CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Chris arrived back at her house and

decided to put everything that has

happened in the past behind her. She

decided to give herself a treat so she

bought a ticket to see a movie at the

cinema that evening. For the first time

in a long time, Chris decided to cook

and because she arrived early she

went to the grocery store to buy some

ingredients. She didn't want to call her

housekeeper because she wanted to be

alone for some time. Everywhere was

calm but the calmness was

uncomfortable. There were no trending

updates about one artist or the other.

The only trending stories were about

politics, fashion trends, and other

happenings around the country but in

the entertainment industry, everywhere

was calm. It felt like the calm before

the storm. After Chris was done cooking,

she packed up everything and stored

them inside her fridge. She cooked

different kinds of meals that will last

her for about a week because she

knows that her return from her short

vacation will be packed with work. She

soaked herself inside her bathtub after

adding some bath salts and bath oils to

help her relax. At 7 p.m. she was

dressed and ready to leave the house.

She took a look at herself in the mirror

one last time and felt she was good to

go. She was wearing a mini blue Jean

jumpsuit and white sneakers. On her

face, she applied very light makeup.

She decided not to drive that night so

she order a ride. At 9:30 p.m. Chris

walked out of the cinema because the

movie was boring and overrated. It

wasn't what she was expecting so she

decided to go outside and get some

ice cream when she bumped into an

old friend from university. Before she

could shout his name, he quickly

covered her mouth because he was

disguised and didn't want anyone to

recognize him. They went outside then

he gave her a tight hug. "Jay it's been

ages since I last saw you in person.

The only place I've been seeing you is

on television." He laughed and said, "I'll

say the same about you Chris because

the only place I've been seeing you

also is on television and magazines."

Chris gave him a funny look and said,

come off it and just say it already. I

know you've seen the video on social

media. Jay laughed and said "girl! You

were fierce. I never knew you had such

a fight in you. I even had to point you

out to my friends and say, that I know

this lady. We were coursemates and

close friends back in the university but

we lost contact. I know that whatever

caused that fight, you weren't to blame

because Chris, I've always known you

as a girl who walks away from trouble.

When I saw that, I said wow! This lady

has crossed the line for her to make

Chris jump at her like this. It was

normal in this industry. We all have

scandals." Chris laughs nervously and

said, so Jay, how has life been with

you? I won't ask about your music

because we hear new singles all the

time and every single you release is

always a hit. "Well, life has been great.

I can't complain right?" Jay what do

you want to complain about? You've

got it all. The money, fame, and

women. You've got everything. He

laughed and said "what about you?

You've also got it all, and you know

Doja is a nice catch." Chris placed a

hand on her forehead and said, spare

me that talk Jay. I only had a one-night

stand with him and even when I did,

I never knew who he was or if he had

a fiance. I was at the hotel to see

someone and I got there early, so I

decided to have some drinks in the

bar. That was when I saw him. We

were feeling each other and we ended

up behind the bar. After talking Chris

was done talking, Jay shouted, "Wow!

I guess this industry really does

change people. I could remember how

hard I had to work in order for me to

be able to get close to you. Wow, I

feel cheated. How did he manage to

get you to have a one-night stand with

him?" Okay, enough about me let's

talk about you. You've been popular

with the ladies recently what about

Irina your girlfriend? "She's back to

whatever hellhole she crawled out

from. "What? Did you break up? I

thought the two of you were the

power couple the media keeps talking

about? "Chris I got tired of her acting

all posh, high and mighty all the time.

You know me. I'm from the hood so I

like my ladies crazy sometimes.

Sometimes I just need someone who

knows where I'm from. Someone who

knows the streets, so that we can

discuss things that only us can

understand. But you know she's some

rich heiress who thinks my parents are

too local for her. Can you believe that

she doesn't want my family coming

over to my place because she feels

that they will embarrass her in the

presence of her friends or family

someday? "But Jay, I don't see the

reason why you are complaining here.

You've always known that Irina is like

that and you liked it. You wanted posh

so why are you complaining about it

now? "Chris I have seen fame, I have

seen Posh, and I have seen women.

Unlike when I just started my career

when everything felt new to me. I

have seen enough and the thrill is

over." Jay, you are talking like you

have gotten a lady pregnant. Is it

really what I'm thinking? Jay laughed

and said "Chris you never cease to

amaze me. You know I am too smart

for that kind of game. I am not having

sex with any lady without my own

condom which is usually with me. "Chris

laughed as she remembered the day

that she and Jay almost had sex but

ended up not having it because there

was no condom.  Jay, I know you didn't

come here alone. Is there no one

waiting for you somewhere around

here? "I don't care about whoever is

waiting for me in there anymore since

I have found you. So, can I drive you

around?" Since the almighty Jay has

requested who am I to say no? Of

course, I am in for that ride because

I've been craving some release for a

few days now. They drove away in

Jay's car and drove around the city

until Jay drove back to his house as he

wanted to show Chris around his

place. Wow, Jay, you've got good

taste. I love this place. "I know you

will. I bought this place a week ago

and when I was buying it, I remembered

the dream house that you've always

talked about back in Uni." Since it was

already late at night, Chris changed

into one of Jay's pajamas and they

sat together seeing a late-night movie

until Chris fell asleep with her head on

his shoulder. After Jay discovered that

she has fallen asleep, he carried her

to his bedroom and adjusted the air

conditioner because he knows that

Chris has never been a fan of cold

places. He lay down beside her and

also fell asleep. This is how the

relationship between Jay and Chris

was years ago when they were still in

the university. By the time Chris woke

up the next morning, Jay had prepared

and served breakfast. She freshened

up and wore the dress Jay got for

her. They had breakfast and Jay

dropped her off at the agency along

with his contact number before leaving.

