Kitchen
Just as I’m pouring myself a cup of coffee, my phone rings, displaying my dad’s picture. Holy shit. My dad hasn’t spoken to me in months; hopefully he isn’t calling just to tell me to fuck off and ask the bank for a loan. I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Baby Jesus, I won’t ask for anything else if this goes in my favor.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Good morning, Blake, it’s your father,” he says. Well duh. It’s not like I was expecting Darth Vader to be on the other side of the phone.
“Morning, dad. How are you?” I ask, trying to make small talk.
“Everything is well considering the circumstances,” he says, making sure I heard the disappointment in his tone. “Anyway, your mother told me about this new venture that you’re going into.”
I take a sip on my coffee, nearly spitting it out when it burns my tongue. “Yeah…I think it’s best if I just venture out on my own, you know?”
“Do you have a business plan for this blog? I’m not just going to hand you money for you to waste it,” he says, a bit too sharply.
“Yes, dad. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t have one,” I say, trying to refrain from rolling my eyes.
“Although I don’t like that you’re still writing about rumors, I do think it’s smart to monetize it and charge companies ad space. I’ll take a look at your business plan and send you a little start-up money. Don’t screw this up, Blake.”
I jump up and down and do a silent victory dance. Yes! Everything is unfolding as planned!
“I won’t, dad. I promise. Thanks so much; this really means a lot.”
“Now remember that this is a loan and you’ll have to pay this back as if you were borrowing from a bank,” he says, his tone turning into the one he usually uses when he’s lecturing about something.
“Yes, definitely,” I say. “Well, how much will this loan be?”
“Since it’s a rather small start-up, we’ll start you off with $15,000. That should cover the expenses for you to get started. After that, you’ll have to learn to float and make it work. It’ll be sink or swim from that point,” he says.
I could do a lot with fifteen grand. “Wow, thanks so much! I promise I won’t let you guys down,” I promise.
“It isn’t about letting us down, Blake. Don’t let yourself down. Focus on your business and living a life you love. If you insist on keeping your nose in other people’s business, keep it in the celebrities and not people you know personally,” he says.
I smile and nod. “Lesson learned,” I say, looking at my watch. “I have to head to the magazine for a couple of things. We’ll chat later about this a little later.”
“Okay, dear. Please send me your banking information so we can get the money over to you as well as your business plan. It’s best that you go ahead and get started on this new venture.”
“Thanks, dad. I’ll send it over. I love you; talk soon,” I say and hang up with a smile on my face.
Blake Daily is officially going to become a reality!
10:31 a.m.
Hot Topic magazine
Walking into the Hot Topic is bitter sweet. It sucks that I’ll have to leave, but it’s only for the best. I can deal without the drama with Madison, and I don’t know how I’d be able to handle the guilt of seeing Shayla and Caesar and the issues I’ve probably caused for them. Either way, it was fun while it lasted.
I take the elevator up to what used to be my old workspace and make my way to Gary’s office. “Come in,” he says when I knock on the door.
He stands to his feet when he sees me and comes around his desk. “Hello again, Spencer,” he says. “So you’re sure you want to leave?”
I sigh and nod. “I think it’s better for everyone,” I say.
He nods. “You’re probably right. It just sucks to lose one of my best columnists,” he muses, scratching his chin. “What’s next for you? Hopefully you’re not going to Gossip Daily.”
“Oh no, definitely not,” I say, holding my hands up and shaking my head. “I actually plan to start my own entertainment blog.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re still going to be writing even though you’ll technically become one of my competitors,” he says, giving me a playful push.
“Hopefully it’ll be a friendly competition and not the ‘fuck you’ rivalry you have with Craig,” I tease. He laughs and shakes his head.
“Nah, you and I are good,” he says with a smile. “Ready to go talk to the team?”
I take a deep breath and nod. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.”
10:42 a.m.
Conference room
Everyone looks at me in silence. I feel weird standing before them, especially knowing that these people are no longer my friends. I clear my throat and release a shaky breath.
“Even though I apologized in the video Gary posted, I wanted to come here personally to apologize to everyone who was hurt by the things I wrote. It was never my intention for any of this go to public, but it still doesn’t excuse what I’ve done. I should’ve never mixed work with my personal life and I never should have involved any of you. I really am sorry and I hope one day you guys can forgive me for this.” I turn to Madison, who looks at me with a satisfied look on her face. “How very pathetic your life must be for you to go out of your way to try to destroy mine, even if it comes at the expense of others?”
Her eyes widen in surprise as she looks around at everyone else in the room before focusing back on me. “Are you accusing me of exposing your little blog?” she asks.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together, Madison,” I say, rolling my eyes. “All your little threats you’d make to me and asking Charlie if his brother still knew how to hack into things a couple of weeks ago is enough reason to assume you’re up to it. You may think you’ve won, but you can’t stop me from writing.” I turn to Shayla and Carrie Jo. “I know I promised you girls that you’d be invited to the next celebrity party I go to, but since I won’t be here to invite you, I scored you guys the next best thing.”
