The Publicist Book One and Two (22 page)

Chapter Three

The chipper voice on the other end of the phone annoyed Kate to the point that she wished she could toss the phone and the person on the other end of it out her window.

“Chelsea did great; she was such a bright, shining star!” Chelsea’s manager enthused.

Kate sighed, “Francine, your shining star was drugged up. Why the hell didn’t you tell me she’s terrified of being on TV?”

“I, um, well, she gets nervous sometimes.”

“Nervous? She nearly passed out and didn’t make her appearance. I tell you this, she’s due on Letterman tomorrow, and you will get her coaching or meditation or Zen tea or something today. And guess what else? You’re going with her, not me. You get her on the air—stable, confident, and drugged if you have to. If she misses any of these gigs, her book will end up remaindered. Am I clear?”

Kate could almost hear the caller nodding on the other end of the phone. “Sure,” a quiet, far less exuberant Francine responded.

“Good.” Kate said and hung up without saying goodbye. She had dropped her head on her desk for a moment when she heard a soft knock. It was Lulu, her assistant.

“Come in.” Kate lifted her head and tried to wipe the anxiety off of her face.

“Hi Kate, I heard yelling, are you okay?”

Oh, Lord, had she really talked that loud?
“It’s fine. It was, well, never mind. What’s up?”

“Kate, have you checked your email?”

“No, not lately. I mean, I was on the phone. What, Lu? What’s up?”

Lulu seemed agitated. “You should check it.”

Lulu slipped out of Kate’s office, closing the door behind her. Moments later it swung open and Kate emerged, looking as pissed as Lu had ever seen her.

“What the hell?” Kate burst into Mac’s office. It wasn’t even noon and it had already been a long day. Not to mention her precious sugar and caffeine high had evaporated the minute she’d seen that email. Part of her wished she’d taken a piece of cake to go. Or maybe just the whole cake.

“Good morning again, Katie.” Mac spun in his chair to face her. There was an unmistakable glint in his eye that made Kate go weak in the knees, heat form in the pit of her stomach, and blood tingle. She almost hated the way she felt around him, like she had no control of her own hormones. Well, she didn’t actually. Mac controlled them, he was behind the wheel and God only knew where he was taking her. Kate turned her attention back to the conversation.

“Seriously, Mac. A book written by the Shenkman twins? You’re kidding, right?”

“Kate, it wasn’t my decision. You know how Eddie can be.”

“But Mac, last week this book was dead, and gratefully so. How the hell did this happen and moreover, how did I end up with this?”

Mac leaned back, “It happened over the weekend, Kate. One of the twins, I forget which one, filed a request for a retrial based on new facts. The book is timely; if she gets it, we could sell a lot of these.”

“If she gets it? Gets what? A new trial? What’s to go back to court for? They gunned down their parents in their posh Beverly Hills home and then went on a spending spree. These are two spoiled brats who wanted their inheritance early. I can’t sell this!”

Mac’s face grew stern. “Yes you can; you can sell what we’re going to print. Sit down, Kate.”

She wanted to storm out, but she was, after all, the publicist. It was her job to push books and shine turds when asked. Taking a deep breath, she dropped herself into a seat.

Nine years ago, the Shenkman twins, Iris and Sara, eighteen at the time, had walked into their parents’ kitchen one bright, sunny, Sunday morning and gunned down their mother and father. The Shenkman family was a prominent Hollywood dynasty that founded one of the biggest movie studios. Howard Shenkman, their father, was a feared and formidable businessman. He wasn’t well liked in Hollywood, but that never seemed to bother him. Any deal he signed was sure to be gold, and when a big movie was in production, he made sure he was on the set every day. He had a temper that was legendary and would often fire entire film crews if someone brought him stale coffee. After the Shenkmans were killed, the entire town of Los Angeles was up in arms. No one had seen such a witch hunt since the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. By the time the girls walked into an LA precinct six months after the murders and tearfully confessed, they had blown through over two million dollars of their parents’ fortune. They spent it on cars, parties, lavish trips, and, apparently, high-priced male hookers. Kate still recalled the gruesome photos of their parents splayed out on the kitchen floor. It was Sunday morning, and a stack of pancakes lay scattered across the floor like golden discs. Half of them were soaked in blood.

