Killer Cupcakes Page 3

  Chapter 3

  An ambulance pulled up. Paramedics got out. Paparazzi and fans scattered to let them through. They headed straight for Penelope. The police showed up right behind them. At first there were only two police cars. Then more came and it seemed like flashing red lights were everywhere.

  It was chaos. Even more people rushed up to try and see what was happening. Shock and horror rumbled in waves through the crowd as more people heard the news. The police immediately started trying to corral potential witnesses, including some fans and paparazzi, over toward the cupcake shop's small outdoor patio, to separate them from the growing crowd of curious onlookers. Easton and I were directed over there too, and we immediately obliged them, but I was pretty sure that the police weren't going to get everyone who saw Penelope collapse. There were too many witnesses that had now intermingled with curious onlookers. Other policemen started setting up camp inside. I didn't think any of us were going to be leaving anytime soon.

  I knew my mouth was gaping open as all of this happened. I'd never seen an active crime scene like this. I almost felt like I was on a movie set and had to keep reminding myself that everything happening in front of me right now was real. I was from a quiet town in the Midwest. Things like this didn't normally happen where I grew up. Maybe this was just life in the big city. I still wasn't quite ready for it even if my brain knew that things like this happened every day.

  On top of that, I'll admit it, I was still freaking out at the thought that the newly arrived police might haul me off to jail on murder charges. Although I'd have a ton of time to write screenplays in prison, I didn't really envision my twenties, thirties, and possibly more, behind bars. Easton and I really had to solve this case. I'd seen way too many movies where an innocent person got sent to jail. I did not want to live one of those stories.

  “Earth to Ava,” Easton said.

  “Huh?” Was my eloquent reply as I ripped my eyes from the tragic scene in front of me and looked back at Easton.

  “I don't actually think you did it,” Easton said.

  That was a relief, but it didn't mean the police would feel the same way. “That's good because I didn't. To be fair, I don't think you did it either.”

  “Thanks,” Easton said.

  I hoped it wasn't just wishful thinking on my part that I was discounting him as a suspect, especially since he did have the opportunity. Still, there were tons of other possibilities to look at, “Do you know any of the other employees? I've only talked to you and Charlotte.”

  “Charlotte?” Easton asked.

  I gestured to her. “The girl with the crazy red hair.”

  “And?” Easton asked.

  I thought over my initial impression of Charlotte. “Well, unless she killed Penelope because she has a crush on her boyfriend Chance Fox, I'd say she's innocent.”

  “People have murdered for crushes,” Easton said.

  I nodded. “Yeah, except that I think Charlotte would probably admit to doing it before she realized the words were out of her mouth. I don't think she has a mental filter when it comes to talking.”

  Easton laughed. “Sounds like she'll be fun to work with.”

  No doubt. I could never let Charlotte know I had a crush on Easton. She'd totally tell him. Heck, she'd almost outed my feelings to him during the ceremony, not even realizing it.

  “Well, I only know Skylar and Cole. I met Skylar this morning. Cole helped me and my Aunt Nina set up the store over the last couple of days,” Easton said gesturing to the pretty girl with the short brown pixie cut hair and the burly guy in his mid-twenties who obviously spent time at the gym.

  I refrained from asking Easton if he was interested in Skylar even though I really wanted to know. “Any thoughts on them?”

  “Skylar and I only exchanged the typical niceties,” Easton said.

  “Niceties?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Just a hi, how are you, how'd you start working here kind of conversation,” Easton said.

  I rolled my eyes. “I know what it means. I just thought it was an interesting word choice for a guy.”

  “Well, that's because I'm cool like that,” Easton said. “Anyway, I really don't know about Skylar. She seemed nice enough.”

  I cringed at the word nice. I got the impression that in Skylar's case it meant hot and sexy and I felt a little jealous. I knew I didn't have a claim on Easton, but my crush was only growing the longer we talked.

  Easton continued, “Cole and I spent a few days together, though.”

  “And?” I asked.

  “And he's a sports guy. He loves MMA and football.”

  “MMA?”

