Chapter 1 - Retiring at 28

Patricia sighed as she collected the mail. Another day, another weird letter from her stalker. It had been going on for months; the letters, things disappearing from her garden, the neighbours reporting seeing a strange figure hanging about the place, trespassing in their gardens to get a better look over the fence. Whoever it was, they were clever, dodging the police who had hung around outside for a week and even eluding the private investigator Patricia had hired herself. She opened it up to read the fairly typical message inside. It was a picture of her that she had done for a magazine a few weeks ago, sexy, showing off her killer body and tight stomach. To the side, her stalker had written: 'I love you Patricia Lease! You are the sexiest woman in the world. I can't wait to marry you.'

Patricia sighed, she had given up being worried by this creep, whoever he was. It would just be nice to know how long it would take before he moved on to his next celebrity crush, leaving Patricia in peace.

Patricia went inside and smiled as she looked in her diary. She had just a couple more dates in there with work commitments and then, that was it. Freedom. Retirement at 28! She heard a rumble outside and saw her manager's car pull up on the driveway. She smiled; after all, this was the man she owed her early retirement to.

Jon had taken over as her management four years ago after Patricia had been dropped by her previous record label. Jon promised her that if she signed up with him, he could not only get her back on top, but that he could earn her enough money to retire comfortably in a few years. Patricia had signed straight away, practically selling her soul in the process. She had already lost her passion for the music industry and so she had gone along with everything Jon had told her to do: Christmas songs, songs that would be popular in the advertising industry, cheap covers of old classics. Everything Jon had suggested had worked like a charm and Patricia could now sit back with a steady stream of income each week from royalties, never having to even touch the wealth she had already amassed after ten years as a solo artist.

"Jon, hey there!" Patricia cheered, opening the door to the large man, who strutted in. Jon was not the typical Hollywood man; only a few years older than Patricia but already a solid 350lb fat guy; large bellied and soft looking. Still, Patricia couldn't argue that the man knew his stuff when it came to the industry. After all, the guy had literally grown fat off the wealth of his successful clients; piling on at least 100lbs in the four years Patricia had been signed with him. In a town surrounded by perfect bodies, he stuck out like a sore thumb. Maybe that was why Patricia was so intrigued by him.

Jon smiled keenly as he came inside; he had obviously heard from the accountant as well; Patricia was growing in wealth each day and therefore, so was he. "Are you sure you still want to retire?" Jon asked her jokingly, already knowing the answer. "If you think you're rich now..." he began playfully.

Patricia just waved him off. She had lost pretty much all credibility with her fans; all her money-grabbing tactics the last few years; four farewell tours, the lot. She was a star who had burned bright and fast and was now ready to fade away. "Not a chance!" she laughed. "This time next month, I'm going to be sat on that couch enjoying my free time. I'm going to be eating pizza, ice cream, donuts as well as drinking loads of beer! Everything I've denied myself for the last ten years!" she stated proudly.

"Sounds good," laughed Jon, looking like he didn't believe a word of it.