“So you think you did me a favor?” Corey asked. I could hear anger at the edge of his voice.
“No, I definitely don’t think I did you a favor. My actions were dirty and down low, I’m not arguing that. But, Corey, Chloe had nothing to do with it. She’s just as much a victim as you in all this. And I would like to believe that you wouldn’t have cheated on Veronica if you hadn’t liked Chloe an awful lot. So if you’re not with somebody else right now, I’m just asking you to maybe consider calling Chloe. You seriously could not do any better as far as finding a girl with a good heart is concerned. She is the exact opposite of Veronica Farrell. And most importantly, I think she’s the kind of woman that you need in your life.”
The silence stretched on so long this time, I checked my cell’s call timer to make sure he hadn’t hung up. When I saw it was still ticking away, I said, “Hello?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I’m just wondering how I got to a place in my love life where I’m seriously considering letting the girl who tricked me into cheating on my ex-fiancée set me up on a date.”
Well, when he put it that way I was a little stunned that he was considering it, too. But that didn’t stop me from sealing the deal and promising to get back to him with Chloe’s contact info.
As soon as I hung up, I ran downstairs to find Chloe. It had been cold business between me and her since my return from Mississippi. Betrayal is a hard obstacle to surmount friendship-wise—even if she did get a pretty sweet singing gig out of the whole ordeal—so the reception was chilly when I walked into what used to be my dressing room without knocking.
But that all ended as soon as I told her that I had talked to Corey, and that he was fixing to call her, probably in the next day or so. She immediately started freaking out. Fell all over me with hugs and kisses, thanking me as if I hadn’t been the death knell in their short-lived relationship in the first place. Unfortunately, Chloe had grown so used to friends and lovers taking advantage of her that it honestly took her by surprise that someone would do anything nice for her. That was something we were going to have to work on before Corey called her.
“You know you deserve this, right?” I said, pulling out of her embrace.
She just laughed and started thanking me again.
But I wasn’t letting her get away with being humble anymore. Los Angeles was a funny place. There are Takers here without talent or decency, people who truly believe that they deserve the earth. Then there are ridiculously kind Givers, like Chloe, who give and give without thinking to reserve something for themselves.
I cupped her shoulders in my hands and said, “You deserve my job. You deserve to be happy. And you deserve Corey Mays. That’s a given. But the real question is does he deserve you? For the first three months of the relationship, I want you to look hard for reasons not to date him. Do not cut him any slack. If he trips, let him go. You’ve got to promise me that, or I’m not going to give him your phone number.”
The forgiving smile suddenly dropped off her face. “Are you crazy?”
“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I am. That’s pretty much been proven already. But I think you’re a little off, too, which is why I cannot watch you kill another relationship with kindness.” I semi-quoted from a book I had once read about supposedly kind people in a supposedly kind relationship who still ended up crashing and burning into a love wreck. “Killing with kindness is still murder.”
“I don’t understand,” she said. And she honestly looked hurt. “Why would you come in here and say that Corey wanted to see me again, but then tell me I have to be mean to him?”
“I’m not telling you to be mean. I’m telling you that you need to adopt some effing standards already.” I took her by the hand and pulled her out of the dressing room. “C’mon.”