where I needed to be and when. It didn’t seem too bad. Most of the time, I was scheduled to be with at least one of the other “housewives,” and aside from a handful of instances, there would be hardly any filming inside Tiffany’s house. That would at least keep the cameras away from Jacoby.
“If you need me, for any reason, excuse yourself to the restroom and call me. Got it?” Deep concern dripped from Ty’s frantic question, his anxiety practically flooding my ear. “And whatever you do, be vague.”
We’d gone over this seventy-seven bajillion times already.
Over the last ten days, I’d been drilled and tested on all things Tiffany—her work, her daily life, her friends—if that’s what you want to call them—and Adam. Ty had a binder full of notes that my sister had made regarding the people I’d be around, and then notes off to the side that Ty had left about how Tiffany acted around each of them. To be honest, it did come in handy, even if it made me feel like I was taking a college course on how to be Tiffany Lewis.
How to Act Like a Vile and Bitter Millionaire 101.
“I got it, Ty. It’s only brunch with a few of the girls.” I probably said that more for my own peace of mind than his. “It’ll be an hour, maybe an hour and a half. It’s not like I’m being forced to stay, so if I get in over my head, I’ll leave.”
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t get to that.”
“It shouldn’t. You’ve prepared me to the best of your ability. Now it’s time for a little real-world practice.” That was how I had to look at it, putting my studies to the test. A warm-up, so to speak. It offered us an opportunity to see where the kinks were, what I needed to improve, and what information had been left out of Tiffany’s notes.
He released a deep and heavy sigh before wishing me luck. Right on time, too, because we had just pulled up to the front of Le Crepes. If there was one good thing about this, it was that I didn’t have to drive. The show provided transportation for most of these events.
The hostess escorted me to the patio where a table full of wealthy women awaited me. As if my arrival had been announced, they all stood up to greet me. One by one, I kissed both cheeks of every woman in attendance before completely rounding the table and assuming the empty seat.
I’d been told there were six of us on the show, counting me, but that only four of my castmates would be here today. I wasn’t sure why the sixth woman didn’t join us, but I wasn’t complaining. The fewer people to test me, the better.
“It’s been so long! You’ll have to catch us up on what you’ve been doing.” That was Jeannine, the wife of record label tycoon, Michael Yates. Tiffany had noted that she was a bit ditzy and always had her nose in everyone’s business. However, Ty’s comments off to the side had translated that into she’s sweet and caring, always interested in the people around her.
Ty had instructed me to be vague about where I’d been—the less detail, the better—and when possible, turn the question onto someone else. So that’s exactly what I did. “Oh, you know, I’ve been here and there, just enjoying a bit of alone time before the chaos of the show ensued. I heard you finally finished renovating your house. How did that go?”
Easy peasy.
However, my deflection was short lived. Lauren, top fashion designer turned stay-at-home mom and wife of three-time Oscar winner, Daniel Molng, piped in. “I heard you just bought a house out by the cliffs not too long ago. What made you move from Gramstown?”
I didn’t have too much information on Lauren. From what I’d gathered, Tiffany knew Jeannine through work—both having modeled for the same designer at one point in time—which was how she got on the show to begin with. Jeannine and Lauren were best friends, so Tiff had met Lauren a few times, but I didn’t think their interaction had gone beyond that. As for the rest of the girls, she’d either had brief encounters with them or had never met them before.
This ought to be interesting…
“Well, we just wanted a little more privacy.” Those were Tiff’s exact words in her notes. But then I decided to elaborate by adding, “When we found the