“There is new evidence that was never admitted during the first trial. The father assaulted these girls. Sexually. Apparently someone has come forward, and this could blow the case wide open.”

“But the book I read doesn’t even mention that. Is it being rewritten?”

“Yes, we have one of our bests ghosts on it. He’s working with them both right now. Trust me, this will be good.”

“But isn’t one of the twins married to some guy who she was pen pals with? A prison marriage, really? Mac, I can’t do anything with that, and the media will discredit the crap out of her. Didn’t they blow like a few grand on male prostitutes, too?”

“Prisoners get married all the time, Kate. Besides, if it comes out that the parents did this, then no one will care that she’s married. And as for the prostitutes, a good lawyer will blame that on the trauma of sexual abuse.”

“You said the parents, Mac. Do you mean they were both involved?”

Mac nodded, thinking of his own kids. His stomach turned. “Apparently the mother knew what was going on and helped.”

“Jesus. Mac, why didn’t any of this come out during the trial?”

“Too many people were afraid of them, even after they were dead. The Shenkmans knew a lot of people and had a lot of friends—none of them very nice people. I think most of LA figured since the girls confessed, they’d let them serve time, and that would be that. Also, the attorney insists that after the O.J. acquittal, LA desperately needed a conviction. He says he can get the judge, now retired of course, to put in writing that he was pressured to sway this trial one way or another.”

“But Mac, they both got life.”

“True, and if they get this retrial, they could get out in six months or less.”

“When is it releasing?”

“We’re crashing this book in sixty days. They’ll do a round of interviews, and pending a push for a retrial, their attorney has agreed to time his announcement with the release of this book.”

Kate rubbed her forehead.
What the hell was Edward thinking?

Mac’s eyes softened. “Katie, look, I get it, I really do. We go from classy to trashy faster than you can say book returns. We just have to honor Edward’s whims.”

Kate nodded. “I know. I’m just sick of, I don’t know, tabloid publishing. Sometimes I feel like I’m working with Judith Regan.”

Mac laughed. “Be glad you’re not. I had dinner with her once. I’ve never heard so much foul language come out of such a sweet looking face. The woman can’t blink without saying ‘fuck.’”

Kate smiled. “The stories are all true then. I wonder what they’ll say about us someday, Mac?”

He smiled. “Well, they won’t say much about me. I’m just a dusty editor trying to publish some books. But you, Kate, when people talk about you, they’ll say ‘she was that publicist who tried to change publishing.’”

Kate stood up. “Yes, and the footnote to that will be that I became a raging, insufferable alcoholic at the same time.”

Chapter Four

Kate slid the key into the lock and opened the door to her apartment. She was exhausted. It had been a long day full of meetings—not to mention starting at the crack of dawn to drug up an author. All in a day’s work.

“Hi Kate,” Grace smiled from the couch. “I was going to wait for you in the hallway, but there’s no heat. Your landlord is cheap. I hope it’s okay that I let myself in.”

Kate quietly shut the door behind her; she should have expected this. She’d gone MIA on Grace for over a week now.

“I almost sent you a text, and you know how I hate those. If I had, you would have known that Armageddon was upon us and it was time to return my many phone calls and emails. By the way, you’re out of Oreos.”

Kate shrugged out of her coat and set down her purse and briefcase. “Hi, Gracie. Sorry, I’ve been caught up in work.”

Her friend continued to smile, though her tone didn’t support it. Grace was clearly annoyed. “No you haven’t. You’ve been caught up in Mac and afraid to tell me that you’re still seeing him.”

There was no fooling Grace.

Kate inhaled deeply and sat down beside her friend, “It’s complicated.”

“It always is when they’re married.”

“No, it’s more than that. There was a disaster at work that almost cost Mac his job. I had to help him, and then, well, I just realized I couldn’t leave.” Kate felt ashamed suddenly, now knowing what Grace’s mother had gone through and what Grace must think of her.

“Gracie, look, we had this book. It’s a long story, but it failed horribly even before it was released. I mean it was bad. The author was writing about her massive weight loss and regaining her life, and we found out she was still tipping the scales at over three hundred pounds. Mac nearly got fired over this, and….”

“Kate, stop.” Grace held up her hand. “You can leave; you just don’t want to. There’s a difference. If you’re going to do this, at least be honest with yourself.”

