Page 45 of Unfiltered
“Clash,” Abby added.
“Altercation,” Ricki said.
“Quarrel,” Abby shot back.
“Row.” Ricki flipped her wrist toward Abby.
“Squabble.”
Blythe waved her arms and laughed. “Enough, you literary geeks.” She snapped her fingers. “Hey, that would be a great segment. I could throw out a word, and you two could have synonym wars.”
“I’m in.” Abby bounced on the balls of her feet as they took the last steps to Ricki’s car.
“Tempting.” Ricki threw open the hatch and dropped Abby’s packages into the back. “The answer is still no.” She smiled at Abby. “But I’d consider a duel off camera.”
Abby burst out laughing and pointed. Her reaction seemed a little over the top to Blythe, but linguistic humor wasn’t Blythe’s jam.
“Oh, no, I see how you slipped duel in so you’d get the last word, but it isn’t happening. Tiff.”
Ricki smirked. “I didn’t think you’d catch it. How about—”
“Stop.” Blythe pointed at Ricki and then Abby. “I’m not listening to you two all the way home.”
Ricki’s eyes danced with mischief. “Fine. I’ll stop sparring.”
“Game on.” Abby’s eyes twinkled. “The feud has just begun.”
“That’s it! Neither of you can speak to each other until we get home.”
Abby slid into the backseat of Ricki’s car, and Blythe surprised her by slipping in next to her.
Ricki glanced at them in the rearview mirror. “Am I a chauffeur now?”
“I thought I’d give you a taste of what my job is like,” Blythe said.
Ricki put the car in reverse. “It’d creep me out having people I don’t know behind me.”
“It’s all in the life of an Uber driver,” Blythe said.
A chill ran through Abby. She’d not considered what it must be like for Blythe picking up strangers in her car. At times today, she’d been irritated by Blythe’s obsession with taking videos wherever they went, interrupting their fun so Ricki could film it. But now it was making sense. Blythe needed to earn more money so she could get away from her dangerous job.
Abby made a silent commitment to be more gracious and understanding. “Explain to me how people make a living off of social media.”
Ricki groaned from the driver’s seat. “I’m just going to take a nap while she drones on.” She made a snoring noise after she said it.
“You’re driving, fool.” Blythe popped the back of Ricki’s head. “Besides, my spiel on social media for fun and profit is enlightening.”
“Maybe the first time I heard it.” Ricki made eye contact with Abby in the rearview mirror. “I’m shocked she hasn’t been over all this with you.”
“I didn’t want to scare her away.” Blythe rubbed her hands together and let out a diabolical laugh. “But now that I’ve got her captive, I can enlighten her all I want.”
“Enlighten?” Ricki shook her head. “If that’s what you call it.”
Blythe turned to Abby and met her gaze. “What would you like to know?”
“I keep hearing about professional creators, but I can’t figure out how they make money. I got some free stuff from Maya Ellis Lane’s PR department and a little cash, but not anything I could pay the mortgage with.”
“There’re several ways to monetize your content,” Blythe said, settling in to talk about one of her favorite topics. “Of course, getting in with a brand will make you money. Creators can make ten thousand a post.”
