by Jessica Park
She rolled out of the way before Sam could whack her with a pillow.
Chapter 4
Leila took a sip of her coffee and glanced at the clock on the microwave. Eight o’clock. She still had twenty minutes until she should leave for work. That was the good thing about being your own boss: you could show up for work late and not catch heat from anyone. And this morning, Leila was in a rotten mood. A little more caffeine might perk her up.
Leila shifted in her seat and smoothed down the newspaper in front of her. Another stupid article about another stupid actor. This action star had a movie coming out in a monthc and the critics were already predicting another bomb. So much for summer blockbusters this year. Leila stared at the photograph of a dark-haired man with his arm around an unnamed woman. Leila scoffed at the woman’s barely-there dress—she had more hair than clothing! Two weeks ago, the same actor had been photographed with a different, equally idiotic-looking, bimbo. Leila shook her head in disgust. And the actor? Leila had to admit that Mark Ocean was attractive. She’d even seen a few of his movies. Not in the theater, of course, since she couldn’t stand paying the price of a ticket to see such junk. But his movies were the sort that ran repeatedly on cable networks, and it was nearly impossible to live in America and not see some Mark Ocean movies. In fact, sometimes Leila couldn’t resist peeking at a car chase scene with him or watching him hang onto the edge of a cliff with one pinky finger.
“Why are you reading that garbage?” Alan’s voice shook Leila out of her fog.
“I opened the Arts section and there it was.” She leaned her head back and pursed her lips. “Give me a kiss.” Alan bent down and kissed his girlfriend.
He ran his hands through his mussed hair and yawned. “Is there more coffee?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Leila continued to stare at the paper.
Alan glanced at the newspaper and placed a mug firmly on the counter. “I’ve told you a thousand times that secrets have a way of coming out. It’s your decision, but I think you are going to have to tell her sometime. And sometime soon.”
Leila closed her eyes. She didn’t want to have this conversation again with Alan. He just didn’t understand. “You’re up early, huh?” she said. “Does this mean you’ll be here for dinner?”
“Changing the subject, my dear? Yes, I’ll be home for dinner. Call me at the restaurant later and let me know if you want me to bring home anything special for my girls.” Alan filled his mug, kissed Leila on the top of the head, and whispered in her ear. “It’s better she hear it from you.” Alan padded out of the kitchen and headed for the shower.
Leila stared at the photo again, crumpled the newspaper with both hands, and tossed it at the trash can. A perfect shot.
Alan was right about most things, but in this case, he was dead wrong.
Some secrets are meant to be kept. Forever.
Chapter 5
Mark Ocean drove his Mercedes SUV up the on-ramp and veered into the highway traffic, cutting off another car. The other driver leaned on his horn, and Mark quickly honked back. He pressed his foot to the gas and sped up, leaving the offended driver behind.
“God, slow down, Mark!”
“Don’t worry, babe. I’m a good driver. These guys just have to learn to stay out of my way.” Mark didn’t bother to look at the woman in the passenger seat. Was it Suzie or Swoosie? He hadn’t bothered to remember, but she had some great legs.
Mark had more important things on his mind. His plummeting career, for instance. The Clone Faction was premiering in a month, and even Mark knew the movie was awful. Five years ago, he was the most sought-after action star in Hollywood, but these days Mark was making one bad movie after another. What was the problem? He was only thirty-five, he worked out for two hours a day, and he still had his good looks and a great head of hair. He tried to stay in the public eye and ate at every celebrity hot spot where the paparazzi were camped out twenty-four hours a day. But, Mark had to admit, the cameras were turning toward him with less urgency these days.
Furthermore, getting turned away at that club last night had been humiliating. They used to beg him to show up and always kept a reserved table ready! He had been forced to go to another club owned by some overpaid teen actor who wasn’t even old enough to drink. The only other celebrity in sight had been an American Idol reject—and not even one of the top twelve, for God’s sake.
