“You wanted me?” I ask, stepping inside.
“You know I always want you.” She flashes a grin, then gestures to the chair opposite her. “But today, it’s business.”
I sit, smoothing my skirt down even though I’m not on camera anymore.
“You’ve been with us since the beginning.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I smirk. I only call her that to get a rise out of her.
She doesn’t bite. “You’re still one of our top earners. Every month, you pull in more subs than our entire new girl cohort. We’re launching an annual calendar. Physical and digital. Twelve months, twelve videos. We want you in for December.”
My mouth actually drops. “December?”
“Snow, tinsel, Santa—hell, I don’t care. You pick the holiday, you plan the scene, you film it how you want. I’ll book the crew if you want one. Do you accept?”
I blink. “Fuck yes.”
Lorna laughs, then taps her screen again. “Good. I want sparkle, I want a signature. I wantyou. But give me a concept soon.”
“Can I… get back to you on the holiday and plans? I wanna bat around some ideas.”
She nods once, already back to scrolling. “Of course. I wouldn’t expect less.”
I get up and head for the door, then pause in the frame. “Hey, Lorna?”
She looks up.
“Thanks. For… trusting me. I know I’m not everyone’s idea of ‘marketable.’ Being a nurse and the super upbeat sweet thing I got going on.”
“You’re mine,” she says. “And that’s what matters. I’ll send over all the finer details to Cove tonight—times, links, expectations. She won’t be flying blind.”
I nod, biting the inside of my cheek.
Back in the hall, I tap the edge of the rug with my foot. No reason.
Just... for luck.
Chapter Two
EVEREST
“Hey, Everest. What’s up man?”John asks, as he steps up to the counter, scanning his school ID.
“Not much. Just living the dream.” I respond mockingly, flipping the page in my Kinesiology textbook. I can’t believe that this is my last year. I’ll be graduating in the spring. Finally, after all the long hours studying, burning the midnight flame, while also working I’ll finally reap the rewards of all my sacrifice. For the last three years I’ve been working at the school gym and then moonlighting as a personal trainer just to live.
“I hear that,” he glances around the gym, before leaning over the counter and whispering. “We still good for our session tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” I smile. “I’m off, so I plan to come in and get a workout session in.”
“Cool, do you need a spotter?” he asks louder. If my boss knew that I was doing it on the side, versus on the clock to make the extra money, I’d be fired.
“Love it. See you at noon,” I tell him as he walks away. That’ll be another seventy-five dollars in my pocket for an hour.Thankfully, for me the sports teams all want my special brand of skills so they can maintain their spots.
For the next hour, I make small talk as students check in, before making a final sweep of the gym and clocking out. All I want is to head back to my dorm and vegetate for the rest of the evening. I have a bag of Chilli Cheese Fritos and a Cherry Pepsi calling my name.
Forty minutes after signing out for the day, I’m walking into my dorm room. Tanner, my roommate, is lounging on his bed, remote in hand as he flips through the channels. His laptop is perched on his lap, open, just waiting for him to get to work.
“Fucking hell, dude. Wait until I show you what I stumbled across.” He exclaims before I even have a chance to set the pizza down on the desk I decided to pick up on the way home.
