L. A. Candy (13 page)

Madison surveyed the enormous room inside Stage 5 of the PopTV studios. Half of the space was entirely white, and the corners were rounded so that the walls flowed seamlessly into the floors. The far end was filled with couches, makeup stations, and racks of clothing on one side, a table topped with boxes of hot Starbucks coffee, assorted food—and a lot of people—on the other. She sipped her coffee, making sure not to mar her perfectly applied makeup. Nothing was going to ruin this day for her. She was even wearing a terry cloth robe over her outfit, in case of accidental spills. Not that Madison was prone to accidents. She never made mistakes and never left anything to chance.

Today was the photo shoot for the
L.A. Candy
ad. The place was a beehive of activity as people set up, their voices echoing weirdly in the massive space mixing with the eighties music blaring from somebody’s iPod.

Madison spotted Dana dodging a clothing rack as she
headed in the direction of the hair and makeup area. Dropping her half-f coffee cup into a trash can, Madison followed Dana to see what was going on. Mostly she was curious to see how the other girls looked. Inside, Dana was talking to Jane and Scarlett, who seemed to have arrived just a few minutes ago. (Madison had arrived early of course.) The makeup girl was done up in jet-black eye shadow, a full set of false lashes, and hot pink lipstick—at the crack of dawn, no less—which made Madison feel doubly smug about having had her makeup done by her own person, in advance. Each station had its own rectangular mirror framed with bright, round lights, and each had a vast assortment of products (eye shadows, liners, lip glosses, blushes, and bronzers in every possible color).

“Hi, Madison!” Jane called out in a tired but friendly voice. “Your hair and makeup look great.”

“Thanks!” Madison reached up and touched the halo of tight ringlets on her head. She noticed that Jane had dark circles under her eyes, her skin looked pale and blotchy, and her brows were unkempt. God, how could she leave her apartment looking like that? She was lucky no one knew who she was.

“Where’s Gaby?” Jane asked.

“Running late,” Madison replied.

“Late? How late? I’ve left her three messages,” Dana snapped, glancing at her watch. With the
L.A. Candy
premiere just a couple of weeks away, she had been even more tense and cranky than usual.

“She’ll be here,” Madison said. “She texted me like five minutes ago. She overslept. Hi, Scarlett.”

Scarlett nodded but didn’t say hi back. She was dressed in an oversized navy sweatshirt with the hood pulled over her wet hair, jeans, and sunglasses. She was holding a plastic plate heaped with soggy scrambled eggs, bacon strips, and half an onion bagel.
Ew.
How could the girl eat so much before a photo shoot? Was she always such a pig?

“Whose insane idea was it to have a six a.m. call time?” Scarlett complained to no one in particular. She bit into the bagel, then made a face and dropped it onto her crowded plate.

“Mine. Scarlett, this is Lana. She’ll be doing your makeup,” Dana said, pointing to the woman in the hot pink lipstick. “Ann’ll be here any minute. She’ll be doing yours, Jane.” She paused to listen to someone on her head-piece. “Uh-huh. Oh, jeez. Back in a sec, girls,” she said, hurrying out of the room.

Scarlett glanced warily at Lana. “I don’t like to wear a lot of makeup.”

“Don’t worry, honey, I’ll make you look beautiful,” Lana reassured her.

“Yeah, well. Think of the lightest possible makeup you can do. Then do it even lighter than that,” Scarlett said testily.
Yeah, good plan,
Madison thought.
Offend the woman who’s about to do your face.
Although, in this case, Scarlett was right to be cautious. On the other hand…if Lana made Scarlett look like a freak, then all the better
for Madison. Jane and Gaby were cute but they weren’t exactly turning heads. But Scarlett was stunning. Of the three girls, she was the only one who rivaled Madison in the looks department.

A petite blond woman walked over and smiled brightly at Jane. “Good morning!” Madison heard the woman introduce herself as Ann, her makeup artist. “Well, aren’t you just beautiful? You’re gonna make my job so easy!” she said cheerfully.

Apparently 6 a.m. call times didn’t bother Ann. Neither did lying about someone’s physical appearance.