Mark had played virtually the same character in his last four films. He was bored. Worse, there was a time years ago when he took interesting jobs between the action movies and was praised for his range and depth. Sure, Mark could still demand multimillion-dollar paychecks for his movies, but that wasn’t the point.
If he could just get a meeting with the producer, Evan Dodd, who had it all—several commercially successful movies and an Academy Award. Right now he was producing a romantic comedy that Mark was itching to star in—a Jerry Maguire role that could transform his image overnight. But what could he say? Gee, Evan, I know I’ve been phoning it in for the last few years, but I’m ready to get back to the good stuff. No. He needed to convince Evan that he was a changed man.
He couldn’t wait until his agent, Renna Martin, got back from her Buddhist retreat in Santa Barbara. She had been completely out of touch, and Mark had been told she was “unreachable.” He needed her back in L.A. where she belonged. She had been his agent from the beginning, and there was no one he trusted more in this city than Renna Martin.
After leaving college and arriving in California, broke but determined, Mark spent weeks schlepping from agency to agency, praying someone would give him a chance. No one would take the risk of signing an unknown stage actor. No one, that is, until he met Renna. She had just been promoted from assistant to agent, and she took pity on Mark, agreeing to have dinner with him. At three in the morning, after consuming an obscene number of martinis, she agreed to sign Mark. He was her first client, and she was his first friend. The pair had risen to the top together. Now Mark’s career was taking a dive, and he needed Renna back from her spa retreat.
Mark shook his head and aimed the car vents at his armpits. For four hundred bucks, you’d think this shirt would come with its own cooling system. He gritted his teeth and pulled off PCH into Starbucks. He handed the young woman a fifty-dollar bill. “Grab me a nonfat soy latte? No sugar, or I can’t drink it.” Mark still hadn’t been to bed. A late dinner with the girl had led to the late night of clubbing.
“Sure thing!” the woman chirped. She hopped out of the car, pulling her teeny shorts down and hobbled into the store in high heels.
Mark turned up the air conditioning in the car and leaned back in his leather seat. He pounded the steering wheel a few times in frustration. His professional life had gotten so bad that Mark briefly considered becoming a Scientologist. Those people got all the attention. Or, what was that other popular religion? The one that required you to wear a red string around your wrist? Instead he had started going to Evan Dodd’s health club with the pathetic hope of running into him and striking up a casual conversation. Stupid idea, Mark knew, but he was desperate.
His cell phone rang, and he pushed his sunglasses on top of his head so he could read the Caller ID. It was his publicist.
“What’s up?” Mark asked. Maybe this was good news? Maybe early reviews were in on The Clone Faction, and a miracle had occurred?
He listened intently to the frantic woman on the phone. Mark was confused. “They’re saying I have a what? How old?” Mark demanded. This is just what he needed: another tabloid story! “Tell them it’s completely false.” He stopped to listen to another slew of panicked words. “I said it’s not true. As in, there is no truth to it whatsoever!” he hollered into the phone. “Make this go away!”
But even as he spoke the words, Mark felt a rising sense of dread. He clapped the phone shut and repositioned the air conditioning onto his face, trying in vain to cool down.
Chapter 6
Dani swung her book bag to her shoulde
r and blew her bangs out of her eyes. Her first year of high school was ending, and Dani could hardly wait for her summer break. Every day, on her walk to school with Sam, she was amazed at the weight she carried. She needed a ridiculously thick textbook for each of her classes, plus three-ring binders, a bag of makeup to stealth-apply between classes, the makeup remover to use before she went home, a water bottle, and a lunch bag. She was surprised she wasn’t permanently hunched over.
“How was dinner last night?” Sam asked. “Did Alan finally pull out a ring and pop the question?”
“Nope. No ring. No need to fall prey to any cultural obligation like marriage, I guess.” Dani tried not to think about how sad her mom had looked last night. “So how did your interview go at the lake?” Dani asked.
Sam’s eyes sparkled. “I got it! I start work on the Monday after school gets out.”
