Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The next few weeks pass by in the blink of an eye, and with every passing minute, and every incoming proposal, another part of me steps into the spotlight – of my own inner world, not the outside.
There are always different degrees to being yourself, that’s what I’ve been discovering this year, little by little.
So many onion layers to peel away to get to your core.
Exposing that core to the world would have felt so intimidating in my previous versions of Ella Edwards, but as Christmas calls, I feel nothing but the festive joy. Proud and free.
Wow, how my life has changed in the past twelve months. It’s unreal to think how quickly and dramatically things turned around for me when I needed it most.
I was a nobody, living a minimum wage lifestyle with everything I had to give. I had nothing but huge debt to my name, trying to help a selfish asshole of a boyfriend achieve his dreams and having none of my own.
I was so devoted to him, I never even thought of mine.
Connor got his shot, and he blew it. Vinnie Hampton was right. Connor has become a total outcast in the US music scene by now, despised by almost everyone he’s come into contact with. They haven’t been quiet about it, either. Social media is rife with the backlash.
I thought I had it bad when I was ousted as the hooker who broke his heart, but that was fuck all compared to the hate he gets online.
Since his latest round of coke fuelled ranting and middle fingers, the whole world seems to have risen up in defiance. He’s been dropped by his agent and preyed on by the press for the right reasons. The whole industry is chanting Connor Preston is a cunt.
But who cares? Certainly not me. He really is a jackass that deserves it.
Some might say it’s karma that his dreams went down the drain, but I don’t hold grudges that way.
I’d like to imagine he’s going through the exact same process I’ve been going through.
Onion layers peeling away to the core… and exposed so the world can see.
I only pray that when and if I am truly exposed to the world, I don’t suffer the consequences of having a rotten, selfish core. But I doubt I will.
I’m anything but rotten and selfish.
I’m a sweet curva with a heart of gold.
I’m proud of the woman I greet in the mirror every morning and say goodnight to every evening in the mirror before I go to bed. I’m proud of the good heart within my chest. That’s what will move clients as much as my extremely filthy nature and black-market notoriety. Me.
Me, myself and Ella Edwards.
The proposals have been coming in thick and fast, just as Vinnie said they would.
Last week I clicked accept on two, for the week following New Year.
Two five-hour proposals with some music industry A-listers on tour in the UK.
It was obvious from the description which band the members are from.
I’ve checked out their tour list to be sure.
I’ll make over three hundred grand from those sessions. Three hundred grand in one single week, and that’s just the beginning.
The highest proposal value in my inbox currently sits at five hundred and seventy-five thousand.
It involves a first-class flight to New York.
Luxury accommodation for three days, so I can see the sights, then one single night with an actor who has starred in over twenty-seven action movie classics.
I watched three of them in a row the other night with a grin on my face.
February can’t come quickly enough for that kind of thing, and it leads to further mind wandering.
Belgravia is far greater and luxurious than I would have ever imagined, but there is a big world out there, with grand manors and statues lit up in neon lights, and penthouse apartments all over the globe.
And Heath’s place.
London as well as Cannes.
Yachts, and hotels around the world, and, and, and…
The list goes on and on.
The luxury of Belgravia may well be blowing up to a whole new scale. Christmas has a magic to it greater than I could have ever imagined.
Man, how I love catching up with Eb and Tiff on the weekend.
Our girly trio is always so much fun. These two are my staple besties now, and my self blooms easily around them.
I’ve nothing to hide from within anymore, even if I keep my mouth shut on the outside.
The secrets I keep are purely work based, but I’m used to that by now.
I have to keep my filthy cards close to my chest, for my clients, not for me.
I’ve learnt that talent since first signing up to The Agency.
People deserve their privacy, even when I’m beginning to shed mine. And my clients are getting… bigger. They certainly won’t be staples appearing in Agency forum chats.
It would be so satisfying to squeal and let the girls in on my good fortune.
I’d love to sit with them for a lunchtime glass of fizz with the Christmas tunes jingling in the background, squealing with delight in the festivities of a London bar.
But I can’t do that. Not about the celebrities coming my way, and definitely not about Heath.
Not yet.
Normal doesn’t include the spotlight. Not for now.
