Cassie knew nothing could prepare her for this trial by fire but knew Rhett would take the high ground, regardless of what Randi said or did. As Rhett’s assistant, she would keep newspapers and magazines away from him. He rarely got on the Internet so he’d miss all of the media stories there. Becky Bloss could handle the PR nightmare that would erupt. Cassie wished she could give Becky a heads up on the situation but she didn’t want to overstep her bounds. Rhett would let Becky know in his own time what he wanted done.
Cassie cleared her mind from the upcoming scandal and headed to a store she’d never heard of that Melanie swore had chic looks at great prices. Jolene rode shotgun, fiddling with the radio, trying to find a station which wasn’t playing a commercial. She finally gave up and turned it off.
“You need to get in a better mood, Cass. You haven’t said a word for ten minutes. I would think shopping for something to wear to a fancy Hollywood premiere might put most women on the happy cloud. You’re acting as if you’re headed straight to the guillotine.”
She sighed, not sure how much she could even vocalize. “It just feels weird, Jolene. I like Rhett. He’s a great boss. I know a lot of times stars take their publicist or agent or whomever to events. In a way, Rhett’s like some star quarterback dating the head cheerleader, while I’m captain of the debate team who’s his dissection partner in biology. His girlfriend’s out of town at a cheer competition, he has an extra ticket, and he’s sweet enough to drag me along so I don’t sit at home washing my hair on a Saturday night.”
Jolene asked, “Would you have frizzy hair and be wearing braces? Or is this the part where the ugly duckling gets the metal off and has her hair straightened and suddenly the world notices that she’s a gorgeous swan?”
Cassie laughed. “People in Rhett Corrigan’s league would never give me a second glance.”
“Zak Mercury did,” Jolene said. “In fact, he called again. Did you see the message? I left it by the phone.”
“No, and that’s beside the point.”
“Then what is the point? That you feel guilty going out with your boss? Or guilty that it’s to something cool and Randi will throw a shit fit when she finds out? Or that the tabloids are going to have a fucking field day when Rhett shows up with a beautiful mystery date? Or—”
“Pretty much all of the above. Except the beautiful part.”
Jolene leaned back in her seat. “I say roll with it, baby. Go have fun. Mingle. Make some contacts. Wear something new. Have a blast. Who gives a flying fuck what Randi James thinks? That bitch has serious mental problems.”
Jolene pointed to their right. “Hey, there it is.”
Cassie saw the sign for Vanity and pulled the Range Rover up to the curb. A valet met her. She handed the keys over and accompanied Jolene inside, hoping she had enough cash on her to tip the guy. She was sure Jolene wouldn’t.
They walked up a flight of stairs. A petite woman with four-inch heels and dark, shoulder-length hair stood in front of the opaque doors. She had a body that would stop traffic—male or female. When she spotted them, she broke out in a sweet smile.
“Cassie Carroll?”
“Melanie Cameron?”
The woman nodded. “It’s so good to meet you. Ken says he enjoys poker night a lot more now that you’re at the table.”
She laughed. “Ken has the best poker face in the world. He usually cleans everyone out. I’m sure he’s glad to have another sucker donating to his cause.” Cassie indicated Jolene. “Melanie, this is my friend, Jolene Farrell. She lives in Rhett’s gatehouse with me.”
“Nice to meet you, Jolene.”
“Don’t think we’re lesbians, Melanie. Cassie and I just room together. I’m one hundred percent man-loving and have the tales to prove it.”
Melanie burst out laughing. As usual, Cassie was ready to strangle Jolene.
“Ken told me some firecracker had Breck O’Dell tucked into her back pocket. It’s about time some lucky lady made an honest man of Breck. Good to meet you, Jolene.”
Jolene stared at Melanie. “I thought those bedroom eyes your husband has are sexy, but yours are even better. Plus, you have great hair and teeth. You should be the star of the family, Melanie. I’m not kidding. You should be on the cover of People’s Most Beautiful issue. I feel like I should ask you for your autograph.”
Melanie flashed a brilliant smile. “You are too sweet but from what Ken tells me, I should be asking for yours instead. He went with Breck to see you perform the other night and he came home raving. It’s hard to make Ken laugh out loud but he swore his belly was sore the next day, thanks to you.”
Jolene blushed to her roots. Cassie was grateful that Melanie’s compliment rendered her roommate speechless.
Melanie continued. “I haven’t seen Breck in a few months. Maybe the four of us could have dinner sometime.”
Cassie stifled a smile as she watched Jolene’s eyes grow large at the prospect of being seen in public in Ken Cameron’s company.
Jolene finally found her voice. “Could Cassie come along? She could bring Zak. That is, if she ever returned his calls.” She gave Cassie a triumphant look.
Melanie’s eyebrows shot up. “Zak Mercury? He’s asking you out?”
Cassie said, “Yes, but I’m not going, despite Jolene’s fascination with someone famous offering to take me to dinner. I don’t want to mix business with pleasure.”
Melanie shook her head. “No one tells Zak no, Cassie. He’ll drive you crazy until you do go out with him. I mean like stalk you crazy.”
“Then he’d drop her like a hot potato,” Jolene added. “I know the type. I’ve told her to go kick up her heels with him and enjoy her fifteen minutes of fame but this woman has principles.”
Cassie shrugged. “A few. Not enough to keep from using Rhett’s credit card today. He was sweet enough to offer to buy something for me to wear to Ken’s premiere.”
Jolene interrupted. “Oh, come on, Cass. You’re making it sound like he’s some sugar daddy that’ll deck you out from head to toe.” She looked at Melanie. “Cassie insisted that Rhett could only pay for part of it. She said it would count as her Christmas present from him, even though she told Rhett she thought she hadn’t been working for him long enough to deserve one.”
Cassie clenched Jolene’s arm in a Vulcan death grip. “Do you tell everything you know?”
Jolene shrugged. “Pretty much. Come on, ladies. Time’s a-wasting.” She walked into the store.
Melanie touched Cassie’s arm. “She’s a breath of fresh air, Cassie. Don’t worry. I take no offense at someone in this town speaking her honest opinion. And Vanity has some great classic cuts for amazing prices. It’s a little off the beaten path. You’ll be able to find something terrific here.”
“I appreciate you going shopping with us, Melanie. When Ken offered your services, I wasn’t sure if I should take him up on it.”
Melanie smiled. “I was looking forward to meeting you today after all the nice things Ken said about you. It’s wonderful to meet a new friend. Before we were married, people liked me for me. Now that I’m a package deal with Famous Ken, I never know if people are sucking up to me because of him or if they truly find me interesting. It can get pretty lonely,” she admitted.