Page 120 of Wicked

She Zooms with her friend and roommate in NYC, and her dedication is ferocious.

We work late into the night, and as I try to perfect the business model, Raven and her pal do rolling Zooms.

I overhear some, and they are deep into social media marketing, or what some may call black magic. I know fashion marketing back to front, but the two woman use terms I’ve not even heard of.

They send footage back and forth, and I start to realize short form video is their weapon of choice. Reels, TikTok, X, Facebook, and YouTube are their preferred channels too.

Intrigued, I lean over my hard-working girl, and I see some of the videos.

The footage Raven has filmed has been converted into perfect slices of enjoyment, and as music and text build it up, I realize they’ve been making a stockpile of juicy tourism videos.

The videos are short, powerful, and entertaining. Often touching.

Finally, way after midnight, I drag Raven away from her computer. She is half-asleep and she has been working nonstop.

As I lay her down and kiss her nose, she doesn’t even have the energy to speak.

I pull the sheets up, and I hold her from behind. The little powerhouse does not have an off button, and again, the curvy beauty gains my respect.

The room is a bomb site, with printed papers, notes, cameras, hard drives, and schedules everywhere. We have both done well, but the big question is…

Will it work?

50

RAVEN

My instincts tell me to wake up, even if it’s still dark out. I worked late, and the few hours of sleep have done little. Walking naked from the bed, I retrieve my laptop. As I open it and slide back in front of Dante, I gasp. I do a double-take, and my tired eyes pop.

Parker and I spent six hours straight working on marketing, and we tricked everything online up. We did everything we could with cutting-edge social media connectivity and video content.

We had used every modern trick in the book and a few techniques Parker didn’t have time to explain to me.

The numbers I see in front of meblow me away.

We poured a huge amount of heat into chasing bookings, and flames should have built. The only thing is that a fire was roaring.

“Wake up!” I say, wide-eyed and mouth open. “Wake up!”

Dante stirs, and I rub my butt against his body.

As Dante awakens, we realize we’ve unleashed the beast. The theme park bookings are through the roof, and we’re on fire.

I feel excited and proud, and it also feels good me and Dante are creating something together. Even if it’s not just us, and well, private. It is kind of like our baby, only it’s not.

At all.

Over the coming days,we are all excited, and we work hard. I get to spend more time with Dante’s sister, Bianca, and his cool grandmother. They’re both gorgeously friendly and they’re both becoming friends.

As the theme park stabilizes and starts to run smoothly, it feels like we’re in the zone.

We work hard and fast the next day, and at full capacity, unplanned journalists arrive.

We’ve already had small local papers do articles on the theme park, even a national one. This, however, is unplanned.

Big vans with TV signs and satellite feeds are on them, and something feels off. I figure they cleared the visit with Dante, but as I stop on a raised grass area near the castle front with Tito, I take in the entire estate.

Something is wrong.

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