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Guest Character Profiles > Ebony Buttrose Christie Hayes

When Pierce Greyson returned to Erinsborough to do a business deal with Lassiters hotel, his ex, Chloe Brennan, was convinced that it was all a front and that he was in town to try and win her back. Mistakenly believing that Pierce had arranged to hire out the Back Lane Bar in order to surprise her with a proposal, Chloe turned up and told a dumbfounded Pierce that she was flattered but she wasn't interested before kissing him goodbye, only to be interrupted by a woman named Ebony, who Pierce then introduced to a stunned Chloe as his fiancee. After Pierce explained that he and Ebony were already engaged, but he'd been getting the ring resized and had planned to surprise her with a second proposal, a humiliated Chloe left, giving Pierce a chance to explain everything to Ebony over dinner. The next day, the confident Ebony approached Chloe, telling her how she and Pierce had met at a charity event and insisting that she knew everything but she still hoped that she and Chloe could be friends.

Though Pierce was clearly smitten with his new woman, Chloe couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right about her. After Chloe then managed to stop Pierce from investing in a racehorse that turned out to be stolen, Ebony was upset when he bought Chloe a drink to thank her. Matters were only made worse when busybody Sheila Canning told Ebony not to worry about Chloe and Pierce, insisting that Pierce had done everything in his power to win Chloe over, but had failed. Determined to keep an eye on Chloe, Ebony then decided that she was going to set up an office at Lassiters, using Chloe as her concierge to help set things up as she planned to launch her own line of fragrances. Unaware of Ebony's insecurities about Chloe, Pierce was surprised by her sudden plans to run her business out of the hotel but, wanting to keep her happy, he went along with it. As they finished setting everything up, having made Chloe move pieces of furniture around the room all day, Ebony warned her rival that, if she was regretting losing Pierce and wanted to win him back, then she had no chance - and that she'd be making herself a dangerous enemy if she tried. Chloe then accused Ebony of being a gold digger, something that Ebony didn't deny, admitting that she loved both Pierce and his money.

As Chloe then tried to subtly find out just how much Pierce knew about Ebony before proposing to her, he insisted that he knew what he was doing, asking Chloe to keep out of his love life, and wondering if it was a good idea for the two women to be working together. As Ebony spotted them chatting, she became paranoid and when Pierce then asked her how she was getting on with Chloe, she became defensive, telling him that she could handle the situation by herself. As Ebony then upped her efforts to be nice to Chloe in front of Pierce, Chloe became more convinced than ever that she couldn't be trusted and that Pierce would be making a terrible mistake if he married her. Unfortunately, she was unable to prove anything and soon found herself tasked with planning the wedding, on top of picking up samples and deliveries for Ebony's new line of perfumes. Chloe quickly noticed that the expensive crystal bottles that Ebony claimed to have ordered were actually cheap imports, and was more sure than ever that something was going on. After spotting Ebony on the phone in the hotel foyer, she listened in, hearing her tell someone that she'd get some money to them, that she loved them and that she would visit them later that week when Pierce was away on a business trip. Chloe quickly confronted Ebony, suggesting that she was talking to her real boyfriend, at which Ebony said that Chloe had no idea what she was talking about, and that it had been her sister on the other end of the phone.

When Chloe's brother Mark pointed out that she'd need some real concrete proof that Chloe was cheating and giving money to her secret lover, before telling Pierce, she realised that he was right. After getting into Ebony's office, Chloe found a bank statements showing that Ebony had been transferring around $1000 to someone every week for months. When Ebony caught her snooping, Chloe demanded to know why she was stealing money from Pierce. After initially denying it, Ebony admitted that she'd been sending the money to her sister, who'd had a bad run of luck with men and was now a single mum to three kids under five years old. Chloe didn't understand why Ebony needed to lie about that, so Ebony explained that she'd told Pierce that she was an only child from a wealthy family who'd gone to a good school, fearing that he wouldn't look twice at someone with her background. She also told Chloe that, although she'd initially been attracted to Pierce's money, she'd now fallen for him and didn't want to break his heart by telling him the truth, asking Chloe to keep her secret and insisting that she wouldn't take any more money from him. After thinking things through, Chloe decided to tell Pierce, but backed out at the last minute, realising that she didn't want to hurt him either. She then told Ebony that she needed to tell Pierce the truth before the wedding, as the marriage couldn't be built on a lie.

The following week, Chloe noticed that Ebony was being very evasive, not wanting Pierce to see the house that they were having built, explaining that the decorators were working on it and she wanted it to be a surprise. Though Pierce accepted this, Chloe wondered if she was hiding something again. Ebony then took Chloe to the house and showed her why she was being secretive - her sister Crystal had been staying at the house with her children since Ebony stopped sending her money. A sympathetic Chloe offered to help find Crystal somewhere to stay through a property manager who regularly stayed at the hotel, even booking her a cab so she and her children could get there easily. As Ebony then accompanied her sister to the new place, Chloe remained behind, checking that Crystal and her kids hadn't left anything behind that might make Pierce suspicious. As she did so, she spotted a box containing Ebony's wedding dress, which she held up against her, only to be caught by a confused Pierce. Chloe quickly lied that she'd been running an errand for Ebony, and that he'd promised not to visit the house until it was ready and had now ruined the surprise. As Pierce pointed out that the house looked like it was already finished, Chloe made her excuses and left, quickly going to tell Ebony about what had happened. With Ebony now saying that she'd wait until after the wedding before telling Pierce the truth, Chloe worried that she was never going to do it, again turning to Mark for advice. Mark felt that she owed Pierce the truth, but as Chloe continued to avoid telling him, he decided to do it himself, telling Pierce that he needed to go and ask Ebony what was going on. As Pierce headed to Ebony's office, he overheard her and Chloe talking, with Chloe urging Ebony to be honest, and demanded to know what was going on.

Having heard the truth, Pierce was encouraged by Chloe to give Ebony another chance, but he admitted that he would now struggle to know whether she genuinely loved him or just saw him as a meal ticket. Pierce found Ebony packing up her office later that day and tried to work out whether they had a future. As Ebony insisted that she did love Pierce but was worried that they were from different worlds, Pierce gave her an ultimatum - she could marry him and sign a pre-nuptial agreement saying that she would have no claims over his money or he could give her a cheque for $250,000 and they could never see each other again. Ebony decided that she wanted to marry him and make a fresh start. Though everything seemed to have worked out for Ebony, Pierce couldn't shake the niggling doubt after what she'd said about them being from different worlds and her fears that he would judge her family. Ebony, too, was starting to worry about the obvious connection between Chloe and Pierce as wedding plans got underway. Though Chloe again denied it when Ebony asked her if she was still in love with Pierce, Ebony couldn't shake the feeling, growing upset when she saw Pierce and Chloe sharing a hug. Pierce was then in for a shock when Ebony suddenly decided to cancel the wedding and accept the cheque, before quickly disappearing from his life.

Episodes Featured
8120, 8121, 8125, 8126, 8131, 8132, 8137, 8138, 8144

Biography by Steve

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