Page 42 of Zero Pucks Given
Grayson groaned, but glanced at me. Was he looking at my chest? His eyes lingered there a moment before cutting back to Bob.
“Three more dates,” Bob repeated. “You two seemed to fake it well enough at the Spurs game. Just keep doing that a few more times. Then we can have your fling end amicably. I’ve got a team of interns brainstorming interesting ways to make that happen.”
“Why would I agree to this?” Grayson asked.
“Besides the fact that you signed a contract and have to do whatever we want?” Bob replied bluntly.
Grayson clenched his jaw and he gripped the bench tightly with both hands, but he said nothing.
“We’ve asked a lot of you, so we have a compromise,” Bob said. “Your contract requires ten media appearances per year.”
“I’m well-the-fuck aware.”
“If you go on three more dates, they won’t just count for this year,” Bob explained. “They will also count against next year’s requirements. So you’ll only need to do seven.”
Grayson’s eyes widened. He would have made a bad poker player, because he was obviously intrigued.
“You now have my full, undivided attention,” he said.
Both of them turned to look at me.
“What’s in it for me?” I asked.
Bob grinned. “I’m glad you asked! Let’s discuss your TikTok side hustle.” He held up an iPad that I hadn’t noticed. “This graph shows the weekly amount of engagement on your channel. You can see how flat it was prior to your two dates with Grayson.”
“My popularity shot up after the dates. We already knew that. Also, you don’t need to mansplain my own channel metrics to me.”
Grayson snorted at that. I gave him a grateful look.
“Then you know the next slide I’m going to show you.” Bob swiped to the next screen. “You peaked thanks to the dates—and, more specifically, your kiss appearing on SportsCenter. But in the two weeks since then, your views have slowly begun declining. Not by a lot, but the slide is undeniable. Each new video you post is alittleless successful than the previous one. You’re coasting, Ms. Harper. Running on fumes.”
I tried to keep my face blank, but Bob had called my bluff. I’dspent the past two weeks watching my views slowly decline every day. I was stillvastlymore successful than I was before winning the contest, but I was terrified of sliding into irrelevance. It’s like I could feel my fifteen minutes of fame drying up.
Hearing Bob say it out loud was like having a knife twisted into my gut.
“More publicity means more views,” Bob said simply. “But we’re prepared to sweeten the pot for you. The Surge social media team will work with you on cross-promotion. We will repost or linkthreeof your videos, to be agreed upon by both parties.”
Now I knewmyeyes were widening like Grayson’s earlier. Even though the team was only a year old, the Surge has a powerhouse marketing team. Their social media presence was amilliontimes larger than my own. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if they reposted even a single video of mine.
“Five videos,” I negotiated.
Bob gave me an apologetic smile. “Three is the maximum amount we are prepared to do at this point. We are already upsetting our other sponsors by doing this much for someone whose brand is so… insignificant. No offense.”
“Offense taken,” I replied before glancing at Grayson. He didn’t look happy. “I’m in, as long as he is.”
His scowl deepened. “Don’t put this on me.”
“I don’t want to agree to something if you’re going to pout about it the entire time.”
“I have never pouted in my entire life.”
“You pouted plenty during the Spurs game,” I said. “You’re just good at hiding it.”
Grayson pursed his lips. Despite his excitement about the deal Bob offered, he looked like he wanted to say no. I resisted the urge to point out that he was very much pouting right now.
He turned away from me. “Fine.”
“Fine what?” Bob asked. “Say the words, just so you don’t try to weasel out of this later.”