“I don’t know about that,” Jane said, laughing.

Yeah, Madison didn’t know about that either.

Jane sat down at one of the stations, then glanced at Madison in the mirror. “So when’d you get your hair and makeup done, Madison? Did you get here at four a.m. or what?” she joked.

“Oh, I used my own people,” Madison said. “I don’t trust just any stylists doing my hair and makeup. They never get it right.”

Both Lana and Ann threw her dirty looks. Whatever.

“Well, I was so excited about this shoot that I barely slept last night,” Jane said quickly to Ann. “So if you can make
me
look good, you’re a genius!”

Madison watched as Ann began to apply a creamy moisturizer to Jane’s face with a makeup brush. Jane pointed to some magazine clippings on the mirror that showed different models, all with long lashes and doll-like pops of color
on their cheeks. Then she gestured to Madison, who had the same lashes and cheeks. “Are we all gonna look like that?” Jane asked Ann.

“Yes! You girls are going to look amazing!” Ann replied.

“It’s a retro, fifties concept. Trevor told me about it last week. We’re all gonna be holding big, round lollipops,” Madison explained. “
L.A. Candy
, get it? He said this picture’s gonna run in all the magazines. And they’re making posters out of it, too.”

“So cute!” Jane said.

Scarlett rolled her eyes.

“We’re all wearing these, in different colors,” Madison went on. She stripped off her white terry cloth robe to reveal a fifties-style swimsuit. It was hot pink and hugged her perfect curves. Light pink lace trim lined the top where her cleavage spilled out.

“Ohmigod! How cute is that?” Jane cried out.

Scarlett looked horrified. “What are you wearing?” she demanded.

Madison twirled around, showing off her tanned behind peeking out from the bottom of her suit. “Don’t you love it? I’m obsessed! They had them made for all of us.”

“You have got to be
kidding
me.” Scarlett’s expression shifted from horrified to pissed off. “I don’t do bathing suits in pictures. And I don’t do pink.”

“Relax, princess of darkness. We’re all wearing
different colors,” Madison said, smirking. “Obviously, yours is black.”

Scarlett jumped out of her chair and shoved past Madison. “Where’s Dana? I gotta talk to her. I’m not wearin’ that.”

“Scarlett, I’m not done with you yet!” Lana called out after her, waving a brush. But Scarlett was gone.

Madison smiled to herself. Of the four girls, she was obviously the only one who knew how to behave at photo shoots, which was fine with her.

“This is bullshit!” Scarlett stood with her arms crossed over her chest, clenching a brightly colored lollipop in one hand. Her long black hair had been curled and pinned into an updo. Her face had been made up to look like the other girls’. “Seriously, why didn’t you people run the ‘bathing suit that rides up my ass’ concept by me before I got here and had no other option?”

“I’m sorry, Scarlett,” Dana said, sounding irritated. “I must have missed the part where you had wardrobe approval in your contract.”

“You know what Catherine McKinnon would have to say about this crap?”

“Catherine who?” Dana glanced impatiently at her watch.

“She’s a well-known feminist scholar, and she—”

“Well,
I’m
ready to get started,” Madison cut in. She
patted her tight curls. “Where do you want me to stand? Here?” She pointed to center stage. She envisioned herself in the middle of the shot, with the other girls fanned around her in a semicircle.

It had taken twenty minutes to get Scarlett into her bathing suit, and she hadn’t stopped complaining since. Jane had also made a comment about how revealing the suits were, although she hadn’t made a big stink about it like her friend. She had just whined a little until Ann put some bronzer on her not-so-slender legs to placate her.

Gaby, who had finally arrived, was fiddling with the trim on her yellow suit, seemingly oblivious to all the commotion. Madison had to admit that the color looked nice against Gaby’s golden skin. And Gaby, who usually dressed conservatively, actually had a decent body. Jane, on the other hand, could stand to hit the gym. She was nowhere near Madison’s size 0. The truth was the girl looked almost dumpy in her pale blue suit with the small white bow in the center.

Gaby leaned over to Madison. “You wanna do something later? I hate Sundays; they’re sooo boring,” she whispered.

