Date The CEO.com

Chapter 129: N-D-d-g-a-f?

"Aaannnd I'm done!" Charlee Edwards declared, stretching her arms upwards. She sat cross-legged on her old study chair. Silk pajamas wrapped around her body from her chest down to her ankles. Her mocha hair was up in a messy bun. The look exposed her tan neck.

Her indigo eyes glinted with mischief. She couldn't help but cackle at her accomplishment. "Oh, this is just too good! I am a certified genius!"

She pulled her laptop closer and reread her masterpiece. The grin on her lips grew wider as she skimmed through the paragraphs. She had used every trick on the book. No doubt her work would receive hundreds of views within an hour.

Maybe even thousands!

It had all the sugar, spice and everything nice that fans looked for.

"What did you do actually?" A voice asked behind her.

Glancing over her shoulder, Charlee found Harper on the leather pink couch. The latter lied on her back. She gripped her phone with both hands and held it up. Her thumbs tapped furiously as her avatar faced several enemies at once in the simulation game.

"Weren't you listening?" Charlee scoffed. She went back to her work and hovered the mouse over the 'publish' button. "It's fanfiction."

Harper scowled. Her dark brows creased, seeming bushier than normal. "Since when did you write fanfiction?"

"Ah, geez, Harper. Are you deaf? Didn't we go over this?" The aspiring actress rolled her eyes. A silent squeal squeezed out of her chest as the page loaded and published her work. "It's to fuel the flames, of course. The brief outline we did for the post is nothing compared to this. This adds the unseen images in the people's minds."

The stolen shots had been gold! Together, they were a treasure trove! It only took the photos and a few storytelling powers for the spark to light up. Evangeline had them waiting until the last moment.

Oh, but did she deliver well.

"With this out on the internet, the people will read about the miserable rookie who made a mistake in her photoshoot. Mikael hears this while they dance in the club and cheers her up. Then, like a knight in shining armor, he swoops in with the flowers and the gift. It was a story out of a fairy tale."

Charlee waved her hands and arms as dramatic as her voice. A fake sob rumbled in her throat. "The next day he takes her out on a date but she runs to the arms of another. Mikael watched while it happened, breaking his own heart and torturing himself. No one would ever know about them"

Her cries turned into smirks. "... until now."

Harper pulled the corner of her lips. Her monolid eyes blinked when a bright flash appeared on her phone screen. "Are you sure you want to be an actress? Why not write for a Netflicks drama original?"

Charlee glared at the little munchkin. "At least, I am doing something. We have planned this for weeks and all you've done is lounge around."

"My work is already over," Harper reminded her. She finished the battle round and advanced to another level. "I've told my father about your sob story of Evangeline coming between you and Ambryan. He's already told everyone to reject her as their model."

"Good! We need to corner her until Miss Goody-goody makes her next mistake. When she uses Ambryan's influence and connections to counterattack, we'll be there to expose her."

"Sure, sure."

Harper drowned out the noise. All her senses focus on the game. She was a boss fight away from unlocking a new armor. Once she gets it, she could ascend to the next realm. She looked forward to it since it should have the best players on the server. 

All the ones she fought so far were nothing but wusses.

"How are we doing on Twittah, Nicole?" 

Charlee stood up from her chair and flopped on the mattress. Hot pink curtains draped at the top of the four-poster bed. The keys of a laptop drummed from the center. A small screen displayed posts and the icon of a bird.

The main feed scrolled down as fast as a treadmill.

Nicole had deep crease lines on her forehead. Her deep brown eyes illuminated like burnt butter. Then, she hissed and tapped on the keyboard harder. "It's going just fine. #EvangelineReedIsCancelled is trending and so is #NOtoMikeEva. The fans are giving it their everything."

But, Charlee didn't buy it.

"Then why are you so worked up?" She questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're saying one thing but your face is saying another."

