The Fame Game (8 page)

Jake bought them both drinks and they headed back to their table, where they were joined by another handsome, dark-haired guy named Drake (really), who could have been—but wasn’t—Jake’s brother. Drake kissed Carmen and shook Jake’s hand. “Bro,” he said, “haven’t seen you since that roast of whatshisname. How’s it going?”

Drake settled in and Carmen once again introduced Kate, who smiled mildly, not expecting him to give her the time of day.

“Kate’s my new friend,” Carmen said. “She’s an amazing singer. You guys have to see her.”

“Cool,” Drake said. “By the way, I finally saw
The Long and Winding Road
. You were awesome.”

And that was how it went for an hour: handsome but interchangeable guys rotating through their booth to greet Carmen and flirt with her, and Carmen happily flirting back. She kept trying to include Kate in the conversation, but she was the only one who seemed to care what Kate had to say. Eventually, bored of being the third (or fifth or sixth or whatever) wheel, Kate got up and went to find fresh air.

Toward the back of the bar was a patio area, which was uncrowded and quiet. White lights twinkled in the jacaranda trees, and she thought she heard the murmur of a fountain somewhere. She breathed deeply, enjoying the solitude. The bass from the club registered with a dull thump behind her. She finished her drink and set the glass down in a planter filled with succulents.

“They like it better when you give them a bit of the sauce,” said a voice behind her in a charming accent.

She whirled around, mortified at being caught hiding her empty in a plant. “Uh—well—” She cleared her throat. There was yet another handsome dark-haired guy standing there. Seriously, was there a special on them tonight? “I was just setting it there for a minute.”

He laughed and his white teeth flashed in the darkness. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell the manager. But it does look like you could use another drink,” he said.

She shrugged. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Don’t look so thrilled to be here,” he said, reaching out and giving her shoulder a friendly little poke.

She took a step back, unnerved to be poked by someone she’d never met. “Do I know you?” she asked.

He threw back his head and laughed for what seemed like a full minute. When he was done he said, “Maybe you don’t need another drink.”

“Why?” she asked, puzzled.

“I met you ten minutes ago. We were sitting at a table together? You know, with Carmen?”

Kate flushed a deep red and was glad it would be too dark for this guy, whoever he was, to see that. “Oh my God, I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize—”

“I’m Luke,” he interrupted, holding out a hand for her to shake.

“Oh, right, sure,” Kate said. “I’m—”

“You’re Kate,” he said. “Kate from Columbus.”

“That’s me,” she said softly. She was still mortified.

“Well, Kate from Columbus, you wait one second. I’ll be right back.” He turned and went back into the club, and Kate was free to kick herself repeatedly for her stupidity. Luke was freaking cute—how was it that she didn’t remember him? Was he really so identical to Jake and Drake and Cayden and Jaden?

In a moment, Luke returned, bearing a vodka soda for her and a beer for himself. “Don’t give this one to the plant,” he said, handing it to her.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. Clubs like this aren’t exactly my thing.”

“Mine either,” Luke said. “But a friend of mine promotes this night and he made me promise to come.” He took a sip of his beer. “So what are you doing these days, my old friend Kate? Still in the biz?”

“Pardon?”

“Show business. Acting. Writing. Directing. Make-up . . .”

“Stunts,” Kate heard herself say.

He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“I was Megan Fox’s stunt double in
Transformers
.” She tried to say it with a straight face but she could feel a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “Do you think
she
jumped out of that burning building?”

“You had me going there for a minute,” he said, laughing and toasting her. “You’re an actress.”

“No, definitely not,” Kate answered. “I’m a musician. I mean, trying to be.” She blushed again. “Really I’m a, uh, food services technician.” He smiled at that. “That’s much more accurate to say, because that’s what pays the bills.” For some reason—perhaps because the cameras were gone—it didn’t even occur to her to mention
The Fame Game
. She hadn’t totally adjusted to her new life; she still felt like last month’s Kate. “Are you in ‘the biz’?”

Luke nodded. “Yep. Just like ninety percent of the people inside this ridiculous club. I’m an actor.” He grinned. “Perhaps you’ve seen me in my star turn as Doctor Rose on
Boston General
?” The comic, needling way he said this told Kate, who had never seen
Boston General
, that he wasn’t actually one of its stars.

“I’m not much of a TV person,” she admitted.

