Sugar and Spice

by Lauren Conrad

  Of course, she couldn’t say any of that, since the PopTV cameras were filming their dinner date at Katsuya. Instead she replied, “It was fine. Now I’m totally focused on Aja’s party next weekend. There’s still so much to do!”

  “I am definitely not missing that one,” Caleb said, taking a sip of his drink. “I’ve never been to Vegas. It’s pretty wild there, right?”

  “It’s a lot of fun.”

  “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?” Caleb joked.

  “That’s what they say.” Jane forced a laugh. “Hey, here’s our food.”

  The waitress set their appetizers on the table: a green salad for Jane and raw oysters for Caleb. Jane used to come to Katsuya a lot with Jesse; it was one of his favorite restaurants in L.A., although probably not anymore, not since their disastrous date in January when she’d confessed to having met up with Braden earlier that day. Jesse hadn’t taken it too well. . . .

  Jane had tried to avoid Jesse at Sirloin the other night; she hadn’t been up to a confrontation or even a conversation, under the circumstances. But he had managed to corner her briefly while Sophia was in the ladies’ room.

  “Well, look at you, Jane. Working hard at your important job?” he had said in a gruff, slurry voice, his hot breath reeking of alcohol. “Yeah, you definitely didn’t waste any time getting a new boyfriend. Not that I give a damn. I’m hooking up with Sophia now. I guess you can say I upgraded.”

  Jane—aware that there were at least two cameras trained on her—had simply replied that she was happy to see that his rehab had paid off, then excused herself. It was a low blow, but it would also make it difficult for Trevor to use the scene, since he would never address Jesse’s alcoholism on the show. Although knowing Trevor, he would probably find a way.

  “You want one of these? They’re pretty tasty,” Caleb said, offering her an oyster.

  “Um, no, thanks,” Jane said, making a face. She didn’t know how he could eat those slimy things. Gross.

  Jane’s cell buzzed. She sighed. Of course it was a text from Dana:

  YOU’RE ON A DATE WITH YOUR BF. SMILE!

  Jane groaned inwardly as she placed her cell back in her lap, took a deep breath, and forced a smile. She knew all about Trevor’s efforts to try to “heat up” her and Caleb’s relationship from reading his little notebook. Was their chemistry, or rather, lack of chemistry, that obvious? That was kind of sad. But watching the last few episodes of the show, Jane had noticed that she and Caleb weren’t the most exciting couple ever. Of course he was gorgeous (he already had a huge female fan base from the show), and of course they had fun together. But something was . . . missing. And things had become kind of strained between them lately because of his continued obsession with being filmed, photographed, and interviewed. She was starting to wonder if he actually liked her, or if he was just with her for the media attention. What had he said to her at STK? You know me, Janie. I’m your biggest fan, and I’ll always be your biggest fan. Not because you’re a star, but because you’re Janie Roberts from Santa Barbara who saves stray animals and likes to eat Cheerios out of an Elmo bowl.

  What happened to that Caleb?

  As for Trevor’s notebook . . . well, it was a gold mine, but it was a curse, too. Jane spent way too much time going through it and plotting ways to mess with Trevor’s head. She’d wasted her entire lunch hour yesterday figuring out how to foil his plans for her in the coming weeks. She was going to “run into” Madison at Kate Somerville on Tuesday? She would tell her how pretty her manicure was! She and Caleb were going to “run into” Jesse and Sophia at Beso on Thursday night? She would tell Sophia that she should order the Bibb salad!

  But frankly . . . Jane wasn’t sure she would follow through with either idea. The game was already growing tiresome, and eventually, she would have to face the real problem, which was that Trevor treated her like she was a mouse in a maze—his mouse in his maze that he had carefully constructed with a predetermined outcome.

  Jane was still trying to make out some of the entries—Trevor’s handwriting was a disaster—and trying to understand some of them, too. There were entries about Scar and Naveen (which Scar was not happy about when Jane had shown her) and also Madison, Gaby, Hannah, and Sophia. But there was one entry which Jane couldn’t figure out at all. It seemed to be about a guy, and the entry had intrigued her because the guy in question didn’t appear to be either Caleb or Naveen. She reminded herself to make another stab at deciphering that entry later.

