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By Root 533 0

of course there were the usual wannabes at Fiona Chen Events who kept sucking up to Madison, clearly angling for their fifteen minutes. As for boyfriends . . . well, besides Derek (who might not be one for much longer), Madison had a stable of faux-romantic interests—mostly models or actors wanting to get into the business—to escort her to events and fawn over her in front of paparazzi. But those relationships, if they could even be called that, were only for show. If Madison ever found herself in a burning building, she doubted any of those guys could be bothered to pull her out, unless there was media present.

Bottom line, the closest person to her these days was Sophie, her little sister and blackmailer. Which was beyond pathetic. Madison wondered what she could do to remedy that situation. And if she even cared enough to bother.

Maybe someone as powerful, ambitious, and beautiful as Madison was meant to be alone? Madison glanced at Jane, who was jabbering on about the guest list now. Madison had always wanted—and deserved—to replace Jane as the star of L.A. Candy. She was so close now; all she had to do was keep her eye on the prize and not get distracted by sentimental feelings about Jane or anyone else. And, of course, make sure Sophie kept her big mouth shut.

To hell with other people. It may be lonely at the top, but it was totally worth it.

Chapter 13

Boy Trouble

“How was Vegas?” Scarlett asked Jane. “And I want the real dirt now, before the crew gets here. You know Dana’s gonna make us repeat this conversation for the cameras, so you can give me the L.A. Candy–coated version then.”

Jane grinned as she reached for an avocado from a painted Mexican bowl, then looked frustrated as she squeezed it. It was rock hard, which was not conducive to guacamole making. Scarlett wondered if they should just order in. So far, their dinner preparations weren’t going too well. Aside from the unripe avocados, there were onion pieces splattered everywhere, thanks to a food processor malfunction (well, actually, due to Scarlett forgetting to put the top on before pressing the Chop button). And Jane had spilled a jar of salsa on the floor, which Tucker was now lapping up. It had been a while since the girls had cooked dinner . . . much less cooked dinner for guests . . . much less cooked dinner for guests for the cameras, which were due any minute.

The guests being Caleb and Naveen. And no Liam.

“Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?” Jane said, reaching for another avocado. “Hmmm, are these things fruits or vegetables?”

“Um . . . I’m not sure. Why don’t you tell me the good news first?”

“The good news is, they all loved my masked ball idea—and so did Aja, when her publicist and assistant told her about it! Yay! The bad news is . . . Madison.”

“God. What did that psychopath do now?”

“Well, first, she took credit for my idea in front of everyone. Second, she told the two guys from the Venetian that she was in charge of the party and that they should contact her for anything and everything. Third, she was a total nightmare while Hannah and I were sharing the room with her, and—”

“Wait, what? You guys had to share a room?” Scarlett interrupted.

Jane shrugged and sighed. “I’m sure Trevor and Dana set that up. It was easier to film, and you know . . . more drama. The Venetian would have comped each of us a private room.”

“I would have smothered Madison with a pillow while she was sleeping.”

“Believe me, I was tempted. Anyway, you’ll get to see all this lovely footage in a few weeks when the episode airs.” Jane’s face lit up. “Ohmigod, I forgot to tell you the best part! Guess who didn’t sleep in our room?”

“Um, who?”

“Hannah!”

Scarlett wasn’t sure where Jane was going with this. “Because she was sleeping . . . where?”

“In Oliver’s room,” Jane said giddily.

“Who’s Oliver?”

“I told you about him, Scar! He’s the new intern. He goes to UCLA part-time. He and Hannah have been flirting nonstop since he started working at the office. I guess they finally took it to the next level.”

“Wow. Good for her.