“That’s okay,” he said, “I won’t hold it against you. But let me try another one: Did you see me in the bar scene in
Inception
? No? Okay, how about as that young lawyer from a competing firm in
The Good Wife
? No. Okay. Um, I usually don’t like to bring this one up, but since I’m striking out with everything else: Did you see me in that GEICO commercial, the one where the gecko goes to Disneyland?”

“Yes!” squealed Kate. “You were the handsome prince!”

“Guilty as charged,” Luke said, ducking his head modestly.

“Well, you were a very convincing prince,” she said. “I’m sure all the princesses were in love with you.”

“Kate Hayes! There you are!”

Kate looked over to see Carmen standing in the doorway to the patio, smiling tipsily at her. “I’ve been looking at you for forever,” Carm said. “I mean, looking
for
you. I thought you, like, got locked in a bathroom stall or something.” Carmen’s eyes flicked to Luke, who was leaning against a railing, looking relaxed and happy. “Um, I was going to go home. But you look like you’re having fun! So you should stay!”

Kate opened her mouth. She was having fun talking to Luke, it was true, but she was worried that she was reaching her limits of witty banter. What if they ran out of things to say to each other? Would Luke say good night and leave her standing alone on the patio? “No, I should—”

“Oh, stay!” Carmen cried enthusiastically. “Luke can take you home, can’t you?” She glanced over at her friend.

“Of course,” said Luke. “It would be my pleasure.”

“Great! ’Night, you two!” Carmen said, looking pleased with herself. She blew them both kisses and vanished.

Now what?
wondered Kate.

Luke grinned at her. “I guess you’re stuck with me,” he said.

Stuck with Doctor Rose
, she thought.
Every girl should be so lucky.

Chapter 10
More Than Just a Story Arc

Madison watched as her roommate poured a stream of disgusting, sludgy juice into a tall cocktail glass. Gaby had recently started some new juice cleanse that was originally prescribed as a therapy for people diagnosed with cancer. She’d heard it helped reduce bloating, though, and apparently she was on board for anything that promised to help her drop a few pounds.

There was a little left in the blender. “Want some?” Gaby asked, holding it up.

“No thanks,” Madison said. “It looks like raw sewage.”

Gaby frowned as she came over to join Madison in the living room. “It has kelp in it.” She put her feet—in big fuzzy bunny slippers—up on the coffee table. “And spirulina.”

“Still a pass,” Madison said. She leaned back against the custom-made silk cushions. The truth was, she was feeling out of sorts. She’d been blindsided by Sophie’s appearance at the club the other night, and she wasn’t happy about it. She knew that she’d have to grin and bear it, since it was obviously all part of Trevor’s plan. And even she knew her story line wasn’t exactly scintillating so far. Trevor had filmed her going to some events, taking a day trip to Vegas to appear at a Wet Republic pool party, and having a meeting with the woman who runs the Madelyn Wardell Foundation for Girls (her charity, which was still good for a photo op every now and then, and a tax write-off). Not exactly ratings bait. But Sophie was just as concerned with camera time as Madison was, if not more, which meant they were going to be elbowing each other out of the frame, metaphorically if not literally, for the foreseeable future. Maybe Madison could get a cover story out of the return of Poor Little Sophia Parker—
“I just want the best for my little sister!”
After all, Madison was perfectly capable of playing nice. And if Sophie wanted to play dirty, Madison was armed with plenty of stories about what a delinquent she was when they were growing up, and how Madison always came to the rescue.

Trevor had tried to fan the flames of Madison’s rivalry with Carmen, whom Madison admittedly thought was a no-talent silver-spooner. But if Trevor thought she was dumb enough to make an enemy of Carmen Curtis on national television, then he seriously underestimated her. The first move would have to be Carmen’s, and that bitch wasn’t budging.

“What time is it?” Gaby asked, sipping meditatively at her sewage juice.

Madison glanced at her phone. “Almost ten.”

“Oh, I’ve got to get to bed,” Gaby said. “Tomorrow’s my first on-camera interview for
Buzz!
”

“Who are you interviewing?”

“Lacey Hopkins,” Gaby said excitedly. “She just got out of jail.”

“What for this time?” Madison asked. The L.A. County Jail seemed to have a revolving door policy for Lacey Hopkins, a once promising young actress who’d gotten on the path to train wreck and was staying the course.

“I forget. But she was only in there for two days, even though it was supposed to be like twenty. I’m supposed to ask her what she ate and how she slept and if she made any friends and stuff.”

