Megan sat with red, swollen eyes, staring at the TV as it droned on about her and Claire's rumored romance. But her mind was elsewhere.
"I don't like my personal relationships being tied to business. If you want a song, you don't have to play these games!" Claire's cold words kept replaying in her head. Megan had only asked out of curiosity, not ulterior motives. Her agent had long told her to forget about pitching songs to Beyoncé.
As time ticked by, Megan's phone buzzed incessantly on the table. Chris Silberman, her agent, didn't know if he was more annoyed by Claire's harsh exit or the phone's relentless vibrating. He snatched it up and abruptly ended a call from Megan's fiancé. Stunned, Megan snapped, "What are you doing?"
"How long are you going to stay with a guy like that? I'm not trying to turn you into some materialistic woman, but do you really think you'll be happy with a man who abuses you every day?" Chris's blunt question left Megan speechless.
Flailing her hands, Megan tried to signal to Chris that this was her private life, and she didn't want him meddling. But Chris wasn't giving her room to think. "Claire's presence must've shattered your fairy-tale ideas about marriage. As your agent, I think you should treat me like family. Whatever you're thinking, you need to start listening to me. If you keep going like this, losing a guy like Claire will be the least of your problems!"
With that, Chris slammed an envelope from Costa Mayall onto the table. Megan, shocked by her usually flamboyant agent's outburst, picked it up. Her face, already pale, turned ghostly white. "You had me followed?"
"Followed? You should be thanking Claire's agent! If it weren't for him, these photos would've been splashed across USA Today by now!" Chris, still fuming, tossed a file about Claire onto the table.
Megan, fighting back tears, opened it. The first page was a simple bio and career overview of Claire—standard background check stuff. But the second page made her heart sink.
Suspected Romantic Relationship: Jessica Jung (member of South Korea's Girls' Generation)
Reason for Suspicion: Stayed at Claire Lee's home for two days
Related Evidence: The song Stay With Me topped North American pop charts. Though not officially tied to Claire, it's a track from a tragic love story called Lonely Ghost, whose copyright is held by a financial firm named Claire Investment Holdings.
Megan didn't read further. The source of the info was obvious—private investigators were a dime a dozen in the North American and European entertainment scenes.
Her mind flashed back to the day she ran into Jessica Jung at the stadium. Then she recalled Claire whispering, "Don't be afraid," in her ear. Turning to Chris, she asked softly, "Is the lawsuit winnable?"
Chris, thrilled that his star client was finally speaking up, playfully tapped her forehead with his signature flair. "With all this evidence? What's there to worry about?"
---
Back home, Claire walked in to find Chen Shijun lounging on the couch, chatting animatedly with two women. He was surprised at first, but when he recognized one of them as Dujuan, he froze.
"Congrats, man! You've got your date for tonight," Chen said with a grin. "Tom Hardy's a high-class guy, so his banquet's gonna be top-tier. With Ms. Dujuan here, you won't have to worry about showing up without a plus-one!"
Dujuan and Du Chan stood up as Claire entered. Du Chan was her usual understated self, but Dujuan, in chic British casual attire, looked tall and stunning.
"Mr. Claire, it's been a while," Du Chan said. "This is my drama school classmate, Dujuan. Sorry for the sudden visit—hope you don't mind."
Dujuan gave Claire a polite smile. Claire, however, was dumbfounded, staring at the wildly different personalities of Du Chan and Dujuan. He couldn't wrap his head around how they were friends.
"Uh, no problem. Is there something you need? The NetEase ad payment was sent in full, right?" Claire asked Du Chan, defaulting to a businesslike tone since he wasn't sure why Dujuan was there.
Du Chan's face lit up with a grin. "Thanks to you, I landed a gig with CCTV's World Football! I'm hoping to ride your coattails a bit in the Premier League going forward."
Claire chuckled inwardly—CCTV, huh?—but kept his cool. "No way, we're helping each other out. Without you, my first cross-border tour group wouldn't have gone so smoothly. So, what do you need from me?"
Du Chan seized the chance. "Nothing urgent yet. My article about you just went out and made some waves, but I won't be back in the UK anytime soon. I'll need to train at CCTV for a bit. My best friend and college classmate Dujuan's gonna be all alone abroad, so I thought I'd introduce her to you. You know, so you can look out for each other."
Chen Shijun, munching on a "healthy meal" at the dining table, watched the exchange with a gossip-hungry grin. Dujuan, breaking the ice, extended her hand to Claire. "Hi, I'm Dujuan."
"Hi, I'm Claire Lee," he replied, shaking her hand.
Their overly formal greeting made Chen burst out laughing. "You two are killing me! Dujuan, you were grilling me about Claire with Du Chan when he wasn't here, and now you're acting all cool and distant?"
Dujuan blushed furiously, and Du Chan scratched her head awkwardly. Claire caught Chen's knowing glances and finally took the hint, tossing out casual topics to lighten the mood. Dujuan, a seasoned model used to big scenes, gradually relaxed as Claire kept the banter going.
"You've got an important banquet tonight, right?" Dujuan asked.
Claire glanced at the living room clock. "Shoot! Is Welch here? We've gotta head to Midtown London soon!"
Chen rolled his eyes at Claire's flustered state. Claire quickly backtracked, "Sorry, sorry, I've got a banquet tonight. Maybe next time?"
"I heard from Mr. Chen you're missing a dance partner. How about I go with you?" Dujuan offered.
Claire, caught off guard, smacked his forehead. "Right! I am missing one. Thanks for stepping in. We'll need to hustle, though—I might need to rent us some evening wear."
Chen jumped in. "Delia's got it covered. It's upstairs. The women's gown was tailored to Megan Fox's measurements."