Saved by the Celebutante (19 page)

My heart thumps excitedly. So far, so good!

Mike pulls into a spot marked for VIPs and swaggers out, leading the way to the studio diner.

He addresses Gia. “When was the last time you were here?”

“Oh, probably not since Jack worked on
Death Run
.”

“That was a while ago. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find how much the food has improved since then. They finally ditched Connie, that old dragon who ran the place back in your day. She was useless. I can’t believe it took them ten years to fire her.”

“I don’t think I ever came here,” Gia says. “I used to just eat whatever was in Jack’s trailer.” She talks as though eating at a diner is beneath her. I have to stop myself from giggling.

Mike opens the door for us. He must be on his best behavior because he doesn’t strike me as a particularly chivalrous guy. I follow Gia in and we all sit down at a small round table near the window. A waitress comes over with menus.

“No need for that, Darla,” Mike says, his voice dripping with condescension. “We’ll have three coffees and a plate of your famous pastries.”

  I refrain from rolling my eyes. Gia doesn’t even drink coffee.

“So, who’s this Malcolm Garcia?” Mike asks. “I thought I knew everyone who worked out of here, but I don’t recognize the name. Is he new?”

“Oh, yeah,” Gia says. “He’s an up and coming director. We’re tossing around some ideas for a movie.”

“Nice.”

“Everyone’s saying he’s the next Peter Carson,” she says casually. “Although, I’m not sure Peter would appreciate the implication he’s no longer current.”

I pretend to be busy with my cell phone, trying not to be obvious as I check Mike’s reaction.

“Ha. Anyone would be better than Peter Carson. The guy’s a dick. Wouldn’t deal with him for all the money in the world.”

“Really? How come?”

“Oh, nothing worth getting into. Why? You want to consult with him? I could recommend a dozen better guys out there.”

I stifle a snort. I’m pretty sure there aren’t many directors better than Peter Carson. Definitely not a dozen.

Mike shoots me a suspicious look. I pretend that I’m trying to clear something stuck in my throat.

He looks back at Gia.

“Oh, I was just wondering what I should do if Malcolm fell through. Who else do you suggest?”

“Trent Gruber, for one.”

“The one who directed
Flash Cars
?”

“Yep.”

“Perhaps…although I don’t think he’d be quite right for the project I’m doing. Say, how about you give me your card and I’ll email you the specifics when I get home. I could definitely use your insider knowledge.”

He grins. “Sure, darlin’.”

Our coffees and pastries arrive. I gulp down my coffee and nibble on a pastry, although I’m still full from breakfast. Gia doesn’t touch anything. Mike doesn’t seem to notice and noisily slurps his drink. He leans back and surveys Gia.

“So what happened between you and Jack?”

Gia raises an eyebrow. “You don’t read the news?”

“If you’re referring to the time he slept with Amber Howard, then I’m still asking. Surely you knew when you signed up for the job as Jack Dean’s wife that he’d still be fucking other women?”

Ooh. I can’t believe he went there.

Gia gives him a withering look. “Jeez, Mike. That’s real nice. Do you have those kind of low standards for all the women in your life? How about your mom? Or your grandmother? Do you have a sister?”

His eyes bulge. Clearly, he is not used to women talking back. He seems to be gathering steam for a nasty retort, so I quickly press a button on my phone to make it sound like an incoming call.

I hold the phone up to my ear.

“Hello?” I say in a loud voice. Gia and Mike both look at me. I may have overdone it a bit.

“You can reschedule us now? Perfect. Thanks, Malcolm. We’ll see you in five.”

I pretend to hang up.

“Malcolm’s thing finished early, so he can meet with us now. We’d better hurry, though. He said he only has half an hour until his next meeting.”

Gia stands up and loops her arm through mine.

“That’s great.” She gives Mike a dirty look. “I wish I could say it was a pleasure seeing you again Mike, but I would be lying.”

His face turns bright red.

“Get fucked, you stupid bitch.”

I gasp. I will not let anyone speak to Gia like that. I pick up her untouched coffee and dump its contents all over the front of his shirt.

“Oops,” I say as Gia and I spin around and strut out. Mike utters a few more expletives, but doesn’t chase after us.

When we’re outside, I look at Gia incredulously. “Oh my God. I can’t believe guys like that really exist. Apart from Will, that is.”

“I’m afraid this industry does attract more than its fair share of douchebags, but they’re not all like that. Anyway, thanks for looking out for me back there.”

“No problem. I hope he doesn’t report us to security, but just in case, we should probably try to find Peter ASAP. Where would he normally hang out if he was here?”

“I don’t know,” she says, frustrated again. “He could be anywhere. If he’s even here at all.” She seems to have lost all enthusiasm for our mission, and I hope it isn’t because of Mike’s horrible comments.

“Well, where would
a
director be during filming? It doesn’t have to be Peter.”

“I guess just one of the sound stages. We could have a quick peek and see if any are being used.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Gia walks purposefully down a narrow road. Large white structures tower over us on both sides. All of them are quiet.

And then we hear a faint noise.

Gia picks up the pace. I almost have to run to keep up.