  “Mixed Martial Arts,” Easton clarified. “Have you heard of UFC?”

  I had. “Okay. So, do you think he could have killed Penelope?”

  Easton frowned. “Maybe. I mean, he's into fighting, but then again, if he was going to kill someone, wouldn't he do it physically? Poison suggests someone who doesn't want to get their hands dirty.”

  “Or get caught,” I added.

  Easton nodded. “True. Beating someone to death leaves a little more evidence. Although if it was Cole, I don't know why he'd off Penelope. All he really talked about was sports. I doubt he even watched Whodunit.”

  “Okay. Well, then I'm not sure that helps much,” I sighed. “And of course there's all of the other employees. So, the question is where do we start? All we have are theories.”

  “Well, how about we start by talking to my Aunt Nina,” Easton said.

  I looked over at her. “She looks like she's about to hyperventilate.”

  “Exactly,” Easton said. “And I should be a good nephew anyway and lend her some support.”

  I wondered how he was going to do that when we'd been told to stay on the patio. I didn't think it was a good idea to disobey the police, especially since they might look pretty closely at Easton and I as suspects anyway. Easton obviously didn't feel the same way. Instead, he slipped past the distracted policeman that was supposed to be monitoring us and walked toward his aunt.

  I hesitated as anxiety rushed through me. Images of the policeman tackling us to the ground and arresting us ran through my brain. Still, the officer did look really engrossed in talking to the pretty paparazzi woman chatting him up.

  Easton looked back for me. I had to decide. I followed him. I didn't really have any other choice since my freedom was at stake no matter what I did. At least this way I was being proactive. Although, if I dug a little deeper into my psyche, I'd also have to admit that I didn't want to look like a coward in Easton's eyes. Okay, I know you're not supposed to let a guy dictate how you act, but come on, I couldn't help wanting to impress him.

  I rushed to catch up to Easton just as he walked up to Nina. She was standing just beyond the paramedics, watching them work on trying to save Penelope's life. A policeman was trying to talk to her, but she barely noticed. Her eyes, like everyone else's, were glued to Penelope's lifeless body.

  “And we'll need to know the names of all of the employees who...” The policeman was saying.

  Easton sidled up to his aunt, throwing an arm around her shoulders, and addressed the policeman. “Actually, I think my aunt needs a few minutes to collect herself before she starts answering questions. She's obviously in shock. I'll take her over there to sit down.”

  The policeman looked like he might protest.

  That was when Nina finally noticed Easton. “Yes. That's actually a good idea. I can't even think straight right now.”

  The policeman looked annoyed, but nodded. “We'll still need to talk to you. As soon as possible.”

  “I know,” Nina said and Easton quickly pulled his aunt away from the chaos before the policeman could interrogate her any further.

  Before I followed them, something caught my eye. Penelope's manager was hovering a few feet away from us, just behind the paramedics and policemen surrounding Penelope's body. His eyes hadn't left his client's. Another policeman was trying to talk to him
.

  The manager's eyes flashed angrily over at the policeman, “I told you. I'm not moving until I make sure she's alright.”

  “Well, we need you to go over there, sir,” The policeman said. “She's being well taken care of.”

  “I need to see that for myself,” Her manager said.

  “You can watch from over there, then. We need to clear the area so we can start trying to figure out what happened,” The policeman said.

  “I'd like to know what happened too. One minute she was fine and then she was on the ground. This doesn't make sense. Her physical for Whodunit came back great. She was in perfect health.” Her manager said.

  “Well, the best thing you can do for her is to join the others,” the policeman repeated.

  The manager stood his ground. “I'm not going anywhere!”

  “Sir, you need to calm down,” the policeman said.

  The manager's face was twisted in grief, “How can I be calm? My Penelope is on the ground, dying.”

  Then a different policeman stepped in front of me, blocking me from eavesdropping. “Miss, we're going to need you to move over there with everyone else.”

  “Oh. Okay. Sorry,” I spun around and headed toward Easton as the words my Penelope ruminated in my brain.

