Scrambled Babies (21 page)

Who was the first person who came to mind?  Paeton McPhilomy!  Surprise, surprise!  But Paeton’s words echoed in his mind, “separate lives, separate worlds.”  They hadn’t spoken much on the plane trip back to L.A.  She was definitely drifting quietly downstream away from him and Ryan. 

Besides, she would probably think a house with a rabbit on the front door was childish.  Still, it certainly was un-jock-like.  She would have to admit that. 

Paeton and her jock-block!  There must be some way to overcome it.  Even though she had given him hell verbally, she certainly seemed to respond the times they touched.  Steve didn’t think he was imagining it. 

He would.  He would definitely call her when he got to the hotel.

But what if she didn’t have any time for him?  He hated the idea of being rejected.  He certainly wasn’t used to it. 

Naw!  Forget it, Steve.  Forget Paeton McPhilomy.  Although the rest of your future looks bright, like it or not, get used to a future without that bewitching mouth!

Chapter 8

Paeton was on the phone the minute she reached her suite, her jaws tight in anger.

“Mr. Hollister’s office, may I help you?”

“Megan, this is Paeton.  I really need to talk to Fred—right now!”

“Yes, Paeton.  Fred wants to talk to you too.”  Paeton flinched at the foreboding tone in Megan’s voice.

“Is something wrong?”  Paeton found herself trading tight jaws for wet palms.

There was an unnerving silence at Megan’s end.  “Uh, I’ll get Fred on the line.”

The home of her dreams had been ripped from her only moments ago.  Now what? 

“Paeton?”  Fred interrupted her thoughts.  “I’m sorry, baby, but it’s out!”  Fred sounded dismally somber.  He sounded as if he had voiced “We’ve picked out lilies for your casket piece!”

“What’s out?”  She had never heard Fred so grim. 

“Front page. 
In Your Face
.  You two look and sound pretty ludicrous.”

“Oh, my god!”  The same horrible helpless feeling that had enveloped her when she first uncovered Ryan’s manhood came crashing back!  Her whole body felt numb, useless.  Steve’s purchase of the Alice house seemed suddenly unimportant.

Fred continued with the crushing news.  “The whole story.  How you mixed up the kids at the airport.  How, just to preserve your careers, neither of you reported the kidnapping to the authorities.  And they used the word ‘kidnapping.’  The photo of you two pulling off your disguises is really humorous if the story weren’t so damning.  Christ, they even have your conversation at the airport!”

“They had us bugged?”

“No, electronic listening devices, Paeton.  It’s the twenty-first century.”  Fred now sounded a little impatient.

Paeton talked through her cotton mouth.  “But how—?”  Then she gasped at the image that bolted to her mind—lavender shoelaces!  How could she not have made the connection?  Steedly Black, lying under that newspaper.  Hidden camera, hidden listening devices!  How could she and Steve have been so unobservant?  They had been failures at checking the “zones” after all.

“Don’t worry, I’m already talking to our publicist trying to figure a way to respond.  I’ve been getting calls all morning.”  Fred continued to sound grim.

“How about our lawyer?”  Paeton was looking for some good news.  “Can’t we sue the pants off them for invasion of privacy?”

“The big problem is you’re both celebrities.  That means you’re newsworthy.  You can’t sue for invasion of privacy if you’re what the law calls newsworthy.  I’m working on every angle I can, Paeton, believe me.  Have you spoken to Kaselman lately?  You two need to work together on this.” 

Paeton knew Fred didn’t realize how touchy a subject Kaselman had recently become.  The scene from a few minutes ago blazed through Paeton’s mind.  “Yes, I have.  And that’s why I called you.  I have another problem.  My Alice house—” and she fought back the tears in her voice, “my Alice house has been bought by that—that snake!”

“What snake?”

“Steve Kaselman, that’s what snake!”  Paeton was livid.  Her body came alive again.

“Kaselman bought that house?  That’s not possible!” Fred sputtered.

“You heard me.  They’re both snakes—Thryce and Mr. Mom!  That son of a b—” and she saw Madison listening, “no good, rotten—I’m so mad and so heartbroken, Fred. I’m at a loss to—”

“Paeton.  I’m so sorry.  I can’t imagine how that could have happened.  That house was on the market for—”  Fred now sounded glum as well as grim.  “I know you’re mad at me because you trusted me.  It’s that—”

Paeton knew she shouldn’t be mad at Fred.  He had no control over those two weasels.  Now she had three weasels in her life—Kaselman, Thryce, and Black!  Until JFK there were none.  Paeton longed for her life before the ill-fated gaze.  How could so much havoc be born from something so innocuous on its face?

“I’m not mad at you, Fred.  I know you thought the house was secure.  That totally goes to show you what my life has become.  I have people waiting at airport terminals to sabotage me.  And now you want me to work with a person who, simply to spite me, bought the house I loved?”

“Bought it to spite you?  How do you know that?  Did you tell him you were buying that house?”

Paeton hesitated.  “Not exactly.”  Then hurrying to justify her accusation, “I did say I was buying a home in Beverly Hills.”

