Really Something by Shirley Jump Read Free Book Online

extras, I knew just the place for filming Sorority Slumber Party Slaughter . Tempest.”
    â€œWhat did he say?”
    â€œNothing, at least not for a while. I think he was shocked someone finally stopped sucking up to his ego.” Although Allie sounded like she’d been full of bravado now, in truth, she’d been holding her breath that day. She’d taken the job as Jerry’s production assistant because she’d believed Jerry when he said it was the smartest path to becoming a producer. He’d promised to take her under his wing, to teach her everything he knew.
    Instead, he’d sent her for coffee and forgotten she existed. She was tired of being a glorified stewardess, even if the job paid pretty damned well, probably because no one in their right mind wanted to work for Jerry.
    But after two years of knocking on doors and waiting tables to pay her rent, Allie had been desperate. L.A. was a tough town, and finding a job in the competitive film industry had been harder than she’d expected. She had a degree from film school, an internship at Twentieth Century Fox, but no connections.
    What connections she might have had Geoff had gone and burned anyway. There was nothing like divorcing a former entertainment lawyer to kill your name in Hollywood.
    â€œFinally,” Allie went on, “Jerry said, ‘You’ve got till Friday. Bring me a goddamned miracle and I might even let you produce Bikini Zombie Babes: Back in Doubles next year.’”
    Vanessa made a face. “You really want to produce that kind of thing?”
    â€œHell, no. But it’s a start. And I need something on my resume besides latte-maker. That’s about the only thing Jerry’s ever let me make. So that’s why I’m here, back in hell.”
    â€œOh, Tempest isn’t that bad.”
    â€œIt wasn’t that good either, Vanessa.” Allie got to her feet, brushed off her skirt, and the two of them started walking back toward the dance. “That’s the real reason I’m here. To…” She paused. “Get even, I guess.”
    â€œDon’t tell me you’re going all Stephen King.” But a smile of understanding spread across her face.
    â€œNo blood and pig guts at the dance, I promise. Although I considered a Carrie sequel when I ran into Lisa Connelly.”
    â€œOh, her.” Vanessa sighed. “She’s still the witch we all remember. She now owns Curl Up ’N’ Dye, inherited it from her aunt, and thinks that gives her the right to pass judgment on everyone she sees.”
    â€œStill gets her perm rods all in a twist about a fashion faux pas, huh?”
    Vanessa laughed. “Oh, yeah. Judging others is a part-time job for her. So are you planning on getting back at her for all those awful things she did and said?”
    â€œMaybe. This all happened so fast, I haven’t had time to come up with a plan.” Allie shrugged. “Except…I would like to give Duncan Henry a taste of his own medicine.”
    Vanessa’s brows popped upward in surprise. “Wow, you have changed. All bold and brazen now.”
    â€œIt’s the waistline,” Allie said. “It’s a lot easier to be bold when you’re a size six. Something happened that day in the conference room, Vanessa. It’s as though all that dieting and working out and all those changes I made to myself suddenly turned on a switch inside me. I realized I was the one with the power and I was finally ready to take charge of my life. Which also meant coming back here and dealing with all that crap from before.” She met her friend’s green eyes, the ones that had always known her best. “I’m here, not as Allison Gray, but as Allie Dean, so that people see me , not my looks, but just me, who I am on the inside.”
    â€œAw, Allie,” Vanessa said, her gaze softening, “you were always fine, no matter what size you