by Saba Kapur
“Seriously?” Aria asked, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.
“Yeah! On selective channels only, of course.”
Personally, I was just as surprised as Aria. A part of me was scared the TV show was actually a huge disaster and no network was willing to pick it up and he was just lying to convince me, and possibly himself, that moving to Texas was a good decision. But as likely as that was, he genuinely seemed happy. Well, at least his writing seemed happy. He even drew smiley faces at the end of each paragraph. In fact, what was more surprising was that he actually paragraphed.
“Jack,” Kenny said, appearing in the doorframe. “They’re here.”
Veronica and Aria exchanged looks, and I turned to Jack. “Who?” I asked him.
“Detective Reynolds,” Kenny replied for him, and disappeared back into the hallway.
“Who’s that?” V asked.
“Yeah, and why is there a detective in your house?” Aria added, reaching for a nail file.
“Gia, close your eyes. The glue’s going to dry!” Chloe told me, waving the fake eyelash lightly in her hand.
I looked at Jack. Too much was happening at once for my brain to function normally. If Detective Reynolds was in the house that meant Milo was in the house. And if Milo was in the house that meant he would have to see me in a silk dressing gown with rollers in my hair and fuzzy slippers on my feet.
“That’s Jack’s father,” I told my friends, and from the corner of my eye I saw Jack’s jaw drop. “We’re just going over some basic security stuff. The paparazzi have been nuts lately.”
Aria’s eyebrows rose so far up her head, they practically disappeared into her hair. “Jack’s father?” She repeated slowly. No one seemed to be bothered about the police anymore.
“Yep.”
Veronica and Aria turned their heads toward Jack, who was doing some heavy breathing. I shot him an apologetic look, and he shook his head ever so slightly.
“Um, yeah. That’s my old man.”
“Seriously?” Chloe asked, lowering her hand that was holding the eyelashes. She had temporarily replaced her annoyance for shock, by the looks of it.
Tom and Ruby, her fellow assistants looked at each other with light shrugs, and went back to looking busy.
“Uh, yeah,” Jack said, rising from his armchair. “Gia, a word?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Gia!”
“Fine, jeez.”
Jack glared at me and left the room. I gave Chloe and her eyelashes my best sorry I’m such a pain look and rose from my chair.
“Gia!” Aria hissed.
“What?”
“Jack and his dad are . . .” Veronica said quietly. “Different.”
I straightened my back and shrugged casually, as if I couldn’t tell why they were so surprised. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I haven’t really noticed.”
“You haven’t noticed that his dad looks like a professional wrestler?” Aria asked incredulously. “Or that he’s African American?”
“Aria,” I said. “Jack’s from Guam, remember?”
“Yeah, bu—” Veronica began, but I cut her off before the questioning could deepen.
“I’ll be right back, guys!” I exclaimed, my rollers bouncing around on the top of my head.
“I’m pretty sure Guam isn’t in Africa,” I heard Tom say as I left the room, and bit my lip.
I knew that wouldn’t be the end of that discussion. Veronica was definitely smart enough to pick up on something being wrong, but at least I was safe with Aria. She once asked me if the Burj Khalifa was a rapper, so she’d believe anything. I followed the sound of voices coming from the kitchen and found Jack standing outside the room with his arms crossed.
“Kenny’s my dad?” he exclaimed, grabbing onto my elbow and pulling me closer to the wall.
He dropped my elbow and I rubbed it where his fingers had dug in. “Ow! Sorry! It’s all I could think of in the moment.”
Jack gave me a frustrated look, like he was trying to train a disobedient puppy. “Okay, fine whatever. Can we just sort this security stuff out now please?”
“Calm down! You’re so hyped up all the time.”
And he thought I was high maintenance! Jack and I were about to walk into the kitchen when my parents emerged, ushering me toward the front door. Behind them I could see Detective Reynolds, Milo, and a man in a suit I didn’t recognize.
