Page 30 of Hot Mess

“I was waiting to tell you until everything was confirmed. I gave my notice because I wanted the store to have a full two weeks, even though I’m only seasonal.”

“Until what is confirmed?” Mom pursed her lips, pinching her whole face in.

I took a big breath. I wasn’t used to lying to Mom.

“When I was in Los Angeles, I met…” I paused. I couldn’t say I met a man. That would set Mom off on a different tangent. “…a woman, and—”

“Does your uncle know her?”

“I don’t think so. I met her at a party that Jessie and Gabe took me to.”

Mom crossed her arms and huffed. “Did your uncle know about this party?”

If I thought about it, Uncle Dave didn’t seem to know or care what we had done. If I asked him if he was aware that we had gone to a costume party, I had to wonder if he would even remember. He really hadn’t paid attention to us at all.

“Do your cousins know her?”

“I don’t know, Mom. I thought we were just talking, but she really liked me and offered me a job.”

Mom narrowed her eyes. “What kind of job? And where?”

I swallowed. This was the hard part.

“The job is in Los Angeles. Hollywood. And the job is as her assistant. I’d be working with her and her clients. She already thinks that I’d be a good fit for some of her older clients.”

Mom just blinked and glowered at me.

“So you’re moving to Los Angeles? Have you contacted your uncle? Will you be staying with him?”

My stomach clenched and I had that sinking feeling. Nothing about this conversation was going right. Nothing about this conversation was easy.

“No, I haven’t told Uncle Dave. It really doesn’t have anything to do with him. And I won’t be staying with him. I’ll be living in an apartment.”

“A single woman, alone in Los Angeles? Kayla, you are asking for trouble. Something terrible will happen to you. You might as well advertise to be robbed, or worse.”

“Mom, nothing horrible is going to happen. Living on my own is not an advertisement for something bad. Plenty of women my age lives on their own, or with roommates. I will be fine.” I will be fine. I kept telling myself over and over again.

I told myself this was a good idea, that I would be fine, that I had no other choice. I was being blackmailed for a lot of money. I needed to protect my mother, myself, and Nick’s reputation. And right now the best way to do that was to move across the country and accept a ridiculous amount of money to accompany Nick to a few fancy parties.

The entire situation was ridiculous. But I needed the money, and I wasn’t going to make what I needed at the local craft store. Even if I did make it to a managerial position within a year or so.

“So you’re just going to move across the country for a job?”

I grimaced. “More like a career move. People do that all the time. I can really see myself doing this work. And my new boss—”

“Does she have a name? I’ve noticed you haven’t mentioned it.”

“Isaac.” Crap, I blurted out the name of Nick’s personal manager, the man who hired me.

Mom’s eyes narrowed a bit more.

“Donna Isaac,” I added the first name I could think of. “She has plenty of clients. I’ll learn a lot from her.”

“What kind of clients? Doing what?” Mom shot question after question at me. This was an interrogation. Of course, she wanted to know what was going on. I wish I had been better prepared for all the answers I would need.

“I would be working as a personal assistant.”

“Hers or her clients?”

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