by Mel Curtis
Because he didn’t love her. If he loved her, he’d know she’d never put her career in front of his happiness and release those clips.
“I…uhh…” Blue floundered for words and stared into her eyes. “Maddy.”
The clink of dishes and murmur of voices in the restaurant filled the silence between them. Traffic shot by outside. Music blared out windows. Life went on.
He didn’t say anything else. Not good luck. Not have a nice life. Not I’m sorry I ever doubted you.
Where once there had been snappy comebacks and innuendo between them, there was only silence.
“I thought you were here.” Amber leaned against the doorjamb in Dooley’s house. She looked tan, except for a bit of pink on her nose. Her red hair was in a messy ponytail.
“How did you find me?” Blue had been staring at the Forgiveness poster, thinking about Maddy mostly, and sometimes Cora. He’d listed all the reasons Maddy should forgive him. There was only one item on the list: he loved her. Two if you counted he was sorry.
“I went by the office and Gemma filled me in on the drama.” Amber opened the refrigerator, but it was empty. “I figured you might want some company.”
“That doesn’t explain how you knew I’d be here.”
“I get a text alert every time someone opens the door. I was fairly sure it wasn’t Cora.” She plopped into an orange tulip chair, and let her hair down. “I’ve been worried about you.”
“Rightfully so. I fucked up my life.”
“Is it that bad? Let me help.” That woeful, heart-on-my-sleeve look of hers used to irritate him. Now he was grateful someone understood and was willing to do more than tell him to figure it out on his own. “It wasn’t so long ago that you were bailing me out of trouble.”
“But not out of jail. Have I apologized for that?”
“Many times, but it always feels good to hear it again.” She swiveled the chair slowly back and forth, happy to make him suffer.
He deserved it. “I’m sorry. I was an ass. Have been for years.” He was the king of asses.
“I know.” Amber had no qualms finding new ways to tell him I-told-you-so. “But you’re a well-meaning ass, which generally makes up for whatever crap you pull.”
“To you, maybe.” Maddy was a different story. “I’ve been running quite a freak show – matchmaking, helping old ladies get their mojo back, letting dying kids take out their frustrations on me.”
Amber’s smile was gently accepting. “You could’ve refused to participate at any point. But you didn’t and you brought new meaning to client satisfaction. That’s exactly what Dad would have done.”
Blue made a gesture like he was stabbing himself in the heart. “Ouch.”
Mr. Jiggles appeared in the kitchen doorway, stretched, then trotted over to check out Amber’s shoes.
“It’s not so bad to be compared to Dad. I’ve gotten used to it.” Amber had been the face of the Dooley Foundation from Dad’s death. She’d had her share of features in Lyle Lincoln’s columns. “I assume since you’re here you’ve read the names of the people he helped, the ones with the blooming flowers. It’s a list of who’s-who in Hollywood. They wouldn’t have done the great work on their resume without Dad as their life coach.”
He avoided giving Dad kudos. Old habits and all. “First off, you’re assuming I helped somebody.”
“I bet those old ladies at Winnie’s are grateful.” Amber couldn’t contain her smile.
“They sent me a basket of chocolate and a bottle of champagne.” Which he’d put to good use with Maddy. He still hadn’t returned any of Winnie’s messages.
“I bet Ulani is grateful. She paid her monthly retainer on time and didn’t cancel.”
“Really?” Despite Blue not returning Ulani’s messages?
He picked up Mr. Jiggles. Only the tips of his hair were pink. “Gemma is more efficient than I give her credit for. Did she tell you how the reality show’s doing?”
“Whatever you’re doing, it’s working. When I landed today, my cell phone mailbox was full of requests for life coaching. My office phone – same thing. And I don’t recognize any emails in my inbox. It’s all new business. Haven’t you looked at your phone? Checked your emails?”
“Not since yesterday.” He couldn’t bring himself to. “It can only be bad.”
