Influence

Chapter 7

The stage was set. She would walk upon it and give everyone what they wanted. Goldie ran through the whole process in her head, the walk, the sultry looks towards cameras, the flirty turn to glance back over her shoulder to give them one more meaningful smile as she walked away. She'd done this before and would do it again. This was the middle of her plan. After contracts were signed and her platform built, and before that final burst into the stratosphere where fame and fortune became close friends who would never leave her side.

She felt it in the static charge of excitement lighting up the room. She tasted it as the cloud of expensive perfumes mingled like a toxic aphrodisiac on her tongue. This was Goldie's element and she was in it. She'd felt a part of this world since childhood when her mother signed her up for beauty pageants and dance classes. Where other girls had complained about their hair pulled tight into elaborate braids, pancake makeup, and dieting, Goldie had kept any misgivings in the part of herself that was small and undeserving of a voice. Her mother's reasons were selfish, of course, but that mattered little to the preadolescent version of Goldie. The more Goldie got something out of the pageantry and dance lessons and modeling gigs, the less her mother's motivations mattered.

Goldie used her mother too. Neither were blameless.

Now, her mother wasn't even here, but Goldie was. Goldie could strut and present her business to the world. Goldie could build up that business and it was all her own doing. Becca existed as her dependent now. Even Paul's role had become increasingly nominal. She'd thanked them for their inadequate parenting by buying them the luxurious apartment next to hers and keeping Paul on her payroll, but they were secondary characters now. Occasionally useful, but seldom required.

If Goldie had it her way, nearly everyone in her life would be that way. To make things easier for her to give back to her fans. To make herself selfless.

One day, her name would be an unquestionable force spoken with reverence and then she would achieve true freedom. Enlightenment, even. When people looked at her, they would see only light.

This was how she walked through Glamour days. A strutting beam of sunshine. A flirtatious smile and a kind face for her fans if they required it. She signed autographs and built up her upcoming brand. Not quite ready, still in production, but don't worry... in a few short weeks, she'd have a preview. Her own event, without the competition Glamour days presented from other influencers and cosmetics companies, but almost as big. Certainly, as important. That's the way people would see it. She'd already seen it. The outcome shined clearly in her mind. No one could beat out the sun.

Her Glamour Days entourage interpreted things differently. Ashley, Tiara, and Gretchen remained enthusiastic players. She remembered why she liked to keep them close. They were of this world. She'd modeled with all of them at one point. None had that spark that she had but there was nothing wrong with lesser suns. She loved them just as they were.

And then there was Tam and Jasper. Awkward Tam—this was so not her world. She was too new to understand the merits of gossip. Jasper didn't have Tam's excuse, but his behavior was just as obvious. Lately, he'd been throwing cold water on nearly everything she did.

"Are you jealous?" She asked him on the second day, after a meet and greet with fans that he'd excused himself from at the last minute.

His eyes flickered and he crossed his arms in front of him. Classic defensive stance.

"Who would I be jealous of?"

"Me. Duh. You're such a bluenose, Jasper, but honestly, you've taken it too far."

"If I knew what the hell a bluenose was, I might have the energy to feel offended."

"It's flapper slang for a killjoy. It means you do nothing but live to brood, even more than usual lately."