CHAPTER ONE
My heart hammers so hard against my ribs that I’m almost convinced it might burst right out of my chest and tear off across the golden sands of the California beach. I sink down a little further into the booth at Franco’s Burgers, cringing as my thighs stick noisily to the shiny red plastic while I stare at my phone. Despite my panicked state, the atmosphere inside the little burger shack is cheery and light. Sunlight sparkles in through the numerous windows and waves crash against warm dunes just beyond the propped-open doors. Around me, people laugh and chat and munch on burgers and fries, sipping sodas and milkshakes. All the while, I’m simply trying to remember how to breathe.
At least I don’t have to worry about being recognized as much as my two BFFs do. Which means I can have my mental breakdown in peace. Ever since we launched our incredibly popular beauty and lifestyle brand, Glossed & Glammed, from our dorm room during our sophomore year of college, Sutton and Kali haven’t been able to go anywhere without being recognized by our legions of fans and followers. My fellow twenty-two-year-old influencers don’t mind it at all, but that’s because they thrive off being the center of attention. As for me, the thought of a fan asking me for an autograph while I’m grocery shopping practically makes me break out in a cold sweat. That’s why I like to stay behind the scenes of G&G. I much prefer designing our outfits, helping set up our various video and photo shoots, and working the camera instead of having my face plastered on the front page of every social media outlet in the world. I mostly only get recognized when Kali, Sutton, and I are out somewhere together.
My fingers tremble a little as I anxiously type out a reply to the group text on my cell.
You can’t be serious, Kali! Sutton and I need you at this meeting. You’re the pro at handling all this business stuff.
The two minutes it takes Kali to respond are the longest one hundred and twenty seconds I’ve ever suffered through in my life.
I’m really sorry, Liv, but this meeting with our monthly charity is running long and there’s no way I can bail. Selena Gomez is here!
Um…you can count me out too, babe,Sutton joins in.
I stare helplessly down at the messages. The pit of my stomach clenches so hard that I almost want to pass out.
What?!I type out hastily before sending.
Sutton responds with a selfie of her surrounded by a huge group of Glossed & Glammed fans. Apparently, she’d gotten ambushed in LA while running some last-minute errands. Now she’ll be stuck taking pics with our followers instead of backing me up here at Franco’s Burgers.
I gulp, my breath coming faster, and glance at the doors leading to the back of the beach side restaurant’s kitchen. Any second now, Franco, the big burger man himself, will come strolling out to talk business with me and I’m going to have to talk to him all alone.
How in the world am I supposed to negotiate a business deal by myself?
Kali is usually the one who handles this sort of thing. She’s always finding various sponsors and collaborators, not to mention handling all the contracts with them—when she’s not knee-deep in charity work anyway. Every month, she designates a different fundraiser that we boost and support with our ever-growing platform. Even Sutton, who definitely doesn’t have the business-oriented mindset of Kali, would be a better choice than me for this meeting because she’s so extroverted and witty. Sutton would at least be able to act like she had a clue about what was going on.
Me, though?
I’m the quiet girl of our boss-babe squad. I have no idea how I’m supposed to navigate this situation.
I sigh and run my hand through my long, auburn hair.
This could be a really rewarding collaboration for G&G, not only in terms of money, but in terms of broadening our audience too. Motorcycle-riding, burger-slinging Franco is incredibly popular here in LA, with a different crowd than our brand typically attracts. This collab could broaden our online horizons like crazy. And nowI’min charge of making sure it goes without a hitch.
Ugh.
What happens if I mess everything up? It was totally by chance that we even got this opportunity in the first place. That kind of lightning doesn’t strike twice.
Earlier this year, Kali and her hunky boyfriend, Grayson, made social media shockwaves when they were spotted here at Franco’s Burgers on a clandestine date. Not that Grayson knew they were dating on the down-low, of course. Kali had been so thrilled to meet a handsome guy who had no idea she was an internet phenomenon that she’d brought him here in an attempt to keep their budding relationship a secret. It didn’t quite turn out the way she’d expected, and now Franco’s Burgers had been launched to internet fame as well.
Naturally, that thrilled the restauranteur. Ever since, Franco has been reposting some of our content in between photos of his red-hot motorcycles and loaded chili fries.
Eventually, he reached out to see if we would be open to cross-promoting one another. To that, we said, heck yes! Since then, I’ve been putting together an entire limited fashion line inspired by Franco’s laid-back, chill vibe. The clothing will be amazing—if I’m able to convince Franco that it’s exactly what his brand needs.
I bite back a groan and reread the messages on my phone a dozen more times in the hopes that the texts might magically change. Even though I know I’ve brought my perfectly polished portfolio of designs and some handstitched samples, I’m feeling very, very unprepared for this.
My phone buzzes once again between my quivering fingers, but my circumstances still haven’t changed.
This is your time to shine, babe!says Sutton.
Kali joins in by sending along a string of thumbs-up emojis.
Sighing again, I slip the phone back into my faux-leather bucket-bag style purse. There’s no use staring at the disappointing screen a second longer. Because the more I look at it, the more nervous I’m going to get.
I seriously can’t believe my girls are bailing on me like this. I mean, I know that Kali is trapped in a business meeting and Sutton is surrounded by our adoring Glammers…but still!
Sutton and Kali are the real G&G go-getters. I’m there to make sure that my besties are both dressed to the flawless nines and to occasionally get roped into various shoots when there’s absolutely no other option, but that’s about as far as my front-page action goes. The Glammers are obsessed with Kali and Sutton, and the two new sexy men in their lives, and that means I’ve had almost zero pressure to show up on the feed lately. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice to safely hide in the background for a while.
