Page 8 of Unfiltered
“You know, we could be the dynamic duo. Our content would slap hard.”
“That’s so Gen Z of you.”
“The hell it is. We were using the term first.”
“See, I’d suck at content creation. I don’t know the language.”
“We could be rolling in it. Monetize. Then you could tell your boss to shove his job up his ass.”
“Or I could end up working for Ub—as a barista to pay the bills.”
Blythe’s jaw tightened. She knew Ricki had almost said Uber. So what if Blythe turned to Uber and DoorDash after she’d lost her job? It was temporary until her content generated more cash.
“Hey,” Ricki said. “Since I have the afternoon off, why don’t we go shoot those videos you’ve been after me to help you with?”
Obviously, Ricki was feeling guilty about her faux pas with the Uber comment, but Blythe wouldn’t let the opportunity pass. She pointed at Ricki’s book. “Now I know why you bought it. You knew I’d need it as a prop.”
“How did you guess?” Ricki smiled and rose from her chair. “So you’re actually going to do it?”
Theitshe was referring to was shooting a duet with the librarian’s video. Of course, her dancing couldn’t match the hot librarian’s, but that was the point.
“How else am I going to get her attention?”
Ricki raised her eyebrows. “She’s still not responding to you?”
“On her posts, she is. Generic shit. Likethanks.But she’s not responding to my DMs.”
“How many did you send her?” Ricki tilted her head.
“Oh, don’t give me that look. Only two. I don’t need her doxxing me.”
“She doesn’t seem the type.”
“Oh, are you an expert on her now?” Blythe playfully elbowed Ricki in the ribs.
“Keep it up, and I’m not going to the library with you.”
Blythe held up her hands in surrender. “I’m done.”
Ricki grinned. “I thought you’d see it my way.”
CHAPTER 4
Abby sighed and droppedto the floor of the storeroom next to a stack of unopened boxes. She was happy the library was closed, so she could focus on the book. Since her review ofSolitaryhad gone viral, she’d not gotten a moment’s peace. Initially, she enjoyed the attention from the patrons, but a month in, it’d become too much.
She’d been flattered when Maya Ellis Lane’s team had contacted her for the rights to use her video. The extra money was nice, but it was the merchandise they’d given her, including a personalized copy ofSolitary, that thrilled her and led her to make a monumental mistake.
She’d shot a video of herself dancing with the merchandise, which garnered twice the attention as the first. Now she wanted solitude and to unpack the boxes she’d not finished going through weeks ago.
Hopefully, the grantor wouldn’t be upset their generous donation had gone unpacked for so long. That was all she needed—something else for the library board to come down on her for.Sure.Like they were upset with her. It seemed she was the only one upset for being so irresponsible.
Her mood improved as she methodically opened the boxes, cataloged the books in the system, and placed them on the shelves for further processing. This was her purpose, not going viral.
Two hours later, she smiled as she logged the last book. All accounted for.Good.Earlier, she’d decided if anything was missing, she’d purchase a replacement, not wanting to admit to the distributor it’d taken her almost a month to take inventory.
As she was breaking down the boxes, a noise caught her attention, so she stopped and listened.
“Hello,” a voice called. “Anyone here?”
