Chapter Twenty

Jade stepped off the plane and the all the peace she found the last few weeks in Indiana evaporated like a drop of water in the hot California sun.

Nora rushed forward to meet her, her ever-present palm pilot in hand. Jade wondered if maybe the thing was surgically attached.

“Juliet!”

“Jade,” she muttered fruitlessly under her breath. Nora grabbed her and hugged her. The palm pilot dug into Jade’s shoulder blade.

“I just can’t believe Kyle’s dead,” Nora wailed. Jade shook with the force of Nora’s sobs until her assistant finally stepped back and pulled a package of tissues from her fanny pack. Dabbing at her wet eyes, she offered a Kleenex to Jade. She shook her head. She'd yet to cry over Kyle’s death. Granted, she just found out about it a few hours ago, but she still didn’t feel like shedding that first tear. Maybe she was in denial or maybe she just didn’t have any feelings left for Kyle.

Nora honked into her tissue. “I’ve got a car waiting for us,” she managed between blows. “Sid wants you to help with memorial service arrangements. He wants a big affair.”

“Shauna can orchestrate the service.”

Nora tugged her along. “Sid wants you to do it.”

Jade followed her soon-to-be-ex-assistant to meet her soon-to-be-ex agent to talk about her recently deceased ex-husband. She really needed to gather the courage to fire one or both of them. Now probably wasn’t the best time after Kyle’s death. Maybe she'd wait until the end of summer, after her vacation.

“I need to go home and shower first.”

Nora’s brows puckered and she consulted her palm pilot. “Hum.” She tapped a few keys. “Yes, there's time for you to shower.”

“I don’t recall asking your permission,” dangled on the tip of her tongue, but she fought from releasing the snide remark. Instead, “Have the car drop me off at my house and I’ll meet you at Sid’s office,” came out.

Nora looked as if she wanted to argue but she pursed her lips and nodded agreement. “Let me call Sid and let him know of the slight adjustment to the schedule.” She pulled a small silver phone from her bag and rapidly punched in a series of numbers. She plugged a finger in her ear and turned her back.

“Morning Ms. LaRue,” the driver greeted her. He tipped his hat and held the door open. Jade smiled politely. “Sorry to hear about your husband.”

“Ex,” Jade corrected as she slid in the limo. He bent down to peer inside. “Still, it must be hard.”

No, it wasn’t hard but all these people telling her it should be made her feel like a robot. Had she become so jaded by Hollywood that she couldn’t feel normal emotions anymore?

An image of Logan Bradley flashed through her head. The thought of something happening to him or Isabella made her stomach clench painfully. She'd only known them a few weeks and already she felt more for Logan than she had for Kyle in a very long time.

She didn’t get a chance to talk to Logan before her flight to California. She rang his doorbell but he'd already left for work. She didn’t want to leave a message because she needed to explain about Kyle, not just inform him of his death. Now it would be a few more days of him thinking she was married. Her stomach pitched. She would try to call him later and explain.

“I never cared much for his acting,” the chauffeur continued, jarring her from her thoughts.

“What?”

“His acting,” the man repeated. “Your husband came across as shallow and one-dimensional. Now you,” he continued, “you come across as wholesome and friendly.”

A frisson of unease slid down Jade’s spine. She strained to peer at the man’s face but the bright sunlight backlit his features, making it hard to see him clearly. Could he be the one sending the disturbing notes?

Thankfully Nora scooted inside and the man closed them inside. Jade slammed her hand down on the button to raise the privacy glass.

“Oh, wait,” Nora said. “I forgot to give him instructions to take you home.” She slid the panel down and spoke to the driver. Sitting behind him, Jade still couldn’t get a clear glimpse of his face.

Once Nora relayed the info, she lifted the privacy shield and sighed as she slumped against the seat. “I can’t believe Kyle’s dead,” she repeated for the hundredth time with a sniffle.

Jade closed her eyes and pretended to nap.

The driver finally pulled up to her house after a torment-filled ride where Nora babbled and bawled about Kyle. Obviously her sleeping rouse didn’t fly.

Jade didn’t wait for the driver to open her door. She couldn’t get out of the confined space fast enough. The handle was jerked out of her grip and her housekeeper, Maria, stood on the other side jabbering, alternating between English and Spanish. Her tears set off Nora and before Jade knew what happened, both women were engulfing her in a sobbing sandwich. She endured their hugs and words of sympathy before Maria shuffled her to the house. Jade turned to get a look at the chauffeur but he was already disappearing through the gates.

Her gardener, Maria’s husband Rafael, hobbled behind them, lumbering under the weight of her suitcase. Jade put a restraining hand on Maria’s arm. “Excúseme, Maria.” She turned to the gardener and removed the heavy bag from his gnarled fingers. She didn’t want to damage his pride, so she said, “Rafael, could you reset the gate security code immediately, por favor.”

“Si, si, Señora LaRue,” he said, looking grateful to be relieved of the burden. “I will do so enseguida.” He shuffled off to reset the alarm.

#

Sid almost swallowed his tongue when he saw Jade. And not in a good way.

“What in tarnation happened to your hair?” he barked, an unlit cigar clamped between his lips. “Jeez, what’d ya do, light your damn head on fire or something?”

He plucked the cigar from his mouth and used it to point at her. “You get that mahogany mop of yours blonde right now, missy.” He stuck the fat brown stick back in his mouth and waved his hand with distaste. “No one is supposed to see you like that.” He squinted. “And where are the contacts?”

