grumbled out the lie, turning to leave.
He laughed. “So I’m forgiven for the tabloid’s heinous behavior?” he called out.
I didn’t respond, pushing open his trailer door and letting it slam behind me.
His parting shout came faintly through the door. “Just remember to brag about me! Big dick, Chloe! Remember—big dick!”
A big dick? Yeah. I’d say that was appropriate.
37. My Boss Is A Bitch
“You are a genius.” Nicole beamed at me, her whitening trays stretching her smile in a terrible way. “Genius.” The word was muffled through the plastic, and I bit my cheek in an attempt not to laugh. “Throwing off the press like that?” She clapped her hands together with unrestrained glee.
“Glad it worked.” I smiled sweetly, as if the smearing of my personal reputation was something I did intentionally, just to distract the tabloids from BLL’s financial woes.
“Here.” She pulled out the top drawer of her trailer’s vanity and rummaged through it, pulling out a piece of paper. “You deserve this.”
I looked down at the paper, which was a card from the Waldorf’s spa, announcing their grand reopening, along with an offer of fifteen percent off. A coupon. Nicole was offering me a coupon as gratitude. A coupon for spa services that I couldn’t afford. I held it out to her. “I can’t afford…” I swallowed hard. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m trying to save money right now.”
She looked at me with confusion, her eyes darting from me to the card. “Oh,” she finally said, reaching out and plucking the card from my fingers. She hesitated, then held it back out. “Then book me a facial and massage. For Saturday, if they have availability. These long days are killing me.” She turned back to the mirror and bared her teeth, examining the color before checking her watch. “How much longer do I need to keep these on?”
“Another five minutes,” I said quietly, rubbing the back of my neck in a futile attempt to relieve some of my own tension.
She let out a huff of irritation and I decided, right then, her nails drumming against her counter, that I hated the woman.
38. Knight in Shining Joey
“There’s the love of my life!” The shout was loud enough to stall productivity, and I glanced over my shoulder to Joey, who held out his arms and walked toward me as if he expected an embrace. I stopped him three paces out with the dirtiest look I had.
“Ouch.” He stopped in his tracks and clutched at his heart. “Don’t tell me. A divorce already? Perez will be so devastated. He drew hearts around us and everything.”
I fought a smile and he threw an arm over my shoulder, ignoring my attempt to push him off.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said quietly, steering me around a set stand and toward the catering truck. “All of your problems are solved.”
The chances of Joey solving all of my problems in six hours was highly unlikely. I let him pull me along, my feet weighing twenty pounds, and it had nothing to do with my supercute boots. “I’m not like you Joey. My parents—”
“I know all about your parents,” he interrupted. “My publicist gave me the scoop. And don’t worry about it. Katie in Mixing has already agreed to sleep with me, just to throw the wolves off your scent.”
“What?” I came to a stop, his arm dropping from my shoulder. “Are you serious?”
“Don’t feel sorry for her.” He winked at me. “I’ll make sure she enjoys it.”
Oh, I was sure she’d enjoy it. “And how will that help?”
“We’ll leak some photos, I’ll grope her in public, and our little kiss will be forgotten as quickly as your boss’s embarrassing attempt at a career.” He smiled that famous smile, and my mind stuttered, still stuck on Katie’s involvement in all of this.
“Katie’s going to sleep with you? Just to throw off the press?”
“Uh … yeah. Technically, we’ll be fucking more than sleeping but…” He shrugged. “You get the point. In twenty-four hours, I’ll have solved all your problems.” He stepped toward the truck and urged me forward with his hand. “Come on. You owe me a drink.”
I followed him to the catering truck, unsure if Katie in Mixing was stupid or lucky. Unsure if I was stupid for believing in this plan. Was he right? Would it all go away that easily?
Vic the Dick
Is such a Prick
He took my heart
And stopped its Tick
And to think I got a C in Modern Poetry.
It was hailing. The top