“It’s beautiful outside,” Adrienne said, opening the shades.
“It’s hot,” Emma replied. “Stop bothering me. I’m watching this.”
Adrienne picked up her cell. She dialed Brian.
The battery symbol disappeared, and the phone shut down. Always when you need it, Adrienne thought, the dumb thing dies. “Do you mind if I make a phone call from here?” Adrienne asked Emma.
“No,” Emma said. “Anything to get you to shut up.”
Adrienne stuck out her tongue at Emma, who rolled her eyes. Adrienne picked up the phone and dialed Brian’s cell.
“Cameron?” he said excitedly.
Stunned for a minute, Adrienne paused.
“Hello?” Brian said.
“It’s me,” Adrienne said flatly.
“Hey! Adrienne! Even better!” he said. “I saw the caller ID. It said, ‘Warner Palm Beach.’ I assumed—”
“That Cameron was calling you? Fine. Just fine,” Adrienne said, unable to mask the shock and hurt in her voice. “Well, I guess you’ve figured out I’m in Palm Beach.”
“That’s so cool! Is Cameron showing you a good time?” he asked.
He’s been talking to Cameron! Cameron has been calling him! Adrienne thought. I can’t believe this!
“Hello? Adrienne? Are you there?”
“I’m here,” Adrienne said flatly.
“Is the house huge?” Brian asked. “Cameron told me about it.”
“When?” Adrienne demanded.
“Um…at the recording studio.”
“You’re lying,” she said. “I can always tell when you lie.” Adrienne could feel her chest tightening. Suddenly, there wasn’t enough air in the room.
“Adrienne, okay, she called this morning to say you guys were having a good time and that she was taking care of you. Hey, I’m the one who should be jealous—she told me all about the wild party you threw last night.”
The party I threw? Adrienne thought. He’s really got to be kidding!
“You know what?” Adrienne said. “It looks like Emma is about to fall into the pool. I have to go.” She hung up on him. She was shaking.
“Hey, I’m right here,” Emma said. “You didn’t need to hang up.”
“She totally needed to hang up,” Cameron said, walking into the room. “You shouldn’t tie yourself down with one guy, Adrienne. You’ve never looked better, and you’ve certainly never had access to the guys you’ll meet at the party tonight. Listen, Adrienne, my brother is hot for you, and believe it or not, he’s really great. Also Jaime—he’s the heir to a Venezuelan oil fortune—and Jean-Charles, who is third in line to the French throne—”
“France doesn’t have a throne,” Adrienne muttered.
“It might again one day—you never know with France. You’d make a really nice queen,” Cameron teased. “Listen, it’s the opening party of the season here tonight. Let’s get you dressed up.” Cameron headed toward the French doors.
“Cameron!” Adrienne said sharply. Cameron whirled around. Adrienne was so angry, she wasn’t sure if she would make any sense. But she didn’t really care. “We have to talk—”
“Not now, Adrienne. I have to get ready for the party tonight. I hope you’ll be there.” With a little wave, Cameron waltzed out the door.
Oh, I’ll be there, Adrienne thought. I’m not letting you out of my sight.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
trust me…
The party at the Big House was incredible. The night was so beautiful. Chinese lanterns filled with candles hung on all the trees, and the tables were covered with beautiful bouquets of flowers. This wasn’t like a party that kids threw when their parents weren’t home—this was like a wedding.
Everyone was either talking or dancing, but Adrienne just stood in a corner, staring into space. A bunch of cute guys came over to meet her, but none of them were as cute as Brian, she thought. Adrienne was torn—she couldn’t stop being incredibly angry at him, but she couldn’t stop missing him either.
“Isn’t this the best?” Cameron said, walking up to her. She looked gorgeous in her patterned pink-and-aqua Versace dress.
“Totally amazing, Cam,” Mimi gushed by her side.
“It’s great,” Adrienne muttered. She was still furious, but she didn’t want to get into it in front of Mimi.
“What is wrong with you?” Cameron whined. “You’re bringing me down, Adrienne. What’s the problem? The night is great, the place is running hot and cold millionaires, and you look amazing!”
