Chapter 106

Courtney Hollings looked far different than the last time Phil had seen her. Her hair was no longer bleached blonde and greasy. Instead she looked a lot like the girl he’d first met at the hotel almost a year earlier – with the exception that she was dressed similarly to Phil instead of a bikini.

She smiled at him when he walked into the comfortable room where she sat.

“Is this one of the sets?” Phil asked as he looked around. Courtney laughed aloud.

“No, this is just a lounge we can use,” she said, standing. Her hug surprised Phil. “Thanks for meeting with me. I really do appreciate it.”

“Uh, sure,” Phil said. “I’ve wanted to apologize to you. Things got too far out of hand and I know that now. I could have accomplished the same thing without destroying your reputation.”

“Just stop,” Courtney said, holding up a hand.

Phil fell silent.

“Yeah, it sucked to have my whole life out there for everyone,” she said. “Like you, I’ve had time to reflect on how things played out. You released nothing that was untrue. I made things up and passed them off as fact. It was more than the photos on the Internet. It was the rumors I started about you and your girlfriend. It was the rumor I started about Ryan Boatwright. I have always felt that I could do whatever I wanted and there would be no repercussions. You proved to me that I was wrong. I want to thank you for that.”

“You shouldn’t thank me for anything,” Phil asserted.

“No, hear me out, please,” Courtney continued. “You could have kept me destitute for the rest of my life. I had a slew of lawyers look at my contract with Lambswool. There were a few things I could have done. I could have done Broadway, except that I can’t sing a lick. I could have done walk-on roles on television. I think you knew that. You could have left me to showing up as a part-time performer on network TV. Instead you got me the lead on ‘Kismet’ and it is going to be wonderful. It’s got a great script and its cast is out of this world. The reason I wanted to talk to you is to thank you for this opportunity. I’m going to come out of this a lot better than I went in. I’m not only going to be in a better place as an actor, I’m actually a happier person.

“The nicer I am to people, the nicer they are back. I wish I could make things up to Ryan but he won’t even speak to me. I got the producer to offer him a role in ‘Kismet’ and he turned it down flat. He said he was going to give up acting and go to college. I’m going to take classes next spring. We won’t start shooting the second part until next fall. We’re going to go two full years between releases because the author is planning to crank out more books. What started out as a trilogy might be as many as six or seven movies all with the same lead character – me. Is that cool or what?”

“I’m glad you’ve been able to put things behind you and move forward,” Phil said sincerely. “You know, the night we had pizza – before I had any idea of your fame – I thought you were someone looking for her place in the world. You seemed like a typical teenager who was unsure of what came next for her. I know I came off as a total dick when I talked to you on the phone.”

“You didn’t placate my ego,” Courtney interrupted. “You told me the truth. I wasn’t the most popular person on campus. I wasn’t the richest or even the most famous. You weren’t the only person who told me that. Dr. Fayez told me the same thing. I couldn’t deal with it. I wasn’t ready to admit that I’m just a person. I’m not special. That’s helped me a lot over the past few months. I was accustomed to having every want and whim met immediately. I had treated directors and producers and casting agents terribly. I was a total diva.

“I know the director on ‘Kismet’ balked at casting me. He threatened to walk off the set if the casting director didn’t budge. He threw a fit when the producer told him that the cast was set and I was in. I know that had to come from you. Now he thinks I’m a completely different person. I show up on time and I knew my lines when we did the read-throughs. I even took the crew out to lunch yesterday. It was fun. We talked and joked about some of the other movies they’ve worked on. They’re really great people. I had never taken the time to get to know anyone on the crew. They were just nameless and faceless parts. I treated them no differently than I treated a prop sofa on the set. Now I want to know about their kids and their spouses. That’s your influence. I ... I watched you and Hailey on campus.

“You knew everyone. It didn’t matter if they were rich or popular. If you didn’t know them, one of your circle of friends did. That’s why nothing stuck to you. First off, it was all bullshit but mostly it was because you had treated everyone pretty well on campus. Oh sure, there were a few people who were jealous of you. Some didn’t like you because you landed Hailey. Others were unhappy because Hailey landed you. Others were pissed because of how much money you have and because your parents are influential. You can put me down as guilty on all counts.”

“I know if I had handled things better at the beginning we probably would be friends.” Phil said.

“We have a chance for that now,” Courtney offered. “I know I’ll never be a part of your inner circle but I would really like it if you could find it in your heart to be friends with the new me.”

“I think I can safely say that we – my friends and I – look forward to it,” Phil said with a smile.

Hailey put the final touches on the food tray just as the intercom buzzed. She knew who it was and she wasn’t interested in hurrying over.

“I’ll get it,” Lisa offered. She pushed the button to answer.

“Uh, hi, I’m looking for Hailey,” the female voice intoned. “It’s Alexa. She invited me over.”

