She Sins at Midnight

by Whitney Dineen

Oscar groaned as if in pain, “Jessica, I want that more than I want anything else in life, but I don’t want to cheapen you in any way. You deserve better than that. You deserve better than me.”

  Jessica answered, “You’re the best there is, Oscar Solomon. Any woman would be thrilled to have you for her own.” Screwing up her courage, she continued, “Are you planning on staying with Melinda?”

  Oscar looked away and exhaled loudly, “I can’t tell you that right now. The thing with Melinda and me is that we are so alike. We both know the way our world works and we both know how to play the game. There’s a strange comfort in all of that.”

  Jessica suggested, “Life doesn’t have to be a game Oscar.”

  He interrupted, “I told you how my first two wives left me. It’s vindicating for me to be with someone like Melinda.”

  Jessica asked, “But will she be faithful to you? Will she love you as much as you deserve to be loved?”

  Oscar looked at the woman by his side and answered sadly, “I don’t know. But I wish I did. I truly do.”

  Jessica didn’t break eye contact with Oscar. Instead she leaned toward him slowly, giving him the chance to pull away if he wanted to. Lightly she touched her mouth to his and bestowed upon him an achingly tender kiss. It was no more than lips meeting for a whisper of a second, but it was enough for Jessica to know that this was the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She never thought she would want a relationship so soon after deciding to leave her husband. But she knew she wanted Oscar Solomon and she was going to fight Melinda for him every step of the way. In Oscar she saw her chance at real happiness and she was going to go for it. After so many years of sadness, it was finally going to be her turn and nothing, especially not a bleach blonde, bimbo movie star, was going to keep her from her destiny.

  Chapter 29

  Lila thanked Yolanda Fernbacher for all her help during the book signing and then took a cab back to the club. It was harder changing back to her own persona as the dining room was packed with people. So she simply made a beeline straight for the bathroom, quickly becoming Lila Montgomery once again. She casually walked out of the bathroom and was met by three excited looking women she had just seen at her book signing.

  Lila apologized, “I’m sorry. I hope I wasn’t in there too long.”

  Gwendolyn Filbert looked behind Lila and said, “No, dear. We were just looking for the stunning redhead who walked in there. She’s one of our favorite authors. Did you happen to see her?”

  Lila started to wonder if there was anyone in the town of Bentley who hadn’t read She Sins at Midnight. No wonder it had hit the New York Time bestseller’s list! She answered, “I did see her, Mrs. Filbert. Actually I went in right after her.”

  Teensy Wigams declared, “I didn’t see her leave.” Then to her friends she asked, “Did either of you?”

  Miriam Sedgwick mumbled, “No, I didn’t. Maybe we should check out front.” The threesome abruptly turned and left Lila without another word. She heard Teensy add, “She pulled up in a cab. Maybe it’s still waiting for her.”

  Lila followed the women out the front door and walked over to her rental car; the same one that Josh was paying for, even though she no longer worked for him. She put her bag in the back and then hopped into the driver’s seat. Lila laid her head on the steering wheel and briefly gave into the temptation to burst into tears. How could Creighton Ashwood be so opposite from the man she thought he was? She decided that he was just like every other man in Hollywood. After drying her eyes, she decided that she wasn’t going to let him upset her. She would simply chalk their one night together as fun and games. And all those wonderful phone calls would simply become fodder for her next novel, the one where Creigh was the villain, not the hero.

  When Lila got home she noticed a strange car in the driveway. When she walked through the front door she discovered who the car belonged to. Creigh walked right up to her and kissed her right on the lips. He said, “Hi, sweetheart! I’ve been waiting to take you to dinner. How does that sound?”

  If her parents weren’t sitting right there, Lila would have spit on him and told him where could shove his dinner. But being that they weren’t alone she answered, “I actually have a terrible headache and I need to go right to bed.”

  Creigh whispered in her ear, “Want some company?”

  It was all Lila could do not to punch him in the face. But if she did that, then she would have to tell everyone why she did it and her secret wouldn’t be a secret anymore. So without making eye contact, she simply mumbled, “No thank you,” and proceeded to walk up the stairs.