“It won’t all be bad.” Her smile was accepting when he’d expected her to return home and ream him out for undercutting the Foundation’s reputation. “Don’t you always tell me that any press is good press? There are people out there with problems who are ready to be helped. Gemma said you got a huge check from Jenny’s dad, one from Vivian Gordon, and another one from Jack. You’re well on your way to meeting your sales quota.”
Shocker.
The front door opened. “Babe, I’m hungry. Is Blue coming with us to dinner or not?”
“Of course, he is.” Amber stood, stretching her back.
“What about the way Dad went about helping people? He put them through hell. I put my exes through hell these last few days.”
“As long as you’re tough, but fair, I wouldn’t worry about it. People – especially celebrities – are too cocooned nowadays to see the truth. And even when you tell them what their problem is, they don’t want to hear it.” She slung her purse over her shoulder. “But charge them money and engage their emotions? All of a sudden they start to think. And after they think, they get brave and attempt to change.”
Blue wasn’t quite convinced. “It’s emotional boot camp.”
“Babe!”
“Coming.” Amber glowed with happiness at her husband’s call. She bounced up, dragging Blue to his feet. “Toughen up. It’s as hard helping people change as it is for them to change. I can tell you stories.”
“Really?” That would make him feel a lot better.
Amber paused. “No. Client confidentiality prohibits me from sharing. But I could talk generalities.”
“Really?” He wasn’t believing her this time.
“Really.”
Chapter 33
LA Happenings by Lyle Lincoln
…Jack Gordon hired NCAA winning coach Trent Parker away from the collegiate world. Coach Parker should arrive in L.A. just as the Flash return from summer league in Vegas.
…My sources tell me Blue Rule’s chances at true love were thwarted by those frisky Playboy Avengers. That’s right. He started dating and during all the Avenger madness, various embarrassing videos and rumors of poor performance, this woman dumped him! He’s heartbroken. Who is she? Sending out an S.O.S. to all his meddlesome, talkative friends.
“Where’s Blue?” Ulani’s voice filled the Dooley Foundation lobby the next morning.
“Hey! You can’t go in there.” The sound of Gemma’s army boots moving quickly sounded the alarm. “He’s not to be disturbed.”
Blue had been sitting in his office, his chair swiveled around to face the window, his mind boggled by the challenge of Maddy.
The building had been swarming with paparazzi since before Blue came in. The female wrestler must have braved the throng of camera wielding crazies. This was exactly the three ring circus his father was known for. The three ring circus Blue was now known for. He should care. He didn’t.
“Blue, come out here.” Ulani barked out a command. “Or I’ll put your little receptionist in a head lock.”
“Hey,” Gemma protested again. “Get your hands off me.”
“Ulani.” Blue went into the lobby. “You’re many things, but not a bully.”
Ulani looked like she was posing for the cover of a video game. Her midnight black hair swung free. Cat suit. Legs spread. Fists at hips. All she needed was a cape. Instead, Quinby stood behind her, holding her purse.
“Say you’re sorry, sweetie.” Professor Quinby smiled at Gemma apologetically. “The photographers downstairs upset her.”
Ulani ran forward and crushed Blue in a fierce embrace that nearly flattened him. When she let him go, her eyes we
re filled with tears. “I just wanted to protect my Blue-man.” She cradled Blue’s cheeks in her large hands. “This problem with the Avengers is my fault. I’ve ruined your love life.”
Blue shook his head. His wreck of a love life was all his fault. “Don’t believe everything Lyle prints in his column. I’m sorry your video was shown in that context.”
“Ulani.” Amber introduced herself and suffered a bone-crushing handshake. “What do you mean the Avengers problem is your fault?”
“The film of me wasn’t stolen.” Ulani began to pace. “I asked Maddy to send me a copy of the video she’d taken the night Blue brought me my dream man. I needed some new promotional film.” Her gaze traveled everywhere but to Blue. “Maddy sent it to me. And then this little stick woman. This…this cockroach! She came to me and asked if she could help me with P.R. for my career. She told me the FWA had sent her, so I didn’t have to pay her anything. All I had to do was give her some promotional film.”
“Maddy wasn’t…?” Blue couldn’t finish the question. Deep down, he’d known she couldn’t have done it. He didn’t think he could’ve felt like a bigger shit lately, but there you go.