After a long pause Kate finally said, “I don’t want to leave him, Gracie, but I don’t know that I can stay either. Nick’s been calling. I need to tell him something, and I really don’t know what.”

Kate’s eyes clouded over and Grace knew it was too tender a subject to push her too hard. “It’s okay, Kate. It really is. Do you want to know what I think?”

“You already told me, Grace, and I respect that.”

Grace shook her head, dozens of black curls bouncing around her face. “No, that’s what I felt when I thought you could leave. Let me tell you what I think now.”

Kate wasn’t sure she wanted to hear this; it had been a long day dealing with Chelsea and the Shenkman twins. She’d even turned down dinner with Mac. All she wanted was a bath and a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.

Grace took in a deep breath. She knew if she pushed too hard, she’d send Kate into a tailspin. “I will take your lack of response to mean you want to hear my brilliant thoughts, so here goes. I think you should play this out. If you don’t, you’ll always wonder, and you’ll end up resenting me for pushing you. So, do it—love this man until you know you can’t love him anymore. When you’re ready for that phase, I’ll be here for you.”

Kate wasn’t sure what to say. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I’ve made bad decisions when it comes to men—you know that all too well. I may not be the best judge of right and wrong. Look, I know I badgered you about him. He’s married, yadda yadda, I know it, you know it, he knows it. But I also know you. You have to follow something until the end, and so you will. As for Nick, I think he’s perfect for you, but you don’t. So there you have it.”

“It’s not that I don’t care for Nick,” Kate offered. “I just don’t want to hurt him, and until I know where Mac and I are going…” Her words trailed off. “Until I play this out,” she said—rephrasing her statement, “I can’t let Nick get caught in the middle of my mess.”

Grace leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “That’s my Katie. Good for you. Don’t string someone like Nick along, but if I were you, I wouldn’t cut him off. He could be a good friend and someday, when this ends with Mac, well, you never know.”

Kate bit her bottom lip. Grace was right, not
if
but
when
. When it ended. Her heart felt heavy with the unspoken goodbyes that were an eventual part of their relationship.

Grace pushed a strand of chestnut hair off of her friend’s shoulder. “Until then, enjoy this wonderful and dangerously handsome man, because, for what it’s worth, I do think he loves you, too.”

“You do?” Kate could feel her heart skip.

Grace hugged her. “I do, Katie, but remember he has to have the courage to go, and that’s not something you should count on.”

“I know.”

Grace pulled back, locking eyes with her friend. “I’ll be here when you need me. No matter what.”

“I love you, Grace.” Kate’s eyes filled with tears. How did she get so lucky to have such a good friend?

“And I love you, Kate. Now let’s go eat. I’m starving and all of this understanding friend stuff is going to cost you dinner.”

Kate chuckled, “You bet, but for dessert I have a pint of ice cream in the fridge that’s calling our names.”

…

Kate dropped into bed as soon as she got home; the day had exhausted her. When her phone rang, she glanced at the caller ID. It was Mac.

“Hey…”

“You sound tired. Rough day, wasn’t it?”

The sound of his voice sent an unmistakable shiver down her spine and heightened her senses. His voice was thick and deep, and comforting.

“Yeah, you could say that. Grace was here when I got home, too.”

Mac was silent for a moment, “How did that go?” Kate had confided in him that she’d been avoiding Grace, but kept her friend’s secret about her mother’s disastrous love affair with a married politician.

“It was good, actually. We talked, had Korean food—you know—girl stuff.”

“Did she try to talk you into leaving me?”

“She’s never been a fan of us dating, or whatever this is we’re doing.”

“Dating.” Mac said firmly, then cleared his throat. “Listen, Katie, can we have dinner tomorrow?”

Kate pushed herself up on her pillow. “Sounds serious, Mac. Is that why you’re calling?”

She could almost feel Mac’s sexy smile and sensual, magnetic pull through the phone. “It’s because I miss the sound of your voice. Plus, I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise, Mac? Please tell me it’s not work-related.”

“Not even close.”

“Good,” she sighed into the phone, “then you’re on for dinner.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Katie. Sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight, Mac.” Kate clicked off and lay in bed wondering what Mac was up to. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought of his voice, the sweet feel of his hand resting on the curve of her back. Warmth spread through her body, which lulled her into a deep sleep.