Chapter 30
I met Arthur at a fancy Italian restaurant downtown at eight o’clock. He ordered clam linguine, and I had pasta Bolognese. We both opted for water since we had to drive home.
When we received our main courses, Arthur insisted on a toast.
“To you, Anna,” he began, “and to your budding career. May it know no limits. Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
We clinked out glasses and sipped our water. Then we dug into our meal.
I found that I had to force myself to eat. The food had suddenly lost all its flavor. Arthur must have noticed, too, because he put down his utensils and looked straight at me.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just…the last time that I was included in a toast, it ended in my husband’s mistress announcing that she was pregnant.”
Arthur cringed.
“And everyone at the party congratulated them, as though they were the celebrating married couple.”
My stomach twisted in knots. It was as though I were living the event all over again.
“I’m sorry. That’s horrible. At least you kicked him to the curb.”
“We kind of kicked each other to the curb,” I admitted. “Really, I haven’t thought much about him since we separated.”
“Then we shouldn’t start that now, should we?” Arthur flicked his hand, as though waving off the idea of Bob altogether.
I smiled and let out a little laugh.
“So, how have you been, my little fan?”
“You know perfectly well that I’ve been just fine. Great, really. I mean, you did get me my biggest client today.”
Again, Arthur flicked his hand to wave that fact away.
“Have any guys been giving you more…problems?”
“Problems?”
“You know, like John.”
I quickly shook my head.
“No, no. I mean, there are always the online pervs leaving comments on my vlog, but nothing has gotten physical.”
“And what about Julia’s fanatics?”
“Again, there are the few odd trolls on my vlog. For the most part, though, Barnett’s legal threats seem to have worked.”
I could have sworn that I saw a vein throb in Arthur’s forehead at the mention of Barnett, but he didn’t say anything.
“That’s good. That’s very good. It tore me apart to see you harassed in so many ways.”
“Well, fortunately I had people like you around to protect me when I needed it.” I paused. “I can’t thank you enough for interfering with John.”
“Think nothing of it.”
“No, it means a lot to me that you’ll stand by me during something like that.”
“Well, like I said, it tears me up to see you harassed.”
Arthur grabbed my hand. I was too uncertain to pull away.
“That’s why I think we should revisit the idea of me being your fake boyfriend.”
“Arthur—”
“Hear me out. If you have a fake boyfriend, not only will people stop trying to entangle you with Barnett and Julia, but guys won’t date try and mess with you.”
I sighed. I had hoped that we would never bring up this subject again. I wanted to scold Arthur for even mentioning it, but as I looked into those big eyes, the ones so much like Charlie’s, my anger dissipated.
“No, Arthur. I don’t need you to be my fake boyfriend,” I said firmly. “Can we just enjoy our dinner?”
Arthur squeezed my hand and smiled.
“Of course, my little fan.”
• * *
First thing the morning after my dinner with Arthur, I hit the gym. I needed a good workout as an outlet for my tensions from the night before. Arthur was a good friend and a great boss, but he could be very frustrating at times.
I certainly did not need to take those leftover frustrations in with me to work.
Just as my stylist career was taking off, so was my fitness vlog. I had millions of followers, and most of them seemed to watch my videos on a daily basis.
Sports brands were even asking me to do commercials for them. Shoes, clothing, stationary bikes, and even highly specialized sports brands had been in contact with me. I had refused them so far due to my busy schedule, but it was still a good sign for the professional level of my vlog that I was getting the offers.
I had to admit that the last part did boost my confidence quite a bit, as did all the comments on my new look:
Looking good, Anna! Way to keep to the program!
Great job, Anna. Thanks for showing us that we can all go the distance!
From fat and fabulous to lean and legendary!
They really helped to motivate me to keep up with my regiment.
As I set up my new camera on its tripod, I heard my phone buzz in my purse. Thinking that it might be one of my clients, I rushed to answer it. The number on the caller ID made me groan, but I answered the call anyway.
“What do you want, Bob?”
“Can’t I just call to see how you’re doing?”
“No, you can’t,” I said, my voice almost a growl. “What do you want?”
Bob hesitated. “I was just wondering if I could come see you.”
“No.”
“But you don’t even know why.”
“It wouldn’t matter. I don’t want you to come see me.”
“That isn’t fair, Anna. What if it’s about the divorce settlement? About selling the house?”
“Is it about selling the house?”
He hesitated again. “No.”
“Then I don’t want to see you.”
“Please, Anna, I promise it will be worth your time.”
God, I hated when he whined.
“I’m not going to take you back, Bob. We’re finished.”
“Yes, I know, I know. I’ve moved on. You know that.”
I thought I knew that. Then again, he seemed to move on to a new woman every time I heard about him, so who was to say that he didn’t want to move on back to me—for my success, my new looks, or to get his old money back?
“Then why do you want to see me?” I asked impatiently.
“It’s…uh…it’s about Outer U Cosmetics. We noticed how popular your vlog was getting, and we wanted you to do a commercial for us.”
I rolled my eyes, despite the fact that Bob couldn’t see it. It was clearly a lie. Still, I couldn’t just call him out on it without evidence; then I would seem vain and self-centered.
“I don’t think so, Bob. I don’t even use Outer U for my styling clients—”
“But see! It would be perfect, wouldn’t it? For a fitness vlogger/stylist to be in a commercial for cosmetics?”
It was sad how desperate he was getting.
“Just let me come see you and talk to you about it—”
“Goodbye, Bob.”
I hung up before he could reply. I shook my head and threw my phone back into my purse.
“I can’t believe he’d waste my time with such nonsense,” I muttered.
I turned on the camera and hurried to get in front of it.
“Good morning, everyone,” I said, forcing cheerfulness into my tone. “Today, we’re going to focus on the treadmill. After all, running is a great way to blow off steam when people insist on pissing you off.”
