#Goals

by Teodora Kostova

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter one

  Chapter two

  Chapter three

  Chapter four

  Chapter five

  Chapter six

  Chapter seven

  Chapter eight

  Chapter nine

  Chapter ten

  Chapter eleven

  Chapter twelve

  Chapter thirteen

  Chapter fourteen

  Chapter fifteen

  Chapter sixteen

  Chapter seventeen

  Newsletter

  About the author

  Also by Teodora Kostova

  #Goals

  Teodora Kostova

  Copyright @ Teodora Kostova 2019

  All right reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission of the author. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted without the written permission of the author.

  Edited by Kameron Mitchell

  Proofread by Vicki Potter

  Cover Art by Morningstar Ashely at Designs by Morningstar

  Disclaimer

  This is a work of fiction. All names, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously.

  Chapter one

  15 April

  To do:

  Meet with Stan about the video collab @ 12.30

  Hair app @ 2

  Post about the giveaway

  Live unpacking of Care2Be package

  Review of CMC sheet masks

  Work-out video in story

  IG follower count: 4.5mil

  Goals: +200K followers by the end of the month

  Mood: meh

  Avery closed his planner with a loud thunk and pushed it away. It slid across the glass table, nearly falling off the edge. Removing his glasses, Avery rubbed at his eyes, aware that he was making them redder than they already were, but not giving a damn.

  He was tired. God, so fucking tired he could cry.

  His phone buzzed with a text and Avery groaned. He really didn’t want to deal with anyone right now, but duty was calling once again.

  He stalked to the sofa and slumped onto it, reaching for his phone lying on the side table.

  Stan: Hey babes I’ll be late today

  Stan: Reschedule for 1.30?

  He’d known this would happen. Stan couldn’t be on time if his life depended on it. Rescheduling their lunch meeting meant rescheduling the hair appointment and that would be a pain in his fucking ass. Lauren was busy as it was, she may not be able to take him later in the day, and he’d promised his followers a live video from the hair salon. Statistically that post had gotten forty three percent more engagement than any of his posts last week, so he had to make that appointment. But his collaboration with Stan was something his followers were really looking forward to. He had to make that meeting, too.

  Avery groaned again, his head falling against the sofa’s back.

  God fucking dammit.

  After taking a few deep breaths, Avery picked up his phone and dialled Lauren’s number.

  “Hi, darling, it’s Avery,” he said in his silky phone voice. “Seems like I have a huge problem and you’re the only one who can save me.”

  Avery streamed from the hair salon for a few minutes while Lauren was trying to bleach his dark purple hair and to get it ready for the white blond he’d requested. He replied to a few comments and answered some questions, but as more people logged in to watch, he couldn’t keep up with the fast-moving comments on the screen.

  “Alright, lovelies, I have to go now – Lauren has to wash my hair before it falls off. I’ll show you the result later. Thanks for watching!” He blew a kiss at the camera and disconnected the video.

  “How you do this all the time is beyond me,” Lauren said, unwrapping one of the foils in his hair and peeking in.

  Avery lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug. “I don’t mind. I enjoy it most of the time.”

  “Ten more minutes and we’ll wash,” Lauren said, folding the foil back in. “Would you like a cup of tea, sweets?”

  “Yes, please.”

  As Lauren walked away to get him the tea, Avery braved opening his DMs. Now that was something he couldn’t handle often. The trolls loved crawling from under the deep shadows and sliding into his DMs. They were easily ignored, though. It was the nice ones who were hardest to deal with – because they wanted something from him, too.

  And then there was Avery's estranged family who only remembered he existed when he became a famous Instagram model. He hadn’t even met some of these people in person, but they felt entitled to his attention.

  As he’d expected, one of his half-brothers and a distant cousin had messaged him, yet again, demanding he pay attention to them and send them money. This week it was for a sick aunt. Last month it had been for a vet bill, and the month before for electricity bills.

  His parents had been young when they’d had him, and they’d been absent pretty much throughout Avery's entire life. They hadn’t been there for his birthdays or graduation or when he was dealing with the fact that he liked boys when he was supposed to like girls. They hadn’t been there when he’d left his aunt’s house at eighteen and when he struggled to find his place in the world. He probably wouldn’t recognise either of them if they passed him on the street.

  Avery glanced at the mirror. A deep crease had appeared between his brows. He closed Instagram and leaned back in the chair, taking a deep breath.

  It was in the past.

  They’d made their choices and so had he. He’d made a life for himself – a good life – and he was damn proud of it. He didn’t owe anyone anything, not even a message.

  “Here’s your tea, lovely,” Lauren said as she handed him a mug of steaming tea. “Five more minutes and we’ll wash you off, alright?”

  Avery nodded, blowing on the tea. His phone vibrated on his lap. One-handed, he unlocked the screen and saw a text message from his good friend, Johnny.

