Fame Game 03: Infamous (14 page)

26

LOOK WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN

Madison made one final check of the room: the flowers arranged perfectly, the plate of bagels and croissants waiting on the dining room table. (Unlike their hostess, the guests didn’t worry about carb consumption.) The coffee was steaming inside the carafes Madison had ordered from Coffee Bean.

A text came in from Ryan. BE THERE IN FIVE. Madison took a deep breath. OK C U SOON, she wrote back.

A few days after she had called him, Madison and Ryan had begun spending time together again. Not much—but enough to make Madison wonder if things might be heading back toward the romantic. (Which she wanted? Didn’t want? Her feelings changed by the hour.)

They’d taken walks in out-of-the-way places and drives up PCH on sunny, windy days. It had been nice. Beyond nice, in fact. They joked and laughed and traded stories about their jobs. But they never talked about what was going on with Them. Ryan didn’t seem to be seeing anyone, and Madison certainly wasn’t into any of her
Fame Game
dates, but the situation remained unclear. Were they friends? A semi-couple? Or merely friendly exes? Neither spoke about it. They held hands sometimes, but they hadn’t kissed. As tempting as that sounded, it was a step Madison wasn’t ready to take.

Now Madison wiped an invisible speck of dust from the table. Everything looked perfect, and she was pleased. But she was also slightly annoyed at herself for caring, for going to all this trouble. Did the situation really warrant it? Should she feel so nervous and apprehensive?

Well, yes, as a matter of fact. Ryan was coming over for the first time in forever—and he was bringing Charlie Wardell, Madison’s father, with him.

How Ryan had found him, Madison still wasn’t sure. Something about Ryan’s dad having friends in high places. But if Madison knew anything about her father, it was that he didn’t frequent the high places—so really, that explanation told her nothing.

Not that it mattered. Charlie had been gone, and now he was back;
that
was what mattered. Apparently he had been holed up somewhere in Wyoming, living in a borrowed trailer and fixing engines for under-the-table wages. He was no longer on the run, but he wasn’t exactly looking to be found, either.

Madison had mixed feelings about Ryan’s meddling. He’d stuck his nose in her family business before, trying to broker peace between her and Sophie—which was sort of annoying. On the one hand, if it weren’t for him, who knew when she’d see her dad again? If ever. Maybe he’d show up on her wedding day, looking rumpled and apologetic and bearing a gift he’d shoplifted from Nordstrom. On the other hand, Madison’s relationship with her father was
her
business, and why her former boss and boyfriend thought he should make it his was baffling.

Madison sighed. There was no sense in going over it again. What was done was done.

And she could hear the two of them coming down the hall right now.

She opened the door before they could knock. Ryan looked handsome and perfectly clean-cut in a dark gray sweater, especially when compared with Charlie. Try as her dad might, he never looked like he hadn’t slept in his clothes for a couple of days. Of course, for all Madison knew, he had.

Ryan leaned in and gave her a warm hug. She squeezed him back tightly and breathed in his familiar, comforting smell of clean laundry and bar soap. She sort of wished they could stand like that, pressed together, forever. But it was time to deal with her father. She pulled away and turned toward Charlie.

He gazed at her with eyes that looked like they might overflow with tears. “Look what the cat dragged in,” he said softly. He stepped forward as if to hug her, too, but then hesitated.

“Please, come inside,” Madison said. Her heart was racing and she was finding it hard to breathe. She thought of herself as so tough—but seeing Charlie always,
always
reminded her that in some ways she wasn’t. That there was a part of her that would forever be little Madelyn Wardell from Armpit Falls, who only wanted her daddy to stick around and take care of her.

Charlie and Ryan sat at the dining room table and Madison poured them coffee. (She silently wished she had a shot of whiskey to dump into hers.)

Charlie reached for a croissant and broke it into two, scattering crumbs all over his pants and the floor. He laughed nervously. “Seems like I make a mess wherever I go, don’t it?” he said.