“Sure, sweetie.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. I’ll think of something.” Madison didn’t understand why Scarlett had freaked out—she looked hot in her black bathing suit.

“So what are you wearing to the series premiere?”

“I’m not sure…Gaby, let me focus, okay?”

“Focus on what?”

“On the photo shoot.”

Gaby frowned. “What’s there to focus on? They’re just gonna take our pictures, right?”

Madison waved her hand dismissively, not wanting to talk anymore. Of course she had to focus. She had to focus on making sure she was photographed in the most flattering possible light and angle, more than the other three, to ensure that she was the obvious star of
L.A. Candy.
The show didn’t actually
have
a star. It was supposed to be about all four girls equally. But a certain dynamic in a promo poster or an ad could convey so much. So it was crucial that Madison did what she could to help shape that dynamic.

The photographer, Jeremy, was English. He appeared to be in his late forties, with salt-and-pepper hair and bushy eyebrows. Straight? Gay? It was so hard to tell with Brits. Just in case, she made a point of throwing a dazzling smile in his direction and pushing her shoulders back, which made her boobs look—well, apparent.

Jeremy smiled back at her. Then he pointed to Jane and said, “Jane? We’re going to have you sit on that big candy heart there—with your back against Scarlett’s. Yeah, uh-huh, darling, that’s right.”

“Where do you want me?” Madison called out pleasantly.

“Madison, Gaby…I want you to sit on the ends, on either side of Jane and Scarlett.”

Madison complied, and a moment later, Jeremy began clicking away. This was not a pose
she
would have chosen.
But these were probably just test shots. There was still time for Madison to jockey for a better spot.

The doors to the studio opened, and Trevor strolled in. He waved as he walked toward Dana, who stood behind the photographer, watching. Madison hadn’t seen him in a while, although she
had
called him a few times in the last couple of weeks to try to find out what was going on with the edits, the photo shoot, the series premiere, everything. He hadn’t said much about the edits, although he had revealed that he was very, very happy with Madison’s and the other girls’ footage.

“Wow. You all look great!” Trevor said.

Dana pointed to the computer screen where the test images were being displayed. “What do you think, Trevor?”

Madison watched as Trevor and Dana studied the screen for a minute. Then Trevor called the photographer over, and the three of them stood there, talking quietly. Madison couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they kept looking at the screen, then over at the girls.

A moment later, Jeremy resumed his position behind the camera. “Okay, we’re going to move you around a little, girls.”

Aha
, Madison thought. Smart man. Trevor knows Madison should be in the center, not hanging out on the edge of the shot.

“Miss Jane,” Jeremy continued, “instead of profile, we’re going to have you face forward.” He stepped back
and looked at the group as Jane shifted her legs around to the front of the big candy heart. “Okay, can you slide a little more forward? And Miss Scarlett, let’s have you sit on the back corner. Now, I need all you girls to get closer together.”

Madison felt a frisson of alarm. “Um, Jeremy?” She forced herself to smile charmingly. “Can we do this differently? I feel like Jane’s blocking me. I’m practically in the background.”

“Madison, you look great just where you are,” Trevor spoke up. “We just want you all close together for the group shot.”

“But—”

“Now say ‘cheese’!” Jeremy called out.

Madison tried to hide her frustration. This was not the way she had planned it.

She and the others settled into their new spots, and the photographer snapped a picture. Madison watched Trevor’s face as he regarded the computer screen, waiting for the image to appear.

Trevor waited…then leaned forward…and smiled. “It looks perfect,” he announced. “Thanks, Jeremy.”

Madison was seething. Her eyes went to Jane, who was smiling and looking pleased with herself. That pudgy little nobody had just stolen Madison’s moment. Who did she think she was?

Jane checked her makeup in her round, gold hand mirror one last time before walking up to Area. It was strange not seeing a long line outside of one of L.A.’s hottest clubs, but it had been closed off for the private PopTV viewing party.

“I’m a little nervous,” she whispered to Scarlett as she reached for her hand.

“What do you have to be nervous about?” Scarlett said with a grin. “So millions of people all across America are about to get an intimate, inside, up-close-and-personal look at the very private life of Jane Roberts. Big deal.”

