“Hey, the luncheon is for me. I’m sure they can accommodate one more person. There are always no-shows at this kind of thing. I’ll call and set it up now.”
Cal hugged her tight again, a quick squeeze, before pulling away. “I think it’s a great idea. Drew will flip. Thank you. Now, I need to hit the road or I’ll only get seven out of ten nails done.” Cal turned to Elena. “Why are you not carpooling with your daughter?”
“I have to leave early so I can make a doctor’s appointment before I pack for Arizona. I decided to drive.”
“Oh, no,” Cal said, the knowing sadness in her eyes. “Again?”
Elena nodded. “Yes, and no. It’s been a roller coaster for months. At the moment, Brian’s doing well. It’s his sixtieth birthday so I want to be there for him to celebrate. Vicki can’t get enough time off work, but I thought one of us should be there.” She shook her head. “Not sure how many more he has in the future, you know?”
“Well, that’s sweet. Big brother is sure keeping you on your toes,” Cal commented.
Elena nodded. “I guess that’s what brothers do.”
“Sure seems that way.” Cal opened the door and scooted out. “See you both at lunch tomorrow.” She waved. “Don’t be late!”
Julie waved and shut the door. The only time she’d been late had been for the Sporties. Then she’d almost been dead.
* * *
Troy looked around the crowded downstairs lobby at yet another event with Ari. A dozen or so Hollywood bigwigs loitered near the upstairs bar, sipping their drinks and schmoozing it up. Cameras flashed all around as did the jewels worn by most of the women. Troy hadn’t seen this much glitz in the middle of the day since...the Sporties. That memory brought a cold chill down his spine and he shrugged it off.
He hated dressing in suits. Last night he’d been thirty seconds away from calling Sophia Nepali and quitting. He hated this job more than any other he’d ever taken, for too many reasons to count. Usually he watched the cheating spouses from a distance, and got up close and personal with a Canon Rebel EOS with a high def lens. He’d never worked undercover in a situation like this nor had he expected it to last anywhere near this long. In fact, the longer he shadowed Ari, the more certain he became that although the man wanted into Julie’s pants, he hadn’t gotten there yet. That Ari wanted there was a given. After all, there weren’t too many men who didn’t want to take Julie to bed. But whereas early on, Troy had thought Julie was just as likely as anyone to sleep with a married man, now his instincts screamed at him, and they were saying something a lot different.
He’d had plenty of time to look at the pictures he’d taken of Julie and Ari that night at her front door. Julie had not shown one speck of body language that indicated she wanted the man touching her, much less kissing her. Still, Troy couldn’t discount the kiss because he’d seen it with his own eyes, over and over and over again as he stared at the damning photos.
It didn’t surprise him that this luncheon honored Julie, but he hadn’t known until they got there. Ari had told him only where they were going, and since Ari had produced Julie’s last big movie, it made sense for him to be here.
Ari’s introduction presenting Julie with an award seemed heartfelt. The crowd applauded as Julie accepted it and gave her speech. Troy hadn’t realized the type of money she donated to animal causes.
Now as he and Ari made their way up a giant curving staircase toward the bar where many of the stragglers remained since the luncheon was breaking up, Ari stopped to talk to yet another man about his forthcoming picture. Sometimes Troy honestly thought Ari was having an affair with his movie and not a woman. He ate, lived and breathed this film.
Troy glanced around the second level, looking for any other familiar faces Ari might know. He spotted Julie at the bar with her friend Carrie Ann, another older woman who looked remarkably like her—had to be her mother—and a younger man. The woman set her glass down, kissed Julie on the cheek and gave her a heartfelt hug. The gesture and the way she spoke to Julie told Troy these two were