“It’s not as glamorous as I expected it to be,” I say as we head towards the source.

“Tell me about it. It’s even less glamorous when you’re hanging out and watching a couple of scenes being filmed over and over again for fifteen hours straight. I tried to avoid coming here whenever possible, but sometimes Jack wanted me on set. Or I was worried about him getting too close to his co-stars, so I made an excuse to visit.”

“And rightly so,” I point out.

We reach Sound Stage No. 24, only to find it closed – but there is definitely something going on inside. I’m just about to tiptoe over and sneak in the door when a guy comes out, chatting loudly on his cell phone. He sees us and narrows his eyes.

“I’ll have to call you back,” he says to the person on the other end. He hangs up and furrows his brow. “There should be a security guard out here. Can I help you? I’m afraid this is a closed set.”

I study the guy. He seems like to the type to appreciate a direct approach.

“We’re looking for Peter Carson. He visited Gia in San Francisco a little while back and suggested that she audition for the role of Marilyn Monroe in his new movie about the Kennedys.”

He blinks. “The public aren’t supposed to know about that movie yet. Have you been spying? What do you want?”

“I’m serious. Peter Carson asked Gia to audition.”

“All right, so let’s just say I believe you and Peter really does want to cast Gia in the film. Why are you here now?”

“We lost his number, so we can’t call to find out when the auditions are being held.”

He laughs. “You just
lost
his number? How inconvenient for you.”

“Look, I know it sounds crazy, but can you please at least just pass a message on for him to call us?” I beg. “We drove all the way from San Francisco to talk to him.”

He turns his palms face up. “I’m sorry, but even if I wanted to pass a message onto Peter, I don’t know how to reach him right now. He’s out at the Earth & Fire Festival.”

“As in, the one in the middle of the Nevada desert?” Gia clarifies.

“Yeah, he’s been going out there for years, but this year he’s shooting a documentary about it too. The festival doesn’t officially start for a couple of days, but he’s out there early doing some prep work.”

“Well, couldn’t you call him?”

“Afraid not. The cell coverage is almost non-existent. People who are there can call out via the police phone in an emergency, but no one can call in.”

Gia looks at me in dismay. “What are we supposed to do now?”

The guy chuckles. “I suppose if you were dedicated enough, you could make a trip out there.” He says it like he thinks there’s no way we’d be desperate enough to trek six hundred miles into the desert just to track down a movie director.

Gia taps a finger on her chin. “Actually…”

The guy frowns. “Please don’t go stalking Peter Carson. You’ll get yourselves arrested.”

“You’re right. Sorry. I was just being silly. We’ll try and go through an alternative channel to reach him.” She grabs my hand. “Thank you so much for your time. We’re sorry to have bothered you.”

He seems to relax. “No problem. You know how to find your way out?”

“Yes. Thanks again.” We turn and walk quickly back towards the front gate.

“What are you thinking?” I ask as soon we’re out of earshot. “We’re not really going to the Earth & Fire Festival, are we?”

“We really are,” she says, giggling.

“Seriously?”

“Why not? I’ve always wanted to go, but I’ve never had the opportunity. Of course I’ll have to call Mom and check that she can manage without me for another few days, but I can’t see why not. I never get to have time away from the kids, and we don’t have to stay the whole week.”

“Can you do that?”

“There’s only one way to find out!”

TWENTY-TWO

We pass through the front gate and hand over our lanyards. The guard looks at us a bit strangely but seems to be okay with the fact that we’re leaving the lot by foot. That is, until his walkie-talkie starts squawking. He listens while eyeing us suspiciously. I glance at Gia anxiously.

“Run,” she whispers. I don’t argue. We both break into a sprint.

“Hey!” The security guard yells. We ignore him and keep running.

“Do you think he’s called the police?” I puff as we continue down the road.

“I hope not.”

We duck into a narrow alleyway and catch our breath. Gia bursts out laughing. “Hopefully if I ever see Peter Carson again, he won’t ask me about this,” she says.

“So, are you sure you want to go to the festival?”

“Yes! I’ll call Mom now.” She takes out her phone and calls a number.

I wander back out to the main street to give Gia a little privacy and also to check that no one is following us. It doesn’t appear so. I breathe a sigh of relief. I can’t believe we might be about to go to the Earth & Fire Festival! I consider myself fairly liberal, but Earth & Fire is a bit extreme, even for me. For seven days each year, thousands of people meet up in the middle of the desert to live without the constraints of modern society. That means a lot of sex, drugs and God knows what else. Apparently. For all I know, it’s nothing like that. I actually don’t know anyone who has ever been and I’ve never properly researched it.

I start wondering if Gia has really thought this through properly. As far as I’m aware, you have to take everything you need to survive for a week in the desert, including food, water and shelter. Does she mean for us to buy a tent and all the stuff that goes along with it? I can’t imagine that would be cheap, and I’d feel obliged to pay at least half the bill seeing as it’s my fault we’re in this predicament in the first place.

If only Corey had signed those damn apartment sale papers, I would feel more comfortable about spending money. I have no idea what my future holds, but if I’m going to move out of Brad’s, I’ll need to pay for moving costs, and possibly a deposit on a new place.