  Johnny: Will and I will be in London next week, wanna meet for a pint?

  Avery: Always. Where are you staying?

  Johnny: Hilton in Kensington. I’m meeting a client nearby.

  Avery: Cool. Let me know when and where and I’ll be there.

  Johnny: Just saw your new post. WTF are you doing to your hair??

  Avery: LOL you’ll see.

  “Who’s making you smile like that?” Lauren asked, appearing next to Avery's chair.

  Avery put his phone away. “A friend.” He winked at her.

  “A friend, huh?” She put a hand on her waist. “Come on, let’s wash your hair and you’ll tell me all about this friend.”

  Avery laughed and followed her up the stairs to the back rooms.

  Avery fell into his bed with a loud moan. He’d dreamed of the cold, crispy sheets all day and finally, finally, he could dive into them and forget about the outside world.

  Well, until tomorrow morning – early tomorrow morning – when Avery’s PA Monique was coming to discuss a few things before she was off on holiday for two weeks.

  God, Avery would kill for a holiday right now. But he couldn’t afford one, not at this time. Money wasn’t the issue; Avery’s follower growth and engagement percentage had been at a standstill over the past few weeks, and he couldn’t figure out why. He’d been posting the content that had kept his followers engaged over the past three years, constantly trying to be entertaining and keep up with the current trends. What had changed?

  Monique – the media and marketing genius that she was – could possibly have an answer to that question.

  Avery moved his tired body up the bed. He fluffed the pillows and propped against t
hem, fishing his phone out of his pocket. He was done posting for the day, but he wanted to check the comments underneath today’s posts.

  silviafreos: OMG LOVE the hair

  p_trent02: hdvfjasjdsdbk <3 <3 <3

  horiLneeks: I stan a legend

  dori_079: This looks even better than I imagined, thank you for streaming live, I’ve booked an app with Lauren to do my hair too!!!

  The corner of Avery’s mouth quirked as he scrolled through the comments. He ignored the trolls, not even bothering to delete their negative comments, and replied to a few people who’d missed the live video and wanted more details about Lauren’s salon. But a comment that seemed out of place made him slow down his scrolling.

  connieB: Where’s Victor?

  Huh? Why would someone be asking about Victor?

  He scrolled a little further, specifically looking for similar comments to see if there was a pattern.

  samuellasco23: Did Victor get a new hairstyle, too? I hope not, I love his long hair! <3

  dessy34: Omg me too!! They look SO good together

  Even more confused, Avery pressed the back button and loaded his profile page. Several photos down, he found the pictures he’d uploaded from the photoshoot with Victor, and then a few selfies of them together. He’d worked with Victor Nilsson on a few projects and they’d become friendly, but he’d never hinted at a possible romance with the photographer.

  There wasn’t any possible romance, as far as Avery was aware. Victor was hot – very hot – but he was also a bit aloof when he wasn’t hiding behind the camera. The few times they’d gone out to dinner or drinks, Victor had steered the conversation away from any personal topics and stuck to a more professional tone. Avery couldn’t say that Victor didn’t like him, not exactly. He was always polite and laughed at Avery's antics during the photoshoots, and tried to accommodate Avery's every whim without complaints.

  But it always felt like Victor was keeping Avery at an arm’s length.

  Well, Avery's followers seemed to think otherwise. He hadn’t read all the comments under the photos with Victor, and scrolling through them now they were full of speculations that they were dating. People had analysed the way Victor was looking at him (with adoration, apparently), the way their bodies were positioned, even imagined Avery was blushing when Victor put his arm around him.

  Avery was used to gossip, speculation, and his life being under a magnifying glass all the time, but this was taking it to a whole new level.

  Avery exited the comment feed and swiped through the photos with Victor. They were at a restaurant after the shoot, relaxed and a little tired. Avery's short hair had been dark purple back then, and he’d styled it casually, too tired after the long day to care about any stray curls. Victor, in contrast, was as gorgeous as ever – long blonde hair let loose without any product in it, the soft waves reaching his shoulders. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and, looking at the selfie of them huddled together, Avery remembered how scratchy the blond scruff had felt against his skin. On another photo, Avery's hazel eyes looked almost green as he stared into the lens, and Victor's soft blue ones watching him instead of looking into the camera.

  An idea occurred to him. With a couple of clicks he loaded Victor's profile page and found the photos from that day. There weren’t as many as Avery's, or as carefully chosen – on one Avery's right eye was half closed, giving the impression he was about to sneeze. And yet, the photos with Avery were the most liked that week, and the comments underneath were in the hundreds.

  Eager to see them, Avery loaded the comments and started scrolling. Sure enough, plenty of them were speculating they were dating.

  Victor hadn’t replied to any of them. He also hadn’t shared anything about it with Avery. Maybe he hadn’t seen them? Victor was a very talented photographer, but when it came to his social media presence there was a lot to be desired.

