Damage Control

by Jae

  Lauren tensed. If this was supposed to be a conversation about her promotion, why did it feel as if there was a but coming?

  “But,” Marlene said, just as Lauren had feared, “no matter how much I appreciated your work over the years, I can’t ignore this.”

  “Ignore what?”

  “I got a call from Grace Durand’s mother at six o’clock this morning,” Marlene said. “She wants you removed as Ms. Durand’s publicist immediately. She said she caught you kissing and pawing her daughter, pressuring her into having sex.”

  Goddammit. That bitch! Lauren’s opinion of Grace’s mother hadn’t been very high to start with, but she hadn’t thought Katherine would go that far. She gripped the edge of the chair with both hands, forcing herself to stay seated and not jump up and pace in outrage.

  Marlene held up her hands. “I know she’s prone to exaggerations and to taking action over her daughter’s head, so I’m trying not to jump to conclusions, but this is an accusation I have to take seriously, especially after the Tabby Jones situation.”

  Lauren was sick of people bringing up that damn singer. So far, she had gritted her teeth and ignored it, but enough was enough. “Marlene, with all due respect, I don’t know why we have to keep talking about Tabby Jones. I always conducted myself in a professional manner when I was on tour with her. She was the one who got drunk and made a pass at me, not the other way around. Ms. Durand is not like that at all.”

  Marlene relaxed against the back of her executive chair. “I didn’t think she was. Listen, Lauren. It’s not that I don’t believe in your professionalism. But if a client’s manager tells me she caught you taking advantage of her, I can’t just let it go without asking some tough questions first. I tried to call Ms. Durand earlier to clear this up but couldn’t reach her.”

  Lauren clenched her teeth so hard that her jaw started to hurt. “Taking advantage?” The words tasted bitter in her mouth. “That’s not what happened. Once you reach Ms. Durand, she will confirm what I’m saying.”

  “Are you sure she’ll side with you, not with her mother?” Marlene asked.

  “I’m sure,” Lauren said without even a hint of hesitation. Mrs. Duvenbeck had a lot of influence on her daughter, but Grace wouldn’t betray her.

  “So what really happened? Why is Mrs. Duvenbeck making these unfounded allegations against you?” Marlene asked. “What is it that she dislikes so much about you that she would try to ruin your reputation?”

  A hundred thoughts tumbled through Lauren’s mind. Her brain had trouble catching up with what was happening. She’d thought she would be getting a promotion, and now she was on the edge of being fired if she couldn’t answer the question to Marlene’s satisfaction. Only the truth could save her reputation, but it would mean outing Grace.

  “Lauren?” Marlene prompted when Lauren kept hesitating. Her boss’s gray eyes narrowed.

  “There are many reasons why she doesn’t like me,” Lauren finally said. It sounded lame, even to her own ears.

  “Such as?”

  “My sexual orientation, for one thing,” Lauren said, hoping her boss would leave it at that.

  Marlene squinted over at her. “But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there? Why would Mrs. Duvenbeck feel so threatened by your sexual orientation?”

  Damn. She should have known Marlene wouldn’t buy it. “Mostly because she built her whole life on being the mother and manager of a beautiful, straight movie star and now she’s deathly afraid that her daughter might be gay.”

  Marlene swished her leather chair a little to the side, tilted her head, and regarded Lauren with a frown. “Why is she still concerned about that? I thought we laid those rumors to rest once and for all?”

  “We did, but…”

  “But…what?” Marlene waved her fingers at her, her patience clearly wearing thin. “Come on. Out with it. What the hell is going on?”

  Lauren tightened her grip on the chair until her fingers started to hurt. She wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. If she refused to answer, Marlene would think there was at least some truth to Mrs. Duvenbeck’s allegations. Her career and, what was more, her reputation would be ruined. Besides, how could she keep hoping that Grace might one day find the courage to publicly acknowledge their relationship when she herself was denying it, even in the face of such serious accusations? She leaned forward, a heavy weight on her shoulders, and regarded Marlene with an intent gaze. “This is totally off record, okay?”

  Marlene nodded her assent.

  She was one of few people in Hollywood Lauren trusted to keep a secret, especially since it was in Marlene’s own best interest. She hesitated for a moment longer but knew the truth would come out once Marlene talked to Grace anyway. “I’m not sure Grace would put a label on herself, but…” Lauren squared her shoulders and willed her thudding heartbeat to slow. “She and I…we’ve recently gotten involved.”

  Sudden silence settled over the office. Only the soft whir of the aquarium filters drifted over.

  “She’s a client, Lauren,” Marlene said, sounding as if she were laboring to keep her voice calm.

  Lauren swallowed. “I know. Trust me, I didn’t plan on falling in love with her. I tried to keep my distance, but…”

  “Love?” Marlene repeated, her frown deepening. “So this isn’t just a fleeting Hollywood thing or a bi-curious experiment?”

  “No,” Lauren said forcefully. Then, more softly, she added, “It’s much more than that. Like I said, this isn’t anything like the Tabby Jones situation.”

  “But Ms. Durand isn’t thinking about making this public, is she?”

