As an up-and-coming social media influencer, Sadie Dwyer has had enough of the expectations thrust upon her and is finally ready to start living life on her own terms. Goodbye cushy corporate finance job, goodbye Los Angeles, and hello fresh start...
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"Do you think we ordered enough?"
Whitney tucked her legs underneath her on my couch as I opened up the various cartons of Chinese food that'd just been delivered and grinned. "There's no such thing as too much Chinese, because it'll taste just as good tomorrow. And the next day."
"If you're hoping for leftovers, you better hope our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, because I'm starving," she said, reaching out and popping a pot sticker in her mouth before grabbing her carton of chow mein.
"Do you want me to put a movie on or something?" I asked, gesturing to the television I'd bought earlier this week as I grabbed my own food and settled into the space beside her. A purchase I'd felt good about knowing I was only a few days away from seeing the initial cheque from the Morris brothers land in my bank account. An unexpected source of income that would allow me to breathe easier for the next couple of months.
She shook her head, swallowing the large bite of food she'd shoveled into her mouth. "Leave the movie for after we eat," she said. Instead of taking another bite, she pulled up Instagram on her phone and brought up the story I'd posted a few hours earlier. "I'm more interested in the fact that you're either working with your supposedly hot landlords, or you've become their number one fan."
I snorted out a laugh. "Funny story actually..."
"You better start talking because, if I remember correctly, the last time we caught up you said, and I quote, 'I doubt I'll even interact with them much'." She raised her hands, using air quotes, before her eyes widened in a desperate plea for information. "And that was less than two weeks ago."
"Well, a lot has changed, starting with the fact that I happened to overhear them talking about the fact their pub hasn't exactly been getting any new business in the last little while, and competition is starting to increase in the city," I explained. "And maybe I spoke out and kind of schooled them on properly marketing themselves."
"Of course you did."
"And then suddenly I found myself agreeing to help them work on branding and marketing as a freelancer."
"Nuh-uh," she said, cutting me off. "None of that. Rewind and explain everything, because I need to understand how this happened. How did you giving a pair of men your unwanted opinion end with a job offer?"
"Honestly, I still don't fully understand it myself," I admitted, but I did as she asked. I told her about Finn initially showing up at my door and all but begging me to help them with the pub's marketing. How he'd lied—and I'd found out—that Rhett hadn't agreed to it and had no idea what his brother was doing. And then how Rhett had been the one to get me to agree to help.
As I spoke, it was somewhat comical to watch as Whitney's eyebrows incrementally rose in disbelief. "And you're working with them after that rollercoaster they put you through?"