Leila felt that Dani worked hard all year in school and deserved the summer off. But Sam needed to work. Granted, Dani would still have chores around the house and would probably help out at Leila’s interior design business a few times a week to earn some money for that cell phone she wanted so desperately, but Leila mostly wanted her to enjoy herself. She had even upped her curfew from eleven-thirty to twelve-thirty on weekends. Despite being strict in some ways, Leila trusted Dani enough to give her the extra hour.
“I’m only working at the snack bar, but now that I’m in there, I have a better chance of getting a lifeguard job when I’m old enough. The pay is pretty good, and I get to. . .”
The details of Sam’s job were drowned out by a thunderous school bus flying past them, a sign that the two girls were late again for school. “C’mon! We better run.”
“. . . and the suits are actually cute this year.” Sam continued talking. “Bright red, white stripe down the side. Plus, I’ll get a great tan and. . . Hey! What the. . .?”
Dani and Sam were just arriving at school when they were overwhelmed by a crowd of photographers yelling and photographing them. Dani leaned into the mob and barreled straight ahead, taking Sam by the hand.
“What on earth is going on?” Dani shouted at Sam.
Sam giggled. “Evidently, we are famous, my dear.”
“Dani! Danielle McKinley!” A photographer blocked Dani from taking another step. “How does it feel? What was your first reaction when you found out? Is your mother going to sue for unpaid child support? How is your life going to change now? Are you moving to L.A.?”
“My first reaction is to knock you on your ass. Get out of our way!” Dani tried to push forward.
“We’re seriously going to be late for school, mister!” Sam said. “Whatever you’re trying to do, do it to someone else. You’ve got the wrong girl!”
The man again stopped the girls. “How did you feel to find out that your father is Mark Ocean?”
Dani froze. The only sound now was the rapid clicking of cameras. A TV camera was shoved at her, and a fuzzy microphone appeared and dangled above her.
“What did you just say?” She glared at the man who had posed the question.
“We know Mark Ocean is your father, kid. You gotta give us something,” the man said.
Dani held her stare. “I don’t have to give you anything. You’ve made some kind of mistake.”
While the photographers exploded with more questions, Dani pulled Sam from the crowd and walked smoothly toward the entrance of the high school.
Chapter 7
The bell rang, echoing loudly through the halls of Little Springs High School. Dani jerked her French textbook from her locker and slammed the door shut. The stupid bell was making her sudden headache worse. Word about Dani had spread rapidly throughout the school. The last thing she felt like doing was going to her first-period class, where she was sure to be the topic of conversation. The barrage of squealing, taunting, and finger pointing had already taken its toll on her, and the morning had barely started. Dani leaned her forehead against her locker, willing the day to start over. If only she had left earlier for school. At the very least, she should have worn a better outfit and gone for the darker lip-gloss.
Sam appeared behind Dani. “Oh, my God! Can you believe this? How cool are you? You have officially reached a whole new level of popularity.”
“I’m not cool, and this whole thing is a bunch of garbage.” Dani said. “Stop looking so happy, Sam. There is nothing fun about this. I hate having everyone staring at me.”
But Sam could not hide her excitement. “Are you going to call your new daddy after school? Do you think he’ll fly out here? Are you going to change your name? Hm…Dani Ocean. Good ring, don’t you think?” Sam beamed and clapped her hands together. “This is all fantastic. Mark Ocean, I mean, my Mark Ocean, is your dad!”
“Yeah, it’s just fantastic. I can’t think of anything better.” She set one hand on her hip and cocked her head. “This blows and you know it. Don’t look so disappointed in me, Sam. I’m not the least bit happy about this bag of lies.”
“Well, I know it’s a shock. Of course, it is,” said Sam. “But just think of how everything is going to change for you now? You finally have a father. And a famous father, at that. What is wrong with you?”
Dani shut her eyes. “My head hurts,” she said, turning back to her locker and working the combination, “I can’t be here.” She took her book bag and started to leave.