Paeton heard Fred make a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding grunt.  Then he said, “You have to admit, Paeton, that’s not enough to bring in a guilty-of-spitefulness verdict.  And besides, what has he got to be spiteful about?  I thought you two were back to lives without each other now.”

Paeton ignored the real question.  “It’s a woman’s house, for heaven’s sake!  How could a former all-American quarterback buy a house with rabbits and Mad Hatters and heart-shaped—I can’t understand it.”

“I think you have to agree with me that he must have bought the house for some other reason than to spite you.”

“So you’re telling me Kaselman and I apparently like the same dog house.”  She heard Fred laugh.  “Fred, how can you laugh at a time like this?  I have to find another home now.  And there will never be another Alice house.” 

“Sorry, Paeton.  I’ll look into a new real estate agent to find another house.  But our immediate concern is your future career.  I know you loved that house, but we’ll have to worry about that later.”

“There is no ‘another house,’ Fred.” 

“I know, I know, Paeton.  Bryce probably was unethical, but no sense in trying to sue him.  That’s the lousy real estate business.  Pissing contests.  I didn’t dream anyone else would want that house.”

“It was a beautiful house, Fred!  I fell in love with that house!  I—”  She could feel the swell of pain and outrage rising again.  “Fred, I have to hang up.”

“Yeah, me too.  Try to be positive.  I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks, Fred.  I don’t blame you.  Oh, before you go, did Christian call or anything?  I mean, I still have a contract to write the screenplay, right?  This baby-switch splash won’t kill my screenplay-writing career, will it?”

“No, I haven’t heard from Christian yet.”

“Yet?  Do you expect to hear from him?”  Paeton felt her spirits sinking lower and lower.  How much more could go wrong?

“Well, I don’t know, Paeton.  This is an embarrassment.  Christian is a businessman.  He will assess the possible effect of the story on the box office.  But it’s too early to assess anything.  Everything depends on how you and Kaselman survive this public scandal.”

“Public scandal?  That’s what this is?  Wow!”  Paeton was reaching for her reserves.  She was hurt, angry, and feeling sick to her stomach.  But that didn’t mean she was lying down in defeat.  Only once in her life had she ever given up on something: that time after the six years of trying to have a baby.  Otherwise, Paeton McPhilomy never quit! 

Her fighting instinct began to build.  Bring on all the weasels:  Bryce Thryce, Steve Kaselman, Steedly Black.  And all the non-weasels:  Christian, Fred, her angry public!  All of them!  She would show everyone the mettle Paeton McPhilomy was made of!

“I’m sorry, Paeton.  Listen, get a copy of
In Your Face.
 Read the story.  Call me with any ideas.  We’ll get things straightened around.  Not to worry.”  Fred’s voice still rang doomsday.

“Right!  Not to worry.  But I get the distinct feeling from your voice, Fred, that you’re watching my hopes of any kind of future for my career go up in smoke.  You sound as if my career may have come to an abrupt and ugly conclusion.” 

“Well, this is serious, kid.”

“Then don’t feed me platitudes!  If it’s serious, don’t tell me everything will be all right as if I’m ten years old!  I’m angry and upset, but I’m not folding up my tent and sneaking away into the night.  I’m a fighter, Fred, you know that.”

“Of course, Paeton.  Sorry.  Good, good.  We’ll meet this thing head on.  Maybe when we join forces with Kaselman, we—”

“Join forces with Steve Kaselman?  Are you kidding?  He fights his own battles!  I’ll have nothing more to do with that underhanded house-stealer!”  Fred didn’t respond.  “Fred?  What are you thinking?”

“Paeton, face it.  The hard truth is you have everything to do with Steve Kaselman.”

“I do?”  What Paeton couldn’t understand was why some inner voice was whispering that in spite of everything she believed about Kaselman’s motive for buying the house, she fancied the sound of Fred’s words.  “I hate that s.o.b.!  I want nothing to do with him!”

“Paeton, don’t be unreasonable.  You just said you weren’t a child.  Well, you’re acting like one now.  You two must team up to beat this thing.  You both have to tell the same story.  Maybe have a press conference together.  The fact is you two are inextricably entangled.”

“That’s the way it is, huh?  I’m forced to, uh, work with Steve Kaselman
.”  If I have to work with him, is there anything good about him besides his eyes?  And his touch?
  The truth was she wasn’t sure.  But the truth was she certainly wanted there to be.

“I’m afraid so, Paeton.  Listen, I’m wanted on the other line.  Get the article.  Read it and call me.  Bye, kid.”

“Bye, Fred.”  Paeton hung up the phone pensively
.  Me and Kaselman, huh?  Okay!  But after we beat this nonsense, he’s out of my life for good!  Back to separate lives, separate worlds.
 Why was she having so much trouble convincing herself? 

As Paeton hung up, she contemplated her next move.  She had lost her new home.  She was the laughingstock of the country as a mother.  She had started over on her screenplay.  She decided to resolve the house-stealing enigma first.

She couldn’t dispel her belief that somehow Steve Kaselman had bought the Alice house to spite her.  That he did it to show her how un-jock he could be, he bought a house of whimsy that no self-respecting all-American quarterback would ever set foot in, much less own!