“Did this cockroach have spiky red hair?” Cora joined them.
Ulani nodded. “And now everyone thinks Blue is an insensitive jerk and an embarrassment.” She wiped away a tear. “I can talk to this woman who dumped you. I’ve already started mending your reputation. I told the men downstairs that you were the best lover I’d ever had.” She returned to Quinby’s side. “My man knows the truth, so a statement like that doesn’t hurt his feelings.”
The office door opened and Winnie led in a pair of track-suited grannies. “I’m so glad you’re here, Blue. I’d hate to have to shove my way through that throng again.” Winnie and her posse collapsed on the reception couch. “I’m glad we left our dogs at home.”
Blue tried to smile, but after Ulani’s confession, he had a bad feeling about what Winnie had to say. His stomach was doing barrel rolls.
“I had to stomp on paparazzi toes with my umbrella.” Mary pushed her round sunglasses up her nose and pounded the point of her purple umbrella into the floor. “He refused to move.”
“I think you broke a couple toes.” Eleanor panted next to her, the stairs having done her in.
“Are you by any chance here about stolen video?” Blue asked.
“How did you know?” Winnie sat up, giving Blue a sorrowful look. “We couldn’t live with ourselves, not after today’s Happenings column. We have to confess. Our Freedom Transformation film wasn’t stolen. We gave it to the Playboy Avengers. Through a series of unfortunate events.” She waved her beringed fingers as if scattering glitter to mark their journey to betrayal. “When Maddy was at the house, we hooked up her camera to my TV. She went looking for you and I hit record so we’d have a copy of our triumph.”
“I told her not to post it on Facebook,” Mary grumped.
“Mother,” Winnie said, as if she’d heard Mary gripe all morning. “It was my private Facebook account. How was I to know somebody posing as my niece wasn’t my niece?” Winnie turned back to Blue and worked her features into lip puckering regret. “I friended her, and then when I saw Marty at the gym this morning, she said she didn’t have a Facebook account.” Winnie slumped from the tips of her teased hair to her lipo-suctioned ankles. “We’re the reason your love life is ruined.”
Blue’s stomach did another barrel roll. Maddy was being proved innocent. She’d never forgive him.
“We’re here to apologize and to help with damage control,” Winnie said.
“I told the photographers downstairs that you were better in the sack than Tony Curtis.” Mary was nothing if not loyal. It was hard to hold a grudge with clients like her. “And that’s saying something, because Tony Curtis was a stud.”
“Blue.” Vivian entered the office. “I’m glad I caught you.”
“Don’t tell me. Let me guess.” Cora was enjoying this far too much. She was smiling, damn it. “You gave the Avengers some of Maddy’s video.”
“No.” Vivian frowned and spoke down to them all. “What video? I didn’t come here about any video.” She sashayed across the room and gave Blue a polite half-hug. “I didn’t feel right apologizing on the phone for ditching you the other night, and telling my husband and Lyle that you were a lousy lover – ”
The room erupted in chaos.
“Vivian,” Blue cut them off with a shout and a finger shake at Mary, who was pointing her umbrella at Jack Gordon’s wife as if contemplating skewering her. “Did you by any chance tell the paparazzi downstairs what a good lover I was?”
“How did you know?” Vivian looked at each of them in turn. “I had to. I’m the one who leaked to Lyle Lincoln about our Freedom Transformation with Senge. But then he started to get personal, and I wanted to distract him, so I said you weren’t so good in the sack. I haven’t forgiven myself since. Guilt is such a bitch. Senge is right. It really blocks the chakras and I can’t…”
Cora started laughing. “Blue, you’re just like Daddy. All you need is a rhinestone outfit and it’s his life all over again.”
Weak-kneed, sucker-punched, Blue sank into a chair. The women swarmed around him. Mr. Jiggles danced in between people’s feet, not even interested in their shoes.
“Give him some air,” Amber said, gently directing the crowd to step back.
His clients gave him room, settling into seats as if waiting for the second act of the show to begin.