  “We haven’t talked about it yet.” Truth be told, Lauren had been afraid to bring it up or make any demands, not wanting to put Grace in a position where she had to choose between their relationship and her career. “But I wouldn’t rule it out at some point in the future.”

  “Christ.” Marlene raked her hands through her graying hair, messing up her stylish hairdo. “You’re putting me in an impossible situation, especially if you make your relationship public at some point. I don’t want to lose you as an employee, but how can I keep telling our staff that getting involved with a client is a big no-no when I turn a blind eye to your involvement with a very prominent client?”

  There was just one way out of this dilemma. Well, two, really, but if she had to make a choice between her career and Grace, her job would lose. For the first time in her life, her relationship was more important. Lauren knew that, but she still couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “You’ll have my resignation on your desk by the end of the day. I’ll put notes in every client file before I go so Tina or someone else can take over.”

  Marlene stood and came around the desk. She looked down at Lauren with an incredulous shake of her head. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do? I always saw a bright future for you at CTP, and now you want to give up your job…your career in PR…over a woman?”

  “She’s not just any woman,” Lauren said quietly.

  “No, she isn’t.”

  They were probably talking about two different things, but Lauren didn’t correct her. She stood and held out her hand. “Thanks for everything. I liked working here.”

  Marlene shook her hand. For the first time in the eight years that Lauren knew her, she looked as if she didn’t know what to say.

  With slow steps, Lauren walked past the Siamese fighting fish to the door. Her colleagues—well, former colleagues—were right. The flared gills weren’t a good omen.

  Grace and her mother had been a team her entire life. They had never lacked for things to talk about over breakfast. But now silence ruled on the patio as Grace poked around in her kiwi/blueberry yogurt and her mother sipped her smoothie.

  When the phone rang, she got up, glad to le
ave the tense situation at the small patio table.

  The number on the display looked familiar. Oh, that’s a CT Publicity number. A warm feeling settled over her. Was Lauren calling her from work to see how she was doing? She slid her finger over the display to accept the call. “Hi.”

  “Good morning, Ms. Durand. This is Marlene Chandler from CT Publicity.”

  Grace’s brows shot up. Why was Lauren’s boss calling her? A cold shiver went down her spine. Had something happened to Lauren? Nonsense. Ms. Chandler wouldn’t call her, then. She thought Lauren was nothing but her publicist to her. Grace drew a deep breath. “Good morning.”

  “I’m sorry to call you this early, but I was wondering if you have some time today to meet with me,” Ms. Chandler said.

  Grace frowned. If this was about a marketing campaign for her, why wasn’t Lauren calling her? “What’s this about?”

  “Um, I’d rather not talk about it on the phone, if you don’t mind.”

  That didn’t sound good. Grace pinched the bridge of her nose. She so didn’t need more problems in her life right now.

  “I could meet you at your home at whatever time is convenient for you,” Ms. Chandler said.

  Grace didn’t like strangers in the cottage. “Why don’t I drop by your office? I could be there in about an hour.”

  “Sounds good. Thank you.”

  They ended the call.

  “Who was that?” her mother asked.

  “Ms. Chandler. She wants to meet with me.”

  Her mother emptied her smoothie and stood. “I’ll come with you.”

  Grace didn’t have the energy to protest. “Okay, then let’s get going.”

  When the receptionist led them to Ms. Chandler’s office, Grace kept an eye out for Lauren, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. But Lauren was nowhere to be seen, and her office door was closed.

  With a longing glance, Grace walked past it.

  Ms. Chandler greeted them with a friendly smile and offered them coffee, but Grace shook her head. She wanted to know what was going on—now. “What is this about?”

  “Let me start by saying that we at CT Publicity are very proud to represent you and hope that you’ve been happy with our services so far.” Ms. Chandler tugged on her silk scarf as if it were a noose around her neck.

  “Ms. Pearce has done an excellent job with everything,” Grace said.

  “I’m sure she has. But given the nature of your relationship with her, I’m sure you’ll agree that it would be for the best if someone else took over as your publicist.”

  Her words hit Grace like a punch to the stomach. Even nearly thirty years of experience as an actress didn’t help to hide her shock. She stared at Ms. Chandler. “How…? Who told you that?”

  Ms. Chandler didn’t say anything, but her gaze went to the left.

  Grace glanced in the same direction.

  Her mother, who sat next to Grace, licked her lips and clutched her purse with both hands.

  White-hot anger shot through Grace. For a moment, she felt as if she would black out. She swayed on her chair. “You…you told her about Lauren and me?” Somehow, her mother must have called Ms. Chandler without her noticing, maybe when she’d been in the shower.

  “I told her that Ms. Pearce has been taking advantage of your vulnerable emotional state,” her mother said. “She’s not the kind of person we want as your publicist.”

  “Taking advantage?” Grace repeated, her voice becoming louder. “That’s not true! Lauren and I…we’re in a relationship.” She glared at her mother. “A consensual relationship.”