By the time Chris walked into the

Agency, she noticed that everyone she

passed by was weirdly looking at her

but she never cared about them

because almost everyone hates each

other in here as they keep struggling

for jobs and positions. She walked

directly to her manager's office to

report for duty. When she got to her

manager's office, her manager

pretended not to see her and was

reading the documents. "Hello,

Itohan I'm here. "Without looking up,

her manager said I've known you

were here since yesterday because

social media and the tabloids said so.

"Chris looked at her manager in a

confused way and asked "what do

you mean by social media and the

tabloids say so? Her manager picked

up the phone and showed it to Chris.

Chris groaned when she saw the new

updates on social media. There were

pictures of her and Jay hugging each

other last night outside the cinema,

getting into his car, and arriving at his

house. There were also pictures of

them leaving his house this morning

and pictures of her coming out of his

car in front of the building that she is

in right now.  There were some

write-ups and a heading. On the

heading was written,

"Did Jay leave Irina for his old flame,

Chris?"

There have been speculations that the

sensational trending musician Jay

and his old flame Chris an A list model

have rekindled the flame in their

relationship as she was seen entering

his car after a passionate hug which

lasted over a minute last night at the

cinema. They were also seen leaving

his house this morning and him dropping

her off at the modeling agency which

further proves that they spent the night

together in Jay's home. The model who

was trending on social media a few

days ago after an epic fight with fellow

model Ima, over what was alleged to be

Chris going after Ima's fiancee Doja, the

new CEO of Starstruck Group has

seemed to found love again in the

arms of an ex-lover.

"What is wrong with these people why

can't they let me leave my life? Chris

said in anger. Her manager looks up

at her and said "you made the

headlines again but thank God that it

was a positive one this time around.

This kind of headline is good for your

career." Chris shook her head at her

manager as she said you don't

understand. Jay is just my friend.

We have been friends way back from

the University and we happen to run

into each other yesterday at the

cinema. I only went to his house

because he wanted to show me his

new place and by the time we got

there, it was already too late for me

to come back home so I had to spend

the night there. There is nothing going

on between Jay and me and there can

be nothing because we are just good

friends. Her manager smiled and said,

"good friends or not, all I know is that

this is good for your career, so Chris

be quiet we have work to do. Ride on

this horse to boost your career while

it's still available." Jay is my friend and

I will never use him like that because

that's not fair.

Ima saw the latest update and got

very angry as her eyes became red

and she screamed while pulling her

hair. "This is not fair. We both fought

so why am I the one at the bottom

while Chris is out there living the life

of a celebrity? She even found a good

replacement for Doja and everyone's

talking about it. Chris, why don't you

just die and get out of our lives for

good? "Ima was angry to the point

where tears began to pour down her

eyes as she remembered that Doja

has broken up their engagement

and it's just a matter of time before

everybody knows and start talking

about it. She will be the laughing

stock while Chris will appear like the

princess. Thinking about this made

her hate Chris even more and she

began to think about things she can

do to ruin Chris's life. She had an ugly

smile on her face as she said, "Chris,

Shulamite, and Najiba none of you

will ever get away from me. The three

of you have joined hands to ruin me

but watch how we all go down

together." She looked at the pictures

on her phone again and just hated

the fact that Chris spent the night

with such a trending artiste like Jay.

Doja who was working in his office

received a notification that he has

set on any update about Chris. He

wondered what she has been about

recently that she is coming up on

social media again. He clicked on

the notification and couldn't believe

what his eyes were seeing. He looked

closer at his phone to be sure that

his eyes were not deceiving him. He

laughed as he said "why am I not

surprised to see that you have found

yourself a new lover? I guess that is

what you are good at Chris. You move

from one man to another within such

a short time frame. "He looks closely

at the pictures and wondered what is

so good about Jay that Chris will

even consider him as her lover. He

laughed as he remembered the

promise he made to Chris some time

ago. He called his assistant and gave

her some instructions before he stood

and left his office. As he was leaving

his office, he smiled and said into his

phone "Chris I guess you and I will be

seeing more of each other very soon.

Do you think you can run away from

me and follow some musician? You

must be joking if you think that I give

up just like that." Chris was going over

some new jobs that were recently

given to her by her manager to sort

through when her manager came

running into the office and said "Chris

leave those jobs for the other models

because you won't be needing some

of them anymore. "Chris looks at a

manager and was confused about

why her manager will want to give her

jobs to other models as she said "What

have I done again? Am I trending on

social media for something new and

what could that be? Her manager

laughed and said Chris guess. Chris

frowned a little and said, "I just

wrecked someone's marriage, steal a

baby, burgle a jewelry store, or

defrauded someone." Her manager

looked at her and said you fool why

do you wish yourself bad. Yes, you

will be trending on social media

again in a few minutes and that will

be because you have just landed the

deal of the year. An agent from

Starstruck called us and said you

have been chosen to become the

sole ambassador for the Hygra

perfume. Tell me, Chris, how does

that sound to your ears? Aren't you

just the hottest model in town right

now?" Chris did not know what to

do. She did not know whether to

shout, hug, or jump on her manager

because this is truly the deal of the year.