by Mel Curtis
The flower stalks had been drawn with tiny, short strokes that bent and stretched delicately skyward. He squinted, because the strokes almost looked like…
“Words.” Blue collapsed into his chair. “Holy fuck.”
The words were different on each stalk.
“Selfish. Abandoned. Silver spoon.” There were more. His finger traced the smaller stems that disappeared into the leaves. Each branch had a message as well. “Spiritual Transformation. Dog Gone.”
Some leaves were wilted, others lush and full. Names were etched on the leaves with each stroke of his father’s pencil. One large, healthy green leaf had Cal Lazarus’ name. Legend had it when Cal was younger he was so cocky and rude he’d almost sabotaged his career, at least until he’d taken on Dooley Rule as his life coach.
And there was Cora’s name on the Selfish stem. Her leaf wasn’t as large as Cal’s, and it was brown around the edges, as if Dooley’s program hadn’t been completely successful.
Blue found his name on one stalk – Dog Gone. The veins of the green leaf with his name looked like a dog. There was also a small green leaf with his name low on the Selfish branch. The leaf cradled a small flower.
“In their shoes,” Blue read the words on the branch. “In their shoes…”
A trace of a memory surfaced. Painful, but also – now – painfully clear.
He’d been making fun of Cora’s shoes.
“They’re like stilts made for sluts,” he joked as Cora stumbled yet again in the carpeted hallway of their dad’s house. They’d be in junior high school and Cora was desperate to belong to the in-crowd who wore heels to school.
After his joke, Dad had made Blue strap on a pair of high-heeled sandals and wear them the rest of the day. It was embarrassing as hell, and harder than it looked. He’d vowed then and there that anyone who could walk in those shoes deserved a bit of respect.
And now the picture made sense. This was his father’s legacy. This picture represented the steps Dooley took to help people grow, open up, and find love. His father’s success wasn’t due to luck or quirkiness. He had methods. His father must have known that his system could be stolen, his files broken into, the confidentiality of his clients compromised. Tricky bastard had hidden everything in plain sight.
This was the key to Dooley’s life coaching system – tough love that people paid a mint for. Blue felt some of the bitterness he’d held toward his father fade. Seeing the layers of complexity in the picture made Blue think that his father hadn’t been manic or cruel to his children. He’d been a stern disciplinarian, but he hadn’t gone psycho, pulling punishments out of the air when his kids misbehaved. He’d just gone overboard.
It would take a long time for Blue’s resentment to fade completely, but for the first time since coming to work at the Foundation, Blue didn’t feel like a sell-out. Because this was proof that his dad had tried to do what he thought best for his clients and his kids. Although Blue wasn’t ready to hop on the Foundation train and tout all his father’s methods. No one was getting stuffed in a coffin on his watch or chained to a dog house.
Pictures like this lined the hallway of Dooley’s home. A place their father made Amber live in after he died, with the stipulation that she couldn’t redecorate. It was empty now that Amber was living with Evan higher up in Beverly Hills.
No wonder Amber had caught on. She’d had to stare at them every day.
And the will stated she couldn’t tell him.
And he couldn’t tell Cora.
He studied the Silver Spoon stalk until he came up with a plan for Jenny. A plan based on his father’s principles.
Blue wished he could tell Amber he loved her right back.
This picture was going to save his ass.
“So I just sit here and nod to whatever he says?” Jenny looked like a Playmate in her crotch-peeking, short white skirt, seriously low-cut pink blouse and seriously high, silver heels. “I’ve never done TV before. The sex tape doesn’t count, does it?”
“No.” Maddy stood next to her in Blue’s office, clutching her clipboard so she wouldn’t rap Jenny on the head with it.
Larry, the tech she’d hired, fitted a microphone on Jenny’s blouse just over her partially exposed cleavage. She’d brought out the truly heavy artillery to try and re-capture Blue’s attention. The tech could barely keep his eyes on the camera equipment. Jenny’s equipment was that much more interesting.
