Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains (Victoria and Elijah) novel Chapter 187

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16:18 Fri, Aug 28

Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains

I tapped Brenda’s contact and hit call.

:

The line rang once. Twice. On the third ring, the call connected.

ཊྛི

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Immediately, a chaotic flurry of background noise bled through the speaker: shuffling papers, voices calling out across an office, the sharp click of high heels on hardwood, and a printer whirring.

“No, tell the editorial team we need those high–res proofs by three!” Brenda’s voice barked away from the receiver, before she finally pulled the phone to her ear with a heavy exhale.

“Hey, Adele.”

My voice shook slightly despite my best efforts.

“I read your email, Brenda. What am I supposed to do?”

Silence fell over the line for a long, heavy beat. The background chatter dimmed as Brenda stepped into her private office, closing her door.

I could picture her standing behind her mahogany desk, one hand resting on her hip, her lips pressed into a thin, unyielding line.

“Adele…” Brenda sighed loudly. “Look, it is what it is. Prisms sent over their quarterly engagement metrics this morning. They like your portfolio, but they’re terrified of signing talent who can’t convert their following into active buyers.”

Fresh tears welled up in my eyes, a lump tightening in my throat.

“So what does that mean for me? Am I just supposed to sit back and let Carla take the contract? I’ve given this agency everything, Brenda! I post consistently, I work with top photographers, I keep my image completely

clean!”

“Adele, calm down,” Brenda crooned, her tone softening into a sympathetic, motherly sigh.

“Listen to me. You’re on vacation. Take a deep breath, enjoy your trip with your friends, and when you get back to the city on Monday, we’ll sit down in my office and map this out.”

“No!” I snapped, the stubbornness flaring up in my chest. “No, Brenda, I want to hear it right now. I’m not sitting around for three days agonizing over this while Carla’s team is making moves. Tell me what I need to do so I can start working on a strategy today.”

Silence stretched over the phone again. Brenda let out a slow, deliberate breath.

“Fine,” she said flatly. “You want the brutal truth? Your page is boring, Adele.”

The word hit like a cold splash of water. I winced. “Boring?”

“Yes, boring,” Brenda repeated without sugarcoating it. “You post beautiful pictures of yourself in nice outfits at high–end restaurants. It’s clean, it’s elegant, and it’s completely indistinguishable from ten thousand other pretty girls on the internet. People don’t just follow aesthetics anymore–they follow stories. They want personal investment.”

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16:18 Fri, Aug 28

Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains

:

She paused, taking a sip of whatever was in her cup before continuing.

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“Look at Carla’s feed. She’s not even half the model you are on a runway, but her page has a narrative. She posts her daily drama, her personal life, her relationship ups and downs. Her followers feel like they know her. They’re glued to her profile because they want to see what happens next. You don’t give your followers anything to grip onto.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, staring down at the hardwood floor.

“So what are you suggesting I do? Start posting fake drama? Start airing out personal laundry?”

“I’m suggesting you give people a reason to care about Adele beyond a pretty face,” Brenda said firmly.

“Carla’s secret isn’t her talent–it’s her lifestyle narrative. You need a narrative, Adele. Something that draws people into your world and keeps them coming back every single day.”

“Like what?” I asked, my voice dropping into a frustrated whisper. “Give me an example.”

“Get a boyfriend,” Brenda said without missing a beat.

I froze. “What?”

“I’m dead serious,” Brenda pressed on, her voice picking up speed. “Relationship content is absolute gold right now. Soft–launch a romance, tease a couple aesthetic, post real, lived–in moments with someone attractive. People eat that up. It drives engagement through the roof. Couples content, high–profile dating, domestic aesthetic–it creates an instant narrative. Unless you’re planning on starting some high–stakes public feud, romance is the cleanest, most effective lever we can pull.”

I let out a long, incredulous sigh, resting my forehead against my hand.

“Is a relationship really the only thing we can come up with? That feels so… superficial.”

“If you have a better idea that can bump your engagement by thirty percent before Prisms makes their final decision next month, I’m all ears,” Brenda countered briskly.

“Look, Adele, you already have the beauty, the body, and the talent. People’s eyes are on your page. We just need to give them a story that keeps them there. Think about it. We’ll talk on Monday.”

“Brenda, wait-”

“I have a meeting coming in. Go enjoy your afternoon, Adele. We’ll fix this.”

The line went dead with a soft click.

I slowly lowered the phone from my ear, staring at the dark screen as Brenda’s words echoed through the silent bedroom.

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