Jasper was still in the dark. “Lauretta? You mean the eldest daughter of the Chapman family? How on earth would she know Stella? Rachel, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
Rachel replied, “If Stella hadn’t shown up with Lauretta when they came to see me and Haynie, I wouldn’t have believed it either. But it’s true—they actually know each other.”
Since Rachel was so certain, Jasper had no choice but to accept this bizarre fact.
He couldn’t help but blurt out, “Why would Lauretta go out of her way to help Stella? Do you think Stella has some kind of leverage over her?”
Rachel rolled her eyes at Jasper’s cluelessness. “Seriously? What kind of dirt could Stella possibly have on someone like Lauretta Chapman?”
Jasper scratched his head, realizing he was reaching. Then a thought struck him. “Maybe Stella saved Lauretta’s life once, and Lauretta’s just repaying the favor?”
Rachel’s gaze flickered. That… actually made the most sense.
At this point, Rachel would rather believe Stella had once saved Lauretta than accept the idea that Stella, like Lauretta, was part of the Hall of Fame circle.
She glanced at Haynes, who had been silent all this time, her expression clouded with a trace of sorrow.
“Haynie, forget about inviting Ms. Chapman. We can’t get the other two either… If they don’t want to help me, fine, but I just saw the news—Ms. Chapman is already promoting Stella’s concert. With her on Stella’s side, who’s going to bother coming to mine?”
Jasper’s face turned red with anger. “That Stella—she’s unbelievable! It’s bad enough she scheduled her concert at the same time as Rachel’s, but now she’s even poaching Rachel’s special guests. She really doesn’t want you to succeed, does she?”
He turned to Haynes. “Haynie, I say we stop playing nice with Stella. Go talk to Jonathan—cash in that favor he owes you. If Lauretta won’t respect us, I doubt she’d dare turn down the Williams family or her own fiancé.”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance