BECOMING THE FABULOUS MISS C
By Angel Sentier and Lady Parsley
Chapter Thirteen
Upon entering the hotel, Chloe was immediately struck by a sense of overwhelming disorientation. Milling about everywhere were woman of various ages, but every single one of them was dressed in red, in versions of either what she'd worn to the after-party or to the Canary Club. All of them sported either caramel hairpieces or cropped platinum wigs.
It's like that number out of 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,' thought Chloe.
And each one of them turned to watch her enter. Of course, being all in blue, she stood out like a peacock among hens. Instantly, all eyes narrowed. Somehow, every woman knew that this was the real Miss C, and she would be the one to get the prize they all sought.
Chloe swallowed and bravely made her way through them, head held high, as she ascended the staircase at the center of the lobby. According to the signs posted, the Crystal Ballroom was near the end of the long hallway. She passed by the fountain at the top of the stairs, a few banquet rooms, the hotel restaurant, and loud music was coming from a small entertainment area outside the bar. Apparently, some kids were playing one of those dancing video games...
"Fine, Chloe," said a very familiar voice as she passed by the area. "Don't even say hello. I don't want to talk to you anyway... bitch."
She wheeled around, her eyes gone wide. "Tessa?"
Her best friend was sitting in one of the chairs a fair distance away from the video games. She'd lost a ton of weight, she looked incredible in her black formal gown, her hair was lustrous, and, this was very new, she looked amazingly confident, but it was undoubtedly Tessa. She smiled at Chloe. "Hey," she said.
She ran over to her, wrapping her tightly in a hug the moment she stood up. "Oh, my God, Tessa! I've missed you! Where have you been?" She paused momentarily. "And how did you know it was me?"
"You're the only person I know who wears that perfume," she said, confusing Chloe even more. "I've missed you, too."
"So, where's Jeff? Are you guys still... together? And, uh... serious?"
Tessa grinned and held up her left hand. A solitary diamond sparkled from her third finger. "Yeah. We're serious."
"Oh, my God! Tessa!" She hugged her again. "Well, where is he?"
She rolled her eyes. "Ugh... There's my goofy jumping bean, over there," she said, nodding toward the Dance Maniac game which was currently blasting Play That Funky Music, White Boy.
Chloe watched Jeff jump around in his tuxedo for a moment, bewildered. "Is he... having a seizure?"
"I thought so, too, the first time. But apparently, that's how the game is played." She turned her attention back to Chloe. "How's Teri?"
She hesitated. "Oh, yeah... You don't know."
"Know what?"
"Teri's in the hospital."
Tessa's genial expression fell into one of deadly seriousness. "What?" The word was pitched in such a low tone, it could only be described as growled, which sent a shiver down Chloe's spine, even though she knew the hostility wasn't directed at her. "Tell me what happened, Chloe."
She almost didn't want to, Tessa sounded so threatening, but she went on. "Ginger's been trying to kill her."
"Hey, Tessa!" Jeff said as he came hurrying up to the two of them. "I just got--" He stopped, seeing the look of building anger on her face. Chloe knew that look. That was Tessa losing control, but she'd never seen it on such an enormous scale before. She looked as though she might actually murder someone. Immediately, Jeff took Tessa's shoulders in his hands and turned her to face him. "Hey, calm down," he said in a low, even tone. "Breathe it out."
Tessa took a long, calming breath, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she and Jeff exchanged a look that Chloe didn't understand. Jeff then looked at Chloe. "Did I hear you right?" he asked, even though Chloe wasn't sure how he could have heard them with that loud music playing. "Your boss tried to kill Teri?"
"Well, she hired someone to do it, but..."
"Wait!" Tessa practically screeched. Before Chloe could ask what was going on, her friend seized her purse and began rifling through it.
"Hey! What are you--" Chloe began.
"This!" said Tessa, prizing up a fistful of things from Chloe's purse. She opened up her hand to Jeff, showing him what appeared to be a lipstick, a few crumpled receipts, a wadded up business card, and some hair pins. "Smell this!" she demanded of him.