  Did all managers talk about their clients like that? In a way, it sort of sounded like he was dating her. Still, like Charlotte, I thought Penelope was dating Chance Fox. Maybe I was wrong or maybe Penelope had been having a secret affair with her manager. That would make things complicated. Could he have killed her because of an affair gone wrong? Or had he been secretly in love with her? Maybe she didn't return his affections, so he murdered her? He had to be a suspect. There were too many valid possibilities why he might have killed her.

  As I thought this over, I saw that Easton had led his aunt over to one of the patio tables in front of Celebrity Cupcakes and Coffee. Two other employees were already sitting there. One of them was Skylar. My heart twisted a little at the come hither smile she gave Easton as he approached.

  “Can you guys move?” Easton said in response. “She needs to sit down.”

  I resisted the urge to smile at Skylar's stricken expression. I was ninety nine percent sure she usually got her way with guys. I was also pretty sure she was an actress. Since she had volunteered to bring the cupcake to Penelope, she definitely liked attention. Plus all of the pretty people in Hollywood were usually trying to get themselves in front of the camera so it was a logical assumption. Yeah, I knew I shouldn't judge, but come on. She was after my crush. I couldn't help it. I hadn't even said hello to her yet and I already didn't like her. That was so unlike me. My crush on Easton and Skylar's flirting with him had brought out the inner cattiness in me. I knew we'd be working together and that I had to let it go, but I couldn't help what my brain threw out at me.

  Skylar and our other coworker moved without another word. Nina sunk down into the chair. I made my way over to them, feeling suddenly shy. Our chatting about a murder mystery seemed like ages ago even though it had only been a few moments, and they seemed absorbed in conversation. I pulled out my phone a few feet away from them, not daring to interrupt. Besides, I was curious about Penelope's dating history now. I wanted to get up to speed on my celebrity gossip. I opened my internet browser.

  Easton's voice interrupted me before I could even type Penelope's name into my search box. “Ava, what are you doing? Come here.”

  My eyes snapped up to his. Easton beckoned me over. Nina's eyes narrowed and she looked between us like she knew something was going on. Oh no. I didn't really want my brand new boss to think I had a crush on her nephew. I wasn't sure what her workplace romance policy was and I didn't think today was a good day to find out. Still, I didn't know how to avoid Easton's request either, so I walked over to them.

  “My Aunt Nina was just telling me about Penelope,” Easton said. “You should hear this.”

  Nina turned to me, “We knew each other in college. We were roommates freshman year.”

  That was interesting. I hadn't really expected Nina to say that. Then again, somewhere in my brain I knew that Penelope was once a normal girl before she was famous. “What was she like back then?”

  Nina smiled, reminiscing. “She was, well, Penelope. She had that light around her. You sort of knew she'd end up famous or something one day. Of course, Penelope had her faults. Freshman year she had the most annoying loser boyfriend. She drove me crazy that semester, bringing him over to our room all the time. All he wanted to do was smoke pot. Our room reeked after he'd been over. It was totally annoying, but only Penelope could smooth things over so that most of what I remember about that semester with her is grand adventures and laughing.”

  “How did she end up becoming an actress?” Easton asked.

  “Well, she always wanted to be one and after freshman year, she quit school to pursue acting. We kept in touch after that. She had some small parts, struggled for a long while, and then she landed the lead role in Whodunit. That was it. Immediate fame. Like I said, she was destined for it. She just needed the vehicle. Then, when I decided to open my bakery she offered to help publicize it. Penelope was like that. She struggled to make her dreams a reality and she wanted to help others make it too. She knew this bakery was my dream,” A tear rolled down Nina's cheek. “It's weird to say was, but I think...”

  I followed Nina's gaze back to Penelope. The paramedics hadn't taken her away and it looked like they'd stopped trying to resuscitate her. The police were talking to them. That couldn't be good. Did that mean that the front of Celebrity Cupcakes and Coffee had officially become a crime scene? My gaze landed on Penelope's manager again. He was on his cellphone, pacing. His eyes were still locked on Penelope.

  I turned back to Nina. I had to know. It could be important, “She wasn't dating her manager was she?”