“And the very private life of Scarlett Harp, too!” Jane reminded her. “Aren’t you scared?”

“Nope. I don’t have anything to hide.”

“I don’t have anything to hide either. It’s just weird knowing that so many people will be watching.”

“Or maybe no one will be watching,” Scarlett said cheerfully.

Sometimes Jane felt like Scarlett
wanted
the show to fail.
L.A. Candy
had completely taken over their lives. For the last month, the cameras had been with them almost every day: at work, at home, at clubs, shopping, having lunch, and everywhere else. Every Sunday, Dana called to set up the shooting schedule for the upcoming week. Jane no longer thought of a typical week as being from Monday through Sunday, but from one scheduling phone call to the next. Dana and the show had become her calendar. And she no longer thought about an outfit as being complete without a mike under her clothes, taped to her skin.

Jane had no idea what the
L.A. Candy
producers had done with all the footage. The only thing that she had seen was the short trailer that had been running on PopTV all week—a quick montage of her, Scar, Madison, and Gaby around town. Several strangers had already recognized her from it. Tonight would be the first time the four of them would see an actual episode. None of the girls really knew what to expect. Deep down, Jane still had her reservations about the whole
L.A. Candy
concept. After all, how interesting could it be, watching the day-to-day, unairbrushed lives of four average, ordinary California girls? A trailer with clips and fast music was one thing. Would the producers really be able to pull off a whole series?

Jane’s phone beeped. She checked it quickly. It was Fiona, saying that she was really sorry but she was going to miss the party. Jane hadn’t seen much of Fiona lately, or at
least that’s how it felt. It was weird. The first few days after Jane got her promotion, Fiona had her running around like crazy. But after that, she’d barely had any responsibilities—at least none that took place off camera.

A six-foot-tall poster of the four girls had been placed by the door of Area. It was the image from the photo shoot two weeks ago, of the girls wearing those skimpy bathing suits and holding large, round lollipops. The poster had
L.A. CANDY
written in hot pink letters across the top and “…anything but sweet” in smaller writing along the bottom.

The same image had appeared in a bunch of magazines. When Jane first saw the full-page ad, she’d been pleasantly surprised. The image was less slutty than she’d thought it would be, and more tongue-in-cheek.

Still, it was bizarre seeing herself on a six-foot-tall poster. It was so…
huge.

Jane and Scarlett stood there a moment, gazing at themselves.

“Kind of a weird moment, isn’t it?” Scarlett remarked. “The real us staring down the pretend us.”

“I guess that’s one way of putting it.”

Next to the poster was a small white backdrop covered in PopTV’s logo with a lone photographer standing in front of it. When he saw Jane and Scarlett, he waved eagerly at them.

“Pose for me in front of the step and repeat,” he called out.

“The step and…what?” Jane said, confused.

The photographer pointed to the white PopTV backdrop. “That.”

“Uh, sure.” She clutched Scarlett’s hand tighter.

As the photographer lifted his camera and began clicking, the girls made their best attempts to appear natural. Neither had any idea how to pose. It was her—
their
—first red carpet experience. It was so strange. Jane had seen pictures of
real
celebrities in front of logo-covered banners with a swarm of photographers (well, more than one photographer, anyway) snapping away. And now…
she
was standing there having her photo taken. It felt like she was dreaming, except that she wasn’t sure yet if it was a good dream, a bad dream, or something in between.

Inside, the club was packed. It looked like it would on any other night, except the twentysomething hipsters that usually filled all the white leather booths had been replaced by executives, advertisers, and family members.

“Wow,” Scarlett said, glancing around. “It looks kinda like the Men’s Wearhouse took over Area.”

“Yeah.”

Jane started working her way through the crowd, looking for familiar faces. Scarlett followed. Jane spotted Trevor, Dana, Wendell, and a bunch of the
L.A. Candy
staff and crew. She hadn’t seen Wendell since the interview back in August; he caught her eye, gave her a huge smile, and waved. Madison and Gaby were talking to an older
couple. The woman looked a lot like Gaby. They had to be her mom and stepdad. The place was mostly filled with people Jane didn’t recognize. She knew D was coming late. As for Braden—she wasn’t sure. She had texted him an invite (with a vaguely worded “Feel free to bring your friends!” which could’ve included Willow, but also not), and he had promised to “try to be there.”