“Literal and figurative,” Madison said. She couldn’t help it—she was so glad to see Charlie again, but she also wanted to reach across the table and strangle him.

Ryan, of course, was ready to play peacemaker. “Charlie and I have done a lot of talking,” he said. He looked at the croissants but didn’t take one. “And it sounds like he’s really turning things around. He’s got a steady job. He’s paid off his debts, and he’s saving money.”

Charlie nodded. “First time in my life I have a savings account,” he said. “Every penny in there has your name on it, Maddy.”

Madison sipped her coffee. “Thank you, but I don’t need your money,” she said. Her voice came out cooler than she meant it to.

“For the necklace,” Charlie said. He twisted his hands together nervously. “I suppose you figured this out, seeing as how you’re so smart, but I was in trouble. I had gambling debts that got so big they were going to bury me. That necklace—well, it freed me.”

Madison frowned. “But how? You can’t take something like that to a pawn shop. I mean, it’s not some half-carat solitaire from Kay Jewelers.”

Charlie gave a little laugh. “No, ma’am, you can’t pawn a necklace like that. But Leeann, who’s the wife of the guy I owed, she loves nothing better than diamonds. She’s like a crow—anything sparkly, she’s got to have it. So she took one look at that necklace and she said to her husband, ‘You tell Charlie we’re even now.’ And that’s what he did.” He gazed at Madison, his blue eyes pleading. “I’m so sorry I did what I did. But I knew she’d love that thing. I was never going to be able to come up with the money, but I could give her that necklace.”

“So you planned the whole thing,” Madison said, frowning.

Charlie shook his head. “Oh no, honey, not like that, no. I was living here, trying to decide whether to change my name and run, or be with my daughters, or give myself up, or what. But then I saw the necklace and it all became clear to me. It was a way out.”

“I don’t suppose you stopped to think what it would mean for me,” Madison snapped. “How it would ruin my reputation. How I’d be the one to clean up your mess. Just like I did when you left us years ago.” She could feel her fists clenching. She wanted to stay cool, but it was impossible. She was so damn
tired
of being abandoned by her father.

“Maddy, you have to believe me when I say I had no idea the trouble I was causing. I honestly thought insurance would cover the necklace. I never would have done it if I knew . . .”

Charlie put his head in his hands. He was silent, and his shoulders shook.

He’s crying
, Madison thought.
The bastard is actually crying.

Ryan reached over and placed his hand over her clenched fist. “He’s trying to do right,” he whispered. “You mean the world to him, and you always have.”

“He has the worst way of showing it,” Madison said back, not caring if Charlie heard. She hoped that if she let her anger out, she could be done with it.

The doorbell rang again, and Ryan shot her a wary, almost nervous look. “I also told Sophia he was coming,” he admitted.

Madison pulled her hand away. “God,” she said, “you don’t know when to stop, do you?”

“He’s her father, too,” Ryan said gently. “She loves him. He loves her. Don’t you think she deserves to be here?”

Madison sighed and got up to let her sister in, praying that she hadn’t brought the cameras with her. Ryan had told Madison that he was working through his fear of publicity—he realized how quickly the attention went away, how small his story was compared to the big world of celebrity news—but she didn’t think he was ready for the PopTV crew. And nor was she. Not today.

She opened the door and braced herself for the onslaught. But it was only Sophie, who immediately rushed past her, arms outstretched, calling “Daddy, Daddy!”

She practically threw herself at Charlie’s feet. “Oh, I missed you so much. You have no idea how hard it’s been for us.”

Madison rolled her eyes to the ceiling and then nudged her sister with her foot.
Not
gently. “Get up, Soph,” she said. “You didn’t bring the cameras, so you can save the Oscar-worthy performance.”

Sophie looked up at Madison with narrowed eyes and then turned back to her father. “We really have been
desperate
for news.”

Charlie reached out and smoothed Sophie’s hair from her face. “I missed you, honey,” he said. “I thought about you every day.”

Madison sat back down at the table. “Maybe you could have sent another postcard,” she said pointedly.

