Page 47 of Fool Me

“Wait!” he called to her as she swam away with Olympic speed.

Reaching the edge, she propelled herself from the water so fast it looked like she’d sprouted wings and flown out. The crowd clapped for her, and she did a quick victory wave, grinning. He worried for a moment he might lose her in the crowd, but one glance up and around reassured him on that score. The party had come to a screeching halt. Even the band had stopped playing. Concerned citizens surrounded her, peppering her with questions. Did she hit her head? Did she need to lie down? Were those shoes expensive?

Strong hands reached down toward Grant, still in the water, but he waved them away and pulled himself out. Standing dripping on the concrete, he hoped his white cotton shirt, now clinging tightly to his chest, didn’t look as see-through to others as it did to him. People patted him on the back, thanking him for jumping in. He ignored them as he moved toward the woman in the lime green shirt. How could it be that he’d saved the same drowning person twice in as many days?

Suddenly, Julia stood before of him. “Must you always be the hero?” She gave him a once-over. “Don’t get me wrong, I love your wet T-shirt contest look, but let’s head on into the house. I’m sure Ronny has something dry you can put on.”

He craned his head around hers, trying to keep the woman in view. “In a minute. I need to talk to her. Can you believe it? She’s the exact same person I rescued yesterday!”

Julia sent him a skeptical smirk. “That’s impossible.” She let out a laugh that sounded more like the caw of a crow, then got right up into his face as if examining him for injuries. “You must have hit your head on the bottom of that pool when you dove in.”

“I didn’t…I…she…” Grant muttered. He looked again for the woman, but Julia kept shifting to keep herself directly within his line of sight. Despite her heels, he had a slight height advantage. Lifting up on his toes, he was able to peer over her, but there was no sign of the woman in green.

Grant lowered himself back down and let out a heavy breath. The last few days had exhausted him, and the adrenaline rush from jumping into the pool was fading fast. He certainly hadn’t hit his head, but Julia’s suggestion of dry clothing and escaping the gawking crowd did sound good. And how could it have been the same woman? It was way too much of a coincidence. It must have been the confusion of the moment, combined with the woman being wet and looking sort of similar. His senses were simply over-alert from recognizing so many famous faces at this party.

The band resumed their song, and the party guests went back to their murmurs and laughter. Grant felt his resolve melting. “I could use dry clothes.”

“That's my Farm Boy,” Julia said, though her trademark, wide-mouthed grin looked a little too Cheshire cat for Grant’s tastes. She yelled to the crowd around them, “Clear a path! Hero coming through!”

Julia grabbed Grant’s hand, ready to lead the way. Grant took a step forward, but a soft voice behind him stopped him in his tracks. It was the voice he’d feared he might never hear again. The sound of it buoyed him, though he knew it no longer should. “Her name is Andrea, and you did save her yesterday, only that drowning was faked.”

Grant spun. “Sadie?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Julia said. “Not you again. Take your little useless self somewhere you’re wanted. Grant and I have bigger things to do.”

“I thought you left,” Grant said.

Julia rolled her eyes. “That would be nice, wouldn’t it?” She let out a dramatic sigh. “But, no, she’s got more sabotage in mind. She’s probably the one who pushed that poor woman in the pool. She’ll do anything to ruin your release party.”

Sadie’s blue eyes blinked up at Grant. “I didn’t push her in…well, not personally…but I’m glad it happened because I wasn’t sure how I was going to convince you. She’s a friend of Julia’s. Julia also arranged for those other women to flirt with you at the beach. I had nothing to with it.” Was he imagining things, or was there a new brightness and confidence in her voice?

Julia tugged hard on his arm, but he planted his feet in the sand. “How do you know all this?” he asked Sadie.

“I hid in the bushes when Julia showed up at the fountain. I just wanted to leave the party, leave you to your new life, but I overheard that woman telling another person how Julia had arranged the whole thing, including the fake drowning. I couldn’t let her get away with that.”

Grant stared hard at Julia. “Is that true? That was dangerous.”

Julia’s eyes flicked left and right as if sizing up who might be listening to their conversation. “What? Of course not!” she said in an intense whisper. “I’m hurt you’d even think such a thing. I’m the one who’s been trying to help you and your career.”

“She’s not interested in your career,” Sadie said. “She got her friends to sabotage our date so she’d have more control over you. She told me she wanted to humble you because she prefers to date ‘pliable’ men. Sadie stretched out the word “pli-a-bel,” impersonating Julia and mocking her at the same time.

Julia pressed a hand to each side of Grant’s face, forcing him to look straight at her and away from Sadie. “Grant, this is ridiculous,” she said in a calming tone. “I’m telling you. I don’t even know that woman who fell in the pool.”

“That’s a lie, Julia,” Ronny said from out of nowhere. Grant was so engrossed in Sadie and Julia’s exchange that he didn’t notice Ronny’s arrival. Ronny faced Julia. “Andrea has been a part of your posse for years. Thatwasher in the pool, and now I recognize her from the beach photos. Can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”

Julia had formed an iron grip on Grant’s cheeks, but she let go so she could spin around and focus her rage on Ronny. Her pupils were pinpoints of anger. “What are you doing?” she hissed through teeth clenched so tight they seemed fused together.

“What you’re forever ordering me to do,” Ronny said simply. Now it was Ronny’s turn to imitate Julia’s voice and the way she waved her hands as he added, “Less talky, more fixy.”

Grant had seen Julia angry plenty of times, but never this molten. Her eyes bulged and her neck strained with a web of sinews. Grant figured Ronny would capitulate, smooth things over for his biggest client, but instead he crossed his arms over his plastic Neptune chest and gave her a half defiant, half satisfied look.

“I don’t care how big a star you are,” Ronny said, “you can’t keep destroying people for the fun of it. Even if you can, I’m done playing my part in your games. Paying for sexual harassment and fake drownings makes you a liability. You are no longer my client.”

“All of Hollywood is a game, you little cretin,” Julia spat back. “Nobody knows that better than the people standing here in this pathetic little circle.” She laughed icily. “Whatever. I don’t need you. You can throw me out of your party. You can even throw me off your client list, but you can’t throw me out of my movie.”

“I thought it was our movie,” Grant said, lifting an eyebrow.

“That depends,” she said, her voice dropping to a deep and menacing pitch. “Are you going to fall for Little Miss Muffett’s nonsense again, or are you going to follow your dream? Choose wisely, because this is your last chance.”

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