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Chloe mercifully turned the music down, and Jordan began scanning the roadside for a place that sold coffee.
* * *
She’d gotten under his skin. Good. Payback was a bitch, and Chloe was going to keep leaning in hard. Last night she had spent some time online checking up on him. Trying to figure out why a Royal Resorts executive would have been tasked with the job of baby-sitting a pop singer. Except he wasn’t an executive any more by the look of it. Jordan’s name and photo were missing from the Royal Resorts website. She’d also uncovered some scathing press articles about the launch of the Laguna Beach resort.
Jordan coming out to Las Vegas for the launch made sense. He was part of the House of Royal family conglomerate, and the success of her residency would have an impact on the company’s bottom line. But him willingly spending the next eight months in Vegas catering to her every whim didn’t make a lick of sense.
Something has happened. Maybe he’s fallen out with his father.
He was hiding something, but then again, she also had plenty of her own secrets. Things such as the real reason why her jet wouldn’t be seen anytime soon in Las Vegas. Or the truth as to why Marta and Gabriela were no longer on the scene.
In time the questions would come, but first she had to get the Vegas residency announcement finalized. She’d feel a whole lot more comfortable about sharing things with Jordan once tickets had gone on sale. Once she was certain that no one could find a loophole to back out of the deal. If they discovered she was staring bankruptcy in the face, the Royal Resorts people might look to renegotiate the contract.
I can’t have that.
Jordan changed lanes and the SUV slowed. “Does that place look ok to you?” he asked.
Chloe glanced in the direction of where Jordan was pointing. The store in question seemed to be a mom and pop operation on the side of the road. From here, it looked clean and respectable.
“As long as they serve a half-decent cup of coffee, I’m all good.”
Jordan turned off the highway and onto the side access road. He pulled up in front of the store and killed the motor. “Did you want to come inside, or would you rather sit out here and wait?”
Chloe wanted this road trip to be just her and Jordan. And since no one knew, she was travelling to Las Vegas, and it was only a few hours in the car, she felt safe enough with him to take the risk.
Once they got to Vegas, it would be a different story. She would get Jordan to talk to the head of security at the hotel and decide what sort of protection they felt was necessary. Her contract with the resort included a full time security detail, but there was always a fine balance between being protected and feeling suffocated. Too many people had told Chloe what to do in the past, and she had paid the price for not listening to her own instincts.
“I’m sure I’ll be safe in the store. Besides I have you for protection, I’m sure there’s a clause somewhere in the contract that says you have to take one for the team if I am in danger.”
Dang, I am on form this morning! Another coffee and I will be dangerous.
The wig and baseball cap were a great disguise, but they itched. As soon as they got out into the desert, Chloe planned to ditch them and be herself.
“Coffee. What else would you like, Chloe?”
The truth of why you are here, in a take-out bag, would be nice.
“Just the coffee. Though if they have anything that looks healthy and yum, I could go with that—or not. While you order the coffees, I’ll just look around and see if anything else takes my fancy.”
She got a small shake of Jordan’s head in response to her vague answer. Without people constantly arranging her meals, and her mindlessly eating whatever was served up to her, Chloe was finding it hard to make her own decisions about food. Most of her recent menu choices had been heavily skewed toward pizza and tacos.
As soon as the announcement of the shows was done, she intended to get a trainer and get herself into concert shape. It wasn’t just about looking good in her costumes, fitness gave her stamina. And stamina was what she needed for being able to perform on stage for several hours as well as hitting the high notes of her songs.
Live for today, tomorrow we start the workout diet.
They both got out of the SUV and headed for the store. He turned and met her gaze. “Are you really sure about this?” he asked, glancing around. “What if someone recognizes you?”
Chloe shrugged. “I’ll risk it. And even if someone does recognize me, which I doubt they will, it might turn out to be good publicity. Get the millions of members of Chloe’s Garden wondering why I was out on the road heading toward Vegas. Social media rumors are gold if they get the fans talking about possible concert sales.”
She wasn’t afraid of the members of Chloe’s Garden. They were her true fans. But like everything in the entertainment business, timing was critical. It would be better to manage the small breadcrumbs of rumors from the safety of her suite at the resort in Vegas, so the uncomfortable wig and baseball cap had to stay on.
Once inside the store, Jordan made his way over to the counter and ordered their coffees. Chloe wandered down one of the short aisles. It was a small place, not much bigger than the Snack Shop convenience store which was close to her house. They stocked the usual snacks, drinks, and random toiletries. All the stuff that people on the road would want.
Chloe absentmindedly picked up a box of tissues, and a stick of lip balm. Without people to anticipate her every need, she’d started running out of things. She’d recently had to learn how to handle online grocery orders.
A nearby display rack caught her attention. “Beef jerky!” she squealed with delight. Chips came next. With her arms ladened with goodies and snacks, an excited Chloe finally headed for the service desk. Jordan, who had a coffee in either hand, quickly stepped aside as Chloe leaned over and dropped her treasure haul onto the counter. “And these, please.”
The cashier swiped her snacks through, and Jordan paid for them. With her paper bag filled with goodies in one hand and her piping hot cup of joe in the other, Chloe hip checked the door and marched outside.
