As Jess shakily waits for the elevator, texting Pops to pick her up, she sees River quickly approaching. She runs down the stairs but realizes she has nowhere to go. Once outside, River catches up to Jess and agrees with her shock over the situation. She wants to know why the executive team revealed their finding so publicly. River explains that the situation is “a really big deal” (69) due to him being the company founder, but Jess counters that they can just assume the data doesn’t apply to them. He insists the technology is valid and wants to know how they should move forward. When Jess expresses skepticism about River’s previous matches, he explains that she’s his first, since he only selected Platinum Matches and above. They hold prolonged eye contact, and Jess has a fleeting fantasy about him that she quickly dismisses. As Pops pulls up, River tells her he’d like to talk more and gives her a smile that “hit her like a thunderbolt” (72).

During Jess’s birthday party at home with Pops, Nana Jo, and Juno, she receives an email from Jennings Grocery canceling her contract. She anxiously processes that a third of her income is gone; it will be tough to make ends meet with her other three contracts.