Well, I know I have absolutely no chance of actually winning this thing, but I have to admit, I’m curious to know how much a contract like that would be worth. Like, would it be enough to pay the deposit on a new flat, say, or just enough to—
‘Holy shit, you must be kidding me!’
I don’t even realise I’ve spoken out loud until I feel everyone’s eyes upon me yet again, and I look up to see them all staring.
‘Sorry,’ I mutter, looking down at the figure written on the piece of paper, which would not only let me rent somewhere on my own, but pay off my credit card, too. ‘Is this real, though? Because this is .?.?. wow.’
This is a life-changing amount of money; not for anormalperson, you understand, but certainly for someone like me, with a shopping addiction that’s landed her in tons of debt and a dead-end job that doesn’t even come close to paying for it all.
With the money from this contract, I could clear my debts, and find somewhere to live. I could leave my job and try to figure out what I actually want to do with myself when I’m not having to spend all my time doing a job I hate.
(I could also buy that really nice coat I’ve had my eye on, but it seems wrong to bring that up right after the whole ‘paying off the debt caused by my shopping addiction’ thing, so let’s just stick with the life-changing bit for now. The coats can come later.)
‘It’s not going to beyou, though, is it?’ says Bex, voicing the thought that’s surely on everyone’s mind. ‘Because you’re not actually an influencer, are you?’
She treats me to another one of her sugary, fake smiles, and a tiny spark of anger ignites somewhere in my chest.
I can’t believe how different she is from her online persona.
I guess at least I’m not the only person here who’s been pretending to be someone she’s not.
Bex might be a toxic nightmare, however, but the fact is, she isn’twrong: it’s definitely not going to be me who wins this thing. Not unless I actuallydosomehow manage to completely change my personality in the next four days; which now seems about as realistic a prospect as the stupid idea I had of me and Bex becoming friends.
‘Does anyone have any questions?’ asks Sabrina. ‘No? Well, then. Let’s go and create some content.’
There’s a scrape of seats as everyone gets to their feet, ready to leave.
‘Oh, one last thing,’ calls out Sabrina, raising a hand to stop us. ‘You’re free to enjoy the hotel and the grounds,’ she says, ‘but please make sure you stay out of the private areas, which are all clearly signposted. I’m not sure if you know this, but the hotel is owned by Lord Glenmuir, who I believe has quite a fearsome reputation, and he’s made it very clear that he doesn’t want anyone wandering around the family’s private quarters.’
‘A lord?’ says Millie immediately. ‘Really? Is he single?’
‘A widower, I believe,’ replies Sabrina. ‘He’s eighty-two, though,’ she goes on. ‘So I’d be very surprised if he was in the market for a new wife.’
‘I wouldn’t be,’ says Zara in a low voice that only I catch. ‘Boys will be boys, right? Even old ones.’
I smile, my interest piqued at the thought of the curmudgeonly old lord tucked away somewhere in the castle, maybe looking down on us all from one of the turrets.
I wonder what he thinks of all of this? The pool, and the sauna, and the .?.?. is that a hot tub I can see on the other side of this window? A huge one, with a view out over the ornamental gardens and maze?
It is.
This really is a beautiful hotel. And although it’s worlds away from my life in London, and almost everyone I’ve met so far has been needlessly hostile to me, I’m still grateful to be here, influencer competition and all.
I really wish I had a shot at winning that.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to come back here every month and really enjoy the place without having to worry about competing with the fellow guests to be the face of an ad campaign?
But, right now, that’s what I’m going to have to do if I want to earn my keep, and not be kicked out, like I almost was last night. And, as much as I know the odds of winning are definitely not in my favour, I can’t help but feel just alittlebit excited as we all file out of the dining room and go our separate ways.
The Chrysalis describes itself as a place of rebirth and reinvention, and that’s exactly what I’m going to get out of this. A whole new me. ArightRosie to replace the wrong one who arrived here.
And, even if I don’t win the competition, at least I’ll have fun trying.
Right?
Chapter 7
Wrong.