  Bitsy followed after her daughter. When they got to her room, she asked, “Darling, are you okay?” She felt Lila’s head for a fever and then made her sit on the bed, “Maybe I should run a nice bath for you. How does that sound?”

  “It sounds like heaven, Mom.” Then she asked, “Would you mind bringing me something to eat?”

  From the bathroom, she heard her mother answer, “Of course. One grilled cheese coming up.”

  When Bitsy left, Lila hid her bag in her closet and then crawled into the bubble bath. She had no idea how she was going to break things off with Creigh without her parents asking too many questions. She would simply have to find a way. She briefly toyed with the idea of telling them that he was impotent, but she was pretty sure that her dad would just offer to share his Viagra. It was a road she did not want to travel. For the moment she decided to simply enjoy her bath and try to forget her ruinous social life.

  After her bath and sandwich, Lila fell into what felt like a coma. She didn’t as much as roll over until the next morning. When she opened her eyes, Lila crawled out of bed and followed the aroma of fresh brewed coffee straight to the kitchen. Next to the pot was a copy of “The Countrywide Inquisitor.” She was intrigued as she thought that tabloids had been banished from the house. Yet the headline immediately drew her attention and for the first time in days, it wasn’t at her expense.

  Starlet Shot out of Orbit

  This reporter has learned that Hollywood Star/ Professional bed-hopper, Melinda Forrester, has gone AWOL. Her agency, Amalgamated Artists, has confirmed that they parted ways with the Academy Award nominated actress just yesterday. Al Dilman, spokesperson for the agency was quoted as saying, “There is only so much an agency can be asked to put up with from their talent. Even though we have enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership with Miss Forrester over the past few years, her current behavior has become too outrageous for us to contemplate a future together.” We’re not quite sure what particular behavior they are talking about as nude photos and infidelity are the backbone of many a career in Tinseltown. We can only assume that Amalgamated has information that The Inquisitor has yet to learn. Shocking! But have no fear, dear readers, we are hot on the trail and promise to find out the scoop. Given the subject is Melinda Forrester, who’s everyday life is dirty, dirty, we must be about to discover some real filth.

  Lila couldn’t believe what she was reading. She simply couldn’t conceive of anything Melinda could do that would cause Amalgamated to cease their partnership with her. Lila had been with the agency for ten years and had seen stars who lie, cheat, steal, prostitute themselves, molest, assault and abuse and none of those things had ever resulted in the agency refusing representation. So what in the world, she wondered, was Melinda’s crime? As she sat at the table lost in thought, her parents walked into the kitchen wearing matching sweat suits.

  Bitsy came right over to her daughter and gave her a hug. “Are you feeling better this morning, sweetheart?”

  Lila assured her that she was. “In fact,” she declared, “I’m feeling so great I thought I might take the train downtown and do a little shopping.”

  Bitsy replied, “Oh, I wish I knew. I would have loved to come with you but I promised Rose Schwimer that I would sell raffle tickets at the hospital auxiliary luncheon this afternoon.”

  Lila sighed in relief as she had no idea how s
he would have ditched her mother had she decided to tag along. She hurried up and finished her coffee and went up stairs to change. Then she grabbed her carry on, said goodbye to her parents and drove to the train station. Somehow, she was going to make it through all the drama. But at the moment, she couldn’t imagine how.

  Chapter 30

  When Jessica woke up, she lay in bed and relived every last moment of her evening with Oscar. The whole night had been pure magic and now all she had to do was show him that she was the one he should be with, not Melinda. While Jessica normally dressed before going downstairs, she decided it was time to fight fire with fire. After all, Melinda ran around the house practically naked. Jessica decided that if she were going to win this war, she would have to at least play on the same battlefield. Wrapping herself in a robe that matched her baby blue silk gown, she looked in the mirror to make sure she looked sexily mussed. Then she gave her cheeks a sharp pinch for extra color and proceeded downstairs to steal herself a man.

