The Platinum Reunion (The Platinum Series Book 3) Read online

  “I’ll have what he’s having,” Jake said to the waitress who showed up to their table in short order.

  She gave Will that remind me again look before saying, “Pliny, right?”

  “You got it.”

  “Niiiice,” Jake said. “Definitely on my top five list of favorite craft beers.”

  “Mine too,” Will agreed before ordering a second.

  “Well, don’t get too carried away there,” Jake said playfully, clearing his throat demonstrably to feign alarm. “I’m going to get drunk tonight, and I’ll need you to take me home, or maybe I can crash with you and Kerry at your pad.”

  “Whaaat? How’d you get here?”

  “I drove, but I need to get drunk, dude. Seriously. I can’t wait until my birthday next weekend. I want to get inebriated now,” Jake said with a somewhat uncomfortable chuckle and then sighed heavily, shaking his head.

  “Are you okay, bro? What’s going on?”

  “Just a lot of crazy shit.” Jake looked down and stared blankly before admitting what he’d been feeling but had yet to share with anyone. “I miss Amanda, Will.”

  Will sat quietly for a moment. “To be honest, that’s not what I expected to hear you say.”

  Jake looked up at Will with eyes that were soft and slightly red. “It’s the truth.”

  “Here you go,” the waitress said, placing Jake’s beer in front of him. “Can I get you guys something to eat?”

  Jake and Will looked at each other as if they barely understood the question. Both seemed too tongued-tied to offer a response quickly enough. The waitress eyed them side to side before lifting the menu card at their table out of its holder and placing it down in front of them. “Well, take your time and have a look at the menu. I’ll come back.”

  “So do you want to get back with her?” Will asked, picking up the conversation.

  Jake didn’t answer him at first. He took a sip of his beer and then stared down at the table.

  “It kind of looks like that train has already left the station, bro.”

  Jake peered up at him. “Whattaya mean?”

  “She’s still with Adam Weinstock. She’s become, like, this big celebrity now. They seem pretty serious, from what I can tell.”

  Jake snickered and looked away as he said something under his breath.

  “I mean, I don’t really know, but Kerry talks to Brook pretty regularly,” Will said, referring to a classmate and mutual friend of theirs from Stanford who was to be one of Amanda’s bridesmaids. “In fact, we saw her not that long ago, and she says that Amanda’s doing really well and that she and Adam are, for all intents and purposes, officially a couple now.”

  “Well, they were officially a couple the last time too, and she promptly dumped him the minute I asked her to marry me,” Jake sneered before taking another sip of beer.

  Will was slightly taken aback. “Wow. So you really are serious about getting back with her.”

  “I am,” Jake said flatly. “Letting her go was a big mistake.”

  “Then why’d you do it? You said that you’d fallen out of love with her. Are you in love with her again now, or are you just jealous about her having a new boyfriend?”

  “I never really stopped loving her. I made that all up.”

  Will looked at Jake with befuddlement on his face. “You made it up?”

  “I broke up with Amanda for a completely different reason. Based on something that I’d found out, or rather, that was told to me by a very credible source.”

  “Who? What’d they tell you? Did she cheat on you? Was she still seeing this dude Adam the whole time behind the scenes?”

  “No, no. Nothing like that. I really can’t tell you right now. I’ve been sworn to secrecy, and I can’t reveal the source. And please don’t say anything about this to anyone, including Kerry. You tell her everything. I swear.”

  “I won’t—”

  “I’m serious, man. I really don’t want more rumors and gossip flying around.”

  “I won’t. I promise. I won’t say anything to Kerry. You and I both know how big her mouth is.”

  Jake gazed at Will for a moment in a suggestive fashion before saying with a chuckle, “Yeah, I know how big her mouth is, all right. I banged her before you did, remember?”

  Will chuckled along uneasily. “You dirty son of a bitch. Get your mind out of the gutter, dude.”

  “Just sayin’.”

