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Odelia frankly was a little worried. It had never occurred to her to let her cats know they’d been spayed or neutered or whatever it was called. And now they knew—she wondered how. Probably some other cats had told them.

“Good morning all you lovelies!” Emerald’s voice suddenly boomed through the room. “Welcome to your first full day of fun and friendship at Casa Emerald! A delicious breakfast buffet is served in the morning room so I’ll see you all there. Oh, and I have a little surprise for you. No, I’m not telling you what it is. You’ll have to come down and see for yourself. So rise and shine, you adorable sleepyheads, and I’ll see you in a few ticks!”

“She’s like the happy, peppy hostess from hell,” Chase groaned as he rubbed his face.

After the commotion with Alina freaking out about her husband having an affair with Kimberlee last night, and then the phone call about her cats freaking out about having been neutered in the middle of the night, Odelia and Chase hadn’t exactly enjoyed a good night’s sleep. Still Odelia felt energized. She had a hard time believing she was sleeping under Emerald Rhone’s roof, sharing a weekend with the screen goddess and her friends!

They quickly showered, got dressed, and proceeded downstairs in search of the promised breakfast buffet and, of course, Emerald’s ‘little surprise.’

“I’ll bet it’s jewelry,” said Odelia as they walked down the stairs. “An expensive watch for the men and earrings for the women. Or maybe bracelets for the women and cufflinks or blazer buttons for the men! Or both!”

“Whatever it is, I hope Emerald makes a strong coffee,” grunted Chase. “I feel like I’m still half asleep and won’t be fully awake until I’ve had my first hit of caffeine.”

Just like the night before, they were greeted at the bottom of the stairs by the same liveried servant. This time he ushered them into the morning room. Located near the back of the house, its French windows, which were all open, offered a stunning view of the pool area and the smooth lawns behind it.

“Imagine having your own private swimming pool,” said Odelia as she walked over to the window and marveled at that delicious expanse of cooling blue. “I would definitely go for a swim every morning, without fail.”

“Yeah, me, too,” said Chase, placing an arm across her shoulders. “I guess our teeny tiny backyard is too small for a pool, though, right?”

“We could put in a birdbath.”

He laughed.“It’s not exactly the same thing.”

“Almost but not exactly,” she agreed.

Several of the guests sauntered in, with others already tucking into their breakfast. Alina was eating by herself, Reinhart on the other side of the room, and Verna looked much the worse for wear, with bags under her eyes, as she munched on a bagel and sipped from a smoothie, Thaw Roman by her side. Kimberlee and Zoltan walked in, engaged in conversation, and Abbey and Seger were checking out the breakfast buffet. The only ones missing were Emerald and Pete. Then again, a diva always arrives fashionably late and likes to make a grand entrance. Maybe she was preparing her surprise!

Odelia joined Abbey at the buffet.

“Oh, hey,” said Abbey jovially. “Sleep well?”

“As well as can be expected,” said Odelia truthfully.

“Yeah, what a show last night, huh?” She darted a quick glance at Alina, who was looking like the original ice queen, her back ramrod straight and her green eyes shooting sheets of flame in the direction of her errant husband.

“Do you really think Reinhart was sneaking off for some midnight nookie with Kimberlee?” asked Odelia, keeping her voice down.

Abbey snorted.“Midnight nookie. I like that. It’s possible. Kimberlee did have a reputation on set for being a little… morally flawed, shall we say.”

“You mean she had an affair with a member of the crew?”

“Several members, allegedly. The only one I’m sure about is our fearless director.”

“She had an affair with the director?”

“I know, right. Talk about a clich?.”

“So what did her boyfriend say?”

“I don’t think he knows. You know what they say: what happens on set, stays on set.”

Odelia wondered if she should point out that Abbey was breaking this very rule right now but thought better of it.

“We used to be besties, you know,” said Abbey, as she transferred a bagel and a slice of Brie on to her plate. “The original BFFs.”

“You and Kimberlee?”

Abbey nodded.“Thick as thieves all through the filming of the first season.”

“So what happened?”

“She dumped me.”

“Dumped you—as in…”

“As in one day out of the blue she decided she liked Verna better than me, so from one day to the next she started ghosting me and hanging out with Verna. No idea why. I guess she figured Verna was more fun to be around than little old me. They are the same age, of course, while I’m just an oldhag.”