door and said, “Let’s go to the patio.”
They settled on the same two patio chairs they had used a few days ago.
Lauren decided to get right to the point. “I just had an interesting call from a blogger for Hollywood Affairs . He found a source who swears you spent the night with a fellow actress in a hotel in Macon.”
Grace gripped the armrests of her chair with both hands, but her carefully schooled features gave nothing away.
“He says you paid with a credit card registered to your birth name,” Lauren added and watched Grace’s face for any kind of reaction.
Grace stared out over the city without saying anything. After a few moments, she got up and walked toward the edge of the pool. She dipped the toes of one sandaled foot into the water as if to buy herself time to think. “What do we do now?”
Lauren followed her and stood next to her so that she could see her face. “The first thing you need to do is to stop lying to me. You can’t be caught lying. Not to the media and certainly not to me.”
“I’m not lying,” Grace said, still staring down into the rippling water.
The impulse to shove Grace into the pool gripped Lauren. Maybe that would wake her up. But, of course, she couldn’t do that. “You sure as hell didn’t tell me the truth either. What happened with Jill Corrigan? It was Jill with you in that hotel, wasn’t it?”
Stan hadn’t mentioned the other actress’s name, but he’d implied that the Tinseltown Talk article was true.
“That’s none of your business,” Grace said, her voice carefully controlled, no anger leaking through.
“None of my business?” Lauren shook her head. “Your public image is my responsibility. If you don’t give me the information I need to do my job, I can’t keep working with you.”
Slowly, Grace turned toward her. “You want to drop me as a client?”
“No. I don’t want to.” God knows, Marlene would kill her if she did. “But I will if you constantly keep me in the dark. We’ve been broadsided by this because you didn’t trust me.”
“How can I trust you? I hardly know you.” Grace’s Hollywood mask wavered a little. Her eyes, bluer than the water of the pool, reflected so much vulnerability that Lauren was speechless for a few moments.
Lauren understood. There were no friends and no secrets in the showbiz jungle. If you trusted someone with your secrets, it was entirely possible that you could read about it in the tabloids the very next day. “I know you don’t. But you know my reputation. I want to make partner or even run my own PR firm one day. What do you think would happen if I broke the confidentiality clause in my contract?”
“No one would ever hire you again,” Grace said.
“Exactly. I might not be an actress, but image is everything in my profession too. If I did anything that harmed my reputation, it’d be game over for me. So it’s in my own best interest to protect your secrets.”
Grace sighed. “I believe you, but…it’s not my secret to tell.”
Lauren studied her. She’s protecting someone. One person came to mind immediately. Jill Corrigan. “Is Jill gay?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Her stubborn refusal to tell her the truth made Lauren grit her teeth, but at the same time, she couldn’t help admiring her loyalty. In Hollywood, that was rarer than a fifty-carat diamond. “Grace, I need the facts so I can put together a strategy for how to deal with the media.”
“No, I mean, I can’t tell you because I don’t know. I don’t think she is, but we never talked about it. All you and everyone else need to know is that we’re not having an affair.” Grace turned abruptly and walked back to the patio table.
Again, Lauren followed her, sensing there was something Grace wasn’t telling her. They sat facing each other.
“That won’t be enough for the media,” Lauren said. “We have to give them something, or they’ll keep digging. If you don’t talk, they will find someone who
They settled on the same two patio chairs they had used a few days ago.
Lauren decided to get right to the point. “I just had an interesting call from a blogger for Hollywood Affairs . He found a source who swears you spent the night with a fellow actress in a hotel in Macon.”
Grace gripped the armrests of her chair with both hands, but her carefully schooled features gave nothing away.
“He says you paid with a credit card registered to your birth name,” Lauren added and watched Grace’s face for any kind of reaction.
Grace stared out over the city without saying anything. After a few moments, she got up and walked toward the edge of the pool. She dipped the toes of one sandaled foot into the water as if to buy herself time to think. “What do we do now?”
Lauren followed her and stood next to her so that she could see her face. “The first thing you need to do is to stop lying to me. You can’t be caught lying. Not to the media and certainly not to me.”
“I’m not lying,” Grace said, still staring down into the rippling water.
The impulse to shove Grace into the pool gripped Lauren. Maybe that would wake her up. But, of course, she couldn’t do that. “You sure as hell didn’t tell me the truth either. What happened with Jill Corrigan? It was Jill with you in that hotel, wasn’t it?”
Stan hadn’t mentioned the other actress’s name, but he’d implied that the Tinseltown Talk article was true.
“That’s none of your business,” Grace said, her voice carefully controlled, no anger leaking through.
“None of my business?” Lauren shook her head. “Your public image is my responsibility. If you don’t give me the information I need to do my job, I can’t keep working with you.”
Slowly, Grace turned toward her. “You want to drop me as a client?”
“No. I don’t want to.” God knows, Marlene would kill her if she did. “But I will if you constantly keep me in the dark. We’ve been broadsided by this because you didn’t trust me.”
“How can I trust you? I hardly know you.” Grace’s Hollywood mask wavered a little. Her eyes, bluer than the water of the pool, reflected so much vulnerability that Lauren was speechless for a few moments.
Lauren understood. There were no friends and no secrets in the showbiz jungle. If you trusted someone with your secrets, it was entirely possible that you could read about it in the tabloids the very next day. “I know you don’t. But you know my reputation. I want to make partner or even run my own PR firm one day. What do you think would happen if I broke the confidentiality clause in my contract?”
“No one would ever hire you again,” Grace said.
“Exactly. I might not be an actress, but image is everything in my profession too. If I did anything that harmed my reputation, it’d be game over for me. So it’s in my own best interest to protect your secrets.”
Grace sighed. “I believe you, but…it’s not my secret to tell.”
Lauren studied her. She’s protecting someone. One person came to mind immediately. Jill Corrigan. “Is Jill gay?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Her stubborn refusal to tell her the truth made Lauren grit her teeth, but at the same time, she couldn’t help admiring her loyalty. In Hollywood, that was rarer than a fifty-carat diamond. “Grace, I need the facts so I can put together a strategy for how to deal with the media.”
“No, I mean, I can’t tell you because I don’t know. I don’t think she is, but we never talked about it. All you and everyone else need to know is that we’re not having an affair.” Grace turned abruptly and walked back to the patio table.
Again, Lauren followed her, sensing there was something Grace wasn’t telling her. They sat facing each other.
“That won’t be enough for the media,” Lauren said. “We have to give them something, or they’ll keep digging. If you don’t talk, they will find someone who
Similar Books
