AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Good idea. Look, do me a favor will you, let’s agree that you and I parted professionally a little while ago. You know how important optics are in this business. I don’t want to get caught up in the shitstorm when all of this goes public.”
Trust Stixxluv to be thinking of how this would impact his image. And after all his support, it was the least she could do. “Let me talk to the lawyers. I expect they will ask me to wait until I get a new manager to issue any formal statement. But yes, let’s agree on that, and when the time comes, we can send some messages of support to each other on social media.”
“Thanks, Chloe. Take care.”
Ending the call, Chloe set her phone on the kitchen table. The house was the quietest she’d ever known it to be. She’d given both her housekeeper and cleaner three months paid notice, along with a generous Christmas bonus. December was not the best time to fire staff, and she felt a heavy degree of guilt over having to part with them at such short notice. But Sandra was right, she didn’t know who to trust.
Wandering out to the pool deck, glass of wine in hand, she considered the events of the past few days and pondered her future. With Foster, Marta, and Gabriela all gone, there was no one left to tell her what to do. No one to check on what she ate. No one dictating her life.
She’d wrestled control from out of the hands of people who spent years effectively gaslighting her. All decisions were now hers.
It was both liberating and scary as …
“Come on, Chloe. You can do this, for yourself and the fans. We are Chloe’s Garden—and we will survive.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
Downtown LA
An accountant’s office
The last place anyone wants to be on Christmas Eve
This was not how Chloe thought she would ever be spending her Christmas Eve. Instead of embarking on her annual last-minute flit through the stores on Rodeo Drive buying expensive gifts for friends and her team, she was sitting next to Sandra, in the board room of an accountant’s office as they went through a hefty stack of paperwork. Every single piece of paper on the table in front of her told the same dreadful story.
Chloe Fisher, the biggest pop star in the world, was broke. Or as darn well as near to it as she could get without actually declaring bankruptcy. The papers she’d been served in the boutique were from a catering company who’d supplied some gluten free cupcakes for the album launch. It hadn’t occurred to her until now, that she had always been the one on the hook for such events. Her record label rarely picked up the tab.
After a team of forensic accountants had been through her company finances, Chloe understood the awful truth of her glittering life. Her long-term management team had screwed her over. For every dollar she made, they took a sizeable chunk. What was left after Foster got his money, wasn’t all that much.
He’d given Chloe her big break and promised to look after her. Treat her like she was a part of his close-knit family. The sort of family she’d never had. But what Foster had really done was milk her for all she was worth.
“We have been through as much of Ms. Fisher’s finances as her previous management team’s lawyers have allowed. The rest we have tried to put together from tax filings and corporate returns. I’m afraid that the situation is dire to say the least, but not irretrievable,” announced the accountant.
To his credit, he delivered the news in a calm manner. There was no judgement in his tone. Chloe got a sense that that her accountant would do whatever he could to help her. But it did little to ease her rising panic.
It was hard to breathe. The notion that she could be on the verge of losing everything had a knot growing tight in her chest. She wasn’t Chloe the superstar, she was Chloe the little girl lost. The one that no one wanted. Her fingers gripped the laminated edge of the table.
Oh god, I am going to cry in front of these people.
Her lawyer thankfully nodded her understanding of the situation. “Ms. Fisher has terminated the contract with her previous management team, but it’s going to take some time for her to get clear of them. We are investigating the possibility of suing, but again it could be years before she sees any of her money.”
“As I said, things are not irretrievable, but some serious financial decisions are going to have to be made if we are to avert declaring bankruptcy,” replied the accountant.
Bankruptcy. The word had bile rising in her throat. She couldn’t bear the thought of such public humiliation.
There has to be a way out of this, I can’t lose it all.
Chloe placed a hand over her face. She didn’t give a damn what it did to her carefully applied makeup. She’d already made some major changes in her life, but apparently things were still spiraling out of control.
I’ve had both the number one album and single in the charts for the past four months, yet I’m sitting here.
“We’ve put together a proposal, which should see Ms. Fisher able to meet her commitments for the first quarter of next year.”
Pulling herself together, Chloe lowered her hand. The accountant slid a document across the table. He tapped a finger on the top of the paper. “Have you settled on a new agent or manager?”
Chloe and her legal team had met in secret with a number of top entertainment industry people. They were looking at the sort of agents and managers who not only represented the biggest and best artists in the business, but who had solid reputations for protecting their client’s wealth. Lesson learned—Chloe’s new agent/manager would not be handling her personal or company finances.
“Yes, I signed with Nancy L Rusen this afternoon,” replied Chloe, forcing herself into the discussion. She’d let other people make decisions for her in the past, and as much as her nerves were on edge, she had to have her voice clearly heard.
