All That Lies Within (22 page)

Busted.
“I—I didn’t. Really. I—Isn’t it…” Carolyn threw her hands up. “I’m sorry. That was an inappropriate question.”

“For the record, I am gay. And no, I’m not in a relationship. The last one nearly destroyed me.”

“I’m sorry.” Carolyn meant it. “You’re not giving up on commitment, are you?”
Please say no. Please say no.

“No.” Rebecca sat back. “How did we get on this topic?”

Carolyn sat back too. It was time to get this conversation back on less personal ground before Rebecca got around to asking why Carolyn wanted to know about her sexuality. Dara had never come out, and, apart from some mild speculation no doubt caused by her non-existent love life, very few people knew she was a lesbian.

“I want you and Dara to sit down together and talk about this,” Carolyn blurted out. She watched as Rebecca’s visage morphed from shock, to fear, to horror. “Before you say no, hear me out.”

“No.”

“What did I just say?”

“No. No. No.”

“Rebecca, listen to me. I know Dara better than anyone in the world.”

“You saw her reaction to me the first time.”

“And what do you think her reaction would be if you showed up on the set as a script consultant without any forewarning?”

That notion seemed to make Rebecca stop and think. Her shoulders slumped. “She hates me.”

Carolyn scoffed.
Quite the opposite. She just doesn’t know it, yet.
“She doesn’t hate you. She’s afraid of what you represent.”

“Her loss of privacy. Her ability to have something that is disconnected from the movie star persona. And that’s what it is, isn’t it? A persona. She’s so much more than what’s visible on the surface.”

Carolyn’s eyes gleamed. Yes, Rebecca definitely was as smitten as Dara. Now if she could just get both of them to see it.

Rebecca leaned forward again. “In Constance’s letters to me, I could see a genuine, gentle, thoughtful, vulnerable woman. The prose in her books represent Dara yearning to be seen as the complete human being she really is, not someone else’s sophomoric fantasy, but an intelligent, caring, deep, passionate, complicated woman.” Rebecca clicked her jaw shut. “Sorry. I got carried away.”

“Don’t be.” Carolyn’s voice was husky. Sitting in front of her was the first person ever to truly understand her best friend. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Instead she reached across the table again and took Rebecca’s hand. “Come to dinner at my place tonight. Please. I promise to run interference and to make this okay.”

“I don’t have a way to get there.”

“I’ll have you picked up and dropped off.”

“I have nothing to wear.”

Carolyn could see that Rebecca’s resistance was weakening. “I’ll take you shopping right now.”

Rebecca still looked uncomfortable and dubious.

“Please? This may be the one chance you have to set things right with Dara.” She knew that was a low blow, but these were desperate times.

Rebecca chewed her lip. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?”

“Positive.” Carolyn released Rebecca’s hand, threw some money down on the table, and stood. “Let’s get you something smashing to wear.”    

Dara glared at Carolyn’s reflection in the mirror as she put on her makeup. “It’s my night to rest and recoup. You know I hate to go anywhere on the weekends when I’m shooting. I’m wiped out.”

“I know. I wouldn’t insist if this weren’t vitally important. And you can rest tomorrow. I promise I’ll leave you in absolute peace and quiet. Not even a phone call or a text.”

“Who are we meeting, again?”

“It’s a potential colleague. Someone who could be a great ally.”

“To you or to me?”

“Both of us.”

Dara turned to face her best friend. “Why are you being so cagey about this? I can tell when you’ve got something else going on, and you, girlfriend, definitely have another agenda.” Dara looked back in the mirror to apply her lipstick. Suddenly, a horrifying thought occurred to her. “You’re not setting me up on a date, are you?”

Carolyn’s eyes opened wide. “A date? No. I told you, this is about business.”

“Well, there’s something fishy going on here. You won’t even tell me where we’re going and you’re acting weird.”

“You mean weirder than usual?” Carolyn checked her watch. 

By Dara’s count, that was the fifth time she’d done so in the last ten minutes. Something was definitely going on.

