The Lost Little Starlet

Chapter Two: The Opportunity of A Lifetime

((WARNING: THIS STORY IS FOR MATURE AUDIENCES AND CONTAINS ELEMENTS SUCH AS HEAVY ADULT LANGUAGE, DRUG USE, AND POTENTIALLY TRIGGERING ADULT SCENARIOS. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.))

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Ring Ring! Ring Ring!

Juliette's attention was soon pulled away from her sewing project as she heard the phone distantly ring in the kitchen. With a sigh, she placed the fabric and needle that she was working with onto the coffee table in front of her before quickly walking over to pick up the ringing device.

"Okay okay I'm coming!"

She wondered who would be calling at two-fifteen in the afternoon but perhaps it was her close friend Sylvia with the latest neighborhood gossip. There was not a single person or event in their lives that went unnoticed by that woman and Juliette was usually the first to get all the juicy details.

Her heels clicked loudly on the tiled floor which seemed to echo alongside the ring of the phone within the large, empty house. In one swift motion, Juliette took the phone off the receiver and asked who was calling. Suddenly her olive green eyes widened in bewilderment by that all too familiar and quite charming voice on the other end;

"Good afternoon ma 'me! Is this the lovely Ms. Juliette Lawrence to whom I'm speaking to?"

"...Y-Yes this is she."

"Ah wonderful! It's so nice to hear your voice Ms. Lawrence! I'm calling because I have quite the proposition for your wonderful little daughter Hope! Do you have a moment to chat?"

Juliette felt like there was a large lump in her throat as the realization of the situation dawned on her. She was actually hearing and speaking with THE Joey Drew! The pressure and utter astonishment was weighing heavily on her chest and she had to take a moment to process the words being spoken to her. Sammy's warning from last week seemed to have suddenly vanished from her memory and after taking a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, Juliette smiled and nodded;

"Yes, I can spare some time to chat Mr. Drew. Please continue."

"First, I would like to say how much I enjoy your brother Samuel as an employee. He makes some very impressive musical pieces for my little cartoon and, I figured, if someone like him has that much talent then surely your daughter would be just as gifted if not even more! And I really mean that too."

"Mr. Drew-"

"Please, call me Joey my dear. No need for the formalities! I practically see you as a part of the family!"

She didn't know why but Juliette felt a flutter inside her chest when Joey spoke to her in that gentlemanly, charismatic tone. It caused her to lower her gaze to the floor as she tucked some of her sandy blonde hair behind her ear bashfully. It was a good thing that he could not see her expression because she was feeling like a little high school girl again. Leaning against the wall, Juliette twirled the cord around her finger as she continued;

"You are far too kind, Joey. Hope is indeed a splendid and bright little girl, her teachers and the other children seem to love her and I am very proud of all of her accomplishments. I couldn't have been blessed with a better child."

"And I wouldn't doubt your words for even a second! I know this all seems out of the blue and I apologize for the inconvenience, but I truly believe that your child is exactly what I am looking for. However, I would still like to meet Hope for myself and get to know her a bit better first, business etiquette and all, you know how it goes. But please, tell me more about her."