Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
W as it possible to be more pedestrian than this? Tabitha glanced around the Riverside café and saw nothing to inspire or even to cool her down. She fanned her face with the plastic table menu and cursed under her breath. It was stifling hot in there and even with the doors left open and the river breeze tumbling through. Hadn’t they heard about air conditioning? The sun was beating down outside and she needed a drink, and fast. She hated being in provincial places like this passably clean coffee shop. They didn't serve her favourite fat free, decaffeinated tomato mint tea, so they could hardly call themselves a real coffee shop. She'd finally decided to meet a friend at the café that was just by the riverboat dock, because she’d heard Noah raving about Maya's little paintings and wanted to find out what prices they went for. Surely she'd need to sell hundreds of them to make up the amount she could pocket from Tabitha for the No. 1 Ethereal Lane ring? Tabitha had fibbed when she’d mentioned to Maya about visiting the café, so she thought she had better see it for herself, but she certainly wouldn’t be eating anything, she shuddered.
She'd asked the young woman from behind the counter where to find Maya's work, but had been told that it was sold out, which was infuriating, as it meant Tabitha had endured the walk through the high street and curious glances from the locals, for nothing. Now she couldn’t even get a decent drink. Tabitha enjoyed being famous most of the time, but she didn't normally have to walk from a car park to get somewhere. She was used to valet service. The docks had parking just off of the main street, so you could walk up to the admittedly pretty market town, or turn right to reach the boats and this café. It had unnerved her a bit to leave her sleek red Porsche behind and made her wish she’d brought a bodyguard, but her friend, Portia, was pretty famous now too and when she arrived, Tabitha knew she'd feel better. They would chat about their most recent problems and they often came to a suitable solution that would cause them both to come out on top. Nothing else would be acceptable.
She guessed that Maya’s art must be dirt cheap to sell so quickly and a bit of digging had resulted in Tabitha finding out that Maya attended art classes for down and outs, so surely she’d decide to sell the ring at some point? The tutor looked pretty dishy from the art class flyers that were by the front door of the café, so perhaps Tabitha could tempt Maya that way and get rid of her for good? Surely that would be a better match than a nobody trying to date a superstar? Tabitha just needed to keep Maya close and then she could make Noah realise he was making the wrong choice in his selection of partner. Maya was a mess, and she didn’t seem to have any ambition, so what on earth could they have in common ?
Tabitha looked at her expensive watch and tutted that Portia was keeping her waiting. They both had careers that kept them in the spotlight, but Tabitha knew she was the more famous of the two… by far. She sat up straighter and ignored a couple of young women who had been staring at her since she walked in and then scrolled through her phone at the hundreds of dresses she’d bookmarked. She’d bagged a ticket to the ball of the century and she needed to make a statement with her dress to catch the eye of the swarms of photographers who would be outside Dame Rosalie Alton’s party. She also wanted Noah to know exactly what he was missing. Sleeping with Corey, her producer, to ensure she had his plus one invite had been tedious and she could tell his attention was waning, which could be problematic. The press occasionally photographed Corey with the cast of their film, so she made sure that she was standing next to Noah each time and smiling up into his eyes, which their fans went wild for.
She eyed the drinks menu to see if they served a chilled glass of white Riesling wine, but alas, no such luck. A framed photo that was hanging on the wall behind the serving counter caught her eye and it sucked the breath out of her lungs for a second. The cogs in her brain whirred, and her cheeks flushed. She knew there was something dodgy about Maya and now she had proof! Noah needed to understand what he was getting himself into and that Maya was clearly a fame hunter, and Tabitha knew she was just the person to help him out and console his pain from the betrayal.