Page 87 of Between the Lines

She had her laptop open, phone beside her and a glass of iced tea on the side table. Reviewing comments wasn’t her favorite task, but it was part of the job now that she was a paid influencer. Her level of engagement mattered, at least to her, and she wanted to keep a finger on the pulse of what people were responding to, as well as interact with those who’d commented.

As much as she could anyway. There were a lot of comments. Her announcement video with Luminelle had taken off faster than she’d expected. But the unboxing video had blown up. Comments stacked up in neat little lines as she scrolled.

So happy for you!

This makes so much sense for Luminelle.

Your skin looks incredible. BUYING!

Well deserved.

Jealous! Off to add to cart.

Paige smiled despite herself. She’d known this partnership was the right move, but it still felt good to have that instinct validated. As she scrolled through the comments, she tapped a few hearts, replied to a couple of longtime followers by name, thanked someone who said she’d bought the cleanser already.

Then she saw a comment attached to a name she hadn’t expected. Not in plain sight like that.

Darcy Lane.

Paige went still. The comment was recent. Very recent. Posted less than two minutes ago. No emojis. No congratulations. Just one line, sitting there quietly among all the enthusiasm.

Interesting partnership. I suppose it helps when people don’t know the whole story.

Paige stared at it, her stomach dropping like she’d just hit the downslope on a terrifying roller coaster. The nerve of that woman.

She took a breath and blew it out, doing her best to get rid of her gut reaction. Her next instinct was disbelief. Not that Darcy would comment, but that she would do it here. So publicly. Using her real name. Where anyone could see it. Where it could be screenshotted, shared, dissected.

Discussed.

Her second instinct was anger. Hot and sharp, flaring in her chest before she could stop it. Her third was something colder.

So this is how you’re going to play it, she thought. This is really what you think is a smart move? Doing this publicly? You really think you’re above it all, don’t you?

She didn’t respond. Not yet. She needed to think and digest and, at some point, talk to Graham. And the Queen Bees.

She tapped Darcy’s name, half-expecting the account to disappear or be locked down, but it was there. Only a few posts and all of them yoga videos. Not of her, though. Reposts. Just enough activity to look legitimate.

Paige went back to the comment thread and sat there for a long moment, listening to the faint hum of the ceiling fan, the distant sound of a dog barking outside. The soft ticking of the clock on the side table. The house felt very still.

Darcy hadn’t revealed anything really. She’d just suggested she could.

And that, Paige knew, was the point.

Darcy wanted to show she had some kind of power over Paige.

Paige picked her phone up, scrolled to the comment, and took a screenshot. Then another on her laptop, just to be safe. She thought about deleting the comment but didn’t. Not yet. Let it sit, she decided. Let Darcy think she’d gotten away with something.

Paige leaned back and let out a breath.

So far, she’d refused to let Darcy push her into anything. She wasn’t about to start now. But this? This felt like escalation. This was escalation. And Paige wasn’t going to pretend otherwise. She was still sitting there when her phone rang.

Randi’s name lit up the screen.

Paige closed her eyes for a brief second before answering. She could guess what this was about. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Mom.” Randi didn’t bother with a greeting. Her voice was tight, controlled in that way Paige recognized immediately. Anger held in check by effort. “Why is there a comment on your Luminelle post implying you’re hiding something? Why haven’t you deleted that nonsense?”

Paige sat up straighter and picked up her iced tea, though she didn’t drink it. “I figured that was why you were calling.”