All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [19]
Natalie didn't need to be reminded of her behavior that night or the fact that she hadn't been able to remember where she'd been or what she'd done. It had been a defining moment in her life. After Emily's death, she'd taken a good look at herself, at who she was, what she'd become, and she hadn't liked what she saw. So she'd changed. But changing hadn't brought Emily back. And not being there for her friend, not being able to remember what she'd done in those few important hours, would haunt her for the rest of her life.
"So I'm the villain," Natalie said, feeling a surge of anger. "Who the hell does this guy think he is to accuse me of things he knows nothing about?"
"Well, he knows more than nothing, that's for sure. Maybe no one besides us will recognize the story," Laura added hopefully.
"I doubt that. There are too many people reading the book. And there were a lot of people at the party that night."
"What can we do? We can't pull the book off the shelves."
"The publisher can—if they believe the book has been misrepresented as fiction. I'm going to call a lawyer, find out what our options are."
"Wouldn't we have to prove that the story was true? Wouldn't that mean bringing it all out in the public? Do we want to do that, Natalie? Wouldn't that just make it worse?"
Laura was right. The last thing they needed was more publicity. "At the very least we should find out what choices we have. Then we should try to find Madison. If you didn't talk to Garrett Malone, and I didn't talk to him, then it had to be Maddie."
"Why would she tell?"
"Money," Natalie tossed out. "If there was ever a girl who knew the value of a dollar, it was Maddie."
"She wouldn't sell out Emily."
Natalie looked Laura straight in the eye. "If she didn't, then one of us is lying."
Chapter 4
Madison Covington sat at the head of the conference table. Three of her coworkers awaited her instructions. Since transferring from the New York office three months earlier, she had been promoted to senior account executive for Barney and Baines Public Relations in San Francisco. With any luck, she intended to change the name of the firm to Barney, Baines, and Covington Public Relations in the very near future. The masquerade ball they were planning, the event that had brought them all together on this Saturday afternoon, was going to blow the lid off celebrity charity events. Madison intended to raise over five hundred thousand dollars in one night for crippled children. Her future would be made. And the crippled children wouldn't be bad off, either.
"I want everyone to wear masks," she said. "No exceptions. This masquerade party will be the talk of the town." And she would be the talk of the PR world, the queen of the celebrity charity event. She so enjoyed being the queen, she thought with a small smile. But first she had to get back to business. "Lisa, how are we doing with the hotel?"
The twenty-two-year-old newly minted college grad glanced down at her checklist. "Everything is on target. The menu is set. The decorations have been ordered. The seating chart is almost complete." Lisa hesitated, then said, "We've had some last-minute cancellations, Ms. Covington. I have the names right here."
"Who?" Madison asked, suddenly worried that it would be the Parishes sending regrets. Ever since she'd seen their RSVP come in, she'd been waiting for them to figure out it was her party, giving them more than enough reason to pass. She was one of the girls who had led Emily astray, and she hadn't even had the decency to stick around for their daughter's funeral, not that that was her fault. Her parents had given her no choice.
She knew coming back to San Francisco would mean seeing the Parishes at some point, especially Richard and Cole, who ran the Tribune. It was her job to work the press, and they were the press. Her boss had already suggested on more than one occasion that she find an opportunity to get personally acquainted. So far, she'd managed to put that off without explaining why. "Well?" she asked impatiently as Lisa shuffled