Trouble In Bloom by Heather Webber Read Free Book Online Page A

bombarded with calls from reporters all day. She only took the one from E.T."
    " Entertainment Tonight ? Wow. Word travels fast."
    "Almost like they were tipped off. Why else would they care two whits about a low-budget Cincinnati game show? Though, the country does love a good scandal, and the behind -the-scenes stuff on this show has the makings of one."
    I met his gaze in the mirror. "So, you think the note's a fake too?"
    "Faker than her D cups."
    "Really? Those are fake? They look so real."
    "Good surgeon, sugar pie."
    Perry added more goop, more foils. I tried not to look. Or to worry. Worry was what the old Nina would do.
    I unclenched my hands, folded them in my lap. "Do you know what happened with Jessica? Did she quit?"
    "Fired. Faster than Mario after—" He grinned. "That's TMI."
    I laughed.
    Goop oozed off his paintbrush-thingy. "Genevieve. That's what happened to Jessica Ayers."
    "What do you mean?"
    He leaned in. "Do you want the cover story or the real story?"
    "Real, of course."
    "Thad was teaching an improv class at U.C. this past summer when he met Genevieve."
    "A student?"
    "You got it. Thad introduced Genevieve to Willie—at her request. Willie fell head over heels. They were married within a month. It took just about that long for Thad and Genevieve to convince Willie she had more potential than Jessica to sell the show to the major networks. Jess is all fl uff, no substance. I don't think Willie knows what hit him."
    "You think Genevieve married him just to get on the show?"
    "Without a doubt."
    Foil stuck out all over my head. I tried not to look. "Do you think he knows she used him?"
    "Rumor is they've been fighting a lot. Could be Genevieve's shine has worn clear off."
    The romantic in me asked, "Do you think she ever loved him?"
    Perry laughed. "Sugar, in their world they only love themselves. There are already rumors about affairs, but no one's naming names."
    Including me.
    "Although Gen would have to be crazy to cheat on Willie."
    I glanced over at her. She didn't look crazy, but I'd seen her cheating with my own eyes. "Why's that?"
    Perry separated more hair. Just how many foils was he going to use?
    "She has a lot to lose," he said, "if Willie ever found out."
    "Besides her job, you mean?"
    "There was an ironclad prenup, and from what I hear, Genevieve was a maid at the Westin until she married Willie."
    "Willie actually has money? Everything I've seen about the show is low-budget."
    "He doesn't have money now, but when that network deal goes through, he'll be rolling in the dough."
    "So Genevieve is his meal ticket?"
    "Genevieve and Thad. They have amazing chemistry. Just sizzle together. The good boy/bad girl stuff."
    I'd seen their sizzle with my own eyes, and wished I could forget it.
    "Perry, what would you say if I told you that Jessica Ayers was filing a sexual harassment case against Willie Sala?"
    He finished putting another foil in my hair. Just like that, I resembled one of my mother's Easter hams. I unclenched my hands again. So much for not worrying.
    "I'd say she was lying, Nina."

Five

    "Honeycomb" turned out to be a soft honey brown, about three shades lighter than my normal color, and the "oatmeal" was the barest hint of blonde.
    I couldn't stop looking at myself in the mirror.
    I didn't recognize me.
    It wasn't just the hair. It was the newly waxed eyebrows, the manicure, the pedicure, and the makeup too. I actually had on lip gloss.
    Lip gloss!
    And, God help me, I actually liked it.
    My mother was going to freak out.
    And my sister Maria too. I put earplugs on my mental shopping list.
    And not only did I not recognize myself, Nels and Roxie had actually looked right past me when I finally emerged from Azure's inner sanctum.
    An hour later, back at the office, they still stared as though someone had played a trick on them and the old me would march into my office to boot out the imposter.
    No one else had seen me yet. Brickhouse had been out walking BeBe when we'd gotten