Page 34 of Choosing You

Frowning, Hailey put her muffin down. “No need to get snarky. The point I was getting at is…you do something that is in big demand right now. You’re not looking for more clients because your jerk of a boss is keeping you from doing it. If you didn’t come home from work so mentally defeated each day, you’d probably find a ton of clients.”

“I don’t know about that…”

“You should talk to Levi. You know, he had the big advertising exec thing going on before he got fired and had to move back home. He does a lot of traditional advertising stuff—print ads and online ads—but he doesn’t have anyone who does what you do. Jade keeps trying to post on Instagram and all the other social sites, but…they look like someone who doesn’t know how to make videos is doing them.”

“I could probably help her out the next time I’m here. You know, take a lot of video content and then, when I get home, make it into stuff she can post. I’ll talk to her about it. But…she’s family. I wouldn’t charge her for it.”

With a loud sigh, Hailey leaned in a little closer. “That’s your first mistake. Your time is worth money. Especially if you’re spending it working!”

“Okay, but…like I went to the coffee shop on Saturday and Cora didn’t charge me. The girls working this morning didn’t know me, so I paid, but…it feels wrong to take money from family.”

“Do you have money in savings?” Hailey asked with a huff of annoyance.

“I do, but I’m working toward a down payment on a townhouse. I’m over apartment living.”

“Would it be worth staying in the apartment a little longer and starting your own business instead?”

“You mean…working for myself? I…I don’t know if I could do that. I just figured I’d just freelance on the side if I didn’t start getting bigger accounts or a raise. The thought of doing this full time on my own is kind of terrifying.”

“Trust me, I get it. I felt the same way about the studio. I didn’t think I’d be able to get enough clients to make even a fraction of a living. But Marcus is only charging me a tiny bit for rent, and Levi did a bunch of ads for me as a wedding gift, and now I have more members than I thought possible. I’m getting people from the surrounding small towns because there aren’t any studios nearby.”

“And that’s great, but…again…I don’t see how this relates to me.”

“You need to take a chance, Sloane! You’re stuck in a rut and not doing anything proactive to change it, and then you complain because nothing’s changing! Maybe it’s time to do something different.”

“I don’t know…Mom and Dad are always so vocal about having job security. If I announce that I’m quitting my job and trying to find clients, I’m going to hear all kinds of grief. They already think my job is ridiculous because—and I quote—I sit at a desk and scroll on stupid social media all the live-long day.” She rolled her eyes. “The only reason they tolerate me doing it is because I work for someone else and get a salary. If I had to start from scratch with no guaranteed income, I’d never hear the end of it.”

“We both know how judgy they can be and how Mom is famous for throwing around the guilt trips. Plus, let’s be real, they don’t even understand modern technology or anything about social media. The other day, Mom was asking about something, and I told her she could get it in the app store. Do you know what she said?”

Sloane shook her head.

“She said she couldn’t get to the store that day because it was raining and she hated driving in the rain! She doesn’t even know what the app store on her phone is!”

They both laughed before Hailey went on.

“But this is your life. I stood up to them, and I’m way quieter than you are! Besides, it’s your life. Not theirs. You should do things that make you happy! And in a big city like Fort Lauderdale, you shouldn’t have any problems finding clients!”

“Or…I’m one of a thousand social media managers and won’t be seen. I’m telling you, Hales, I don’t know what the right thing to do is. All I know is that…” She sighed. “Everything feels so complicated right now.”

“It’s not just the job, is it?” It wasn’t a question.

“Yesterday, Will and I were talking about going out somewhere just to get out of the house. And then he goes into this whole thing about small-town living and how he didn’t want to run into anyone he knew because he was enjoying us having some privacy.”

“O-kay. That’s kind of sweet, right?”

“I seriously had no idea what he was talking about because I go out all the time and rarely run into anyone I know.”

“There’s a huge difference,” Hailey said firmly. “Believe me. I’m learning that more and more. Almost every time I leave the house, I see someone I know. It’s wild.”

“That’s what he was saying, but…he tried giving me an example and usedourfamily to prove the point.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Crap.

“Up until that point, he didn’t know my last name,” she admitted.

The bark of laughter was Hailey’s initial response. “Oh my God! That’s awesome! He pulls the Donovan name out of all the families in town!”

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