Chapter 2

I let out a snicker and nodded earnestly.

“Don’t worry. They are all untouched.”

…

Caught in the temptation of hot hunks and wealth, Cassie pulled together a million bucks in just three days.

With the funds hitting my account, I graciously pulled up the social media profiles of the three boyfriends and asked Cassie which one she’d like to begin with.

After much consideration, Cassie chose to unlock Camden Forest, a young scientific prodigy.

“I’ll go with him. He’s like the boy-next-door type, very approachable. I should get him wrapped around my finger in no time.”

I smiled at her comment before cutting to the chase.

“Camden Forest, age 27. He holds four PhDs from the world’s most elite universities. He’s employed at a top research institute, with a senior-level role and full government perks.

“I got to know him through a forum for exotic plants. Beyond science, plants are pretty much his hobby. That was pretty much my way in.

“I’m the type who can’t even keep a cactus alive, but I put in the work to learn the lingo. I’ll send you my cheat sheet. Read it, learn it, and memorize every little detail by heart.”

Cassie’s jaw dropped as I forwarded 200 gigabytes of botanical study notes.

“He’s a perfectionist at work, ultra-efficient. In private, though, he’s sarcastic and intense. He has zero tolerance for stupidity, even if he won’t admit it.

“You should be confident in front of him, but play it coy a little. A touch of cluelessness works like a charm. Don’t overdo it.

“Oh, and he’s severely allergic to cats.”

After passing over all the files on Camden, I went over our daily interactions, nicknames, and special milestones before flashing Cassie an encouraging smile.

“That’s pretty much everything. Good luck. You’ve got this.”

[Not going to lie. Poppy knows her stuff when it comes to men. 200GB of notes? It should take more than a month to go through the whole thing.]

[Poppy’s only working hard because she’s there for support. She’s no main character. She has to cram just to earn the tiniest favor. Cassie is born to be the heroine. She doesn’t need to try for these male leads to fall head over heels in love with her.]

Cassie stared at the folder with a scowl, but her face beamed at the comments.

She held her phone and deleted the data right in my face.

“Poppy, save your idiot’s guide to yourself. It’s not for me.

“Watch and learn. I’ll have Camden under my spell. He’ll be smitten with me, even if all I do is talk about SpongeBob SquarePants.”

Not the least bit upset, I smiled brightly.

“Good luck to you.

“Just a heads-up. The deal is final. Whatever happens, I don’t accept refunds or returns.”

Cassie scoffed.

“I’m not going to change my mind. I hope you don’t either.”

She logged into my alternative account and threw herself into chatting up Camden.

At a get-together a week later, Cassie was eager to show off her necklace.

“Isn’t it pretty? It’s Van Cleef & Arpels’ newest floral collection. This piece alone is worth eight million bucks.

“All I did was mention it to Camden when I saw the piece in the ad. He bought me the necklace right away.”

While she bragged, her eyes locked onto me as I was knee-deep in a book. Cassie raised a question, not keeping her voice down.