Sugar and Spice_ An L.A. Candy Novel - Lauren Conrad [66]
“Great! Hey, I meant to tell you . . . I love the flowers you picked out. And the menu cards are really cool, too.”
“Thanks!”
Jane glanced around the 1940s-style dining room with its wine-colored leather booths, black and white tiles, silver wall sconces, and framed photos of movie stars. There were votives and flowers on every table, along with place settings and ivory cards engraved with tonight’s special menu. The place looked beautiful and elegant, all ready for its grand opening.
“Everything’s going so well,” Jane recited, as if from a teleprompter. “What could go wrong?”
Hannah gave her a funny look. “Um, nothing? This night’s gonna be perfect! Don’t jinx it, Jane!”
Jane grinned. “I won’t.”
“Hi, Ashley, hi, Scott, it’s so nice to see you both! Follow me . . . right this way.”
Jane led Ashley Pierce and her fiancé to their seats in the center of the room. It was an art, planning the seating chart for an event, especially when there were celebrities involved. Celebrities meant fragile (actually, more like combustible) egos as well as constantly shifting friendships, relationships, alliances. Jane couldn’t seat Ashley at the same table as Leda Phillips, since the two had competed for the same role in an upcoming film. (Leda won.) And Jared Walsh couldn’t be anywhere near Aidan Kline, since Jared had not-so-secretly hooked up with Aidan’s then-girlfriend last year at Cannes. Joe Giardi, one of the most powerful agents in Hollywood, had to have the best table in the house—or should she give it to Carly Henek, who had recently and very publicly cut ties with the A-list rep?
As soon as Jane had seated Ashley and her fiancé, she headed back toward the end of the press line, where more celebrities would be waiting for their tables. On the way, she noticed two PopTV camera guys parked by a side entrance . . . and a third PopTV camera guy nearby, his camera focused on Jane.
This was it. Jane was ready. She stopped in her tracks and pretended to adjust her earpiece. Just then, the door opened, and Madison sauntered in.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jane saw that the first camera was trained on Madison (who was already miked—Jane could just make out the faint outline of a pack under her dress), and the second camera was trained on Jane. The third camera was trained on Fiona, who was hurrying through the dining room toward the two girls.
Madison tossed her hair over her shoulders and smiled smugly at Jane.
“Jane, could you—” Fiona began.
“Hey, Madison! So nice to see you!” Jane said in an extra-friendly voice. “I knew you might be out of town, but I saved you a table just in case. Follow me!”
Madison’s smile disappeared from her face. Fiona looked stunned.
Jane had to resist the urge to laugh. This was too awesome. She couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
“Hey, can you seat us at Madison’s table, too?”
Jane turned around at the sound of the familiar voice. It couldn’t be . . .
It was.
Jesse was standing there, looking impossibly handsome in a black tailored shirt and slacks. On his arm was Sophia Parker.
Madison seemed just as surprised as Jane. “Sophia, are you serious?” she hissed.
Sophia smirked. “I need a drink. You need a drink, sweetie?” she said, caressing Jesse’s arm.
Jesse kissed Sophia on the lips. “Oh, yeah. Where’s the bar in this place?”
Jane was completely speechless. This was definitely not in the book.
Chapter 25
Just us Girls
“Can you pass the ketchup?” Gaby asked Madison as she reached for another french fry. “Annabelle wouldn’t let me eat in front of the press, so I’m starving! I mean, what kind of publicist doesn’t let you eat steak at the grand opening of a restaurant called Sirloin?”
“Yeah, that sucks,” Madison agreed, handing her the ketchup bottle. The two girls were sitting in Mel’s Drive-In, which was almost empty at this late hour on a Tuesday night (or was it Wednesday morning now?).
Madison rubbed her temples, which were beginning to throb from one too many