72
STELLE
“Congratulations, Mom!” I hugged her tight. The launching of our new products, from cosmetics to activewear, just went live. Our ads were all over the billboards, online, and in New York Times Square. “I’m so proud of you.”
I was so happy, grinning all the time. I took a selfie and immediately posted it on my Instagram.
“I am prouder of you. I wouldn’t have a cool job without you, honey.”
“I know, right.” I beamed at her. “I guess we are proud of each other and the whole team.”
Willa just walked in. “Oh, my God! I love the ads.”
“Your gallery is amazing.”
“Thank you, Deirdre.”
I took the Champagne and called everyone. “Guys, without all of you, this company would be impossible to reach the recognition and awards. You’re the foundation of Star LLC. My only contribution is hard work. You guys did all the hard lifting. Congratulations!” I popped the champagne bottle. The corked flew. Everyone applauded.
“I think you’re humble.” Willa squeezed me into a hug while our cheeks pressed together.
I giggled. “You know our lipstick is smudge-proof, right?”
We barked out laughing.
“Yeah. I forgot,” she admitted.
“Thank you for trusting me with your gallery.”
“You know I would never say to you. You’re my favorite girl in the family.”
“It’s because I am the only girl in the family. Well, plus you.”
She grabbed a flute, and I had sparkling water. “To more success.”
“To more success.”
***
“Baby, can you check the caller?” I already hated waking up from the alarm, but I hated waking up to a ringtone.
My eyes were still closed, but I felt Linden move into the bed.
“Your mom, baby.”
“Why is she calling you?”
He blew a breath, probably trying to wake his senses. “Deirdre, hey.”
I curled into a comfortable position and blocked his voice. It didn’t take a second. Linden shook me slightly, calling my name.
“What? Tell me later. I’m sleepy.” I grunted, blindly elbowing him.
“It’s important, baby. Your mom is down.”
I cracked my eyes open. “Down? Where?”
“She’s in our house in the living.”
“Shit. What’s the emergency?”
“That’s what we wanna know. Put your robe on. See you down.” When he said that, and his tone seemed serious, I nodded.
Linden put his clothes on and left the room. I used the bathroom and put my pajamas on.
I went down and found my mother pacing in the living room. “Mom, what’s going on? It’s three in the freaking morning, and you drove all the way here?”
“My driver. Have you checked online? On Instagram, X, Tiktok, especially Tiktok.”
“No. I haven’t. Why?” I carefully wrapped my robe around me and tightened the knot.
“They’re canceling us.”
“What do you mean? I don’t understand. What’s going on?” I went to her and held her arms. She looked so terrified. She was even shaking. “Mom?”
She drew a deep breath. “You know these stupid vloggers think they know everything and can rule the world. There should be a law banning them from posting nonsense online. They are killing businesses, and the viewers believe without proof. For all I know, they could have manipulated and edited their videos.”
“Mom, calm down. I don’t understand why you are upset, but I believe every social media application has a community standard to follow.”
“And this cancel culture, what this? Your generation of bullies is a slippery slope toward violence.” She was distraught. Her hands propped on her hips. “It’s been trending. A content creator who tried our new products for a review on the liquid lipstick and Starlash volume mascara had an allergic reaction. And she used the products during her live video.”
“That’s impossible unless she’s allergic to the ingredients. Then that’s not our concern.”
“She has three million followers, honey, and now she gets the sympathy of everyone on the internet. They started calling us out on X, boycotting our company. Most orders have been canceled, and almost ninety-five percent of comments are in her favor. You can read comments on your Instagram and company accounts. It’s wild, and she really makes us look bad.”
I breathed deeply. “Who’s she?”
“Tatiana Golds.”
“Let our legal team talk to her,” I said calmly, even if I was boiling inside.
“You wanna settle with her under a non-disclosed arrangement?”
I turned to Linden. “Yeah.”
“That’s not a good idea, baby.”
“What can you suggest then? You can share it with us right now.”
“Let us investigate if she has allergies to any components in the product she used while going live.”
“He’s right, honey. I will talk to the PR to issue a statement.”
