Page 51 of Fake It Till You Make It

“See.” Amarie beamed. “You taught me something I didn’t know. That’s the content that your TikTok followers can use. Now back to Leah’s question. Each of you has created an individual TikTok account, yes?”

Eli crossed those tanned arms over defined pecs. “Not me.”

“We know,” everyone said in unison.

“We’ll use each account to drive traffic to the Calvary Veterinary Clinic account and promote the bachelor auction. Except for Eli because he’s too stubborn to change his anti-establishment ways.”

“Worked for the establishment as a soldier in uniform. There’s nothing anti about miliary service.”

“I know, grumpy pants. It’s what we civilians call a joke.” Amarie patted his hand. “The military and the federal government are dinosaurs when it comes to information technology. Let’s move on, shall we? Now what are your TikTok handles? I’ll follow each of you. Call them out.”

“MamaCalvary.”

“NoahTomCat.”

Tobias sighed. “SimplyTobias.”

“And you, Amarie?” Leah asked.

“I’m PerkyLateBloomer.”

They all paused. “That doesn’t seem right,” Noah said.

“She is perky.” Eli smirked.

Flattered by their appreciation of her skills, she said, “It’s totally true. If you really knew me, you’d get it. Trust me, my best friend, Vali, and I have battled, likeReady Player One, to annihilation about my handle. We have agreed to disagree. So, we just need a thirst trap.”

“A what?” Eli asked, her online persona forgotten.

“A thirst trap is a choreographed or deliberate attempt to entice or seduce the viewer to watch a segment of digital content till completion.”

Eli threw up his hands. “Why are we doing this? Why do we need all of this?”

Frankly, they didn’t have time to waste. “Quit barking already.” Amarie huffed. “It’s gonna—Oh geesh, I sound like you now.” She started again, without the West Virginia dialect. “It will take more than the women and menin Service and the surrounding counties to come up with the kind of money that we—I mean you—need to stop the foreclosure process and pay my fee.”

“You’re charging him?” Noah asked.

“A percent of the proceeds,” she proudly confessed.

“Good for you.” Leah beamed. “Don’t let them get the milk before buying the cow.”

“Yes,” Amarie said, “whatever that means. No free tit pulls.”

“You mean teat.”

“I do?” Amarie questioned.

“Yeah, you do.” Tobias chuckled.

“You go around saying tits, all the guys are going to know you’re either from the city or think you’re offering something.” Noah waggled his brows.

“Amarie’s pretending to be my investment partner to stop the Pendletons circling and running all our customers off—”

“And bidders,” Leah added. “Lourdes might stir up trouble for you boys with the ladies. Especially now with so many of the mountain folks dropping in on their way into town.”

“That, too.” Eli nodded. “Maybe a few public business meetings will keep the people focused on the clinic’s value, so we can concentrate on work.”

“I’m good with the added attention,” Noah said, rubbing his palms together.