Chapter 61 – Eggstasy

Chloe showered in record time.

She just wanted to wash off the makeup, get rid of all the cum, and look halfway human before Daniel said goodbye and the opportunity to question him walked out the door, so to speak.

She dried off hastily, slipped into her own clothes, threw her still-wet hair into a makeshift ponytail, and went back to the set.

Daniel was leaning against the wall next to the exit door with a water bottle in his hand, chatting with one of the cameramen again. He had also already showered and was now wearing a casual black T-shirt and slightly more fashionable shorts. When he saw Chloe, he said something to the cameraman, patted him on the shoulder, and walked straight over to her.

“Hey. Do you have any plans yet?”

That makes it easier, I guess.

“Right now? No, not really.”

“Then let’s go grab something to eat. One of my favorite places is right nearby. They’re called Eggstasy, and they have the best egg sandwich in the whole city. I swear.” He put his hand on his heart.

He said it as if it were completely natural for them to spend lunchtime together, but there was no pressure. He was simply expressing his obvious interest in her in a very casual way.

“Sounds good,” said Chloe. “I’m starving.”

That’s not a lie. And this is exactly the kind of opportunity Morgan and I were talking about.

After they’d gone outside, he jogged toward a Porsche parked nearby, which automatically flashed its lights as he approached, tossed the water bottle inside, rummaged around in it briefly, and then came back out.

“Sorry, just had to grab my wallet.” He said it casually, but she knew he really was trying to show her what kind of car he drove. She also hadn’t missed the expensive watch made of brushed titanium or something like that, which he was now wearing on his wrist after changing clothes.

Chloe took note of it and thought about her apartment, which was always as hot as an oven and had a damn squeaky bed.

Some people made very good money in this industry and spent it just as quickly, and Daniel was obviously one of them.

You make good money too, Chloe. You just don’t spend it all, and that’s the smart thing to do. Lifestyle creep is a thing.

The walk to the restaurant was short, maybe a ten-minute stroll, and Daniel used every single minute of it to make her laugh. He talked about his job and his life, with great timing and plenty of self-deprecating humor, and Chloe didn’t feel bad laughing. It was funny.

Eggstasy was a small, bustling spot with a window display painted with eggs in various colors and modes of preparation, and it smelled incredibly delicious from the moment they walked in.

Daniel was immediately greeted by the woman behind the counter. “Danny! Two of the usual?”

“Hey, Maria! Yes, please. But for the lady, with extra avocado on top, okay?”

“Coming right up!” Maria gave Chloe a friendly look and disappeared into the kitchen.

Looks like he comes here with company often.

They sat down at a small table by the window and waited for their food.

“Now tell me,” said Daniel, leaning back. “What brought you into our line of work?”

Chloe gave him the short version of Chloe Hearts’ origin story, which she could now reel off as smoothly as a memorized poem. Daniel listened attentively, asking a question or two that showed he was actually paying attention and not just waiting for his turn to speak.

When the sandwiches arrived, they were actually just as fantastic as he’d promised. Scrambled eggs, cheese, bacon, extra avocado, chipotle mayo, all on a warm, lightly toasted brioche bun. Chloe took a bite and decided that, at the very least, Daniel’s taste in restaurants was beyond reproach.

Time to steer the conversation where it needs to go.

“I have to confess something,” she said, pausing for a brief, calculated moment. “I knew you before I even got into this industry. To be honest, I was actually a pretty big fan of yours.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Really?”

“Yes, really. I saw quite a bit of your work before I had my first shoot. Just for research, of course.” She smiled.

He laughed. “Sure, research. I know all about that.” He leaned forward, visibly flattered. “So, did that research pay off today?”

“Absolutely. I hope I wasn’t too starstruck.”

He beamed. “No, not at all. I thought the shoot went really well. Looks like we both had quite some fun today. I mean, I’ve been hoping to shoot with you ever since I first saw a scene with you.”

“Oh, which one was that?” The curiosity wasn’t even feigned.

“Your scene for Bound.com! That was truly top-notch. And what was your favorite scene of mine?”

Perfect opportunity.

“Oh, I know exactly which scenes with you I liked best!” Chloe tried to look giddy. “Pretty much all of them with Samantha Sparkles, I think. I watched a ton of her videos back then because she was kind of a role model for me before I started.” She paused briefly and then added, “Your chemistry was seriously amazing.”

There was a slight flicker across Daniel’s face, as if someone had briefly turned down the brightness of his eyes. His smile remained, but it became a little more subdued.

“Wow, yeah, Sam,” he said quietly. Then he nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, it was… we really had great chemistry. On set and off the set, too.” He fiddled with the napkin in his hands. “I really liked her, I mean, not just professionally, you know. For a while, I even thought it might turn into something more.”