  “What?” Nina's eyes snapped up to my face. “How did you know that? Nobody was supposed to know that. Did the tabloids find out?”

  “She was dating him?” I asked, a little surprised that I was actually right. Maybe I did have some intuitive sleuthing skills after all.

  Nina nodded. “It was a new relationship. She and Chance broke up a few weeks ago, but Penelope's had the hots for her manager, Tyler, for ages. Turned out it was mutual. They've been super hot and heavy over the last two weeks. She's been gushing about him.”

  I felt a pang in my chest. I felt really bad for Tyler. I knew it wasn't like they'd been dating for years, but still. It had to hurt.

  “Did she and Chance break up over Tyler?” I asked.

  Nina hesitated, “Penelope didn't say that was why. She said they'd grown apart, but I don't know. Maybe. She really liked Tyler. I wouldn't be surprised if Chance picked up on it and that was the real reason they ended things.”

  Now I was just curious. “Did you actually get to meet Chance Fox?”

  Nina smiled. “I went out with them a few times. He was cool and definitely gorgeous in person. It was a little nuts to be out with both of them, though. Fans kept coming up to us and asking for pictures and autographs.”

  I nodded. I couldn't imagine being that famous. It would be a completely different world with people watching your every move. The thought of it made me feel anxious. It didn't surprise me that some celebrities went crazy.

  “So, what do you think of Tyler?” Easton asked bringing things back around to Penelope's murder.

  I knew that Easton was asking if Nina thought Tyler was bad for Penelope. Could Tyler's grief just be an act? How was I going to tell? Who was acting and who was sincere? Even if I had some intuition working in my favor, this whole investigating thing was nothing like it was on television. I had no idea if we were on the right track or not.

  Nina seemed thoughtful. “You know, I was happy for Penelope. She'd talked Tyler up so much that even I was excited to meet him today. I thought he might be good for her because he was just a normal guy. He might be able to keep her grounded while she dealt
with the newfound fame, you know?”

  I nodded. “So you liked him?”

  “Well... I will say that he was a little too detailed in getting ready for Penelope's appearance today. It was kind of annoying. Penelope and I had already arranged everything ourselves. He wanted to have his say too.”

  “So you didn't like him?” Easton clarified.

  “No, I didn't say that. I was still hopeful for Penelope. I wanted her to be happy. Besides, I only met him today so I'd have to get to know him better to really tell. He seemed all right overall. The thing is, he could have only showed one side of himself to me—the professional one. I'm not even sure if he knew that Penelope had told me they were seeing each other.”

  Easton and I exchanged a look. Had Tyler micromanaged Penelope's appearance because he'd been planning to kill her? Maybe. Something bothered me, though. Why would he hook up with her in the last few weeks if he planned to murder her? That didn't make sense unless he was some kind of a sociopath. Or was it a romance gone wrong? Had Chance come back into the picture? Maybe Penelope and Chance were getting back together.

  I tried another tactic. “Did Tyler have access to the cupcake?”

  Nina frowned at me, thinking. “Uh, well, he tried one of them. He said he wanted to sample it before Penelope tried it. Again, he needed to have his say. I didn't mind, though since he raved about it afterward. He said it was the best cupcake he'd ever had. That was pretty cool.”

  “But did he have access to the actual cupcake that Penelope was going to eat?” Easton asked.

  Nina thought for a moment. “Well, yes. I showed it to him.”

  “Were you with him the whole time it was around?” Easton asked.

  “Wait. Easton, are you insinuating...” Nina started to say.

  Easton smiled. “Yes, I am. Ava and I are trying to figure out what happened to Penelope.”

  Nina frowned again, but this time her frown was deeper. “Easton, don't you think that's dangerous?”

  “And we're surrounded by the police,” Easton waved her concern away. “We won't get into trouble. It's just a friendly game of whodunit.”

  Nina looked at me. “What do you think Ava?”

  I smiled tentatively at Nina. “I hope the police catch whoever did it, but...”

  Nina looked between us. I think she knew that was my way of saying that I was game because of Easton. I didn't want her to think that, though.

