Newton had just finished showering and getting dressed when his phone started ringing. He sighed. Normally, he would have run to answer, since there were only a couple of people on the planet who would call him before work hours.

But with the whirlwind of activity the past few days had brought, his phone had been ringing off the hook.

It had been less than seventy-two hours since he’d finalized the promo pictures and had sent them out to the business owners who had participated, and true to his word, Jack had wasted no time in getting the pictures in front of all the right people.

Newton’s studio was already booked solid for the next month, and the month after was filling up more every day—every hour, it seemed.

He quickly crossed his bedroom to grab his phone from the nightstand, ready to send whoever was calling straight to voicemail. He was already running behind that morning, and he needed to get down to the studio so he could start answering the phone there.

But this wasn’t a client or a potential client. It actually was Gage calling this time, and Newton fumbled with the phone as he hurried to answer in time.

“Good morning,” Newton said, trying not to sound nearly as rushed as he felt at the moment. “How’s it going?”

“Better now that I’m talking to you,” Gage answered. “Did I call at a bad time? You sound like you’re out of breath.”

Newton laughed. Maybe he really should start working out soon. Was he that out of shape? Or just in that big of a hurry?

He wasn’t sure. He didn’t have time to think about it right now, anyway.

“I’m good,” Newton said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and reaching for his shoes. “Just about to head downstairs to the studio. But we can talk while I’m on my way there. What’s up?”

“Well, you may want to sit down for this, but do you remember that interview that Jack did with the local news a couple of days ago? Right when the promo campaign went live?”

Newton groaned. “How could I forget? I was so embarrassed when everyone kept saying what a great job I’d done—I mean, of course I appreciated it, but still. My aunt called and screamed excited gibberish into my ear for thirty minutes after that interview aired.”

“You might be getting a few more phone calls like that,” Gage said. “It apparently aired yesterday on that station’s morning show. But not just the local show. They’re showing it all over the country. You’ve gone viral.”

Newton could feel his mouth fall open, but no words came out. His work was being shown on the national news? On the morning shows?

“But… why? Why my stuff?” Newton asked, finally.

“Because you’re amazing, babe,” Gage answered. “And also because people are loving the headlines about all of our local business owners fighting to keep out the big corporations. They’re calling it a David versus Goliath story, and it’s getting way more attention than even Jack had anticipated.”

“That’s… great,” Newton said, a knot forming in his stomach. “I’m really happy.”

And he was happy.

Really.

He was.

It was just that he hadn’t expected to get so much attention. The whole idea behind moving to Silver Lake in the first place had been so he could just blend in and be mostly anonymous. He could take pictures for weddings and proms and anniversaries, and make enough money to get by.

This, though… this was a lot.

A lot more than he had bargained for.

But there wasn’t much he could do about it now except hope that all of the attention would die down sooner rather than later.

“Everything okay, babe?” Gage asked, making Newton pause.

He had walked out the door and started down the steps before he realized that he had made this moment all about himself. Gage had called him with what he had thought was great news, and Newton’s reaction had been less than enthusiastic.

This was a big day for Gage, too. For all of the businesses in Silver Lake, really. They were all getting more attention, and unlike Newton, they would all be pretty excited about it.

That had been the whole point of the promo campaign, after all.

“I’m good,” Newton said, taking a deep breath as he finished walking down the stairs and fished out the key to unlock the door to his studio. “Sorry, I was just surprised. But yeah. That’s great, Gage. I hope all the attention really pays off for everyone on Main Street.”

“I think it will,” Gage replied, apparently satisfied with Newton’s explanation. “I’ve been getting calls from people wanting to get gym memberships all morning, and I might have to hire another assistant at this rate, at least part-time.”

“That’s amazing,” Newton said, genuinely smiling as he opened the door and stepped inside. “That’s the best news I’ve—oh my God.”

Newton flipped on the light and nearly dropped his phone as he covered his mouth with his free hand.

His heart was racing, and he thought he might actually throw up as he backed out of the studio through the still-open door.

“What is it, babe?” Gage’s tone shifted from excited to worried in an instant. “What’s wrong? Newton?”

“Oh my God,” was all Newton could say. “I… I…”

“Are you okay?” Gage asked, his insistent tone cutting through Newton’s panic. “Newton, talk to me. What’s going on?”

“Gage, I need you. I-I’ve been robbed.”