Rise of the Billionaire actress

Safe to say her first day at work wasn’t ideal. Doris couldn’t make it back to pick her but sent a driver to do the job. Deloise sulked all the way back, trying and failing to contain the fury that brimmed within her.

Stella had won for the day, but it was just the beginning. If there was one thing she learned from her stay back in France, it was to never let anyone trample upon her. She was a way different person and if it took a lesson from her to make that clear, then she will dish out one.

Lets see how well she does with a taste of her own medicine. Deloise dropped down the car and made her way into the house determined to find every dirty detail she could on Stella. With the coding skills she acquired, she could almost hack into anything. A plan hatched in her heart and without a second thought, she headed for her room and shut the door behind her.

Deloise took out her laptop with a cynic look on her face. “Senior huh? let’s see what other skills you have up your sleeve.”

Her hands went on a mindless blur through the keyboard as she went through everything she could get her hands upon. All through the night, she stayed up and shunning every distraction and investigating the one person that wanted her downfall.

At about 3am the next day, She was able to get her hands on evidence of Stella sleeping around with an old hag. Why was she not surprised? Deloise watched the CCTV footage with disgust in her eyes. If she wanted to sleep around, at least be decent enough to do it in a more conspicuous place.

After copying the file into a flash, she shut down her computer, reminding herself to venture into that exercise some other time. If there were more skeletons in her closet, then she would be needing them for future lessons. For now, this will have to do.

The next morning, Deloise woke up with a smile on her face. She stepped out of her room and a wave of hunger hit her. In her mindless blur, she had skipped dinner and her stomach wasn’t having a field day about it. She held her stomach,

“Don’t worry baby, mummy will feed you in a minute.”

Doris spots her. “!!!”

“I know it looks crazy but I promise there’s an explanation.” She said, hiding a sheepish smile.

“Go on..” She gestured,

“!!!”

“Thought so. Breakfast is ready.” she took a glance at her watch, “Chop chop.”

Deloise breezed through breakfast in a great mood, they walked out the door with Doris closely observing her.

“You know, for someone who didn’t have a great day yesterday, you’re awfully happy.” She finally spoke, “Is there something you know that I don’t?”

“Is there something you think I know?”

Doris gauged her with narrowed eyes, “Is this about the news?”

“What news?”

“I guess it isn’t then.” Doris walked ahead but she caught her arm,

“What news are you talking about, Doris?”

“I may have arranged with some news outlets to subtly announce your return to the movie scene. Nothing too grand, just a teaser of what’s to come with your brand.”

“And?”

“It yielded more fruits than I hoped.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently, there are still people out there who love you and they are taking the news quite wonderfully.”

Deloise was shocked, “I have fans?”

“Quite a handful of them, and they are doing a great job with creating awareness of your return.”

*******

The second day on set was bearable without Stella breathing down her neck. After a great day, she was tired and ready to go home. Destiny had other plans.

In front of the building, Ellen stood in front of her car. It was hard to forget that face when it got paired with Aaron every single time.

“Deloise,” She spoke a few steps away, “I had a hunch you’d be here.”

“Ellen Parker.” She acknowledged, ready to get things over with, “To what do I owe this meeting?”

A curt smile, “I’d like to have a word with you.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then there’s nothing I can do about it. I wouldn’t stop until you give in though. I’ll be here every single day until you agree.”

“Surely you have better things to do.”

“No honey.” she smirked, “I’m on hiatus, which translates to having more time than I know what to do with.”

Deloise clenched her teeth, there was no way out of it. Might as well get things over with.

“Don’t look so glum, I promise I won’t take much of your time.”

Without another word, Deloise got into her car, and trailed her to an exquisite restaurant. Soon enough, they were seated and ready to order. Except Deloise had no plans to dine with her.

“What’s this about?” She cut to the chase, earning a chuckle from Ellen.

“Hasty, are we?”

“Unlike you, I have a job. And I’d rather spend my time doing something more… productive.” She said, for lack of a better word.

“I love your honesty. Others will pretend to love me although they hate my guts,”

Silence.