Adrienne sighed. She did look good. Cameron’s pink organza Dior was gorgeous on her. “I’m just not in the mood.”
“Come with Doctors Warner and Fallschirm, Miss Lewis.” Cameron and Mimi pulled Adrienne into the house and up the stairs to Mrs. Warner’s bathroom.
Adrienne stepped into the bathroom and her mouth dropped open. The huge pink marble room had a Jacuzzi, a steam bath, a sauna, a shower, and a whole dressing area. Cameron opened a mirrored door to reveal an entire pharmacy of pills.
“Does something hurt, or are you just tense?” Cameron asked in a professional tone.
Adrienne’s stomach tied up in knots. She was not about to do Mrs. Warner’s drugs. “Just tense, Cam. Come on, let’s go.” Adrienne moved toward the door.
“Here you are,” Cameron said, taking a pill from one of the bottles and handing it to Adrienne.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Trust me, you’ll be fine. My mother lives on these, and so do I. I’d be a wreck without them. Just take it Adrienne, or go back to your room. You’re the only person at this party who isn’t having fun. Do you want to ruin my reputation for having the best parties in Palm Beach?”
“Really, it’s not a big deal…,” Mimi said, while inspecting her makeup in the mirror. “Take it.”
Adrienne looked at the tiny white pill. How bad could it be? Maybe it would stop her from feeling so lousy.
She placed it on her tongue and swallowed it. It stuck in her throat a little before Cameron handed her a glass of Evian to wash it down.
“Finally,” Cameron said. “Now let’s get you a glass of champagne.”
The girls went back outside.
Adrienne grabbed a drink and followed Mimi to a group of gorgeous guys and girls she didn’t know. Listening to them talk, Adrienne started to feel a little better.
Adrienne talked to Jean-Charles, third—or was it fourth?—in line to the French throne, and decided that he was really nice. It was worth all those years of French lessons. Jaime the Venezuelan was nice, too, and Adrienne started to smile. I should really learn Spanish, she thought.
A calm, warm feeling spread throughout her body. The breeze blew gently against her face, and she looked up at the stars.
I don’t feel so bad, she thought. Actually, this is terrific! The music is great! It’s a lot better than Tamara’s crummy party in Brooklyn! Adrienne giggled at the thought of all her friends freezing in line outside some Brooklyn club.
“Are you all right, Adrienne?” Mimi asked. It sounded as if she were talking to her from very far away.
“I’m feeling fine, Your Highness. Fine, fine!” Adrienne said. Her head was starting to feel pleasantly light.
Within half an hour, the edge was off. After an hour, and glass after glass of champagne, Adrienne was over the edge. She was totally enjoying herself. Everyone was so cute and so interesting! Parker looked a little concerned, but screw him! Adrienne thought. He’s cheating on Liz! But who cares? Tonight is all about me!
The next morning, Adrienne felt sick. But worse, she had almost no memory of the night before.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty!” It was Cameron, walking in and sitting on the corner of the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Ugh,” Adrienne replied. “Where’s the cat?”
“What cat?” Cameron asked.
“The one that crapped in my mouth when I was asleep,” Adrienne said, and she and Cameron burst out laughing. Then Adrienne
winced. She felt as if a truck had hit her.
“It was fun, wasn’t it?” Adrienne asked. She hoped Cam wouldn’t find out that she was so fuzzy on the details.
“You, my dear, were the star of Palm Beach. Everyone wanted to know who you were and where you came from. I told them you were a distant cousin from Texas. Don’t worry, no one knows you’re the nanny.”
“Thanks, Cameron,” Adrienne said, falling back into bed. “Oh.” She sat back up. “You said you’d pay me back the five hundred…and I really need it.”
“Of course,” Cameron said. “Remind me again when we get home. But then again, you might not still be the nanny when we get back. You were supposed to be with Emma half an hour ago. My stepmother is not happy.”
Adrienne looked at the clock. Shit! She raced to get dressed and get to Emma’s room.
“Hey!” Emma said, smiling cheerfully, when Adrienne opened her door. Emma sat at the computer. CNN was on. Everything was normal.
