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“Hey, just like you,” Hannah jokes to Kat, and Kat pats her big belly and laughs.
“Well, if Alessandra is a newbie, then Fish is a perfect starter kit for her,” Maddy pipes in to say. “Just the other night, he and the Goats were over, and Fish said he’s sick to death of the kinds of girls he meets on tour. ‘Star-fuckers,’ is what the Goats call them. Fish said he’s done with girls who like him just because he’s in 22 Goats.”
My heart is fluttering with excitement for Alessandra. “Well, Fish is barking up the right tree with my stepsister. She’s—”
“Excuse me,” Reed says, appearing at Kat’s side. “Sorry to interrupt. Georgina, I want to introduce you to a couple friends of mine.” He steps aside and gestures to the two figures to his right. “This is Isabel Randolph and her fiancé, Howard Devlin.”
Chapter 29
Georgina
Inwardly, I feel like I’m going to hyperventilate at the sight of Isabel Randolph standing before me. But, outwardly, I manage to keep it together and smile like a normal person.
Reed gestures to me and says, “This is Georgina Ricci, a brilliant writer whom CeeCee has personally tasked with coming up with content for Dig a Little Deeper, in addition to the River Records special edition of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
“Hello!” I say, a bit too enthusiastically, shaking the pair’s offered hands, and they laugh and say hello.
“Hey, I work for you!” Hannah blurts next to me. She’s speaking to Howard. “I work in your PR department, Mr. Devlin.”
Howard chuckles at Hannah’s enthusiasm. “What’s your name?”
“Hannah Hennessy, sir.”
He smiles graciously, but it’s clear he’s never heard of Hannah in his life. “Come get a drink with me, Hannah Hennessy. While Isabel chats with Georgina, you can tell me all about what it’s like to work for me.”
Panic flashes across Hannah’s adorable face. She grabs Kat’s hand and says, “Sounds great. My friend Kat has always wanted to meet you, too.” And off the trio goes, as Isabel and I move to a quiet corner to talk.
Of course, I tell Isabel I’m a fan, right off the bat, and she thanks me and tells me a couple behind-the-scenes anecdotes about my two favorite movies of hers that thrill me and make me laugh—and, also, make me feel genuinely comfortable and relaxed in her presence. Or, heck, maybe it’s the massive rock on Isabel’s left ring finger that’s relaxing me and calming my green-eyed monster. Either way, I quickly decide I genuinely like her. And that I’m elated at the prospect of interviewing her. Indeed, as she’s been telling me those anecdotes, I’ve hardly imagined her sucking Reed’s dick at all.
“So, Reed tells me CeeCee is contemplating a ‘Women in Hollywood’ issue of Dig a Little Deeper,” Isabel says.
Ah, sneaky Reed. He set us both up, did he? He told Isabel that CeeCee is contemplating such an issue while telling me I should pitch the idea to CeeCee. But rather than being upset with Reed for his maneuverings, I’m only grateful to him. If this idea could ultimately impress CeeCee, and lure Isabel into giving an in-depth interview to me, all of which might lead to me getting onto the permanent writing staff of Dig a Little Deeper, then I don’t care who might have concocted the idea first.
Obviously, I have no way of knowing if CeeCee would run with the idea of a “Women in Hollywood” issue. Or, if so, if she’d put Isabel on its cover. But CeeCee did say she’ll consider “anything” I might submit to her for Dig a Little Deeper... So, fuck it. I decide to run with the idea with Isabel and ask for her forgiveness later, as needed.
“CeeCee was very clear she wanted me to submit interviews for Dig a Little Deeper that will blow her away,” I say carefully. Yes, I’m letting Isabel assume that conversation was in the context of a special issue, but oh well. “And I genuinely think we could come up with something amazing together. Something that shows a new side to you.” As an example, I tell her what I’m doing with Dean Masterson and 22 Goats for Rock ‘n’ Roll. “But for Dig a Little Deeper, we have to go deeper, obviously.”
“Maybe I could give you a tour of my house?” she suggests.
But I’ve already seen her do that exact thing in one of the articles I read about her last night. “I think we should do something that’s never been done before,” I say. “With you getting married, maybe I could tag along on a day of wedding planning. We could talk about love, and marriage. Generally and specifically. We could talk about your childhood, and what you saw of marriage growing up . . .?”
Isabel is stone-faced, and I know I’m losing her.