“Hey, you guys are all together now,” Ryan said in an attempt to keep everyone positive. “Let’s take a second to appreciate that. A reunion.”

Sophie was still half on Charlie’s lap, but Charlie didn’t take his eyes off Madison. “Honey, I will spend the rest of my life regretting the hardship I’ve caused you. And I’m going to do everything in my power to make things better.” He wiped a tear from his cheek. “I want to be a part of your life. Please, please, will you let me?”

Madison didn’t say anything right away. She’d heard him say things like this before. Would she be a fool to believe him this time?

Yes, she would.

But she knew she was probably going to do it anyway.

She felt a small smile twitching at the corner of her mouth. “If you want to be my dad,” she said, “you need to act like it. No more stealing. Ever. For one thing, it’s illegal, and for another, you’re horrible at it. Seriously.”

“I’ll tell everyone I took the necklace,” he said.

“No!” Madison cried. “What’s done is done.” She wondered if Charlie understood
anything
. She couldn’t go back to the press and admit she’d lied. It would ruin everything. She’d lied under oath! “It’s all been taken care of, so we leave it alone now.”

Charlie nodded. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“And another thing,” Madison said. “Family is not about running away. It’s about being there for people.” She looked over at Ryan, who was nodding.

She realized, maybe for the first time, how much he had been there for her. How, when they were together,
he
had been her family. She reached out and took his hand, wrapping her fingers through his. “Thank you,” she mouthed.

And when Ryan smiled at her, she leaned over the table and kissed him on the cheek.

It startled him, she could tell. But that was all right. She thought there was a chance they’d figure things out.

27

A BRIGHT SIDE TO EVERYTHING

Carmen had arrived early for her audition for Jordan Becker’s new movie, feeling confident and excited. Her agent had already had a promising off-the-record chat with the director. Supposedly Jordan thought Carmen could be the perfect rebellious teenage daughter of Maryn Wright and Tom Wade. Supposedly he’d been wanting to work with her ever since he’d seen her in
The Long and Winding Road
.

Carmen had needed good news like this to counteract the depressing realization of Fawn’s betrayal. For months (months!) her alleged bestie had Jimmy Landis on speed dial so she could feed him gossip. Carmen couldn’t believe how someone so close to her—and someone who still
owed
her, big time, for Tanktopgate—could be so cruel.

And then there was Lily. Turns out her only betrayal was telling Fawn about Carmen’s supposed interest in Jonah Byrne of Sadly Sarah. Carmen had frozen her out for no reason, and the poor thing probably still didn’t know why.

Laurel had been unsurprised when Carmen revealed that Fawn was the source of all the bizarre and false information. “Personally, I always thought she seemed a little backstabby,” Laurel had said.

“But why? I don’t get it,” Carmen had said.

“Who knows? But I’ll do a little digging,” Laurel promised. “Maybe we can get to the bottom of it.”

And Carmen had thanked her profusely, feeling guilty for ever having wondered if Laurel was the source of the intel.

Now, as the time for her audition approached, Carmen steeled herself.
No more thoughts of Fawn,
she told herself
. Think only of the awesome role you’re about to get.

The cameras were ready now. “Speed,” called the sound guy. “Action,” called someone else.

And Carmen, with a clear and optimistic mind, began to walk. The PopTV cameras filmed her entering the studio and meeting Jordan. He had a very firm handshake and a warm smile. She couldn’t believe that he’d allowed PopTV to film. Should she take that as another sign of his confidence in her? Surely he wouldn’t want to appear on TV with an actress he didn’t respect. . . .

Carmen was going to read opposite two of his assistants, who would be reading the roles of Maryn, Tom, and assorted other bit players. It felt informal this way—almost like auditioning for her high school plays. Of course there were cameras all over, but she was used to them.

Carmen’s dad liked to talk about how he could hear less than five seconds of a band’s music and simply
know
they’d be a hit. It was like some sixth sense, he’d say—a secret voice whispering,
These guys have it
.