Chloe couldn't understand her friend's behavior. She wasn't acting quite... sane. She could understand her being upset by the news of Teri's hospitalization, and while Tessa wasn't the type to break down and cry, it didn't make sense that she was frantic, almost bordering on paranoia, and angry beyond belief. To her continued confusion, Jeff did as Tessa bade him, but oddly enough, the action seemed completely natural between the two of them. Jeff's expression hardened, and suddenly, he was no longer the goofy waiter Chloe knew. He looked implacable and formidable, even. A man to be reckoned with.
In a fit of rage, Tessa balled her fist up, reared it back, and threw the contents across the room with all her might. Now, granted, the only thing of any considerable mass was the lipstick, so Chloe was quite shocked when it hit the Dance Maniac game and broke the glass console screen with a loud crash and an even louder pop that sounded like a gunshot. A second look, around all the people who were then running away from the smoking machine, revealed that the hairpins had stuck in the wall like thrown knives.
Jeff, who hadn't appeared phased by any of this, looked at Chloe, very seriously. "Don't leave the party. We have to go do something, but we'll come back for you. Especially don't leave the party with anyone strange, got it?"
She nodded, taking her purse back. Tessa was already rapidly moving off in the direction of the staircase. Jeff jogged off to catch up to her. Over his shoulder, he said, "Hi, by the way, Chloe!"
Stunned as she was by that encounter, it took her a moment to recover herself and begin heading once more toward the designated banquet hall.
Ginger was standing at the head of the Crystal Ballroom, fending off continuous demands as to where the guest of honor was. With increasing impatience, she explained that Mr. Grayson was very busy and he'd be late if he made it at all, but he was trying very hard to get there...
"Do you know how difficult it is to rent a decent tux in three hours?" Philip asked her as he approached from behind, having entered through the connecting kitchen.
Ginger jumped a mile. "Mr. Grayson!" she exclaimed, eyes wide. "What an... unexpected surprise."
"I'll bet," he said. "I didn't give you permission to throw this party in my name."
"Well, yes, you did," said Ginger. "It's in your contract--"
"Which expired over two weeks ago," he interrupted. "As I'm sure you're well aware."
"I thought you'd be pleased," she said, giving him a pout that undoubtedly worked on many an unsuspecting man. "After all, we're finding your 'mystery woman' for you..."
Philip knew better than to try and get the real reason out of Ginger. She was too smooth for that. "If I thought it was possible, I would say you might be more interested in finding her than I am. You're about to be in a lot of trouble, Ms. Sarbile, and you'll be hearing from my people in the morning. If I were you, I'd call off this ridiculous farce right now while you can still try and save face. Now, excuse me..."
He disappeared through the kitchen before any of the women in the room found out he was there. That would put a dent in his plan to rescue the real guest of honor. Going around the back, he found his way to the ballroom hallway and scanned the area. For some reason, people were running for the lobby staircase, which made it a little difficult to see, but his eyes found their target unerringly.
She was a vision in her light blue gown amidst the sea of red and black, her blond hair was ethereal in the false candlelight. She had her back to him, her face in profile. She looked a little lost, but he couldn't blame her for not being able to find the right hall in all the chaos. He weaved his way through the people and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Come with me," he said before taking her hand and leading her away.
Chloe followed Philip as he led the way to the nearest door marked 'Moonlight Banquet Hall.' He tried the handle as though he wasn't sure it would open, but the door yielded and they went inside the dim empty room. Instantly, he was kissing her.
"I didn't arrange this party," he told her, between kisses. "And I didn't invite you." More kisses. "I came because I had to warn you that Ginny's going to try and find you out."
"How very considerate," she said, during a break for air.
He kissed her one more time before pulling away, his hands framing her face. His eyes searched hers before he asked her, "Why didn't you tell me?"
She blinked. "Tell you what?"
"You had the whole ticket. The stub wasn't torn. But you had to have gone because you had the name tag. But you didn't wear it."
Her eyes went wide and she backed away from him a few steps until her back hit the door they'd come through. "I... don't know what you're..." No, she thought. I don't want to lie to him again. She glanced around them for a way out, but she was leaning up against the nearest exit.
"I know it's you," Philip was saying. "The way you said certain things... And every time I kissed you, I felt like I'd done it before. That, and you talk in your sleep."
Somewhere, a clock began to chime the hour. It must be midnight, she thought.