  Her cell buzzed again. Oh, God, Dana. Without bothering to read the text, Jane automatically reached across the table and laced her fingers through Caleb’s. “This place is nice, isn’t it?” was all she could manage to come up with. She was out with her handsome boyfriend on a Saturday night, having dinner at a trendy L.A. restaurant. So why wasn’t she enjoying herself?

  “Yeah, it’s pretty cool. Hey, what are you doing tomorrow? Dodgers have a home game, and Naveen and I were thinking of going. Maybe you and Scar could come with us?”

  “Love to, but I’ve gotta go into the office,” Jane said apologetically. “I know, I know, it’s a Sunday . . . but I’m meeting with Hannah to go over some stuff for Vegas.”

  Jane’s cell buzzed almost immediately. She already knew what it was going to say:

  JANE, WHAT MEETING WITH HANNAH? SHE’S OUT OF TOWN. SAY YES!!!!!!

  Jane knew Hannah was in San Diego, visiting with Oliver’s parents. She felt bad lying to Caleb. But she’d had a lot of Caleb time lately. She could use a day off.

  Caleb grinned. “I wish Principal Enemark could see you now. If you’d worked half this hard in high school, you would’ve gotten straight As instead of—”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Jane cut in, laughing.

  The rest of the evening was fine, mostly talking about whether or not Caleb would return to Yale in the fall. He seemed as though he was leaning toward it, in part because his parents were putting pressure on him to finish his education . . . and much to Jane’s surprise, she didn’t feel bothered by it. But shouldn’t she feel something? When he left for Yale the first time, to start his freshman year, she had missed him so much, so achingly. They had called and texted several times a day (at least for a while, until he stopped being quite so attentive). She had put photos of him on all her screensavers and never taken off the silver heart necklace he had given her for graduation.

  So what happened to that crazy, lovesick girl?

  Jane’s cell rang as she drove down Hollywood Boulevard. She and Caleb had decided to spend the night at their own apartments since Jane had to “work” in the morning.

  She glanced at her phone, figuring it would be Dana or maybe yet another reporter wanting a quote about Jesse and Sophia . . . and was surprised to see BRADEN CALLING pop up.

  She felt breathless. She hadn’t spoken to him since he left for Banff a month ago. She tapped on her Bluetooth. “Hello?”

  “Hey.” Braden sounded relieved that she had picked up. “Is this a bad time?”

  “No, not at all! How are you?” Jane couldn’t believe he was calling. She also couldn’t believe how happy it made her.

  “Good. Tired. We’ve been shooting, like, twelve hours a day every day. A lot of the scenes are outdoors, in the snow and wind.”

  “Sounds intense.”

  “Yeah, it is, but it’s going really well. My part’s awesome. I can’t wait to take you to see the final cut.”

  “Yeah, I can’t wait, either.”

  “So . . . how’s my favorite reality-TV star? Any good gossip?”

  Jane giggled. “Oh, yes. I have so much to tell you!”

  “Yeah? A couple of the girls I’m shooting with love your show. They’re obsessed with that Caleb guy. I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend again.”

  Jane was speechless for a second. She hadn’t expected this. “He’s a good friend,” she said defensively. Which wasn’t exactly the truth. Why was she acting like this, like she was cheating on Braden with
Caleb and had to lie to Braden about it? She and Braden weren’t together—far from it.

  “Oh.”

  Silence.

  “So what are you up to tonight?” Jane said, hoping to change the subject.

  “Uh . . . well, I’m going to a bar called the Hibernating Bear to meet some people.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “Yeah. You’d like it; it’s really low-key, and they make the best burgers.”

  “Is it better than Big Wangs?”

  “Wow. Big Wangs is a hard one to beat. Especially since that’s where you and I met.”

  Jane blinked. This was the closest Braden had ever come to saying something heartfelt to her.

  Braden coughed a little. “Anyway . . . I think the film’s gonna be wrapping in the next couple of weeks. We’re actually ahead of schedule.”