That morning, Carmen heard that secret voice whispering in her ear. It said,
You’re going to nail this
. And because of this, Carmen sat up straighter. Her voice projected louder. She
became
Stella Wray, the bright, troubled daughter of a dancer and an architect. Even though the assistants did a terrible job of reading their lines, Carmen hit every single one of hers. She felt so good about her performance she wanted to act out the whole movie right then and there.

When Jordan said that he’d seen enough, Carmen turned to him and smiled a megawatt smile. She couldn’t help it—she was suddenly elated.

This
was what she wanted. A smart drama, with indie credibility and Hollywood money, starring two of her favorite actors. If she got the role, she might just die of happiness.

“I’ll be talking to you soon,” Jordan said, enfolding her hand with his. “I have a good feeling about this.”

And Carmen did, too.

She felt like she was floating as she made her way to her car. PopTV made sure to capture her cheerful exit, complete with a few hopeful, optimistic looks directed toward the movie studio’s giant logo. (Carmen wondered what music Trevor would pick for those shots—Kate’s new song “Gonna Make It”? Or something that had climbed a little higher on the charts? She’d have to remember to watch the episode to find out.) Then she handed her mike pack to Laurel and waved good-bye for the day.

Safe in her car, Carmen pulled out her phone. Now that her career felt like it was getting back on track, she had some personal business to attend to.

First, she texted Lily. It was time to clear the air between the two of them.
Past
time, in fact; Carmen should have called her the moment she saw Jimmy’s name on Fawn’s screen. But she hadn’t: She’d spent too much time feeling sorry for herself over the bad press and the Drew situation.

She vowed she would make it up to Lily. She’d hook her up with new clients—starting with Cassandra (who needed a backup when her longtime makeup artist was unavailable). Meanwhile, the awful Fawn would be stuck doing voice-overs for feminine hygiene commercials until the end of time.

SORRY, CRAZY BUSY LATELY, Carmen texted. WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU SOON. LET’S TALK! BRUNCH?

Carmen took a deep breath. Now it was time to reach out to Luke. Face-to-face—to the degree that was possible when an ocean separated them. She reapplied her lipstick and ran her fingers through her shining hair before dialing his number. Then she set the phone on the dash and waited for him to pick up.

After a few rings, he did. His face was pixilated at first, and then it resolved into handsome clarity. “Hey, what a surprise,” he said. She couldn’t read his expression at all.

“Hey, yourself,” she said. Carmen took another long, deep breath. “Listen, I know we’ve sort of talked about this already, but I wanted to say again how sorry I am about the whole Drew mess. It was such a little thing—I don’t know how it turned into such a big deal.”

Luke smiled faintly. “I’ll admit I was hurt when I read about it. But I also know that I’m thousands of miles away, and I can’t expect you to be waiting for me—”

“But you can,” Carmen interrupted. “I mean, I don’t want to date Drew. I don’t want to date anyone but—” She was going to say “you,” but apparently it was Luke’s turn to interrupt.

“Well, actually,” Luke said. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this.” He looked away for a moment, and Carmen saw his strong profile on her screen. Then he turned back and met her eyes. “I’ve actually started seeing someone here,” he said.

Carmen gasped. “What?” Then immediately she tried to play it cool. “You are, huh? Wow, okay. Who is it?”

“My costar,” Luke said. “Antonia David.”

“Who?”

Luke didn’t seem to hear the question. “Neither of us were looking for anything, but then suddenly we really hit it off.” He shrugged helplessly. “I know you and I left things sort of . . . up in the air, and of course I’d never want to hurt you . . .” He trailed off.

Carmen honestly didn’t know how she felt, although she was definitely leaning toward hurt and insulted. But she didn’t want Luke to know that. “Wow, okay, no, that’s great, I’m really happy for you, totally,” she said. The words tumbled over themselves. She suddenly regretted calling him on FaceTime. She knew her expression wasn’t matching her words. (Apparently, when it came to life, Carmen wasn’t
quite
as good an actress.) “I mean, it’s not like we can actually date when we’re across the world from each other.” She laughed, but to her it sounded hollow.

