Page 15 of A Home for Harmony (Blossoms #16)

WORKED IT OUT

“ H armony, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before,” Felicity said Monday morning. It wasn’t even seven yet, but Felicity was five hours ahead of her and on her lunch hour.

“Sometimes you just need another person to point it out. You’re doing a great job with your content. I love the video of you and the kids with your new puppy.”

“Thanks,” Felicity said. “It took a lot of editing to get Freddy to stop yelling at the puppy to play with him. I don’t need my followers to say I’m abusing the dog.”

“Freddy is four,” she said. “He wants to play just like your puppy does.”

Felicity laughed. “He does, but the puppy needs to nap and my son doesn’t understand that a small puppy can’t do the things he wants.”

“Puppies aren’t all about the good fun things,” she pointed out.

But she knew it’d fall on deaf ears because Felicity had dollar signs in her eyes and wanted to earn money on social media. She had a way to go to get to that point so she was investing money to see what she could improve on.

Unfortunately, Felicity’s life was pretty suburban and not in a good way. More like a stable, reliable one that didn’t always draw the numbers to bring in revenue.

“I thought for sure getting Jack would help with views. Bringing the puppy home from the shelter worked. I even tried to have it emulate what went viral for you.”

And there was the forced smile on her face.

So many people tried to do that and it never worked.

Sometimes the harder you tried, the more viewers saw right through it.

“It’s hit or miss,” Harmony said. “Keep trying. But focus more on keeping things tight.”

“I know,” Felicity said. “It just burns me that Margo got so many views on her puppy videos eight months ago.”

“Margo?” she asked.

“Margo’s Madness,” Felicity said. “She has four kids and got two puppies at the same time. She talks about the madness in her house. It’s never clean. You can see it in the background. Her kids are often fighting or yelling too.”

Harmony smirked. “She’s showing real life,” she said.

“Sometimes that is more attractive to other mothers. Did you think about that? I know there is a large population out there that wants to live through someone else who they think has the perfect life. But there is also a large number who want to know that they aren’t alone. It’s just a thought.”

“So you think I should change my image?” Felicity asked.

This was where things got touchy.

She never promised to make anyone successful. They were on their own for that and signed enough forms that Harmony was only instructing them on content—that may or may not attract more views—or how to better make it visible.

Trends even to look for.

“I think you should be yourself,” she said. “Or you should ask yourself what you want to accomplish with your videos.”

“I want to make money off of them,” Felicity said bluntly. “But I’m not sure how to do it.”

“It’s not easy,” she said, keeping her smile in place.

“It takes work and it takes a lot of luck on top of it. Imagine what you want your viewers to think of when they see your videos and then ask yourself if you see that. If you don’t, then try again.

I’m here if you have questions on the videos themselves, but I can’t help much with what you decide to shoot. ”

“I know,” Felicity said, frowning. “It’s just not fair. Margo is such a bitch. The things she says are so stupid and rude and everyone loves it.”

Because not everyone wanted to see people being so prim and proper and forced like Felicity was trying to do, but she’d never in a million years say that.

Felicity’s true colors were showing now with her guard down.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you there,” she said. “I haven’t seen her videos, but I will check her out.”

“Thanks,” Felicity said. “Let me know your thoughts on them.”

“Sure,” she said. But she’d keep it professional.

She disconnected the call and put her head back, then stretched her arms and went downstairs to get some breakfast.

“I heard you talking upstairs,” Erica said when she walked into the kitchen. “That’s early for you.”

“A call in London,” she said. “Felicity took an early lunch to make it from her office.”

“Ahhh,” Erica said. “You sounded like you were talking through your teeth.”

“Hardly that,” she said, laughing. The last thing she needed was for clients to think she was losing patience. She never did, but it annoyed her at the reason Felicity was upset.

“But it didn’t go the way you wanted?” Erica asked.

Her head went back and forth. “Another client that wants to make hundreds of thousands of dollars filming videos of their kids. She even got a puppy hoping for more views, which she got short term, but not what she’d hoped.”

“Not everyone is likeable enough,” Erica said.

“That’s my feeling exactly. She’s acting very forced, and it’s obvious. The kids don’t want to be part of it either. I almost feel sorry for them.”

“Are they being abused?” Erica asked.

“No, not at all. It’s just they want to be kids and she wants them to be perfect little pupils.”

