Chapter Nine: Influencing for Dummies (a.k.a. Me)
Celia's first mistake was thinking she could avoid Beverly's influencer duties.
Her second mistake was underestimating Beverly's manager, a woman named Lila who had the persistence of a debt collector and the soulless smile of a tax auditor.
"Beverly, darling!" Lila cooed the next morning, barging into the mansion without so much as a knock. "We've got content to shoot today! Your followers are starving."
Celia, still in pajamas, blinked blearily. "Starving? What, do I feed them?"
Lila ignored her. "We'll start with a skincare reel, then a brunch vlog, and then—oh! You have a live Q&A tonight. Don't worry, I've already filtered the questions so you won't get ambushed."
Celia sat up straighter. "Ambushed? By who, CNN?"
Lila waved a hand. "By haters, obviously. But they keep your engagement high, so smile through it."
Celia's broke-girl soul shriveled. She used to hustle for bus fare, and now she was supposed to… sell serums to strangers online?
⸻
Step one was skincare.
Celia sat in front of a camera while a ring light blinded her. A bottle of moisturizer sat on the table like it was about to change the world.
"Okay," Lila said, clapping. "Introduce the product with passion. Remember, you're not just selling cream—you're selling dreams."
Celia stared at the jar. "Uh… hi. I'm Beverly. This is… cream. It makes your face slippery in a good way."
Lila gasped like someone had just insulted her ancestors. "No, no, no! More luxury! More elegance!"
Celia sighed, tried again. "This cream is… um… thicker than my ex's skull. Put it on your face, and maybe you'll glow so hard your enemies will go blind."
The cameraman snorted. Lila nearly fainted. "Cut! CUT! Beverly, please!"
Celia shrugged. "What? Honesty sells."
⸻
Next was brunch.
Celia was forced to sit at a cafe with two of Beverly's so-called "friends," girls who spoke exclusively in hashtags and passive-aggressive compliments.
"Beverly, babe, you look so… refreshed," one of them said, sipping a latte that cost more than Celia's old weekly grocery budget.
"Yeah," the other added, tilting her head. "Different. Did you get… work done?"
Celia smiled sweetly. "Yes. On my soul. Full transplant. Highly recommend."
The girls blinked, then laughed nervously like she'd told a joke they didn't understand but couldn't admit to.
As they snapped selfies, Celia stared at her plate of overpriced avocado toast and whispered, I should've just stayed dead.
⸻
By evening, she was back home for the dreaded live Q&A.
The ring light returned. Lila hovered off-camera, whispering, "Smile! Engage! Be lovable!"
Celia plastered on a grin and went live. Comments exploded across the screen.
User123: Omg Beverly you're glowing 😍
TeaSpiller: Didn't you faint at a party last week? Spill 👀
VanessaFanClub: When will you apologize to Vanessa??!!
Celia froze. "Apologize? For what, existing?"
The comments went wild.
SavageQueen: LMAOO she said EXISTING 💀
TeaSpiller: I'm living for this new Beverly
VanessaFanClub: She's mocking Vanessa AGAIN 😡 #CancelBeverly
Lila waved her arms frantically. "Move on! Move on!"
Celia leaned closer to the camera. "Hi, VanessaFanClub. Touch grass."
The chat exploded with laughing emojis.
Celia grinned. Maybe this wasn't so bad.
⸻
Her high didn't last.
An hour later, while scrolling through Twitter (because apparently Beverly lived online), Celia saw it:
#BeverlyExposed trending.
Her stomach dropped. Clicking it revealed a video clip—taken at brunch earlier that day—where she'd muttered "I should've just stayed dead."
But the clip had been edited to make it look like she was talking about Vanessa.
The comments were brutal.
VanessaStan: Beverly wishing death on Vanessa??? Cancel her.
DramaLlama: She's unhinged.
PrinceProtectionSquad: Prince deserves better than this mess.
Celia's jaw dropped. "WHAT?! I didn't even—oh, come ON!"
Vanessa's verified account chimed in with a single post:
"Some people never change. But thank you to those who support me through the hate. ❤️ #BeKind"
Celia threw her phone onto the bed and screamed into a pillow.
"This girl," she growled, muffled, "is going DOWN."
⸻
Meanwhile, in another corner of the city, Prince sat in his office. His assistant hovered nervously.
"Sir, should we release a statement defending Miss Beverly?"
Prince leaned back, scrolling through the trending tag, lips curling slightly.
"No," he said. "Let's see how she handles it."
But his eyes lingered on one screenshot of Beverly mid-laugh during the live Q&A, her eyes brighter than he'd ever seen them.
"She's different," he muttered. "And I intend to find out why."