Chapter 26
26
S adie watched through a veil of leaves and twigs as Julia and Grant ambled off, arm in arm. The conclusion of this whole mess—which had started, appropriately enough, with slimy ham and rancid mayo—had finally arrived. She’d been honest with Grant, whether he believed her or not, and she’d apparently succeeded in keeping him from quitting Surf Summer . Sadie would happily forfeit everything, even her own dream to be discovered, to be the one glued to Grant’s side, but that chance had passed. He needed to start his new life, his better life, without trying to love someone as broken and toxic as Sadie now knew herself to be.
Easing her body between the thin, spiky branches, she popped out onto the stone patio, a flutter of separated leaves and twigs tagging along in her wake. But before she’d taken two full steps down the path, a patter of voices arose behind her. Growing rapidly louder, the voices came from the exact direction in which Julia and Grant had exited. It also sounded like a man and a woman. Sadie wasn’t taking any chances. She wriggled her way back into her hedge hole.
“…I don't care though,” she heard the woman say. “I'm not missing this party.”
“But why wouldn’t she want you at her launch?” came the man’s reply.
Sadie sent up a prayer of gratitude that the voices didn’t belong to Julia or Grant. Still, she could hardly jump out of the bushes. She might give them a heart attack or get the police called on her. She would simply wait until they passed. Unfortunately, they halted no more than three feet from her hiding spot, trapping her for the time being.
The woman had medium-blonde hair and was as tall and pale as the man was short and dark. His back to Sadie, she saw only his pink polo shirt and khaki shorts. The woman, who faced Sadie, wore a lime green top made of some billowy fabric and so much make-up she might as well have rolled in it. Though not unattractive, her features were a little cartoonish, her eyes set a little too wide. There was something familiar about her, but Sadie was too busy listening to try to figure where she’d seen her face before.
For no reason Sadie could discern, the woman’s voice dropped a dozen decibels in answer to the man’s question about her being at the party. “Let’s just say I did her a favor the other day. A favor she needs kept secret.”
“Wait—Andrea—was that you in those photos?” the man asked.
The woman grinned and blinked theatrically as she pressed both hands over her heart. “You recognized moi? I swear you’re the first one—what with no make-up and my hair all wet.”
“Honey, I’m a hair and make-up artist. I see beneath the paint. And I’m going to need all the details.”
“Promise you won’t tell?”
“I’ll be as mum as that pig Ronny’s got rotating on a spit.”
The woman feigned indecision for a moment, then began in a confessional rush, her eyebrows dancing and her shoulders swishing to emphasize her story. “Julia got her posse together and told us she needed two things—first, to break up the #mudpuppies, and second, to make an insta-hero out of her new boy toy.”
An electric shock zipped through Sadie, and she forced back a gasp. They had to be talking about Grant, but who was this woman and what did she have to do with their third date?
“How were you supposed to do all that?” the man asked.
“Easy. She got Shasta and Suze and Teal to flirt with him and annoy that little China doll he took to the beach. Well, not just flirt,” she said, rolling her eyes, “they practically assaulted him!” Her head rolled to the side as she cackled. “We laughed so hard about it after my side still aches.”
“I didn’t see pictures of that,” the man said.
“You sure didn’t. Julia promised she’d keep cameras away so they could lay it on as thick as they wanted.” She giggled. “It wasn’t just thick—it was downright predatory!”
“Brilliant,” he said, clapping his hands. “So, your job was the hero creation?”
She nodded. “I swam all through college, so I knew I could safely pretend to drown even in that surf. He’s such a boy scout, we knew he’d be the one to save me. The waves were perfect for it. You should have seen the terror on that manchild’s face when he thought I’d gone under for the last time.”
She laughed again over the phrase ‘for the last time,’ and it was all Sadie could do to keep from leaping out of the bush, dragging the wench to the fountain, and acquainting her with how real drowning feels.
“It sure worked,” the man said. “He’s, like, a superhero now as far as the public is concerned. But no wonder Julia doesn’t want you here—he could recognize you.”
The woman blew out a dismissive raspberry. “He never would. Julia says he’s a few scenes shy of a full script. Besides, she’s not letting her pretty new pet off his short leash tonight. As long as I stay away from her, he’ll never see me. Once this movie’s filmed and in theaters, she’ll dump him like all the rest. C’mon. Let’s go get some of that pig on a stick—fake drownings make a girl hungry.”
After the pair left, Sadie freed herself once more from the prickly hedge. She could breathe now without worry of them overhearing, but the air felt thick, as if it clung to her lungs. A short walk offered an easy exit, but her feet stayed put as her mind whirled with the evil connect-the-dots of Julia’s betrayal and Sadie’s own inadvertent role in it.