“Oh,” Erica said. “She’s like Mom.”

She pointed her finger. “That’s it exactly! Maybe that is why I sounded as if I was talking through clenched teeth.”

“Has Mom been a pain this week?” Erica asked.

“No more than normal,” she said. “But we visited for Thanksgiving and she knew we weren’t going for Christmas.”

“I know,” Erica said. “But anytime we spend a holiday with Dad over her, she gets annoyed.”

“I’m sure Theo got the worst of it this year with Daisy being pregnant.”

“It’s giving us a reprieve,” Erica said, smiling. “So I’ll take it. How was your weekend?”

“Since you asked,” Harmony said, strutting by her sister to the fridge. She opened the door and slapped down a package of bacon on the counter. “I got me some this weekend.”

Erica looked at her as if her sister thought she was going to cook until she wiggled her eyebrows.

“Nooooooo,” Erica said. “When? Tell me about it. That’s so unlike you this early.”

“I know,” she said all giddy. “How much time do you have before you have to work?”

Erica looked at her watch. “I don’t have any calls scheduled this morning, so we’re good.”

“Thank God, because I’ve got sooooo much to say.”

“That sounds good. Start anywhere,” Erica said.

“I won’t go into too many details about spending the night with him.”

“You stayed the whole night?” Erica asked.

“I did,” she said, grabbing her sister’s hands and jumping up and down. Erica joined her for a few hops and they laughed.

“Did you know it was going to happen?”

“No,” she said. “Not at all. We went to dinner and were talking. We got talking about my career again.”

“Yikes,” Erica said. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“It won’t be,” she said. “We worked it out. I asked him if it was important what someone that he was with thought of his career and he said yes.”

“Good for you,” Erica said.

“He admitted he had a biased opinion because of his daughter, but then had a better appreciation of what I did or was trying to do. That it’s not my sole source of income—my sponsors.

I didn’t tell him it was the bulk of it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t live off my other business. My goal is to be there.”

She wanted the sponsors to only be a quarter of her revenue. She didn’t want to have to rely on that and get greedy.

It’s not what she wanted in life. Not because her mother looked down on it. Or anyone else.

But because she only fell into it and was riding it to funnel money into what she really hoped to do.

To be her own boss and prove she could do it on her own.

“You’re doing a great job, Harmony,” Erica said. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“I know,” she said. “And I’m not. Back to Micah. Do you want to see a picture of him?”

“You know I do,” Erica said.

Her sister moved over to get her coffee that she’d had brewing and Harmony ran up to get her phone and returned with it.

“Here he is. He took this Saturday morning while he was cooking.”

“Oohhh,” Erica said. “Yeah, he’s hot.”

“Isn’t he?” she asked. “He doesn’t even look old, does he?”

Erica grabbed her phone and zoomed in. “There might be a gray hair there on his chin.”

“Stop,” she said, grabbing her phone back. “I promised to only show this to you and Daisy.”

“You’re going to tell Daisy?” Erica asked. “That means she’ll tell Theo.”

“That’s fine,” she said. “We aren’t keeping it a secret, but he’s not telling his daughter or anything.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“I’m okay with it. It was two dates.”

“And sex,” Erica said.

“Lots and lots of sex.”

“Okay,” Erica said. “Now you’re bragging.”

“I have to brag a little. You’ve been getting it for months while I’m playing with Mr. Pinky.”

Erica put her hands on her ears. “I can’t hear you when you talk about your toy.”

“Don’t be a stick in the mud,” she said. “But you get my point.”

“I do,” Erica said. “You look really happy.”

“I am,” she said. “So happy. I’m not sure what is going to happen or where we’ll go or end up, but as I told him—one day at a time.”

“That’s how you live your life,” Erica said. “Not everyone can.”

“If he can’t, then he’s not the one for me,” she said. “Because no one should have to change completely for another person.”

“Everyone changes a little, Harmony. Just remember that.”

“I will. I don’t have a problem with it. That is part of taking it one day at a time. I’m already going to keep reminding him of those things. I know it.”

“Do you think you’re going to have to put a lot of work into it?” Erica asked, wincing.

“I’m not sure, but if I do, I will. It will be worth it. I just know it.”

“You always know what is right for you,” Erica said.

“That’s right, I do.”

She just hoped she did this time too.