Page 58 of Playboy Billionaire

“You were so young, just a baby,” Dolly said. “How brave you were.”

“Mom had just remarried, and I couldn’t wait to get out of the house. I felt like an interloper, not that they tried to make me feel that way, a new marriage…they needed time alone, just as a couple.”

“Makes sense to me.”

“We didn’t have the money to send me to college and I had my heart set on acting anyway. I’d always landed every leading role in high school and community theatre. I got cast in my first play when I was eight. I got bit by the acting bug early.”

“I can see a little adorable tow-headed Penelope, nailing her performance.”

Penelope smiled sadly. “Yeah, always determined.”

“So, then you landed in LA?”

“Yes, I stayed in a youth hostel, posting everywhere looking for a roommate. Found one the first week, Camille was her name, also an actress from Missouri, she was twenty-one and so cool.” Penelope rolled her eyes. “So much older and wiser than me.”

“I went to every casting call I could find, walk-on parts, extras, stand-ins you name it. I found a job waitressing at a trendy LA diner, made great tips but not enough to cover the cost of living in LA.” Penelope paused, taking a deep breath. “This is where it gets hard.”

“It’s okay, I won’t judge.”

“One night Camille came home all excited. She had been approached at the bar where she worked by some big-wig from one of the major studios. He had a proposition for her, said she could make great money, one to five thousand dollars for a few hours of work.”

Penelope paused, her throat tight with unshed tears. “I’m not sure I can go on.”

Dolly reached for her hand and held on tight. “You’re trembling! Oh honey, there is nothing you could say that would make me change my opinion about you.”

She impatiently brushed at her eyes. She whispered, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“No matter what it is we’ll figure it out,” Dolly said firmly. “Why don’t you try again?”

Penelope sat up and grabbed a tissue from the side table and blew her nose loudly, which made them both smile.

“Where was I?”

“Your roommate met with a studio head…that’s as far as you got.”

“Right…” Sighing, she tentatively began again. “The executive told her all she had to do was accompany some of his friends, clients, benefactors, he was running a little side business…perks if you will. When they needed an escort, he supplied them. Basically, all she had to do was to be their date, get wined and dined and come away with a boatload of cash, under the table of course.”

“If it sounds too good to be true…” Dolly interjected.

“Exactly, but she was twenty-one years old…from Missouri! I was just shy of nineteen and backward. Small-town syndrome.” Her gaze took on a faraway look, remembering. “She was over the moon. She promised if it went well, she’d put in a good word for me.”

“And I’m guessing it went well?”

“More than well, she was making a ton of money and having fun doing it. Going to parties, campaign fundraisers, film premieres, I mean she was a gorgeous young girl. They often specifically requested her.”

“Did she get you in then?”

“Yeah, after a couple of months she introduced me to the studio exec. He liked me and asked me to work for him.”

“I can imagine he thought he’d hit the jackpot when he got a look at you.”

Penelope bowed her head, “Actually, I thought I had. It seemed like a dream come true at the time. I trusted that Camille wouldn’t steer me wrong.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t have intentionally,” Dolly said. “But you were both young and dumb.”

“Yes. One of the conditions…was…um…that, you know, I had to act the part, pretend to be their girlfriend, lover whatever. I figured this was Hollywood and could be my shot at meeting someone, my big break.”

“Let me guess, lecherous old men…”

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