"I don't know why I didn't see it before now, you really were right in front of me the entire time. I think, in my heart, I knew. Because it has to be you, I know it's you. Why didn't you tell me?" he asked again.
"Oh, God," she said, her voice trembling. Everything was crumbling apart inside and falling down around her. After everything he'd said, and everything she'd done... There was no hope for it. "You must hate me..." Suddenly, she couldn't look at him anymore. She didn't want to cry in front of him. And she couldn't stand to wait there and have him tell her just exactly how much he hated her. Quickly, she turned and opened the door.
"Wait!" he said, but the door crashed into his shoulder as she opened it, stopping him from grabbing her. "Ow!" It took him a moment to recover, and she ran down the hallway.
He followed. His progress was hampered by the fact that many more people were running for the staircase then, and just about every bellboy in the hotel was running in the opposite direction with fire extinguishers. He tried to make up for the distance between them by yelling after her. That progress was hampered as well... "Stop! Wait! Catherine! Kelly! Cassandra! Candy! Cora!..."
Chloe was having problems of her own. As she ran, she tripped over the hem of her gown, tearing a hole through the bottom. She could feel the clip-extensions coming loose and some were falling out, letting her hair come down. As she ran by a potted tree too closely, one of her sleeves caught and ripped. She kept running, dodging around people as best she could, despite the fact that things were literally starting to fall apart.
Worst of all, as she rounded a corner the strap of her right shoe broke and she tripped, falling flat on her face. The tiara flew off her head. She got up quickly enough, tearing another hole through the gown in the process and ripping the gauze overlay, but she had to leave the shoe wherever it had fallen from her foot. I'm sorry, Dennis, she thought as she ran for the nearing staircase. I'll work out a payment plan and buy you a new pair. Three more of her extensions came out as she wrenched off the other shoe while continuing to run.
Meanwhile, the guessing game continued at a distance behind her. "...Chandra! Cindy! Colleen! Clarice! Cleo!..." Then, at the final stroke of midnight, "CHLOE!"
She skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs, performing an odd kind of pirouette and losing the rest of her extensions to turn around and gape at Philip, who had also stopped running and looked just about as stunned as she felt. He'd actually remembered her name! She couldn't stop because of that, though... She turned around to keep running and found herself nose to nose with the last person she'd wanted to face.
Ginger's sparkly eyes narrowed to dangerous cat-like slits. "Chloe," she hissed in a voice devoid of anything but hate. "It was you," she said. Her fingers curved into claws and she grabbed Chloe by the shoulders, probably about to tear her limb from limb with her bare hands. "You... My own secretary!"
She couldn't stay and take Ginger's abuse now. "I don't have time to deal with you!" Chloe told her, trying to squirm out of her grip.
"You what?" said Ginger, who was only holding her tighter and more painfully.
"I..." She glanced over at Philip, who was starting to run toward her again. She struggled violently and she and Ginger maneuvered an odd dance, turning in a circle at the top of the stairs, but Ginger refused to let go. Taking a leaf from Tessa's book, Chloe drew back her fist. "I... I quit!" she yelled, punching her ex-boss in the face with all the strength she could muster.
Ginger reeled back, her legs hitting the edge of the large marble fountain that was the focal point of the stairs. Her balance was lost because of the six inch heels she was wearing, and she teetered for one glorious second, then fell with a great splash into the water.
Chloe didn't stay to find out what would happen when Ginger surfaced. She ran down the stairs, and this time people parted like the Red Sea for her, many having just seen what had happened, the rest turning to see what the red-head in the fountain was screeching about, or why a famous movie star was chasing after the girl in the wrecked dress.
She ran out of the front doors of the hotel and a black car with a vanity plate that read 'ALPHAML' stopped directly in front of her, the passenger door opening in the same motion.
"Get in," said Hector.
Nevermind what her head wanted to do, her body obeyed the order at once.
The doors of the car had remote locks that would only open when the car was turned off, or if he chose to unlock them. And she didn't see that happening anytime soon. Chloe was terrified. Not only of what was potentially going to happen to her at the hands of this man, but of the power he'd exhibited over her more than once now. She'd left her cell phones at the office when she'd heard about Teri, so she couldn't call for help. She glanced around to see if there was anything she could use as a weapon, but the only thing to hand was the remaining rhinestone shoe. She was on her own.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked him, trying to sound braver than she felt. She was met with only an unsettling smile for an answer, as Hector forced the accelerator to the floor.