“Okay. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Carolyn practically ran out the door in front of Dara.

The whole set up gave Dara a sinking feeling. That sinking feeling turned to ice cold dread when Dara realized that they were in Carolyn’s neighborhood. “You’re taking me to dinner at your condo? And you had me dress up?”

“Business casual doesn’t count as dressed up.” Carolyn parked the car. “Now, when we get in there, I want you to be open-minded. Don’t freak out on me.”

Dara grabbed Carolyn by the arm before they reached the front door. “I’m going to ask you one more time before I turn around and take your car back to my house. Who are we meeting?”

“Rebecca,” Carolyn mumbled.

Dara’s pulse quickened and her eyes opened wide. “What? I could’ve sworn I heard you say, ‘Rebecca.’”

“That’s because I did.”

Dara brought them to a complete stop inches away from the front door. “I’m not going in there.”

“Dara, please.”

“How could you?” Dara’s voice vibrated with anger and indignation. “You have no right—”

“This really is about business. I swear. Rebecca is in town on business and it affects you. I felt it was in your best interest—my client Dara Thomas’s best interest—to take this meeting.”

Dara tried to swallow, but suddenly she was having difficulty. “How did she know who you were?”

“It’s not like that’s rocket science. She Googled your rep, found my info and called me.”

“Rebecca called you and asked for this meeting?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“No. She called me and asked for my advice. When I heard what proposal she was being offered, I asked her if she would meet with you. She doesn’t want to be here anymore than you want her to be. She’s in a tough spot, Dar. Together we can work this out. Please don’t let your fear get in the way.”

“Fear? What do I have to be afraid of? I’m not afraid.” Dara’s heart raced and she fought the urge to bolt. “I don’t know what this is, but I don’t want any part of it.” Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, Dara registered that she was making a scene on Carolyn’s doorstep, but she didn’t care.

“I just need you to listen.”

“I have no intention of talking to that woman, ever again. Am I clear?”

“You’re perfectly clear,” a quiet, quavering voice said from the open doorway of the condo. “I’ll just be going now. You have a lovely place, Carolyn.”

Both Dara and Carolyn stared open-mouthed as Rebecca ran past them down the driveway and out into the empty street.

Shit.
Dara ran after her. “Wait. Rebecca, wait.” She was surprised that she wasn’t gaining any ground. It was obvious Rebecca was in shape. “Please.” Dara picked up the pace, her longer strides eating up the pavement. Finally, she caught up to Rebecca on the next block.

Tears streamed down Rebecca’s face, and Dara’s heart broke a little.

“Please. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I’m sorry.” Without thinking, Dara pulled Rebecca to her and held her, rocking her from side to side. “I’m sorry.” Rebecca shook in her arms, and all Dara wanted was to make it better.

“I never should have let them fly me out here. Never. I knew better. I knew it was a mistake. I never intended to bother you, ever again. I wanted you to have your privacy. I wanted you to feel secure and to know that Constance’s secret would always, always be safe.” Rebecca took in a shuddering breath. “I’m the one who’s sorry.”

“Shh. It’s okay.” Dara tried to make sense of what Rebecca was saying, but it made no sense at all to her. As Rebecca’s sobs subsided, Dara used two fingers to lift her chin. Under the streetlight, she could see, beyond the pools of tears, that Rebecca’s eyes held much pain and grief.

Rebecca sniffed and tried to catch her breath. “I’m so, so sorry. You’ll never see me again, I assure you.”

She started to pull away, out of Dara’s arms, and Dara was shocked to realize that she didn’t want to let go. “Hang on a second.” She loosened her grip just enough to give Rebecca a little space. “What do you mean, you should never have let them fly you out here? Who flew you out?”

Instead of answering, Rebecca sobbed again and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now. I’ll be on a plane first thing in the morning and we can pretend this never happened. Really, it’s like a dream anyway. More like a nightmare, really.”

“Rebecca?”

“Hmm?”

“Please tell me, who flew you out here?”

“The studio.”

Dara’s eyes opened wide. “The studio, as in who, specifically?”