“Want to see the pictures I took?” Emma asked.
“Sure,” Adrienne said, thrilled that whatever Emma was doing didn’t involve noise or a Viking funeral. Though, she thought, a Viking funeral might be preferable to the way I feel. Adrienne crossed over to the computer and sat down.
“Ready?” Emma said. “I’m going to start the slideshow.”
The pictures appeared one by one:
Adrienne dancing.
Adrienne and Cameron at the karaoke machine.
Adrienne smiled. I look good, she thought. I remember all of this.
Cameron making out with a guy from some WB show. Adrienne giggled. Cam is so busted!
Adrienne dancing on a table. Oops. I don’t remember that at all, Adrienne thought.
Adrienne in the pool in Cameron’s dress. Adrienne gasped. Where was the dress now? She couldn’t remember.
Adrienne being dried off by…Graydon!
Adrienne making out with Graydon.
Adrienne making out with Graydon—and Cameron standing nearby, laughing at her!
“Stop it, Emma! Turn it off!” Adrienne cried, her eyes filling up with tears. “How could this have happened? I don’t remember any of this at all!”
“But there’s so much more….” Emma said mischieviously.
Adrienne raced for the bathroom. “I think I’m going to be sick!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
blackmail
Adrienne walked up to Van Rensselaer High on Monday morning committed to changing everything in her life.
I made out with gross Graydon, I bailed on Tamara, and I feel like crap. She took a deep breath, crossed the threshold of the school, and headed to her locker.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around.
It was Brian. “Hey!” he said, looking a bit bashful. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“I’m glad to be back,” Adrienne said, pulling him to a quiet corner. “Brian, why were you talking to Cameron in Florida?”
Brian blinked.
“I trusted you.” Tears started to well up in Adrienne’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Brian said. “Nothing happened. Cam was just being nice. We’re just friends.”
“Brian, Cameron wasn’t just being nice.” Adrienne took a deep breath. She had practiced this speech a hundred times on the plane ride back from Palm Beach. “Cameron isn’t a nice person. If you want to be with me, you’d better back away from her.”
“Fine,” Brian said. “Are we still okay?”
“I think we will be.”
Brian leaned over and kissed her gently.
“Listen, I have to go. Tamara is going to kill me. I really need to make things all right with her.” Adrienne hurried down the hall to Tamara’s locker. Lily was there, too, talking to Tamara. Adrienne rushed over. “Tamara, I’m really sorry. The Warners wanted me down there, and I didn’t have the guts to say no. So many things got screwed up. I can’t have you mad at me—”
Tamara interrupted. “Honey, don’t worry. There is only one thing I want.”
“What’s that?”
“I just want my friend back. I don’t know you anymore.”
Adrienne nodded. Tamara was right.
Adrienne didn’t know herself anymore, either.
That afternoon, Adrienne entered the Warners’ apartment feeling more confident than she had that morning, but still a little nervous. The apartment was quiet, except for Bisquit, who came out to greet her. “You are the only normal thing in this house,” she whispered to the dog. He barked and ran away.
“Hey, gorgeous you! Come on in, my favorite partner in crime!” Cameron walked across the hall to meet her. “People can’t stop talking about the party, and they can’t stop talking about you! It was so much fun. I decided—now stop me if you think I’m a genius—that we are going to transform you into an heiress. I’ll teach you everything you need to know to get along in society. I’ll teach you how to walk, how to sit, who went to what school, how much money everyone has” Cameron continued, detailing the heights to which Adrienne would climb under her tutelage.
Adrienne interrupted her. “Cam,” she said with her newfound sense of self, “I already know how to walk and how to sit. We had a great time, but I’m your sister’s nanny. I think we should draw the line. I’ll never fit in with your crowd, and I want you to back off from my boyfriend. Okay?”
Cameron stared at her. “What?” she said calmly.
“I said back off Brian, Cam.”
Cameron stepped back and took a long, careful look at Adrienne. “That’s Miss Warner to you, Nanny Lewis. I wanted to be nice to you and your idiot boyfriend, but if you want to still work here, you’d better watch your ass. I don’t think the Warner household needs someone who takes us for granted and uses us—”
“Uses you?” Adrienne laughed. “Don’t you think it’s the other way around?”
