L. A. Candy (11 page)

Jane pushed her pasta with truffles around with a fork. She didn’t have much of an appetite. Yesterday’s marathon girls’ day out—which had turned into a girls’ night out, which had turned into a girls’ and guys’ night out—had left her feeling a little drained. But she knew she should at least make an effort. She was at Bella with Paolo, the hot photographer she had met at work.

And a TV crew.

That meant three camera guys, one director of photography, two producers, five production assistants, one soundman, one lighting person, one guy helping out with electrical issues, and a writer who was noting everything they said on camera.
Intimate.

It turned out that Paolo had indeed signed a release and also agreed to have their first date filmed. So the cameras were rolling on the two of them sharing a candlelit dinner.
She was pretty sure she looked like a mess after the night she’d had.

Paolo didn’t seem to notice. Which was a relief. But how could he not notice? He was smiling at her expectantly. “So? Do you like it?” He pointed to the pasta dish he’d recommended to her.

Jane took a bite. It tasted like…
vodka…
like everything else she had tried to eat that day. “Love it,” she lied, forcing a smile.

“Great! If you’re still hungry after this, we should order dessert.”

“Mmmm.” Jane’s stomach turned. Why had she let Madison talk her into all those martinis? And champagne? She felt awful. Her head throbbed, and she had had the shakes all day. She had contemplated canceling the date, but Dana had told her that they had already paid for their filming permit and that it was too late to reschedule.

Paolo was apparently a big foodie. He was going on about the dishes he had grown up eating (his father was Italian, and his mother was French), and about how he had almost gone to cooking school but had decided to become a photographer instead.

Jane listened, or attempted to listen, trying to remember why she had agreed to go out with him. He was definitely cute. And he seemed nice enough. But they had zero in common. Although how could she have guessed that after only a few minutes of talking to him? She noticed
he liked to talk about himself. Normally it would have bothered her, but it was kind of a blessing tonight. She was hardly capable of witty date banter right now. She was more focused on trying to make the room stop spinning.

It was sad, really, because no matter how great this guy might be, he didn’t stand a chance. And not just because she felt awful. If she was being honest with herself, she had to admit there had been no real spark when they met, and even now, the conversation was polite. He was cute, sure, and getting asked out by a cute guy is always nice, but talking to him felt so forced. It wasn’t Paolo’s fault, though. The truth was, Jane would have preferred to spend any night on a non-date with Braden than a real date with a cute guy she didn’t really care about.

Jane’s cell buzzed. Now that she knew texted directions were a part of her “reality,” she’d put her phone on the table for easy access. She glanced at the screen; yep, it was from Dana. It said: YOU LOOK MISERABLE. POOR GUY. COULD YOU ACT A LITTLE MORE DATEY?

Jane did feel bad for him. He had to know that she wasn’t having a good time. She leaned forward and touched Paolo’s arm; that was a “datey” gesture, right? But Paolo barely seemed to notice. He was too busy talking about whether paella was better with seafood or meat. Jane tried to look interested.
I want to die,
she thought.

She struggled through the rest of dinner and felt a wave of relief when she saw the check heading their way. Thank God, the end was near. Once they got up from the table
she was so happy she could have cried. All she wanted to do was get into bed. Alone.

When she saw Dana standing outside the restaurant as they exited, her heart sank. Obviously, a quick escape wasn’t an option.

“The camera crew will meet you back at your apartment for a nice good-bye shot,” Dana said.
Good-bye? Outside my apartment? Couldn’t we just double-park in front of the building and say our awkward good-byes in the car? This night is never going to end,
Jane thought. But at least she would get a break from the cameras during the drive home.

The valet pulled up with Paolo’s BMW and Jane slid in. “So where are the cameras?” Paolo asked her after shutting his door. He looked around. “Are they following us?”

“Yeah, they’re meeting us back at my apartment,” Jane said. “They aren’t filming the drive.”

“Oh,” Paolo said. Even through her haze Jane could hear the disappointment in his voice. “So! When is this episode going to be on TV?”

Jane frowned. How was she supposed to know? “I’m…not sure.”

“My friend knows one of the guys that was on
The Beach,
” Paolo went on eagerly. “He said he gets paid to go to clubs and travels everywhere. So cool. Do you have an agent?”