  * * * * *

  Oscar woke very early that morning. In fact, he wouldn’t classify it so much that he woke, as finally decided he would never fall asleep and just got out of bed. His mind was reeling with thoughts of Jessica, Melinda, his ex-wives and his college girlfriend. It was like the WWF on crack in his head.

  Oscar simply couldn’t believe his good fortune in meeting a lady like Jessica. He hadn’t felt that way about a woman since college. The problem was that long ago relationship had been doomed from the start and he worried that perhaps a love affair with Jessica would be as well. He knew not to expect too much from women like Melinda and his ex-wives which is why none of them ever had the power to break his heart. But with Jessica, he would expect the sun, the moon and all the stars. She was everything that a man could hope for in a life partner and as such, she had the power to slay him if she ever left or betrayed him.

  As Oscar put on his second pot of coffee, his cell phone rang. It was Robert Felton calling to find out what in the heck Melinda was doing.

  Oscar had no idea what his lawyer was talking about so Robert explained how Melinda had dumped her agency on her own without setting up any new PR. Since Amalgamated had been handling Melinda’s PR, once she dropped them, they responded by turning their mighty publicity machine against her. The morning tabloids were full of stories defaming the already infamous actress.

  Oscar couldn’t believe that Melinda didn’t discuss her decision to leave Amalgamated with him first. After all, he was the one who hired the lawyers to clean up all the bad press she was getting. Didn’t he warrant the courtesy to be involved in all decisions that affected their lives?

  Creigh walked into the kitchen just as Oscar hung up with Robert. He held up a hand when Oscar saw him and said, “I know. Robert called me right before he called you.” Feigning ignorance, Creigh asked, “What is she thinking? I mean, I don’t care who represents her, but why didn’t she cover her bases before leaving? This is a PR nightmare.”

  Oscar shook his head and responded, “I agree with you whole heartedly and had she bothered to consult with me, we would have made sure that we had a press strategy in place before she left. The thing that I can’t figure out is how and why she chose to leave her agent while she was here in Illinois. You’d think that she’d wait till she was back in L.A., or at least had another agent in the wings.”

  On that note, Cynthia walked in. She greeted both men and asked how they were. Creigh gave her a knowing look over Oscar’s head and announced, “Melinda has left Amalgamated.”

  Cynthia nodded and said, “I know. She decided to come to Quest with me.”

  Shocked, Oscar demanded, “You’re an agent with Quest?”

  She answered, “Yes, I just started there as a matter of fact. I was with Amalgamated before.”

  Oscar looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel and demanded, “Did you ask Melinda to leave Amalgamated?”

  Shaking her head, Cyn responded, “No, actually. She came out to the guest house yesterday and once she learned that I was with Quest, she offered to leave them for me. I did ask her if she wanted to discuss it with you first.”

  Looking grim, Oscar inquired, “And she said?

  “She said that you’d want whatever made her happy and you’d back her no matter what.”

  In a resigned manner Oscar asked, “Cynthia, did you suggest that she contact another PR company first?”

  Confused, Cyn answered, “No, why would I do that?”

  “Because as soon as she left, Amalgamated pulled their PR people from her.”

  Cyn shrugged her shoulders, “I wasn’t her agent there, Oscar. I had no idea Melinda was using the agency’s firm. Either way, she’s been in this business long enough to know how to handle herself. She had to have known Amalgamated was managing her press and she should have been smart enough to cover her butt before leaving.”

  Oscar fully agreed with Cynthia’s assessment of the situation. Unfortunately, Melinda didn’t bother to think and she was certainly paying the price for it. Hollywood had a very short memory when you did something right, but when you made a wrong step, it lived forever.

  Oscar, Creigh and Cynthia continued to discuss Melinda’s current crisis over coffee when Jessica came breezing in. When Oscar saw her, he stumbled over his words. Cynthia noticed and suggested to Creigh, “Why don’t you and I go into the library and I’ll show you the parting release Melinda signed.”

  Jessica sent Cyn a grateful look as she walked into the kitchen. Oscar couldn’t seem to take his eyes of her, “Good morning Jessica. I hope you slept well.”

