Spin Control (13 page)

"I'm pretty sheltered at work, believe it or not"

"Come on, isn't the makeup artist the one who gets
all the dish on movie sets and leaks to the press?"

"Hey, why am I the one being grilled here? He's your
client."

"Fortunately, I haven't had to see him the last two
weeks. Had some other stuff I had to spin for a CFO at
a major company."

"Oh, I love it when you talk work. So cryptic, so
vague."

"Only about the confidential stuff. I really could care
less about this Devin thing."

Anna stopped dead in her tracks and gave me a
knowing look.

I 'fessed up. "Who am I kidding? It's all I can think
about, how to get Devin to clean up his act so I can get
on with my life. You wanna talk about vague and cryptic? Well, there you go"

"When do you see him next?"

"There's a charity golf tournament this weekend on
Long Island."

"It wouldn't be Heart Links, would it?"

"Why yes, it would"

"I think Miranda's going to be on one of the teams.
She actually enjoys the charity stuff."

I rolled my eyes. "How convenient. Looks like I'll
get to play buffer once again between Miranda and
Devin. If he keeps showing up like this, she's going to
need a restraining order against him."

Anna smiled. "Not the kind of publicity you're going
for, I imagine?"

"Are you sure you don't want to go in my stead?" I
pleaded with Anna. "I can pretty much guarantee there
will be fireworks"

Apparently I was now the one picking up speed, as
Anna had to jog a few paces to keep up with me. "Man,
this topic sure got you hot under the collar. Look at you,
chastising me earlier for walking too fast"

"I obviously have some steam to burn off."

"At least you're not running away from your problems. You're just walking really fast"

"Har, bar. What, exactly, do you think I can do to
make this situation better?"

"Hey, you're the doer in this friendship. I make suggestions, you make it happen."

6411m just tired of my head spinning all the time. Some
people thrive on the drama" I looked over at Anna.

She put a hand to her chest. "Moi?"

"You know what I mean. You're quite enjoying this
Andrew-Tommy situation. If that were me, I would just
give up."

"Yes, and why do you give up so easily?" Anna demanded.

I grabbed the towel that had been tucked inside the
hip of my red workout pants and dabbed the back of my
neck. "I wouldn't say I'm giving up. I just want things
to be simple."

"Let's see" Anna stopped and authoritatively put her
fist on her hip. "You're a publicist for your exboyfriend who keeps trying to paw the most popular
actress in Hollywood, all the while trying to deny your
feelings for the perfect guy. I'd say you passed simple a
long time ago, friend."
"

«Jenna, it's so great to see you" And I wasn't putting on my PR personality; I really was glad to see a
friendly face.

"It's been so long. Is Gwen still her neurotic self?"
Jenna worked at Burton Relations three years ago and
had left for a job offer as a weekend anchor in Buffalo.

"Even more so. Some people slow down with age,
but not her. It's not even hyperactivity, really. I can't
describe it. I just live it."

"I can't believe you're still working for her." Jenna
shook her head, her perfectly coifed blond hair barely
moving.

I could only shrug. Why was I still working for
Gwen? Sure, I was making decent money and moving
up the ranks quite nicely, but was there more than this?
Or had I been so tainted by the Devin project that I
couldn't tell right from wrong?

"Hello, where did you go?" Jenna teased me, waving
her hand in front of my eyes.

"Just got lost in thought. So, what brings you back
from Buffalo?"

"Oh, some of the Buffalo Bills are participating in
this golf tournament, so I jumped at the chance to come
back to the city-well, technically, we're not in the city
now, but that's where I'm staying."

"Do you miss it?" I hadn't realized how much a part
of the New York fabric I had become; I couldn't imagine going back to a small town.

"I did at first. Ooh, was I miserable. I lived in a pretty
quiet-and by that I mean boring-neighborhood, and
I thought, `I left a somewhat decent job in the city I
loved for a decent job in a city I can't stand?' But after
about six months, I found my niche, and I couldn't
imagine leaving. And you'd be surprised by the amount
of good-looking men there. And they don't have this
pretentious `I live in the city and am important' thing
going on."

"That must be refreshing."

"It is. I come back here and see the lights, the glamour, just the energy, and I really love being in Manhattan. But every time I get back to Buffalo, I'm glad to be
home. I never thought I would be that girl."

"Sometimes we're put into situations that we'd never
imagined," I said as I looked at Devin, who was chumming it up with the other golfers on his team. He wore
a Titleist cap, navy-blue polo shirt, and khakis.

Jenna followed my gaze. "Say, isn't that Devin Underhill? I haven't heard much about him lately"

"Well, you are in Buffalo"

"Hey, I'm still connected!" Jenna joked. "Just because I moved doesn't mean I don't live vicariously
through the New York gossip scene. Yeah, for a while
there, Devin seemed to be all over the map with the
women. But he seems to be getting a grasp on things, or
something like that"

I smiled, "I must be doing my job then."

Jenna stepped back. "No way, he's your client?"

"Yep. We're doing some work for him and the Hotel
Bella chain. I suppose you wouldn't be interested in doing an interview with him?" It was worth a shot, at
least, to get him some upstate publicity.

"I don't know, Kate. I'm not sure it would really resonate with our viewers." She looked more closely at
where he was standing. "On the other hand, I do see
that he's on a team with one of Bills, so maybe that's
my angle. I could never say no to a friend."

"And as your friend, I should warn you that Devin
might try to hit on you, so be on guard. Remember, this
is your friend speaking, not his PR lackey"

"Thanks for the warning," she smiled. "I think I'll be
able to hold my own"

"That's what I thought, but then-"

Jenna tilted her head. "Then what?"

