Catch22always: I’ve never seen the internet come for someone like they did with Harper. They were bot/fake accounts, for sure. If you looked closely (can’t now, her page has been deactivated) it wasn’t the Bookstagram community out for blood, it was mostly from new accounts/accounts with zero follower count. Gives credence to the fact that Harper might have been onto something and Tia (or whoever our mystery writer is) didn’t like it and retaliated with the online onslaught. Thoughts?
FauxLives: I noticed that too! Dummy accounts and lots of them. I thought maybe it was people making new accounts so it couldn’t be connected to them, but now you say that… makes more sense Tia wouldn’t want Harper’s claims to get any traction, especially if they’re true, right? What’s the consensus here? Do we think Tia is a fake?
Unreliablenarrator708: Have you read the book? It’s definitely not human written. In some ways it feels more like a joke. Harper was either brave or stupid to call it out, but I’m hearing a lot of whispers on Bookstagram that she’s got support, but no one knows quite how to act because no one has ever really spoken up like that before (albeit accidentally) and got cancelled over it. As for the author, her protestations are convincing, so it seems they’re at a stalemate. I feel for the Bookstagram community because they’re the ones who dedicate their time to sharing the love of books and don’t they have a right to voice their concerns if they don’t want to support AI-written garbage? It’s a tough one.
Ohsodramatic: But therein lies the problem. What if Harper is wrong and done untold damage to Tia?
True_Crime_allthetime007: but what if she’s right and everyone has just been sucked into a big con?
A small thrill runs through me. While it’s not full-blown support, or an army of amateur internet sleuths on my side, it seems that there are some people open to the fact that I could be correct about Tia. But the same issue still stands – how do we prove it? Is there even a way without Tia admitting it? And let’s face it, why would she?
Maybe Lily is right and I should let the dust settle.
18
Using the map, I make my way to Seashells restaurant to meet Xavier for our dinner meeting. The evening is balmy, with a hint of humidity, but it’s cooler without the blazing sun. I’ve donned a summery ankle-length dress and feel almost human again after taking a nap and a long shower.
I pass a group clustered around a staff member holding a clipboard and recognise the three Lucys. ‘Harper!’ They eagerly wave me over. ‘We haven’t properly introduced ourselves. I’m Lucy. This is Lucy Lou and Lucia. We go by the three Lucys. It’s just easier, that way.’
‘Easier?’ Lucia huffs. ‘If I’d have known I’d get mistaken for Lucy all the damn time, I’d have changed my name by deed poll to something wildly different, like Francesca.’
Lucy reels. ‘That hurts my feelings!’
Lucia rolls her eyes. ‘You don’t have any feelings.’
‘Ignore them.’ Lucy Lou grins. ‘Would you like to join us for a sunset kayak to go shark spotting? We’re hoping to lay eyes on the sicklefin lemon shark, a species native to the Seychelles and commonly found in Indo-Pacific waters.’ Shark spotting? Have they got a death wish!
‘You sound like you’re reading from a guidebook,’ Lucy says.
‘Like I’m informed, you mean? Unlike some people around here.’ Lucy Lou shakes her head. ‘Anyway, have you ever seen a sicklefin lemon shark, Harper? We’ve only spotted juveniles so far.’ Wouldn’t juveniles be the best shark to run into since they’re smaller?
Yikes, it’s a HELL NO from me, but it’s nice of the ladies to invite me so I quiet my internal screaming and say, ‘Thanks, ah, Lucy Lou, but I’m meeting Xavier for dinner.’ To which I’m now eternally grateful for if it gets me out of shark spotting from a teeny tiny fibreglass floatation device. I’m sure the first rule of not being eaten by a shark is not to go in the water at dusk… but surely they know that?
She lets a slow suggestive grin unfurl. ‘Ooh, a dinner date with the boss already. We better keep our eye on you, Harper.’ The women make bawdy sounds and dissolve into giggles.
When they’re finally composed, I say coolly, ‘It’s a business meeting, not a dinner date. The only man I’m into for the foreseeable is the imaginary type.’
Lucia wrinkles her nose. ‘What?’
‘You know, fict?—’
‘Over here.’ Xavier hollers across the restaurant. He clicks his fingers and his face dissolves into a smile. Huh, so the man does have a sense of humour.
‘You’ve been summoned for your business meeting.’ Lucy’s voice drips with sarcasm.
I shake my head and give her a huff for good measure and make my way through the tables to Xavier.
‘Nice touch with the finger click. Very funny.’
As he stands to greet me, I can’t help but notice the suit he’s wearing hugs in all the right places, like he’s some kind of GQ model. Who is mad enough to wear a suit in this weather? The guy is all business, that’s for sure. His arms go wide like he’s about to – hug me? Kiss me! A flush races down the length of me when he promptly… holds out a hand. To shake. Like we’re two CEOs about to get down to business. What did I expect? A hug would be creepy, and a kiss… well, I’d have swooned briefly and then told him off.
I’m not sure why I’m so attracted to the devilishly handsome guy, or why I’m even using words like devilishly handsome. It could be he has this disarming animal magnetism about him, or it’s the glittery danger in his dark unfathomable eyes… and OK, that’s enough romance novels for me. I shake my head, hoping to dislodge whatever malady has forsaken my turncoat mind, which has apparently run away into fantasyland.
We’re welcomed by a waitress who brings menus, and places napkins over our laps. Xavier orders wine without consulting me. Typical. Lily would think that was hot, a man taking charge, but I think it’s not. This isn’t a date though, so I let it slide.
‘How is your suite?’
‘Well, it’s not the Ritz, but it’ll do.’
