I sit in her spare chair, my eyes zeroed in on her. I grab a notepad sitting on her desk and flip to a blank page, pulling out the pen I perpetually keep in the bun in my hair, readying myself to scratch down every word Chloe says. So many of my colleagues have forgone notepads for the ease of digital recorders. There’s something about putting pen to paper that energizes me, makes me feel like I’m a participant in the story instead of a casual observer.
“I need you to tell me everything you know about August Laurent. Don’t leave out a single thing.” My firm voice relays the seriousness of the situation.
“Reconsidering Nora’s idea from last night?” She winks.
“What? No,” I answer quickly. “I don’t need to pay someone to date me.”
“Then why are you interested in August Laurent?”
I roll my chair closer to hers so no one can overhear, needing her to understand the depth of the hole I just dug for myself. “Because Viv is considering me for the assistant editor position when Grace leaves.”
She releases a shriek of excitement, and I hush her, unsure if I’m supposed to discuss it.
“I’m as surprised as you. I honestly never gave it much thought.”
“But Viv’s giving it to you?”
“Not exactly. She wants to make sure I can handle a wider range of assignments first.”
Chloe arches a brow. “Meaning?”
“Meaning she kind of put me on the spot and asked me to pitch her a story that would sell hundreds of thousands of copies.” I fight a yawn. I don’t know how I’ll make it to five o’clock. All I want is to crawl into bed and sleep all weekend. Then the reminder I don’t really have a bed anymore hits me, depressing me even more. If this is a sign for what awaits me in my thirties, I’d like to return them for a refund. Or maybe just skip straight to forty. “She’s also considering Judy and Margo. Whoever produces the best story gets the job.”
“So you pitched August Laurent?” Chloe’s voice is a mixture of surprise and superiority, almost like she knew I’d eventually want to know more about this guy. The concept is appealing, particularly from a sex and dating standpoint. What pushes a woman to such extremes that she doesn’t think she has any other option but to hire someone to date her, or give her a “boyfriend experience”, as they referred to it last night? I don’t care how bad things get. I’d never stoop to that level.
“It was the first thing that popped into my head. To be honest, my brain isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders today. I’m lucky I was able to come up with anything at all.”
“You honestly think you’ll get him to agree to this story?”
“Why not?” I shrug, trying not to feel dejected by the constant uncertainty facing me. “Why wouldn’t he want to set the record straight on why he does what he does? I know I would. Unless he really is just a sleaze.”
“He’s remained anonymous for years,” Chloe repeats the same warning Viv offered. “He’s like the Keyser S?ze of the escort world. A name you say that forces a certain reaction.”
“See!” I exclaim, slamming my hands on the notepad, causing Chloe to startle. “I told Viv the same thing! But she never saw The Usual Suspects, so the analogy was lost on her.”
“Instead of being some scary spook story you tell your kids so they eat their vegetables, it’s more a threat to your spouse. ‘Take me on vacation or I’ll hire August Laurent to do it.’”
“‘If you don’t go down on me, August Laurent will!’” I offer, getting in on the game.
“‘Let me use a strap-on with you, or I’m calling August Laurent!’”
I laugh, then stop, her words registering with me. “Wait. A strap-on?” My forehead creases.
“Too far?”
“Yeah, a little. Weirdo,” I joke before fixing my expression. “So, tell me what you know.”
She sighs, leaning back in her chair. “I don’t know much more than what you’ll find online, which is next to nothing.”
“But you know everything about everyone! And didn’t you say Holly Turner hired him when she went through her divorce?”
“She never came right out and said she did, but she insinuated she spent a month in Fiji with him to escape reporters when news of her separation hit the papers.”
“That’s all? Nothing else? She must have said more than that. Anything to help me track down this guy.”
“She was pretty tight-lipped about the entire thing.” She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, sucking on it.
“What is it?” I ask urgently.
“Nothing. It’s probably nothing.”
“Or it could be something.”
Turmoil covers her expression.
“Come on, Chloe. You’re the gossip queen! You must know something!”
She sighs in resignation. “Fine, but there’s no guarantee there’s truth to any of this. All I get are bits and pieces from people.”
“Yes, but you get lots of bits and pieces, all of which could eventually fit into one puzzle.”
Rolling her chair closer to mine, her voice becomes practically inaudible. “He’s careful not to give out too much personal information to any of his clients. He makes it all about them, which I suppose is what they’re paying him for. The guy’s interested me for a few years, but with my column the way it is, I can’t stop to hunt down a ghost. Still, you hear rumors.”
“And did you hear a rumor about this mystery man sharing a piece of personal information with one of his clients that could potentially help me?” I grin wide, to which she nods.
“When Holly was here for a shoot a few months ago, we got to talking. Of course, she never mentioned who helped her through her divorce, but I read between the lines. It had to be August Laurent. She said he told her the importance of establishing a routine, some sort of normalcy in her life when it feels like it’ll never be normal again.”
I pinch my lips together, his advice resonating with me. I like having a routine when my life hasn’t been uprooted. Now, after Trevor, I crave it even more. In fact, the thought of spending a few hours updating my planner has me more excited than I’ve been in a while.
“I’d mentioned how I prefer to be spontaneous, that I doubt I could ever do the same thing every single day. She said he claimed you could find normalcy in something small. Then she shared the example he gave her.”
“And what was that?” I scribble down a few notes on my pad before looking back up at her.
“He apparently lost someone very close to him and had trouble coping with the loss. What helped was starting his day by going to the same coffee shop and ordering the same pastry. It gave him something to look forward to. To this very day, when he’s in town, he still goes to the same coffee shop and orders the same chocolate hazelnut pastry.”
She shifts her attention to her laptop, scrolling through a folder that must contain thousands upon thousands of images. Finding one, she turns the screen toward me. It’s a blurry photo of a woman in a sleek pink dress, dark sunglasses covering her eyes, her face downturned.
“Who’s that?”
“Carly Jensen. She’s rumored to have hired August Laurent.” She points to a man walking a few feet behind her, his eyes also obscured by dark sunglasses. “That man.”
I squint, trying to make out his features, but it’s impossible. Nothing about him stands out, not to mention he’s walking several feet behind Carly.
“Chloe, I—”
“Wait. There’s more.” Keeping the photo on the screen, she searches for another one. When she finds it, she clicks on it, the image similar to the previous one. Another celebrity walking on the street wearing sunglasses. Another man in a dark suit trailing behind.
“This proves nothing.”
“It may not, but it’s a start.”
I shake my head. “I don’t see how. “There’s nothing—”
“Because you aren’t looking close enough,” she interrupts. “Part of getting the scoop before anyone is being attuned to the details everyone else overlooks. Like this.”
She zooms in on the man’s hand. I squint again, faintly able to make out the familiar logo of Manhattan’s famous Steam Room etched on the coffee cup. Then she does the same to the other photo.
“Isn’t the Steam Room famous for their chocolate hazelnut pastries?” she asks, a smirk on her face.
“They are.”
“Bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?” She sits back and folds her arms in front of her chest.
I stare at the two photos. It could be nothing, but it could be everything.
“I guess I know where I’ll be spending my time now.”
Chapter Seven