“Men’s beauty tips?” Daisy repeated dubiously. “That has nothing to do with makeup.”
“Think about it.” Vivian went back to typing and adding links. “Your target audience is women between the ages of 21 and 55. These women have men in their lives, and what is more attractive to a woman than a man who looks and feels his best?”
Daisy mulled over the idea. “Maybe a small segment—like four episodes interspersed with my regular beauty tips, might work. It’s definitely outside the box.”
Beckett did have hottie potential. He was so good-looking as a teenager. He already had the facial hair; it just needed to be sculpted. There was a barber uptown who might be willing to trade a style for free publicity … The possibilities flowed freely now that she’d opened herself up to the idea. She grabbed a pad of paper next to the keyboard and began writing.
Vivian finished up with the video and made it public, then began posting links on social media sites. Since she could do these tasks in her sleep, Daisy started talking.
“Okay, I think this would be good for ratings—especially if Beckett comes out as cute as I remember him or even better.” She frowned. “He used to be on the thin side, but he’s filled out.”
“Digging ditches does a body good.” Vivian wiggled her eyebrows.
Daisy’s chest grew warm—another dreadful side effect from her fair skin. Her chest blushed when she was truly embarrassed. Thinking about the way she’d ogled Beckett’s bare chest this morning was one of those moments. She really needed to banish that image from her consciousness.
She cleared her throat before going on. “I also like it because Brittany hasn’t done anything like this—ever.” Her rival constantly accused Daisy of stealing her ideas—no, wait, she didn’t saysteal; she saidrecycled. As if that made the accusations any less slanderous. Brittany was a one-woman show. She didn’t hire an editor or videographer. She did everything on her own—a fact that she used to poke fun at Daisy through snide comments in her videos, who hired Vivian when the workload got to be too much.
Hiring Vivian was the best business decision Daisy had made to date. Vivian helped Daisy maintain balance in her life. MyHeartChannel would easily take over every corner of Daisy’s day.
Vivian not only did editing, posting, and manage social media; she brainstormed ideas, managed the production and distribution of Daisy’s lip balm, and courted sponsors. This, in turn, allowed Daisy to stay active in her comments section and interact with her subscribers, which was a major reason for her continued success. No matter how popular she became on the Web, she put her subscribers first.
“Do think Beckett would go for it?” asked Vivian.
Daisy tossed the pad of paper on the desk. “No. He’s such a guy’s guy, there’s no way he’d spend an afternoon talking beard cream.”
“Would he at least let you get him a haircut? We could get one good episode out of that.”
Daisy bit her thumb as she thought about how much convincing she’d have to do. The Beckett she’d grown up with would have laughed in her face and told her to buzz off. He seemed like the same guy this morning, stalking her to get his sock back. She’d played along, but she’d grown and changed over the last ten years; perhaps he had too. There was only one way to find out. “I’ll talk to him about it.”
Her stomach immediately swirled with nerves. Getting up close and personal with Beckett had all sorts of possibilities. Her head still tingled from his fingertips in her hair. She hadn’t anticipated his deep and abiding attention, nor his confession that he flirted with her—especially in front of Quinton.
The best scenario would be a full-on man makeover for four episodes. The worst scenario would be a huge drop in ratings and her heart getting all tangled up in a ten-year-old crush and one that was quickly growing.
Chapter Five
EveryDayGlam!Beauty Tip
Do you have a big presentation coming up at work or an important night out? Don’t sweat it. Every inch of you can look your best with this simple trick.
Mix 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of plain Greek yogurt. Apply the mixture to your dark underarms to lighten the area. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so and then rinse clean with warm water. If needed, apply a second time.
Beckett suppressed a growl. “What do you mean, it could be weeks before I can get into Cambodia? I thought everything was already in place.” He shifted the phone so he could see his boss better. Since his boss, Kelly Thane, was rarely in the same state—let alone the same country—as the people she oversaw, Kelly insisted on video calls. She believed they provided an in-office, personal experience creating a team environment.
“It was,” said Kelly, “but a small militant group started a revolution last night and we’ve got to wait it out.”
Behind him, Daisy was watching aSweet Home Vermontvideo on making brownies on her phone in the kitchen. She’d made the same brownies two days ago and the pan was already clean. Hemay havehad a hand in making them disappear.
Every once in a while, he’d hear the clink of a bowl on the countertop or the light whooshing of ingredients being added to the batter. He liked having her close by. She had this perpetual energy and enthusiasm for life that spilled over into his thoughts and made him smile for no reason whatsoever.
He lowered his voice. “Is there somewhere else you can send me in the meantime? I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
Daisy began humming quietly. The tune was familiar and catchy. After spending a couple days helping Quinton build stalls behind his clinic as payment for taking him in, Daisy gave Beckett a list of movies he absolutely must catch up on. Top of the list wasThe Greatest Showman.That’swhere the song came from. Something about rewriting the stars …
Sheesh—he was going soft. He needed to get back to work—back to being useful in the world. His eyes hurt from staring at the screen for so long and his body felt like a puddle of sludge from sitting around.
Kelly squinted at the screen and moved to the side, trying to see around him. “Looks like you’ve got itcushfor now.”
He lifted his eyebrows but refused to comment. Living with Quinton and Daisy wascush. They had more food in the fridge and pantry than the three of them could eat in a week. The fresh fruits and veggies were top-notch—nothing bruised or wilted. The house was spotless and welcoming. And, he was really starting to enjoy the mint shampoo—it tingled. If he didn’t get out of here soon, transitioning back to his real life was going to stink.
