She Sins at Midnight (13 page)

Lila came to her senses as soon as Creigh moved away, the cool morning air immediately reminding her of her nakedness. She replied, “I didn’t do anything to you. You did it to me.”

Creigh amended, “We did it to each other then.”

The telephone kept ringing and Lila finally hopped off the counter to get it. Breathlessly, she picked it up, “Hello? Oh, Hi Jilly. No, no, just a little out of breath from running to the phone. Sure, twenty minutes, I’ll be ready.” She hung up the receiver and looked at Creigh, “That was my friend Jilly. We’re going shopping today.”

Creigh took a step closer to Lila, “Call her back and tell her you can’t make it.” When she looked at him questioningly, he pulled her back into his arms and trailed kisses up her neck. Then he whispered in her ear, “I think you should stay here and get to know me better.”

Creigh continued his assault on her neck. It was a good thing Jilly called when she did. Lila had no doubt that left uninterrupted she and Creigh would already be on the way up to her bedroom. She managed to push him away and whisper, “Not like this. Not with you representing Melinda.”

Creigh took a deep breath, “You’re right. Legally, you and I shouldn’t have any contact at all without your lawyer present.”

With a nervous laugh, Lila replied, “I’m a little relieved that my attorney wasn’t here for this. I mean, I’m not sure my dad would have been okay with what we just did.”

Still holding onto to her, Creigh responded, “Lila, I need to talk to your father so we can make this case go away.” Then he kissed her very tenderly on the lips before stepping back. “I’m guessing he’s not home?” Lila shook her head to confirm his suspicion. “Have him call me when he gets in, okay?”

Lila nodded her head, “Okay, I will.”

Creigh grabbed Lila’s hand and walked to the front door. Just as he crossed the threshold, he looked at her and smiled, “Little Lila Montgomery, who would have guessed.” And with those words, he got back into his car and drove off.

Lila watched until Creigh’s car pulled onto the road before shutting the door. She wrapped her arms around herself and savored the erotic feelings that Creigh made her feel. She thought of the scene in
She Sins at Midnight
:

Vivian was shocked to her core as Julius’s penetrating gaze ravished her. She felt her insides turn to liquid and her knees weaken as he leaned down so that his mouth was only inches from hers. His hands slid down her back toward her bottom as he pulled her close. Then his mouth was on hers and she could feel his hard…”

Lila’s thoughts were once again interrupted when she heard her cell phone ringing in her room. She ran up the stairs to get it but before answering she checked the caller I.D. It was a two one two area code which left her no doubt who was on the other line. She tentatively answered, “Hi Mitzi, what’s up?”

The woman on the other end inquired, “Dawling! Are you feeling any better about things?”

Thinking of the lawsuit that has been filed against her, she responded, “If possible Mitzi, I feel worse. Did you find out anything from Marsupial?”

“I did, but you’re not going to like it.” Mitzi told Lila that one of the other books that had been nominated had just been disqualified because the committee learned that the author plagiarized some of her love scenes from a novel that had been written twenty years earlier. They were therefore convinced that
She Sins at Midnight
was a shoo-in for the award and they were adamant that Lila appear to receive the honor in person.

Lila groaned, “And if I don’t?”

Her agent answered, “Marsupial will sue and they’ll win.”

As Lila hung up the phone she wondered how she could have lived life on the straight and narrow for thirty-two years and still find herself as the defendant in two separate lawsuits? It seemed incredibly cruel. Plus she was sure if her publisher sued her, it wouldn’t make her look any less innocent in Melinda’s case. There had to be some way she could receive the award without her family ever knowing. Maybe she could wear a disguise or something.

“
W
hat happened to being ready in twenty minutes?”

Lila looked up to see Jilly standing in her bedroom. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even hear her friend come into the house, let alone up the stairs. She answered, “You are never going to believe the kind of morning that I’ve just had.” And being that she couldn’t tell her best friend about her romance novel worries, she told her all about the scene at the country club the night before and about the goings on in the kitchen that morning.