"Everything is fine" Nicole repeated with a click of her tongue. She flipped back her long blonde hair that hung over her shoulder. "There's just this one bug. She's been replying to all my chirps. It's so annoying."

"It's just one person," Charlee said. "Just ignore her. It's not even your real account anyway."

Nicole sighed in exasperation. She had just sent her latest reply when a notification came from another thread. "If it was, I would ignore her. But, since it's not, I thought I could have a little fun."

Charlee peeked over her shoulder, staring at the web browser. "Seems like you bit off more than you can chew. Which one is it? N-D-d-g-a-f?"

"Yeah, her," Nicole sneered. "I mean, read it. ``Aren't you a little too immature for someone in their twenties? Nice try twelve-year-old but even if you fake your age on this site, it doesn't add up in the brain.`` How rude of her!"

"Tell her that free speech is a thing regardless of age and if her statement is true, that would just look bad for her. She'd be seen as bullying a kid."

"Can't. If I do that, people would lose trust in me." Nicole blew out a long breath through her closed lips. "I'll just think of something else. I bet she's just some nutto sitting on a couch while eating donuts. She just feels safe behind a screen."

.

.

.

.

.

Andie sat on the floor, a donut hanging over her mouth. She wore her favorite yoga pants and tank top. Her stormy blue eyes read through chirp after chirp. Her fingers weren't far behind to send a reply. She had never been so glad to defy Eve's wishes.

Her Evangeline Reed fan account was booming. 

It was also firing out bullets at the mindless chirpers.

"That radiantblueeyes chick replied to your twelve-year-old comment," Jarrett called out from her left. He also sat on the floor but leaned on an armchair instead of the couch. "She says, ``Resorting to insulting me, are you? Someone must have taken it personal. Maybe you're really Evangeline pretending to be her own fan. If so, boohoo for you, sweetie. You just became more pathetic.`` What should I reply?"

"Nah, don't," Andie instructed him, holding up the donut with one hand. Her other one continued to type on the keyboard. "I'll be the one to deal with it. Just log out and help the rest by spamming the hashtags. Flood it with information unrelated to the topic."

"Like what?" Jarrett frowned. "K-Pop fan cams?"

"Anything."

The couple set to work. They originally had a date planned but once Andie saw the storm, she couldn't turn her back on it. Jarrett found her on her laptop when he arrived to pick her up. She had joined the mess and led a group of soldiers.

It sort of amazed him.

So he stuck around and enlisted under her rule.

"Does Evangeline really have this many fans?" He spoke after 15 minutes of spamming. He had opened several tabs, each with a blank post to write on. He published each one as soon as he pasted the generic chirp he copied.

Andie finished the last bite of her donut. She refreshed the page and scrolled through the hashtags. "Well, it's not as big as other celebrities around her level but it is a start. Many of them purchased the red Athon bags because of Evangeline. She had left an impression on them. One that would not be fooled by this childish drama."

She should know.

She interviewed them one by one. Anyone under the Evangeline Reed banner should gain her approvalespecially this early into the game. They would be the veterans in the fandom and guide new ones in the future.

"Are you two still at it?"

Cale shook his head and walked over to the couch. He sat on the cushions, making himself comfortable. His neon blue suit and platinum blonde hair stood out against the earthy color palette of the living room.

"Heya, Cale. Any luck?"

"None!" He groaned, looking through his contact list. "I don't know who did it but brands had rejected me as soon as they heard Evangeline's name. A scandal like this shouldn't affect her work to this scale. It's a clear sabotage."

"Keep trying," Andie insisted. She spotted a chirp with a link and followed it. "If we can't find any, we might as well try to convince Eve to do an interview. She can't be too picky when there's nothing else left."

The front door shut with a thud. 

Two pairs of feet approached the living room. It was quite a sight. Everyone was on their gadgets, whether a laptop or a cell phone. They were silent but they gave the impression of a well-oiled machine.

"What the hell is going on here?" Eve demanded, eyeing the box of donuts beside her best friend. "And who pissed off Andie?"