  “That’s awesome!”

  “Maybe we can hang out when I get back?”

  “Sure. Can’t wait,” Jane said, meaning it.

  They continued talking as Jane drove home, parked her car, and went up to her apartment, where she ran into Scar watching TV in the living room, alone (on a Saturday night—where was Liam?). By the time she and Braden said their good-byes, well after midnight, she realized that she was finally feeling what she should have been feeling with Caleb earlier.

  Only she wasn’t feeling it for Caleb.

  This is so mixed up, Jane told herself.

  Chapter 28

  The Centerpiece of L.A. Candy

  It was late Sunday night, and Trevor was alone in his office at PopTV. He hit the Rewind button on the remote and watched carefully as the latest cut of this week’s episode replayed on his wall-mounted flat-screen. There was Jane arriving early at Sirloin, despite the fact that Dana had specifically told her to be there a half hour later. He hit Fast Forward. There was Jane, cheerfully seating Madison before Fiona instructed her to do so. He hit Fast Forward again, to another scene in which Jane, Madison, and Hannah were having a meeting about Aja’s party. Jane was supposed to be shocked and upset when Madison announced that she had called the people at the Venetian and completely changed the menu. But Jane had reacted with perfect calm, thanking Madison for her help and adding that she had just spoken to the head chef herself and changed everything back.

  What . . . the . . . hell?

  Trevor leaned back in his leather chair and steepled his hands under his chin. There was only one explanation. Jane was on to him. He had misplaced his Smythson notebook about a week ago, maybe at Coco de Ville. Obviously, Jane had found it, or someone else had found it and was leaking the information to her.

  And now Jane was going rogue on him, doing and saying whatever she damned well pleased on camera. She was even being nice to Madison, which was completely inconsistent with their enormously popular feud. Frenemies were good for ratings; polite work colleagues were most definitely not.

  This had to stop. The question was, how? He could try the direct approach: calling Jane into his office, saying he knew about the notebook, and telling her point-blank that she had to start being more cooperative, or else. She was, undeniably, one of America’s most popular young celebrities. Did she really want to lose all that now?

  Trevor sighed and reached for his glass of scotch; he always had a drink, just one, after he was done editing for the night.

  It didn’t help, either, that Jane’s “romance” with Caleb was such a disappointment. Frankly, it would be better for ratings if she got back together with Jesse Edwards. Not that that could or should happen, but still. Trevor would have to use every trick in the book while editing Jane’s last few dates with Caleb, just to keep viewers from falling asleep in their chairs.

  At least the rest of the show was going well. Scarlett wasn’t giving him a hard time this season, thank God, and the new Gaby was a hit, thanks to her shamelessly aggressive publicist. The Hannah-Oliver story line was also pulling respectable interest. Trevor had chosen well with Oliver, who was playing his part beautifully.

  And Sophia. Sophia was a gold mine. Not only was she gorgeous, but she seemed desperate for attention and willing to do whatever it took to get it, which were excellent qualities for a reality show. Trevor had been thrilled when she showed up at Sirloin unexpectedly with Jesse (although he had cringed moments later when they started hitting the booze like a couple of out-of-control drunks). Still, maybe there was a way to let Sophia be Sophia while reining her in just enough to make sure she didn’t do something completely crazy. Trevor would have to think of some story lines for her that would maximize her potential and increase her airtime.

  Which would probably not make Madison too happy. What was it between those two, anyway? If she didn’t want her sister on the show, why had she hand-delivered her to him? Trevor could practically feel Madison’s blood pressure rising every time Sophia entered the room. Hmmm, maybe that could be one of Sophia’s story lines: a sister-sister feud. That might divert attention from the nonevent Jane and Madison’s feud had become lately.

  Trevor took another sip of scotch. Back to Jane. He had to solve that problem, fast. No matter what, she was the centerpiece of L.A. Candy. Madison, Sophia, Gaby, even Scarlett and Hannah—they were all characters. Jane was real. He couldn’t let her slip away from him. And he couldn’t let her reality continue to descend into ordinary.

  He hit the Fast Forward button again, to Jane’s dinner date last night with Caleb.

