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Madison
“Itisthe end of the world, Tessa. You don’t come back from something like this.”
Tessa’s laid out on the couch in a tank top and booty shorts, her official lazy night attire. She lets out a laugh. “Every girl’s got a pair of comfort panties. Even a guy who dates a different girl every week knows that. Plus, he gave you the job, so I doubt that your underwear choices have a lot to do with what he wants from you. He just cares about your follower and view counts, and girl, you’re rocking the shit out of those.”
I sigh and change position on the oversized chair. The thing is massive, like a miniature loveseat, and it’s covered in denim rather than a normal fabric. We found it next to the dumpster behind a furniture store, and I knew I had to have it. It’s obvious why no one else would want it, but for me, it’s perfect. Unlike normal humans, I don’t sit in it. No, I’m turned sideways with my legs hanging off the fluffy armrest and my head resting against the other.
“Okay, but how am I supposed to sell some random product that I don’t even understand? What if I have to make videos for something like bikini wax or skateboards? You know, things I have absolutely no experience with.”
This is how we spend our nights. We don’t own a TV, and we’re both pretty introverted, though Tessa has her wild and crazy nights occasionally. Mostly, we lay in our spots, drink some wine, and chat. We’ve lived together since our freshman year of college, and the only thing that changed was that we moved out of the dorm and into an apartment.
She gives me a grin. “I think I’d enjoy seeing you try to give yourself a bikini wax.”
“You’re a terrible person. Maybe we’ll just reverse our normal system. I tell you what kind of content to make and you create it.”
Tessa has been my best friend since middle school. We went to NYU together and lived in the same dorm. We’re different in so many ways, but in all the ways that matter, we’re exactly the same.
She sits up and picks up her glass of wine, taking a long sip of it before saying, “You do realize that half of our success was your ability to analyze the videos that got views, right? Your content’s good, but it’s not perfect. There are better channels, but they never hit stardom like you did.”
I turn around and finish my glass of wine before pouring another glass. “But people figured out the platform since then. It’s not as easy anymore. I can’t sell products just because I understand the ChitChat algorithm.”
“Madison, listen to me. You are stupidly smart. You know what you’re doing, and that sexy heart throb of a boss you have knows it. Everyone with any sense applied to that social media marketing job posting. Out of those thousands of people, he picked you. He didn’t even interview you. You walked in, told him you couldn’t do it, and then he gave you the job, regardless. He wouldn’t have done that if he wasn’t sure he had the right person. Trust the sexy genius, Madison. And me. You should always trust me, too.”
Tessa convinced me to review books as a hobby and side gig, and after a few of them went viral, I started getting tiny paychecks from ChitChat. After that, we decided that we’d work together to turn it into a way to quit our jobs during college. Everything grew from there, and now we can pay all our bills with those monthly checks, but neither of us trust it as a career path. It could all evaporate in a moment, just like its predecessors did.
I realize the answer to an important question. “What social media marketing job posting?”
Tessa cringes and I know she had something to do with me getting the interview. “Oops…”
“What’d you do, Tessa?”
She sighs, and I know she’s stalling. As she’s pouring her second glass, she says, “Well, I was looking at your email to see when we were getting paid, and I saw the posting. I knew the name, and that means something, since I hardly know anything about advertising.”
She leans back on the couch, not laying down. The relaxed feeling that’s so common between us flickers as she confesses what she’s done.
“Well, you’d just gotten done saying that you were tired of filling out applications for jobs you’d never get, and Iknewyou’d never apply for a job like this even though you’re awesome at it. So, I kind of applied for you. Probably a good thing I did, too.”
She says that last line like she’s hopeful. Honestly, it probably is a good thing she applied for the job because I’d seen it and ignored it. Just like she assumed.
“I wish you hadn’t been sneaky, but you’re right. I wouldn’t have let the owner of the biggest advertising firm in New York see my granny panties if you hadn’t applied for the job.”
She nods her head emphatically. “Who knows? Maybe the granny panties are the reason you got the job? Maybe he’s got a thing for them?”
I chuckle and let the tension fade. She was just watching out for me. That’s what best friends do, right?
Tessa senses that the stressful moment is over and lays back in her spot. “So, was Mr. Brooks as sexy as his pictures?”
He was named the most eligible bachelor of New York three years in a row. Unlike most businessmen, he’s in the limelight nearly as much as celebrities, and every time someone takes a picture of him, there’s a different woman on his arm. I may have done a bit of internet research after he offered me the job.
My short stint in the limelight comes to mind, and I can’t imagine living life like that, even if I had everything I could ever want. Granted, Emery probably doesn’t have to wear a big poofy dress like I did, but I know what it’s like to have to smile when you want to cry. It doesn’t seem to bother him, though.
“Yes. He’s definitely hot. And he was a lot more intense than he seems in interviews. I tried to tell him I wasn’t a good fit for the job, but then he got all ‘I’m going to look into your soul’, and it was like I didn’t have a choice in the matter.”
Tessa arches an eyebrow and gets that sideways grin on her face. “I bet that you’d feel the same if he put his hands on your waist. Or your cheek. Or your ass…”
“Oh, shut up,” I say as I stand up. “I’m not going to sleep with my boss. Plus, he’s a little too busy jumping into celebrity beds to be interested in his granny panty intern. Have you seen the women he dates?”
Tessa huffs. “You mean the women that throw themselves at him for any scrap of fame and fortune that he allows them? Yeah, that’s the epitome of not sexy. But an up-and-comer who knows things he doesn’t? Maybe that’s the thing that’ll get him to do more than give you a wham, bam, thank you, Ma’am.”
