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Stone-cold, with a personality as bland as his slate-tiled artisan floor.
I plaster on a smile.
Hey, it’s not like I’m new to standing in front of a camera under stress. But when I applied for this program, this wasn’t what I bargained for.
Honestly, I never expected to win.
Home Shepherd is a big deal in these parts. I’ve heard Dad mention them offhand for securing his shops and I couldn’t care less about security services.
Plenty of influencers certainly applied when they heard about the massive payout for charity.
It’s a little sweet to edge out the local competition, I’ll admit.
Especially total brat influencers, like Meghan “Tea” Maven, who make their views off rancid gossip. Home Shepherd’s big charity payoff would just be one more thing for Meghan to boast about, anyway, no matter how many homeless shelters she supports.
For her, it’s a means to an end.
More about boosting her own clout than helping the world.
I’m not into the whole gossip thing, of course, but a lot of people are. She’s been all over everything lately.
Compared to my paltry almost-a-million TikTok followers, she has well over five mil, plus a zillion more spread across Instagram and Twitter.
On paper, it should be a no-brainer. Meghan has a bigger platform, hands down.
For some reason, they picked me. I must’ve passed their vibe check, I guess.
“Okay!” Camera Lady says cheerfully, and I try to focus again. “That’s lovely, Destiny.”
It’s not lovely.
My smile feels rubbery at the edges and I think my eyes look puffy from the three hours of sleep last night. I’ve been doing this all day, all these little press releases and photo ops to let the world know about the program and the fact that I’m joining it.
I already want to just crawl into bed and sleep for a solid day.
But at this point I’d settle for getting down towork.
My skin prickles with the attention.
My smile wilts, and I have to hoist it back into place again.
“So, Destiny, can you tell us why you’re excited to work with Home Shepherd?”
Again, my smile becomes more of a grimace as I answer the same question I’ve answered a dozen other times this week. At least I have my lines memorized.
“It’s an amazing opportunity,” I say.
Clara, bless her heart, has coached me through this so many times it feels almost natural.
Camera Lady nods enthusiastically.
“Home Shepherd is such a big name,” I continue. “They already do so much for making people feel secure. I know it’s going to boost my platform.”
The woman smiles encouragingly. I keep my body language relaxed and open as I continue.
“Of course, the chance to shadow such a well-known CEO is pretty thrilling, too,” I say, really hamming that part up.
Somehow, I don’t believe I actuallywillget to shadow him, but I know how corporate egos operate. We’ll let everyone think I will and that I’m oh-so-grateful for the opportunity.
