Chapter 15: Autograph.
"It's coming together nicely." I tell Ashton and he smiles.
"I told you, Vee. Our estate is almost complete." Ashton says looking at the men at work.
"For the first time, you actually did something right." I tell him, patting his back.
"I'll take it." He says, smiling.
"I'll see you when I get back from my vacation." I tell him.
"I still can't believe you're going on a vacation without me." He says and I roll my eyes. "Aren't you worried about being alone?" He asks me.
"Oh trust me. I'm not gonna be alone." I say, winking at him before I turn on my heel and walk to my car.
Twenty minutes later, I am parking my car in my garage.
I got a new house. Too many people knew where I lived. And I fired Dinah, she suffered enough trauma working for me.
I walk up the porch steps and I open my door. Karlie runs up to me and I pick her up.
"Hey baby girl. Mummy's home." I say, rubbing her head.
My phone rings and I place Karlie on the sofa, before I answer.
"Hello." I say into the phone.
"Valarie, I have good news." Sarah says and I roll my eyes.
"If it's anything that's gonna make me cancel my vacation, I'm not doing it." I tell her.
"Pepsi wants you to do a campaign for them." She tells me and I freeze.
Pepsi.
The Pepsi.
"Yes. I'll do it." I say without hesitation.
"One problem." Sarah says and I groan.
"What is it?" I ask her, terrified of her reply.
"I just got off the phone with Zachary Henderson's manager and he told me that Pepsi also contacted Zach to be the sports face of the brand. While you'll represent them on the business side. So, the million dollar question is, are you comfortable working with him? If not, we can always decline the offer." Sarah says and I touch my forehead.
"Yeah. I'm open to working with him." I tell her and she cheers on the other side of the phone.
"The first location is a warehouse on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. You guys will be shooting tomorrow. I'm sending a jet tonight and you'll be checking in at the four seasons when you get there. Pack light. Good luck." She says before she hangs up.
This is so sudden, but I'm game.
I put Karlie in her cage and I pack tins of cat food in a bag. I put her litter box in the cage with her. I pick up the cage and I slide into my bunny slippers. Holding the bag filled with cat food on one hand and the cat cage, I open the door with my elbow and walk outside.
I walk to my neighbor's house. When I get to her porch I place the cage on the tiled floor. I approach the door and before I can knock the door opens.
"Valarie." Miss Moore says with a warm smile on her face.
"Hello, Miss Moore." I greet before I hug her.
Miss Moore is a black woman in her sixties. She lives alone in this huge house all alone. She's unmarried and has no children. Not that any of that matters.
"Come in." She tells me and I pick up the cage and follow her.
I walk into her house and I place the cat cage and bag of cat food on her living room floor before I sit on the sofa.
"Would you like some tea?" She asks me and I smile at her as I shake my head, declining.
"I actually came here to ask for a favor." I tell her.
"What is it dear?" She asks, a worried look on her face.
"I'm going away to shoot a commercial for a few days and I was wondering if you'd pet sit for me." I tell her and she smiles.
"Of course. I love Karlie, you didn't even have to ask me." She says before she walks to Tiffany's cage and brings her out.
"I just didn't want to intrude." I say, rubbing my neck.
"Nonsense. You can never intrude. You're like family." She says. "Now, would you like that cup of tea?" She asks and I nod.
"One cup of hot ginseng coming right up." She says, rubbing Karlie's fur as she exits the living room.
That went well.
***
The car comes to a halt and I grab my bag, waiting for the driver to open the door.
"We're here, Miss Stone." He says as he opens the door for me.
I step out of the car and make my way towards the black private jet in front of me. The night wind moving through my hair, messing it up.
"Welcome, Miss Stone." The flight attendant says as my feet hit the first step of the staircase leading into the aircraft.
"Good evening." I say as I make my way up the stairs.
The interior of the jet is a beautiful nude brown with white finishing. I take a seat beside the window and the flight attendant hands me a glass of champagne. I shouldn't really be drinking, but I down the content of the glass in seconds.
It's ten o'clock right now and I know that I'll pass out on this chair once we are in the air. Ten minutes later, the jet still hasn't made any signs of takeoff and I'm confused at this point. I call one of the flight attendants and I ask her why.
"Oh, we're waiting for the next passenger. We were asked to hold the jet for him and not take off until after he arrives. But I just got word that his car is close by." She tells me.
"Sarah didn't mention any of this to me. And she certainly didn't tell me that I'll be flying with someone else." I say, wondering what is going on.
"I don't know, I'm just following orders, Miss." She says before she walks away.
I pull a blanket over my body and I get comfortable. I'm not even going to be bothered by this. I have sleep to catch.
"Yeah, that's fine. I'll have some strawberries with that too." I hear Zachary say and I let out a tired groan.
It just has to be him huh?
Sarah didn't tell me that we'd be flying together. He's going to get on my nerves the whole time.
"Hey Vee." He says, kissing my forehead.
I wipe my forehead and ignore him.
"Looking forward to working with you." He says, sitting down beside me.
"Just shut up, would ya? I'm trying to sleep." I tell him facing the window as I put my feet up.
"Would you like a foot rub?" Zachary asks and I snicker.
"Didn't know you were now a masseuse now?" I say, sitting up.
He is about to reply, when the pilot's voice plays through the speakers. I send him a coy smile. The pilot informs us that he is about to take off and he asks Zachary for an autograph in the process. Zachary smiles beside me and I roll my eyes.
"You have that stupid smile on your face like you don't know how famous you are." I say, annoyed.
"Famous? Me?" He chuckles.
"Yes, you. You have everything you could ever need. Fame, money, power." I list out.
"But I don't have you?" He says, raising his eyebrows as he stares at me with a stupid smirk on his face.
"Have a nice flight." I say, facing the window again with a smile on my face.
I toss and turn and my eyes finally open. Grabbing my phone, I press the power button and I see that it is two hours later. It doesn't feel like I was asleep for two hours.
"Oh, you're up?" Zachary asks me, typing away on his laptop. Not breaking eye contact with the screen to look at me.
"Yeah." I yawn, stretching my hands.
I unbuckle my seatbelt and I walk over to where Zachary is seated on the other side. I jump over his leg and I sit beside him as I stare at the laptop screen and I'm shocked by what I see.
Zachary is reading a book.
"Since when did you read?" I ask him, completely shocked.
"Since I started dating Sabrina." He says and my eyes widen.
"Hmm, nice." I tell him, leaning away from him.
"What?" He asks and I shake my head.
"Nothing." I shrug.
"Spit it out, Vee." He urges on.
"It's just that when we were together you never even had the time to read. So, how do you find the time now that you're world famous?" I ask him.
"It's times like this when I'm on a plane that I use to catch up on my reading." He says. "And when we were together we were too busy with each other to have time for any other thing." He continues.
"I guess you're right. And you were practicing every chance you got. It's a good habit though. It helps you in the long run." I tell him and he smiles at me.
"I'm just reading these books so I can learn new words to use when I argue with someone." He reveals and I roll my eyes.
"Just when I had a little faith in you." I say, rolling my eyes.
"Would I be Zachary Henderson if I didn't disappoint you?" He asks and I shake my head staring at him.
"No, you wouldn't. That's your tragic flaw and I like it that way." I tell him, staring into his sea blue eyes.
He wets his bottom lip as he stares at me. He inches closer like he's about to kiss me and I move closer too, the seat belt tightening around my stomach.
He puts the thumb on his lip and flips the page of his book.
"Learn to control yourself, Valarie. I'm in a relationship." He quips and I turn cherry red.
That was so embarrassing.