  I continued, “But it's also an interesting experience to have as a writer. I promise we won't do anything crazy. We're just throwing out theories. We'll leave the real solving and capturing of the killer to the professionals.”

  Nina nodded. “All right. I don't completely approve, but I do want to know what happened to Penelope. If you guys find anything out, please mention it to the police. They're going to talk to all of us anyway. The officer was telling me that before you two walked up.”

  “So, was Tyler left alone with the cupcake?” Easton asked.

  Nina sighed, but said, “I was with Tyler when I showed him the cupcake. He wasn't left alone with it at all. I don't think. When Penelope showed up, he was either with her or checking on the crowd outside. He completely lost interest in Penelope's cupcake after tasting its twin.”

  That put a wrench in the thought that maybe Tyler killed Penelope. “Was anybody else left alone with it?”

  Nina thought for a moment. “Well, you had it Ava.”

  I still wasn't thrilled about that. “I'm all too well aware.”

  “I had it too,” Easton offered.

  “And I know you didn't do it,” Nina said.

  Easton smiled.

  Nina continued, “Other than that, I'm not sure who was left alone with it. I was near it most of the time. I think. Truthfully, I didn't realize it would become important to remember where the cupcake was at all times.”

  “Well, was the cupcake itself left alone at all?” Easton asked.

  “Um, yeah. I'm actually not sure. Wait. You know, I did go to the bathroom at one point. So, yes,” Nina said. “Still, there were other people around. It was in the bakery case with the others.”

  That meant it could be any one of the employees. I hadn't been focused on the cupcake until I realized I'd be bringing it over to Nina and Penelope. I had no idea if anyone had tampered with it before the main event. I doubted any of the others had noticed anyone messing with it either even though we'd definitely have to ask them. We had our work cut out for us if we were going to solve this mystery.

  A few minutes later the police came over to talk to Nina again. She told us that she was ready to speak with them. I was sort of interested in listening to them talk to her, but they took her inside the store. The area was crowded with witnesses, but Easton and I walked to the edge of the patio. It was at least a semi-private spot to talk since we weren't surrounded on all sides.

  “So, what do you think? Did Tyler the manager do it? Or my Aunt Nina?” Easton asked once we were out of earshot of the police.

  “I don't think your Aunt Nina is capable of murder,” That was true and it wasn't because Nina was my boss and might fire me if I accused her of murder. “As for Tyler, maybe he could be a suspect. He was really OCD about Penelope's appearance which is a little weird, but then again he might just be obsessed with planning all of the details of his important clients.”

  Easton smirked at me. “Well, especially the important client he was secretly dating.”

  “So, do you think he did it then?” I asked and then threw out a theory. “Maybe he thought she was going to go back to Chance Fox or something.”

  Easton shrugged. “I'm holding off on my accusation until we talk to him.”

  “We're going to talk to him?” I asked.

  Easton smiled. “Yeah. To complete our investigation we have to talk to him.”

  “How are we going to get around the police?” I asked.

  “Well, for starters they're not talking to him right now. He's just sitting over there,” Easton said.

  I followed Easton's gaze. Tyler was sitting alone on the ground just beyond the circle of policemen around Penelope. I was surprised that the police hadn't corralled him onto the cafe's patio with the rest of us. Maybe they had forgotten about him. Regardless, he wasn't going anywhere. His eyes were still glued to Penelope.

  I felt nervous. This had the potential to be really awkward. I didn't normally do really awkward. Actually, I never did it. Ever. “We can't go up to him. What are we going to say?”

  “We'll make it up as we go,” Then Easton grabbed my hand.

  Tingles shot up my arm at the direct touch of his hand. My whole body almost turned to jelly as he dragged me forward. I barely had the time to feel anxious about the impending train wreck of a conversation that was about to happen. I almost didn't even register slipping past the policeman that was supposed to be watching us again.

  Easton turned to whisper to me once we'd made it past the policeman, “He's not doing a very good job is he?”

