And feel a little calmer.
By the time she comes back with two glasses of a crisp Chardonnay, I say, “I’m proud of me too.”
“You should be. Can I see the Thanksgiving card?”
“Sure.” I hand her my phone.
“Oh, wow. You even made up a little rhyme.
We should thank you for your business this Thanksgiving day,
But, instead, we find Collin and his secretary rolling in the hay.
Yes, he has a wife who you all know,
But does that really matter?
Boys will be boys and all that chatter.
If you’re a wife and know how I feel,
Show Collin you won’t stand for this deal.
Move your business to someone worthy of your trust.
And not someone who just thinks about lust.
Maybe it’s time us women unite.
Like the Pilgrims and Indians did that night.
So Happy Thanksgiving,
enjoy your cranberry sauce
And know I’m divorcing this asshole,
Love, Ariela Ross.”
“What do you think?”
“I think if you stop planning weddings, you could write divorce cards. It’s awesome. Are you really going to send them?”
“It all depends on if Collin decides to play nice.”
“If I saw this, I’d be playing nice. So how is the wedding planning going?”
“Good. Your vendors are all super nice and more than willing to go out of their way to get this fundraiser done in time. The only thing I’m worried about is having them set up the furniture for the ceremony. The altar will scream wedding.”
“They deliver it the afternoon of the wedding, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, worse case, we say that Logan and I are renewing our vows.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“Logan has a dinner to attend tonight. Maybe we could have a girls’ night. Order some gourmet pizza, get drunk on wine, and catch up.”
“That sounds perfect.”
Captive Films — Santa Monica
DAWSON
“You’ve been avoiding me all day,” I say to Vanessa as I join her in Keatyn’s office.
“I’m not avoiding you. I’m just busy.”
“Vanessa, don’t shut me out.”
I look at him and sigh. “Avery gave me a happy dress to wear tonight.”
“A happy dress?”
“Yes, she says I’ve been happy lately. I have been because of you. I’m sorry I got upset last night. I was mad at myself, not mad at you.”
I shut the door. “Why were you mad at yourself?”
“Because I wanted to be included. I understand completely why you need to spend time alone with your girls, I do. But my first reaction was that I was jealous. I was mad at myself for behaving that way. I just couldn’t help it.”
“You’re lucky Keatyn’s office is full of windows,” I say.
“Stop grinning,” she says, giving me a swat. “And stop with the sexy eyes.”
“I have sexy eyes?”
“You know damn well you do. Do you want to stay here while I make a call? Might as well learn more about what I do. It’s not always pretty.”
“What are you gonna do?” I ask.
“A little PR blackmail.”
“Interesting.” I take off my jacket, lay it on the couch, and then roll up my sleeves.
“Now, you’re stripping?”
“Just getting comfortable.”
Tyler knocks on the door, interrupting us. “I just got a call from a tabloid that I ‘leak’ things to on occasion. She said that Knox’s assistant told her off the record that Vegas was a publicity stunt and that someone, who would surprise us, leaked the photos.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Well, you told us to say no comment so I said no comment.”
“Perfect. I’m just getting ready to call that someone and persuade him to confess that he pushed out the photos.”
“Oh, how are you going to do that?”
Vanessa tosses a photo in Tyler’s direction. He catches it out of the air.
“Oh, my stars! Parker Hudson?” He holds the photo up to the light. “Where the hell was this party and why wasn’t I invited?”
Vanessa laughs. “Show Dawson.”
He hands it to me. My eyes get big. “Jeez. You could have warned me.” I turn the paper on it’s side and tilt my head. “Wow.”
“It all works just fine, Mr. Johnson,” Tyler teases. “I know these things.”
“I’m sure it does. But I’d prefer not to see it.”
“Well, here’s hoping that Parker prefers everyone not see it. Hush, you both, I’m going to call him.”
Tyler sits next to me on the couch in rapture. If I didn’t know he was gay, I’d think he had a crush on Vanessa.
“Isn’t she just amazing?” he says to me. “Did you see her handbag today? Brand new. I heard there’s a wait list. She’s always one of the first ones they call. Lucky bitch.”
I chuckle, but Vanessa shushes me. It’s kinda hot.
Kinda like being scolded by your hot teacher.
My mind starts wandering as she puts the call on speaker and says, “Parker, how are you? Thanks for agreeing to chat with me.”