Lauren Weisberger 3-Book Collection: Everyone Worth Knowing, Chasing Harry Winston, Last Night at Chateau Marmont. Lauren Weisberger
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СКАЧАТЬ Our friendship.’ This was getting worse with every passing second, and I decided that no matter how nice it was to hear his voice, nothing good could come from continuing the conversation.

      ‘Oh, Bette, I almost forgot to tell you! I spoke to Amy and she okayed you guys having Bungalow that night. It’s in the books and there’s no problem whatsoever. She just has a few requests for some of her people that she’d like included on the list, but otherwise you’ll control the guest list entirely. She almost never agrees to that. Perfect, right?’

      ‘Wow!’ I said with forced enthusiasm. ‘That’s really great news. Thanks so much!’

      Some girls started giggling in the background, one of them saying his name a few times, obviously trying to get his attention.

      ‘Well, duty calls. I better get back to work. Good talking to you, Bette. And thanks for being so understanding about today. Can I call you tomorrow? To, uh, discuss the other details?’

      ‘Sure, sure, that’d be great,’ I said quickly, eager to hang up since Will had just walked back in, and he had ominously placed a sheet of paper in his lap. ‘I’ll talk to you then. Bye.’

      ‘Was that your boyfriend?’ Will asked, picking up his drink again and settling back into the chair.

      ‘No,’ I sighed, reaching for my own martini. ‘It most definitely was not.’

      ‘Well, not to rain on this little party here, but you’ll have to read it at some point.’ He cleared his throat and picked up the sheet. ‘By Ellie Insider. She writes a paragraph about her trip to Los Angeles last week and all the movie stars with whom she partied. That’s followed by a short ditty concerning her immense popularity with designers, to the point where they all clamor to dress her for events. We’re up next. It’s short, but not sweet. “Since any friend of Philip Weston’s is a friend of ours, we realized we didn’t know much about his new girlfriend, Bette Robinson. We do know that she’s a graduate of Emory University, an ex-employee of UBS Warburg, and the new darling of Kelly & Company PR, but did you know that she’s also the niece of columnist Will Davis? The once-favored arbiter of all things Manhattan has, admittedly, become a bit passé, but what must he think of his niece’s very public antics? We’re willing to guess he’s less than pleased.” That’s all she wrote,’ Will said softly, calmly tossing the paper aside.

      I instantly had a queasy feeling, as though I’d just awakened from a nude-in-the-high-school-cafeteria dream. ‘Oh, my god, Will, I’m so sorry. The last thing I ever wanted was to drag you into this. And what she said about your column is patently untrue,’ I lied.

      ‘Oh, Bette, darling, do shut up. We both know she’s exactly right. But you can’t control what these people write, so let’s not worry about it for another moment. Come, let’s dine.’ He said all the right words, but the tension in his face said something else, and I was left with an odd feeling of sadness and nostalgia for the way things had been before my new and improved life.

       14

      ‘Tell me again why your mother is throwing you a going-away dinner when she’s so pissed you’re moving?’ I asked Penelope. After a full day of list-checking and sponsor-calling for the BlackBerry party – which was now only four days away – it seemed like everything was shaping up nicely, and I’d retreated to Penelope’s in the hope of discussing something, anything, that wasn’t related to publicity. I was flopped on the floor of the bedroom that Avery and Penelope now shared, although it didn’t appear that Avery had compromised much on combining their stuff: the king-sized waterbed rested on an imposing black platform, a frat boy–style black leather couch ate up what little room remained, and the only item that could qualify as ‘decor’ was an oversized and slightly discolored lava lamp. The apartment’s pièce de résistance, however, was a fifty-five-inch plasma screen that hung from the living room wall. According to Penelope, Avery didn’t know how to wash a dish or launder a pair of socks, but he carefully detailed his flat-screen with special nonabrasive cleaning solution every weekend. The last time I’d been over I’d heard Avery instruct Penelope to ‘tell the maid to keep that surface cleaner away from my flatty. That shit fucks up the screen. I swear to God, if I see her go near my TV with that can of Lysol, she’s gonna be looking for a new job.’ Penelope had smiled indulgently, as if to say ‘Boys will be boys.’ She was currently packing Avery’s clothes in the Louis Vuitton suitcases his parents had bought them for their engagement-party trip to Paris while simultaneously bitching about the dinner that was to be held in their honor that night. I didn’t inquire why Avery couldn’t pack his own clothes.

      ‘You’re asking me? She said something asinine about “keeping up appearances” or something like that. Honestly, I think she didn’t have anything else scheduled for tonight and couldn’t bear the thought of staying home.’

      ‘That’s a really positive way of looking at it.’ The empty bag in my hand reminded me that I’d just plowed through sixteen ounces of Red Hots in twelve minutes flat. My mouth alternated between numb and tingly, but that never slowed me down.

      ‘It’s going to suck and you know it. The best I’m hoping for right now is tolerable. What the hell is this?’ she mumbled, holding up a bright blue T-shirt with yellow lettering that read I DO MY OWN NUDE SCENES. ‘Eww! Do you think he’s ever worn this?’

      ‘Probably. Toss it.’

      She threw it in the garbage. ‘Are you sure you don’t hate me for making you come tonight?’

      ‘Pen! I hate you for moving, not for inviting me to your going-away dinner. I mean, I’m not exactly complaining about your parents picking up the tab for dinner at the Grill Room. What time should I get there?’

      ‘Whenever. It starts at eight-thirty or so. Come a few minutes early, maybe, so we can do shots in the bathroom?’ She smiled wickedly. ‘I’m seriously considering bringing a flask. Is that bad? Ick. Not as bad as these …’ This time she held up a pair of faded, well-worn boxers with a none-too-subtle arrow in fluorescent pink pointing directly to the crotch.

      ‘A flask is definitely in order. What am I going to do without you?’ I moaned pathetically. I had not yet come to terms with the idea that Penelope, who’d been my best – and only – girlfriend for the past ten years, was moving across the country.

      ‘You’ll be fine,’ she said, sounding more certain than I would’ve liked. ‘­You’ve got Michael and Megu and your whole new crew at work, and you’ve got a boyfriend now.’

      It sounded weird for her to mention Michael, considering we almost never saw him anymore.

      ‘Puh-lease. Michael has Megu. The “crew” at work is precisely that – a bunch of people with mysterious access to huge piles of cash and a penchant for spending it on lots and lots of alcohol. As for the boyfriend remark, well, I’m not even going to dignify that.’

      ‘Where’s my favorite girl?’ Avery called right after the front door slammed. ‘I’ve been waitin’ all day to get home and get that cute ass of yours into bed!’

      ‘Avery, shut up!’ she called, appearing only slightly embarrassed. ‘Bette’s here!’

      But it was too late. He’d already shown up in the doorway, shirtless, with his jeans unbuttoned and unzipped to reveal lime green seersucker boxers.

      ‘Oh, СКАЧАТЬ