Chapter 1
I was in the middle of the annual flagship livestream for the brand when HR called to say I was being laid off. I put down the serum I was holding and looked straight at the camera. "Everyone, the company let me go.
*****
"Grace Nolan, you've been laid off. Hand over your account right now," HR Manager Lewis's voice cut through my earpiece, cold as ice.
HR Manager Lewis's voice was icy in my earpiece.
Right then, I was sitting in Radiant Media's Studio One, hosting the annual exclusive livestream for the international skincare brand Cosmique. There were 5.2 million people watching live, and GMV had already reached about 27 million dollars, with only twenty minutes left to hit.
I froze for a second.
Then, I put down the 400-dollar serum and looked straight at the camera.
I stopped pitching the product and went straight to the point.
"Hey, everyone, sorry, but I've got something to announce," I said.
The chat paused for a beat, and over five million people stared at their screens, waiting for my next words.
"The company just told me I'm being laid off," I said.
My tone was calm and even.
"So, that's it for today's stream. If you've already placed an order, don't worry, it'll ship as usual. If you haven't, don't bother, hold onto your cash," I said.
The chat blew up.
The comments section went wild: [What?] [Grace, don't leave!] [Has Radiant Media lost their mind?]
I switched off the ring light in front of me.
But instead of viewers leaving, the number in the top right corner exploded, from 5.2 million all the way to 7 million.
This was the biggest viewership Radiant Media had ever pulled in since it was founded four years ago.
And it was also the last moment I'd ever spend as part of this company.
*****
It all started twenty minutes ago.
This Cosmique annual exclusive livestream had been in the works for three whole months. Susan Miller, the brand's APAC president, personally flew to Newport City to supervise, sitting just next door in the control room.
Cosmique had never done an exclusive livestream with any domestic online platform before. Radiant Media only got this opportunity because of me.
At the contract signing, Susan was blunt: "We're here for Ms. Grace Nolan's professionalism, not your company."
Charles Trent, the operations director across from me, was all smiles, nodding along and repeating, "Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely."
The livestream kicked off right on time at 8 PM tonight.
I was on fire. Sales topped 330,000 dollars in just three minutes, and within ten minutes, the viewership shot past 3 million.
I kept rolling out products one after another, nailing the pace and keeping my pitch sharp.
The chat was blowing up with [Grace is the GOAT!] and [Shop with Grace, never get burned!]
The crew in the back was running around nonstop, and Cosmique had to restock three times.
Everything was running like clockwork.
Suddenly, a voice that wasn't the director's broke in through my earpiece.
"Grace, this is HR," HR said.
I thought I must've misheard.
My hands kept moving, unwrapping the next product as I said, "This cream is their star product. I've been using it for two years, "
"Because you've seriously broken company rules lately, reaching out to the brand on your own and hurting the company's interests, we're letting you go. Hand over your account and all files right after the stream," HR said.
My hand froze in midair.
The cream's lid was still unopened.
Breaking company rules? Reaching out to the brand on my own?
Three days ago, I had a work dinner with Susan from Cosmique to go over the details of the exclusive livestream.