I’m buzzing sky high as me and the girls take a shopping trip together – the kinky trio of Naughty.
Eb has a Christmas gift list as long as her arm for her kids and her nieces and nephews.
Even her neighbours. Hell, she even wants to grab a token gift for the postman, and a big box of pamper goodies for the teachers at her kids’ school.
As for me, I’m out to grab gifts for all my loved ones, and it’s a shame I won’t be spending Christmas with my parents this year.
I’d love to hang out at their poolside and have crazy divebomb fun with my dad.
But this year we’re going to be at Josh’s massive lunchtime gathering at his parents’ place.
A huge turkey and lots of cheers, especially for Carly as her baby bump keeps getting bigger.
Damn, she has me babied up. I keep picturing the sweet little face of the newborn when I first get to hold it in my arms. I can’t wait to see the proud smile on Josh’s face as he looks at the tiny treasure.
Carly deserves it, even though she started out being a spoilt little bitch when I first met her.
We all learn.
We all grow.
We all change, eventually.
Luckily for her, her life is on the upward path.
She still has the urge for a celebrity lifestyle, so who knows on that score? Maybe I’ll be able to give her a leg up one day, even just a token one. Maybe she’ll even make it onto my social media presence. It’s another thing that’s rising again from the ashes – much to my parents’ freakout.
I’ll be ok, I assured them, even though I was still humming with nerves under the surface. If it’s not, I can just hit deactivate and disappear.
It was a big decision to reactivate my social media accounts, as Ells E, not my full name. I’m not quite that brave yet, and I’ve got no desire for the blue tick of authenticity, showing my hooker identity to the global audience.
Maybe that will come with time as well? Who knows what lies ahead?
As long as it doesn’t interfere with The Agency and cause any fallout, I’m down with riding the waves.
More imminently, what lies ahead is present buying and a festive brunch. Eb might have a shopping list as long as her arm, but mine isn’t all that much shorter. A lot of it will be a supermarket style sweep at one of the mother and baby outlets.
Once again, who knows what the future holds?
I may be visiting the mother and baby stores for my own bump one day.
Josh and I have talked about it a few times over the past twelve months.
We reckon it’ll be an obvious development in our romance down the line.
But not for now. Now is all about The Agency, and racking up the cash, and having fun.
We also haven’t accounted for the beautiful Heath Mason.
The journey he is taking with us is still an uncharted road, but he might want to be babied up along with us. Hell knows, one day he might even want babies of his own.
Gah, gah, gah. I need to stop it. Live in the now and stop whirring the cogs.
I point out babies and kids in Christmas hats wherever our girly trio turn, giggling at the grins on their faces.
Eb does an awww whenever I do it, but Tiff doesn’t.
She looks hungover from hell today. I guess she had a pretty major proposal last night, taking a Christmas party banging to the tenth degree.
“Let’s hit the next mall,” Eb says as we walk down the bustling street. “It’s a good one.”
I’m disoriented since my vision is focused on merry families and not our location, so give a nod when it comes into view. It has a huge inflatable snowman at the entrance, and I point at it with another grin. It’s an impressive one. Its carrot nose is amazing.
“Christmas is the best,” I say, squeezing Tiff’s arm to try to bring her back from her hangover. “Look, look! That’s amazing! And look at the little boy there. Awww. Oh my God. He’s so cute.”
We walk past yet another happy family and I give them a wave.
Tiff sighs, and her mood seems to lighten ever so slightly. She gives a decent smile as we reach the doors.
“Let’s go, girls! Ho ho ho!” she says.
Ho, ho, ho. How apt for three Agency workers.
The mall is mega busy, which is hardly that much of a shock since it’s a Saturday. There are shoppers everywhere in a gift buying frenzy. I check out the wall of stores lining up the sides of the foyer, and my stomach flips. Hard.
“Wait a second, I know this place,” I say and pull away from Tiff to do a spin.
Yes. It’s here. I do know this place.
I’ve been here. One of the most important moments of my entire life. Holy shit.
“No way! What the hell?” I say to the girls. “I didn’t think this was the Central Parade shopping centre. I had a proposal here last year. A new client when I was a newbie myself.”