Page 44 of Famous for a Living

“Anyway,” she continues, “my advice is the same as the advice you stoutly ignored here. Keep being you. You’re a good person, Cat. Eventually he’ll see that, too, if he’s worth his salt.”

“And if he’s not?”

“He ate the sauerkraut soup. He is.” Serena gives a long sigh. “Anyway, just something to think about while you’re alone in the middle of the night warding off snakes.”

I laugh. “You are both the worst and best friend on earth. You know that?”

“So I’ve been told. Now on to the most important subject of the evening. Did this whole blizzard hike do anything to your toes?”

I frown. Wiggle my toes on impulse. “What do you mean? Are you asking if I lost a toe? Yes, Serena. Thank heavens, only two.”

“Terrific. I have a potential brand deal with Soren boots I’m working on. I ran into Claire Devont at Sabrina’s gallery opening on Tuesday, and she said she was talking with Bryant Jennings at brunch the other day, who said that his contact at Global Media had talked about you and”—she paused—“the situation, and she said she actually felt bad for you and thought you were getting a bad rap. You remember Jules Lavender?”

“Maybe. Is she—”

“Anyway, so I got her info and jumped on the phone with her—”

My back shoots up. “You did what?”

“To see if she would be interested in working in some brand deals. And I showed her your new lifestyle shift—”

“Serena—”

“—and how you’re going with a more rustic, down-to-earth vibe right now—”

“Serena—”

“—and she actually said that would be a perfect fit for a couple of brands she’s working with right now.”

“Serena!”

“And I’m battling it out with her—you wouldn’t believe how much she’s trying to take advantage of you, given”—she clears her throat—“the situation. But I think we really can secure some great spots for you coming up. I’m surprised, frankly. It’s almost like we may have a way in right now precisely because of the situation. All these new brands may be opening up because they finally have a shot with you being in a lower bracket.” She pauses. “Temporarily.”

I jump up to standing. “I’m not sure I want to do anything right now—”

“Oh, right. You’d rather pay the lawyer with your ranger salary.” She laughs. “Sure.”

“I’m serious. My account’s shot right now. I have no clue how anyone would react to me advertising boots or anything else, for that matter. And I can’t risk losing Global Media’s trust because I botch it up for the sake of twenty dollars.”

“Twenty thousand dollars,” Serena counters. “And consider it this way. You let them risk it with you, and you can pay to get that crappy heater fixed.”

I glance over to the heater. It would be nice to be warm at least some of the time. “They’d really do twenty?”

“Honey, all eyes are on you right now. And that’s not exactly considered a bad thing. The way Jules talks about it, if you went to jail right now for murder, she’d send matching boots for the orange jumpsuit.”

I had to grant it was food for thought, and as I got off the phone and bundled more wood into the fire, the idea grew more enticing by the moment.

“Hey, roomie! Come in here!”

I open Mina’s door. Her uniform and hat hang on the closet door behind her, freshly pressed (as it turns out she does this every evening in preparation for the following day), and from her perch beside the sewing machine, she holds up what appears to be a tube top for a newborn.

“What do you think?”

It’s some sort of elongated mix of red, orange, and black fabrics sewn together. On the front is the figure of a bear.

A rather impressive-looking bear.

I take a step closer.