Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
After another minute, Phil emerged from under the bed and shot me a look. “Hey, buddy,” I said, as I got to my feet and scooped him up. “Want to go unpack some of your stuff? It’s getting close to your dinner time.”
I carried him to the living room, which had an amazing view of San Francisco’s skyline. The setting sun was reflecting off the skyscrapers, so I brought Phil out onto the balcony and held my phone at arm’s length. It took six tries to snap a selfie where my smile didn’t look forced.
After I went back inside, I put Phil on the couch and posted the photo to the cat’s page and mine. I’d been light on content today, so I’d have to make up for it this evening.
Since this was the main way I promoted my business, the hustle was never-ending. The internet was a fickle place, and most of my followers would forget all about me the moment I stopped generating content. I was so damn tired though, and not just today. At thirty-eight, I had to wonder how much longer I’d be able to keep this up.
But that was a debate for another time. Right now, I wanted to help Phil settle in, so I opened a box and located his favorite food. It turned out I’d broken all his dishes when I dropped one of the boxes, so I went into the kitchen and found a couple of white ceramic bowls. After I filled one with water and the other with food, I turned my attention to setting up his litter box and unpacking the rest of his things.
I ended up spreading Phil’s stuff from one end of the apartment to the other before dropping onto the bed in the spacious and stylish main bedroom. My friend Roger had done well for himself, no doubt about it. This whole apartment was nice. He was self-made, like me, and I had mad respect for how far he’d come since we first met.
It was the middle of the night in the UK, so I’d call him when he woke up. I wanted to thank him again for the use of the apartment, and I also wanted to see what he could tell me about my new roommate.
But now, there was work to do. With a sigh, I made myself climb off the very comfortable bed and find some decent lighting, so I could do a quick update for my followers.
Once I located a good spot in front of the gas fireplace, I peeled off my T-shirt and tossed it aside. I absolutely wasn’t above flashing some skin to keep the viewers interested. I jumped up and down a few times to get my energy up and my blood pumping. Then I raised my phone and began a live stream.
I hoped my smile looked convincing.
4
Tracy
After lingering over dinner with Vee and his housemates, I boarded a bus to take me back across town. It was empty on a Sunday night.
About two minutes into the trip, I gave in to curiosity and pulled up Instagram on my phone—not that I had an account, because this definitely wasn’t my thing. But I had access to my employer’s account, so I used that to log in.
A quick search produced Ever’s page, where his entire life was on display. The majority of his photos were taken at the gym, which figured since he worked in fitness. There were pictures of him with friends and clients, including a few famous faces, but no sign of any boyfriends, past or present. Not that it mattered…
I scrolled back to February to see if he’d posted anything about his hookup from hell—in other words, me. He hadn’t mentioned it, but there were several pictures from his trip to San Francisco. That weekend, he’d purchased a building to house his new gym. It was a boxy, three-story structure, which used to be a department store in the 1920s. He seemed excited as he took his followers on a video tour of the gutted interior and talked about his vision for the space.
After the tour concluded, I clicked on his most recent video, which he’d posted a couple of hours ago. He was holding the camera at arm’s length and turning in a slow circle to show off the apartment behind him as he exclaimed, “Hey fam, welcome to my new home for the next couple of months! Isn’t it awesome? Shout-out to my buddy Roger for letting me crash here until my place is ready. As I mentioned before, I’m having an apartment custom-built on the top floor of EverFit, my brand new, state-of-the-art fitness center, which will be opening in San Francisco this spring. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be here in this amazing city, and to be one step closer to my dream of creating the Bay Area’s hottest, most cutting-edge fitness destination. It’s going to be so much more than a gym. It’s a revolutionary approach to health and fitness, and—”