Chapter 4 #3
Juliet leaned up on her tiptoes, putting her lips close enough to Chloe’s ear so she could whisper without Val or Krissy hearing, “And I bet you’d give anything to have a night with her. I’m sure you’ve dreamed about it.”
After they’d hooked up that one night, Chloe had gotten incredibly, messily drunk and told Juliet all about her usual type – a busty blonde? She’d probably go feral for Darcy.
And now… now Juliet didn’t have to pretend not to have a reaction to Darcy. She didn’t have to smile and wave off the idea that they were more than friends. She was allowed to own it. To own everything that Darcy meant to her.
That – that really was a rush. One she hadn’t yet experienced while licking her wounds, burying herself in Darcy.
Chloe was so tense, she looked like she might break in half as Juliet leaned back.
“I’d be careful if I were any of you, talking about talent.
I noticed neither of you had the lead spot or the finale on any runway at fashion week for the first time in years.
And Chloe, you’re right. Darcy is taking a little break, but in the two albums she put out compared to the six albums you’ve done…
how many more awards does she have?” Juliet lifted her finger, tapping at her chin.
It was rhetorical, given that everyone here knew Chloe had never won any major award.
The flush on Chloe’s cheeks was high, and Juliet knew she wanted to snap at her. She knew Chloe wanted to snipe at her, but what could she possibly say? It was clear even Krissy and Val, the latest besties she’d taken on, didn’t have a clue about who she really was.
A slow, sharp smile slid onto Juliet’s face. Yes, this felt very good.
Their mutually assured destruction was gone now. Juliet had outed herself to the world.
While she had no actual intention of outing Chloe, she thought it would be good to remind her of the fact that she technically could . In the past, the scales had been balanced. Now, Juliet held all of the power between them.
“I’d really thought that given our history together, Chloe, you’d have thought twice before trash-talking me.” She let the implication settle thickly in the air.
“That’s… yeah. I wasn’t really… thinking,” Chloe’s voice was tight and strained, her cheeks darkening.
Juliet hadn’t been able to experience this, yet. So busy dealing with the swift and heavy-handed rejections from a world she cared so deeply about, she hadn’t been able to revel in the positives.
But this was it. This was the feeling inside of her snapping , like she’d told Darcy before she’d left. The final thread that Juliet had felt holding on to bridge the life she’d had before coming out and whatever new world she was embarking on – it broke.
Because to hell with these women.
To hell with everyone else here. Okay, not everyone ; it was a charity raising money for sick children.
Juliet had made the decision to come out. She hadn’t been able to predict everything that had happened in the aftermath, but it was happening, and she wasn’t going to let other people tell this part of her story.
She’d already spent so much of her life with people doing just that. Deciding who she was, what music she made.
When she’d decided to come out, it had been fueled by, first, her love for Darcy and second, her desire to capitalize on being at Harrison’s event, being able to say fuck you to him the literal moment she was able to.
But it was a lot bigger than that, and she was living in it now. No going back.
Turning on her heel, she went back to the event.
And instead of avoiding Thomas, instead of playing nice, she marched right over to where he was standing.
“Thomas. I didn’t expect to see you here, given that you’re not known for being particularly charitable.”
In fact, she’d spent her entire career not telling him about her visits to the children’s hospital, because she knew he’d find a way to make it public information. She knew that the only value he’d see in it was the publicity.
“Juliet. I’m surprised you’re here, given the…” Thomas’s lip curled down in thinly veiled ire. “Drama surrounding you.”
“Funny, I’m surprised they let you in today, given that you lost your biggest client in the last month.”
Thomas’s roster consisted of a handful of other singers to different success levels, but she’d been his biggest. And yeah, it felt great to see him face-to-face to say that, after spending so much of her career avoiding FaceTime with him.
His eyes narrowed at her, and a very dark, very sharp, very satisfying glee shot through her.
And, indeed, it was potent. Not having to hold her tongue, not to anyone . Even after she’d told off Harrison and after she’d come out, she’d still believed that they’d be pivoting to a new record label, new management, a new contract.
But with nothing on the horizon, there was no point in wearing any of these gloves she’d been restricted by.
“You being with Chloe Larsson really says a lot about the state of affairs you’re in. I hope you sleep really well at night having chosen to be Harrison’s sycophant rather than to keep the most successful client you had on your roster.”
With that, she sailed away from him.
The press was still outside. And she had some comments to make.