Chloe felt a tightness in her chest.

“But she had a boyfriend,” Daniel continued, shrugging in a way that was probably meant to seem nonchalant but didn’t quite pull it off. “The two of them had this kind of stormy on-again, off-again relationship. They were constantly fighting but couldn’t seem to break away from each other. I respected her decision, even though it wasn’t easy for me.” He glanced out the window briefly. “And then she died a few years ago.” His voice grew quieter. “That was… yeah. That was hard.”

“I’m really sorry,” she said, and it was almost certainly the most sincere thing she’d said all day. “She must have been a wonderful person.”

“Oh yes, she was.” Daniel nodded, looked up, and his brown eyes glistened a little. “Definitely.”

I can’t cry now. I can’t fucking cry now.

She reached for her sandwich and took a bite, just to do something that didn’t involve thinking about her sister.

Daniel rubbed his face briefly. “This industry can be tough,” he said after a while, seemingly out of the blue. “You know? Some people handle it easily, others not so well.”

“What do you mean?”

He hesitated. “Well, there are people in positions of power in this industry who don’t care much about us performers as people. Like, they really don’t give a shit. To them, you’re a product, and as long as you’re performing, everything’s great and it really is the best job in the world when everything’s great. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. But as soon as you start being a bit difficult…” He made a dismissive gesture. “The best thing you can do is get on the good side of the influential people or stay out of their way and just keep your mouth shut.”

Chloe tilted her head slightly.

Just give it a try, Chloe.

“Are you talking about Valeria?”

She deliberately dropped the name into the conversation without warning, just to see his unguarded reaction.

Daniel’s jaw tensed, just for a moment, but it was there, and his gaze suddenly became alert in a way she hadn’t seen in him all day.

“Have you ever been to her parties?” he asked.

“Which one?”

“I think you know which one I mean.”

“Yes, twice.”

He nodded slowly, without saying a word, and just looked at her tensely and searchingly, as if he wanted to make sure she understood what he wasn’t saying.

“Then you know how things work,” he finally said.

A second passed, then two, then three.

Then he flashed a grin that was a little too wide.

“So, what do you think of the egg sandwiches here? They’re really outstanding, aren’t they? Maria is a goddess.” He held up his half-eaten sandwich and raised his eyebrows. “Do you want to get dessert afterward?”

Wow, it’s creepy how quickly his mood changed.

But Chloe followed his lead, smiled, and simply shook her head. “I think I’ll be full once I finish this, but thanks.”

She didn’t want to press him further, at least not today, but she had picked up a few new clues. Daniel Walker was almost certainly holding back more than he was letting on, and whatever he knew seemed to scare him, or at least make him uncomfortable enough that he cut the conversation short the moment Valeria’s name came up.

The rest of lunch was much more relaxed, and they quickly fell back into pleasant conversation. They talked about Valley City, about other restaurants she absolutely had to try, about movies they’d seen, about trips he’d taken, and of course, he managed to talk her into dessert after all and ordered vanilla ice cream for both of them. Daniel told her about his surfing vacations in Hawaii and Bordeaux, and Chloe listened to him and asked questions while simultaneously analyzing him and getting annoyed a bit, that she was enjoying his company so much.

He seemed genuinely sincere to Chloe, or at least he was trying his hardest to come across that way, and if he was just putting on an act, then he was damn good at it. In any case, he definitely was charming, funny, and attentive, you couldn’t just fake that.

Why on earth did Sam reject him?

The thought was there before she could stop it, and she quickly pushed it aside again.

Daniel paid for both of them, and then they went back out into the heat. It was past noon now.

“If you’d like, I can give you a ride?” He looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“Oh, that’s sweet, but it’s not necessary, really, I have something I need to take care of on the way,” she lied. Him taking her back home would definitely be a step too far.

“Cool! But let’s exchange numbers,” Daniel said, holding out his phone. “I really enjoyed today, you know, the shoot, and just hanging out here, I mean, I’d love to do it again.”

“Sure,” said Chloe, typing her number into his phone without a moment’s hesitation.

Only for the investigation of course.

Even in her own head, that didn’t sound particularly convincing.

Daniel grinned, put the phone away, and pulled her into a warm embrace that lasted about three seconds too long to be purely platonic. He still smelled incredibly good.

“See you soon, Chloe.” He took a step back, gave her one last smile, waved goodbye, and walked down the street back toward the studio, where his Porsche was parked.

Chloe watched him go. As he disappeared around the corner, the smile slowly faded from her face.

Daniel Walker knew something. His warning about powerful people was too telling to be just a coincidence, and his reaction to Valeria’s name was only confirmation for her.

She absolutely had to see him again to get more out of him.