Damage Control (The Hollywood Series Book 2) (45 page)

CHAPTER 33

When Lauren stepped out of the elevator and entered the CT Publicity offices on Monday morning, Carmen looked up from the reception desk. “Morning, Lauren. Marlene wants to see you in her office right away.”

Marlene had already told her so on Friday, so Lauren just nodded.
God, Friday.
So much had happened since she had kissed Grace in the pool. Normally, she would have gone to see Marlene with more enthusiasm, knowing her boss wanted to talk about the promotion, but right now, all she could think of was Grace and how much she worried about her.

The door to Marlene’s office stood open.

Lauren knocked on the doorframe and peeked in.

“Come on in and close the door behind you,” Marlene called.

The male Siamese fighting fish flared his gills at Lauren as she passed the aquarium and settled in the chair in front of Marlene’s desk. Tina and the rest of her colleagues kept saying that the fish could sense Marlene’s mood and reacted with aggression whenever Marlene was about to reprimand an employee, but in this case, the fish’s emotional radar had to be way off.

Marlene steepled her fingers on the desk and regarded her for several seconds. “You know how much I value you as one of our top publicists.”

Lauren tensed. If this was supposed to be a conversation about her promotion, why did it feel as if there was a
but
coming?

“But,” Marlene said, just as Lauren had feared, “no matter how much I appreciated your work over the years, I can’t ignore this.”

“Ignore what?”

“I got a call from Grace Durand’s mother at six o’clock this morning,” Marlene said. “She wants you removed as Ms. Durand’s publicist immediately. She said she caught you kissing and pawing her daughter, pressuring her into having sex.”

Goddammit. That bitch!
Lauren’s opinion of Grace’s mother hadn’t been very high to start with, but she hadn’t thought Katherine would go that far. She gripped the edge of the chair with both hands, forcing herself to stay seated and not jump up and pace in outrage.

Marlene held up her hands. “I know she’s prone to exaggerations and to taking action over her daughter’s head, so I’m trying not to jump to conclusions, but this is an accusation I have to take seriously, especially after the Tabby Jones situation.”

Lauren was sick of people bringing up that damn singer. So far, she had gritted her teeth and ignored it, but enough was enough. “Marlene, with all due respect, I don’t know why we have to keep talking about Tabby Jones. I always conducted myself in a professional manner when I was on tour with her. She was the one who got drunk and made a pass at me, not the other way around. Ms. Durand is not like that at all.”

Marlene relaxed against the back of her executive chair. “I didn’t think she was. Listen, Lauren. It’s not that I don’t believe in your professionalism. But if a client’s manager tells me she caught you taking advantage of her, I can’t just let it go without asking some tough questions first. I tried to call Ms. Durand earlier to clear this up but couldn’t reach her.”

Lauren clenched her teeth so hard that her jaw started to hurt. “Taking advantage?” The words tasted bitter in her mouth. “That’s not what happened. Once you reach Ms. Durand, she will confirm what I’m saying.”

“Are you sure she’ll side with you, not with her mother?” Marlene asked.

“I’m sure,” Lauren said without even a hint of hesitation. Mrs. Duvenbeck had a lot of influence on her daughter, but Grace wouldn’t betray her.

“So what really happened? Why is Mrs. Duvenbeck making these unfounded allegations against you?” Marlene asked. “What is it that she dislikes so much about you that she would try to ruin your reputation?”

A hundred thoughts tumbled through Lauren’s mind. Her brain had trouble catching up with what was happening. She’d thought she would be getting a promotion, and now she was on the edge of being fired if she couldn’t answer the question to Marlene’s satisfaction. Only the truth could save her reputation, but it would mean outing Grace.

“Lauren?” Marlene prompted when Lauren kept hesitating. Her boss’s gray eyes narrowed.

“There are many reasons why she doesn’t like me,” Lauren finally said. It sounded lame, even to her own ears.

“Such as?”

“My sexual orientation, for one thing,” Lauren said, hoping her boss would leave it at that.

Marlene squinted over at her. “But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there? Why would Mrs. Duvenbeck feel so threatened by your sexual orientation?”

Damn.
She should have known Marlene wouldn’t buy it. “Mostly because she built her whole life on being the mother and manager of a beautiful, straight movie star and now she’s deathly afraid that her daughter might be gay.”

Marlene swished her leather chair a little to the side, tilted her head, and regarded Lauren with a frown. “Why is she still concerned about that? I thought we laid those rumors to rest once and for all?”

“We did, but…”

“But…what?” Marlene waved her fingers at her, her patience clearly wearing thin. “Come on. Out with it. What the hell is going on?”

Lauren tightened her grip on the chair until her fingers started to hurt. She wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. If she refused to answer, Marlene would think there was at least some truth to Mrs. Duvenbeck’s allegations. Her career and, what was more, her reputation would be ruined. Besides, how could she keep hoping that Grace might one day find the courage to publicly acknowledge their relationship when she herself was denying it, even in the face of such serious accusations? She leaned forward, a heavy weight on her shoulders, and regarded Marlene with an intent gaze. “This is totally off record, okay?”

Marlene nodded her assent.

She was one of few people in Hollywood Lauren trusted to keep a secret, especially since it was in Marlene’s own best interest. She hesitated for a moment longer but knew the truth would come out once Marlene talked to Grace anyway. “I’m not sure Grace would put a label on herself, but…” Lauren squared her shoulders and willed her thudding heartbeat to slow. “She and I…we’ve recently gotten involved.”

