Sugar and Spice_ An L.A. Candy Novel - Lauren Conrad [76]
Seems very willing to go along with it. Jane felt sick to her stomach all of a sudden as a terrible realization dawned on her.
“Jane? Are you okay?” Oliver sounded concerned.
Jane reached under her clothing and switched her microphone off. She signaled for Oliver to do the same. He obeyed, looking confused.
“Oliver, tell me the truth,” Jane said as calmly as she could. “Did Trevor cast you to date Hannah?”
Oliver stared at her. “W-what are you talking about?” he stammered.
“Did . . . Trevor . . . cast . . . you?”
Oliver started to turn away, then stopped. “Look, it wasn’t like that, exactly,” he blurted out. “A friend of mine told me that some producer was looking for a guy my age to be on his reality show. I went in for the interview. Trevor practically signed me up on the spot. He said that all I had to do was be a part-time intern for an event planner, and he hinted that I might like some girl named Hannah.”
“Nice,” Jane said, disgusted.
“It’s not what you think!” Oliver said. “I couldn’t say no to the money. My dad got laid off last year, and I’m trying to pay my own way through school.” He raked a hand through his dark auburn curls. “Besides, you don’t understand. Hannah and me . . . it’s not like Trevor made me like her. I was just gonna see what happened. But then I fell in love with her.”
“You’re . . . in love with her?” Jane said, stunned.
“Head over heels. She’s the most amazing girl I’ve ever known.”
“Jane!” Hannah’s voice came over her earpiece. “The gondola’s gonna be here in, like, sixty seconds.”
Jane glanced quickly at Oliver. “Oh, hey, Hannah,” she said loudly. Oliver looked startled. “I’m on my way. Everything okay where you are?”
“Everything’s perfect!”
No, it’s not, Jane thought grimly as she signed off, thinking about Oliver’s confession. She told herself that Hannah was going to need lots of support in the coming days and weeks. Because she was pretty sure that Hannah was in love with Oliver, too, and it wasn’t going to be easy for her when she learned the truth.
Although . . . something told Jane that Hannah would find it in her heart to forgive Oliver. After all, Hannah had done something similar when she first started working for Fiona, pretending to be Jane’s friend for the cameras per Trevor’s and Dana’s instructions.
“Jane, you’re not gonna tell her, are you?” Oliver said worriedly. “If she knew Trevor cast me like that, she’ll think I’m lying about the way I feel about her. And I’m not!”
Jane put her hands on his shoulders. “No, I’m not gonna tell her. You are.”
“What?”
“Yep. And it’s gonna be okay.”
“It is?”
“She might surprise you. She’s pretty understanding.” Jane gave Oliver a reassuring smile. “Okay, come on, back to work.”
Jane switched her mike on and hurried toward the dock, just as the DJ on the stage began playing “At Last” by Etta James. The white-and-gold gondola glided into the square, and the crowd erupted into wild cheers as Aja and Miguel, looking happy and radiant, stood up in the boat, waving and blowing kisses.
“Jane?” A guy in a black tux touched her arm. He lifted his mask.
“Oh, hey, Naveen! Are you having fun? Where’s Caleb?” Jane asked him distractedly. She noticed a PopTV camera guy about ten feet away, filming them. Yeah, Naveen and I are having a pretty fascinating conversation right now, she thought drily.
“I’m not sure. Have you seen Scarlett?”
“Not in, like, the last half hour. Listen, I’m sorry, but I’m working, so I’ve gotta run. I’ll catch up with you later—ow!”
Someone bumped into Jane, hard. She glanced up, startled, and saw a familiar-looking girl holding an empty wineglass.
“I’m such an idiot!” the girl cried out.
Jane looked down and saw the massive red stain blooming across the front of her white silk blouse. “That’s okay,” she said, trying not to sound as annoyed as she felt. She noticed that the camera guy from before was still filming. Great. “I have another blouse in my room. I’ll just go up and change.”
“Ohmigod, I’m so sorry,” the girl apologized.
Jane fake-smiled and hurried to the nearest exit, trying to hide