“I’ll send the elevator down,” Lisa said. She rolled her eyes at the rest of the room. Her husband and the apartment’s other occupants were there, of course, but so were most of Phil’s other friends. Mitchell Drew was in for the weekend and he delayed his return to school until after the sort-of party.

Ann Pullman and Rachel Railey were also there, holding hands and happy as can be. Several of the “Children of the Cornbread” had dropped their plans when invited, including Aaron Feldman. Beth Thomas and her sister, Emma, had driven up on short notice and so had Taylor Ramsey, Emma’s new boyfriend. He came to support his teammate but also to see his girlfriend for the first time since school let out. Emma was happy that there was no animosity between her old boyfriend (Aaron) and her new one.

The biggest surprises in the room were Danielle and Madison Barton. They had called Saturday afternoon just to chat and had booked a flight immediately when they heard of Hailey’s plans.

All eyes turned to the door when the elevator dinged. Lisa took it upon herself to open the door and Alexa entered. She looked around at all the people. Hailey had told her that it would be a “small gathering, nothing extravagant.” Now she saw more than 20 people standing and looking at her.

“You must be Alexa Coleman,” Lisa said from the girl’s left. “I’m Lisa Finley.”

“Uh, hi,” Alexa said. “I, uh, I thought this would just be, I don’t know, casual.”

She noticed that no one was dressed in eveningwear. They were all in shorts and pullovers, just as she was dressed. She saw the food was just finger food and she relaxed. She wasn’t being set up to be embarrassed.

“Oh, it’s casual,” Lisa assured her with a hand on the newcomer’s shoulder. “We’re all friends. Hailey said you were alone here and it just sort of snowballed. Let me introduce you around. I think you know Hailey, of course, and I think you’ve met Tiffany, Molly and Katelyn.”

“Not me!” Molly said brightly. “I was on stage when she met the rest of the crew.”

Alexa was entranced by the redhead’s lilting Irish speech pattern.

“I’m Molly Kelly,” she said, extending her hand. Alexa noticed the smile on the woman’s face didn’t reach her eyes.

“I’m Danielle Barton,” a fresh voice said. “This is my sister, Madison. We just flew in from North Carolina for a few days.”

The name Barton hit Alexa’s ears and she reddened. Lisa moved her to a different group of people before Alexa could recover. Lisa Finley (nee Xiaojing Chen) relished her role. She had always treasured the friendship Phil Warner had with her boyfriend and now husband, Scott. Theirs had been a friendship of equals, despite the fact that there was nothing remotely equal about the two friends. Phil was rich and connected. Scott was poor and without influence. Still, Phil had never lorded over Scott and Lisa. He had never acted superior. Even now, when the differences were far starker than in their teens, Phil was just Phil.

The only time she had gotten a real idea of how powerful he was (via his parents) was when her father had lost his mind a few months earlier. He had immediately stepped up and held things together until she and Scott could get their feet on the ground.

Now her father was in prison and her mother was dating again. She had secretly hoped her mother might find solace with Scott’s father but that wasn’t to be. Chet Finley’s anger at his ex-wife still ran deep and there was no chance of him reconnecting with a woman.

Lisa had looked for a chance to repay Phil for everything he’d done for them and for their son, Liam. Phil had always said he did things because Liam was his godson. Lisa knew it was because Phil was a hell of a good person. She had jumped at the chance to help Hailey – and she had insisted that she be the one who explained the facts of life to Alexa Coleman.

Once the introductions were complete, she directed Alexa to a quiet corner.

“I don’t know you and you don’t know me,” Lisa said, never taking her hand off Alexa’s upper arm. “So there is no history for us to parse through. I’m going to give it to you straight and that’s all.”

“I don’t understand,” Alexa said, feigning ignorance.

“Then what I’m going to tell you won’t make any sense,” Lisa continued unabated. “Frankly, I doubt anything I say will make a bit of difference anyway but I’m honor bound to try to save you from yourself. So, here goes.”

Alexa tried to pull away but Lisa tightened her grip. She was deceptively strong for her size and pain shot through Alexa’s arm when she tried to pull away.

“I’ve known Phil since I was 12 years old,” Lisa said, ignoring the struggling young woman she’d literally backed into a corner. “He’s the nicest guy in the world, when you discount my husband and son. Phil Warner has helped every single person in this room in some way. There is no one here now who wouldn’t give up everything he or she has if Phil was in trouble. That’s the sort of guy he is.

“But he is not a guy you fuck with. I know you’ve heard all about Courtney Hollings and her problems in college. You know about those because she made a run at people Phil feels strongly about. My father went from being a prominent physician to being an inmate because he chose to try to harm someone Phil feels strongly about. If you think I’m kidding you, wait until the end of the month and see what happens to the mayor. They just decided she’s outlived her usefulness. He has torn down people with a lot more influence than the daughter of a disgraced former Congressman.”