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Authors: Holly O'Dell

Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary

Spin Control (10 page)

BOOK: Spin Control
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"Randall," I said pleadingly.

He slowly moved his camera to the side and looked
at me quizzically. "Do I know you?"

"Probably not, but I know you, or at least of you, and
I am begging you not to take this picture."

"Sure, I'll just close up shop and tell my boss that
some dame told me I couldn't take my photos, so I
just left."

Dame? Well, at least I wasn't a broad. He set up his
shot again, but I didn't budge. "Look, you need to get
out of my way," he nearly howled.

I began chewing on my lower lip. Think, Brown, think. Time slowed as my head turned from Devin, who
was on the verge of going in for a kiss with Miranda, to
the photographer. Just as I saw Randall about to make
that fateful click, I stepped behind Devin and Miranda,
squeezed in between them, threw my arms around their
shoulders, and offered my best, broadest grin at the moment the flash lit up the room.

Randall shook his head in disgust at the missed
photo op and sauntered to another area of the party.

Devin and Miranda both stepped back. He stared at
me, while she stepped aside. "Care to explain that one,
Kate?" Devin's arms were tightly folded across his chest.

"Remember that meeting a few days ago where we
talked about this very thing? There was a tabloid photographer over there. So the only thing I could think of
doing was showing up in the picture with you and Miranda since it wouldn't be of any value to the papers
with me in it."

"So, it bothered you that much that I was dancing
with someone else, huh?" Devin's lips snarled into a
mocking grin.

"Let's see, I could keep my job, or I could get jealous
of a boy behaving badly."

Devin looked at me and could only muster a weak
shake of his head. He disappeared into the crowd, and I
turned to where Miranda was standing, and she, too,
had disappeared. Maybe they were heading to his townhouse, and then the AP would pick up on this sordid affair, and I would be out of a career. No, no, I mustn't
think like that. I've been in situations where my girlfriends and I have been trapped at bars talking to men we don't want to be talking to, and we've all had that
look that Miranda had.

I sucked in my breath and marched through the bar
hoping to find Anna, or even Michael. But I kept one
eye open for Devin, too, just in case he didn't make it
past the front door. I wandered back to the VIP room,
where I saw Anna, Michael, and Miranda laughing and
sharing stories. I motioned for Michael to come chat
with me.

"Don't worry, he caught a cab home," Michael said.

"How did you know I-"

"Miranda told me about the situation on the dance
floor. She found me, and I found him. He said he was
tired and was just going home"

"You believed him?" I panicked.

"My guess is that it was a matter of pride, so it was
better for him to just leave. Trust me, it's a guy thing."

Miranda and Anna had joined us. "Look, Kate,
Michael filled me in on this Devin situation, and I am
so sorry for doing anything to jeopardize your work."

"Don't worry, you're not the one at fault here. I saw
the whole thing happen. And I'm sorry for, um, interrupting the photo op"

Miranda threw back her luscious blond mane and
laughed heartily. "Are you kidding? Thank you for doing that! Devin seems okay, but I just am not into guys
who are so forward like that. You know, the ones who
try too hard?" She hooked her arm through Michael's
and beamed at him.

I looked away, trying to hide my surprise. Maybe
they were an item after all, but really, it wasn't any of my business, I assured myself. And despite her best intentions, Miranda was a wild card. Sure, she was nice,
even sincere, but my big concern was to get Devin on
the straight and narrow, and Miranda Hamilton was a
major distraction. I just needed to find a way to approach the subject ever-so-delicately with Michael.

 

``Can I come in?" I had tapped on Michael's office
door and waited in the doorframe.

"Sure. I was just going to stop in your office to discuss our schedule with Devin. Between the fund-raisers
for the youth groups and the charity golf tournaments
next month, all his free time will be controlled by us"

"Well, that's part of what I wanted to discuss with
you. Some of it has to do with the other night at Lux."

Michael raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah, pretty
crazy, huh? I'd say we-really, you-were pretty successful, seeing that Devin went home alone in a cab."

I pursed my lips and shifted them to the side. This
was going to be harder than I thought. "There's more,"
I blurted.

Michael's phone rang. "Sorry, I should take this.
Hold on a moment" He picked up the receiver.
"Michael Korten" Pause. "Hey, M. Can I call you back? I'm in a meeting right now." He paused again. "Yeah,
she's right here" Another pause. "Sure, I'll tell her."

M ... as in Miranda. And they were talking about
me. No need to be paranoid, right? Right?

Michael put the phone in his cradle and gave me a
smirk. "I think someone is taken with you."

"Eh?"

"That was Miranda, and she wants to take you out to
dinner to make up for that whole photography mishap
with Devin the other night. She thinks you're pretty
cool and can't stop talking about you."

I furrowed my brow. "Hmm, a female celebrity is
taken with me"

Michael laughed. "No, she just thinks you're so real,
and she doesn't get that in Hollywood all that much.
Kind of makes her miss the old days."

"She barely knows me."

"Nah, I've known her practically my whole life, and
she has a good read on people."

Great. Childhood sweethearts. Old friends, I reminded myself. They probably made a cheesy pact
when they were 21 that if they were still single at age
35, they'd marry each other. At the very least, maybe
she'd ask me to be a bridesmaid.

I checked back into the present. "Well, I'm pretty
busy with work and all, so I don't know if dinner will
work anytime soon."

"How about tonight? She and I already had plans to
go out after she wraps her shoot for the day."

I shook my head and gave a halfhearted smile. "Hey,
Korten, did you not hear me? I'm busy."

"On a Tuesday night? Come on. It'll be fun. There's
nothing planned for Devin tonight. Might as well enjoy
the time away from him while we've got it. What else
have you got going on?"

