Page 6 of Lady and the Camp
And then the ranting stopped. Kristoff grew calm, cool, almost serene. His posture shifted as he sat back. “I know you’re not capable of this level of machination. But it sure will get clicks.”
Guess which part went viral. And which part was conveniently cut.
Now my breakup could be replayed for anyone and everyone to assess, judge, and critique. As the federal investigators uncovered, Kristoff had been stealing from investors to feed several hollow projects for years.
Marcy shook her head. “That dirty rotten—”
“The audacity!” Jillian interrupted.
“Where’s this man right now?” Noah smacked a fist into her open palm. “Can we find him? Give me ten minutes, alone, with my brass knuckles.”
Marcy shot her horrified look. “Who owns legit brass knuckles?”
Noah shrugged. “Look, I ran with a rough crowd as a kid. You know this.”
Their chattering finally eased, so I went on. “The spokesperson deal meant I’d be the new face of the natural beauty company Sheek—that’s s-h-e-e-k likechic, but branded to be its own thing.”
Noah scrunched her nose. “Aren’t they one of those—”
“It’s a many-tiered operating triangle of independent consultants,” I responded on instinct. “Yeah, it’sa make a killing at the top level and profit off the consultants who sellthe productstype of company.”
“Only this one doubled as a laundromat,” Jillian added.
Noah looked at me. “Sheek sells clothes?”
Jillian threw up her hands. “Hello,laundering. As in laundering things thataren’tclothes. Like oh, dirty cash or shady real estate transactions. That’s why billionaire bro wanted it. To funnel cash through.”
I let them piece the details together. Then, like everyone else in the world, surmise that I was a total idiot for signing on to a deal that looked so impossibly shiny on the outside but rotted to the core beneath one flimsy surface layer. And it was a real shame because their waterproof vegan eyeliner glided on the eye in the most magical way.
But my friends didn’t call me an idiot. These were my real friends. Not like the renovation sisters who’d ghosted at a whiff of bad news.
“What do you need?” Jillian asked. “How can we help?”
I willed the tears back. Being here surrounded by their support felt like a literal rescue, even if I had no vision of my next steps. I told them about the photographer lurking outside my apartment. “The agent and my attorney suggested I take a break. I called you all. And now I’m here.”
“Easy,” Marcy said. “Stay with me. The second bedroom is my office, but I’ve got a futon in there and I can move my desk into the dining room.”
Tears welled again. “I can’t ask that of you.” Except I’d already made it known I needed help and I’d flown all the way here.
“You’re not asking, I’m offering,” she said. “You know me well enough that I don’t offer my home to just anybody. Now bread, on the other hand. That I give away all the time. I’ll be right back.”
She returned with a freshly baked loaf cooled from the oven. A vintage shallow dish with butter followed.
Marcy leveled a look at me. “Don’t tell me you’re on some no bread diet. Unless, it’s due to allergies, of course.”
My mouth watered. “No allergies.”
We all dove into the bread. Sweet, delicious carbs could solve almost anything.
I needed to think through my next steps. Because while I told myself I’d boarded that plane for a sleepover invitation, deep down, I knew wouldn’t return to California for a while. I’d have to figure out what to do with my stuff and my apartment, but I needed a plan first. I couldn’t hang out at Marcy’s apartment without doing anything.
“I need more than a place to stay,” I admitted. “I’m going to need a source of income. I have some money saved, but…” This was brutal. “I wasn’t…well, see, I had followers and the free samples, but they were more like supplemental…”
“You still worked a job,” Marcy finished.
“More like jobs, plural.” My secret, like a clogged pore. “I wasn’t raking in the influencer money. That’s why this brand deal was a such a big get for me.” I picked at chipped polish on my fingernail. “I did temp work in offices. Freelance jobs. Stuff like managing social media accounts for other influencers, skincare consults, an assistant to a make-up artist. I did make-up for a few weddings.”
“I’m sure we could figure that out,” Marcy said. “I’ve got a friend who does event planning. I bet she’d love your touch with social media. Maybe she could use your talents.”
