Dial L for Loser
professional, Merri-Lee made no mention of Hadley and focused all of her attention on Abby as if she had been the only guest all along.
    Massie lifted her Motorola and snapped a picture of the sauce-covered actress as she ran by.
    “May I?” Rupert plucked the phone from her hand.
    “Sure.” Massie nudged Claire, who immediately took three shots of her grinning next to the red-faced director while he screamed, “What the bloody ’ell do I do now?” into her crystal-covered Motorola.
    “Who is responsible for this?” He shouted with such force that a gob of spit landed on the mouthpiece. “Find me that person! I want that person!”
    Dylan slowly backed away, then took off toward the rear exit.
    Seconds later, Rupert stormed out of the studio, taking Massie’s beloved phone with him.

T HE B LOCK E STATE
    M ASSIE’S B EDROOM
    Friday, March 13th
    7:25 P.M.
    “Look at all these flowers.” Alicia tightened her black satin robe as she bent over a Jonathan Adler vase and sniffed an enormous bouquet of pink roses. “Are you sick or something?”
    Massie rolled down the waistband on her white satin pajama bottoms. “My public misses me. Can you blame them?”
    “You’re like a celebrity.” Claire plugged her Elph into Massie’s computer. One by one, pictures from their morning at
The Daily Grind
appeared on-screen.
    “Today Westchester, tomorrow the world!” Massie stroked Bean as she mentally marked the pictures she was going to include in her first-ever Pretty Committee newsletter. The mass e-mail would be the most effective way to stay in the hearts and minds of the wannabes at OCD, now that daily face time was no longer an option.
    “I like the one of us outside Village Studios, the shot of me and Hadley, the shot of me and Rupert. That’s probably it. The rest are too dark.” Massie shook her new bottle of Naughty Navy nail polish, wishing Abby and Hadley could see her now.
    Flower arrangements and gift baskets with cards begging for her speedy return to OCD filled the nook by her bay window. Balloons were tied to the bedposts, and a menagerie of “Missing You” stuffed animals added a warm splash of color to elegant white furniture. Even without the gifts, the walk-in closet, forty-two-inch flat-screen TV, marble bathroom, and life-size mannequins of her and Bean would have rivaled the amenities available in the finest hotel suites in the world. And maybe, just maybe, if Abby and Hadley could have seen all this they would have been a little less interested in Claire and a lot more interested in her.
    “Is that it?” Claire asked as she dragged the three shots onto the newsletter Massie had drafted earlier that afternoon.
    “I guess.” Massie pouted. “I wish there were better shots of you guys.”
    “I know,” Alicia whined.
    “At least you’re in the picture in front of the studio,” Claire said. “I’m not in any of them.”
    “I gave you photo credit.” Massie pointed at the screen. “See?”
    Claire nodded as she examined her microscopic shout-out at the bottom of the page.
    THE PRETTY COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER
    Hey! Thanks times ten for the ah-dorable gifts. We heart them all, especially the you-know-what from you-know-who.
    Everyone has been calling and e-mailing asking what we’ve been up to. So here’s a summary of our week.
    Monday: Hung out with Abby Boyd, Hadley Durk, and Rupert Mann (who borrowed my phone and never gave it back) on the set of
The Daily Grind
. Best time! (See pictures below.) The fight was in-sane. You ahb-viously read about it by now. OMG!
    Tuesday: Spent most of the day with Hadley. She was so upset about Gabor. Sorry, I pinky-swore I wouldn’t say more than that.
    Wednesday: Shopped in NYC with Abby, Alicia, Kristen, Dylan, and Claire. Mostly Fifth Ave. Did you know that Abby brings her iPod to stores so they can play her favorite songs while she shops? I’ll ask her if I can forward the playlist. It was awesome. We were dancing all day.
    Thursday: Spa day

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