This Is Marketing

"Let go of your inhibitions. Push your boundaries. Explore your limitations. Take my hand, say yes, and be mine forever!" My name is Annalise Walsh, I live in Los Angeles and I’m working as an advertising executive (an AE) for “S&W Advertising”, a small but fierce agency. My goal right now is to put my hands on a very important account. I’m talking about “HL Sportswear” a new branch of “Hamilton Inc.”, a company that belongs to the sexiest man alive, Lance Hamilton. My name is Lance Hamilton and I’m the youngest CEO in the States. I’m heir to billions and a billionaire in my own right. I’m quite ambitious and I’m constantly trying to expand my business towards new horizons. “HL Sportswear” needs to be presented to the world and for that, I need the best AE in the city: the intelligent and gorgeous Annalise Walsh. Working for Lance isn't going to be easy for Annalise, but is going to be extremely interesting. That's for sure!

My executive boyfriend, Marcus Winters, had always wanted the regional president seat. Then his favorite protégée, Sophie Moresby, complained that I always got the spotlight, and he deliberately sabotaged my car. The crash broke both my hands, leaving me unable to compete in the design contest that could decide the board vote. He handed my entry slot to Sophie and expected me to accept it quietly. When I confronted him, he said it was only one competition and that, as design director, I should give younger employees a chance. To prove his "fairness," he stripped me of my director title and docked six months of my pay to compensate the team. Everyone waited for me to fight back. Instead, I nodded, calm and silent. Marcus was pleased. He promised that once his promotion came through, he would restore my position and publicly announce our relationship. I smiled coldly and told him we were done. I had already submitted my resignation. What Marcus did not know was that the board and I had made a private agreement: if I won the championship and secured the decisive vote, the person I named would become regional president. I had been preparing to name him. Now he had not only replaced me with Sophie, but also encouraged her to submit a fraudulent design. Once the contest ended, the only thing waiting for him was termination, a ruined career, and a bill he could never afford.

My roommate had a peculiar knack for pestering everyone into liking her posts on social media, all so she could collect enough likes to claim some prize or another. It was her way of life—nagging, nudging, and guilting us into clicking that little thumbs-up. One time, the campus beauty queen liked my roommate's ad for a facial mask. Not long after, she was in a horrific car accident. The vehicle caught fire, and her face suffered severe burns, leaving her disfigured beyond recognition. Meanwhile, my roommate seemed to undergo a miraculous transformation, her complexion turning porcelain fair and flawless as though she'd been kissed by the heavens. Then there was the academic prodigy, a shoe-in for graduate school, who liked her tutoring service post. Shortly after, he was exposed for academic fraud, and his once-brilliant reputation was reduced to ashes. Strangely enough, my roommate's research paper suddenly won an award, catapulting her to fame and fortune. And me? I fell into her trap too. I liked her rental agency ad, and before I knew it, my world crumbled. A scandal erupted, revealing that I was the result of a mix-up at birth. It turned out she was the long-lost child of wealth and privilege—a hidden gem cast into the rough, now reclaimed by her rightful family. As for me, I was packed off to the countryside village she had escaped from and forced into a brutal marriage with an old man. My life became a living hell, and eventually, I died there, broken and forgotten. But fate wasn't done with me yet. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself back on the day my roommate begged me to like her post in exchange for yet another prize.

At the company team-building event, I got called out by my colleague Samantha Rowler for not removing my price tag—she accused me of being a "freebie chaser." "Oh wow, Carla, you drive a BMW 5 Series. Are you seriously planning to return your clothes within seven days too?" she sneered. I tucked the tag back in and ignored her snide remark. But after the event, as soon as I got home, my phone started blowing up. My chat apps were going insane. A friend had sent me a link: [Luxury-Car Executive Turns Out to Be a Return Addict!] Someone had filmed me leaving the price tag on and posted it to a short-video platform. I opened the comment section and was met with a barrage of insults. [Can't afford to live, huh? Tag warrior.] [Is this car a sugar-daddy gift? Those who know, know.] [OMG, does this woman have some kind of illness? Which brand is this so I can avoid it!] I immediately knew Samantha was behind it. I messaged her to delete the video. Instead, the next second, she blocked me—and pinned a comment to the top of the thread: [You can know a person's face but never their heart!] I was about to post a statement to clarify, my finger hovering over the send button, when I noticed the video's likes had already shot past ten thousand. I laughed. If they wanted a scene, fine—let's make it bigger. I quickly posted a new update: [The outfit is really nice. I'll wear it again next time.] The netizens erupted. The insults doubled, the heat skyrocketed, and the post shot straight to number one trending. I just put my phone down and went to sleep.

As the right-hand person to the marketing manager, Rossa must deal with a director from a rival company who, ironically, happens to be someone she strongly dislikes. Rosamund Parks was on vacation with some friends on an exotic island when a group of thugs kidnapped her and sold her to a cheap brothel on the outskirts of town, which then sent her to an underground auction. When Francesco (Franco) Tenaglia, a CEO boss, won the auction, he was about to enjoy Rossa's body when an incident thwarted his intentions. Rossa woke up the next day and could still remember the mobster's handsome face, but never in her heart wished to see him again. When the company Rossa works for, faced a tricky situation with a long-established rival company, she was sent to negotiate with them to solve the problem. And when she discovered that the CEO of the rival company was Franco, she had to choose between her freedom and her job. Would she choose herself over her job? Or would she choose the latter and risk Franco's continued dominance?

Maria Moore was once the daughter of one of the country's most powerful families and an aspiring actress chasing her dream. But when the Moore family is accused of corruption, murder, and illegal dealings, she loses everything. Shunned by the industry, drowning in debt, and left to care for her alcoholic father, Maria is forced to accept a private sponsorship deal from a man she knows nothing about. Lewis, the enigmatic CEO of Halcyon Industries, has only one condition: "Act like you're madly in love with me." A fake relationship soon thrusts Maria back into the spotlight. But the closer she gets to Lewis, the more she realizes he isn't the man she thought he was. Then a desperate phone call from her missing mother changes everything. Stay away from Halcyon Industries. Now Maria is left questioning everything. Why did Lewis choose her? What secret is Halcyon Industries hiding? And is the man she should hate the only one who can uncover the truth behind her family's downfall?