The investigative reporter inside me is suddenly awake and very alert.
“Who was the mutual friend?” I ask casually, trying not to sound like I feel—like a hungry shark smelling blood.
Isabel pauses. Ever so briefly. “Josh Faraday. Have you met him? He’s around here somewhere. He’s one of Reed’s best friends.”
Liar.“Yeah, I met him earlier. How did you know Josh?”
She sips her drink again. “From the party circuit. I met Reed at one of Josh’s parties.”
“And the rest, as they say, is history,” I say brightly.
“Yep,” she replies.
“Life can be crazy that way. You never know when someone you meet at a party will be in your life for years to come.”
“So true.”
Okay, seriously now. What the fuck is going on here? Kat didn’t seem the least bit confused in the pool when she told me, quite clearly, thatReedhad broughtIsabelto one of Josh’s parties, asReed’sguest, and then told Josh she was a “rising star” and “someone to watch.”
My mind is whirling. Clacking. Processing.Isabel just lied to me. There’s no doubt about that. And, based on what I saw in that photo of Justin Timberlake, I’m almost positive Reed’s lied to me, too, about the very same topic. But,why? Why, why, why to all of it?
I take a long sip of my drink to hide my scowl, before saying, “I think CeeCee is a person like that for Reed. You know, someone he happened to meet at a party and then she unexpectedly became a deeply important person in his life. Well, correction. He didn’t ‘happen’ to meet her. Reed actually told me he crashed CeeCee’s fiftieth birthdayparty to get her to write about Red Card Riot’s debut. But the fact still remains, after that one encounter, they’ve been genuine, great friends ever since.”
“That’s a great story,” Isabel says.
And that’s it again. She doesn’t say another word. She doesn’t say, “Hey! I was at CeeCee’s fiftieth birthday party!” She doesn’t say, “Hey! Wait! I just rememberedthat’sthe party where I met Reed, not a party thrown by Josh!” And she certainly doesn’t say, “You want to hear something crazy? My future husband, Howard, was at that same party!”
Quickly, I decide to press the eject button and get myself out of this crazy-making conversation. Because, holy fuck, I’m not going to be able to keep a poker face for much longer.
“Well, I’ll let you enjoy the party,” I say, smiling. “I can’t wait for our interview, Isabel.”
We talk logistics briefly. She gives me the number of her publicist, and we say a warm and hearty goodbye, sealed with a you’re-my-new-best-friend hug.
“Sincere congratulations on your engagement,” I say, pulling out of our embrace. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks,” she says. But her smile doesn’t reach her eyes.
With a little wave to me, she takes a few steps into the crowded party, and stops. She scours the crowd, presumably looking for Howard. But when her eyes obviously land on him at one of the bars, where he’s talking to several high-profile people from the entertainment business, she turns and strides purposefully away, in the exact opposite direction of her future husband.
57
REED
After leaving Georgina with Isabel and Howard, I do a quick lap around the party, looking for Henn. But when I spot Aloha, chatting with the other writer fromRock ‘n’ Rollassigned to the special issue, I decide to intervene.
It’s been a bit of a juggling act to gently steer certain artists to Georgie, rather than Zasu, seeing as how I’m not technically supposed to be involved with interview assignments. But, still, I’ve managed to finesse things to my liking.Specifically, I want Georgina to interview my highest profile artists. People like Aloha. Because, of course, I want Georgina to get the lion’s share of the glory and accolades when the special issue comes out.
That said, however, there are a couple high-profilemaleson my roster I don’t want coming within ten yards of Georgina. Lady-killers with big swinging dicks. Savage from Fugitive Summer is definitely one of them. Also, Endo from Watch Party.
“Hey, ladies,” I say to Aloha and Zasu. “Aloha, Georgina was looking for you. She wants to nail down what you’re going to do for your interview with her.”
“Oh. Zasu and I were actually?—”
“Hey, Zasu. I think Georgina’s idea for Aloha’s interview sounds great. Would you mind letting her take that one?”
“Of course not. That’s fine with me.”
“Great. How about you interview Savage and Endo? They’re both around here somewhere. Maybe you could touch base with them now.”
