Page 27 of Sharing Shadow Secrets (High Five Novella #6)

W alking back to my apartment alone, I wipe away a tear.

Here I am ending something really good, but I do need to focus on making money.

I’m legit stressed about that. Brandon’s showing me that he will be a distraction.

Random pop-ins, being too amazing. Him and his ex are messy.

For his body to react the way it did just from a text …

I don’t think he’s ready for this either.

This is the right decision.

I hope I didn’t just make the biggest mistake of my life.

Almost Two Weeks Later

Thursday, August 7th

“ T aylor,” Nicholas says, almost in a scold at our kick-off meeting in his office at High Five. “We are not paying a thousand dollars to have a model pretend to bite people.”

I’ve never been in this office before. It’s all wood: ceiling, floors, walls. It feels like a time capsule. When he renovated the bar, he obviously didn’t touch this room.

“I wasn’t planning on paying anyone,” I defend. “I thought you or Aaron or one of the other guys here would be willing to do it.”

“No. We are not doing this stuff anymore.”

“Why?” I press.

“It was different when we were single …”

I laugh softly. “That reminds me … I need to add matchmaker to my resume.”

He chuckles. “If you want a vampire, you’re gonna need to find someone to do it, or we can just not do it.”

“We have to do it! For the content,” I say, leaning forward in the leather chair across from his desk.

“This type of stuff is what makes people click.” Nicholas tilts his head back, and I double down.

“Video content performs better than photos. That’s why we need action.

The action is the bite. People will share that on their social media, which leads to views and follows.

This stuff, as gimmicky as it is, is vital for the overall social media presence. ”

“I have to sell a lot of drinks to hire some model to pretend to bite people.”

“It’s not about the evening’s drink sales. It’s about awareness. So people know that your bar exists when they come to Lake Geneva on vacation. Making it a ‘must’ on their agenda. It's about the brand: that High Five is always a good time.”

He grumbles, but I think it’s a noise of agreement out of spite.

“It’s advertising for the future, and a grand is really nothing, especially when you think about pay-per-click and paid ads. A thousand dollars gets you almost nowhere in so many different verticals. In my opinion, this is the best use of the money.”

Nicholas chuckles. “You’ve made your case. I don’t think you’re wrong. But … know that no one at the bar will be your model anymore.”

“You should focus on recruiting good-looking people who want to do it then, so that you don't have to pay for models,” I say, raising my hands playfully.

“Or you can work a model into all of your future ideas.”

“So I’m guessing you don’t want to hear about my thoughts on there being a really cute Santa and Mrs. Claus at this year’s Christmas pop up …”

“Absolutely not,” he says firmly, although he’s smiling.

“Come on! It would be so cute. I mean, it’s how you two met.”

“No.”

That tone. I’m not pressing any further today.

“Okay, okay, I might still ask you about it in one month from now, because I really like this idea.”

Nicholas laughs, then looks down at the printed timeline for the event.

“Something I haven’t told you yet,” I start, and he groans. “You will like this—a girl I know who does marketing for a boutique hotel in Chicago will gift the winners of the costume contest a weekend getaway. So, one for the individual winner and one for best couple’s costume.”

Nicholas nods, approving.

“The only catch is that we have to put the hotel’s logo on all of our event graphics, tag them in posts about the event, and give them a shoutout when we announce the winners.”

“Easy enough. That’s a great prize, and it doesn’t cost me anything, which I like.” He picks up the timeline, looking hesitant. “This all looks good. But my friend Chad wants to talk to you about something. He wants to do something during the event but won’t tell me.”

I hope his friend isn’t trying to do magic or something stupid during the party.

“Honestly, I think he wants to propose to his girlfriend,” Nicholas says with a smile, like he is cool with this idea.

“If it’s something stupid, can I tell him no?”

“This is your event. You can say no to any idea that comes out of his mouth.” Nicholas looks thoughtful for a moment. “Keep in mind Chad owns a boat rental company, and he’s intrigued by the results that you’ve gotten for me. He also wants to chat with you about all the social media stuff.”

Chad. The first impression is not great based on the name alone, but he is friends with Nicholas, which helps his case.

“We’ll chat. I really need more clients, like right now.” I sigh.

“You’ll get them. I’d be happy to sing your praises if people want to hear from a client.”

“Thanks. That means a lot.”

“You driving back to the city now?”

I nod.

“We can do virtual meetings in the future.”

“I felt that this first one should be in-person since we’re official now.” I giggle, feeling a rush of satisfaction at having full access to High Five’s social media accounts again now that he’s done with the agency.

“It’s always great to see you.”

I stand, considering if I should shake Nicholas’s hand or something. “Bye!” I wave, walking out of his back office and through High Five. “Bye, Claire.” I wave at the red-headed bartender.

In the rental car, I exhale. That meeting went exactly how it was supposed to go.

Now I need to find a model to be our vampire.

Popular TikTok audio begins playing in my head.

I am definitely not mad about how I’ll have to scroll through thirst trap content to find a hot guy to work the event.

It will be good to get a guy with a decent following too for the cross promotion.

Starting the car, Brandon pops into my thoughts.

We’ve only exchanged a couple of texts, but I feel like texting him.

I want to tell him about the meeting and potential new client and also share that I’m in Lake Geneva, where we met.

Blankly staring out of the car, I decide to text him something funny.