I knew better than to derive value from my follower count, but that number impacted my income and livelihood.
 
 Maybe it was ego.
 
 Maybe I wanted to prove to everyone, including myself, that the blood, sweat, and tears I’d poured into growing the account hadn’t been in vain.
 
 Or maybe Brady was right, and I needed to shake things up.
 
 Whatever it was, it compelled me enough to exit out of the app and into my contacts list.
 
 I stared at the list of names, my eyes instinctively homing in on the male ones.
 
 I can’t believe I’m considering this.
 
 But I had no job and nothing to lose…except my integrity.
 
 Unfortunately, integrity didn’t pay the bills, and it wasn’t like I was murdering or stealing. It would just be a little white lie to sell the show that was my online presence.
 
 My teeth dug into my bottom lip.
 
 Then, before I could second guess myself, I called the first name that looked good.
 
 “Hey Trent, it’s Stella. I know, it’s been a long time, but I have a question for you…”