The burn of jealousy she had no right to clamped between Maddy’s shoulder blades. That wasn’t as bad as the knot in her stomach whenever she thought about how much her career depended on Blue. Had he been able to contact Amber. Was this going to be the shortest pilot ever? And why couldn’t she stop that tiny voice in her head from defending Blue? So what if he’d been his father’s victim? Who was the victim now? Maddy and her broken heart.
With effort, Maddy kept her tone professional. “You do remember we have you scheduled until five today, and then you’ll have a dinner appointment tomorrow night?”
“Yes.” Jenny breathed rapidly, heaving her girls up and down. “Is Blue going to match me up with someone really great?”
“I’ll let him tell you,” Maddy said. “Just remember, you signed a contract agreeing to do whatever he asks you to.”
“Gawd, that sounds hot.” Her boobs did another set of calisthenics. “I hope he asks me to – ”
“It’s not that kind of television, Jenny.” This time Maddy let annoyance color her response.
Jenny deflated. Everything except the boobs. “Okay.”
“She’s ready,” said the tech with a last glance at Jenny’s gems.
It was time to face Blue. They’d avoided each other throughout set-up.
Maddy opened the door. Blue stood near Gemma’s desk, next to Cora. He looked like a stud in a tailored suit and expensive haircut, despite a slight green complexion and the vulnerable look in his eyes.
He needed a hug. Maddy shoved the thought to the back of her mind and closed Blue’s office door behind her. “You look great. You’ll do fine.” If he screwed up, she and her career would win. If he pulled a rabbit out of a hat and helped Jenny, she and her career would win. No matter the outcome, it was only her heart that was losing.
“He’s going to kick Avenger ass, aren’t you?” Cora pushed on his back, guiding him toward his office.
“I can do this.” His words were hollow. “I can be a relationship coach.”
Maddy exchanged a glance with Cora. Despite her rah-rah voice, his sister’s gaze was tense. A little Rules of Attraction was called for by someone who actually believed.
Telling herself it was for the good of the show, Maddy put a hand over the green swirled tie hanging over Blue’s heart. “That’s right. You can do this. You can use that unbelievable gift of reading women, of knowing what they want, and use it for platonic good. You do it already, without calling it life coaching. You offer support and advice to friends and family. Today, after you talk to Jenny, you’ll feel good. Right here.” She rubbed his chest in small circles, before she realized what she was doing and snatched her hand away. “You feel it, don’t you?”
A bit of the cocky spark returned to his eyes. “I feel something.” He pressed a light kiss to her forehead.
Maddy froze. Her heart spiraled up into her throat, making her voice sound rusty. “You shouldn’t kiss me.”
Smiling ruefully, he entered the office.
“Can I come in, too?” Cora asked.
Hesitating only a moment, Maddy nodded. “You’ll have to stand by the door.”
Larry stood behind the camera she’d rented, focused on Jenny. Maddy took her place behind her camera, focused on Blue and called, “Action.”
Blue’s gaze locked on Maddy searching for something he couldn’t give. And then he turned to his ex. “Jenny, do you remember the night we met?”
“Yes.” She licked her glossy lips. “We were at the Sky Bar and you – ”
“I want you to go back and think about that
night. I want you to put yourself in my shoes and tell me what I was thinking when I first saw you.” There was something unusual in Blue’s voice, something Maddy couldn’t quite place.
“You were thinking: She’s hot. She’s going to be mine.” Jenny’s smile was blinding. Way too much whitener.
Blue’s smile lacked his usual one-hundred watt charm. It was warm, but the cockiness was absent. “Is that how you think men see you?”
“It’s what men should think.” But Jenny’s smile dimmed.
“You used the word mine.” Blue talked in the slow, patient tones of his father.
Where was this coming from?
He lowered his voice. “Jenny, do you like the idea of being owned?”
“No.”
“Then why did you want me to…” His voice escalated, but he caught himself and started over, lower, slower, like Dooley would have sounded. “Why do you want men to say you’re mine?”
