Thank you to every boss who fired us, with a special shout-out to the one who fired us both on the same day for “brainstorming ideas” on company time—you only encouraged us to write more. Same goes for everyone who told us to get a “real” job. Appreciate the doubt because it only motivated us further.

To Rance Robeson, for seeing us and encouraging us to hone our craft even more.

To our family, who have always surrounded us in love and unconditional support even if it’s from two thousand miles away. Aunt Patty, you’ll be in our memories forever.

And of course, lastly, to you. We’re assuming you’re either here because (1) you wanted more of the story so you turned the page and are currently disappointed, or (2) you’re just nosy and wanted to see who we would thank. Either way, you made it this far and we can’t wait to see you again for the next one.

THE STORY BEHIND SOMEONE HAD TO DO IT

It’s crazy that SHTDI ever came into existence since Amber once vowed we would never write a book together because she didn’t want us to fight all day long. But one morning, she popped out of bed and said something like, “What if we wrote a story about this girl who wants to be in fashion, but ends up getting sucked into this crazy world and realizes it’s not as glamorous as it seems?” The phrase “deceptively beautiful” was on repeat in our heads as we brainstormed a plot from this concept.

We literally sat on the couch for three hours—no breakfast, no shower—and threw out idea after idea, just building off each other until we both knew we had something solid. Something fresh. The more we realized we were telling a cat-and-mouse story, the more it felt right to tell it from two perspectives—one from Brandi, the outsider, because that’s essentially who we were when we worked in fashion, and the other from her polar opposite, Taylor, the almost obnoxiously privileged heiress who, from the outside, is exactly where Brandi wants to be.