  Will shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Anyway—”

  “Anyway,” Jake continued, quickly turning serious again, “what I was told about Amanda doesn’t make any sense to me now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she’s back with Adam. If what I was told were true, I don’t get how she could be dating this guy again…so openly and so soon after our breakup.”

  “You know, I recall at Lyle’s New Year’s Eve bash, when Kerry and I first told you that Amanda was back with Adam, you seemed shell-shocked, like you were completely taken by surprise.”

  “That’s because I was,” Jake admitted. “If I could tell you why, you’d understand.”

  “Why not tell me now? Come on, dude. Don’t you trust me?”

  Jake hesitated for a moment. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that I gave my word not to repeat to anybody what I was told. At this point, I don’t care anymore about what was said. I just need to get to Amanda and convince her that I still love her and that we should be together.”

  “But what about the gay rumors?”

  “What about them?”

  “You think she’d be willing to take you back after all that?”

  “Is Brook still spreading that shit around?”

  “I don’t know. Not to us. I mean, we never believed it when she told us. Did you confront her about it?”

  “No. I haven’t spoken to Brook since before the wedding was canceled. Has anyone else brought this up? Like, any of our other friends?”

  “No. At least not to me.”

  The month before, shortly after New Year’s, Will had told Jake that Brook told him and Kerry that Jake was in a gay relationship with Kirby, and that was the real reason for his breakup with Amanda. Jake vehemently denied the accusation, rationalizing to himself that he was being truthful since the reason for the breakup, in his mind, had nothing to do with Kirby and everything to do with the imminent danger he’d been told Amanda was in. Jake had emailed Amanda right away, begging her not to reveal what he’d disclosed to her about his relationship with Kirby. Although he’d never heard back from her, the rumor seemed to fade and, to his relief, hadn’t picked up much steam.

  “You know, I’ve never asked you this before, but I’m curious. Did that rumor have anything to do with you and Kirby no longer being friends?”

  “In part, but there’s more to it,” Jake acknowledged. He hesitated for a moment before disclosing more information. “You know, a friend of his is the one who started the gay rumor.”

  “Really? Who is it?” Will asked with a wide-eyed look of surprise at this revelation.

  Jake smirked. “This dude who’s in love with him.”

  “What? How do they know each other?”

  “They use to work together for—guess who?”

  “Who?”

  “Adam Weinstock.”

  “No way.”

  “Yeah, he and Kirby worked on the filming of Hell-bent, which Adam produced, of course. This guy apparently still works for him.”

  “He does? What’s his name?”

  “Antonio. Antonio Villar. Don’t repeat any of this. Please,” Jake said.

  “Okay, I won’t. But he’s the one who started the rumor that you and Kirby are gay? Are you serious? Why would he say that?”

  “Because he’s jealous,” Jake blurted, appearing irritated and defeated.

  Will was incredulous. “Jealous of what?”

  “My relationship with Kirby.”

  “But why?”

  Jake just shook his head and
sipped his beer. He became emotional, suddenly appearing sad and teary-eyed.

  “Dude, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine,” Jake repeated as he rubbed his eyes with his hands. The conversation paused for a moment, but not before Will took notice of Jake’s body language, sensing that his breakdown with Kirby had taken a toll.

  “You and Kirby have been friends for so long. Since middle school. I can barely remember any of my friends from middle school. You shouldn’t let anything or anyone come between you two. You guys have such a close bond and so much history. Don’t you miss him at all?”

  “I do miss him,” Jake admitted.

  “You think you two will ever patch things up?”

  “I don’t know. I saw him earlier this week at the gym.”

  “How is he?”

  “He seems to be doing fine. He’s getting ready to shoot his TV pilot.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right. That’s so cool. I’m really happy for him. I know he co-wrote the script, but is he directing it too?”

  “I don’t know. But anyway, I’ve got to figure out a way to get Amanda to talk to me. Any ideas?”

  “What about Julie?”

  “I’m going to have to break things off with her. I can’t keep her hanging on any longer. It’s not fair to her, especially knowing that she wants more. I just don’t see a future with her.”