Jilly exclaimed, “You mean Julius Ceasar is really Creighton Ashwood? He’s hot! Every time I see him at the club I remember that crush you had on him our senior year in high school. So how does he kiss?” The look on her friend’s face was all the answer she needed. Switching topics, she asked, “Why would Melinda Forrester be suing you of all people?”

Lila answered, “I have no idea. I called the office first thing and left a message for Cynthia and Josh to call me back. I’m just waiting to hear from one of them. Then she remembered her run in with Jessica Bowman. She told Jilly all about it including the fact that Jessica seemed genuinely nice and that she had asked after Jilly.

Jilly panicked, “Holy shit! What did you tell her about me?”

“Only the truth. I told her that you married your college sweetheart, that you have a beautiful house on Eton Hill and that you have three gorgeous, perfect children. I explained that you were living every girl’s fairy tale.”

Jilly gasped, “You big liar!”

Lila questioned, “What part of that is a lie?”

“Living a fairy tale? Isn’t that stretching it a bit?”

Lila answered, “Well it looks like a fairy tale from where I’m standing.” Then she added, “Plus it sounds better than saying, her clothes are stained with baby vomit and she wears them out of the house anyway.”

Jilly laughed, “You’re right, let’s stick with your spin. It sounds much more glamorous.”

Lila and Jilly left the house minutes later on an excursion to boost Jilly’s confidence by revamping her look before the reunion. The first stop was the Bentley Commons for a cut and color. After that the plan was to shop till they dropped for the perfect outfit. The outfit that would make Jessica Bowman believe that Jilly really did live the ideal life.

The friends dashed into the salon with five minutes to spare and as fate would have it, they wound up standing in the reception line directly behind none other than Jessica Bowman. Jessica turned and smiled at her high school classmates, “Hey, you two. What are you girls getting done?” Before Jilly had a chance to get all weird and nervous, Jessica cut the tension by confiding, “I’m getting my hair colored to cover the disgusting amount of grey I’m getting and I’m getting my chin and lip waxed.” Then she declared, “Without the wonders of wax, I could join the circus as the bearded lady.”

Jilly started to laugh at the description of Jessica’s beauty treatments. She immediately felt the same thing Lila had the night before. This was definitely not the same Jessica from high school. So before she had a chance to think about it, Jilly offered, “Listen Jessica, if we get out of here around the same time, why don’t you join us for lunch? We’re just going to pop next door to Luigi’s.”

Jessica smiled and announced that she’d be delighted to. Jilly and Lila shared a look and Lila realized that she was no longer worried her friends would judge her harshly for her single status. Now, if she could just keep them from finding out she wrote erotica, everything just might turn out okay.

Jilly and Jessica were led into the back room to start their procedures. With nothing else to do, Lila decided to have a pedicure. As she settled into the spa chair, she noticed a copy of “The Countrywide Inquisitor” sitting next to her. She didn’t remember to bring her book so she decided to flip through the tabloid to see what kind of trash they were trying to sell now.

The headlines on the first page read:

Melinda Forrester, Oscar nominated actress of “Running on Empty” has reportedly been shagging the janitor at her agency, Amalgamated Artists. Sources close to the actress say the star is keeping the affair quiet as she is also doing the nasty with Solomon Films owner, Oscar Solomon.

This reporter has learned the janitor and the mogul aren’t the only loves in this lady’s (?) life. She is also heard to be having an on again, off again, with her agent Josh Furber, senior partner at Amalgamated Artists. When asked about the nature of his relationship with the starlet, Furber was adamant that “It’s strictly, business.” However, we did learn that Miss Forrester now demands that all employees of the agency refer to her as, “your Highness.” This tidbit comes from Furber’s current assistant, Charlotte Belomey. Apparently his former assistant has been put on administrative leave for defaming Miss Forrester’s character. To which this reporter asks, isn’t Melinda taking care of that job on her own?

Lila felt decidedly nauseous. She wondered how in the world the press had gotten the story. Then it hit her, Franze LaBonge…that gossipy Nelly must have sold it to a reporter and now the whole world knew. Josh had to have been the source to report she had been put on administrative leave for defaming Melinda’s character, which, she decided, was most certainly why he wasn’t returning her call. She particularly liked the bit Charlotte added. But more than anything, Lila was curious as to why Melinda was suing Amalgamated. It seemed like she might have a case against “The Inquisitor,” but what could she possibly be hoping to get by suing her agent or Lila for that matter.