“What’s up?” I asked as my dad led me out the front door. “What are you doing? I’m in my robe!”
“Gia,” Mom said. “We’re just going over security details for tonight. We can’t do it in the house if there’s still a listening device somewhere.”
We all gathered around in a circle, as if we were holding a daytime séance in the front yard. Thank God our house was gated, or else I’d be dying of humiliation. I hadn’t entirely been lying about the paparazzi situation, particularly after the parking lot incident. But we seemed to be covered pretty well by the expertly landscaped bushes.
“The driveway? Really?” I mumbled.
Jack smiled, taking a spot beside me. Of course he was finding this whole thing hilarious. Jerk. Detective Reynolds did a quick scan of the immaculately trimmed garden to make sure it was safe. By now it was probably just reflexive.
“Gia, good to see you again,” he said, giving me a nod.
“Hi,” I replied, giving him a small wave. I glanced at Milo, who was trying to hide a smile by looking at his shoes.
Oh no, my rollers. He was probably smiling just to be polite, but there was no way my alien hairstyle wasn’t freaking him out a little. I was in fuzzy slippers for God’s sake!
“Gia, this is agent Joseph Walker from the FBI.” Dad motioned to the man in the suit.
Agent Walker extended his hand so I could shake it. “Nice to meet you, Gia.”
I surveyed him quickly. He was definitely balding and he looked like the type of guy who complained about his salary a lot, but he seemed nice enough. I put my freshly manicured hand in his and shook it.
“FBI?” I repeated.
“Yes.”
“That sounds intense. Is everything alright?”
Agent Walker dropped my hand, giving me a reassuring nod. “Everything’s fine, Gia. Our involvement is purely on a worst-case-scenario basis.”
“The bureau decided to lend a helping hand for tonight,” Detective Reynolds told me. “Just to be safe. Frank Parker’s location is still a question mark, so we need all the security we can get.”
“So you didn’t find anything at his house then?” Jack asked.
“Nothing,” Detective Reynolds replied. “Neighbors said they hadn’t seen Frank for almost two months, and nothing in his apartment seemed too out of the ordinary. The amount of dust on his possessions would indicate that he hasn’t been in there for a couple of months, like the neighbors said, and there weren’t many clothes in his closet. Lots of bills under his door though.”
“We think it’s safe to conclude Frank hasn’t been in his apartment since he’s starting harassing Gia,” Milo finished.
Sweet lord Milo looked hot in that LAPD uniform, and whenever he said my name my heart would do its break dancing thing. At the rate I was going, installing a pacemaker might prove to be a necessary precaution.
“So where has he been staying all this time?” Mom asked.
“Probably the Dumpling Hospital,” Detective Reynolds replied. “But we did another check of the place and it’s been closed this entire week. We didn’t find any sign of him living in the restaurant.”
“So then where is he?” Kenny said.
“It’s most likely,” Agent Walker said, “that he’s living in his car. He may have been at the restaurant on and off for the past few months, but this week he’s definitely been on the move.”
“We’v
e managed to identify his car, and we’ve got everyone’s eyes open for it,” Detective Reynolds assured Dad, who looked like he was going to faint from all the stress. “It wouldn’t be surprising if Ao Jie Kai was with him.”
“So what can we do in the meantime?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, nothing for now,” Agent Walker replied, and my eyes flicked to him. “Frank Parker clearly has a plan for tonight. It’s our job to stop him from carrying out. It’s your job to let him come to you.”
“Security will be tight,” Detective Reynolds added. “We’ve got a good number of men assigned to help out tonight.”
I looked at Milo, as if asking if he was a part of that assignment. He gave me a nod that was so small, I would have missed it if I had blinked. Somehow knowing he’d be there was a huge comfort, even if he wouldn’t be close.
“Plus we’ll be there,” Kenny said, motioning toward Jack.
“And so will I,” Agent Walker added, and I gave him an appreciative nod. “Don’t worry, Gia. We’re going to get this guy.”
“Thank you.”