  Caleb. Trevor leaned forward, an interesting new idea forming in his head. Maybe the boring boyfriend was part of the solution?

  Chapter 29

  Absolutely, Positively, Madly

  “If I was single, I would so be throwing myself at that guy right this second,” Scarlett remarked. “Oh . . . my . . . God.”

  Jane grinned. “Yeah. You and every other girl here. Aja might have something to say about that, though.”

  In a large reception room at the Venetian, Aja and Miguel were getting ready for their much-anticipated engagement-party-slash-masked-ball. An entourage of harried-looking stylists, assistants, and others were doing a last-minute check of the couple’s outfits (a black tux for him, a long black-and-white evening gown for her, and jewel-studded black masks for both), while a line of photographers stood by, ready to snap away, and several bodyguards secured the area. There were PopTV crew, hotel employees, and others floating around the room as well.

  Scarlett was hanging out with Jane, just killing time until Dana or whoever came by and rounded them up for filming. (Aja had graciously consented to PopTV inviting Scarlett, Gaby, Sophia, and a few other L.A. Candy cast members and their friends to the party, so they could make an episode out of it.) Every once in a while, Jane would make a random comment about the guest list or the bar, which had confused Scarlett at first, until she realized that Jane was communicating with Hannah on her earpiece.

  “Speaking of not being single . . . where’s your boyfriend?” Jane asked Scarlett.

  “What? Oh. He, uh, couldn’t make it,” Scarlett said.

  Jane gave her a pointed look. “Scar, what is going on with you two?”

  Scarlett fidgeted with her gold cuff bracelet, which she was supposed to tell reporters was a Mandy Monk original, and tried to figure out how to answer that question. She and Liam had continued with their “break” these last couple of weeks, with no phone calls or texts or emails whatsoever. And she had been deeply miserable the entire time. Before Liam, she used to think that she could happily stay single forever. Not anymore. Forget Aja’s hot fiancé—or any other guy, for that matter. She wanted only Liam. She just wasn’t sure if Liam still wanted her.

  Scarlett peered around the room, stalling, hoping Jane would just drop the subject, already—and noticed Gaby and her publicist in the corner having a heated conversation. A beat later, Gaby glanced in Scarlett and Jane’s direction and shook her head, obviously upset. What was going on?

  Before Scarlett could mention what she saw to Jane, she felt Jane squeeze her hand. “You k
now you can tell me if something’s wrong.”

  “What? Yeah, I know. Thanks, Janie.”

  “Is everything okay with you and Liam?”

  Scarlett sighed. “No. We’re not okay,” she blurted out. “I think he’s ready to break up with me over this stupid show.”

  “Oh, no! Because of Naveen?”

  “That, and . . . I’m always shooting, and Liam can’t be filmed, so we don’t have a lot of time to be together. Plus, it’s been hard for him to find another job because of me. Oh, and the night of my birthday party . . . well, I think Trevor or somebody ‘lost’ his Evite, and Liam had these big surprise plans to take me to Malibu. He had the whole evening planned.”

  Jane gasped. “Are you serious? Trevor told me he was going to talk to Liam about the party and clear it with him.”

  “Well, obviously, Trevor ‘forgot.’ Or, more likely, he lied to you. Anyway, that’s not your fault, and besides, my party was amazing. Thank you for organizing it.” Scarlett paused, searching for the right words. “The truth is . . . I need to figure some stuff out. Like what’s important to me.”

  “Yeah. You need to choose between the show and the guy you care about,” Jane said.

  And college, Scarlett added silently. On the plane ride to Las Vegas, she had finally made her decision. She was going to transfer out of USC in the fall. Which was going to mean leaving L.A.

  “Listen, there’s something else—” Scarlett began.

  “Jane! Scarlett! I’ve been looking all over for you girls!”

  Scarlett saw Dana marching toward them, a walkie-talkie in one hand and a clipboard in the other. “You two have to get miked now! Jane, we need to shoot a super-quick scene of you and Hannah doing some final prep. And, Scarlett, you need to get over to St. Mark’s Square ASAP.”