After learning Tom’s full name is Thomas Brewer, Sydney searches for him online while Tom is away from the table. She finds a Mount Sinai Hospital page with Tom’s photo and credentials, but the listing alarms her because she is fairly sure Tom previously told her he worked at NYU. Sydney also notices that he appears to have no social media presence and no active or inactive Cynch profile, which adds to her unease.

When Tom returns, Sydney tries to act casual, but her appetite is gone as she watches him eat. She asks directly what hospital he works at, and Tom answers without hesitation that he works at Mount Sinai. When Sydney presses him about having told her NYU before, Tom correctly guesses that she looked him up on her phone.

Tom explains that he used to work at NYU and only recently switched to Mount Sinai, suggesting that he may have misspoken earlier because he was distracted by Sydney. His answer gives Sydney a plausible explanation, but because she has also recently learned his last name was not what she expected, the pattern of small inconsistencies still troubles her. At the same time, Sydney remembers the grateful woman who praised Tom’s compassion and tells herself that Tom genuinely seems like a good man.

Sydney then asks why Tom does not have a Cynch profile. Tom jokes about it, saying they are already dating and offering to create profiles on every app if it would make her happy. The teasing shifts into something more serious when Tom reaches for Sydney’s hand and suggests that instead of worrying about dating apps, Sydney could delete her own profile and they could focus on seeing only each other.

Sydney is surprised by Tom’s directness, especially because she knows he has little relationship experience and has been emotionally marked by the death of his first love. Still, the idea makes her happy rather than fearful. She accepts, and by the end of the chapter Sydney defines the change clearly: she now has a boyfriend.