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Not that Chloe was counting
“You look divine in that silk top, but I wonder if they have it in another color. I don’t think pale pink is you, you look like death warmed up in it.” Chloe rolled her eyes at Marta’s cutting remark. But her assistant was right, the dusty pink did wash her out.
“Could you ask the sales assistant if they have it in a green or a blue?”
Taking the top with her, Marta hurried off to find the assistant. Chloe continued perusing the racks of clothes. She wasn’t really in the mood for shopping. It was a week and a half out from Christmas and the holiday season always made her sad. While everyone else would be heading home to see family and share the wonders of a Christmas vacation, she would be spending the holidays at home alone.
Her version of home alone was unfortunately nothing like the movies. She wasn’t running around the house celebrating the fact that she had made her family disappear. No. They’d done that themselves, abandoned her without any regret.
She was shopping with Marta, and Gabriela for clothes in a high-end boutique in Robertson Boulevard, West Hollywood. It was late in the afternoon, the perfect time for a famous person in LA to go out. The paparazzi and the out of town tourists who were always on the hunt for pics of celebrities were usually done for the day.
Martin lingered outside on the pavement. The store had a strict, no security personnel rule. Apparently having large, armed bodyguards roaming the place tended to kill the fun shopping vibe.
The front door of the store opened, and she caught a glimpse of a well-dressed middle aged woman. She carried herself with a regal Hollywood air. Several designer label shopping bags hung from her arm. More than likely she was the wife of some producer or studio executive.
Chloe moved further down the line of garments, stopping to pull out a cream and silver striped blazer, which featured feathers on the lapel. It was a bit too busy for her taste.
I’m not sure about this, I don’t think it sticks the landing.
When she found something that didn’t quite work, Chloe liked to quote Stixxluv’s favorite line. It was cutting but bitingly accurate. The jacket was trying to be too many things, when it would have been fine without the feathers. Even the mix of silver and beige-tinted cream was a no.
The other customer moved closer, and Chloe’s senses immediately went on high alert. Any second now, she would be asked for either her autograph, a selfie, or in all probability, both. But an artist had to keep their fans happy.
“Excuse me.”
Chloe took a deep breath and offered the woman a smile. “Hi.”
The woman then proceeded to rummage in one of her shopping bags. “Are you Chloe Fisher? I’m such a big fan. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind …”
It was the holiday season, of course she didn’t mind. She’d had a successful album, and a massive summer hit. Foster was going to announce Chloe’s world tour early in the new year. Part of her job was to make the people who bought her music and her concert tickets happy. “Sure, do you have a pen and paper that I can sign?” Chloe held out her hand. But instead of receiving a random piece of paper and a pen, she was handed a large buff colored envelope, along with the words. “Ms. Fisher, you have been served. Have a nice day.”
She was left staring dumfounded at the paper in her hand as the woman headed straight toward the door.
Being a famous person, lawsuits came as part of the territory, but she hadn’t ever been personally served before. Those things normally went through her management. Foster was paid to deal with such things. The public act of having been handed a law suit felt like a violation of her personal privacy. Unease slid down her spine.
Where is Marta? Gabriela? I want to go home.Now.
After folding the envelope in half and stuffing it into her bag, Chloe frantically went in search of her number one and number two personal assistants. Having an emotional breakdown in the middle of a fashion store was the last thing she needed, because if she did, then someone somewhere would surely have pictures of a weeping Chloe posted online within hours.
* * *
She kept her nerves under control all the way home. Fortunately, Marta and Gabriela were too busy with some juicy piece of LA gossip to pay her any real attention. Neither had witnessed what had happened in the boutique, and Chloe kept her own counsel about the envelope. Something wasn’t right, and until she could get to the bottom of it, she didn’t want to share it with anyone.
Back at her house in Beverly Hills, she hid the bag containing the envelope in her wardrobe and feigned taking a nap, waiting until Marta and Gabriela had both left for the day. This was her home, and she loved it more than anywhere else in the world, but she’d never truly felt a real sense of privacy here. Too many people were always coming and going. Too many eyes and ears, all watching her every move. She’d come to the recent realization that this wasn’t her home—it was her prison.
She retrieved the envelope and called the number at the top of the cover letter. After giving the reference number and a few other details to identify herself, the call was forwarded on to an agent.
“Hello, are you are calling on behalf of Ms. Chloe Fisher?”
“Yes.” She tucked her hair nervously behind her ear. The man on the other end couldn’t see her, but Chloe was self-conscious. She rarely spoke to anyone outside of her tight social circle or the press. This was the real world.
“This debt has been outstanding for some time. From my records, it appears that we have tried to contact you on a number of occasions. Oddly this debt is in your name, not your company. But as I am handling those collections as well, and since you are a director, I can also discuss those matters.”
There is more than one bad debt?
The agent was thorough with his explanation, and he was kind. By the time she finished the phone call an hour later, Chloe had a clearer idea of where her finances stood.
The house was eerily quiet as she logged on to her laptop and clicked the website where he’d instructed her to download her credit score. The list of debts owed by her company CGN Entertainment was long. Late payments. Partial payments. Summons after summons had been served. Even a notice of demand from the finance company who owned theChloe Jet.