“Just what I didn’t want to hear,” Blue said. “More confirmation I’ve turned into Dad.”
“You’re not.” Amber knelt beside him.
“You’re better,” Winnie said, eliciting head nods and murmurs of agreement from the crowd. “You do one heck of a Freedom Transformation.”
“Blue figured out what was wrong with me in less than a week.” Ulani laced her fingers with Quinby’s. “Dooley had me in programs for months and I was still alone.”
“He let my husband think he was sleeping with me.” Vivian stood stiffly by the door. “People don’t do nice things for me.”
The confessional had worked its way around the room to Cora, who stared at her zebra striped high heels. Blue was afraid there were more confessions coming.
“Do you hear that?” Amber was giving him her most optimistic smile as she patted his knee. “I promise you…I will not, under any circumstances, let you climb into an Elvis costume and go to a movie premier with one of our clients.”
“I don’t know.” Mary eyed him over the rim of her round sunglasses. “That sounds sexy to me.”
“He looked handsome in those Flash tights,” Eleanor piped up. “I vote for tights over rhinestones.”
Blue told himself he should feel better.
“And I won’t let you walk out the door with a toilet paper streamer,” Gemma said, holding up her hand from behind the reception desk. “You don’t know how many times Dooley almost got past me with a roll on his ass.”
Everyone looked to Cora.
His sister should have been holding a smoking gun. Her face was pinched with guilt. “Uh…okay. To prove I care about you, I told Lyle your love life was ruined by the events of the past few weeks.” Her cheeks were pink, just like they’d been when he’d confronted her about being the office mole. She swallowed.
Shit. There was more. Bracing himself, he gripped the arms of the chair. “Tell me.”
“Okay, I…um…” She glanced around the assembled, but didn’t find a sympathetic face. “I leaked the video of you in tights. I overheard Maddy telling Gemma to lock it up. I used her keys when she went on break and emailed it to Portia.”
“You were in the office when I accused Maddy.” Blue gripped the chair arms tighter to keep from gripping Cora’s shoulders and giving her a shake. “You let me think it was her.”
Cora opened her mouth, but Amber beat her to the punch. “The Dooley Foundation was built on discretion. And yet, you can’t seem to keep a se
cret. I could fire you. And if I fired you today, you’d lose millions.” Because she had yet to meet her sales quota and fulfill the conditions of Dad’s will.
“I had his best interests at heart.” Cora tossed her hands as rapidly as she tossed her excuses. “He was spinning his wheels when he got here. Don’t deny Blue’s become a better person because of the Avengers. And a better life coach. We all know it.”
Blue was so numb, he couldn’t move. “You’re taking credit for – ”
“Yes,” Cora rolled on. “I didn’t give them the video to hurt Blue. I was trying to help Portia. She was crushed when you cut her hair. And I…” Her gaze swung through him. “I knew you could take the hit of being seen in tights.”
No one said a word. Blue’s anger turned to remorse. She was just as much Dooley Rule’s progeny as he was.
“Who is this bitch?” Mary demanded, poking at Cora with her umbrella.
“She’s my sister.” Blue sighed. “God, help me. I’ve got to love her.”
Cora blinked back tears and tried to smile.
“On the bright side,” Gemma said, the last person in the room anyone expected to point out a silver lining. “Business is up and nobody got hurt.”
“Nobody got hurt.” Blue washed a hand over his face, wishing he could redo the events of the past few weeks. “That’s true if you don’t count Maddy, my manhood, my chance at marriage to a great woman. Sure, nobody got hurt.”
“Cora, you owe Blue an apology.” Amber slipped an arm around Cora’s shoulders, softening her voice. “We’re family. If you’re lost or lonely, turn to us. You don’t need people like Portia. She’s only interested in using you.”
“Yeah. Ditto what she said.” Blue waved one hand in agreement, still smarting from all the well-meaning souls in his midst.
“It’s just…” Cora’s voice fell to a place he’d never heard before – lost. “I’m afraid…I don’t know how to stop being a bitch.” Cora began to cry.