No wonder Julia had suggested Be-Seen for the third date! The exclusivity of the place afforded her a great deal of control. The “overboard” women of Be-Seen Julia had described to Sadie in such detail were only there because Julia herself had sent them. She’d kept Ronny’s photographers away because she couldn’t risk Grant flirting back and spoiling his nice guy image. That could have sunk his career and their movie. No, only Sadie was supposed to see him flirting so she would—as instructed by Julia—stomp off in a huff. What better way to sabotage the relationship Julia thought was budding between Grant and her? Julia had even convinced Sadie to dress like a wrinkle-paranoid bag lady so she’d be as unattractive and weird-looking as possible!
In the end, the flirting hadn’t worked, but only because Grant had zero interest in those women. Afterward, Julia must have convinced Grant that Sadie had masterminded it all, because back at the fountain he’d accused Sadie of paying women to do something! The question had made as much sense as if he’d asked her what color six times four was, but now she understood, and no wonder he’d stood there with his hands over his eyes when she didn’t own up. What must he think of her?
Sometime after Sadie had fallen asleep under that umbrella, that horrible woman in the lime-colored top had pretended to drown, forcing Grant to risk his own life in that wild surf to save her! This part of Julia’s plan had worked beautifully. The trick fooled even Grant, and the other beachgoers served as Julia’s paparazzi. Everyone on that exclusive beach showed up to snap pics, boosting interest in Julia’s new surfing movie and her new #Baywatchbabe . The plan had even succeeded in sending Sadie storming away from the beach.
Sadie knew the truth at last, but what could she do? She couldn’t leave, not with Grant at the mercy of someone as awful as Julia. But if Julia spotted her at the party, she’d instantly be suspicious and command Ronny to kick her out. Ronny clearly liked Sadie but, given the choice between her and Julia…well, that was barely a choice. Julia was the star, and it was her movie launch party. Even if Sadie found a way to sneak in unnoticed, how could she convince Grant that Julia had tricked them both? Sadie had hardly shown herself to be trustworthy these past few weeks. She couldn’t just stroll up and expect Grant to believe her.
She needed a way to blend in, become invisible. For lack of a better plan, she walked back toward the driveway and the main gate. There had to be a way to warn him without being seen, but how?
Near the driveway, she spotted Dana, her co-worker from the deli, sitting on the grass in a set of green deli coveralls.
“Dana, what are you doing here?”
Dana squinted up as if seeing her from a mile away. Her forehead beaded with sweat and a sickly grey tinged her normally pale cheeks. “Oh. Hey, Sadie,” she said weakly. “I’ve seen you on the socials. Guess you finally got discovered like you wanted.”
Sadie’s shoulders tightened in a full-body cringe. “Don’t remind me.” She bent to look at Dana more closely. “Are you okay?”
She pressed a hand to her abdomen. “I ate some of the ham from work this morning, and now I don't feel so good. I didn't see your name on the overtime list though. Where’re your coveralls?”
“Overtime list?”
“That director guy, Mr. Widdy or whatever, he needed extra hands at his party, and I need the money.” She groaned. “Do you think I'm gonna die?”
Sadie straightened back up and looked around. “No. But I think you should go home.”
“I called my brother. He should be here soon.”
“Good.” The tendrils of an idea began to twine through Sadie’s mind. “So…Mr. Widner hired you to serve food here at the party, and you’re supposed to wear your deli coveralls?”
“Yeah. He thought they already looked retro. He even made the catering company servers wear them. They weren’t too happy.”
An entire lightbulb store of lightbulbs flicked on in Sadie’s head. Nothing disgusted her more than her work uniform, but becoming a formless green pepper again meant that none of the partygoers would pay her any attention, and especially not Julia. She would be blessedly invisible. “Hey, let me borrow your coveralls, and I’ll do your shift for you. I’ll even give you the money I make, okay?”
“You will? That’s so nice,” Dana said through heavy breaths. “I always thought you were nice.” She clutched her stomach. “Owwww.” She began unsnapping her uniform, and Sadie sat down next to her to help.
The oversized coveralls slid easily over Sadie’s outfit, but her distinctive hair could still give her away.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Dana said. Her brother had arrived and was helping her up from the ground. “The director guy wanted us to wear these ugly things too.”
She handed Sadie a brown paper grocery bag. Sadie opened it to find a large, floppy straw beach hat inside. Perfect!
Tucking her tell-tale hair up into the hat, Sadie wished Dana well and thanked her brother. She hurried off toward Ronny’s house, where she could see several other servers in colorful, retro-looking coveralls and straw hats standing behind a row of food and drink tables near the pool. As she neared, her feet sunk into sand and she remembered Ronny’s comment about the sand delivery.
All she needed now was a plan to prove to Grant what Julia had done, a plan as dastardly as Julia’s. Come to think of it, Julia had said she liked revenge served cold.