Honestly, I like how she tries to carry me along in the conversation. There’s no boring moment around her. But it’s hard for a person like me who does not really fancy small talks.
“Oh, I see. Amber Jones was the one that helped her friend’s business; just like this, she made a video in her friend’s jewelry store and tagged her. You won’t believe over 500,000 people saw that video on her channel.”
“Wow!” I exclaim, pulling the restaurant’s door open. I’m glad we are finally here. The walk from the parking lot to this place is just three minutes or two, but Sophia’s company made it seem like three hours.
“Hey, Kath,” I wave at Katherine as I pick a seat.
“Hey, Gary.” She smiles cunningly, and I smirk. I can read the expression in her smile and whatever she tried to say is wrong.
Sophia walks to greet her, and I watch them as they engage in another long conversation. I take my time to study her as she talked. A small smile creeps across my face as I watch her, hoping to make our relationship go beyond just this.
“Okay, let’s dive straight into it.” She turns around to set the camera.
“But what about the background noise? I mean, everyone that’s talking,” I make a small gesture.
“We need it; makes the video looks more real,” Sophia wiggles her eyebrows.
“Oh,” I nod simultaneously.
My eyes move and hit Katherine, giving me another cunning look. She mouths a low ‘I know you like her! And yes, you look great together!’ before sticking her thumbs up. I frown at her, shying away from whatever she’s insinuating. Katherine must have noticed how I stare at Sophia. She’s right, I’m obsessed, but I don’t want to be too forward. I’m going to keep it professional as I get to know her more. But from the little I’ve known, I’m sure this woman would melt my heart.
Six
Sophia
Last week Tuesday was lit with Gary. I knew it; I knew my audience was going to find him fascinating. But they did beyond what I expected. Guess what? I’ve seen a lot of ‘Gary-Sophia’ fan-pages on social media everywhere. It’s quite surprising because I did not expect people to do so much. And my subscribers have increased by a thousand in just nine days. I can’t believe it; the increment happens every day. The views on the video I made with him have just hit 123,000 now, and…
“Wow, Lilah, you need to see this, 123k views! Tell me I’m dreaming.”
I get down from the couch and walk to show my cousin the engagement in this video.
“No, you are not dreaming, babe. It’s real,” she tells me before clamping her lips together happily.
“Oh, my God! I’m so excited!” I drop my laptop and do a celebratory dance, displaying the dancing talent I don’t have.
The highest view I’ve had on my video is 65k. Even the videos I made months ago, none ever went beyond 65k views. But this one has broken records; 123k views in just nine days? No, I have to celebrate this.
“Lilah?” I call my cousin.
“Hm?”
“We have to celebrate this!”
“Sure, you should.” She nods.
“Hm, how do we celebrate? How about we…”
“We? Shouldn’t you be celebrating with the hot man that made that video a blast?” Lilah raises her brows at me. “We watched that video because of that handsome man. He is a success. If you are celebrating, then you don’t want to leave him out. Besides, I have a date tonight, so…” she ends her speech with a shrug.
“I know, right, but Gary is unavailable, and our contract is over. We signed a one-day contract. He promised to help me once, and he has done his part. I mean…” I explain, walking back to sit on the couch.
“What do you mean? You have his contact, don’t you?”
“I do, but he lives outside the city. He’s hard to reach, the network where he stays sucks. And I can’t even call him,” I respond, trying to reason with Lilah’s point.
“So, are you really going to let him go? Huh?” Lilah walks to sit beside me. “Your subscribers are asking to see more of him. What would you tell them happened to your ‘hot man?’” she quotes the ‘hot man’ part with her index finger. “Videos like that should not be a one-time thing. You have started with it, you have to carry on. You can keep acting the script for a few more months, and when you generate enough followers, you change your script.”
I nod along as Lilah spoke. She’s creatively inclined, and her ideas are always intriguing. She’s right; my followers are demanding that I make more videos with Gary. But I’ve not given it a thought yet. “Mm, Lilah, I feel your ideas. I do.”