I briefly closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I felt like I was going to faint. I hadn’t seen the video, but I had a feeling it was worse, considering how people have gone wild on the internet, shutting us down.
“Breathe, baby. We can handle this. Remember our pep-talk?” he said. His voice filled with sympathy as he came to my back and rubbed my arm.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I wanna sit down.”
“Drink, Mrs. L.” Lynx brought me a glass of water.
“I hope not, Mrs. Lynx.”
He laughed while my husband wasn’t amused by what I said.
“It’s a joke. You want me to calm down. I need an icebreaker.” I rolled my eyes.
“That wasn’t funny at all.” He picked up his phone and dialed someone.
While Mom was busy on the phone, I took my phone and got the liberty to tap the TikTok app. The app hadn’t opened, yet my phone was already gone from my hand. “What the hell?”
“You can’t stress it out, too.”
I glared at my husband. “That is my company they’re harassing. I need to see the video before I sue her ass.”
“Let me work on this issue. Just stay put and trust me.”
I was already on my feet, my hands on my hips as I tried to point out to him. “You know I trust you, but I need to see it for myself. It’s a part of my job to oversee the company, Gabriel.”
“I know what is your job description, Estelle. I do that every day.”
“Then maybe I can find something on that video. I know my product. I helped my scientists. They’re plant-based unless she’s allergic to plants, and she eats human instead.” I held my hand out. “Give me my phone, Gabriel.”
He fought the urge to argue with me, but I won’t back down. He flared his nose before he gave it back to me. “If I see you stressing out, I swear to God. I’ll take you to Nepal and let you practice yoga there.”
I didn’t have to search for it. People had already been tagging me. Since I turned off all notifications on my social media accounts, I didn’t know how much worse it was. I played the video that already garnered millions of views and likes with thousands of comments and shares.
Tatiana’s account was verified. She shared makeup tutorials and reviewed beauty and skincare products. She was legit. She first introduced herself on the seven-minute video bare-faced. She revealed how she applied skincare on her face for one minute and twenty-five seconds. Then she showed the product still in the box— it was my liquid lipstick.
“Is that yours?” Linden joined me on the couch.
“Looks like it.” I continued watching.
She took our Starlash mascara and showed it to the viewers. “Both packaging are impressive, which reminds me of French beauty brands. Let’s see the product.” She first opened the liquid lipstick and told the viewers the color she preferred.
“She opened from the bottom.”
“Meaning?”
“I don’t know. You need to take the same products she used. I wanna see them myself.”
“Is there something I should know about?”
“No. I hope I’m right about it.” I watched the video until she applied the lipstick first on the side of her palm. “It looks like a good product. I actually made a review of their previously launched lipstick. I rated it eight out of ten. Right now, I’m impressed.” She tried to wipe it off her hand. The stain didn’t go. That was what I expected. She showed the lipstick on the camera before she applied it to her lips. She pressed them together and checked the outcome.
“She only showed her face,” Linden commented.
“And?” I asked. My gaze was still glued to the video.
“A lot of things can happen in that angle. No one would know or see below her neck. She could replace the product since no one could see her hands.”
“Yeah. It’s possible that she intends to sabotage my brand,” I agreed.
Then she put on the mascara after unboxing it the same way. “I liked the brush. I hope this doesn’t clump.” She applied the mascara on her left lashes. “I hate mascara when it flakes. But let me share a secret. When your mascara is clumpy, try dunking it into hot water for a few minutes.” Then she began pressing her lips together and licked them. Perhaps that was how the allergies started, but I still didn’t see her lips swell.
I watched her touch her lips, and after that, she looked herself in the mirror. “Oh, my God. I think I just got an allergic reaction.” She began her hysteria. She wiped it off with a tissue. I could now see the redness around her lips. She wiped her eyes off with the same tissue she used on her lips. The video ended.
“That’s how she got allergies in her eye, too,” Linden said.
After an hour, she posted an update after the allergic reaction.
I watched the next video. “Oh, my God.” Her lips looked like a lip-filler gone wrong, and her left eye was like she got a bee-stung.
“Anyone who saw that video would believe her.”
