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His heart squeezed in his chest as he read the words of the accompanying caption, “Wishing we were still here, and it was all so new again. #bitterbabe #brokenheart”.
There were over three hundred thousand comments under the post. He didn’t check how many likes or loves it had. It didn’t matter.
Jordan screwed his eyes shut. Any minute now he was going to start blubbering in the back of the car. Why did she have to post that?
I knew I shouldn’t have checked. I should have stayed away.
But the damage was done. He may as well keep going. Scrolling through her socials, it soon became apparent that all of her posts after her and Jordan’s breakup had become more stylized, less spontaneous than in the past. A sense of joy and warmth was lacking.
Then things had changed once more in the week running up to Christmas. Instead of holiday wishes and vacation plans, Chloe had taken to offering up odd snippets of advice and thoughts on painful lessons she had learned.
Only one post actually showed Chloe, and that had been just her hands. She was journaling. Writing.
Something was off with the world’s biggest pop star. She was hiding from her fans. But why?
When will I stop torturing myself over this woman?
His new year resolution should be to block Chloe’s number and delete her old messages. #NewYearNewMe.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
Chloe spent New Year’s Eve alone at home. She couldn’t face anyone. The official termination notices and non-disclosure agreements had gone out to her staff late the previous day, along with their final payments. When other people talked about a new year, a new me, this was not what she’d had in mind.
The abusive texts arrived not long after, the first was predictably from her former number one personal assistant.
I loved you. After all I have done for you, this is how you treat me?
Gabriela had dutifully signed her paperwork and sent it straight back. Knowing her, she had probably done that so that Marta couldn’t talk her out of it. At least one of her former team members was behaving like an adult.
Stixxluv, who happened to be at an exclusive retreat in Mexico, sent a more strategic reply.
Thank you for paying my outstanding invoices. In light of our previous conversation I would like it made known that you and I ended our creative partnership not long after the All American Music Awards in July. I don’t mean to be hard about this, but I have a business to run and a baby on the way.
If clients saw a gap between his leaving and her change of management, it would look better for him. And for his career.I owe him that much.
Congrats on the baby, wonderful news. Agreed that we make that the official line.
She sent the reply, then turned off her cell.
Chloe rang the new year in while lounging on the couch in her sweat pants and watching the fireworks on TV. A bottle of champagne and some soft, French cheeses were her only indulgence. It made sense to hunker down at home, and ready herself for the inevitable public fall-out which severing ties with Foster and Marta would surely bring. Her former manager and assistant were not the kind of people to go quietly. They would try to extract as much money out of her and cause as much damage to Chloe’s reputation as they could. Spite was a strong motivator.
When Nancy arrived at Chloe’s house a few weeks later, her new manager came bearing two large hot takeout coffees and a hard set of battle plans. They set up Nancy’s laptop on the kitchen table and got to work.
“Now, the first good thing which has happened this morning, is that your new bank account has gone live. I’ve checked with the accountant, and he has confirmed that no money will be going into any of your old bank accounts. Speaking of money, have you got around to cutting up the rest of your credit cards?”
Chloe shook her head. She’d actually got the scissors and the cards out late last night but couldn’t summon the strength to go through with it.
“I wasn’t sure which ones I was meant to destroy,” she lied, setting them out in front of her on the table. How was she going to survive without them?
Nancy lay her hand over Chloe’s. “This is the dark hour before the dawn. Just remember that. Now you don’t need to cut them all up, just these.” She stacked six of the eight cards into a pile, then shifted the remaining two back toward Chloe.
There was a platinum Amex, but it was not one of theby invitation onlyCenturion cards which all the major celebrities had. The other card was a basic ATM and debit card. Chloe brushed her fingers over them. How naïve had she been before all this, and how long had she stood unwittingly on the precipice of disaster, one debt collector notice away from defaulting on her life.
Nancy waited patiently while Chloe retrieved the scissors and proceeded to cut up the remaining credit cards, nodding her approval when the last of them was added to the small pile of tiny plastic slivers. A lack of money meant a lack of spending choices.
It’s all up from here. God, please let it be.
“Now, Sandra’s team and your accountant have done a great job in helping to stem the outflow of money. There will of course be some lawsuits and ugly rumors, but that can’t be helped. What can be helped however is finding ways to get money coming in. Money that your previous manager won’t be able to make a claim on. That is what I have been focusing my energies on.”