I hand them the gold envelopes and Carrie Jo bounces in her seat as she opens it and reads it. “The after party for the Gala! Now we’re cooking with gas!”
Shayla looks at me but she doesn’t say anything. Her expression isn’t something I can decipher. I don’t expect her to want to say anything to me, but it’s better than her screaming, I suppose.
“And Silas,” I say, turning to him. It’s so hard to see him sitting next to Madison, who’s awfully close to him now that I’m actually paying attention. “You were right about me. Maybe I’m not as great as everyone thinks I am. I’m still trying to figure out who I am. What I did was wrong, but I’m human. I can admit when I’ve messed up and the only thing I can do is try to make things right. Perhaps I’m not your type, but I can only be who I am,” I say. He doesn’t say anything, simply keeping his eyes fixated on me. Madison smirks at me.
“Is that all? I have work I can be doing,” she says.
“I guess that’s everything,” I say. They all get up and walk out of the conference room without another word. Once the room is empty, I take a few minutes to gather myself.
“Blake,” someone says from the doorway, startling me. I turn to see Shayla standing there. “Thanks.”
I shake my head. “No need to thank me. Getting the invitation was—”
“No, not necessarily for that,” she says, stepping back into the room. “I’m sure you saw that things weren’t good with Devin and me. I’m still pissed that all my business was put out for everyone to see and people I don’t even know are judging my decisions, but I guess it was the kick in the ass I needed to get out of that relationship.”
I don’t even know what to say to this. I have so many questions, but I also don’t even feel as if I have the right to ask her about her personal life. After what’s happened, I won’t be surprised if she doesn’t even trust me enough to answer any questions I have.
“I re
ally am sorry about what happened,” I say. She nods.
“Everything happens for a reason, I guess,” she says. “Good luck with everything.”
“You too,” I say, tears burning my eyes as she walks away. Well, it’s good to know that she’s no longer in that toxic relationship. I pray that she and Caesar are working things out or are at least trying to.
They deserve a happy ending at least.
12:10 p.m.
Outside my apartment
“Oh Carolina, I just thought of the most perfect thing for your blog,” Taylor says, coming out of her apartment. I raise an eyebrow at her.
“Have you been waiting for me this entire time?” I ask.
“Only about ten minutes or so,” she says with a shrug. “Anyway, I have an idea.”
“What’s that?”
“So what if you interview different celebrities every week? People really loved when you interviewed Hannah. So you can use those interview skills to talk to people who are new on the scene or are coming out with something new or maybe even do another interview like what you did with Hannah. Great idea, right?” she asks, smiling brightly.
I return her smile. It actually is a great idea and allows me to still be involved with celebrities instead of just being stuck behind a computer. “Yeah, that’s a great idea, Taylor. Thanks,” I say.
“I’m glad you said that. I actually have a few high-profile friends that I’ve already asked,” she says with a sheepish shrug.
Wowzers.
The LLC for the blog hasn’t even been registered nor has the website been set up, but I already have celebrities wanting to be interviewed. I grab Taylor and hug her tight. “Thank you so so much,” I say.
She giggles and hugs me back. “Well, that’s what friends are for, right?” she asks, smiling at me.
I return her smile, grateful that she’d still call me that after all that’s happened. “Right,” I answer.
She gestures toward my door. “Want to go inside and brainstorm some more? I may be able to help somehow,” she offers.
“Sure. I could use the company,” I say and unlock the door. Maybe all of this will work out after all.
5:49 p.m.
Living room
By the time Taylor and I are done brainstorming, I have over two pages of potential businesses to contact about purchasing ad space, my domain is registered (thanks mom and dad), my LLC filed (again, thanks mom and dad), I’ve contacted a few web designers, and I have a list of celebrities who are interested in being interviewed.
“How does it feel to be starting something on your own?” Taylor asks, scratching Milo’s belly as he lies on her lap.
I shrug. “I’m a bit nervous, but I think it’ll all work out,” I say. With all the information I have and the help Taylor has given me, I honestly believe it’ll all work out. Perhaps Shayla’s right. Things do happen for a reason. Sometimes you have to fall a few times in order to grow and get to where you’re meant to be. No one said life was easy; there are times where you have to learn very hard lessons and deal with tough consequences. Even though this situation sucked major camel dick, I’m actually very happy with where things seem to be headed now. My parents are talking to me, which is a start, although I’m not sure if they’re just wanting to keep tabs on me because I now owe them money or because they’re finally getting over the whole gossip meltdown. And I also have Taylor in my corner, which is great. Shayla is out of her toxic relationship and maybe Madison will stop being a cunt at some point in her life and get to wherever it is she wants to be in life. I’m just excited to see where life will take me after this. Hopefully in the arms of a hot actor or model, but that’s neither here or there.
“Oh, so what happened with your friends? Did you give them the invitations?” Taylor asks.
“Yeah. They were excited about it, but I’m not really sure what’ll happen now. Good news is that Shayla left that douchebag and is safe, I think.”
“What about your boyfriend?”