“Because I want all the effort that goes behind this – ” She gestured to herself. “ – to be appreciated. I want someone to take care of me.” Jenny trembled. Her eyes filled with tears that threatened to spill over. “Why do you think I’m out every night? Why do you think I starve myself to stay this size and squeeze myself into these clothes? I have to do it because I want somebody to love me.” She collapsed in her chair, spent.
Maddy couldn’t believe it. Blue had somehow managed to channel his father from the grave. She’d expected him to choke on camera, to reveal that the Dooley Foundation was now a sham. Instead, he had her believing he was the real deal.
Blue came around the desk. Maddy followed his every move with her camera.
Jenny gasped as Blue started to kneel at her feet. Maddy felt as if she’d been kicked in the gut.
Realizing it must look as if he was about to propose, Blue’s smile turned apologetic. He sat awkwardly in the chair next to Jenny’s. “Let me tell you what a man thinks when he walks into a club and sees you in skintight clothes.” Blue used his father’s voice again. “He’s looking for a sure thing in bed. He’s looking for a one-nighter, because if he’s at a crowded pickup bar, he doesn’t have the time or the desire to invest in a relationship.”
Jenny’s carefully made up eyes were huge.
“And if you take him home that night…if you hook-up instead of exchanging contact information...You’re letting him know you’re only in it for the sex.”
Jenny blinked back tears. And then she slapped Blue, pushed Cora aside, and ran out.
“Give her a minute before we do a follow-up.” Staying behind the camera, Maddy looked at Blue. “You okay?”
“She doesn’t pack much of a punch.” But his cheek was bright red.
“I mean, are you okay in here?” She tapped her chest over her heart. As his producer, she needed to know.
“It was like I was my dad, having the hard conversations.” He glanced up at Cora. “I know Jenny needed to hear that, but now she feels shitty, and doing that to her made me feel like crap.”
Despite her best intentions, Maddy’s foolish heart sat up and took notice. “She had to hear the truth, painful as it was. Your dad would have been proud.”
Blue stood, his features drawn into hard planes and unforgiving angles. “Proud that I hurt someone trying to make a point? Yeah, that was my old man. Christ, I didn’t think it’d feel like this.”
Maddy wanted to comfort him, but she was a producer, not his lover. Maybe if she said it a thousand more times it would sink in. She stayed behind the camera. “Blue – ”
“Don’t. The Avengers are right. I’m an insensitive ass,” he snapped, eyes blazing with the unspoken truth that he’d been an ass to Maddy as well. “That’s what Dad always pointed out to me. That, and what a failure I was.”
“You don’t have to do this.” From the door, Cora took on the role of protector.
Here was the out Maddy hadn’t offered him. She held her breath.
He shook his head. “No. I have to make amends. To a lot of people. I’ve got to take Jenny through the second phase of the lesson. But I need a few minutes.” And then he, too, walked out.
His sister followed him.
Sucking in air, Maddy turned to Larry, feeling every bit the traitor when she asked, “Did you get that?”
He nodded.
“Cut.”
They had to wait for Jenny to touch up her make-up before they could resume filming. The cameras didn’t make Blue as nervous as he’d thought they would. Instead, they were an annoyance, a reminder of the kind of man he’d sworn he’d never be.
Earlier in the day he’d thought he’d found the key to everything he needed to get through this, but applying the key only made him realize what a shallow, untrustworthy person he was. What had Maddy seen in him besides a man who could give her a good time in bed?
Maddy called, “Action.”
Blue was a professional already, starting on her command. “Jenny, when we were going out, you always wanted to pay for everything.” He’d thought the first part of the session was hard, but assigning Jenny a punishment left a sour taste in his mouth. “Your dad is a famous man who provides only the best for you, right? Have you ever had a job?”
“I did some modeling once.” Jenny squirmed, although she was so beautiful, it looked more like a slow-mo sex move that was wasted on Blue.
“Good, so you know what it’s like to work.” Yeah, right. “Jenny, you’re a great girl, with lots of…love for someone.” He had to tell her the truth in a compassionate way. “I’m just sorry it couldn’t be me.”
Her smile weakened.