“No,” Cameron said smoothly. “The first day in this house you stole a sweater out of my closet. Then I caught you sneaking your trashy boyfriend up into this apartment and throwing a PARTY, which my brother and I stopped, thank God, before our parents found out. And what about the clothes you took from Bergdorf’s? They were charged to my mother’s account. Guess what? They weren’t free. I lied. The clothes aren’t in my closet, are they? And, of course, what about paying that drug dealer, Hector, to throw a party in the servants’ quarters down in Palm Beach?”
Adrienne’s eyes widened. Cameron had been setting her up all along. Cameron could make it look like all those things were true.
“I never…I didn’t…,” Adrienne mumbled. Until now, she had never realized just how incredibly two-faced Cameron really was. It hurt to be so betrayed.
“And,” Cameron said, coming in for the kill, “what would your precious Brian say if he saw the photos that Emma took of you kissing my brother?”
“Hello, Adriana.” Mrs. Warner entered the room. “Good to see you.”
“Hi, Mrs. Warner,” Adrienne said, avoiding Cameron’s icy gaze. “Thank you for the trip to Florida. It was a lot of fun. But I was just wondering when the new nanny is arriving.”
“Cameron! Didn’t you tell her the news?”
“I was just about to,” Cameron said, her eyes glinting. “But we were too busy gossiping about Florida. Guess what, Adrienne! The nanny didn’t come from London again, and we want to hire you for two more months!”
Adrienne blinked. There is no nanny coming, she thought. Not now. Not ever. They just keep saying that because they know no one wants to be here any longer than they have to be.
Adrienne looked at Cameron. Without Mrs. Warner seeing, Cameron mouthed the words, “I’m going to tell.” I can handle this, Adrienne thought. All I really need to do is stay clear of Cameron.
“Okay, Mrs. Warner,” Adrienne said, averting Cameron’s gaze. “I can stay. That would be great.”
Mrs. Warner smiled. “Wonderful. Mr. Warner and I have an important benefit Saturday night, so I’ll need you to help Tania
take care of Emma all day and night on Saturday. Oh, and Cameron is staying in the city this weekend, too, but she has plans, so she won’t be around the apartment much. Right, darling?”
“Right!” Cameron said.
Adrienne pasted on a smile. “Sounds great.”
Kane suddenly appeared, and so did the elevator. Mrs. Warner said good-bye, stepped into the waiting elevator, and was whisked out of sight.
“So, Adrienne. Isn’t it great that the new nanny couldn’t make it and you get to stay on?” Cameron smirked.
“Yeah, Cam, a real laugh riot,” Adrienne said.
“Oh, and Adrienne,” Cameron said, looking her in the eye. “I hope you’ll bring Brian around. You know how much I like him.” She winked and left.
What a bitch, Adrienne thought.
Adrienne stepped into the kitchen with all the enthusiasm of a condemned prisoner sitting down in the electric chair.
“Hello, you!” Tania said, completely unaware of Adrienne’s situation. “Miss Emma, she wait.”
“Thanks,” Adrienne called as she headed to Emma’s room.
Emma sat at her desk, CNN was on, and Mozart played on the CD system.
“Hey, Em. How are you?”
“How are you?” Emma asked, her nose buried in a book.
“I’m not great, Emma, not so great,” she replied, sitting on the bed.
“What’s the matter?” Emma asked, turning away from her work.
“Do you like me?” Adrienne asked.
“Sure,” Emma said.
“Then why did you take those pictures of me?” she asked.
Emma shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought it would be funny. Cam thought it was funny.”
“I didn’t think they were funny,” Adrienne said. “They upset me.”
Emma turned back to her computer. After a few minutes, she handed Adrienne an envelope. Inside was the photo CD-ROM.
Well, at least, I have one friend in this house, Adrienne thought. She slipped the CD in her bag and let out a sigh of relief. She would make sure no one would ever see these photos! “Thanks, Emma,” she said.
Confessions of a Teen Nanny Page 12