Not Wanted in Hollywood (9 page)

I looked at her strangely.

“
I know it
sounds bad when I say it,” said Amber, “but when you’re searching
for an alibi, dancing naked in front of a bunch of men is a pretty
good one. Seems my act that night was considered pretty
memorable.”

“
I guess that
leaves the wife,” I said. “Denise must be having a lot of questions
to answer.”

Amber shook her head. “Not her either. Seems
she was at a church meeting at the time Hammy got killed.
Unfortunately for the cops it looks like the two best suspects have
iron clad alibis, one at a church and one on stage at a strip
club.”

“
I didn’t
realize that Brandi was involved with Hammy,” I said changing the
subject.

“
Hammy’s been
involved with a lot of the girls at one time or another,” Amber
replied.

I looked at her sideways.

“
No,” she
said. “Before you even think of asking, no. I never went there and
I never wanted to.” She hurriedly changed the subject. “Why are you
here so early anyway?”

“
It seems the
lawyers want Denise to sign some more papers before Alistair can
continue with the filming,” I said. “Apparently
Denise
is pretty close to telling Alistair what he can
do with his cameras, so I got nominated to speak to her on his
behalf.”

Amber laughed but I could still see the hurt
in her eyes.

“
I’m really
sorry for how he treated you,” I said softly.

“
It isn’t
your fault,” said Amber. “It isn’t the first time I’ve had a guy
promise me the world and not deliver and I’m sure it won’t be the
last. Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t give up on men altogether.
I only seem to be disappointed by them.”

I could only nod in sympathy.

I turned as I heard a throat being
cleared.

“
Sorry to
interrupt ladies,” said Denise, “but I was wondering if I could
speak to Amber in private.”

“
Sure,” said
Amber.

“
Did you need
something Trudie?” asked Denise.

“
I was just
supposed to ask you to sign some paperwork that Alistair’s lawyers
have sent through,” I said.

Denise
smiled. “That man may be a lot of things but he
isn’t dumb. He knew you’d have a better chance of getting me to
look at them than he ever would.”

I smiled,
because really, she was right on the money.

Denise
held out her hand and took the papers. “I’ll
have a look and if they’re acceptable I’ll get you to come back and
get them this afternoon.”

“
Thanks for
that,” I said.

On the way out of the club I passed Hugh
coming in with some equipment.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Just some work with the lighting. Some of
the footage isn’t coming out as well as we’d like and Alistair’s
losing his mind over it.”

“
I haven’t
got the final paperwork from Denise so she might not let you in,” I
warned.

Hugh flashed
me a grin. “Trust
me
,” he said. “I’ll be
able to sweet talk my way in.”

I gave him an answering smile. I had to admit
that I admired the man’s confidence.

The office was
quiet thanks to both Alistair and Hugh being out. I was surprised
when the door to the office opened and Lee was standing there.

I smiled. “Lee, what are you doing here?”

Lee’s face looked strained. “I know you and
Jake are having some problems.”

“
You can’t
get in the middle of this Lee,” I warned. “I’ve told you before
that Griffin and I will work things out ourselves.”

Lee looked nervous. “I know and believe it or
not, I wouldn’t be doing this unless I really felt that it was an
emergency situation.”

I sighed. I knew that look on Lee’s face. He
was a man on a mission and nothing I said was going to change his
mind. The best thing would be for me to let him say his piece.

“Take a seat Lee. I’ll hear you out.”

Lee smiled gratefully and sat down on the
opposite side of my desk.

“Angela contacted Jake.”

I grimaced. With everything else that had
been happening I had managed to push the impending meeting between
Griffin and his absent mother out of my mind.

“
He is
meeting her for lunch today,” said Lee.

“What do you want me to do Lee?” I asked.
“Griffin and I aren’t exactly on the best terms at the moment. I
really don’t know if he’d be interested in my interfering with his
life.”

“
I know,”
said Lee and he abruptly stood up. “I shouldn’t have done this.
You’re right, I should just keep out of it. He’s a grown man. He
doesn’t need his father interfering in his life. I just don’t want
to see him get hurt.”

I got up from my seat and gave him a hug.
“You are an amazing dad.”

Lee nodded quickly and left but not before I
saw the tears in his eyes. I sat down in my chair and thought about
the last couple of days. I also thought about Griffin and exactly
what I was willing to risk for him.

“
Dammit,” I
yelled to the empty walls and grabbed my purse. I texted Alistair
that I would be taking some time off and headed home.

Standing in
the street outside the restaurant Lee had told me Griffin was
meeting his mother, when I’d called him while getting ready, I
hoped that I had made the right decision. I saw Griffin striding
along the footpath towards the restaurant. He faltered when he saw
me standing at the front of the building.

Griffin walked up to me and I awkwardly
fidgeted with my clutch.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Lee told me that you were meeting with your
mom. I know that’s a big deal for you so I’m here. If you want me
with you I’ll go in with you. If you want me to go home, I can do
that too. I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone in
this.”

I had no idea how this was going to play out
and I had mentally prepared myself for the blow to my pride if he
told me he didn’t want me there. That being said, if he sent me
away, I wasn’t sure if there was enough ice cream in the state to
deal with the emotional meltdown I was going to go through.

Griffin
studied me. “I’ve said some pretty rough things to you the last
couple of days,” he said softly.

I nodded. “Yes you did, and believe me when
this is all sorted out, you and I are going to have some words, but
for right now we deal with this, then after we’ll discuss what a
jerk you’ve been. Now what do you want me to do?”

Griffin hesitated and I prepared myself for a
taste of humiliating rejection.

“
I want you
with me,” he
said
, holding out his
hand.