“I’m sure she’s besties with all those people by now,” Madison remarked. “Well, good luck tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Gaby said, padding down the hall to her bedroom. “See you in the morning.”

Madison got up and went to stand by the window. Outside she could see the traffic lights on the street far below changing from green to yellow to red. She reflected briefly on Lacey Hopkins, whose life had seemingly spiraled out of control. Lacey was weak, Madison thought. But
she
wasn’t. No, Madison Parker wasn’t the type to give one ounce of control to anyone, was she? And with that thought in mind, she texted Laurel.

There’s going to be a change in schedule. . . .

Madison slipped into her seat at Barney Greengrass and signaled the waiter to bring her some sparkling water. She was careful to keep her chair in the right position, which had been marked with a piece of neon gaffer tape on the floor; this would ensure the cameras had the perfect angle of her. Madison didn’t have a bad side, of course, but she did have a favorite one, and she made sure the camera guys knew it.

She was early, and she took the time to check her makeup, even though the cameras were rolling. She knew the footage would end up on the editing room floor, since solitary primping was not exactly the drama Trevor craved. She also quickly tweeted what lipstick color she was wearing. She’d started that habit a few months ago, after she did it on a whim one morning and then got retweeted by a bunch of beauty blogs. Her followers went up a lot that day. So now she made sure to give her fans all sorts of info about her look du jour.

Madison wondered, as she slicked another coat of gloss on her lips, how late Sophie would be. (She still couldn’t think of her as Sophia, although she usually remembered to call her that on-camera.) She’d been chronically tardy as a child: to school, to detention, to dinner, whatever. But maybe rehab had worked some miracle and taught her how to pay attention to a watch, Madison thought. Maybe there was some program about the Twelve Steps of Not Being a Rude Bitch.

She smiled to herself. If Sophie was bitchy to her, maybe Madison would use that line on her. See if she thought it was as funny as Madison did. She used to have a sense of humor, that kid, before she got so bitter about being left behind in Armpit Falls. No, she reminded herself. Always take the high road . . . at least while others are watching.

And who knew what sort of mood Sophie would be in today, or what her current game plan would be; besides Sophie’s appearance at Whisper, it had been six months since they’d seen each other. Madison had gotten a few random emails from Sophie, where she talked about embracing her inner sister spirit or something like that, but she hadn’t replied. Madison was going to try to play the benevolent big sister. She was going to express concern, family loyalty, blah, blah, blah.

She glanced up, hoping to catch the waiter’s eye again. But the restaurant was packed, filled with super-agents having lunch meetings and Beverly Hills housewives in too-sheer shirts picking at frisée salads, and the waiter didn’t notice Madison at all. She was all set to get huffy when she saw Sophie coming toward her. Sophie was smiling triumphantly, pulling someone along in her wake.

Madison squinted.
No. Effing. Way.
Her heart began to thrum in her chest.

The man Sophie was hauling through the restaurant like a six-foot-tall piece of luggage? The one in baggy khakis and a raggedy blue button-down that had seen its best days back in 1975? It was their father.

“Madison!” Sophie called from halfway across the restaurant, her arms outstretched. Dozens of gold bangles clinked musically along her wrists.

Heads turned in Madison’s direction—something Madison usually relished. But oh no, not now, not today. She wished, for the first time, to be completely invisible.

Sophie was practically skipping toward her in a brightly colored maxidress that looked like it came from Haight-Ashbury. “Hey, big sis!” she cried.

“Little sis!” Madison leaned in to hug Sophie and pulled her close. After three seasons of reality TV, she knew just how quiet she needed to be to make sure her mike didn’t pick up a word. “I will destroy you for this, you pseudo-hippie bitch,” she whispered.

Sophie backed away from Madison, smiling as if she’d heard nothing. But her eyes were like shards of blue ice. “I brought you a surprise,” she said, turning a little to her left, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

“Hello, Charlie.” Madison didn’t reach out her hand or move toward her father. Instead, she examined him the way she might look at last season’s cocktail dress on the 75-percent-off rack: without visible emotion. Charlie Wardell had salt-and-pepper hair, a sharp, strong nose, and eyes that were the same vivid blue as Madison’s, as Sophie’s. It was the only thing he left them with.

Madison hadn’t seen him since she was nine years old, unless you counted the faded photos she’d kept in a shoebox under her bed. She and Sophie had looked at those pictures obsessively on the afternoons that their mother went out to the bar and forgot to come home for dinner, or for bedtime, or sometimes even for breakfast the next morning. It was like they thought that if they looked at pictures of him hard enough, he’d actually come back and rescue them.