“I really think you’re great, Carmen,” Luke said.

She nodded. “Sure, of course.”
Just not great enough,
she thought
. Not as great, say, as Antonia David.
Carmen didn’t even know who Antonia David was. She made a mental note to Google stalk this chick later.

She flipped her hair back and offered Luke a bright smile. “Well, I should get going,” she said. “Places to go, people to see . . .”

Luke smiled back. Was there a hint of sadness in it? Carmen wished there was, but she sort of didn’t think so. “Take care of yourself, love,” he said.

As she drove toward her apartment, Carmen began to cry. The day had started out so perfectly, and then Luke had to go and ruin it. It wasn’t even that she loved him, or was waiting for him to come back to her (not
really
)—but rejection sucked. There were no two ways about it.

She pulled down the photo-booth strip of the two of them that she had tucked into the visor and tossed it onto the floor. She would delete his number as soon as she got home. (She should have done it immediately, but now she was driving, and she wasn’t risking an accident or ticket over that on-set floozy.) She thought of his cute little place in Venice and wished that all of his plants would die.

A week ago she would have called Fawn, but that backstabber was on the do-not-call list, probably for the rest of her life. Carmen could have tried Lily again, but since she iced her out without telling her why, it would seem a little weird to barrage her with texts and phone calls. (But why hadn’t Lily responded to the text she’d sent? Lily kept her iPhone charged and on her person constantly, and her normal response time was about ten nanoseconds.) Carmen bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t ruined things with her, too.

At least Carmen and Kate had patched things up, thanks to Madison’s intervention. (Carmen was still marveling over
that
unexpected turn of events.) But she didn’t want to test their shaky friendship by calling to complain about Kate’s ex. And since Carmen hadn’t seen Drew walking around in a towel for weeks, and all her leftovers had remained untouched, she had to wonder if things weren’t a little off with Krew lately.

She tried to reassure herself that none of this was her fault. This was a crazy, high-pressure life, and not everyone was cut out for it. She remembered Drew’s reaction when she first told him about being approached by Trevor Lord. Drew had said it was a bad idea, and that Carmen was “above” reality TV.

She wasn’t “above” anything, she’d argued. A TV network thought she was interesting enough to feature on a major show—how was that
anything
but flattering? She wanted to make her own way, and
The Fame Game
had seemed like a great way to do it. And it was! But sometimes it seemed like living this sort of second life had swept away all her real friends. And at the same time, it had made her wonder: If they were so quick to go, were they real friends in the first place?

Carmen pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building, tired but still agitated. She decided that a quick soak in the hot tub would make her feel better. Maybe she could persuade Kate to come sit by the pool with her and share a glass of wine. (There were probably a hundred people living in Park Towers, yet no one but the
Fame Game
girls ever seemed to use the pool. It was weird, but Carmen liked it that way.)

She was walking up to the entrance when a figure stepped out from behind one of the giant potted palms. Carmen flinched—was it Kate’s stalker again? She thought he’d moved on!

But, no, it was Fawn, with a desperate look on her face. “Carmen,” she began, “I’m so sorry. I can explain—”

Carmen glared at her. “I really don’t want to talk to you.” She’d hear the explanation—if there was one—from Laurel.

“Please, Carm,” Fawn said. “Just listen to me.”

“There’s literally nothing you can say that I want to hear,” Carmen said coldly. “Now please leave. This is private property, and you are trespassing.” When Fawn made no move to go, Carmen added, “I’ll go get security. They’re playing cards in my apartment.” It wasn’t true anymore, but what Fawn didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

And then she swept past Fawn and headed for the elevator. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Fawn was leaving. As the doors closed she watched Fawn’s car pulling away.

Good riddance
, she thought. Then she smiled, thinking of tampons dancing the Macarena, and the last words she’d ever hear from Fawn:
Who says your period can’t be fun?