Chapter 58
Emma rode her scooter to the barbecue place where she was meeting Lana.
The moment Lana saw her, she threw her arms around her.
"I missed you!"
Emma stiffened slightly. She wasn't used to people hugging her like that.
Lana released her and gave her a long look, then shook her head in amazement.
"Okay, I'm convinced. Quitting your job really is the best beauty treatment."
Emma laughed. "I just found a different way to keep working."
"No, seriously." Lana tugged at her own shirt. "I still have office misery all over me. You don't. You even smell good."
"Do I? I've cut back on everything lately. I barely use perfume anymore. One spray under my nose so at least I can smell it."
Lana burst out laughing and pulled her toward the restaurant.
"I saw all the posts about you on the way here. You're kind of going viral again. Let's sit farther inside."
Emma didn't think it was necessary. Social media found a new obsession every few hours. Going viral for a day didn't mean people would suddenly recognize her everywhere.
Still, she followed Lana inside.
Once they sat down, Lana pushed the menu toward her.
"You order. I'm paying."
"I'll pay," Emma said. "I made money today."
Verve had already sent her the ten thousand dollars.
Same-day payment.
Beautiful.
Lana had taken a rideshare over, and she'd spent most of the trip scrolling through posts about Emma. Normally she wouldn't have cared that much about celebrity gossip, but today she actually knew the person everyone was talking about.
At first, she'd wondered whether there was secretly something going on between Emma and Julian too.
She'd even checked the Mercer Holdings group chat where several employees still followed the ongoing Adrian-and-Emma drama.
The chat had recently been renamed:
Someone had already complained that Adrian's competition was getting ridiculously strong.
Once people learned Emma was simply one of Julian's longtime fans, the mood changed immediately.
False alarm.
Apparently, Adrian still had a chance.
They ordered far too much barbecue.
Maybe it was because she'd made ten thousand dollars in a single afternoon, but Emma was in an excellent mood.
When the food arrived, she snapped a photo and posted it to her private social feed.
Before posting it, she made sure to hide it from Adrian.
Otherwise he'd insist on coming.
Earlier that afternoon, she'd told him she wouldn't be home tonight.
He'd immediately asked what she was doing.
Emma had replied:
Adrian:
Emma had very few people on her private account, so the post didn't get many reactions.
Nathan's executive assistant liked it.
So did the man she'd once been introduced to who had somehow managed to get divorced eight times.
Then he sent her a message.
Emma blocked him.
Problem solved.
She put her phone down and went back to talking with Lana.
A while later, another message came in.
Emma checked it.
This time it was from one of Julian's longtime fan-community organizers, a woman Emma had known online for years.
Emma's heart skipped.
Right.
She'd forgotten about the people who had spent years watching Julian closely enough to notice something like that.
The woman didn't seem particularly interested in why Emma had been invited to Verve's event. She only cared about why Emma had acted so differently around Julian.
Emma thought for a moment before replying.
The reply came quickly.
Emma immediately replied:
She was joking.
Mostly.
Emma didn't actually expect Julian to contact her.
She knew the fan organizer had Julian's personal contact information and had even eaten with him before. It wasn't impossible that Julian might ask her for recommendations, but Emma didn't expect it to happen.
At an upscale restaurant across town, Julian was bored.
He'd never particularly enjoyed dinners with people he barely knew. If he'd realized Emma wasn't staying, he probably wouldn't have agreed to come in the first place.
He picked up his phone and checked his social feed.
Emma's post appeared almost immediately.
His expression brightened.
So she really had gone out for barbecue with a friend.
Was that why she'd posted it?
Maybe she wanted him to know she hadn't made up an excuse to avoid dinner.
After a moment, he liked the post and replied:
Emma didn't answer right away.
Probably talking to her friend.
Julian stared at the photo again.
Then another thought occurred to him.
Was this friend a woman?
Or a man?
He didn't spend much time wondering.
He opened their messages and typed:
Back at the barbecue restaurant, Emma was about to put her phone away when Julian's message appeared.
She stared at it.
He really contacted her.
Had the fan organizer told him to?
Emma knew the woman had Julian's personal contact information and had even eaten with him before. It wasn't impossible.
Then Emma remembered one particularly important detail.
The woman had just offered to cover the bill.
A smile slowly appeared on Emma's face.
Saving money was still saving money.
But this wasn't her dinner alone, so she looked at Lana first.
"Julian Sterling wants to come eat with us. Is that okay?"
Lana was halfway through a grilled lamb skewer.
She stopped chewing.
"Who?"
"Julian Sterling."
Lana's eyes widened. She quickly put the skewer down and wiped her mouth.
"The Julian Sterling you were all over social media with today?"
"That's the one."
"Yes. Obviously yes."
She wasn't some obsessive fan, but she listened to his music fairly often.
And he was still Julian Sterling.
Who would turn down the chance to meet him?
Emma sent him the location.
Julian's smile appeared almost instantly.
He stood and looked toward the Verve executive.
"Sorry, something came up. I need to head out early. Enjoy dinner."
The executive stood as well.
"Of course. See you next time, Julian."
Anyone paying attention could tell he'd been distracted throughout the meal.
Chloe and Tessa exchanged a look.
Tessa lowered her voice.
"You don't think he's going to meet Emma, do you?"
Chloe gave a dismissive laugh.
"Why would he? She's just a fan."
The barbecue place was around forty minutes away.
When Julian finally arrived, he pulled on a baseball cap and mask before getting out of the car.
He had just taken out his phone to message Emma when Leo called again.
Julian answered.
"Hey."
"I'm having dinner with the director," Leo said. "Come join us."
"Can't. I'm meeting Emma for barbecue."
Silence.
Then Leo's voice dropped.
"What are you doing?"
Julian frowned.
"Eating dinner?"
"Don't go."
Julian's brows pulled together.
"It's just dinner. I have to go—I'm about to ask Emma to come get me."
He hung up before Leo could continue and sent Emma a message.
Almost immediately, another notification appeared.
Leo.