  She beamed in response, “Why thank you, Oscar, I had a heavenly night sleep. How about you?”

  He grumbled in response, “I slept like hell. I have a lot on my mind,”

  Jessica stared directly into his eyes and agreed, “Yes, I imagine you do.” Then she asked, “Can I make you some waffles? Maybe you’ll think clearer with a full stomach.”

  Oscar took her up on her offer and sat at the table watching her glide around the kitchen while she made him breakfast. All he could think of was that this beautiful woman wanted nothing more at that moment than to take care of him and it was an amazing feeling. Normally, he was the one doing for the women in his life and they repaid him with deceit, lies and betrayal. It was exceedingly nice to be on the receiving end for a change.

  Oscar thoroughly enjoyed his breakfast with Jessica. He realized that he could get used to eating a home cooked meal across from this gorgeous woman. Just as he was about to tell her that, Melinda came ambling in.

  Melinda took one look at the cozy scene at the table and almost screamed. Jessica was still in her nightgown and Oscar was gazing at her like he’d much rather have her for breakfast than the waffles in front of him. Determined to keep him in line, Melinda walked over to him and kissed him on top of his bald spot. She tried to sound unaffected by his drooling over another woman and purred, “Good morning, baby cakes. How did you sleep?”

  Oscar tried to restrain himself from yelling at her about her total stupidity and managed to answer, “Melinda, once you’ve had your breakfast, you and I need to have a little chat.”

  Melinda noted Oscar’s serious tone and wondered what could be going on. Yet as curious as she was, she had no intention of finding out in front of the enemy, so she simply eyed Jessica and declared, “I hope there are some waffles left for me.”

  Jessica smiled graciously and replied, “Sorry Melinda. I just made enough for Oscar and me. But the cookbook is on the counter if you’d like to make yourself some.”

  Melinda was beyond furious that Jessica would dare talk to her like that and shot back, “I better not. I wouldn’t want to start looking like a fat Midwestern cow after all.”

  Jessica couldn’t help herself and mumbled, “Well you certainly have the udders for it.”

  Oscar watched as the two of them sparred back and forth. He decided to save Jessica from any further attacks and demanded, “Melinda, come outside wi
th me, now.” To Jessica, he added, “Thank you for the lovely breakfast and very charming company.”

  Melinda stormed toward the French doors after Oscar, positively infuriated that he would treat her so badly in front of that high society bitch. Just as she crossed the threshold, she demanded, “Oscar Solomon, why are you treating me like this? I’ve been your girlfriend for months and you’re acting like you can’t stand the sight of me!”

  Oscar retorted, “Right now, I barely can stand the sight of you. Would you mind telling me when you were planning on informing me that you had left Amalgamated Artists?”

  Confused, Melinda asked, “Oscar, what does that have to do with anything? I mean of course I was going to tell you, but why on earth would you be so upset about that?”

  “Well, gee Melinda, I don’t know, maybe because you didn’t think to hire a new PR team before leaving. My name is automatically linked with yours and when you take no care with your own reputation, you damage mine. And in case you’re wondering, thanks to your latest maneuver, your reputation is in the gutter yet again.”

  Melinda was stunned and sat down on a chaise lounge, “What are the papers saying about me?”

  Oscar answered, “For starters, that Amalgamated broke off their contract with you, not the other way around. And they are intimating it’s because you did something so despicable they can’t risk being associated with you any longer.”

  Melinda challenged, “But I left them, Oscar.”

  “Melinda, don’t you know anything at all?! The truth doesn’t mean squat in this business. The truth is decided by whoever is willing to throw the most money at a situation. Image is all that counts. Why do you think there are so many PR firms in Hollywood?”

  Melinda couldn’t believe that Oscar was carrying on like this and asked, “So what’s the problem? We’ll just hire a bigger and better company than the one Amalgamated uses. Now that I’m represented by Quest, I’ll be making bigger movies than I’ve ever starred in before and the press will love me again in no time.”