Lila ripped the article out and stuffed it into her purse to show to her father; but in the meantime, she was going to enjoy having her feet rubbed and she wasn’t about to let Melinda ruin that for her too.

C
ynthia Flynn walked out of a meeting with Josh Furber, Hayden Vince, Amalgamated’s president and Robert Felton, their legal counsel. They had just spent the last forty-five minutes discussing the Melinda Forrester Incident, as it was now being called. Cynthia came clean with the information that she was the one who started the rumor about Melinda and Jose´ in the coat closet. But Josh was still furious with his assistant and maintained, “Lila’s the one who started the ball rolling by calling Melinda ‘The Queen of Oral Pleasure.’ If it weren’t for that little comment, Melinda would have never been angry enough to sue.”

Cynthia thought it was curious that none of the men asked if there was any truth behind Lila’s nickname for the starlet. But then she realized that they probably all knew the answer to that first hand. As she was leaving Hayden’s office, Cynthia was reminded again that she was to have no contact with Lila what-so-ever. Robert Felton added that her friend had already sought legal advice and the situation was now in the hands of the lawyers.

Loudly, Cynthia reiterated, “But I’m the one who started the rumor, not Lila!”

Josh explained, “It doesn’t matter who started it. Melinda hates Lila, not you.”

Robert contributed, “Honestly Cynthia, the fewer people Melinda is out to get at Amalgamated, the better. Let’s not give her and Oscar any more ammunition by clouding the situation with the truth.”

Cynthia stared at the three men like they were from Pluto. She replayed their words in her head; “Let’s not cloud the situation with the truth.” And “We can afford to lose Lila, she’s just an assistant.” “Just an assistant?” Cynthia thought. If they had any idea of everything that Lila did to keep Josh’s ass out of the fire, they would never think of her as
just
anything.

Cynthia had to talk to her friend and she knew she couldn’t do it from her agency phone. She wasn’t quite sure where to go for privacy. Then it hit her. Saks was right across the street and while the whole store was teaming with people from The Industry, there was one floor they never got off on, the fifth floor.

The elevator doors opened on five and Cynthia headed for the changing rooms. As predicted, the department was completely empty with the exception of an emaciated sales lady who wore a confused look on her pinched face. She approached Cynthia and asked, “Excuse me, can I help you find something?”

Cynthia answered, “No thanks, I’m just looking for a gift for my mom. She’s quite hefty, you know.”

Bernadette seemed greatly relieved by the response and replied, “Oh well, then, that makes sense. Let me know if you need any help finding her size.”

Thanking her for the offer, Cyn snuck behind a rack of 3X’s and dialed Lila’s cell phone.

It only rang once before her friend answered, “Hello?”

“Lila, it’s me,”

Without preamble, Lila inquired, “Cyn, what the heck is going on?”

Cynthia spent the next five minutes filling her friend in on the details of her morning meeting and informed her that she had just been ordered not to have any contact with her.

Lila asked, “Then why are you calling?”

“Li, are you nuts? You’re the best friend that I have in this crazy town and there’s no way that I’m going to hang you out to dry like the rest of them.”

Lila wondered, “If no one is supposed to talk to me, how am I supposed to find out what’s going on?”

“Through your dad. These guys are running scared that you already have a lawyer.”

Lila couldn’t believe how quickly that bit of information found its way to the west coast. But that was Hollywood for you. Bad news got around quicker than Melinda. She asked Cynthia, “What’s Josh want?”

“I think he’s hoping the partners will agree on a settlement package. That way you’ll leave the agency and Melinda will stay.”

Lila asked, “And if I don’t accept the package?”

Cyn sighed, “Then all hell is going to break loose, my friend. You know how this business is, if you don’t go quietly and do what you’re told, the powers that be will move heaven and earth to make your life miserable.”

Lila fumed, “But if I leave without clearing my name, then no one else is ever going to hire me.”