Sweet Little Lies (24 page)

“Did you guys have a fight? What happened? Sweetie, calm down; I can’t understand you when you’re crying.”

But Jane wouldn’t stop crying. Madison wrapped her arms around her. Jane only cried harder, so Madison held her tighter.

“Oww.” Jane touched her side.

“What’s wrong? What hurts?”

“Nothing.”

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Madison frowned. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s get you into bed.”

Madison helped Jane to her feet and led her slowly to her bedroom. She knew that Jane and Jesse had been fighting a lot lately. She could hear their muffled arguments through the wall. But she had never seen Jane this upset.

Jane lay down on her bed and drew the covers up to her chin. The dog jumped up and curled up at her feet, looking subdued. He seemed to know something wasn’t right.

“Can I get you anything?” Madison asked.

“Yeah, my phone. I think it’s on the coffee table.”

“Who’re you gonna call? It’s, like, five a.m.”

“I just need to send a text. Please, Madison? It’s important. Before I change my mind.”

“Okay, okay.”

Madison hurried to the living room and retrieved the phone, which she found on the floor next to a pair of black men’s loafers. (WTF?) She noticed that the TV was on Pause, fixed on an image of Jesse and Jane at Beso. (Again, WTF?) She turned off the TV and brought the phone back to Jane.

Jane took it from her and began typing. “I should’ve done this a long time ago,” she whispered to herself.

“Done what, sweetie?”

Jane held up the screen for Madison. The message read: JESSE: WE’RE DONE. I MEAN IT THIS TIME. I NEVER WANT 2 SEE U OR SPEAK 2 U

AGAIN.

“Good for you,” Madison said, hugging her. And she was surprised to find that she meant it, and not just because she had been angling to break Jane and Jesse up for ages, but because Jane didn’t deserve to be treated like this. Madison wanted to take Jane’s place on the show, sure. But she didn’t want to see Jane’s spirit crushed by a drunk train wreck like Jesse.

She’d seen too many women go through crap like that. Including her own mother.

Jane hit Send, then sank back wearily against the pillows. “I’m so tired,” she mumbled. “Madison, will you stay with me? I don’t wanna be alone right now.”

“Of course, sweetie.” Madison slipped off her gold Miu Miu sandals and got into bed beside Jane.

“Thank you,” Jane whispered.

“For what?”

“For being such a good friend. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

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Madison took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to respond.You’re welcome? You’re a good friend, too? Sorry about trying to destroy your TV career and image—it’s nothing personal?

But she didn’t have to worry about it, because Jane had fallen asleep. Madison closed her eyes, trying to sleep, too. But her mind was too busy and confused. So much was happening so fast; she felt overwhelmed.

The dog made a sighing sound. Madison smiled slightly, wondering how they must look: her, Jane, and the animal, all snuggled in Jane’s bed, the first faint light of the Los Angeles sunrise shining through the curtains.

“So what do you have for me?” Veronica Bliss asked pleasantly. She’d been a lot nicer to Madison since she gave her the info about Scarlett and her camera guy. “When someone gets fired,” she’d said after the story ran, “you know it was a good tip. Keep the good tips coming, Madison.”

Madison shifted in her chair. TheGossip editor was sitting at her desk, sifting through piles of what looked like scandalous photographs of a familiar-looking brunette. That underwear model? That actress who played the little sister inAnimal Magnetism ? Madison felt sorry for her, whoever she was.

“Don’t feel sorry for her,” Veronica said, as if reading her mind. “She leaked these herself. Her career needed a boost. So.” She folded her hands and stared at Madison expectantly. “What’s going on with Jane Roberts these days?”

Madison hesitated. There was so much she could say, especially after last night. Jane had filled her in on the rest of the details this morning, over a late breakfast. But she couldn’t get the image of Jane out of her head, nestled against her shoulder and whispering, “Thank you for being such a good friend. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Shit!She was going soft. Which she could hardly afford to do, now that she had this beneficial arrangement going with Veronica. Veronica had even come through, publishing a full-page piece about Madison’s predictions for season two in last week’s issue (the same issue that blew the cover off Scarlett’s little romance). Madison deserved to be the star ofL.A. Candy. And she was almost there. She could practically taste it.