“Where will your son be tonight?” Agent Walker asked, directing the question to my parents.
“He’ll be staying at my sister’s house tonight,” Mom replied. “His bodyguard Chris will be with him for security.”
“We’ll have a police car patrol up and down the street every hour just in case,” Detective Reynolds added. “I doubt we’ll need it, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Smart decision,” Agent Walker said with an approving nod.
Yeah, it was a smart decision! How the hell was Chris going to take down a crazed psycho if something were to happen? Every time Famous barked he would jump up so high in his seat, it looked like a cartoon. Besides, Mike and I may not be besties for life, but he was still my brother and I loved him, even if it was just out of obligation. I looked at my parents, who were actually holding hands. Hopefully in a way that was friendly and said I’m so concerned for my daughter’s safety, but I’m consoling you because she’s your daughter too. If it was a let’s go rekindle the fire type of thing, I would have to call an emergency family meeting. That is, of course, if I made it through the night in one piece.
“We’d better let you get back to your grooming,” Detective Reynolds said with a chuckle, and I put a hand to my rollers with an embarrassed laugh. “Sit tight. We’ll see you at the venue in a few hours.”
Agent Walker gave everyone his card with his phone number on it, as if he was an air-conditioning salesman and everyone was burning in the L.A. heat. Everyone shook hands, signifying that our little ritual had been successfully completed, and my parents walked the men to their cars. Milo and I exchanged looks before he walked away, but nothing more.
“Gia,” Aria said, appearing suddenly at the front door. “That chick with the lashes is getting real antsy. Should I tell her you’re coming, or should I just kick her out?”
“I’ll be there in a sec,” I told her, forcing myself to behave as normally as I could.
“Hey Mr. Anderson!” Aria said to Kenny, giving him a small wave. With that, she spun on her heel and disappeared into the house once more.
“Mr. Anderson?” Kenny repeated, looking from me to Jack with a raised eyebrow.
“Trust me,” I told him. “You don’t want to know.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
If you ask me, Aladdin had it all wrong with his impressive singing skills and fashionable monkey. If he really wanted to get into Princess Jasmine’s harem pants, he should have traded up the flying rug for a red carpet. It’s hard to resist a man when he’s standing in the middle of Hollywood with a hundred cameras aimed at his Armani suit. This was by no means my first red carpet experience, but it still felt overwhelmingly new.
As a kid I had always hated the strangers behind the camera lenses. I always thought of them as bloodthirsty wolves, that I could only escape by clinging onto Dad’s neck and burying my face in his chest as they called out my name. Who were these men? How did they know my name and why were they bothering me? “It’s like brushing your teeth,” Mom had told me once. “Just part of the daily routine.” At eighteen, I’m only just starting to understand the casual approach my parents now take to these affairs. It’s a career, nothing more and nothing less. They’re just doing their jobs every time a photo is snapped. Being Miss Golden Globe was sort of like being their intern for a day, only it came with a little extra stress and higher stilettos.
As if the nerves weren’t bad enough from the FBI getting involved and the horrific scenarios I had conjured up in my mind, I was so not prepared for Jack in a tuxedo. He looked incredible. Like wow-ee. When he had emerged from his room fixing his cuff links, I actually did a double take. Where the heck had that outfit been hiding all this time? If I had known sooner, I might have yelled at him a little less when he was being annoying. A good tuxedo is the real life “get out of jail free” card. Of course, Mom had ruined the whole thing by insisting on taking photos as if I were going to prom like some dorky fourteen-year-old. I was half expecting her to hand me a corsage and make me pose in front of the limo. She would have tried too, but Dad was getting antsy about leaving on time. Saved by the punctuality bell.
