‘Social media,’ calls Jules before I can dispute anything. I’m getting whiplash, she’s going so fast.
‘It’s your turn to get roasted,’ I mutter to Isa.
‘Your channels are excellent,’ Jules states.
What?This is a setup. Did Isa tip her when I wasn’t looking?
‘Clear, consistent, and authentic,’ she goes on. ‘I can really hear his voice – and thankfully it’s not the voice I’m hearing right now.’
‘Yo! Rude much?’
Isa blushes. ‘I listened to your series on becoming a sustainable content creator. The guests werechef’s kiss.’
For the second time tonight, Jules smiles. It’s not ugly, it’s actually kinda— No. Stop that. ‘Thank you, chick.’Chick.‘What I need you to do is archive everything from when Tiago ran his accounts.’
‘Wha—’
‘On it!’
‘And we need a bigger focus on Leone,’ Jules adds. ‘He needs to look like part of the furniture, not a guest. Posts from the factory; posts in the garage; posts with his teammate; posts behind the scenes when the comms team are filming TikToks.’
Isa nods eagerly, scribbling hard.
‘You know I’m right here?’
Jules points her clicker at me. ‘Youneed to look more engaged in said TikToks.’
‘I do look?—’
‘And feature in more of them. They’re all of your teammate, and the traction’s decent, especially with a young demographic. It’s worth your while?—’
‘That’s the problem! I can’t understand anything, they’re so damn Gen Z.’
‘Well, get researching. You’re proud of this team.Show it.’ It’s not a suggestion, it’s an order. ‘Oh, and stop sliding into the DMs of OnlyFans and Instagram models.’
Why the hell would she say that? ‘I don’t?—’
‘You totally do,’ Isa rushes to throw in. ‘Overseeing your social channels has fuelled at least six months of therapy.’
‘Why are you reading them? Shit’s private,’ I mutter.
If Jules is as omniscient as she thinks she is, she’d know I haven’t slid anywhere since January. Iron-willed king.
‘It’s never private,’ argues Jules. ‘These women tattle on podcasts about which athletes are in their DMs. They’re only famous because of the attention they get, and they’re excellent at maximising it.’
Trained from podcasts like yours, no doubt.
‘She’s adream!’ Isa hollers when we’re safely back in the car.
Loathing for that woman hangs over the evening like a fog, but it clears somewhere on the Rickenbacker Causeway, and I start to see her strategy for the gift it is. As much as it galls me to admit it, she did a good job – agreatjob. We have a clear plan for the next couple of months that’ll see me back at Volare in a whirl of Italian fashion and mega brand deals.
‘That was ah-mazing,’ Isa yaps on. ‘The amount of thought and prep work she put into it.’ She raises Jules’ handouts toillustrate her point. ‘You need to do a whole lot better than crashing Tom’s gym session with her.’
‘Ok, I get it.’
I feared as much. I need to rethink my end of the bargain. It can’t be that hard to make Tom go out with her. She’s not hideous (on the outside), and some guys are into the whole dominatrix thing. I need to show some level of value, especially since wemighthave apotentiallylegally binding contract. The question is: how do I do it when I don’t know the guy?
‘She’s different to how I thought she’d be,’ Isa muses.