"An orange grove's been planted out in the desert. Movie, photoshoot, who knows. Only they know the reasons. Thought we'd check it out."
"They?"
With a hint of hostility, he glanced at her. "You ask too many questions."
"Sorry. When I get into people's cars for no reason, I kind of like to know what's going on."
"Don't worry, baby," he said with that same smile. "You'll find out soon enough." This statement was punctuated by the index finger of his free hand sliding from her opposite bare shoulder to her throat and around behind her neck.
A cold chill followed the progress of his finger and she shuddered. He laughed low in his throat, a growling sound that was probably going for sexy, but it only served to creep her out even more.
"Um... I really want to go home."
"Shh..." he said, and his attempt at soothing was no better than his attempt at sexy. "It's not time to leave Oz, yet, Dorothy. We've got a ways to go... Why don't you get some sleep."
She was much too afraid to do anything of the kind. "Uh... No."
"Sleep."
Darkness claimed her immediately.
"Time to wake up."
Chloe had never awoken from a sound sleep so quickly before. Her eyes snapped open and she saw Hector hovering above her with that slightly sinister smile. For a moment, she thought he was going to ravish her right there.
"Get out," he said, before opening the driver's door and exiting the car.
Oh, thank God, she thought. He's going to let me go!
She blindly reached for the handle and mistakenly grasped the pocket of the door instead. A pink slip of paper was inside, a receipt for a rental car, which she barely glanced at before setting it aside. She took the door handle this time and stepped out of the car. The ground was cold under her bare feet.
Hector was right in front of her, closing the door as he stepped closer to her, pinning her up against the vehicle with his body, a hand resting on the car on either side of her. His proximity was decidedly uncomfortable and she squirmed, her gaze sliding away.
He leaned in close to her and took a deep breath through his nose, creating a rush of cold air across her shoulder, near her neck, as though breathing her in.
"So," he said, his tone knowing, but rather menacing. "He's already tasted you."
"What?"
He looked at her, appearing more than a little annoyed at all her questions. "He's fucked you," he stated bluntly. "You hadn't been the last time we met. At least, not in the extremely literal sense."
She blinked, her face turning red. "Not that it's any of your business, but how would you know that?"
He lifted one of his hands to her face, and the sense of crawling ants followed. "A woman becomes more desirable each time a man fucks her." His gaze slid obscenely over her body. "I want you many times more than the first time we met." His expression hardened and he grabbed her shoulder, roughly. "How many times has he fucked you?" he demanded, as though he had a right to know, shaking her. "How many?"
Something else was bugging her besides the way he was looking at her and handling her. The receipt popped up in her mind. Something about it had been familiar... It came to her in a sudden flash. The logo at the top... And the plate number she'd glanced at... She'd read it before. In the middle of a car chase. This was the person Ginger had hired to kill Teri. She had to get away from him!
Her face must have revealed her distress, because his eyes narrowed. "You're thinking about him, aren't you?" he asked. "Pretty little pansy-ass Hollywood boy."
"No! No, I'm not," she said, hurriedly. It was also starting to occur to her that this man might not be all together there in the head.
He smiled at her, all the menace in his face melting away to an expression of comfort. His grip on her shoulder loosened and his hand trailed down her arm. "Don't worry. In a few minutes, you won't think about him ever again."
"What?" she exclaimed.
"I claimed you. You got away from me twice, but now you'll be mine. You'll only think about me. And we'll belong to each other. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
"Uh, no!"
"Don't move."
Not again! she thought, but she was already immobile. He leaned closer to her and her heart thundered in her chest like a hummingbird's. Oh, God! What is he going to do to me? Am I going to get raped in the middle of an orange grove? Why can't I move? Somebody, help me!
She could feel his lips at her throat, moving down to her bare shoulder, something that felt divine when Philip had done it, but the sensation was again something akin to a procession of ants with Hector. And then...
"OW!"
His head jolted back at her startled exclamation of pain, his eyes widening slightly. "That hurt?" he asked, surprised.
