Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
I heard a noise from the hallway. “Is that them?”
“I think so.”
The door opened and Brady slipped inside, nearly shutting it on his oversized lab coat. “Are you guys ready?”
I’d been hearing that question a lot today. I nodded, but Cole turned pale and stroked his long beard in a nervous gesture. “Get your head in the game,” I told him. “This is what we’ve been working toward.”
Brady clapped his cousin on the shoulder. “It’s going to go perfectly. We’ll make sure Lila goes viral.”
Cole took a deep breath and nodded. “Are they ready?” There, that was a new variation on the question.
“Her assistant is helping her in the restroom.”
Cole looked mystified. “She needs help in the bathroom?”
I laughed. “Probably with hair and makeup and stuff. You know how she looks in her videos.” Though I was trying not to think about that today.
“Right,” Cole said.
From the slightly more relaxed look on his face, I gathered he was envisioning the pretty young thing who was our guest for the afternoon. Oh, well—whatever kept him grounded.
“I guess I’ll go back out there,” Brady said.
“Give them a minute.” These guys might not remember how long it took women to spruce themselves up, but I did. Not that I had much time to date these days. Nor did my buddies.
“Okay.” Brady looked around. He wasn’t as nervous as his cousin, but then again, he’d never been the type to take things too seriously. He bounced on the balls of his feet, as if eager to get this party started—or perhaps eager to see Lila again.
Finally, Cole squared his shoulders and cleared his throat. “Let’s do this.” He met my gaze and then Brady’s.
“Guess it’s go time, then.”
The others nodded. Today we were going to give Lila James exactly what she’d asked for.
3
LILA
“Excited?” Penny asked as she watched me in the mirror.
I paused for a moment as I released a strand of my hair from the curling iron. My hair was naturally wavy, but sometimes it didn’t wave in the right direction. “Hell, yeah. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
Penny frowned. “They only contacted us a week ago.”
A smile broke out on my reflection, reminding me I needed a touch of lip gloss. “That’s not what I mean. They came to me. An up-and-coming startup chose me to showcase their new product.”
“Why wouldn’t they? You’re the best.”
Penny was nothing if not loyal. She’d been working for me for nearly a year now, ever since I started earning enough to afford an assistant. It hadn’t been easy, especially at first. Online influencers were a dime a dozen. But once I started sharing my love for the latest technology with my growing audience, I’d found my niche.
“I know that,” I said with a grin. “But it’s nice that corporations besides the usual suspects are starting to recognize that.”
“Too bad they can’t offer you a free sample this time.”
That was a shame, but hey, my apartment was full of the products I talked up on various social media accounts. These days, all I had to do was mention that a company had a new version of their smart speaker, tablet, or even a high-tech coffee maker, and they’d send me one to unbox and review online.
But this was different. The Pleasure Institute of Chicago kept their products under wraps. Their website, though streamlined and professional, had been very tight-lipped about the details. Today, I’d be trying out something no one outside the company had even seen.
“They reached out to me,” I repeated as I leaned in to make sure my eyelash extensions were straight. If I didn’t wear them, it looked like I didn’t have any lashes, let alone eyes, in my videos.
“Damn straight they did.” Penny leaned against the counter as she slid the curling iron into a special sleeve that would keep it from scorching things. “They’re lucky to have the Lila James promote their work.”
I shot her a quick grin. She was my employee, yes, but also a friend. “If it’s as good as they claim, I’ll be singing its praises from now until the end of time.”
“Yeah.” A slight frown marred Penny’s pale skin. “But if it’s not… go easy on them, okay?”
As I patted a stray hair into place, I glanced at her reflection. “Of course. It’s not like I’d give them a scathing review if it doesn’t work out. I know it’s still a prototype.”
“Good.”
“I don’t do that,” I insisted. “At least not much.”
“I know.”
But there was an extra line across Penny’s forehead. “That’s all ancient history,” I assured her, dropping the pretense that I didn’t know what she was talking about.
She nodded, and to my relief, the worry line disappeared. It was true that I didn’t normally trash talk others online, but every once in a while, someone got under my skin, and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. Probably because my job was all about talking. Making videos. Recording podcasts. Doing livestreams several times a day. When someone rubbed me the wrong way, sometimes I couldn’t help but speak up.