Jane was quiet for a minute. “Paolo. Be honest. Did they ask you to ask me out?” She didn’t look at him.

“No. Of course not,” Paolo reassured her.

Good,
Jane thought. She felt a little better. At least he
had asked her out on his own.

“I had an appointment with Fiona. I didn’t even know what you guys were filming until I got there,” Paolo went on. “I saw the sign out front and—”

“What sign?” Jane demanded, turning toward him.

“The sign outside the Fiona Chen offices. It said PopTV was filming.”

“Oh.” Jane felt anger rising inside. “So you just saw the sign and followed the cameras and thought you’d try to get on TV by talking to me and…” She paused. “Stop.”

“What?”

“Stop the car!” Jane yelled.

Paolo turned right off Hollywood and pulled over to the side of the road. “What the hell is your problem? I just took you out for a nice dinner and—”

Jane quickly opened her door, leaned her head out, and began to throw up. Her mouth tasted like vodka. She spit then wiped her face with her sleeve. She sat back up in her seat and closed the door.

Dead silence. Paolo looked horrified.

Well,
Jane thought.
At least I know he won’t try to kiss me good night.

The following night, Jane walked into Lola’s and headed into the back room. Even though it was a Monday night, the place was packed, but she didn’t mind. Braden was at the bar, waiting for her. She couldn’t imagine anywhere she’d rather be than here with Braden without the cameras.
She hadn’t seen him since last weekend at Cabo Cantina.

“Hey!” she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Hey!” Braden said, kissing her back. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too!”

She sat down beside him, smiling. She took a moment to admire his appearance without making it obvious that’s what she was doing. He was wearing tailored dark jeans and a navy-and-white-striped sweater. He had more stubble than usual. Tonight more than ever he struck her as the kind of guy who had no idea how hot he was—which, in Jane’s opinion, made him even more attractive. But friends weren’t supposed to think of each other as
hot
, she reminded herself.

Braden handed her a menu. “They have a full bar here, but they’re known for their martinis. They have every kind you can think of.”

“Eww…a garlic mashed potato martini?” Jane said, glancing at the menu. “I think I will play it safe with apple.”

Braden motioned to the bartender and ordered her drink. “So how’s life as a big TV star?” he asked play-fully.

“Ha-ha,” Jane said. “Actually, it’s not at all what I expected.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…well…I thought it was going to be easy. Fun. Like Scar and I would have to show up at a club a couple times a week and be filmed or whatever.
And maybe they’d film me at a work event once in a while. But it’s way more intense than that, and it’s only been a week. The cameras are always following me around, you know? They film me answering phones at the office. They film me at home. They film me when I go out, even if it’s just to the Starbucks around the corner. It’s kinda weird.”

Braden glanced over her shoulder. “Uh-oh. Are they here now?” he joked.

Jane grinned. “Nope. I made my escape.”

“Good! Next time, we’ll have to wear disguises.”

“Yeah…they’ll be looking for me.”

As the bartender set their drinks in front of them, Jane thought about how Braden seemed like the only person in her life who
didn’t
want to be around when the cameras were—besides her parents, that is. Her sisters had already begged to come visit her, her cousin suddenly wanted to hang out—even Fiona had jockeyed for airtime.

Jane clinked her glass against Braden’s. “Cheers.”

“So when do I get to see you on TV?”

“Soon! I think in a month? Trevor, he’s the main producer, said they’re going to film us for a few more weeks, then edit a bunch of stuff. Then the series premiere is going to air. They’re going to keep filming us for a few months after that though, until the season’s over. So there’s this overlap.”

“Sounds like it’s happening pretty fast.”

“It is! There’s going to be a series premiere party, too. I’ll
text you when they tell me where it is. Scar and I are pretty excited about it. Well,
I’m
excited about it. Scar’s acting like she couldn’t care less. Anyway, you
have
to come.” Before he could say no, Jane rushed on. “So what’s going on with you? Have you been on any more auditions?”

“I have one coming up next week. It’s another sci-fi pilot.”

“No shortage of those, I guess. What’s this one about?”

As Braden talked, Jane found herself leaning closer to him. She loved listening to him. She loved being with him, period. Why hadn’t it been like this with Paolo? Or with any other guy she’d met since Caleb?