  “Lauren cleared that up already,” Ms. Chandler said. “Listen, Ms. Durand, whatever is going on between the two of you is none of my business, but Lauren can’t continue as your publicist. She knows that too. She quit her job this morning. But that doesn’t mean we want to lose you as a client.”

  A roaring started in Grace’s ears. Lauren loved her job. She’d worked hard for many years to be where she was today—and now she had lost everything because of her mother. Because of me.

  Her mother reached over and patted Grace’s arm. “I’m sure CTP can offer us the services of a publicist who’s just as good if not better than Ms. Pearce.”

  Ms. Chandler nodded. “I could even take over your account myself.”

  The white-hot anger was replaced by cold determination. She had to pry apart her gritted teeth before she could speak. “With all due respect, Ms. Chandler. I’m sure you’re really good at what you do, but I don’t want you as my publicist. I already have one—Lauren Pearce. If CTP can’t offer me her services, I’m done with your firm.”

  “My daughter doesn’t mean that. She’s just upset. Maybe you could—”

  “I mean it more than I ever meant anything in my life.” Grace whirled to face her mother and shoved her patting hand from her forearm.

  “You’re not thinking clearly, darling. As your manager, I advise you to—”

  “You’re no longer my manager. You’re fired.”

  Silence descended on the room.

  Even Grace was shocked by what she’d just said, but she refused to take it back.

  Her mother’s strangled gasp echoed through the office. “You can’t do that! Just think about where you’d be without me—probably waiting tables, like so many other struggling actresses!”

  “Maybe,” Grace said. A strange calm settled over her, giving her the strength to face her mother and go on. “Maybe not. I’m grateful for all you’ve done for me over the years, Mom. But somewhere along the way, you being my manager stopped being good for me. You’re my mother. You should be concerned with my happiness, not with my box office numbers or—”

  “How can you say that I’m not concerned with your happiness?” Big, fat tears smudged her mother’s mascara.

  “Because Lauren is what makes me happy and you just got her fired.”

  “She resigned,” Ms. Chandler said, as if that made any difference.

  “Then hire her back.” Grace stood. Her legs were shaking, and so was the rest of her, but she ignored it and tried to keep her voice steady as she said, “I’m leaving. Are you coming, or do you want Ms. Chandler to call you a cab?”

  Her mother looked at her as if she were a total stranger.

  Forcing herself not to look back to see if her mother would follow, Grace strode to the door.

  For once, the Siamese fighting fish didn’t flare his gills when Lauren walked past the aquarium a few hours later to hand over her resignation letter. Maybe he wasn’t as good at predicting the atmosphere in Marlene’s office as everyone thought.

  Her heart tightened at the thought that this was the last time she would ever walk past the fish, would ever be in Marlene’s office. Still, she wasn’t as devastated as she had thought she would be. As long as she had Grace, she would be fine.

  When she reached the desk, she held out the envelope. “My resignation letter. All of my files are in order, and I left detailed instructions for my replacement.”

  Marlene took the resignation letter and studied it for a moment before tearing it into little pieces. She swept them into her garbage can and looked up at Lauren with a grim expression. “There.”

  Lauren stared at her. “I thought you wanted me to resign?”

  “You know what I always say: the customer is king. Ms. Durand insists on keeping you as her publicist.”

  Grace knew about all of this—and had put her foot down and stuck with Lauren, against her mother’s wishes? Elation swept through Lauren.

  “Make no mistake about it; I don’t appreciate being blackmailed into making personnel decisions that go against company policy, but we can’t afford to lose Ms. Durand as a client.” The hard lines of Marlene’s face softened a bit. “And, to tell you t
he truth, I wasn’t happy to lose you as an employee anyway. But maybe you could talk to your…to Ms. Durand. I’d like to make Tina her official publicist while you supervise behind the scenes.”

  It sounded like an acceptable solution. Lauren hesitated. Did she really want her job back under these circumstances? She had worked hard to earn a reputation as a publicist who was not only competent but highly professional too. If she now got to keep her job just because the woman she was involved with had blackmailed her boss…

  She slowly shook her head. “I’m not sure staying would be the right thing to do. I think I should take this as a chance to think about where I want to go with my life.” She stood and clutched the back of the chair with both hands. “I’ll go print out my resignation letter again.”

  “People will want to know why you’re leaving CTP,” Marlene said.

  “I know. I’ll think of something we can tell them. Something that won’t harm your reputation—or my own—or make people suspect what’s really going on.” The first step toward the door felt shaky, but with every further step, she gained confidence in her decision.

  “Lauren,” Marlene called.

  A little warily, Lauren turned.

  Marlene regarded her across the room. “If you ever need a referral, let me know. I’ll highly recommend you to anyone.”

  Lauren nodded and walked out. Before she closed the door behind her, she caught a glimpse of the Siamese fighting fish. The male and his harem floated peacefully, as if agreeing that it had been the right thing to do.

  CHAPTER 34

  For once, Lauren sped up the dirt road to the cottage, not caring about any damage it might do to her car. She couldn’t wait to find out exactly what had happened and how Grace was doing. After parking next to Grace’s SUV, she hurried to the front door and rang the doorbell in a rapid rhythm.