“
Then I’m
with you,” I
said
, grasping his hand with
mine, relief coursing through me.

He folded me into his side and put his arm
around me.

“
You look
beautiful,” he said softly.

“
You can
thank the girls at the bar for
that
,” I
said tartly. “Swinging on a pole wasn’t the only thing they were
teaching me. They threw in hair and makeup lessons as
well.”

Griffin smiled tightly.

“Can you do this?” I asked gently. Most of
the time Griffin was one of the strongest men I knew, but the mom
issue seemed to be a big one for him.

He shrugged. “The woman wants to meet me. A
part of me is curious to see what she is like. I know what she
looks like, I’ve known who she is for a long time now. I just never
thought I’d actually meet her. I guess this is the one chance I’ll
get.” He looked down at me. “I know what it took for you to be
here, especially the way things have been between us. It means a
lot.”

I nodded. I didn’t know what to say really.
Once Lee told me what was happening, I didn’t really have a choice.
You do what you have to for those you love.

The restaurant was one of those expensive
places which is completely wasted on someone like me. I do not have
the sophisticated palate required to discern the amount of skill
which goes into both the food and the decor. Griffin led me to the
table where his mother was waiting for us. She smiled up at him.
The smile died when she saw me with him.

“
I did not
realize you were bringing a guest,” she said with a slightly
accusing tone.

Griffin shrugged in that way that he had and
I smiled apologetically.

Within several moments a third placing was
added to the table and Griffin and I were seated. I had to admit I
was curious to see how this was going to play out. Was she going to
explain why she left Griffin and his father? Was she going to
apologize? There was no way this lunch was going to be anything
other than awkward.

Angela cleared her throat and you could tell
that there was a bit of nervousness there. It seemed so at odds
with the cool exterior she presented to the world. “I guess you’re
wondering why I asked to meet you.”

“
I do find it
curious,” said Griffin. “You left my dad thirty years ago and we
haven’t heard a word from you since and now out of the blue you
want to meet me.”

Angela smiled ingratiatingly. “I was very
young when I married your father. I didn’t realize what marriage
would entail and having a baby was something that I was really not
prepared for. I was frightened by it and your father was no help at
all.”

Both Griffin
and I stiffened at the slight against Lee. I adored Lee and he had
raised Griffin on his own the best he could. Lee was the first to
admit that his parenting skills may not have been perfect, but he
loved his son and did the best by him. As evidenced by the fact
that he came down to my office to give me the heads up about this
touching family reunion. Angela had made her first mistake by
blaming Lee for her choices.

Griffin obviously felt the same way that I
did as he moved to interrupt her. “I’m really not interested in why
you left. You made your choice then and I don’t think we need to
revisit it. What I want to know is why you want to see me now.”

I thought
that Griffin had asked a clear question. From what I could see,
Griffin thought he had asked a clear question. Unfortunately
Angela’s response was to start telling us about her life, from the
moment that she walked out of the door leaving Lee and Griffin far
behind. For the next hour Griffin and I were subjected to a
discussion on the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Lee had told
me that Angela had been a socialite trust fund baby but I had never
truly grasped what that meant. It was only after we had made our
way through lunch and had moved on to drinks that I was able to
fully appreciate how wealthy Angela’s family was. From what I could
tell, her life had been one long vacation party that just moved
through various parts of the world. Not once did she ask about her
son’s life. I marveled at the complete lack of awareness that this
woman had regarding her child. Despite the fact that I was
concerned about the emotional toll this situation was having on
Griffin, he looked completely bored and at one point I had seen him
stifle a yawn. When his cell rang he looked so pathetically
grateful for the interruption, that a part of me wondered if he had
set it up with Ramos. He ducked away from the table leaving me with
his mother who had barely noticed his absence.

When Griffin
came back to the table, for the first time during this meeting, he
looked happy.

“
I am sorry,”
he announced, “but work is calling. I have a case to get
to.”

I started to
rise, grateful for the premature end to this torture, only to feel
Angela’s hand on mine. “That’s fine. It will give Trudie and me a
chance to get to know each other. I am so looking forward to
getting to know the woman who captured my boy’s heart.”

I froze and resigned to my fate I sat down
again.

Griffin
nodded and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. “I am so sorry,” he
whispered in my ear before nodding at his mother and making his
getaway.

I gazed longingly at his back as he strode
away from us.

“
You seem to
be very fond of my son,” Angela
said
,
mistaking my wistful gaze for me being clingy, as opposed to me
wanting to escape with him.

I nodded as I grabbed a glass of water.

“
I’m glad to
know that he has someone in his life who cares for him.” Angela
patted me on the hand. “I need to have my son back in my life,” she
said. “I want you to be a part of it.” She smiled at me and I had
to control the shiver. That smile was not real. I work with fake, I
specialize in fake, and believe me, that smile was fake. Something
was going on here and I had a feeling it had nothing to do with a
mother realizing that she wanted to have her son back in her
life.

I eventually
managed to make my escape from Griffin’s mother, only after she had
extracted a promise for us to have a girl’s day, so we could get to
know each other better. I immediately headed for Monique’s office.
If anyone was going to know why Angela wanted her son back, it was
going to be Monique.

Walking into Monique’s office I shouldn’t have
been surprised to find my friend and Crystal’s
husband
, Edwin, working on the front
desk. Until recently Edwin had been an aspiring actor.
Unfortunately he had no talent at all for acting. Some people just
didn’t. At least he had been brave enough to try. The realization
that he wasn’t going to make it in the acting world had been hard
for Edwin, but he had dealt with it and took as many temporary jobs
as he could to fill in, until he found his one great passion.
Obviously he hadn’t found it yet.