Woops. I almost slipped about Devin and I dating. I
must not get too lax, even with good friends who happen to be in the media and could make or break his personality makeover. "Oh, I was just going to say that
he's a charmer, that's all," I covered.

I walked over to Devin and tapped him on the shoul der. "Sorry to interrupt, but there's an affiliate here
from Buffalo who'd like to interview you about your
expectations for the tournament today"

He excused himself from the group of men, who
were mingling while waiting to golf their next hole.
"Buffalo, eh? I've officially made it."

"Don't be a jerk. This is an old friend of mine who
happens to be doing a favor for us. And you're playing
with one of the Buffalo Bills, so try to act like you
know what's going on."

"Lee Evans? Yeah, I know who he is. You're so persnickety."

"You call it persnickety, I call it organized. Thank
you for doing this," I said curtly.

We walked over to Jenna and I did the formal introductions. I stood back while Jenna's cameraman made
adjustments and she and Devin did some small talk before the interview. It seemed innocuous; maybe Devin
could talk to a beautiful woman without clubbing her
over the head and dragging her back to his cave.

"Rolling in three, two, one," the cameraman announced.

"Devin, could you tell us a bit about why you're in
this tournament to help prevent heart disease?" Jenna
asked off-camera.

"I was just talking to Lee Evans about how I had
lost my mother to a heart attack, so it was good for me
to be out here to help the cause. And, it can't hurt to
get a head start on the golf season," he said with a
laugh, trying to lighten up the mood from his previous
comment.

There was some more idle commentary between the
two of them before the camera stopped rolling and they
parted ways with a firm handshake. How had I forgotten that his mom, Vivian Underhill, had died of a heart
attack ten years ago? It was all over the news, but it was
also before my time in New York-and my time with
Devin. He never once brought her up, never had any
pictures of her on display. I had to believe that what he
said to Jenna was more than just a sound bite.

Jenna grabbed my elbow. "Listen, Kate, I have to
chase down some other players. It was so good to see
you. Thanks for recommending the Devin interview. I
was skeptical at first, but that stuff about his mom will
really resonate with any audience. And don't worry, he
was a perfect gentleman"

"Thank you for agreeing to do the interview," I said
blankly, my mind still on Devin. "Take care of yourself."

I started walking toward Devin, who had returned to
his teammates. But I immediately stopped, wondering
what good it would even do to bring up his mom. It was
probably enough for him to have even talked about her,
so why salt the wound?

"You look lost in thought" Michael had appeared
beside me.

"Nah, I always look like that."

Michael smiled in acknowledgment. "You're right,
you kind of do"

"Did you know that Devin's mom died of a heart attack? I can't believe I didn't make the connection to
that and this tournament"

"Yeah, last week he said this is the one charity event he's always certain to do every year. All the other stuff
we're asking him to do is just fluff in his mind."

"Well, he gave a great interview to one of the Buffalo
stations." Michael opened his mouth to say something,
but I put my hand up. "Before you say anything, I think
we should try to get a copy and get some of the stations
to run it here."

"Can't hurt, I guess."

"So, where did you disappear to?"

"I was watching Miranda golf a few holes. I basically taught her how to play while I was still living in
California. So I was just following her around, being
half cheerleader, half coach."

I envisioned her learning to golf and flirtatiously
saying, "Michael, I just can't just seem to get it right!"
And he would walk up behind her, reach around her
taut abdomen, and put his hands on top of hers showing
her how to swing. Back and forth, back and forth, like a
pendulum. Ugh, why did I care?

"Do you golf?" Michael jolted me back to the present.

"Not well, and not often. You know where most of
my golf knowledge comes from? That Golden Tee arcade game. How pathetic is that"

Michael blinked. "Not pathetic in the least. You're
something else"

"Why, because I'm addicted to arcade games?"

"No, it's just that-"

But he didn't get to finish his thought, as Miranda
came bounding toward us. She was wearing braids, a
white visor, a white blouse, a pink sweater vest, and
white capris. "I got a hole in one on the 18th!" She leapt in pure joy and embraced Michael. She broke
away from Michael and then hugged me with the same
fervor. "I haven't seen you all day, Kate. How have you
been?" She backed away and looked me up and down.
"As always, you look so cute!"

I wore baby blue cropped pants with a flair at the bottom, black wedged, open-toe sandals, and a white,
long-sleeved blouse with a blue tie around the waist.
I'll admit, I bought the outfit for today's tournament. A
little retail therapy at H & M last night certainly helped
calm the nerves.

"Miranda, have I told you lately how good you are
for the ego?"

"She means what she says," Michael directed toward me.

Miranda shot him a look. "Kate, I'm dying of thirst.
Want to go back to the clubhouse and get a soft drink?"

"That sounds good. Michael, will you keep an eye
out for Devin?"

"Of course. You and Miranda have fun. I might even
try to talk to some of these press hounds to get a good
shot of Devin on the golf course"

"Thanks. We'll be back soon"

It took Miranda and me twenty minutes for what
should have been a two-minute walk, but she had to stop
every three feet to sign autographs. And she did it all
happily. I couldn't blame Devin and Michael for wanting to be in her presence all the time; it was infectious.

We finally made it to the clubhouse. "I'll take a
Coke," Miranda ordered politely from the bar in the
dining room. She turned on her stool. "How 'bout you?"

"I'll take a Coke as well"

"That a girl, who needs that diet soda crap."

"There are some things I won't compromise on, and
delicious, sugary soda is one."

"Funny, regular soda is something I won't give up,
either. You order a Coke in L.A., and they look at you
like, `Did you mean wheat grass instead?"'