I would have to ask my housekeeper about them when she arrived tomorrow. Since I didn’t have practice, I would be home all day. The only thing that made any sense was that she must have been cleaning up and come across an old pair of Muffin’s panties and dropped them. It had to be that, because Muffin had denied doing it the first time, surely she wouldn’t be the culprit this time, too, would she?
Chanel had givenme access to her apartment to make it easier for me to visit. She told me not to worry about stopping at the concierge’s desk, because she knew that my appearance alone would attract attention. I didn’t need to explain anything to anyone, so I was grateful that I was able to enter the private entrance and head straight up to her place.
It was hard to hide my height of six-four, but I managed to avoid detection. With my hoodie on my head and keeping my head lowered, I was still able to observe my surroundings and ensured that no one was watching me or taking pictures, from what I could see.
I rang the doorbell twice before she opened it. Even at home in the comfort of her apartment, the girl was just glamorous. Shewore a cream cashmere sweater with a zipped front. It was off-the-shoulder on the right side, and the zipper was pulled down just enough to give a glimpse of her cleavage. She wore tight cream leather pants.
“You’ve added more presents underneath the tree, I see,” I stated after removing my shoes and putting on the indoor slippers she required.
“Yeah. I’ve done a little more shopping over the last few days,” Chanel admitted.
Her place was cozy and glamorous. Despite the all-white, champagne, and gold décor it still gave off cozy vibes, thanks to her furry throw rugs, pillows on the couches and chairs, and the warm, crackling fireplace. Even her Christmas tree was decorated in those colors.
I glanced at the TV and saw that she was watching some Christmas movie that only added to the holiday feel.
“Girl, that’s a lot more than a little,” I replied, glancing at the tree and all the presents added since then.
She laughed and waved me off. “Whatever. Would you like something to drink?”
“Sure. You got a Sprite?”
“Cranberry.”
“Should’ve known. You love the holidays like that, huh?”
“Oh, I’m a holiday girlie. I go all out, as you can see from my decorations. I become like a big kid at Christmas all over again.”
“Is there a particular reason why?”
“Well, my parents always gave me a big Christmas as an only child. They did minimal in terms of decorating, though, because they worked all the time. They didn’t have much time to decorate, and I always said that I would make a big deal out of it when I grew up and got my own place. So here we are,” she stated, spreading her arms out at her sides before turning her back to me.
She leaned into the refrigerator and removed a couple cans of Sprite. I kept watching as she walked to the cabinet, removed some glasses and rinsed them, and then poured ice into both.
She brought the glasses and cans back into the living room and handed me a glass and a can. I poured the soda into the glass and noticed that she was watching me.
“What?” I asked, looking up at her.
“I don’t know. It bothers me that you got into a fight the other night. I just wish that all this would go away.”
Shrugging, I replied, “Yeah, it is what it is. If that’s not enough, a lot of strange shit has been happening too.”
“Like what?”
I told her about the lingerie and perfume in both my hotel suite and at my house. She frowned and toyed with the diamond necklace around her neck.
“What?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t had any strange visitors, but I have had some strange texts.”
“Like what?”
Chanel eyed me closely for a few seconds as though she was trying to determine if I could be trusted. “Like this.”
She reached forward and grabbed her cellphone off the glass table and read a variety of text messages.
“‘Everything isn’t a story worth telling.’ ‘Some shit needs to remain private.’ ‘You’re going to sell your soul just to get that story out there, huh?’ ‘How far are you willing to go for a dollar?’ ‘You need to stay away from Ashton.’ ‘If I see you near him again there will be trouble.’ ‘You can’t trust shit that comes out of that man’s mouth.’ ‘Please don’t hurt him. Some of us actually care about the truth and about him.’ ‘If you cared about him, you would stay away from him.’”
She twisted her lips.