“—so if it works out, I can be a big, fancy TV star like you,” Braden was saying.

“Funny.”

Braden reached over and pulled a thread off her tank top. His fingertips brushed against her bare shoulder, sending a chill down her spine.

“You get that’s what’s going to happen to you, don’t you?” he said, suddenly serious. “Clubs, tabloids, fans—the whole messed-up Hollywood scene?”

“Hardly,” Jane said. “The show is probably going to get canceled after the first episode. Seriously, you should see the stuff they film. Nobody is going to want to watch a bunch of random girls getting yelled at by their bosses or gossiping with their friends while doing laundry. It’s
kind of boring, if you ask me.”

“You? Boring? Never.”

Jane stared at him.
So what’s with you and Willow?
she wanted to say.
Are you guys on or off right now? Oh, she’s moving out of the country? That’s awful!
But she couldn’t bring herself to even mention Willow’s name. It was so nice, just being here with Braden. Talking about his sort-of girlfriend would definitely be a buzzkill.

And then Jane realized something else—something almost as depressing as the subject of Willow.

When the
L.A. Candy
episodes finally hit the air, Braden would see Jane on a date with Paolo and flirting with those guys at Madison’s apartment. Not that anything had come of either of those nights. Quite the opposite, in fact. Still, she felt a wave of guilt. Even though she and Braden were just friends. She wondered if it would even bother him…and kind of hoped it would.

Yeah, like my date with Paolo is going to make any guy jealous,
Jane thought drily.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Braden said.

“What?”

“It’s an expression. My mom says it a lot. It means—”

Jane laughed. “Oh! I know the expression. I was just confused because I have a goldfish named Penny.”

“You do? I thought you were a dog person.”

“I am. But my mom’s allergic, so I never had one growing up. That’s why I have Penny. She’s kind of my pretend puppy.”

“Oh, that’s kinda sad, actually.” Braden fake-pouted. “So…what were you thinking before? You had this look on your face.”

“Sorry, Braden.” She fished an apple slice out of her drink and took a bite. “It’s gonna cost you a little more than a penny to hear my thoughts.”

The next morning, Jane woke up to the shrill tone of her cell phone ringing. She glanced groggily at her clock. It was 7:00 a.m. Wait, 7:00 a.m.? She wondered if it was a wrong number. Or maybe it was her father making sure she and Scar had signed the
L.A. Candy
contracts. He’d called over the weekend to tell her that his lawyer had said they were standard contracts and okay to sign. Or maybe it was Fiona, getting an early start to the day. She often phoned Jane at odd hours, giving her crazy instructions like “Hurry over to Olivier’s design studio and pick up the white silk dress for Leda Phillips; she needs it in exactly twenty-three minutes.” Or “Drive up to Malibu and take your camera. I need some shots of a space called Wave for a possible Buddhist wedding ceremony at dawn…Oh, and make sure the sun is just starting to rise, because our client is very particular about lighting.”

Fiona. Work. Tuesday—it was Tuesday. Crap, she had a meeting in an hour!

Jane managed to pick up her cell just before the call went to voice mail. “Hello?”

“Hey, Jane, this is Trevor. Were you sleeping?”

Jane rubbed her eyes. Trevor? Why was Trevor calling her? She hadn’t really heard from him since they’d started filming. It was hard to believe that was less than two weeks ago. It felt like so much longer than that.

“Hey, Trevor. Nope, I’m up.”

“Good. Listen, I just wanted to let you know what a great job you’re doing. I’ve watched the edits and they’re looking amazing. I’m so excited for you guys to see.”

“Thanks,” Jane said, rubbing her eyes again and feeling a little funny about being complimented on living her life.

Trevor went on, describing different scenes to her. He sounded genuinely excited. Jane rolled out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen. She was going to have to hurry if she was going to make the 8 a.m. meeting. Scar’s door was closed; she was probably still sleeping. Lucky girl. Trevor was laughing because Dana had told him that Jane had thrown up on the way home from her date with Paolo. Trevor said they’d had to color-correct her face because she had looked so sick at Bella, but he didn’t blame her because he couldn’t stand listening to that guy either. Jane laughed. At least Trevor thought Paolo was as lame as she did.