“Oh, of course. She was going to be my next call, actually.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Lexie said when her phone vibrated with Amelia’s incoming reply. “I texted her and she’s in. She also wants to know if she can buy some stock at wholesale to sell in her gym.”
“Hell yeah,” Brent said, and Lexie smiled at his excitement. “I can’t believe how easy this was.”
Lexie let out a laugh. “You really thought we’d turn you down?”
“I figured you’d at least make me work for it a bit,” he said.
“I mean, in that case, we can hang up and try this again.”
“Not necessary,” Brent said. “I’ll email you over the contracts.”
“Send them to your fiancé, first. She is my attorney, after all.”
Brent chuckled and said, “I’ll bring them to her right now.”
“What made you decide to switch from a single hired model to brand ambassadors, anyway?” She asked him.
“It was Berkley’s idea, actually,” he said, and Lexie wasn’t surprised. His fiancé’s mind for business was nearly as sharp as her legal mind. “When she started talking about you and Amelia and what you’re doing with your blog and whatnot, she kept going on and on about how social media influencers are making brands all kinds of money these days, because they’re the people that the general public look to for recommendations for everything. Print catalogs and billboard advertisements just don’t get the same level of attention as they used to. The more I dug into it, the more I realized Berkley was right.”
“She usually is,” Lexie said.
Brent laughed. “True. But I started doing some of my own research, especially on Instagram. And when I realized I had spent my entire professional career as an influencer for hockey-related brands, and had been earning those companies money all this time, I figured it was time I took a piece of that pie.”
“Whatever you need from us,” Lexie told him. “We’re in.”
“It’s all outlined in the contract,” he said. “I’ll have your attorney look it over once she emerges from her cave. I’m sure she’ll call you later.”
After that conversation, the offers came pouring in. Not that Lexie hadn’t received several brand partnership offers before. Still, someone, somewhere must’ve found out she was now open to the possibility of accepting them, because they came in like a deluge.
She had decided to work with only good people, to represent brands that were socially and environmentally conscious, as well as ones based in the United States.
Right out of the gate, she and Amelia signed contracts with a mineral-based skincare and makeup company that planted a tree with every refill purchased, Grove Collaborative for household cleaners and supplies, and a clothing company that produced all of their products in America.
Her previous employers had been sad to see her go, even going so far as to offer a raise and less time on the road, but she couldn’t be persuaded to stay. Deep in her bones, she knew this new path was the right one for her. Already, it was paying off in spades, and she and Amelia were just getting started.
But she was spending the evening with Berkley, watching hockey, and hoping she didn’t see Mitch’s face on the screen or his name mentioned at all during the broadcast.
She was putting the finishing touches on their evening snacks—a full charcuterie spread complete with cheeses, nuts, slices of fancy meats, jams, crackers, and an assortment of fruits and vegetables—when a knock came at her door.
As she made her way across the apartment, she grumbled, “Berkley, you know the code. I don’t understand why you insist on knocking every single time you come—“
Her words died in her throat as she flung open the door.
And came face to face with MitchfuckingFrambough, an oversized bouquet of flowers weighing down his hands.
If his appearance hadn’t rendered her momentarily mute and frozen in place, she would’ve slammed the door in his face, because to see him showing up here unannounced felt like a slap in the face would be the understatement of the century.
“Hey, Lex,” he said, a sheepish grin turning up the corners of his lips.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
He winced, and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t feel good to hurt him.
Welcome to my hell, you bastard.
“I wanted to see you.”
