My email dings—from Tammy at New England Adventures. I scoff.
Dear Skye,
We appreciate your interest in becoming a social media spokesperson for our company. However, we unfortunately have to rescind our offer per Section 4A(3) of the contract sent to you.
Sincerely, Tammy Monroe
Nothing I didn’t expect. Somehow, Addison got wind of my offer from the company and slid in to take it away from me. They weren’t going to pay me much—way below what Addison asks for. So either they got a fresh infusion of cash, or Addison agreed to do their promotions for peanuts, as she would say.
Yeah, she’s that petty. She’s already made it known what she thinks of me becoming an influencer. I imagine it won’t stop anytime soon.
Braden offered to take care of it for me, but I turned him down. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it on my own.
You’re a fr—
My phone interrupts my thoughts. I don’t recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Is this Skye Manning?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Fabulous. Good morning, Skye. My name is Heather Thomas, and I’m the manager here at Crystal’s Closet Boston. In the less than twenty-four hours since you posted on Instagram wearing one of our bustiers, we’ve had thirty-five people come in asking to buy one.”
“Goodness. I’m glad the post was good for business.”
“Both good and bad for business. Now we’re out of stock, but that’s never a bad thing. We’re just sending customers to our online store, and if things keep going strong, we’ll be out of online stock by this evening.”
I’m not sure what to say. Luckily, Heather continues.
“Needless to say, we’re absolutely thrilled. Honestly, I had no idea one Instagram post could do so much.”
“I’m glad you’re happy.”
“Great, because we’d love for you to do another post. Actually, a series of sponsored posts wearing the bustier.”
My mouth drops open. I no longer have the bustier. Braden cut it into pieces.
“Okay… Why don’t I come in and talk to you about what you’re looking for?” And also find some way to tell you that my boyfriend destroyed the garment.
“That would be fabulous. How about lunch today?”
It’s nearly eleven now. Lunch is in an hour. “Dinner might work better for me.”
Except Braden might be expecting to have dinner with me. Of course, he hasn’t mentioned anything about dinner. Currently he’s in L.A., and though Christopher said he’d be home this afternoon, he might not have been factoring in the time difference. This is business. Why shouldn’t I have dinner with Heather to discuss business?
“Dinner would be fabulous,” she says. “I’ll make a reservation. Do you have any preferences?”
“No, I eat most anything. Just email me the information and I’ll meet you.” I hastily give her my email address.
“Fabulous,” she says. “I absolutely can’t wait to meet you in person.”
“I’m looking forward as well,” I say. “Thank you so much for your call.”
I end the call, mentally patting myself on the back for not using the word “fabulous.” Clearly Heather’s favorite word.
Dinner plans made. A girl has to eat, after all. And next week, I fly to New York.
This is all so unbelievable. Mere weeks ago, I was assistant to Addison Ames. Now I’m a budding Instagram influencer, and Braden Black is in love with me.
Fucking surreal.
Now, what to do until dinner? I change into my workout gear, grab a water bottle and one of my cameras, and head to the studio to pick up a quick yoga class. Afterward, I walk around the city for an hour, shooting candids. Next, I stop for a cup of coffee and a sandwich, do a quick post gratis, and give Tessa a call.
“You’re kidding me!” she gushes. “You’re going to be modeling clothes on Instagram for Crystal’s Closet?”
“Not modeling,” I say. “I mean, not modeling anything too risqué.”
“How do you know? They may want you to model pasties and thongs.”
I can’t help a boisterous laugh. “I don’t think so.”
“What if that’s what they want, though? You’ve got a great body, Skye.”
“Thank you, but I doubt they’d want an amateur like me.”
“What if that’s exactly what they want?”
I gnaw on my lower lip. “I don’t know, Tess. I can’t exactly turn down money right now.”
“Speaking of money, what is your billionaire boyfriend going to say about you exposing yourself to all of Instagram world?”
Brick in gut. I’ve been so excited about the opportunity that I haven’t given Braden’s feelings a thought…other than thinking it’s his own damned fault he didn’t make dinner plans with me. Did he see the Instagram post? Is that why he cut the bustier off me?
I don’t share, Skye.
Though technically he’s never said those words to me, I consciously know the truth of them.
Does that include looking? He had a conniption when he found me with Peter Reardon at the MADD gala.
“Braden doesn’t own me,” I say.
“Braden is about as alpha as you can get,” Tessa says. “And I can’t think of any man who will want his girlfriend posing on social media wearing next to nothing.”