  After their blowup a month before, when Jake saw Amanda on TV at the Golden Globes with Adam, he and Julie had made up. Jake apologized to Julie for treating her so coldly, and they’d resumed their casual dating relationship. Although Jake had agreed not to hook up with other girls from work, it was now mutually understood that they weren’t in an exclusive relationship and both were free to date other people outside the office. However, Jake sensed that Julie really wasn’t all that interested in seeing other people and that she likely agreed to keep their relationship casual and open-ended to appease him. He knew she was compromising her principles and bending her exclusivity-before-sex rule in the hope that he’d come around and choose her as his one and only.

  Jake and Will spent the rest of the evening barhopping and downing numerous drinks. Will eventually had to pull back so that at least one of them was still relatively sober and able to get them home. Meanwhile, Jake drank himself into oblivion as he said he would. The night ended with Kerry opening the door to find Will struggling to carry Jake into their apartment. She helped Will lay Jake down on the sofa to crash. Then the two of them watched and giggled as Jake rambled in a drunken stupor before he finally settled down and quickly fell asleep.

  Chapter Four

  As it was Oscar weekend, Amanda was the object of attention not only of Jake but also of many others, but for a completely different reason. After her big splash in the custom-designed Alana Dupree frock she’d worn the month before to the Golden Globes, Amanda and Adam had made a few more high-profile red carpet appearances. Since Adam’s film was a Best Picture nominee, that meant making the rounds to numerous awards shows, industry events, and charity balls leading up to the main event, the Academy Awards. With each red carpet appearance and event, Amanda’s style was noted by the press, along with her relationship status as the girlfriend of Oscar and Golden Globe–nominated producer Adam Weinstock. The fact that she was a billionaire heiress, socialite, and budding fashion designer with a Stanford degree to boot made her all the more captivating a subject. Amanda was more than happy to take advantage of the attention and increased visibility to drum up interest in her soon-to-be-revealed high-end handbag line. She and Lucy had hired a public relations firm to coordinate their launch strategy and to create buzz. Not all that hard to accomplish given who Amanda and Lucy were, combined with the fact that they both were dating well-known Hollywood A-listers.

  The day before the Oscars, they had a photo shoot scheduled with Town & Country, which planned to do a feature on the pair in anticipation of the launch of their new bag line. They were to appear on the cover for the magazine’s upcoming issue, “The Forty Under Forty List of Movers and Shakers from American Dynasties.”

  Alana Dupree had been invited to participate in the shoot as well. “It was so nice of Rod to let us use the house for the photo shoot,” Alana said, referring to her former husband and Lucy’s father, British rock star Rod Simon. After going back and forth over a location shoot in Los Angeles, the photographer and magazine finally settled on using the lush grounds and palatial home Rod still owned, right next door to Amanda’s parents’ house in Holmby Hills.

  “They hardly ever use it, but now that he’s doing shows in Vegas, they’ve been coming here more often. However, as you can see, they barely keep any clothes here. If it weren’t for me and Theo, this big ol’ house would sit empty most of the year,” Lucy said, referring to her younger brother who, following in his father’s footsteps, was in a fledging music band of his own, mostly traveling and doing gigs in clubs and small venues around the country.

  “I want to go see Rod’s show,” Amanda said. “I’m so sorry I missed opening night. If it weren’t for the London premier of Adam’s movie, I definitely would’ve gone.”

  “Don’t worry,” Lucy said. “We’ll make a plan to go. There’s plenty of time. He’ll be performing at Caesars for the next three years. We’ll plan a weekend. We’re overdue for a Vegas excursion anyway. We’ll get some of the girls together and rent one of the penthouses at Caesars or the Wynn.”

  “Now, that would be fun,” Amanda said with an eager smile, liking the sound of that.

  “It’s a great show. I tell ya, after all these years, Rod is still at his best when he performs live on stage,” Alana said.

  “You went?” Amanda asked.