  On a whim, Avery pulled up the chat with Victor and texted:

  Avery: Can you believe people think we’re dating?

  He sent it before he could change his mind. As expected, Victor didn’t reply straight away. He’d probably left his phone somewhere and forgotten about it.

  Avery gave up waiting for a reply and went to take a shower. The hot water relaxed him as it washed the long day away from his body. He needed a break, needed to recharge and revaluate his goals, but not yet. Not before he reached five million followers. That would get him into a whole new level of social media prestige, and he needed that to set the rest of his projects in motion.

  Shrugging into his fluffy white robe, Avery brushed his teeth and started his evening skincare ritual. Cleansing, toner, sheet mask, moisturiser. Every single night. His skin glowed in every photo, and skincare companies fought over ad space on his feed. He had to start donating unsolicited packages to hospitals, charities, and women’s shelters; there was just no way to use all of the products he’d been sent. And he’d hate to see them go to waste.

  When he got back to his bedroom, Avery saw the notification light blinking on his phone. He grabbed it, hoping it would be a text from Victor and not another Instagram notification.

  Victor: isn’t that what you were going for?

  Avery frowned as he read the text.

  Avery: What do you mean?

  Victor's reply came almost instantly.

  Victor: I assumed you wanted people to think that? You never denied it, and I thought it was getting you new followers or something. My account has blown up since I posted the photos from my photoshoot with you, lots of your followers followed me too.

  Avery flopped on the bed. He was getting more and more confused as the conversation went on.

  Avery: Sooo, you thought I was lying about us dating, and you just went with it?

  His heartbeat sped up. There was something exciting about the thought that Victor didn’t mind the rumours.

  Victor: I can imagine there are worse rumours than dating Avery Stone.

  Avery: You’re not worried about your reputation?

  Victor: Not at all.

  Avery realised he’d been smiling through the whole exchange. He felt a nervous fluttering in his stomach, and it excited him.

  His thumbs hovered over the screen as he deliberated whether he should send the text he’d just typed.

  Fuck it. YOLO and all that shit, he thought.

  He pressed send.

  Avery: Come over to my place tomorrow afternoon to talk about all this. I’m in bed and so tired I can barely think.

  This time, Victor's reply wasn’t instant. His speech bubble popped in a few times, then disappeared. Avery was starting to think that he’d pushed it too far when the single word reply came in.

  Victor: ok

  Avery beamed at the screen, then quickly typed his address. Victor sent him a thumbs up emoji and wished him goodnight.

  With a smile on his face, Avery pulled the duvet over himself and dozed off.

  Chapter two

  Monique’s flight was at noon which meant she should be at the airport by ten. Which in turn meant she was sitting at Avery's kitchen table bright and early at eight-fucking-am.

  “It’s too early for this,” Avery said through a yawn, gesturing towards Monique’s giant planner.

  “Yeah, well, we have a lot to discuss, and considering I’m leaving you on your own for two weeks, we should have started at six!”

  Avery was too sleepy to argue. Besides, Monique was in her ‘get-shit-done’ mood and there was no arguing with her in that mode.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

  Monique gave him a critical once-over. “I seriously doubt that.”

  Avery blew her a kiss. “You love me.”

  Monique sighed and shook her head, her attention going back to the planner. It could be Avery's imagination, but he was sure he saw a smile creep up her full lips.

  The truth was, he’d be lost without Monique. Her personality was the perfect opposite to Avery's – while he
was disorganised, forgetful, and completely lacking sense of time, Monique was punctual to a fault, and the most organised person Avery had ever met. She was also willing to put up with Avery, his need to discuss photoshoot ideas at 3 AM, and his tendency to change his mind a thousand times about the simplest things.

  She was a saint, really.

  “Okay, let’s go through the contract with ‘Hibs’,” Monique said, pulling the document on her tablet. “I made a few notes after I got it back from the lawyer.”

  For the next torturous hour, they discussed contracts, and Avery's schedule for the next two weeks, and Monique made sure he noted down any important meetings in his own calendar.

  By the time that was done, Avery was ready to climb the walls. He stood, stretching his back, and then thumbed through the playlist currently playing in the background. He selected a song and, swaying his hips to the rhythm, made his way to the kitchen for another coffee.

  The doorbell rang. When Monique yelled she’d get it, Avery took his time brewing the coffee, and adding all the extras he loved – cream, honey, and a tiny bit of cinnamon. Making his way back to the living room, he saw Monique was arranging packages on the table.

  “The bath bombs arrived,” she said in a sing-song voice. “God, they smell divine!”

  “Cool, I’m really excited to try them.”

  He’d signed a three-post contract with Bath Lovelies after he’d tried the samples they’d sent him and fallen in love with their products. A nice, hot bath with a couple of scented bath bombs sounded just like what he needed right now. He made a mental note to do the unpacking video right after Monique left.