The sound of my phone buzzing pulled my attention away. I thought to ignore it, but something pulled me to open it. It was an email from Nature Shea Essentials. My breath caught in the back of my throat.

Phileigh,

We hope this message finds you well. Congratulations on all the beautiful new chapters in your life! We’ve been following your journey for quite some time now. We like your style and the influence you’ve built in the beauty space. We’d like to formally invite you to collaborate with us on a signature haircare line designed by you and backed by our innovative labs and product development experts. We believe your voice and vision are the perfect match for our company.

If you’re open to it, we’d love to schedule a call to discuss your ideas and begin mapping out this beautiful partnership. Please let us know your availability in the coming days. We’re excited to bring something incredible to life with you.

Marsha May

Senior Brand Partnerships Manager

Nature Shea Essentials

“Oh my fucking God,” I whispered. My hand covered my mouth. I was in complete shock.

“What?” Lolo sat up.

I didn’t have the words, so I just turned my phone in her direction, and her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas.

“Phileigh, oh my God!”

“I know, right?” I stared at her. My body trembled, and tears threatened to drop from my eyes.

“This is insane. Shea Butter wants to collab with you! What the fuck?”

“I never in a million years thought something like this was possible.”

I stared at the email in disbelief. Since Kellon had confirmed our relationship, my social media following had been growing rapidly. I went from 300,000 followers to millions damn near overnight. My account was currently sitting pretty at 2.4 million followers.

“Well, you did it, friend. I’m so fucking proud of you.”

“No, we did it. I know you don’t think I’m going into this alone.”

Lolo’s head cocked to the side. “You want to include me in your business?”

“Yeah, why not? It started with you doing my hair in college. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life until you came along. Hair has always been an us thing. I cut and you style.”

Lolo jumped up from her seat and wrapped me in a hug. I couldn’t see myself starting my own haircare line without her.

“I’m in,” she said without hesitation. “Whatever you need me to do, I’m in.”

I smiled as Baby J flipped in response. It was as if he was excited too. I looked at the email in awe before snapping a screenshot and forwarding it to Kellon.

Me:

Thank you for changing my life.

Chapter 22