“But I want you to find someone who’ll make you happy.” This was it. The moment he assumed his father’s mantle and ditched his lifelong principles. This was the moment Blue sold himself out for three million a year, and a chance to prove to Maddy that she’d gambled on the right man. There should have been dim lights and melodramatic music. At the very least, the theme for Darth Vader should have been playing.
Blue should have been thinking about Jenny and what was best for her. Instead, his mind circled Maddy. She was everything a good man wanted in a woman – honest, genuine, smart, sexy. The more he got to know her, the more he thought about sappy things, like being a better man rather than the young Hollywood stereotype he’d become. He wouldn’t let himself believe it was too late to salvage what was between them.
“As part of your…” He hesitated and glanced at Maddy, deviating from his plan. “Jenny, when we dated, did I ever ask you to commit to me? Did I ever offer to be exclusive, like a regular couple?”
Jenny’s brows tilted ever so slightly downward. “No.”
He looked at Maddy again, nodding as if to say: See?
She blushed, but otherwise gave no sign that he’d proven his point.
He allowed himself a small, private smile. “Jenny, as part of your relationship rehab, we’re going to cut your allowance until after your dates tomorrow and let you see just how fortunate you are. You’ll spend the afternoon working.”
“What?”
“We’ve got your dad waiting on line one.” Blue punched the speaker on the landline.
“Hi, puddin’. I miss you sweetie. I’m in Texas today, but I wanted to be part of your recovery with Dr. Rule.”
Doctor Rule? That made him sound like a bad teacher in a low budget porno flick. Blue’s self-image took another in a long series of hits.
“Now as part of your recovery, I’m going to cut off your credit cards and the good doctor is going to take away those designer clothes.”
“What?” Jenny paled beneath her canned tan.
Cora handed Jenny a bag of clothes.
“But Daddy.”
“If you cooperate, puddin’, we’ll be back to normal in no time.”
“But Daddy.”
“Love ya, darlin’.”
The dial tone buzzed along Blue’s nerves. He pressed the release button.
“Don’t worry, Jenny,” Blue said. “
I’ll be with you through the next step of the process.”
“What process? What are you doing to me? This is bullshit!”
“You’re going to work for a former Playboy Playmate and movie actress. She’s eighty and the daughter of a Texas oil man whose wells ran dry. You’ll be her companion for the rest of the day. And tomorrow, if you show up for your dates, your card will be re-activated.”
She wailed louder than a mouse in a snapped trap.
“She’s been in there an awful long time,” Maddy said, as everyone stood outside the bathroom at the Dooley Foundation.
Larry had his camera trained on the bathroom door, waiting for Jenny to come out in her non-designer fashion. Cora leaned against a wall, involved with her phone.
“Does Jenny normally take that long to change clothes?” Maddy glanced at Blue.
Without looking at her, he held up his hands, backing down the hall on the plush carpet. “I’m not touching that one.”
“Right.” Inappropriate question to ask your former lover about his former lover. The heat creeping up her cheeks and a speculative look from Cora reminded her why she shouldn’t have slept with Blue in the first place. Or the second.
Maddy knocked on the bathroom door. “Jenny, are you all right?”
Jenny’s response was a series of muffled, colorful curses about what they could all do with themselves. She flung open the door. Her makeup was runny. Her nose was red. Her new jeans were rumpled and her new T-shirt didn’t lie flat at the hem. “I hate everybody.”
“It’s just for the day,” Blue soothed. “You can wear your own clothes to your date tomorrow.”
“I’m going to tell Portia and Kaya what you’re doing to me.” Jenny thrust her nose in the air. “They’ll bail. The Avengers will rise again.”
Maddy might have rolled her eyes from all the melodrama, if Blue hadn’t stiffened beside her. Before he could reply, Maddy said, “It doesn’t matter if you tell the others. Blue tailors every relationship plan differently.”
Blue’s nod of thanks was nearly imperceptible. He took Jenny’s arm and led her out to the parking lot.
Maddy had already loaded her equipment into Cora’s car. They walked down the hall together, far enough behind Larry that they couldn’t be heard. “All we need now are some bachelors for tomorrow night.”