Heartwood by Catherine Lane

Author:Catherine Lane [Lane, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
Published: 2016-07-20T07:00:00+00:00

The call that brought it all crashing down came two weeks later. The studio was sending up Courtland Hyland, one of their publicity executives, to manage the first set of interviews and pictures that would introduce Dawn’s new and grandest role to the world.

“I wish it weren’t Courtland.” Dawn sighed as she put down the phone.

“Why not?”

“He’s nosey and not in a good way. Rumors have it that he sells the really juicy information to the highest bidder on the side. We’ll need to be careful.”

“We can do that. Easy-peasy.”

Even so, when Dawn introduced her to Courtland as her personal assistant, it cut Beth to the quick. She let her gaze drop off Beth as if she wasn’t worth a dime.

She’s an actress. It doesn’t mean anything. This is her acting.

Beth wished Dawn wasn’t so good at it—turning her feelings on and off so easily. Either she should have twenty-five Academy Awards statuettes on the mantelpiece, or there was a core of truth in the actions.

When anyone needed coffee or when someone left paperwork in the other room, he or she would turn to Beth. She wasn’t stupid. She hadn’t expected to be welcomed with open arms like a Hollywood insider, but she hadn’t really understood the strict hierarchy either. She rushed from room to room on errands, relegated completely to the sidelines. After so long in the sun, the cold there was almost frigid.

After the interview, Courtland had them all troop out to the redwood grove behind the house to shoot the publicity stills.

“Arch your back a little, dear,” the thin man with the camera said.

“No.” Courtland waved him off. “We want more Doris Day than Jayne Mansfield. We are sending this to Good Housekeeping, not Playboy.”

“What about Time and Vogue?” Dawn asked.

Beth sighed. Despite what Dawn had said weeks ago in the writing room, she was still chasing that Time cover.

“Yes, of course. But we need Jimmy in the shot if we want to get coverage in the biggies. The new and best role for James Montgomery. We need the baby, too. Especially if it comes out cute.”

Beth knew Dawn well enough by now. She was fighting to keep the smile on her lips.

“I guess I know where I stand.” Dawn paced the living room floor after Courtland had left. “It’s always about Jimmy. No matter what I do. It always has been, and it always will be.”

Beth stood off to the side and wrapped her arms around her own chest. She had never seen Dawn like this. “They were talking about the cover of Good Housekeeping. That’s good, isn’t it?” she said softly, not sure which way to take this conversation.

“Great.” She stopped pacing and focused all her attention on Beth, her eyes blazing with ferocity. “My condition will be the subject of coffee klatches all over the Midwest.”

“People will be talking about it. That’s what important. At least that’s what Courtland said.”

“Courtland doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the wall.”

Beth flinched. Dawn didn’t use language like that.

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