  “Of course I did. Wouldn’t have missed it. I support Rod just like he’s always supported me. We’re still great friends. After all, he was initially my biggest investor when I launched my label.”

  “Really?” Amanda asked. “I didn’t know that.”

  Alana smirked. “I guess he’s still my biggest investor, technically.”

  “He is? I didn’t know Rod co-owned the Dupree label with you.”

  “He doesn’t,” Alana said with mirth on her lips as she and Lucy looked at each other knowingly. “I’ll take his money, but he’s not entitled to any return on his investment.”

  “Wait, how’d you work that deal?”

  “It’s called a divorce settlement, honey” Alana said like a punchline.

  Amanda laughed at herself. “Oh. Duh.”

  “You all look absolutely fabulous,” the photographer said as he walked up and surveyed the three of them, each sitting in a high director’s chair as the makeup artists and hairstylists applied finishing touches.

  “I know scheduling us was nearly impossible,” Lucy said. “I’m surprised Town & Country still wants us for the cover. It shouldn’t have gotten so difficult, having to reschedule and everything. Honestly, we’re not the divas we seem to be.”

  “Oh, no worries. You each have a lot going on right now. I’m just so glad we could get you three together at the same time here in LA and so soon after we had to cancel shooting in New York.”

  “Well, you can thank Oscar for that,” Alana said. “When Oscar throws the biggest party of the year to dole out golden statuettes, everyone descends here en masse for the festivities.”

  “So will Mom be on the cover with us? It seems unclear at this point,” Lucy said.

  “I don’t know. It’s up to editorial,” the photographer said. “I think they’ll make a decision once they’ve seen all of the proofs and after the cover article is finished.”

  “I hope so. You’re our inspiration,” Amanda said, leaning over to hug Alana, who was sitting in the middle between her and Lucy.

  “I think that’s the idea. To show one generation passing the baton on to the next,” the photographer said.

  “A fashion icon and her two favorite girls ruling the world. How’s that for a headline?” Alana said buoyantly, g
rabbing Lucy’s and Amanda’s hands on either side of her and raising them up in the air, beaming and proud.

  They eventually moved to the twelve-hundred-square-foot dressing room that Alana once claimed as her own and had custom-designed when she and Rod were still married years before. It looked like a small luxury boutique and provided a nice backdrop for a few interior shots. They then moved outdoors by the Olympic-size pool surrounded by lush green landscaping for some additional shots in the bright California sunshine. The photographer directed and guided them through a set of different poses—first just Amanda and Lucy together and then Alana joining them, looking very much like the fashion diva she was known to be with her two protégées at her side.

  “Okay, ladies. It’s a wrap!” the photographer said as his small crew applauded and complimented the women and the success of the shoot. “These all look so great. It’s going to be hard to choose which ones to use,” he added. Amanda, Lucy, and Alana came over to him and hovered around as he swiped through a few of the shots on his digital camera to show them. “Too bad they will end up only using one or two of these.”

  “Amazing. All those photos to get the one perfect shot,” Amanda said.

  “But they’re all so perfect,” the photographer said flatteringly.

  “No, Amanda’s so perfect…in every single shot,” Alana said. “Look at her.”

  “I know,” Lucy added in mock irritation. “God, I hate you. Why does the camera like you so much more than me?”

  Amanda grinned bashfully. “Oh, come on. You guys look just as great. Look at these shots. You’re both beautiful.”

  “I know what it is,” Alana continued over her. “She’s still in the afterglow. New boyfriend, a new bag line, magazine covers, all the great press. You’re on top of the world right now. Watch, she’s going to steal the show again tomorrow night at the Oscars. You wait and see. Tom Ford’s lucky you chose to wear him.”

  “I know,” Lucy agreed and carried on, sounding happy for her friend, albeit begrudgingly.

  Amanda tried to brush the talk aside by reaching to hug and thank the photographer for his work and time. Alana and Lucy followed suit before the three women made their way back inside the house. They headed to the kitchen for some wine and munchies, where their conversation took a turn.