“Can you believe our dad is here?” Sophie asked, pointedly emphasizing the word “dad.”

Madison stiffened. She’d never refer to this man as her dad. She hadn’t had a dad for ten years, and she wasn’t about to pick one up now. “Well, this is a surprise,” she said, keeping her voice low and even. “I came here expecting lunch and a new pair of Manolos. Family reunion wasn’t on the schedule today.”

She glanced over at Sophie, who was beaming with fake benevolence. Her little sister would pay for this. She would absolutely fucking pay for bringing this man here, to ground zero of the L.A. power lunch, and while the cameras were rolling.

Charlie sat down next to her, and suddenly Madison was nearly brought to her knees by the old, familiar smell of him.
Oh my God
, she thought,
he still wears Old Spice
. She used to sit in his closet after he left, among the flannel shirts that smelled like his aftershave. She felt her throat constrict.

But she was
Madison Fucking Parker
. She did not—she would not—cry.

“So what brings you to L.A.?” Madison asked, miraculously mastering her trembling voice. “I mean, besides the fact that you’re a broke ex-con with two daughters on TV? I’m assuming that’s why you’re here, right? For the paycheck?”

“Madison,” Sophie said, shaking her head. “That’s a little harsh.”

“What’s harsh is deserting a nine- and six-year-old to be raised by an unstable alcoholic.” Madison turned and met her father’s eyes. “I mean really. What kind of person
does
that?”

Charlie looked away from Madison and fiddled with his napkin. Good. She hoped he felt embarrassed and ashamed. She hoped he’d feel so disgusted with himself that he’d crawl back under whatever rock Sophie and Trevor had turned over to find him.

“You changed your name,” Charlie finally said. His voice was soft.

A quick thrill flashed through Madison. She remembered that voice. Reading her stories before bed. Singing her to sleep. Holding her tight when her mother was in a drunken rage.

“The name I gave you,” he went on.

She laughed harshly. “Right. That was about all you gave me, wasn’t it?”
That and some serious abandonment issues
, she thought melodramatically.

He looked down at his hands, which were gripping the napkin so hard his knuckles were white. “I know you probably hate me,” he said. “And Sweetpea, I’d hate me too if I were you.”

Sweetpea
, Madison thought.
Why doesn’t he just take a fork and stab me in the heart?
That was his old pet name for her, and how she had loved it when he said it! But this was the man who was supposed to take care of her, protect her, make everything all right. And he hadn’t done any of that. He had simply up and vanished.

“You’ve grown up so much,” he said.

Madison wanted to scream. He might seem repentant, but he was just like Sophie: He was looking for a quick payday.

“I’m not here for the money,” Charlie said. “If that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Oh, and why would I think that?” Madison asked. “You’ve had years to try to find me, and now when I’ve got my third show and some money in the bank this is the first time you try to contact me? You want me to believe it’s coincidental?”

“The first time?” Charlie looked from Madison to Sophie in confusion. “This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to contact you.”

Madison held up a hand. “Save it. No phone calls, no visits, not even a fucking
birthday
card—”

Charlie paled. “You didn’t get my letters?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, honey, I sent them every month at least. I never missed, except for that month I was in the hospital with pneumonia. That time I only managed a postcard.”

Madison stared at him. And then she turned toward Sophie, who looked genuinely clueless, too. Their dad was a liar and a deadbeat, and she knew he would say anything right now to win her over, which he’d obviously already managed with Sophie. But this was cruel. “Well I never got any letters.”

“Is he in there?” Madison demanded. The girl sitting at the desk outside Trevor’s office opened her mouth, but Madison didn’t pause for her answer. She strode past her, toward the closed double doors. She was not to be screwed with. Not like this, and not on national TV. No sir, she was not getting paid enough for this Wardell family shitshow.

“I’m sorry.” The assistant jumped up from her chair and raced around her desk toward Madison. “But you can’t just go in there, you can’t—”

“Like hell I can’t.” Madison shoved the door open.

Trevor’s back was turned. He was gazing out one of his giant windows, his Bluetooth blinking in his ear.

“How
dare
you pull that shit with me?” she started. “You want to make me a laughingstock? ‘Poor little Madelyn Wardell with her ex-con father and drunken mother and psycho sister.’ That is
low
, Trevor, even for you.”