“Let’s exchange numbers, so you can use me as your point of contact to schedule everything,” Kat says. “It’d take you five times as long to get anything done if you had to go through official channels.”
And off we go to the ledge of the pool to grab our phones and exchange information.
“So, hey,” Kat says, after she’s input my number. “I think I might have put my foot in my mouth earlier, when I said that thing about mybrother, Ryan, not liking Reed. Josh overheard that and got pissed at me. He doesn’t want you thinking badly of Reed, and neither do I. Reed is actually a good guy, Georgie. A sweetheart, once you get past all that swagger.”
I open my mouth to reply, but quickly close it again. Kat knows about Reed and me? Or is she simply concerned she’s said the wrong thing about her husband’s best friend to the woman assigned to write an article about him?
Kat continues, “Honestly, Georgie, I can’t even count all the times I’ve seen Reed being a fantastic friend or brother. Did you know he paid for all his sister’s schooling? He also hosted Henn and Hannah’s wedding here at his house. Also...” She looks behind her, apparently making sure nobody is within earshot. “This is off the record, okay? Not for your article.”
“Sure.”
“Don’t tell my brother, Keane, but Reed really helped his career behind the scenes.” She looks behind her again. “When Keane first moved to LA to try his hand at modeling and acting, his agent wouldn’t send him out to audition for anything serious. Every role he auditioned for was a dumb jock or stripper or frat boy. Keane was grateful for the work, and excited at first, but after a while, he really wanted to throw his hat in the ring for more serious roles. So, he took acting classes, and really worked hard, but, still, his agent wouldn’t take him seriously. So, Maddy told me about Keane’s predicament. She said Keane was getting discouraged. So, I mentioned it to Josh, just, you know, to catch my husband up on my life. I didn’t expect Josh todoanything with the information. But Josh, being Josh, he immediately took action and called Reed. Who then called the head of Keane’s talent agency—because Reed knowseverybodyin this town—and Reed told the guy it would be apersonalfavor tohimif Keane’s particular agent would start taking a chance on him and send him out to a few serious auditions. And guess what happened? Keane got hired for the first serious role he tried out for! And that led to the next role, and the next. And now he’s starring in a hit show!”
Of course, none of this surprises me. Indeed, everything Kat just said soundsexactlylike something Reed would do. Like Reed told me that day in the gym, he won’t compromise his professional judgment, buthe’ll do just about anything else for the people on his short list. And since Josh Faraday is one of the people on that list, all he had to do was give Reed a call to send him into action.
“And that’s Reed for you,” Kat says, her blue eyes twinkling. “And Josh, too. Both of those guys are so generous.”
“Why don’t they want Keane to know they helped him? Wouldn’t Keane want to know, so he could thank both of them for helping him out? If someone helped me withmycareer behind the scenes, I’d want to know about it, so I could thank them profusely.”
“Josh and Reed don’t want to take anything away from Keane. Especially Reed. He never wants the spotlight for himself. He loves pulling strings behind the scenes.”
Ping.
That soft cotton ball from earlierpoofssoftly against the back of my head again. A fuzzy idea is once again trying to sharpen and take root inside my brain. But before the amorphous thought crystallizes, Kat speaks again.
“And Keane is just another example on a long list of them. When Hannah first moved from Seattle to LA to be closer to her then-boyfriend, Henn, do you know what Reed did for her, simply because she was Henn’s girlfriend?”
“He helped her get a job?” I throw out.
Kat looks surprised. “Actually... yes. I was going to say Reed gave Hannah a smoking good deal on an apartment in one of his buildings. But, yes, Reedalsohelped Hannah get her current job, too. I guess he knew someone who knew someone, and that got her in the door for an interview. Oh! He also got Zander an interview with Big Barry, when Zander first moved to LA, too. That’s how Zander became Aloha’s personal bodyguard.” Kat grabs her club soda off the ledge and takes a long sip. “Seriously, if you’ve got Reed Rivers vouching for you, you can’t lose.”
“The Man with the Midas Touch,” I say.
“Exactly. But, see, most people don’t realize Reed’s golden touch extends to far more things than music. Oh! Maddy is another example. Reed brokered the distribution deal for one of her documentaries—the one she did with Aloha—and he also introduced her to one of hisproducing partners for her next project. And,boom,Maddy’s very next film, she wound up getting nominated for an Oscar!”
“Wow.”
“The same kind of thing happened with Isabel Randolph. Josh told me Reed brought Isabel to one of Josh’s parties, way before she was famous. Josh said Reed introduced her as a ‘rising star’ and ‘one to watch’... and, well, you know how that turned out. I’m telling you, Reed isneverwrong about spotting talent. He can spot it better than anyone.”
I force a smile, but my stomach is tight.
“Oh, crap,” Kat says. “I did it again, didn’t I? Put my foot in my mouth. Georgina, Reed and Isabel are ancient news. You have nothing to worry about there. I don’t know if this is public knowledge yet, so don’t post about this, but she’s getting married. In fact, Josh said she’s bringing her fiancé to the party. And, regardless, Reed has no interest in her. Josh says Isabel is the one who’s always carried a torch for Reed. Not the other way around. So, now that she’s getting married, I guess that’s that, right?”
Jesus Christ. Doeseveryoneat this little pre-party know I’m having sex with Reed? Do the three guys of 22 Goats, who I’ll be interviewing, know? Do they think I got this job, thanks to Reed pulling strings for me behind the scenes, the same way he did for Keane and Zander and Hannah?
Ping.
That cotton ball knocks me in the back of the head again... Only this time, it’s a tiny pebble. But before another pebble hits, and the thought takes shape, a hurtling body cannonballs into the pool, immediately to my left, dousing Kat and me with a virtual tsunami that makes us squeal.
I didn’t see the cannonballer, but I’m instantly assuming it had to be Keane Morgan, or maybe his best friend, Zander, since those two have been goofing around like kids in the pool for the past twenty minutes. But, to my shock, it’sReedwho suddenly breaks the surface of the water next to me, like a great white shark breaching the ocean’s surface to nab a frightened seal in its gaping mouth. Laughing at my shocked reaction, Reed swoops me into his arms and plants an enthusiastic kiss on my mouth, right in front of his entire group of friends.
For a split-second, I’m aggravated. I’ve been adamant with Reed that I don’t want anyone knowing we’re sleeping together. But then, Iremember Kat almost certainly already knows about us, which means Josh and everyone else probably does, too.
And just that fast, I realize I’m feeling electrified, not upset, that Reed wants the people closest to him to know about us. In fact, I couldn’t be happier about it. With a swooning sigh, I wrap my legs around Reed’s waist and my arms around his neck and kiss the hell out of my gorgeous man, so everyone he cares about can plainly see I’m every bit as attracted to him, as he is to me.
55
GEORGINA