“Wait! Where are you going?” Sam called. “Dani? Don’t hide from this! Embrace it! It’s a good thing, you’ll see!”
“I’m not embracing anything. I’m going home, and I’m going to clear up this disaster!” Dani said. She had never skipped a class–let alone ditched school– but she wasn’t worried about her attendance record just now.
Dani exited through a back door that put her smack next to an overflowing dumpster. She stood behind the large metal container and peeked around the corner, looking for anyone armed with a telephoto lens. This is what her day had been reduced to: hiding behind malodorous garbage. Dani made a beeline for the sidewalk. She quietly crossed the street behind the school and headed for home.
Her mom would explain everything. Leila would laugh at the lunacy of the notion that Mark Ocean was her father, and call somebody to set things right. Dani rushed down the road, cut through a neighbor’s yard, and came out at the back of her house. She relaxed slightly at the sight of the white Cape house and the lush landscaping in the backyard that Leila worked so hard to maintain. It felt good to be home. The small pond her mother had put in was calm, and a fountain bubbled water into the air. The sound was immediately soothing.
Dani opened the sliding door into the kitchen. “Mom! Mom!”
Leila appeared and wiped her eyes. “Dani? What are you doing home?’ She sniffed and forced a smile.
Dani stared at her mother and began shaking her head slowly back and forth. Something was horribly wrong. And Dani knew what.
“Oh, no, Mom.” she dropped her bag to the floor. “No, no, no. Please, tell me this isn’t true.”
Leila sat down. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Dani.’
Dani sat down stiffly next to her mother. “Why didn’t you come get me?”
Her mother shook her head. “I tried to leave a few minutes ago, but before I even got to the car, some jerk jumped out and nearly scared me to death. When he started asking questions about you, I ran back inside. I’ve been trying get to you without having him follow me. Guess I was too late.” Leila closed her eyes in disbelief. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been trying to protect you from this for years.”
Dani felt her heart start to pound. Her mother’s words were not just an apology. They were an admission. “You told me my father was your college boyfriend. You told him you were pregnant and he left you? That’s what happened. You always tell me the truth and so that’s what happened, right?” She heard the pleading tone in her voice and felt her body begin to shake. “My father is some nobody who disappeared. Tell me that’s right!”
“I did tell you that. An
d, yes, he was a nobody. Now I’m going to tell you the whole truth. Please keep in mind that you are, and always have been, the most important person in my life. Always, Dani.”
Dani was silent.
“Okay, here it goes,” Leila started with a shaky voice. “Mark Ocean is your father. We went to college together and dated for a few years. Of course, his name wasn’t Ocean back then. It was Mark Schneider. Anyhow, we were totally in love. I adored him, Dani. He was gorgeous and fun and exciting and I was in heaven. But I never thought we would be together forever. He was a great boyfriend, but he wasn’t the sort of man I pictured myself with for the rest of my life. Mark was a drama student, and he was very talented. I used to watch him in our college plays. Honestly, he was a wonderful actor. But he became obsessed with becoming famous. It got to the point where that’s all he talked about. How many people actually become movie stars?” Leila managed to laugh. “Not many, right? Who knew? Mark was determined that he would make millions. I got so tired of hearing about which celebrities he would work with and what kind of mansion he would buy when he became famous.”
Dani sat frozen. Were these words actually coming out of her mother’s mouth?
Leila continued. “So, when Mark moved to L.A., I figured that was the end. It was the right time to end things between us.” Leila paused and focused her attention out the window, appearing to struggle for how to continue. “He called me after he got there to say he’d landed a bit part in his first movie. I was sincerely thrilled for him. So then, well, …”
“Then you found out you were pregnant with me,” Dani prompted coolly.
Leila nodded. “Three weeks after Mark left school, I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t tell Mark. I couldn’t. He started off well in L.A., and he was getting everything he wanted. Then he was offered the lead in some terrible movie about genetically engineered alligators. There was no turning back for him.”