“It’s clear you are in no mood to chat, so I’ll keep things short.” Her expression turned grave, “I know you have a thing with Aaron,” She started, “I’m not too sure what that’s about but I’m sure by now, you understand it’s all in the past.”

“I’ll only say this once.” Deloise started, straight up offended. “I have nothing with Aaron, and I want nothing to do with him. As long as you stay out of my way, we don’t have a problem.” She said in a hard tone.

“Then we have a deal.” Ellen said, and she got up.

“I’ll be on my way.”

Without waiting for a reply, Deloise walked out of the restaurant, ready to call it a day.

*****

The next day was a free one for Deloise. After staying up late, and digging up more blackmail material on Stella, she slept into the following day. Doris had other plans.

“Get up! We don’t have much time.” Deloise sank into her bed, the covers hiding her frame.

“It’s my day off!” She whined,

“Don’t you think I’m in a better position to tell you that?” Doris corked an eyebrow, “We don’t have much time.”

Grumbling, Deloise sat up, “Where are we off to this time?”

“That’s for me to know. Get prepared, we leave shortly.”

Thirty minutes later, they were on their way out.

“You are getting your photo taken for a new and trending magazine.” Doris started, “With the publicity behind your name, alongside other factors, we were able to get you on front page.” She announced,

“What other factors?”

“Is that all you got from what I said?” Doris deadpanned, “You just got a front page deal, what’s with the underwhelming reception?”

She gave her the look.

“I had help from a little friend.” Deloise opened her mouth to revolt but she tutted, “Nope, you don’t get to say anything. That’s about as much you are allowed to know, until we get there.”

“Do I know this friend of yours?”NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.

“Let’s find out.”

Deloise looked at the building while they parked outside. It looked like a residential property.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

Doris led the way up, it was truly a residential building – a tastefully built one, but a home nonetheless. They arrived in front of a door and she hit the door bell. A much older version of Tony appeared before them, looking nothing short of amazing.

“Georgeous!” He enveloped her in a hug, “I’ve missed you so much! Come on in.” He opened the door widely, urging them to come inside the house. “I can’t believe my eyes, France treated you nice.”

Deloise smiled, “Yeah right.” For the beginning part of the conversation, they exchanged pleasantries.

“To what do I owe this visit?” He asked after they were settled in.

“You know why we are here.” Doris replied and he smiled.

“Damn straight. The moment I found out she was back in town, I knew we had to see.”

Deloise felt confusion cloud her senses. It was like there was a huge chunk of the conversation she was missing.

“Tony runs the magazine company.” Doris explained, “You are front cover.”

“What?”

“That is right.” Tony glanced at his watch, “Unfortunately, the team is yet to return from an assignment. Give it a few minutes and we’ll begin. For now, you’re stuck with me.”

Deloise turned to Doris who shrugged, “I’ll be on my way.” She announced, “break a leg.” She mouthed and left.

“Great.”

Tony laughed and they made small talk in which he gave a brief update on how he got to own a magazine company.

He’s always played with the idea of having a news company, having spent a small part of his life dabbling in writing for his family’s newspaper. After Royal Arts, it just seemed like a great idea to dabble into the business. So he opened Focus.

The Magazine – Focus was an entertainment and lifestyle magazine which focuses on striking individuals and events in the creative industry. Although it was two years down the line, it had great prospects.

When Tony heard the news of Deloise’s possible return to the entertainment world, he knew he had to see and cast her. Soon enough, Deloise was taken to a dressing room where she was prepared for the shoot. In no time, she was posing for the camera.

“Beautiful!” Tony commented as they went through the shots, “This is it.” he pointed to the screen, showing a picture of her deliciously arched with her palm on her neck. “That’s going on the front page.”

Deloise couldn’t agree more. She looked good, and she was unapologetic about it. Doris showed up just in time.

“I see we are done here.” She announced her presence.

“Of course! The interview questions have been sent to your email, go through that and we have ourselves a done deal.” Tony answered, content with the results. He turned to Deloise, “I’ll let you off because it’s been a long day. But you owe me one dinner.” He said and she nodded.

Tony was one person she considered a friend from Royal Arts. Despite his affiliation to Aaron, they always had a friendship of their own, one that remained in spite of everything.