Rebecca cleared her throat. “Randolph Curtain.” Her voice was hoarse from crying.

Goose bumps popped up on Dara’s arms. “Randolph Curtain, the producer of my movie, flew you out here?”

Rebecca nodded.

“Why?”

Rebecca’s laugh was hollow. “He couldn’t get Constance Darrow. So he, his partner, and the director decided I was the next best thing.”

Dara tried to put the pieces together, but they just wouldn’t fit. “What am I missing?”

Rebecca’s body finally relaxed, but Dara still didn’t relinquish her hold.

“The really short version is that they determined that the script sucked. They wanted the material to be closer to the original intent of the author. Since the author is a recluse”—Rebecca chuckled mirthlessly—“they wanted to hire what they called ‘the top Constance Darrow scholar’ to help doctor the script.”

The light finally dawned for Dara. “Oh, my God. They wanted to bring you in to re-interpret the scenes as Constance would’ve done it.”

“Yes. Only I told them I needed time to consider the offer. Without telling them why, of course.” Rebecca wiped an errant tear away. “I didn’t know how you would feel about it. I wasn’t going to take it if you objected. Now I know you object. So I’ll give them their answer tonight and be on my way.”

This time Rebecca did pull away, much to Dara’s dismay. “As I said. This was a bad idea. I didn’t know what they wanted from me until I met with them this afternoon. If I’d known, I probably never would’ve made the trip and I could’ve spared all of us this drama. I’m very sorry.” Again, Rebecca turned to go.

“Wait!” Dara moved in front of her and put her hands on Rebecca’s shoulders. “Where are you going?”

“Back to my hotel, I guess.”

“How are you planning to get there? Walk? It’s not safe.”

“I have a cell phone. I’ll call a cab.”

“Please don’t. I want you to stay.” With a start, Dara realized she really meant it. “Let’s go inside and have a nice dinner, and we can talk about all this, okay? We’ll sort it out.”

“It’s not what you want, Dara. That’s abundantly clear. What’s the point? You don’t need to be polite or nice to me. I’m an interloper, an intruder in your life. And I never wanted to be that.” Rebecca hung her head.

Dara couldn’t stand to see her so sad. She looped her arm through Rebecca’s. “Please. Let’s start over and try this again, okay? I was out of my mind and I was an ass. For the record, I’m not usually an ass. I just seem to be one around you.”

“I tend to bring that out in people. It’s a gift.”

Dara laughed delightedly. She’d seen glints of humor in Rebecca’s letters, but being a party to it in person was so much better.

Carolyn was inside sitting at the breakfast bar when they got back to the condo. She jumped to her feet, a look of pure surprise on her face.

Dara reluctantly disentangled her arm from Rebecca’s and moved an appropriate distance away. “Car, please tell Rebecca I’m not always a class ‘A’ jerk.”

“Nuh-uh. You’re going to have to prove that one to her all on your own.” Carolyn cocked her head. “Everything okay, you two?”

“I’ve used my considerable charm to convince Rebecca to stay for dinner and talk through what’s going on.” Dara glanced sideways at Rebecca. “I have convinced you, right?”

“I guess that depends.”

“On?”

“What’s for dinner?”

Dara and Carolyn both laughed. “A woman after my own heart. Car? What’s for dinner?”

“Lasagna, salad, and garlic bread.”

Dara and Rebecca looked at each other. Dara said, “What do you say?”

“I guess I could stomach that.” She winked, and immediately Dara felt lighter.

“Excellent. What can we do to help?”

“Offer your own services,” Rebecca said. “I’m sure I look like I’ve been hit by a freight train. If one of you would point me toward the ladies’ room, I’ll try to see if I can create a miracle to repair the damage.”

Dara wanted to tell Rebecca that she looked just fine. Even with a tear-streaked face. In fact, she looked stunning. Instead, she said, “Second door on the left down that hallway.”

When she was gone, Dara turned toward Carolyn, who was standing next to the oven. “You don’t have to say it. I’m a total jackass. I know.”

“What makes you think that’s what I was going to say?”