  I was at a loss for words because of the proximity of his face to mine, so I just shook my head in agreement even before I'd processed what he'd said. Easton smiled at me in return and continued to pull me forward. I tried to shake myself out of the stupor I was in, but the feel of Easton's hand in mine overpowered all of my rational thought. I was sort of glad of it, though, because for once I wasn't an anxious mess as we headed into an uncomfortable situation.

  “Hey,” Easton said as we approached Tyler. “Are you okay? Nina wanted me to check and see if you needed any water or anything.”

  Nina had done no such thing, but I nodded my agreement again. I also reluctantly pulled my hand out of Easton's. I needed to give this conversation my full attention and his hand in mine was too distracting. Of course as soon as I let go of Easton's hand, I felt my anxiety about the situation returning.

  Tyler tore his gaze off of Penelope. Even so, he barely seemed to register us.

  “I'm fine,” He dismissed us.


  “You don't seem fine,” I managed to say.

  His eyes flicked over to me. “Should I be fine?”

  Wow. He looked destroyed. My heart clenched in my chest and I had to look away from him. Suddenly, I didn't think of him as a suspect anymore. I just knew in my gut that he didn't do it.

  Easton didn't seem moved. “Do you know what happened?”

  Tyler glared at him. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

  I jumped in before Easton could reply, “He's just asking. We're all really shocked and sad about this.”

  Tyler nodded at me, but then immediately turned back toward Penelope.

  Easton opened his mouth to say something to get Tyler's attention again, but I didn't let him. “I think we should get back to the others.”

  This time I grabbed Easton's hand to lead him away from Tyler. It was totally bold of me and for a few seconds I relished holding Easton's hand again. Aside from a quick glance down at our entwined hands, Easton followed me and didn't say anything. His fingers wrapped around mine. My stomach flipped. I ignored it as best as I could.

  When we were out of Tyler's earshot, Easton stopped me. “So, what was that?”

  I turned to face him, pulling my hand away from his since it suddenly felt awkward to be holding his hand. “I just didn't want to ask him any more questions.”

  Easton studied me. “I know he looked upset, but you do know that he could just be acting, right?”

  “I don't think so.” Well, I was pretty sure at least.

  “Ava, you know that sometimes you need to ask the hard questions in order to get some answers,” Easton said.

  I wasn't sure what to say to that. Besides the fact that I didn't like hard questions in the first place, I also didn't think Tyler could take any of them without breaking apart. Easton watched me.

  After a moment Easton gave in. “Fine. I get it. We have plenty of other leads to follow anyway. Let's go talk to the other employees. If everything points back at Tyler, though, we have to talk to him more than we just did.”

  I nodded, feeling relieved. I didn't think we'd need to talk to Tyler again. We headed back to the patio and the others.

  The policeman who was supposed to be keeping an eye on the witnesses on the patio frowned at us as we walked by him. He didn't say anything, though, and just let us pass. I noticed him immediately start scrutinizing everyone on the patio. I wondered if he was doing a headcount to see if anyone else had slipped by him.

  The other Celebrity Cupcakes and Coffee employees were all clustered in a group at the end of the patio. A case of water had been brought out and a few of them were grabbing free bottles. Others were on their cellphones probably texting everyone they knew about the drama at their new job. Charlotte started toward us as we approached.

  Charlotte had a funny smile on her face and I wondered if she had seen me holding Easton's hand a moment ago. Panic gripped me. She'd better not mention it!

  I decided to head Charlotte off before she could make any kind of comment, leaving Easton's side, and rushing up to her, “I've been looking all over for you!”

  That caught her off guard. “You have?”

  “Yes. I have a question for you,” I said.

  “What?” Charlotte asked.

  I leaned and whispered to her. “Easton and I have a bet going.”

  “You do?” Her gaze flicked between us.

  Easton jumped in, taking my lead. “Yeah. We think one of the employees might have killed Penelope.”

  Charlotte's mouth formed an O in surprise. “I thought it was an overdose. You guys think it's murder?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “But so many celebrities die of overdoses nowadays. It's like in the news all the time,” Charlotte said.

  “She didn't die of an overdose unless someone put it in the cupcake,” Easton said.

