Chapter 29

That dream haunted me for days. When I was alone, alternating visions of the sex and the childbirth would flash through my mind. I wasn’t sure which affected me more.

Fortunately, I was able to distract myself with other aspects of my life. The money from my divorce settlement soon came in, and as promised, two-thirds of it went to an orphanage.

They were so excited to receive such a huge donation that they begged me to come and visit the children. With it being so soon after dreaming about birthing all these children for Barnett, though, I was torn. I told them that I would have to take a raincheck.

I was busier than ever at work. Arthur had convinced me to take on other clients and helped me hook up with some top vloggers. They all loved my aesthetic and the close attention that I paid to them.

Then Arthur got me an interview with one of the most influential celebrity vloggers out there: Celeste Shoemaker, better known as StarRise. She was an over-the-top fashion vlogger known for her bold style and quick temper. With her, there was no room for error.

So, of course, I wanted to vomit the morning of my interview. StarRise could make or break my career even faster than Arthur.

Both Lily and Arthur called to give me pep talks before I left my apartment. When I opened the door, I found a gift basket filled with wine and dark chocolate. The card read:

Lily told me about the interview. You can do it. Remember, your talent and personality keep you employed.

Let them shine.

--HockeyDude12

I smiled as I left the gift basket on my coffee table. I left the apartment still wanting to puke but in high spirits.

• * *

StarRise’s office was busier, larger, and even more eclectic than Arthur’s.

Pictures of models from runways all over the world covered most of the eggshell white walls. Fashion from as far away as Madrid and Hong Kong adorned mannequins, creating a maze for the dozens of people darting about at their tasks. On each side of the room, two more rooms branched off.

“Ms. Leonard?” a thirty-something-year-old man with bright orange hair and a clipboard asked me.

“Yes.”

“Follow me.”

We rushed to one of the rooms branching off from the left side of the main office. Immediately, I was confronted by the bright lights of a dressing room. My next sight, once my eyes had adjusted, was of StarRise herself.

She was a tall woman with long, elegant legs. Her tanned skin glowed under the fluorescent lights, and her deep hazel eyes twinkled with a fire waiting to ignite. This was the first time I had ever seen her without makeup.

She still looked beautiful.

“Well?” she asked. “What are you waiting for? Let’s get started!”

“Of course!”

I did my best not to fumble as I unloaded my makeup kits on the counter.

“What will I be styling you for today, Ms. StarRise?”

I saw her lip quirk.

“Miss? Oh, that’s cute. Just StarRise.”

“All right, StarRise. What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, just a routine video. You didn’t think I’d waste something important on your little try-out, did you?”

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I smiled and presented the color palettes to her.

“Any colors you want? Don’t want?”

StarRise took her time making her decision.

“Dark colors. And no orange.” She shuddered, as though orange were the most repulsive thing she could think of.

I couldn’t blame her.

At the mention of dark colors, an idea struck me. I presented her with the blues, purples, blacks, and rhinestones.

“How about I make you a galaxy?”

Her mouth dropped open. Her eyes lit with a new fire—a fire of excitement, not resting anger. She clapped her hands together rapidly.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

• * *

When I was done with StarRise, she was, indeed, a walking galaxy.

Her eyeshadow faded from black to purple to blue. Her lips were painted black with dots of white scattered about. Rhinestones created a swirl leading from the corner of her left eye down her left cheek.

Her hair stood in three layers with wire star decorations woven throughout (that took five of her employees to accomplish). Her dress was a strapless number that practically floated on her body, fading from black at the top to midnight blue in the middle to white at the bottom. For her shoes, she wore pure white five-inch heels.

She insisted that I stay through the filming, claiming that she needed me in case of any wardrobe malfunctions.

I zoned out for most of the video, until I noticed the tone in StarRise’s voice change.

“Now, everyone, I bet by now you’ve all noticed my amazing look,” she said in a bubbly voice that I knew she did not use to tear down the latest runway disaster. “Well, I’d love to take credit for it, but I did not come up with this alone. In fact, I didn’t come up with it at all.”

StarRise started to motion me towards her. I paled and shook my head emphatically.

“Oh, it looks like my special guest is going to need some encouragement. Come on out here, Anna Leonard!”

I tried to back away, but the orange-headed from earlier shoved me forward. I stumbled until I was standing beside StarRise.

“You all know Anna Leonard for her fabulous fitness vlogs. I know her as an even more spectacular stylist.”

I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks.

“In fact, she is so good at what she does that I have decided to make her my new permanent stylist!”

StarRise clapped her hands and jumped up and down. I was both mortified and bursting with pride.

• * *

As I left StarRise’s office, my new client’s number programmed into my phone, I received a video call from Arthur.

“Hi Arthur,” I said as I slid into the Aston Martin.

“Hello, my little fan,” Arthur said with a broad grin. “I saw you on StarRise’s vlog tonight.”

I groaned. “Yeah, she sort of surprised me with that. I looked awful.”

“No, you didn’t. Don’t lie like that.”

He was right. In my gypsy top and skinny jeans, I didn’t look awful. I just wasn’t quite so put-together after the workout that was StarRise’s styling.

“So,” he continued, “congratulations are in order. I knew you could do it.”

“Thank you. She’s my biggest client yet—present company excluded.”

“I think this deserves a proper celebration. Let me take you to dinner. Tonight.”

“Dinner? Tonight?”

I wasn’t so sure about that. He was my boss, after all. It didn’t seem appropriate.

Besides, we had been spending a lot of time together. A lot. More than I had thought I would be spending with him when I first took this job.

I supposed that part of that was because he reminded me so much of Charles. He reminded me a little of Michael, too, but mostly he looked like Charlie…or how I imagined Charlie would have looked like if he had survived childbirth. I would never tell him that, though.

Going to dinner with Arthur felt very different from hanging out with him. It even seemed different from when I bought him food because he hadn’t eaten to stay thin for a show. Still, he was my friend and my boss…

“Okay, that sounds great,” I said.