Her sigh gusts into the phone. “Do you have a plan B? What about Eppy?”
“I’m working on it.”
“Are you working on it or sitting on your ass checking your phone to see if ZZTV released your name?”
I pause. “The latter.”
“When this started, you said Fangli’s team could handle any scandals.”
“I did.”
“Nothing has happened yet.”
“Not yet.”
There’s a bang, then Anjali’s voice comes back on. “That was me hitting the phone in frustration,” she says. “Here’s what you’re going to do.”
Despite myself I grin. Anjali’s back in fighting form. “What am I going to do?”
“I’m going to set up a Google alert for your name and I’ll tell you if anything happens. You’re going to turn off your Wi-Fi and work on Eppy.”
“I might need to research something.”
“Save everything you need to search and send it to me. I’ll copy and paste the web pages.”
“This is ridiculous. You don’t have time for this.”
“I’ve been on the phone with you for an hour. Trust me that I have the four minutes to set an alert. Plus it’s a scientific fact I made up that 98.9 percent of internet searches are only mindless surfing.”
“Anjali…”
“Two days. Try for two days. Give yourself a break, Gracie. Leave your phone at home. See your mom. Work on a project you love. Let me help.”
I lie back on the couch and nod before I remember she can’t see. “Thanks.”
“Now turn off your damn phone and get some rest.”
***
Over the next two days, Anjali texts me updates every few hours that only say “None” so I know she’s checking for me. It feels good to have her on my side. I think she and Fangli would have liked each other.
It’s not so bad being myself full-time again. It’s a relief to not have to be a person I’m not, and I was never able to take full advantage of the wine or food as Fangli anyway. I miss talking with Fangli more than I expected and a few times find myself thinking of things to tell her before I remember that part of my life is done.
I also, because I’m a bit materialistic, miss that expensive perfume collection. I left it all there, every little bottle, so they couldn’t accuse me of stealing. I even left that gorgeous jumpsuit but mostly because it reminded me of Sam.
I refuse to think about Sam at all.
It’s particularly hard at night. I never realized how empty my life had become until I no longer had Fangli and Sam there to talk with at the end of the day. Finally, driven by a need for human connection, I head to Cheri’s coffee shop. I want a friendly face if only for a few minutes of surface-level in-person conversation.
“Hey, babe, long time.” Cheri automatically starts making a latte for me but I stop her.
“Just a coffee today.”
“Got it. What you been up to?”
“Ah, you know.” Pretending to be a movie star, falling in love with another movie star, worrying about worldwide humiliation, as one will.
“Right, right.” She glances over. “I got chocolate.”
“Double chocolate scone.”
“You can have the last one.” She plucks it out with the tongs and hands it over. “Loni’s preggers again and can’t stand the smell of it, so her kid’s stuck eating the lemon ones.”
We chat about nothing for a few minutes, and as she’s about to hand me the cup, Cheri says, “Hey, some dude was in looking for you day before yesterday.”
Please not ZZTV. “Me, by name?”
“Yeah, superhot Asian guy.” Then her dark eyes narrow. “There he is now. You need to go out the back?”
I turn.
It’s Sam.
Cheri’s voice fades out behind me as my body kicks into fight-or-flight, adrenaline making my ears hum and the muscles in my stomach clench so hard I almost hunch over. I didn’t expect this. Sam came looking for me. Why?
He looks tired but when our eyes meet, his shoulders drop slightly, as if in relief.
“I’m good,” I tell Cheri.
Something in my voice makes her eyebrows rise. “Hey, I got your back here. No one gets hassled in my shop.”
“Thanks, Cheri. He’s a…” I hesitate. “He’s a friend.”
My heart is high in my throat and part of me wants to talk to him more than anything. With Sam, I felt alive, complete. Too bad that was based on a lie, too, and I don’t want any more of that in my life. I can’t trust someone who doesn’t trust me.