"YES, THAT HURT!" she yelled at him. "You just BIT me, you bastard!" Some dim part of her brain was telling her that it was probably unwise to yell at a potentially insane hit man, but anger and pain were temporarily overriding it. "Good God, what's WRONG with you? Am I bleeding? OWW!"
He straightened, standing back from her, his expression turning to one of resignation. "I hadn't expected that," he said.
"Neither did I!" she said, angrily.
"You don't have it in you," he said. He seemed almost disappointed.
"Excuse me?"
"I thought you might be a fun diversion for a while, but it turns out I was wrong. This is inconvenient... Oh, well."
"What the HELL are you talking about?"
"This means I have to kill you."
"H-huh?" Her heart stuttered. Oh, yeah... This is the bad guy. To her dismay, she found she still couldn't move. "Wait... Why?"
His hands were once again reaching for her throat, much as they had that day in the alley, but now with a much more sinister intent. "You know too much," he replied, nonchalantly.
"No, I don't!" she squeaked as his fingers circled her neck. "I don't know anything! In fact, I'm even more confused than usual! Let me go! Please, let me go!"
CRACK.
Chloe's eyes went wide as Hector froze, his mouth opening in a startled 'O.' He fell like a sack full of lead to the ground. Once the eye contact had been broken, Chloe found she could move again and she looked up to see Tessa, in some normal clothes now, dropping an enormous tree branch next to Hector's body. Her friend glared at her, grabbed her hand, and began to run through the trees with her at a mad dash.
"What part of 'don't leave the party with anyone strange' did you NOT understand?" asked Tessa as they ran. "'Stay there, we'll be back for you,' does that ring any bells?"
"I'm sorry," said Chloe, trying to hold up her skirt as they ran. "Why are we running? You hit him with a tree!"
"That won't stop him," she said, though Chloe couldn't fathom why it shouldn't. "Don't worry. Jeff's taking care of him. Fuck, Chloe! Not only do you leave the party, but you leave with the WORST possible person!"
"I'm sorry!" Chloe gasped. Since when was Tessa able to run this fast? Maybe this was how she lost the weight... Then again, she was trying to run through an orange grove in a torn ball gown and bare feet. She was even still clutching the rhinestone shoe in her other hand. "He told me to get in the car and I had to... It doesn't make any sense! How does he get me to do whatever he wants?"
"Just like this! Shut up and run!"
Suddenly, Chloe found she had enough strength to keep running, but not to keep talking. She and Tessa ran on until they reached the other side of the grove where Tessa lifted her head, seeming to listen for something, though Chloe didn't hear anything but a coyote howling.
"Here," said Tessa, shoving a wallet into her hands. "Take this. Get to a cab. Go home. Lock the doors. Be safe!"
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine. Go!"
"Whose wallet is this?"
"Does it MATTER?" Tessa gave her friend a shove before she started heading back into the orange trees. "Get out of here! And don't stop until you get back to your apartment!"
The entire situation made absolutely no sense, but Chloe turned and ran for the main road in hopes of flagging a cab. Fortunately, she managed to find one almost immediately and the cabbie didn't speak much English, so she was free to wilt in the backseat as he drove to her apartment.
This is not a good night, she decided, miserably. My best friend is in a coma from which she might not wake up from. My other best friend is locked in a death match with some homicidal maniac. My boyfriend hates me, I'll probably never see him again. And I no longer have a job. This... sucks. Thank God the cab driver couldn't talk to her; she really didn't want to explain why she suddenly burst into tears in his car.
Once she reached home, she took off the tattered dress and threw it and the shoe on a chair. Good thing she wasn't getting married, probably ever. The dress was unsalvageable, stained with mud and torn as it was. Sniffling, she used antiseptic where the psycho had bit her shoulder, then slathered cream on the bottoms of her feet and bandaged them.
She changed into an oversized t-shirt, reached into her fridge for a pint of Ben and Jerry's, grabbed a spoon, and began eating. She was halfway through her second carton of Cherry Garcia when she realized that, incredibly, it wasn't helping. The void inside of her would not be filled. Apparently, this was a pain that not even ice cream could cure.
That didn't mean she would stop eating it. Or that she wouldn't cry, because even if the tears just served to make her feel emptier, she couldn't have stopped them from falling. Not by a long shot.
To be continued...