Jade sighed. “Sid, I just flew in from—”

“Martha, get that salon in West Beverly on the line. I need an emergency appointment for Juliet.” He ignored her as he slammed down the receiver while his secretary went about making appointments.

“Sid, my vacation is not over. I went through an extensive process to strip the color from my hair,” she rationalized, “and too many harsh chemicals this soon might just make my hair fall out. I’m not going through it again.”

Sid muttered to himself and banged around in his desk drawer. He whipped out a manila folder and yanked out a contract. He flashed it in front of her face. “This says you will. Every A-List celebrity in Hollywood will be at this funeral and you, my dear Juliet, will be the beautiful starlet I have carefully crafted.”

Wow, he made her sound like his personal Frankenstein. Her red-headed temper flared and Jade bit her tongue to keep from firing Sid on the spot. He'd been a decent manager, but his loyalties were with Kyle, even in death. He was the one who told her she couldn’t carry the lead in a movie and he wouldn’t submit her name for parts even if she begged.

“Fine, I will dye it blonde and put in the contacts but I will not cut it. The contract doesn’t stipulate length, just color.”

“Listen here, Juliet,” Sid raged, “this is for Kyle. You will be the grieving widow even if you have to act the part.”

“You are my agent. I employ you, Sid, not the other way around.”

Sid’s face turned a spotty red. Jade had never seen him so angry, and that included the time she told him she was divorcing his beloved Kyle. “Sid, shouldn’t you pop a nitroglycerin or something?” His face really was a disturbing shade of magenta.

Sid ignored her, balling his hands into fists and pounding them on the table. He slowly rose, his lips curling to show his capped teeth. “I made you who you are, Juliet LaRue. Without me, you would be nothing but a hack two-bit B-list actress, waiting tables and probably stripping on the side. Lord knows I can’t get you to flash your assets, but I bet you'd be singing a different tune when it came to putting food on the table.”

Now it was Jade’s turn to seethe. She stood and stuck her face in Sid’s, nose to nose. “My assets, as you call them, are none of your concern and I believe I had something to do with my success.”

“You sure about that?” he sneered. “You were a life-long commercial actress until I stepped in and took over your career.”

“I basically still am,” she yelled, throwing her arms in the air. “You won’t let me audition for a starring role. I always have to play second fiddle to some other well-known actor.” She slammed a fist on his desk. “I want the lead in MegaPics upcoming movie and you say I’m not ready for it yet. When do you think I will be ready, Sid? When I’m fifty?”

“I’m the expert here,” he boasted. “I know what Hollywood wants, what the studio heads want, what the fans want. You're in demand and you certainly aren't hurting for roles. You could be acting right now if you'd get off your lazy ass and come back to LA.”

Lazy? This coming from a man who bought a Rascal just so he wouldn’t have to walk from his office to his car, all five-hundred feet. Jade straightened and crossed her arms to keep from swinging at Sid’s fat head. “I appreciate all you've done for me, Sid. I really do. But I don’t answer to anyone but myself.”

“Wrong again, Juliet. You answer to me.”

“Not anymore. You’re fired.” Jade spun on her heel and stalked out of the office.

“Get back here! You can’t fire me.”

Settling her sunglasses on her nose, she pushed out the door. She would get her hair colored, she would wear the contacts while she was in LA, and she would publicly mourn for Kyle in front of the cameras, but the only person in charge of Jade’s life was Jade.

“Juliet, wait.”

Jade paused while Nora caught up with her and then dropped her hands to her knees and sucked in air.

“Where are you going, Juliet?” she asked between puffs.

“To get my hair dyed and then to my house.” Funny, she didn’t consider her Hollywood Hills house home anymore. She didn’t have a home. While the rental in Bloomington was nice, it wasn’t hers. Maybe she would check real estate ads when she returned. A place to get away to whenever she needed anonymity sounded great, and Bloomington had so much to offer—including a hunk named Logan and his adorable daughter.

“What about Sid?”

Jade flung a dismissive hand in the air. “What about him?”

“He wants you to help with the arrangements for Kyle’s remembrance celebration.”

“No, he wanted me to cry in front of the cameras, spouting lies about the wonderful Kyle Ashton.”

“But…Kyle was wonderful.” Nora sounded truly perplexed.

“Nora, I’m not going to argue with you, too. You have your memories of Kyle and I have mine. I will attend the funeral and I will pay my respects but that’s where it ends.”

“But Sid said—”

Jade stopped suddenly and a man had to swerve to avoid a collision. She murmured apologies and then faced her assistant. “I fired Sid, Nora.”

“What?” Nora tossed her head from side to side. “No, you couldn’t have. He made you a star.”

Well, so much for support. Apparently her talent had nothing to do with her success at all. “I’ve got an appointment,” she announced in clipped tones. “I’ll talk to you later.” She spun on her heel and marched to her car.

“But…”

Jade ignored Nora’s pleas and kept walking. Her steps slowed as she approached her Lexus. There was something smeared on her window. She punched the button to unlock the door and carefully approached the driver’s side, her eyes scanning the area for any suspicious activity. A large hand print covered the glass, definitely from a man.

Jumping in the car, she locked the doors and drove to the nearest car wash to remove the disgusting mark.

It was probably just some bum wandering aimlessly down the street. Or maybe it was someone trying to get a better look inside. She wanted to believe either story, but deep down she knew it was from the weirdo sending her the disconcerting notes.