Page 14 of Hooked
She regularly brought in a small side income with product placements and scored plenty of freebies from growing brands. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to feed her shopping habit, and it was getting a little bigger every month.
“Hey!” Emmie set her purse on the extra chair and sat down. “Why do you look mad?”
“I’m not.” She put down her phone. “I’m not. I’m just…”
“Online drama?”
“Always.” She slid her phone in her handbag and looked around the café. “It’s slow enough Daisy should be able to join us.”
“Cool.” Emmie stretched her neck and rubbed her eyes. “I was shelving used stuff today. My eyes are killing me.”
“You should have worn your glasses.”
“I know.” Emmie sniffed and wiped her tears with a napkin. “I should know better by now, but I’ve been taking antihistamines because of the trees, so I didn’t think that much about the extra dust, and I just—”
“There’s a company in the city that asked for my résumé.” The knot in her stomach loosened as soon as she said the words, but a lump settled in her throat.
Emmie blinked. “The city? What city?”
“San Francisco of course.”
Emmie kept blinking. It was like she’d been caught in a loop.
Daisy sat down while Emmie was blinking. “What’s wrong with your eyes? Did you forget to take your antihist—”
“Tayla’s moving back to San Francisco,” Emmie blurted. “She’s leaving us.”
Daisy turned to Tayla. “What?”
“I’m not moving,” Tayla said. “Or… I don’t know. They just asked me for a résumé. They didn’t offer me a job or anything.”
Emmie’s eyes were pleading. “But they will because you’re awesome. And then you’ll leave us.”
Daisy’s voice was quiet. “What’s the job?”
“It’s for a fashion start-up. They’re expanding—”
“Shit. You’re leaving.” Daisy sighed. “Have you told Jeremy yet?”
“I’m not leaving! You’re not listening. Theyjustemailed me back to ask for a résumé. They haven’t even asked for an interview yet. I have no tech experience, you guys. I’m probably the last person—”
“Do they have a website?” Daisy broke in. “This start-up?
“Yeah. It’s called SOKA. It’s kind of like Etsy, but curated international fashion only. Kind of midsized companies and individuals. Fair trade stuff. Handmade things. But from all over the world.”
“Do they have an app yet?” Emmie asked.
“That’s what they’re developing right now. That’s why I may be completely out of this. I’m not a tech person.”
“They already have tech people,” Emmie said. “That would be the first thing they lined up. If they’re advertising for new team members, they want sales. They want marketing. They want word of mouth. You’re brilliant at all that. They’re going to love you, Tayla.”
Daisy gave her a sad smile. “You’ll be perfect for them. You’re smart and fashionable and business-minded. You connect with people. You’re amazing at reading trends.”
Tayla put her head in her hands. “You guys are acting like they’ve already offered me a job. They haven’t. There are a million people out there who are going to want to work with them. Literally people all over the world. There is no guarantee they’re going to be interested in a chubby Instagram model currently living in the middle of nowhere.”
“Metlin is hardly the middle of nowhere. And plus-sized fashion is one of the least-served segments of the marketplace.” Emmie was still wiping her eyes. “If they’re smart, they’re going to snap up you up.”
“Are you crying about this?” Tayla said. “I’m not dying, Em. I have a job prospect. That’s it.”