  “Do you have any theories?” I added.

  Charlotte didn't even have to think. Her mouth was already open and ready to spill, “Well, Riley is Penelope's super fan.”

  “Who's Riley?” I asked even though I was pretty sure I already knew.

  “The girl over there, sitting on the ground,” Charlotte said.

  Riley was sitting cross-legged on the ground reading a paperback book. She was wearing glasses and her long hair was in a single braid down her back. If I hadn't seen her enthusiasm earlier myself, I wouldn't have guessed she was Penelope's super fan since she looked like more of a bookworm.

  Charlotte continued. “There's also Max.”

  “What about Max?” Easton asked.

  “Max was complaining about Penelope all day. He thinks she's overrated and untalented,” Charlotte said.

  “Really?” Easton asked.

  I looked over at him. Max was the guy who'd made a snarky comment when Penelope did the meet and greet with the staff. He looked like a normal twenty-something otherwise. He was the definition of a clean cut American boy.

  “Yeah,” Charlotte said. “He's totally over her and I even heard him say good riddance when it looked like she was dead and not just unconscious.”

  Wow. That was harsh. It's one thing to not be a fan of a celebrity, but to happily wish them dead was completely different. Easton and I exchanged a glance. Then my brain kicked in. Would the murderer really mutter that under his breath? He wasn't a very good criminal then, was he?

  “Thoughts on anybody else?” I asked.

  “Well the other five employees are Skylar, Vicki, Cole, Lucy, and Nolan,” Charlotte said. “I haven't had that much of a chance to talk to them, although I know that Skylar is a writer.”

  What? Seriously? She was a writer? I totally had her pegged as an actress. The fact that Skylar was not only interested in the same guy as me, but the same creative medium, really irked me.

  Charlotte continued on, “And Vicki is a theater actress. She's been in all kinds of plays across LA. She knows she should probably move to New York, but she can't stand cold weather.”

  I looked over at Vicki. She had long blonde hair, a golden tan, and a genuine smile that I'd only seen waver since Penelope's collapse.

  “And Cole is obviously on steroids and a total workout junkie,” Charlotte gestured to the burly guy.

  Yeah, I already knew that since Cole was practically bursting the seams of his Celebrity Cupcakes and Coffee T-shirt. As I turned from Cole to look back at Charlotte, I caught Easton trying to hold back a smile. I knew exactly what he was thinking and tried not to smile either. For not knowing much about some of the employees, Charlotte sure did know quite a bit since she kept talking. I wondered how she'd sum me up from our brief conversation. Then again, maybe I didn't want to know.

  “Then Lucy's a junior in college studying marketing. She wants to backpack in Europe when she graduates, so she's working here for the money to do that.”

  I glanced over at her. Lucy was an African-American girl sitting next to Vicki. She'd seemed normal enough too, from afar. It looked like she was the youngest of the group.

  Charlotte went on to the last employee, “And Nolan is a struggling actor who has become a little jaded by the business. My guess is he'll move back to wherever he's from within the year. He seems so done and really kind of depressing.”

  Nolan was the hipster with the dark hair, beard, and trademark black rimmed glasses. Maybe he'd given up or maybe he thought seeming depressed was cool. Then again, maybe he just didn't want to talk to Charlotte.

  “There is our boss Nina too. She's a total sweetheart, but...” Then Charlotte stopped short, at a loss for words for once.

  I waited for her to finish her sentence, curious about her “but” regarding Nina. Then I realized that her eyes were focused on something behind me. I turned to look. It was Chance Fox. The Chance Fox.

  I gaped at him, unable to help myself from getting starstruck. Even the police seemed in awe since nobody had stopped him from entering the crime scene.

  I was surprised to see that he really was ridiculously hot in
person. He was obviously toned in all the right places and his tight jeans and black muscle T-shirt emphasized the fact. His face was chiseled perfection and his eyes were a to die for blue. His hotness was so not lost on Charlotte, who was busy drinking him in. Everyone was staring at him, actually. Not only was he Chance Fox, world famous superstar, but he was headed straight for Penelope.