The person I was actually most pleased with was myself. The dress fit perfectly, my hair was up in a fancy, loose bun that I would never have been able to do by myself, and I had managed not to accidently rip any of my fake lashes off yet. So far so good. Even Mike, who I’m about ninety-four percent sure hates me, told me I looked beautiful. Not even “pretty” or “alright,” but beautiful! So clearly I was doing something right. Jack on the other hand, had practically crushed me with disappointment. He gave me an once-over and said, “You look nice.” Nice! Really? That was all he could muster? I mean, it’s not like I was expecting to slowly descend from the staircase with some lame 90s love song playing in the background while Jack watched me with his eyes bugged out in love. Actually, yeah that was pretty much exactly what I was expecting. Unfortunately real life is nothing like a Freddie Prinze Jr. movie.
But I didn’t have time to focus on impressing Jack. Instead, I needed to work on keeping calm and collected, even though my nerves were building up and threatening to explode at any moment. If I managed to survive the evening, then I would majorly regret my nervous fidgeting and potential eye twitching when I watched the ceremony back at a later time. So every time a reporter would ask about how excited I was to be given the title of Miss Golden Globe, I would take a deep breath, smile gracefully and tell them I was over the moon.
“Congratulations!” A reporter exclaimed, flashing her perfect set of teeth at me. She had mentioned where she worked, but it hadn’t registered in my mind. “Miss Golden Globe is definitely something to be proud of. How are you feeling tonight?”
I was just about ready to throw up all over her hideous green gown, but I held it together. Lime green and sequins? What was this, Shrek goes to Broadway?
“I’m just thrilled!” I replied with a smile so big, I looked like I could swallow her whole. “This is such an honor, and I was so excited to even be considered.”
Dad gave my shoulders a comforting squeeze and said, “Her mother and I are very proud of her.”
Mom was definitely proud of me. But based on the way she kept posing sexily in her Zuhair Murad gown, she was prouder of something else.
“Any plans to follow in your parents’ footsteps and get into showbiz?” The reporter asked.
I gave her a forced laugh and said, “Who knows? Anything could happen.”
Yeah no, that was never happening. Because years after you’ve become the most famous actor ever, some scorned friend from the past will show up and start stalking your kids. So no. Showbiz was definitely not for me.
I did some more scary smiling and repeated a rundown of my outfit for what felt like the millionth time before Dad and I po
sed for some more photos, Kenny and Jack close behind of course. Jack now looked the complete part of a bodyguard, standing tall and tough in his tux. He had a little telephone wire looking thing attached to one of his ears, and kept scanning the crowd for any signs of trouble. All business, no play. If he decided to throw on some Ray Bans at some point, I was going to have a severe case of heartburn. There would definitely be questions about Jack at school after the awards, but by then everything would be resolved and I could come clean. Granted I got through the night in one piece. Dad leaned in so he could whisper in my ear, ignoring the questions and instructions being hurtled our way.
“Your mother is going to give someone a heart attack tonight,” he said disapprovingly.
I watched her wink at the cameras, throwing her hair over her shoulder like she was in a GQ photoshoot. I think I actually heard someone pass out in the crowd.
“I don’t think there’s much we can do about that,” I told Dad.
He sighed. Sometimes being around my mother was like having a cold. It was better to just let her run her course and fade away until the next time she visited. We continued to make our way up the carpet, smiling brightly, giving air kisses to fellow celebrities and making small talk about their outfits. Dad was clearly growing agitated, but never let it show. He was a pro at this. Me? I needed a little more practice. I was quickly running out of ways to stick my chest out and smile, and I couldn’t pull off a wink like my mom. Dad had left me alone to go talk to Martin Scorsese, and the noise was only growing louder as more stars arrived. I was about ready to give up acting like a lady and sprint into the hall for some peace and quiet when I spotted a uniformed Milo a little further away, walking closely behind an officer I didn’t recognize.
“Milo!” I called out. He stopped abruptly, scanning the crowd. “Behind you!”
His eyes settled on me after a few seconds of searching, and he gave a small smile. I glanced at Jack over my shoulder, who was watching me expressionlessly. The only thing worse than Jack giving his two cents about Milo was Jack not giving his two cents about Milo.
