The Bellamy contract signing ceremony was scheduled for 9 A.M. and would be streamed live. After the broadcast, Bellamy’s support for Emma would be clear to everyone. It had been three years since Emma had attended an event like this, and she’d almost forgotten how it felt. But as soon as she put on her white low-backed dress and the jewelry Bellamy had provided for her, she found herself glowing with confidence.
Lisa had arrived early at Emma’s new home to pick her up and see if she needed anything. Emma had let Eric know about their new arrangement, so Lisa had access to the place whenever she needed it. She was eager to get a better look at Eric’s gorgeous home. Emma was getting ready in the bedroom and invited Lisa to come in.
“Your husband has excellent taste,” Lisa gushed, gazing around the room in awe. “This place is spectacular.”
Eric came into the room and said to Lisa, “I have something I need to talk about with Emma. Could you give us some privacy?”
“Sure, I’ll step out for a bit,” Lisa headed out to explore more of the rooms, closing the door as she left the bedroom.
Emma faced Eric, feeling fresh and elegant as a lily. His breath caught as he looked at her. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
He didn’t answer at first; instead, he just reached for Emma and pulled her into an embrace, gently covering her mouth with his. “Nothing is wrong. I just needed to kiss you, and I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Emma felt herself getting swept up in the moment as well, but she moved away reluctantly. “I need to go. I can’t be late.”
“I’ll be watching the live stream of the contract signing,” he said, and they walked out of the room arm in arm to find Lisa.
Lisa was captivated by the sight of the couple. They were opposites, complimenting each other perfectly. Emma was like white pure snow, while Eric was as alluring as a dangerous Dark Knight. “This is how a husband should look,” she thought. “Not like Nathan, the jerk who’s not that exciting to look at.”
Emma and Lisa headed down to street level together, got into Lisa’s car, and headed to the signing. “You’ll be signing the contract at nine. We should be there by ten, so you’ll be right on time,” Lisa said.
“It was planned perfectly so Emma wouldn’t be late but also wouldn’t be hanging around as if she had nothing better to do,” Emma answered. “You’re always so on top of things. Flight’s at three, so there’s plenty of time to get to the airport after the signing.”
“But listen, Amber has arranged for her fans to stop you at the airport. They’re planning something to make you look bad. One of them is going to try to embarrass you, and the others will pretend to be random passengers who were disgusted with you,” Lisa grimaced in disapproval at the thought of a grown woman resorting to schoolyard bullying tactics.
“How do you know all this?” Emma asked.
“Because I’ve planted eyes on the inside,” Lisa said proudly. “We’ll let those kids be happy playing their game for a bit, but then we’ll see who has the last laugh.”
Emma chuckled as she shook her head. Amber certainly could serve people up to cause trouble, but she was confident she could handle anything they threw at her.
Right on time, Emma arrived at the hotel for the contract signing and walked past the reporters who were standing behind barriers. “Emma, you disappeared after your apology, then showed up and took Amber’s contract. How’d you pull that off? Is Amber accusing you of stealing her deal while she’s in recovery? Emma, are you planning to make a comeback?” Emma smiled graciously the whole time but didn’t respond to any of their questions.
Once she got inside, she shared a warm greeting with Julius Taylor and listened attentively to how the event was going to go. Nathan had sent his regrets; he had planned to attend the signing but was tied up elsewhere. Unfortunately for them both, this reinforced the public impression that Emma and Global were on bad terms. Of course, the real reason he couldn’t attend was Amber. She’d put her foot down and refused to allow him to show up and support Emma.
At Kaleidoscope’s office, Eric was in his office watching the live stream. He was impressed with Emma’s presence. She was poised and beautiful, impossible to ignore. As the stream ended, Eric phoned his assistant. “Get bodyguards for Emma for the next few hours. Four should be about right. I want her protected until she boards the plane.”
“Yes, Mr. Roberts. I’ll take care of it,” Luke responded, even though Emma had sailed through the contract signing. Eric was sure there were rough seas ahead.
After the contract was signed, Emma and Julia sat down for brunch. After a pleasant hour, she left the hotel to head to the airport. The closer they got to their destination, the more nervous Lisa became.
“Emma, I’ll try my best to protect you, but you have to be on guard. I’ve got this, don’t worry,” Lisa said. Emma had dealt with a lot over the past few years. She was confident everything would be fine at the airport.
Lisa took the bags out of the trunk and helped Emma out of the car as well. At first, it seemed they had escaped notice. No one paid any attention to them. But once they stepped into the airport building, a gaggle of young fans ran over with flowers. Emma reached out for the flowers, but they fell to the ground before she could take hold of them.
“Emma!” one of them shouted. “Why did you throw her flowers on the floor?” The others began shouting as well. “We were just trying to be nice! What’s your problem?”
“I’m so sorry,” she tried to say, but the group kept shouting over her. “I can’t believe you’re such a snob! You’re barely even famous! You threw away the flowers on purpose! What, you don’t think we’re good enough to give you a gift? Amberly was way nicer than you! She loves getting gifts and only stops for selfies! You’d think getting one deal means you’re replacing her!”
Other people in the area were drawn into the angry group as the shouting continued. As more and more people crowded around and the number of curious onlookers grew, Amber’s fans decided to start the second stage of their plan. They pushed closer to Emma, trying to cut her off from any route out of the crowd.
One of them started chanting, and the rest joined in. “Give the contract back! Give the contract back! Give the contract back!” The chanting went on and on. Emma thought she would never escape.
