Chapter 20
SHELBY
Everything was going better than planned.
Shelby wanted to pinch herself. She and Jim were collaborating seamlessly.
Miranda was taking direction well, and the photos and videos of the parade were sweet and charming.
She had plenty she could work with. Maybe this was going to work.
Maybe Miranda had the potential to be a brand influencer after all.
The schedule for the remainder of the day was dizzying, though.
She consulted her calendar. First there was the costume contest, followed by the pie-eating contest. There were four stages throughout downtown and the festival grounds, each with different bands and performances throughout the evening.
Tonight was the Fall Feast—a ticketed harvest dinner under the stars.
An organic farm dinner outside was social media gold.
She couldn’t wait to capture that, and she wasn’t going to complain about having a chance to sit next to Pete for dinner.
Speaking of Pete, she spotted him and Elise scrolling furiously on his phone as the parade ended. Was it her imagination, or did he look pissed?
She waved with her fingers.
In response, he scowled, pointed to his screen, and shook his head.
What did that mean?
She was lost.
He was obviously upset.
That was evident by his rigid body language and the hard scowl.
But why?
Unfortunately, she couldn’t go talk to him because her phone rang at that moment. It was her boss, Nadine.
Why was she calling now?
Something must be very wrong.
Her mind immediately went to every worst-case scenario.
Had her mom’s creditors tracked down her workplace? What if they’d shown up at the office, trying to find her? What if Nadine was going to fire her?
Panic splintered across her chest. Goose bumps erupted on her arms.
This couldn’t be good. Nadine never called.
She scanned the crowd for Jim but couldn’t see him.
Great.
She was on her own.
“It’s Shelby,” she said, answering the call and stepping away from the dwindling crowd.
“Shelby. Good. Glad I caught you. Well done. Very well done.” Nadine’s voice was bright and enthusiastic.
“You and Jim are killing it. Two hundred and fifty thousand views in an hour and climbing. You’re on your way to another million.
This has exceeded our expectations. We already have had four new advertisers reach out about partnerships with Miranda. ”
What? Shelby glanced around her, as if she were suddenly the person being filmed. Was this a joke? What was Nadine talking about?
“I know you and Jim are busy, so I won’t keep you.
I just had to personally call you to say congratulations and keep up the good work.
We’re watching the campaign closely, and I like what I’m seeing.
If this is indicative of your vision, I’ll be eager to have you formally share your strategies and results at the final team interview next week.
” Nadine hung up before Shelby could even process the call.
Shelby stood on the corner, dumbfounded.
The photos Jim posted have already garnered a quarter of a million views?
No chance.
Not that she was downplaying her abilities, but she knew social media trends. Sweet pics and short video introduction clips didn’t go viral.
Jim was heading straight toward her.
“What did you post?” Shelby spat out before he could get a word out. She heard her accusatory tone, but couldn’t help it. They had a plan, and he’d obviously gone rogue and she had a sinking suspicion she knew why.
“What?” Jim pulled a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it in his mouth.
“What did you post on Miranda’s page?” she repeated, opening the app on her phone, not even trying to hide the irritation in her tone.
Jim was trying to get her promotion. She couldn’t let that happen.
What if he were the other candidate still in the running?
That had to be why Nadine had sent them both to Half Moon Bay.
It was the only explanation that made sense.
“Everything we discussed.” Jim sounded nonchalant. He grabbed more candy. “Want one?”
“Put your candy away. We need to figure out what the hell is going on.” Shelby scrolled through the first gallery of pictures like her life depended on it. Everything was fine. He’d used the filter, the hashtags, her suggested text, and he’d tagged their ad partners.
“What’s the problem?” Jim asked as she reviewed the first video clip.
It was also fine.
That didn’t make sense. How had Miranda garnered that many views?
“I just got a call from Nadine Hendricks,” Shelby said, clicking onto the next video. Instantly, she knew this was the one.
“I know. I got a text from her, too,” Jim said with a broad smile, sucking on the hard candy. “They’re very pleased. Did you hear we have four new potential advertising partnerships?”
Shelby clenched her jaw so hard it hurt her cheeks. The video was the exact opposite of her branding goals. Miranda fumbled with her phone, trying to get a view of a potential date for Pete. Shelby had been on the other end of the call. Why had Jim filmed this? “You posted this?”
“Yep. I told you we wouldn’t have a problem with Miranda going viral again. She’s such a natural. Every mom, just like I said. She resonates because she’s not trying to be anyone other than herself. Have you seen the comments yet? People love her and Pete.”
No wonder Pete was glaring at her like he was out for blood.
“But we discussed the aesthetic,” Shelby said, wondering how much of Jim’s affable nature was real. Was this his technique? Was he intentionally trying to sabotage her efforts? Block her from the promotion?
Had she read him wrong?
Maybe he wasn’t a nice guy.
Maybe this was all an act.
Of course, he would take full credit for this new video going viral.
Damn.
He’d outplayed her.
Was all of it a lie?
The whole shtick about being happy in his career. Not wanting to keep rising up the corporate ranks?
Had he set her up?
She couldn’t believe she’d been so na?ve.
Her bosses might be happy with his results, but Shelby wasn’t going to let him get away with this. No way. She’d worked too hard for the promotion. It belonged to her. She needed it. And Jim Cole wasn’t going to win.