Chapter 2
Not long after, Joe knocked on my door.
"Thanks for handling this, Ms. Smith. I'm here to pick up today's fan gifts," he said.
We had our own little routine: he'd swing by around six every evening to grab the fan gifts.
"Sorry, nothing today," I said.
I gave him a frosty glance and moved to shut the door.
Joe's expression froze right in front of me.
He said, "Wait, are you sure? The delivery guy specifically mentioned there was a luxury custom watch today.
"Truth is, it's not about how expensive the gifts are. I just don't want to disappoint my fans."
I couldn't help but laugh.
I shot back, "What's that supposed to mean? You think I'm greedy and kept the stuff for myself?
"You always grab the fancy gifts and leave the homemade treats and letters behind. Doesn't that count as letting your fans down?
"I'm not your assistant, you know. It's not my job to keep handling your deliveries."
With that, I slammed the door in his face, ignoring how his face turned stormy.
From the peephole, I watched Joe pacing back and forth outside my door for ages, looking like he was about to bang on it any second.
But in the end, he just stormed off, clearly pissed.
The next day, a video of Joe getting picked up at the airport leaked online.
In the video, a bunch of glamorous girls were all around him, chattering away.
Some eagle-eyed fans started spotting and claiming the gifts they'd sent.
One of them said, "Oh my god, is Joe wearing the perfume I sent him?"
Another said, "Joe's wearing the tie I sent him. I'm freaking out."
This was just one of Joe's tricks to keep up his fan-loving persona.
But soon, a voice broke the vibe.
A fan asked, "Joe, why aren't you wearing the luxury custom watch I sent you? Don't you like it?"
Joe immediately looked troubled.
After the fans kept grilling him, he finally spoke up.
He said, "The delivery got sent to the wrong address yesterday, but my neighbor flat-out denied it. I went to talk to her, and she just wouldn't budge."
Then he let out a deep sigh.
He added, "Seriously, don't give my neighbor a hard time, okay? I only told you guys because I didn't want you to feel bad."
His words totally stirred up a fan riot online, and soon people were hurling insults left and right.
Some even swore they'd track down my info and dox me, all in the name of avenging Joe.
But before long, the fan who sent the watch spoke up again, sounding skeptical.
She demanded, "Joe, are you sure your neighbor was hiding it? The delivery guy just returned the watch and said it was the wrong address.
"Did you move or something? Why didn't you tell us? That's not sincere at all.
"Didn't you say we'd always be friends and you'd share everything with us?
"I spent millions on that watch for you, and this is what I get for caring so much?"
The whole place went wild: fans were losing it, and things totally spiraled out of control.
Joe's manager scrambled to calm things down, quickly whisking Joe into his private van to get him out of there.
After a good half hour, there was a knock at my door.
"You sent the package back and claimed the address was wrong?" Joe snapped, his eyes flashing with fury.
"Isn't that true?" I said, my tone cool and unbothered.
Joe's anger flared even hotter. He demanded, "What makes you think you can just send my package back? You knew it was mine.
"How do you think my fans will see me now? Do you even realize how much this will hurt them? You're so selfish."
I ignored his guilt-tripping.
I shot back, "Are you crazy? Why should I cover for you?
"If you really cared about your fans, you wouldn't be hiding your marriage.
"You can't give up your fangirl crowd, but you can't control yourself either. Two-faced much.
"We're just neighbors. I've been your errand girl long enough. What makes you think you can keep asking for more?"
With that, I dialed 911.
I warned, "You wouldn't want the paparazzi to catch you walking into the police station with your neighbor, would you, Joe?"
Joe spoke through gritted teeth, biting out each word, "Do you even understand what love is? Being a celebrity is just my job. I have the right to love, too.
"Fans are just strangers in the end."
I didn't bother to argue. Honestly, he was just being a hypocrite: he couldn't give up on love, but couldn't let go of money either. Just typical, trying to have it both ways.
But greedy people like him never get a happy ending.