Which meant that Jane had to go. There couldn’t betwo stars on the show. Besides, Jane didn’t even appreciate what she had.

“Well?” Veronica’s eyes flashed impatiently at her.

Madison looked away. “Yeah. So I think Jane and Jesse broke up last night.”

“Youthink they broke up?”

“They did. They broke up.”

“Where? When? Was there another girl involved? Or another guy? Is Braden back in the picture? I need details.”

“I…don’t have any details yet. I’m working on it.”

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“Well, get on it! I’m going to clear the cover for this week’s issue. Deadline’s end of business tomorrow.

Can I count on you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Tomorrow, five p.m. I’ll be expecting an update.”

As Madison walked out of Veronica’s office, she noticed her assistant staring at her. That little dude was so weird. But she was too preoccupied to stop and ask him what the hell his problem was. She had her own problem—namely, what was she going to tell Veronica tomorrow at 5 p.m.?

37

LOVE IS CRAZY

Jane scanned the patio of the Tropicana Bar, nervously going through her mental checklist of to-dos.

Rose petals in the pool. Check. Red cushions on the chairs. Check. Vintage coolers filled with cans of Crazy Girl’s latest energy drink, Psycho Remix. Check. The step-and-repeat with the Crazy Girl logo.

Check. Crazy Girl gift bags. Check. Naomi was organizing them on a table by the entrance. DJ

equipment. Check. DJ…Uh-oh!Where was the DJ?

Jane twisted her earpiece into her right ear, and she plugged the long cord that attached to the earpiece into a walkie-talkie. The extra hardware didn’t exactly coordinate with her high-waisted black skirt and red silk blouse, but Fiona had dictated that they be mandatory accessories for the entire night, so that Jane and Hannah could be in touch at all times. Jane was also wearing her mike pack for the PopTV

cameras (there were four of them tonight), creating an unfortunate lump underneath her fitted skirt. She hadn’t been able to attach it to her bra because the back of her top dipped too low.

Jane switched on the radio. “Hannah? Are you there? We’ve got a problem.”

“What’s wrong?” Hannah’s voice boomed back. Jane cringed at the volume and twisted a knob on her headset to lower it.

“Where are you right now?” Jane asked her.

“I’m at the door. People are starting to arrive, and there was a mix-up with the guest list.”

“Mix-up? What mix-up?” Jane demanded.

“Don’t worry about it. Gaby’s here with me, and she’s on the phone straightening it out with her boss at Ruby Slipper. So what’s going on?”

“Where’s the DJ?”

“He’s not here yet?”

“I haven’t seen him. Has anyone talked to him?”

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“Not that I know of. I have his number and…Listen, Isaac is here; I’ll put him on it.”

Isaac was one of the interns at Fiona Chen Events. “Okay, perfect. Will you have him call right now, and let me know if he gets ahold of him?”

“Yup. We’re on it.”

“Great. Thanks.”

“Hey, Jane? One more thing. There’s a girl here who says she’s a friend of yours. She’s not on the list, though. Her name’s, uh, Fabiana? She’s got three—no, four other girls with her.” In the background, Jane heard laughter and someone screaming, “Hey, homegirl!”

“Fabiana? I don’t know anyone named Fabiana.”

“Didn’t think so, thanks.”

Jane clicked off and was about to see about the hors d’oeuvres when someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was Madison, looking stunning and barely PG in a magenta minidress that was nearly see-through. “Ohmigod, does your mother know you’re wearing that?” Jane said, hugging her.

Madison grinned. “I guess I’m gonna be grounded, huh?”

“Yeah, no TV for a week.” Jane laughed.

“Place looks amazing. You guys did a great job.”

“Thanks. I don’t know. There was a problem with the guest list, and we can’t find the DJ, and—”

Madison squeezed her arm. “Don’t stress. It’s gonna be an awesome night.”

“Yeah. It’s just that it’s my first big assignment for Fiona, ya know? And I’ve been kinda distracted lately…”

A waitress came by, carrying a tray of frosty-looking pink Cosmos. She was wearing the uniform Jane had come up with for all the waitresses: a red halter top and a pair of short shorts with the words CRAZY GIRL spelled across the derriere. “Care for a cocktail?” she offered.

