Page 41 of You Will Never Be Me

“No, I want six million followers like you.”

“Liv,” I say gently, “I can’t give you six million followers. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Why?” she says petulantly. “You’ve got six million followers.”

“Yeah, but first of all, they don’t all like the same thing. Some might like me because of my cooking. Others might like my morning routine. And others might like the kids. These are individuals we’re talking about. Not all of them will like our cross-promo content. Once we get you to half a million followers, you’ll find that your account will grow organically. The algorithm will feed your content out to people who will like it, and you’ll get followers on your own. You won’t need me anymore.” Not strictly true, but it’s true enough.

Liv nods grudgingly. “Okay. Fine. But I want an open-door policy with the cross-promo stuff.”

“I’m not sure I understand what that means.”

Liv sighs theatrically. “I mean, if I ever ask you to do a cross-promo video, even if I have, say, two million followers, you need to agree to it.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Within reason. Sure. Once you hit half a million followers, I would like to cut back on the cross-promo stuff, but yes, if you need it, we can do it occasionally.”

“Deal.” Liv holds out her hand, and I shake it. “When can we start? Now?”

Despite everything, this almost makes me smile, because Liv’s eagerness reminds me of myself. You have to have passion to make it as an influencer, and she obviously has it in droves. I need to use this to my advantage somehow. Can I? Maybe, but I can’t think of it while she’s here, studying my every move. I shrug at Liv. “Sure, why not?”

She grins and actually claps, like a little kid. It highlights just how young she is. Well, maybe not that young; she’s only a few years my junior, but she is so inexperienced. Was I like that too? When I first met Mer? Did she see what I’m seeing in Liv now? Someone to take under her wing and mold in a way that pleases her? The thought stokes my anger toward Mer all over again. She could only handle me when I was pliable dough in her hands. But once I hardened into my own form, all Meredith could think of doing with me was to smash me onto the floor—to break me down so she could rebuild me all over again.

“Okay!” Liv says, her eyes shining. “What should we do? Oh, there’s this dance I’ve been wanting to try, let me—” She picks up her phone.

Oh lord. The thought of doing a TikTok dance with Liv is enough to make me want to stab myself through the head. “Actually, how about a gardening video? We could harvest a few veggies together?”

Liv makes a face. “No offense, Aspen, but that sounds boring as shit.”

“None taken.”

“And it’s not really my brand, you know?”

I don’t know, actually. Come to think of it, I don’t really know what Liv’s brand is. I haven’t taken the time to study her social media accounts. “That’s a good point,” I say. “Let me see your profile.” I settle down on a chair and scroll through her profile. It is a mess. There isn’t a single cohesive thread throughout her posts. “What is your brand?”

Liv stiffens. “Well, it’s—it’s like your brand. Momfluencing.”

“Yeah, but what’s the angle? Are you the relatable mom whose hair is always messy and who forgets everything? Are you hashtag MomGoals? Are you career mom?”

Liv groans. “I just want to be myself. Nobody is ever just one of those things.”

“True, but for the purposes of social media, it would be helpful for you to have a brand that people can recognize.” I study Liv for a bit, considering the options.

“What’s your brand?”

“Mom goals,” I say simply.

One corner of Liv’s mouth twitches into a smirk. “Oh yeah. Fake and unattainable.”

I shrug, refusing to let her words sting me. “We could set that up as your brand, too, if you want. I could show you how.” And for all her talk about fakeness and authenticity, I can tell that Liv is tempted. As she gnaws on her bottom lip, I add, “Think of how pissed off your enemies would be when they saw you living your best life.”

“I don’t want to be fake,” Liv says.

“Stop looking at it as being fake. It’s not fake; it’s part of your life. Look, you can even do it your way. You could have a series of videos where you talk to your followers about how you pull everything off. How you can have it all. People would love that.”

Liv’s eyes widen. “You’re right. Yeah, I would be helping people that way.”

“Exactly. You could share mom tips on how to make their lives easier. There are so many ways you could help fellow moms.”

A frown crosses her face. “Then why haven’t you been doing that?”

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