I shrug, dropping my eyes to the notepad on my lap. “I don’t know. I don’t even think he’s my boyfriend anymore. I haven’t heard from him since everything happened and then the last thing he said was cryptic, so…I just don’t know,” I say, the sadness I feel trickling into my voice.
“Want to grab some pizza from the place down the street? Pizza can cheer anyone up. Well, it at least cheers me up,” Taylor jokes as she stands.
My stomach growls at the mention of food, reminding me that it’s been a while since I’ve eaten anything myself. “That actually sounds good. Sure, let’s go,” I say.
6:21 p.m.
Inside the pizzeria
The smell of melted cheese and meats makes my stomach growl the moment we walk inside. “I shouldn’t even be eating this, but I wanted something super cheesy,” Taylor says as she looks at the slices on display behind the glass counter. I fiddle around with my phone as we wait for someone to take our order, noticing that I have a pending friend request.
Audrina Santiago would like to be friends.
Wow.
Never in a million years did I think she’d ever want to be friends with me again. Obviously a single friend request doesn’t mean that we’re going to jump back into being BFFs, but it’s a start at least. I accept and immediately get a message from her.
Audrina: Heard about what happened. Hope you’re okay at least. You can give me a call if you need someone to talk to. 910-745-9826.
Copying the number, I turn to Taylor. “Hey, I’ll be right back. I have to make a quick phone call,” I say to her and walk outside the pizzeria.
My heart pounds in my chest as the phone rings. I don’t even know what I’m going to say to her if she answers. What if—
“Hello?” the familiar voice says.
“Um, hi,” I stammer. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.
“Blake?”
“Yeah, hi. I got your message and decided to call.”
The line is silent for a few moments before she says, “I saw the apology video you posted.”
“Yeah,” I say, kicking a loose stone.
“You know there are real people behind rumors, Blake,” she says with a sigh.
“Yeah, apparently I’m learning that the hard way for the second time.” I pause. “But I really am sorry, Audri. Jake is a good guy; I should’ve asked you about it first instead of writing about it.”
“Yeah, you should have. We were best friends; I assumed you’d be able to talk to me about things, especially when they involve my boyfriend.”
“You’re right. I was a terrible friend and I’m sorry.”
“You’re not a terrible friend, Blake. You just need to know your boundaries. These are people’s lives you’re affecting.” She pauses for a few moments. “Look, I didn’t ask you to call just to lecture you. What’s happened has happened and I’m trying to move on from all of that.”
Relief floods through me. At least someone is trying to move forward.
“So how’s everyone? Casey?” I ask.
“Jake and I got engaged almost three weeks ago,” she says, her voice oozing with excitement.
“That’s great!” I exclaim, genuinely meaning it. It’s nice to at least hear that even after all the drama I caused for them, they were able to work through things and decide to want to tie the knot.
“Thanks. I’m pretty excited about planning the wedding,” she says. “As for Casey, he started dating some guy from a crappy dating site and rode off in the guy’s RV. No one has really seen or heard from him since.”
“I hope he’s okay at least.”
“Me too.”
“Hey Carolina, are you gonna come order your pizza slice or what?” Taylor says, poking her head out the door.
“Be there in a sec,” I say to her. “Hey Audrina, I’m out with a friend right now. Could I give you a call a little later?”
“I have to head to work soon actually. But we’ll talk soon.”
“Cool.” A small s
mile touches my lips. “And thanks for reaching out. With everything that’s going on…it really means a lot.”
“Sure, thing. Talk later!” she says and hangs up.
Perhaps things have to fall completely apart in order for you to rebuild the way it’s supposed to be.
I can deal with that.
6:21 p.m.
Walking down the sidewalk
Taylor and I walk down the sidewalk with our pizza slices as Milo walks on his leash, sniffing everything in his path. “I’m so excited for you,” Taylor says around a bite of pizza.
“I’m excited, too,” I say with a nod, plucking off a pepperoni slice and popping it into my mouth. “Hopefully it doesn’t take forever for—”
My heart stutters a beat when I see Silas sitting in front of my stoop on his motorcycle. Considering that we haven’t talked since the incident happened, seeing him here is a bit of a surprise. I definitely won’t complain though.
Taylor grins at me and winks. “I’ll catch up with you later, Carolina,” she says and disappears into the building, leaving Silas and me alone.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hi,” I reply. We stand in an awkward silence for a little while before I finally decide to speak again. “It’s nice to see you.”
He looks up at me. “I wanted to come by to see how you were with everything. It was surprising to learn that you were leaving the magazine,” he says, putting his hands in the back pockets of his jeans.
“I thought it was just best for everyone if I did,” I say.
“So what happens now?”
“I’m starting my own blog,” I say. When he raises his eyebrows in surprise, I shake my head. “It’s solely entertainment. I think I’ll just stick with the safe things and keep the lives of those I know personally out of it.”
“I think that’ll be really good for you,” he says with a smile.
After another bout of weird silence, I clear my throat. “Have you started your internship?” I ask.
Musings of a Gossip Queen Page 27
