Sing For Me by Trisha Grace Page A

toward her face. “Sorry,” she said when she noticed Ella staring at her. “I thought I saw a fly. So who do you want me to write a song for?”
    “Nicole Lane.”
    “Is this Nicole a friend of yours?”
    Ella shook her head. “I’ve never met her before.”
    Chloe chewed and swallowed her seasoned octopus. “Then why are you asking me to write a song for her?”
    “As a favor for someone else.”
    Chloe sighed. “I—”
    “I know it’s confusing, but I really need you to do this.” Dullish red and yellow spiraled toward her.
    She closed her eyes; the colors were making her dizzy. “Ella—”
    “Please.”
    She rubbed her fingers against her temple. “Ella, please just tell me what’s going on.”
    Ella sighed and ran her hand through her hair. “I did something stupid.”
    She opened her eyes and sighed softly at the calmer colors. The words were still tainted with gray, but at least they weren’t giving her the desire to throw up. She took a sip of her hot green tea and waited.
    “I had an affair.”
    She pursed her lips, nodded, and reached for another plate.
    Ella clearly needed to get something off her chest, but she seemed to be debating if she should lay everything out for her.
    Chloe never looked too kindly on people who cheated, but Ella looked as if she’d been through enough.
    “He’s a married man.”
    Chloe chewed on the sushi, watching Ella’s words morph into an intense dark purple.
    “It was stupid. I broke it off after a while, but someone has gotten hold of a couple of photos and is blackmailing me.” Ella buried her face in her hands. “If Clayton finds out …”
    “And all this person wants is for me to write a song for Nicole Lane. Why?”
    “I never know what she’s thinking.” Ella cradled the tea between her hands.
    Chloe watched Ella for a moment. “I’ll do it for you if you promise you’ll never cheat again.”
    Ella broke into a wry smile as she reached out and took her hands. “Thanks, Chloe. I swear I’ll never do it again.”
    “I don’t want to get involved with this blackmailer, but you can’t keep letting her blackmail you. Tell the person that you want the photos and negatives burnt in front of you before handing the song over.”
    Ella pursed her lips. “I don’t know. Rebecca can be rather scary. I’m afraid I’ll piss her off, and she’ll send Clayton the photos.”
    Rebecca. Chloe thought the name sounded familiar. “It’s your choice.” She pushed the plates to the side of the table. “What else has she blackmailed you for?”
    “Nothing,” Ella said. “She called me once and pretended to be all friendly, asking me about my work and family. Then she hung up and sent me the photo.”
    Chloe frowned. It didn’t make sense, but Ella wasn’t lying. She could see the stable color through her words. “That’s strange.”
    “She’s scary and evil.”
    “Then are you sure that giving in to her request is the right thing to do?”
    Ella pursed her lips. “I don’t have a choice. I don’t dare to risk it.”
    Chloe sighed and nodded. “What song should I write?”
    “I don’t care if it’s the worst song you’ve ever written.” Ella grabbed a plate off the conveyor belt and sighed again as she slammed the plate onto the table. “I can’t believe I did something so stupid.”
    Chloe didn’t reply to that; she didn’t know what to say.
    As she was reaching for another plate, her phone rang. She took a peek at the number, rejected the call, and flipped her phone over.
    Jason had completely dropped out of her mind until now.
    “You can answer the call if you want,” Ella said.
    She shook her head. “It isn’t anything important.”
    “Had a fight with Jason?”
    She shrugged.
    “Speak of the devil.” Ella’s chin jerked forward.
    “Chloe.”
    Chloe looked over her shoulder. “How did you know I was here?”
    “I told him,” Ella said softly. “I saw him this morning, and I told him we’re having lunch.”
    She