Um, for starters, there were three separate reality
shows on three separate stations that I had to try to
schedule in. And that pint of chocolate Haagen Dazs in
the freezer was not going to eat itself. And let's not forget staring at the wall occasionally, wondering how Miranda kept track of all the men that fell under her spell.

Michael smiled, and I noticed for the first time his
perfectly straight grin. "It's like I see the hamster working up there," he tapped my head lightly, "trying to
come up with an excuse"

"Can I bring Anna?"

"Absolutely. It'll be just like at the Lux, except no
Devin."

"Except no Devin," I mindlessly repeated. Although
I heard it as "Accept No Devin."

"All right, you've worked your publicist's magic and
have convinced me to go" Perhaps it was all the compliments showered upon me by Miranda, or the fact
that I was going to get a free dinner, but I actually
looked forward to kicking back with some new friends.

"Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!" Anna squealed and
jumped up and down. The bathroom attendant looked
away and pretended she wasn't listening to us.

"We're out of earshot now, so can you tell me why
you dragged me to the bathroom?"

"Miranda has asked me to come on board as a
makeup artist on her new film."

I let out a whoop. "Anna, I am so proud of you! Is
that what you and Miranda were being so secretive
about out there?"

"I wouldn't say secretive, but I don't think she
wanted to announce it to the entire restaurant"

"When do you start, my famous makeup artist friend?"

"Tomorrow, 6 A.M."

"Ouch. Does Miranda know that's when you usually
go to bed?"

Anna gave me a playful slap on the hand. "Hush,
you. I'm like a little kid hopped up on Pixie Sticks on
Christmas Eve. Like I'm even gonna sleep!"

"This is huge. We should probably get back out there
and celebrate-and finish our appetizers, of course"

"Can you call them appetizers in a place like this?"
Anna teased as she pulled open the restroom door
adorned with multicolored geometric patterns.

Mod was the name of the place we were at tonight.
Last week it was Lux. Apparently giving monosyllabic
titles to hot spots was hip. Another monosyllabic word.
And probably a name already taken for the next big
hangout.

I turned back toward Anna as we trudged through a
long, narrow walkway flanked by high-top avocadogreen tables. Unfortunately, she stopped while she
squinted at our table, and I smacked into her. "Hey,
chica, are you trying to knock me unconscious? Must
we review the single-file protocol again?" I giggled, but Anna continued to look at our table, appearing distraught. I followed her gaze and saw that Devin was
standing at the table talking with Miranda and
Michael.

He turned to see me. I tilted my head and gave a
"You've got to be kidding me" look. "It's great to see
you too, Kate!" Devin enunciated condescendingly.

"How about if we take a walk, Devin?" I faked politeness and turned to walk toward the bar.

I didn't have to turn around to know that Devin had
followed me. We got to the bar, in all of its '70s faux
retro glory, complete with wood paneling behind the
bartender. I quickly snapped my head. "So, Devin, I
suppose you just happened to be here for another engagement, and you just conveniently ran into Miranda."

He shrugged. "Something like that."

"Now why don't you tell me the real story"

"And have you blow my cover?"

"My apologies, double-0-7"

"I had to see her again. Something about her .. " He
sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Man"

I rolled my eyes. "Ugh, please don't talk to me like
I'm one of your buddies." I looked him up and down.
"Wow, you're pretty brave, coming back after getting
rejected not that long ago"

"Might I remind you, she didn't reject me Katherine.
You happened to get in our way, and she disappeared.
Probably thought you were a lunatic the way you
jumped in between us"

"As a matter of fact, she invited me to dinner tonight," I huffed.

"Has she said anything about me?" Trying to appear
nonchalant but really looking nonplussed, Devin thrust
his hands into his pockets.

"Let's find out. Just let me write on this napkin, `Do
you like Devin? Check a box, yes or no."'

He nodded toward the general direction of the table,
which was out of sight from our standpoint. "Hook me
up.

"Pardon?"

"Since you two are such great friends, you could put
in a good word for me"

"Do you hear yourself? I am getting paid to do damage control for you. I am not going to play matchmaker
for you with a Hollywood star."

"Fine, I'll just do it myself. I've always done it that
way, and it's always worked for me" He winked and
walked back to the table.

I sipped on a Diet Coke, trying to collect my
thoughts, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Michael.

"So, do I dare ask what he's doing here?"

"I think you know."

"Well, either he's really interested in Miranda, or
he's really interested in me"

I managed a laugh through my exasperation. "You
were right what you said about Devin the other night at
Lux. He is a brat. Like a naughty, naughty kid who
won't listen to anyone in a position of authority."

"Hey, don't stress over something you can't control."
Michael gave me a gentle rub between my shoulder
blades, which made my stomach flip. "You're doing a
great job with him."

"Thanks, but I feel like I'm pedaling backward"

"Sounds like something Ralphie Wiggum would say"

"He's my favorite character on The Simpsons."

"Hey, mine, too! Favorite Ralph line?"

"'Me fail English? That's unpossible!' Yours?"

"'Doctor told me that both my eyes were lazy! And
that's why it was the best summer ever."'

I clutched my stomach with laughter. "You see, The
Simpsons is not only a cultural icon, but it brings the
masses together."

Michael set down his glass. "You're the first woman
I've met who really appreciates The Simpsons. I mean,
I've known plenty of women who have watched the
show, but watching it and appreciating it are two different things."

"You mean all the women in your life don't do horrible impressions of animated characters? You should
ask Anna to do her impression of Moe"

"Yikes, I don't know if I want to see-or hear-that."

"And you think I enjoy it every time she breaks it out?"

BOOK: Spin Control
12.42Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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