Madison plucked a glass off the tray. “Absolutely.”

Jane declined. She had to stay focused. “Did you like the invites?” she asked Madison. “Gaby helped come up with the theme, ‘Love Is Crazy.’ She’s super-creative.”

“Yeah, well, loveis crazy.” Madison took a sip of her Cosmo. “Speaking of…He isn’t coming tonight, is he?”

Jane didn’t even have to ask who Madison was talking about. “Don’t know. He was on the guest list.

We sent the invites out a while ago.”

“Well, if he shows his sorry face, send him my way. I’ll take care of him,” Madison told her.

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“Thanks.”

Jane hadn’t seen or spoken to Jesse since that horrible night last weekend. He had filled up her voice mailbox with messages, apologizing and telling her that he loved her…but she had ignored them all, and eventually started deleting them without even listening to them. This morning, she had received three dozen red roses from him, sent over from one of the most exclusive florists in L.A. Did he seriously think that flowers would make up for the way he treated her? She had given them to the elderly woman who lived on the floor below.

“Hey, isn’t that Jared Walsh at the bar?” Madison said, peering across the pool. “I think I’ll go see what he thinks of my dress.”

“Uh, Madison? I think he’s married.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that really matters with him. Wish me luck.”

Jane laughed.

By nine o’clock, the party was getting crowded. The DJ had finally arrived—his car had broken down on the Santa Monica Freeway—and was spinning a perfectly pitched mix of old and new love songs.

Jane was stressed and running around—there were so many details to attend to (like making sure the in-house photographer was getting enough product-placement shots without bothering any of the guests), and a couple of fires to put out (they had seated two starlets-slash-BFFs at the same table, but it turned out they weren’t speaking this week). And yet she was exhilarated, too, because everyone seemed to be having a good time, and Fiona had actually come up to Jane and said, “Things appear to be in order.”

Which, for Fiona, was a glowing compliment.

Jane spotted lots of familiar faces in the crowd, including R.J., Sam, and Quentin (who had shot her a sympathetic smile). Scar had arrived earlier with several girls Jane didn’t recognize—maybe students from USC? Jane had been meaning to talk to her since theGossip article about her and one of the camera guys broke last week. Jane had no idea that Scar was dating anyone, much less Liam, who seemed like a nice guy and was definitely cute. The thing was, Scar didn’t date. Of course, knowingGossip , the story had been twisted to make itappear as though Scar and Liam were in a relationship, when it was probably just a casual fling.

Or maybe Scar had changed her ways and failed to clue Jane in. It wasn’t like they were confiding in each other these days. As frustrated as Jane had been dealing with Scar’s negative attitude, she couldn’t help but miss her. Madison was a great friend, but she could never be herbest friend, not like Scar was.

“Jane.”

Jane froze at the sound of the familiar voice behind her. Hehad come to the party, after all.

He kissed the back of her neck. “Did you get the flowers I sent?”

Jane flinched and turned around. Jesse looked stylish in his black Armani suit, white tailored shirt, and skinny red tie. He also looked intoxicated. Jane wasn’t surprised. She knew the signs so well: the tired, unfocused eyes…the slurred speech…the flushed cheeks. Not to mention the stupid smirk on his face and the not-so-subtle scent of whiskey and…God, did she smell pot, too?Nice, Jesse, she thought in disgust.

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She saw that he wasn’t wearing a mike pack. He must have slipped in past Dana and also Trevor, who had made a point to be at the party tonight. They weren’t exactly happy with her decision to break up with him via text…in the middle of the night…off-camera. Trevor said that he understood that she was upset, but they were going to have to “come up with something” later. Jane wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but she had agreed, just to shut him up.

Jane scanned the crowd, looking for Trevor and Dana. She figured they would track Jesse down momentarily in order to mike him. Although she didn’t know if any of the footage would even be usable, because the finished episodes never showed Jesse trashed. After all, he was supposed to be the perfect guy who every teenage girl dreamed of being with.

“I’m working right now, Jesse.” Jane turned to go.

Jesse grabbed her arm. Jane wrenched it away. “I said, I’mworking ,” she repeated angrily.