The Publicist Book One and Two by Christina George Read Free Book Online Page A

bit. He was usually conveniently “unavailable” once the book headed to the PR department.
    Kate’s focus this week was on the Los Angeles premiere, followed by a party hosted at the Museum of Television and Arts in Beverly Hills. The red carpet event was going to be covered by all the major networks, a feat Kate wasn’t sure how she had managed to pull off.
    During her first round of calls with the TV stations, most of the reactions she’d gotten from the producers were, “What’s Criminal Pursuit ?” It had been a long project, and one Kate wouldn’t be sorry to see come to an end. On the heels of the Los Angeles premiere, the group would fly to New York in time for the DVD release where they would appear on Good Morning America , CNN Showbiz Tonight , Ellen DeGeneres, and several others. It was going to be a packed two weeks. Kate hoped she was ready.
    Thus far in the process, Kate had only met Phil, but she’d done enough research on the two women to know who they were, what they liked, and what to be prepared for. Phil lived in Florida with his assistant of thirty years, Myrna. Leslie and her family lived in New York but spent summers in San Diego, and Melanie still lived in Beverly Hills, and, it was rumored, had turned her attention to young men. Very young men. It was also rumored that she had a drinking problem. The only time she had appeared in the news in the last ten years was when the Beverly Hills police found her running down Rodeo Drive, completely naked. Melanie insisted she was acting on a dare, but the tox screen showed high levels of pills and booze in her bloodstream. Kate was preparing herself for anything. Touring with aging actresses—one of whom was an alcoholic, a former producer who was more arrogant than anyone she’d ever met before in her life, and a yet-to-be-met assistant who found it impossible to write a single email that wasn’t in all-caps made her head pound. For good measure, Kate packed an extra bottle of aspirin before she headed to JFK.

Chapter Eleven

    “We’re here with the legendary police duo, Melanie Brooks and Leslie Warren.” A reporter from Entertainment Tonight was flashing a capped-tooth smile at the camera and preparing for the big interview—the one they’d been waiting on all day. The one that had Kate getting the women in make-up and hair at the ungodly hour of four a.m.
    Behind her, the interview droned on as Kate double-checked the schedule for the day. They had the Entertainment Tonight piece that would be filmed in four separate segments so that it could be shown over four nights. Then they were doing some Associated Press pieces and a few UK channels since the show was still in syndication in England. The entire time since she’d stepped off the plane in Los Angeles, she had been consumed with the details of the red carpet event that night. The following day, they were off to New York for a series of interviews and the big book and DVD signing at Wassermann’s, one of the biggest independent bookstores on the East Coast. Phil had insisted that they have the event there. Despite Wassermann’s hesitation that a twenty-five year old show could draw attention, they’d finally agreed, thanks largely to Kate’s insistence that they host this event along with her promise to help them draw a crowd. It was a promise she hoped she could keep. Book signings were often that way—you planned them and prayed for people.
    “What the fuck are you doing?” It was Myrna—Phil’s assistant who couldn’t type an email that wasn’t in all caps and couldn’t say a single sentence without cussing or making some other vile statement.
    “Myrna, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kate said without lifting her eyes off the schedule. After nearly a full day of Myrna’s verbal abuse, Kate was almost used to her digs, but her raspy voice still sounded like nails on a chalkboard.
    “You let the fucking makeup people go? What the fuck is wrong with