Gia creeps up on me and I don’t notice she’s there until she’s practically breathing over my shoulder.

“Oh, you scared me. How did it go?” I ask.

She looks defeated. “Not good.”

“How come?”

“Mom said she can only look after the kids for the next day or two. I didn’t know, but she’s booked a trip away for this weekend with a bunch of girlfriends.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. I guess that’s that then. We should probably leave by tomorrow morning at the latest if you want to give her some time to go home and pack before she leaves.”

“Listen, I’ve got an idea…”

I know what she’s going to say before she even says it.

“No! I am not going to the Earth & Fire Festival on my own! I’m not the kind of person who walks topless around a campground or smokes suspect herbs from a hookah.”

“You don’t have to do either of those things!” she laughs. “Everything is voluntary. You only do what you’re comfortable with.”

“Okay, well even if I did go, where am I supposed to sleep? We didn’t exactly come prepared.”

She thinks for a second. “I know someone! Hang on!” She calls another number on her phone and I stand there, dismayed. She really wants me to do this.

I listen in while she talks to someone called Paulie. The conversation must be going well because she sounds pretty happy.

“Perfect! We’ll come and get it in the morning. Thanks, sweetie!”

She beams at me. “My friend Paulie is going to lend you his van. It has everything in it you should need for a few days in the desert.”

“Does Paulie want anything in return?”

“We’ll work something out. He only uses the van for part of the year, and the rest of the time it’s just sitting in his garage, so it’s not a big deal.”

“He’s not going to the festival?”

“No. He said he was thinking about it, but he has to work. He was actually quite pleased that at least his van was making the trip, even if he wasn’t.”

I’m thinking Paulie might be a bit weird.

I glance at my watch.

“We should probably head back so we can go to the shelter again.”

“Yes! Good thinking. Wow. What a day, huh?”

“I know. I hope I never have the misfortune of running into Mike Duncan ever again. He really was worse than Will.”

“You know, Billy wasn’t all bad. I think maybe me firing him turned him bitter. He used to be quite sweet. Admittedly, he didn’t do much unless there was money involved, but he could certainly be charming.”

“I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that one,” I say.

We drive back down to Venice, finding Nikki just as she’s changing into her work clothes.

“Oh, you’re back! I wasn’t sure if you really did want to come with me again today. Some people act like they’ll return, but they don’t mean it.”

“We had a great time, didn’t we Gia?” I say. “If I lived nearby, I would try and come more often.”

“Well, we have a sister center up your neck of the woods, so perhaps you can go visit them when you’re back home,” she suggests.

“I would love that!” I really would.

We head over to the center and drop our purses off, the same as yesterday. Nikki collects her laptop and walks with us over to the craft room.

Lindsey is already there. She’s acting like she isn’t waiting for anyone, but when she sees us, she can’t wipe the grin off her face.

“Hey, guys. Can’t get enough of me, huh?”

Gia chuckles. “Who could ever get enough of you?”

“Gia, could you make me some earrings today?”

“Of course. What kind of theme are you going for? I’m thinking maybe cute and pink or elegant and green.”

Lindsey giggles. “What about sassy and silver?”

“Good call.”

Nikki sets up her laptop in the corner. “Chrissie, feel free to do whatever you like. I’m just going to work on some stuff here.”

“I guess I’ll check out the fabrics, then.” Lindsey doesn’t even seem to notice me. Gia is her idol now.

The sewing corner has quite a large selection of materials. There is also a sewing machine and a binder full of easy patterns. I pick up the first pattern in the binder. It’s for a pair of shorts. I’m not great at making clothes, but I do know how to sew, thanks to Mrs. Hofstadter’s Home Economics class back in high school. I pick out the craziest material I can find, which happens to be a psychedelic pattern of rainbow-colored dolphins, and get to work. There aren’t any other girls in here yet, so I figure I might as well keep busy in the meantime.

It’s much easier than I remember, and I get the hang of the sewing machine quite quickly. By the time our session is up, I have made a very quirky looking pair of shorts.

Gia and Lindsey are gossiping. Lindsey looks like she’s in heaven. I take the shorts over to them.

“Look what I made!” I say proudly.

The girls glance up and laugh.

“They look like clown shorts!” Gia says. “Is that what they’re supposed to be?”

“Uh, yeah,” I fib. “I thought maybe your kids could wear them as dress-ups.”

“They look a bit big for the kids. But thank you anyway, Chrissie. That’s a lovely gesture.”

Nikki looks up from her laptop. “Are you two almost ready to go?”

“I think so,” I say.

“Please take me with you,” Lindsey begs Gia.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. You know I can’t. But give me your details and I’ll Skype you when I get home. I’ll make sure I’m available during the times you have internet access.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Lindsey throws her arms around Gia in a tight hug. “Thank you.”

We collect our purses and head back to Nikki’s for one more night.

Well, that could have gone better for me, but you can’t win them all, I suppose. At least Lindsey was happy. I tuck the pair of dolphin shorts into my purse, out of sight.

The less said about them, the better.