Sudden silence settled over the office. Only the soft whir of the aquarium filters drifted over.

“She’s a client, Lauren,” Marlene said, sounding as if she were laboring to keep her voice calm.

Lauren swallowed. “I know. Trust me, I didn’t plan on falling in love with her. I tried to keep my distance, but…”

“Love?” Marlene repeated, her frown deepening. “So this isn’t just a fleeting Hollywood thing or a bi-curious experiment?”

“No,” Lauren said forcefully. Then, more softly, she added, “It’s much more than that. Like I said, this isn’t anything like the Tabby Jones situation.”

“But Ms. Durand isn’t thinking about making this public, is she?”

“We haven’t talked about it yet.” Truth be told, Lauren had been afraid to bring it up or make any demands, not wanting to put Grace in a position where she had to choose between their relationship and her career. “But I wouldn’t rule it out at some point in the future.”

“Christ.” Marlene raked her hands through her graying hair, messing up her stylish hairdo. “You’re putting me in an impossible situation, especially if you make your relationship public at some point. I don’t want to lose you as an employee, but how can I keep telling our staff that getting involved with a client is a big no-no when I turn a blind eye to your involvement with a very prominent client?”

There was just one way out of this dilemma. Well, two, really, but if she had to make a choice between her career and Grace, her job would lose. For the first time in her life, her relationship was more important. Lauren knew that, but she still couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “You’ll have my resignation on your desk by the end of the day. I’ll put notes in every client file before I go so Tina or someone else can take over.”

Marlene stood and came around the desk. She looked down at Lauren with an incredulous shake of her head. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do? I always saw a bright future for you at CTP, and now you want to give up your job…your career in PR…over a woman?”

“She’s not just any woman,” Lauren said quietly.

“No, she isn’t.”

They were probably talking about two different things, but Lauren didn’t correct her. She stood and held out her hand. “Thanks for everything. I liked working here.”

Marlene shook her hand. For the first time in the eight years that Lauren knew her, she looked as if she didn’t know what to say.

With slow steps, Lauren walked past the Siamese fighting fish to the door. Her colleagues—well, former colleagues—were right. The flared gills weren’t a good omen.

Grace and her mother had been a team her entire life. They had never lacked for things to talk about over breakfast. But now silence ruled on the patio as Grace poked around in her kiwi/blueberry yogurt and her mother sipped her smoothie.

When the phone rang, she got up, glad to leave the tense situation at the small patio table.

The number on the display looked familiar.
Oh, that’s a CT Publicity number.
A warm feeling settled over her. Was Lauren calling her from work to see how she was doing? She slid her finger over the display to accept the call. “Hi.”

“Good morning, Ms. Durand. This is Marlene Chandler from CT Publicity.”

Grace’s brows shot up. Why was Lauren’s boss calling her? A cold shiver went down her spine. Had something happened to Lauren?
Nonsense.
Ms. Chandler wouldn’t call her, then. She thought Lauren was nothing but her publicist to her. Grace drew a deep breath. “Good morning.”

“I’m sorry to call you this early, but I was wondering if you have some time today to meet with me,” Ms. Chandler said.

Grace frowned. If this was about a marketing campaign for her, why wasn’t Lauren calling her? “What’s this about?”

“Um, I’d rather not talk about it on the phone, if you don’t mind.”

That didn’t sound good. Grace pinched the bridge of her nose. She so didn’t need more problems in her life right now.

“I could meet you at your home at whatever time is convenient for you,” Ms. Chandler said.

Grace didn’t like strangers in the cottage. “Why don’t I drop by your office? I could be there in about an hour.”

“Sounds good. Thank you.”

They ended the call.

“Who was that?” her mother asked.

“Ms. Chandler. She wants to meet with me.”

Her mother emptied her smoothie and stood. “I’ll come with you.”

Grace didn’t have the energy to protest. “Okay, then let’s get going.”

When the receptionist led them to Ms. Chandler’s office, Grace kept an eye out for Lauren, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. But Lauren was nowhere to be seen, and her office door was closed.

With a longing glance, Grace walked past it.

Ms. Chandler greeted them with a friendly smile and offered them coffee, but Grace shook her head. She wanted to know what was going on—now. “What is this about?”

“Let me start by saying that we at CT Publicity are very proud to represent you and hope that you’ve been happy with our services so far.” Ms. Chandler tugged on her silk scarf as if it were a noose around her neck.

“Ms. Pearce has done an excellent job with everything,” Grace said.

“I’m sure she has. But given the nature of your relationship with her, I’m sure you’ll agree that it would be for the best if someone else took over as your publicist.”

Her words hit Grace like a punch to the stomach. Even nearly thirty years of experience as an actress didn’t help to hide her shock. She stared at Ms. Chandler. “How…? Who told you that?”

Ms. Chandler didn’t say anything, but her gaze went to the left.

Grace glanced in the same direction.

Her mother, who sat next to Grace, licked her lips and clutched her purse with both hands.

White-hot anger shot through Grace. For a moment, she felt as if she would black out. She swayed on her chair. “You…you told her about Lauren and me?” Somehow, her mother must have called Ms. Chandler without her noticing, maybe when she’d been in the shower.