Chapter Three
Charlotte
“But what will you do instead?” asked my best friend Serene as she dove into her waffles.
The New York breeze caught her napkin and whipped it across my rooftop deck. As it whizzed by my head, I plucked it from the air like a Kung Fu master, smiling at Serene’s expression. “It’s the agility training from the Dragon Queen movie. I’ll lose it in a few weeks.”
“Ah,” she said, taking her napkin back and refocusing on her breakfast.
The red-eye flight from L.A. to New York had me back in my penthouse just in time for a nap and a late breakfast with Serene. I hadn’t had any real face time with her in three months. Being on the other side of the country on a movie set for fourteen hours a day tended to hamper my social life.
I did the bi-coastal thing because as much as I tried to make L.A. my home, it never seemed interested in the position. Aside from the glorious weather, there weren’t many things I liked about the city. I stayed there when I had to for work, but otherwise, I was in my real home on the east coast.
“Well? If not acting, then what?” Serene asked again. “Tell me you’ve given it at least the tiniest bit of thought before deciding to quit.”
“Of course I have. This isn’t a decision I’ve come to lightly or recently. It’s been brewing for at least the last year. But I don’t yet know what I want to do instead. Everything? Anything? Maybe I’ll travel. Maybe I’ll go to all the places I’ve filmed at and actually enjoy them as a tourist.” Then a thought hit me. It was crazy but at the same time it made me feel hopeful. I said it slowly, carefully, testing how it sounded out loud. “Maybe I’ll get back into humanitarian work.”
“You did humanitarian work?”
Best friends though we were, Serene and I had actually only recently met. As I understood it, she lived the life of a hermit, afraid that she’d be discovered as an English royal in hiding. Then, something changed, and she decided she didn’t want to be that person anymore. I met her shortly after she “came out” to the public, and we’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since.
I nodded, enjoying the fresh farmer’s market fruit I picked up on the way back from the airport. “In college, before I was scouted, I was involved in all kinds of outreach missions. I was part of Habitat for Humanity and built houses for a summer. I went to Africa for a semester and dug wells for rural communities. I even started a clean water charity a few years ago. But I couldn’t really run it the way I wanted to, not with my shooting schedule. Maybe I’ll dive deeper into that.”
Serene nodded, dabbing delicately at her lips with the edge of her napkin. “That sounds wonderful. Let me know what you decide, and I’ll make sure my foundation donates. Oh, you know what? We should celebrate your new freedom. You should come to the Met Gala tonight,” she said, eyes twinkling.
She was up to something. I didn’t know what, but I was sure I wouldn’t like it.
“Why on earth would I want to go to the Met Gala?”
“It’s a charity event. Weren’t you just saying—”
“Yes, I was, and yes, in the strictest sense, the Met Gala is a charity. But you and I both know it’s more an excuse for rich people to get together and cause drama than it is a charity for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”
“Maybe that’s accurate. But think of all the networking you could do. Maybe you’ll stumble across someone who knows all there is to know about the ins and outs of starting and running charitable organizations. Maybe you’ll find people wanting to back your endeavor. Maybe—” She paused to give me a broad smile. “Maybe you’ll find someone special.”
I coughed, choking on my espresso. “Serene, you know damn well that’s the last thing I need.”
“Oh, pish-tosh. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to—”
“Serene! You know that’s not where I am right now.”
She gave me a frown and continued pushing the rest of her waffle around the plate.
Leaving Hollywood meant I’d also be leaving the tabloid spotlight. Ever since my first movie, I’d been prime tabloid fodder. It was my own fault really. I went to all the parties, was seen with countless men, and was dubbed the “serial relationship killer.” Not only did Hollywood think I fell in love too hard, too fast and too often, they thought that was the reason I couldn’t keep a man.
Hell, maybe it was. Maybe I did fall too fast. That’s one of the many reasons I was leaving and why I definitely did not want to meet anyone right now. The tabloids would find out and doom it from the start. Maybe after a few years, when the news of my resignation wasn’t still fresh on people’s minds. Maybe once I’d faded into obscurity and was “that actress from those movies a few years ago” and not Hollywood’s darling, I’d be comfortable starting something.
But not now.
“Oh, come now. You know the Met Gala is always a good time. You had fun the last time, remember?”
She had a point. I did have fun watching a pop princess and another A-lister fall for each other.
“Don’t make me go alone, Charlotte.”
I sighed. “I’m probably not even on the guest list.”
Serene snorted. “You’re Charlotte Blush. Of course you’re on the guest list. Now, have your assistant sort out the cost of your plate and any fees for a late RSVP, call up one of those designers that owe you a gown, and take me to the damn ball.”
I smiled at my friend’s smug expression. She knew she’d won.
“Fine,” I said as I stabbed at the last strawberry in the carton. “But you’re paying for my plate.”