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Absolutely Famous(23)

By:Heather Leigh


“Sydney? Is that you?”

“Yes, who’s this please?” I don’t recognize the man’s voice.

“It’s Jeff Talley, from the Warren Hotel Group. How are you?” He sounds way too excited.

Jeff Talley wasn’t my favorite person in the world a few months ago. He was the project manager for the interior design remodel that I did for his hotel chain’s flagship nightclub in New York City. He strong-armed me into going to the nightclub launch party with Adam Reynolds, who I knew casually from Leah’s coffee shop.

I had no idea when we were hanging out that Adam was an internationally known rock star. Adam, however, knew that I was in charge of the remodel because we had discussed it before. He called me out on the pages of GQ magazine then had his agent arrange with Jeff for me to be his date.

No one seemed to care that I had a boyfriend at the time, not Jeff and not Adam. Kiera Radcliff certainly cared though. She’s Adam’s ex-girlfriend and was downright hostile to me when I showed up with him for the party at Verve. I haven’t forgiven Jeff yet for forcing my hand like and causing trouble for me.

“Jeff, I’m fine. How are you?”

Why is he calling me? I should have changed my phone number.

“Well, Sydney. I have news for you.”

God! I can just see him smirking on the other end of the line because he knows something that I don’t. It makes me want to scream.

“Oh, and what news would that be Jeff?” His news is never the kind of news I like.

“The Warren Hotel Group loves what you did with Verve so much that they are going forward with another nightclub redesign. Ben Walton has asked for you personally.”

Ben Walton is the CFO of the entire worldwide Warren Hotel Group. I like the older man immensely and I’m flattered that he wants me to redesign another one of their nightclubs. Maybe work is what I need to keep my mind busy. I could sketch and come up with ideas while I’m in Vancouver, then work on it once Drew’s done filming. Maybe Drew could come with me to whatever city the hotel is in.

“Sydney?” Jeff interrupts my errant daydreaming.

“What? I’m sorry. Jeff, that’s wonderful to hear. I’m thrilled that Mr. Walton was impressed with my work. I can’t believe he would want to do another nightclub so soon after the first. And to think he wants me to redesign the next one as well, I just don’t know what to say.” I’m babbling, my thoughts coming faster than I can speak. Even though the party was a bust for me, working on the nightclub was a dream come true. Doing another one would be unbelievable.

“Yes, well,” Jeff clears his throat, obviously hesitant to continue. “Would you be up for the job? You know, I mean, what with everything that’s happened since we last saw you?”

I tense up. Jeff is referencing the incident at Drew’s premiere. The incident that will come up in just about every conversation I have for the rest of my life. I close my eyes and breathe in deep. Ben Walton is probably just worried about me. He sent flowers to the hospital and called to check on me. I never returned anyone’s phone calls, too depressed about the miscarriage to speak to anyone if I didn’t have to.

“Ummm, yes I’m fine Jeff. I’d be up for the job,” I answer as calmly as I can.

Don’t cry Sydney, and definitely don’t yell. You want this job. You need something to do so you don’t go crazy.

“You know Sydney, after the party, I saw you on Late Night Report and found out who your parents are. Then I heard from my wife that you were dating Hollywood big shot Andrew Forrester. When she told me that, everything made sense. I finally knew why you weren’t impressed with the different celebrities or interested in dating Adam Reynolds,” he laughs.

The fucker actually laughs!

Jeff is one of those people who loves celebrity. He loves being around it, associated with it, the name dropping, the schmoozing, all of it. I hate it. The way Jeff gets when he’s talking about someone famous that he encountered, like it makes him special or better, makes me want to slap his smug smile into next week.

He’s probably been dying to ask me about Drew. Honestly, he’s probably pissed that I never introduced them, not that I knew at the time that Drew was a celebrity. Even if I did, I still wouldn’t have told Jeff anything.

“Yeah, well, like I said before, I don’t like Hollywood and I don’t care about celebrities. That still stands Jeff, whether people know who I am or not.” It’s easy for Jeff to think being famous is so great when he hasn’t had to live with the pain it brings.

“I still think it’s crazy Sydney, to come from such a famous Hollywood family and not want to live the life. I’d be screaming it from the trees if I were you.”