Page 33

“Wh—” TJ opens and closes his mouth, but no words come out. His brain seems to have forgotten how to form coherent words.
Stop this!he wants to shout, to beg.Stop digging, stop rousing people’s curiosity, stop whatever it is you’re trying to do, because I cannot afford another catastrophe.
“Very good, eh?” Vera says. “Now, Aimes tell me if I get one million view, I get pay two thousand dollars. Just for ten-minute work! I can get use to this.”
“That’s not—it doesn’t work like that. You haven’t monetized this particular video,” TJ hears himself saying. What is he blathering on about? Who cares about monetizing videos right now? Especially when said video is about Xander Lin?
“Okay, you are my manager, so you can manage the money part, simple.”
“I’m not your manager,” he croaks.
Vera looks at him quietly for a second, disappointment crossing her face. TJ feels like a little boy who has broken his mother’s favorite bowl. “TJ,” Vera says quietly, and TJ wants to wail like a toddler, “I am telling you I am a star. If you don’t manage me, I go to someone else and then you will regret. But I am giving you chance because I like you.”
“Hell, if he doesn’t do it, we will,” Lomax calls out from the doorway.
TJ cranes his neck to see Lomax and Kit peering at them from outside, both of them with half-eaten pork buns in their hands. “These are so good,” Kit says.
“Yeah,” Lomax says, “and that video you did is awesome. You’re right, lady, you are a star.”
Vera smirks and covers her mouth with one hand. “Oh, you young people really know how to make an old woman feel good about herself.”
TJ gives her a flat look, like who is she trying to fool? He’s only known Vera for a very short time, but already he knows that bashfulness is not an emotion Vera is familiar with.
“Did you make these from scratch?” Kit says through a full mouth.
“Yes.”
“Even the dough?” Kit says.
“Oh yes, of course.”
Kit and Lomax exchange a glance, and TJ has to keep himself from groaning out loud again. He knows that look. They’re excitedabout Vera, and he can’t blame them. There is nothing quite like footage of someone kneading dough to drive viewers insane. Especially when that someone is a grandmotherly figure like Vera. He can already see that Vera will, indeed, become a social media sensation. People would watch her gently kneading dough and chopping vegetables in the wee hours of the night for some comfort. Hell, TJ would’ve been one of those people if only he didn’t know her personally and she weren’t trying to ruin his entire life. He needs to do something. He can’t just let Kit and Lomax run with this, not when his life is on the line.
“Okay, Vera,” TJ says, “I’ll take you on.”
“Aw, man,” Lomax says, “seriously?”
“A minute ago, you weren’t interested,” Kit says. “What happened?”
TJ shakes his head. “She makes the dough from scratch.”
“Come on,” Kit groans. “Let us do this, you know we’d do her justice.”
Yeah, that’s the problem,he wants to say. But to them, he says, “I have the time. I don’t have that many clients anymore.”
Kit’s and Lomax’s expressions soften, turning into ones of sympathy, and TJ hates himself for using his trump card with them. “Okay, boss,” Lomax says. He turns to Vera. “You’re in good hands, Vera. But if you ever need anything, any tips about social media…”
“Or an extra stomach if you cook too much food,” Kit adds.
“Yeah, or that,” Lomax says, “you know where to find us.”
Vera laughs. “Don’t worry, I feed you well.”
As soon as Lomax and Kit leave, TJ releases a sigh of relief. He sags back in his seat, exhausted.
“Okay, so where I sign?” Vera says.
TJ bites his lip. But before he can answer, his cell phone rings. The screen says,Roosevelt Middle School. “Oh no,” he mutters. In the split second that it takes him to pick up the phone, his heart rate has somehow managed to double. “Hello?”