Page 1 of Exposed

Chapter One

Lauren

“Lauren! Lauren! Can I have an autograph? I’m a huge fan of yours.” A fifteen-year-old girl ran up to me, screaming my name. This was happening to me, I whispered to myself.

“Yes, of course,” I replied. She passed the photo of me posing for Essence magazine last month. They held the Annual Breakout Social Media Influencers campaign with four different versions of the most famous stars under thirty. At twenty-five years old, I was living my dream and doing what I loved. It all started off with my YouTube videos and Instagram posts when I trended because of my review of Raven Cosmetics’ new natural red lipstick. For an entire week, the hashtag #laurenlovesravencosmetics was the number one trending topic. Now here I am about to go into a meeting with the CEO, Danielle Masters.

“Thank you so much!” she screamed and ran toward her group of friends.

I loved meeting my fans and getting comments, letters, and messages. I know some people like my parents didn’t believe this was a real career choice. In their eyes, it wasn’t something that could last forever. My goal was to turn this into my business and create my own brand and products one day. I checked one last time that my makeup was still intact and puffed out my hair. As I pulled out Raven Cosmetics’ clear lip gloss, my phone rang. I checked and noticed my cousin, Mya, was calling. She was the Governor’s wife in New York and probably one day the First Lady if Ethan ran for office again. I hit the FaceTime call, and her flawless, brown skin radiated through the phone.

“Ohh, I like that color on you,” Mya said.

I puckered up and blew a kiss through the phone.

“Thanks, cousin. What are you up to?” I asked, opening the door and walking through the lobby.

“I wanted to send you positive thoughts for your meeting.”

“Thanks, I wish I knew what this was about. All the email said was that I was meeting with the CEO. My nerves are bad.”

“Don’t think anything bad; you had the highest trending topic last week. I doubt the meeting could turn bad,” Mya replied.

“I needed to hear that. I made it inside. I need to get my badge and head up; I’ll call you afterward,” I said, and she blew a kiss back and hung up. I put my phone back in my purse and walked over to the receptionist’s desk.

“Hello, welcome to Raven Cosmetics, do you have an appointment?” the brunette receptionist questioned. Glancing around, I noticed the place was very sleek and modern.

“Hi, yes, I have an appointment with Danielle Masters. I’m Lauren Armstrong,” I replied.

“Yes, we’ve been expecting you today. Here’s your visitor badge, and you can take the elevator at the end of the hall and go to floor fifteen, and the receptionist will assist you.”

“Thank you,” I said, grabbing the bright plastic badge with my name across the center. I was happy that I wore my off-shoulder light pink blouse jumpsuit. The large belt and red high heel shoes showed off my style of being modern and feminine, yet professional. Getting on the elevator, I hit the button for the fifteenth floor, and the doors closed. I checked my phone in my clutch to make sure it was on vibrate. Hearing the ding, I looked up to see that I’d arrived. I took one last breath and smiled as the doors opened to a large reception area with Raven Cosmetics signs in the background. Stepping in front of the receptionist’s desk, she held a hand up, telling me to wait a second while she ended a call. I looked around the room to notice the large photo of Raven Cosmetics’ signature natural line displayed on the wall. A large plasma TV was airing the latest commercial, the sound on low.

“Hi, Lauren Armstrong, right?” the receptionist asked. I looked down at her name tag and read Kasey.

“Yes, I have an appointment with Danielle Masters.”

“I know, everyone has been waiting for your arrival.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I saw your last video on YouTube where you did the review and paired it with any outfit. I’m a huge fan if you haven’t noticed,” Kasey said.

“Thanks.” I smiled, taking in her compliment.

“Let me buzz Ms. Masters’ office.”

She picked up the phone and dialed a number I assumed was to Danielle’s assistant. A few minutes later, the door opened, and the person I thought was her secretary coming to meet me was actually Danielle Masters. The genuine smile on her face made me automatically feel comfortable as she extended her hand for me to shake.

“Lauren, I’m so excited you came,” Danielle said.

“Thank you, I’m still not sure what to expect out of this meeting today. The email said all the details would be discussed when I arrived.”

We headed to the clear office door of the employee area, then down a hall where a row of clear doored offices lined up.

“Sorry, we had to be vague. I wanted to make sure nothing was leaked in the press. Recently our online store was hacked, and we’ve been going through an overhaul,” she responded, escorting me to a conference room. As we walked inside, I saw a group of people that apparently worked for her based on the company badges they wore; there was a woman with short dark brown hair, two others wore lab coats, and another guy who was in a business suit. The two I knew from the company website were the new owner, Elijah Cohen, and the publicist, Zoe Anderson. She used to work at CCJ and came on board full-time to work at Raven Cosmetics. I was confident when I first came down here, and now, I was nervous at what was taking place. Usually, you wouldn’t receive any backlash for reviewing a product, so I hoped I wouldn’t get sued or something. Danielle introduced me to everyone, and I waved, as the butterflies in my stomach flipped.

“Lauren, again, thank you for coming. I know you’re wondering why we asked you to come to Virginia on such short notice,” Zoe said.

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