Jane spotted her parents and sisters, Lacie and Nora, standing near a table of food. They looked as excited and nervous as she felt inside. She was beyond happy that they were here. She’d seen them only once since moving to L.A., when she and Scar had driven to Santa Barbara for a quick overnight trip for Lacie’s sixteenth birthday party.

“Hey, guys!” Jane called out. She grabbed Scarlett’s hand and ran toward her family, teetering precariously on her four-inch stiletto heels.

“Jane! Oh my gosh.” Her mother, Maryanne, clasped her in a warm hug. Her father, Mark, did the same. The two of them hugged Scarlett as well.

“We are so proud of you girls!” her father said, his eyes twinkling. “Wow, TV stars! This is really exciting.”

“Dad,” Jane said, blushing. “We’re
not
TV stars.”

She turned and smiled at her sisters. Lacie’s curtain of long blond hair was clipped back and her hazel eyes were wide with awe. Nora, who was fourteen, had their father’s curly brown hair (a strand of which was currently twisted around her index finger—like sister…like sister) and
golden brown eyes. She smiled back at Jane, revealing her purple-tinted braces.

“So what celebrities are gonna be here tonight?” Lacie asked immediately. Lacie never minced words.

Jane laughed and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“I heard Anna Payne might stop by,” Scarlett joked, elbowing Jane.

“Whaaaaat?”
Lacie and Nora practically screamed.

“Just kidding, just kidding!” Scarlett held up her hands.

Nora wrinkled her nose. “Not funny. So are you dating anyone famous yet?” she asked Jane.

Jane noticed her parents staring at her, as if waiting eagerly for her answer to Nora’s question. “Uh, no,” she said, embarrassed. “I’m not dating anyone
not
famous, either.”

Her mother reached out and smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle in Jane’s dress. “Are you doing okay, sweetheart? Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine, Mom,” Jane said. Her mom—and her dad, too—always worried about her and fussed over her. Actually, she kind of missed that, now that she was on her own.

“Ohmigod! Isn’t that Jesse Edwards?” Nora exclaimed.

“He’s soooooo hot!” Lacie cried out.

Jane turned. Standing in front of the step-and-repeat where Jane and Scarlett had posed for some shots, his arm
draped casually around some girl who looked a lot like one of the Victoria’s Secret models, was a gorgeous guy dressed in a black suit and collared white shirt, no tie. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a medium build and light brown, wavy hair.

“He looks so familiar,” Jane said.

Nora gaped at her. “Jane, you’re so ignorant! Jesse Edwards is in, like,
all
the magazines.”

“Yeah, Jane,” Scarlett scoffed exaggeratedly, causing Nora to playfully stick her tongue out at Scarlett.

“He’s the son of Wyatt Edwards and Katarina Miller,” Lacie clarified after a not-so-subtle eye roll.

Oh, yeah—
him.
Now Jane remembered. Jesse Edwards was the twenty-year-old celebuspawn of those two famous actors, who had met on the set of a movie and spent the last two decades splitting up and getting back together again. In the tabloids Jesse was always with some B-list starlet, in front of a trendy restaurant or club. He had had some small roles in a couple television series, but he was mostly known for his looks and the girls he dated. He was a notorious playboy.

Jane watched him as he escorted his date in the direction of the bar, waving and smiling at everyone he passed. What a player. Still, he was
hot.

“Scarlett!”

Jane turned around. Mr. and Mrs. Harp—actually, Dr. and Dr. Harp—were walking toward them, champagne glasses in hand. Scarlett’s dad, in his expensive-looking
gray suit, fit right in with the crowd. Scarlett’s mom’s silver dress hugged her rail-thin frame.

“You came.” Scarlett sounded less than thrilled. Jane knew that her BFF and her parents had never been close. In fact, after Lacie’s birthday bash, Scarlett had elected to spend the night at the Robertses’ house rather than her parents’.

