm. Now, Polly, you mentioned when you used it, there wasn’t any questions relating to anything Elven. What would you. . .”
But Jo wasn’t listening anymore. Instead, her mind was on the Race Games and the level of risk that would come from it if she entered. Would it be worth it? A chunk of land like that would be instrumental in making things happen for Adalwolf, inc.
“Jo?”
With a jerk, she focused back on the meeting and put the games out of her mind.