"Mr. Miller, can we take a photo with you?" a tall redhead with luxurious hair addressed him. She was practically devouring him with her eyes, at least that's how it seemed to Sofia.
David looked at his companion in surprise and nodded to the girls. They asked Sofia to take their picture. All three huddled close to David, posing.
A new surprise awaited them at the reception desk. David hadn't even had time to present his passport before he was addressed by name.
"Mr. Miller, welcome to our hotel. It's a great honor for us. We follow your blog with interest."
After checking into the room and getting the Wi-Fi password, the lovers' first order of business was to Google David's blog. In this reality, he was a travel blogger and a very popular one—with 5.6 million subscribers. He was among the top 3 most famous travel bloggers in the country and in the top 20 of the analogous global ranking.
"So that's why we live in an RV," David mumbled.
He found access to his video hosting account and analyzed the statistics: a sharp growth in subscribers and views began about a year ago.
"Listen, your husband might not be entirely right about my poverty. With this kind of popularity, there should ideally be money."
David searched for a long time for other bank apps or account information in his email. He found it and was disappointed: he had invested a lot of money in professional equipment, travel expenses, and promotion. He had debts, and he could hardly be considered a rich man.
A significant portion of the expenses went to marketing, which, according to the reports, was handled by... Sofia Dupont in his team.
"Aha, so we work together," Sofia summarized. "It turns out that in this reality, I met Dupont a few years ago, got a marketing profession, and didn't go on to study philosophy. Instead, I work in my specialty. And we didn't meet at the university."
"Did you find anything interesting in your social media?"
"No, there's little information there, mostly about work. But, about a year ago, I announced that I was starting a collaboration with you. And since then, some figures about the growth of your blog have popped up among other things. Although you were a popular blogger even before that."
"Well, well, so you made me a star... Oh, but what about teaching, the department? How do I live without that?"
"Well, you lived in that reality with fashion and investments somehow, and quite successfully. I think you have a lot of talents," she said, kissing him.
David still didn't look satisfied.
"Talents are cool. But how to live without students—I don't understand..."
"Well, we'll figure it out slowly," Sofia concluded, heading for the shower. David stripped off his clothes and hurried after her.