“Your father never misses a party,” Scarlett’s mom said wryly. “How
are
you, Scarlett?”

“What exactly is
L.A. Candy
about, anyway? It’s not like that awful reality show where kids compete for dates, is it?” Scarlett’s dad spoke up.

“No, Dad. Actually, it’s PopTV’s first X-rated reality show,” Scarlett replied. “They’ve installed a stripper pole in our living room.” Her parents gaped at her. Jane’s parents looked at each other uncomfortably. Lacie and Nora just giggled.

“She’s kidding,” Jane added quickly.

Someone’s cold fingers touched her shoulder. She turned around; it was Madison. Gaby was there too, holding a martini in each hand. Madison was wearing a beaded gold minidress. Her bleached hair was in full, loose curls. Gaby’s black corset dress went down to her knees, and her hair was styled in a smooth updo. Her makeup was flawless. Jane hadn’t seen either of them since the photo shoot.

“Jane!” Madison trilled. “Scarlett! Are you two sooo stoked about tonight!?” She sounded louder than usual and a little drunk.

“Hey, guys,” Jane said, hugging them both. “This is crazy, right?”

“It’s the best!” Gaby agreed. “Hey, does anyone want a martini? I accidentally ordered two.”

“I’ll take one!” Madison said, giggling. Jane noticed her parents raising their eyebrows. Her parents were cool with her drinking wine with dinner occasionally, and there’s no way they didn’t know she’d tried more, but still, she was glad she and Scarlett hadn’t had time to grab any drinks. Her mom and dad were most likely about to see her drinking at least once on the huge screen at the front of the room—might as well not rub it in their faces any more than PopTV was about to.

Jane and Scarlett introduced Madison and Gaby to their parents. “My mom and dad are over there, talking to Trevor,” Gaby said, pointing. “Hey, Madison, when are your parents getting here?”

“They’re not. They’re in Beijing.” Madison shrugged and took a sip of her martini, spilling a little. “They’re closing some deal on a resort they’re building over there. They wanted to take the jet and come back just for this party. But I told them we could celebrate the next time they’re in town.”

“Your parents are hotel developers?” Scarlett’s mom asked Madison, with interest.

Madison leaned over and took a sip of one of Gaby’s martinis. “Among other things.”

The Harps started telling Jane’s parents about some fancy
new hotel in London they’d stayed at recently. Lacie and Nora wandered away, in search of celebrities. Jane turned to Scarlett, Madison, and Gaby so they could gossip about the other people in the room when she noticed a familiar figure walking into the club. Her heart practically jumped out of her chest. It was Braden! After his noncommittal RSVP, she wasn’t sure if he was going to make it. He was dressed in a black button-down shirt and dark jeans. He looked lost and uncertain, as though he had never stepped foot in a club before. Which, knowing him, was totally possible. The more Jane got to know him, the more she understood how
not
into the Hollywood scene he really was.

She was about to shout out his name when Trevor’s voice came on over the speakers. He was standing in the front of the room by the massive plasma screen. People turned to face him.

“Could I please have everyone’s attention?” Trevor called out. “Jane, Scarlett, Madison, Gaby, could I get you guys up here?” Jane threw her parents an excited, nervous smile and followed the other girls to the front.

“It’s exactly one minute and twenty-two seconds until the big moment,” Trevor went on, holding up his Rolex. “Before we get our first look at this very exciting new show, I just want to say what a wonderful time we’ve all had working on it. And it’s just the beginning! These last few weeks have been tough, but we did it. So I hope you all enjoy
L.A. Candy
as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it.”

The room went dark. “With that, I want to invite everyone to take a look at the very first episode of a show that I hope will be around for a long, long time. Ladies and gentlemen,
L.A. Candy
!” Trevor announced.

Everyone clapped and cheered. Trevor stepped back just as the screen came to life. Jane’s face appeared, smiling at someone or something in the distance. “My name is Jane,” she heard herself say over the speakers, in surround sound. She was mesmerized.

Then the opening credits began playing over the new Rihanna song and a montage of all four girls doing different things, the final image of Jane unpacking a box in the new apartment then collapsing on the couch with Scarlett and smiling.