Page 6 of Scripted for Love and Poison (Sol and Luke Mystery #2)
“ T hese heels are eight inches high, so you need to promise to be by my side all night. I need you as my extremely handsome walking accessory. I would literally fall to my face otherwise,” Sol told Luke, gripping his arm and walking much slower than her usual brisk pace.
They’d landed in Los Angeles less than twenty-four hours before.
She’d incessantly grumbled because her suitcase still hadn’t been recovered.
Yet she’d managed to find a party dress in which she looked even sexier than in the one she’d originally packed.
She kept complaining that the black slip dress she was presently wearing was too simple and a bit too sheer.
Luke didn’t agree with the first part and had absolutely no problems with the second.
He’d put on the suit she’d selected for him in London and was now escorting her to the entrance of the hangar in the Santa Monica Airport to attend the awards ceremony they’d come to Los Angeles for.
He was still surprised that such a lavish and glamorous party was taking place in such an odd location.
One that seemed hardly equipped for the throngs of celebrities descending on the red carpet.
He was taken aback by security that could be described at best as lax and at worst as neglectful.
The all-clad-in-black team at the entrance had barely checked the two printed invitations Sol had produced out of her clutch, and Luke had the feeling anyone dressed in the right way and who had the right attitude would easily slip through unnoticed.
Things didn’t get much better once they were inside the venue.
Of course, as a Londoner, he was somewhat used to the odd occurrence of bumping into Peter Dinklage after having breakfast in a popular spot in Notting Hill, seeing Felicity Jones making her way out of a West End theater, or even chatting to Emma Thompson at his regular yoga studio.
What Luke wasn’t prepared for was the sheer number of so-called celebrities currently together under the same roof in a too-densely-populated room where actors and popular filmmakers were prey to many journalists wanting a word, a picture, or even a hug.
“I think I just stepped on Kiefer Sutherland’s foot by accident,” Luke whispered in Sol’s ear, abashed.
“I know, it’s crazy. This is way too packed,” Sol told him, her eyes scanning the room avidly.
“I tried apologizing, but he left with the same stealthiness he’d used to end up under my foot.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, absentmindedly.
“Are you looking for Simon?” Luke suddenly also felt compelled to check the room for the missing critic, following her gaze.
“Who?” Sol asked. “Oh, Simon. No, I was looking for Greta Gerwig, actually. She’s nominated for Barbie , and I’m dying to see her. ”
“But you remember we promised Julie we’d look for Simon, right?” Luke asked her, amused.
“ You promised her. I merely facilitated the conversation.” She glanced up at him, the corner of her mouth lifting coyly.
He was about to tell her how gorgeous she looked and kiss her, but they were unfortunately interrupted by a petite, middle-aged woman making rapid progress toward them and talking in a shrill tone.
“Sol Novo! You didn’t tell me you were coming!” the woman screamed while still more than two meters away, and that got Sol’s attention.
“Claudia! I didn’t know you’d be here!” Sol said in a similar tone.
For the second day in a row, Luke was surprised by an aspect of his partner’s personality he’d still not learned about.
Her English had become louder. Her statements suddenly sounded like questions, and her accent had turned to pure California Uptalk.
It was as if she was a different Sol, one he hadn’t been exposed to before.
But unlike her frequent-flier persona, Luke was somewhat charmed by this California Girl Sol. “But of course you came,” Sol added.
“I come every year. Don’t you?” the woman named Claudia said, hugging Sol and eyeing Luke with an appreciative stare.
“This is the first year I’ve come since I left LA, actually,” Sol explained. “It’s so far from London ...”
“Nonsense! But you need to introduce me to this eye candy of a man by your side,” Claudia said.
“This is my partner, Luke. He’s a private investigator,” said Sol. “Luke, this is Claudia Hopkins. She was my editor and manager at Performance Weekly , where she still works as an executive editor. ”
“Nice meeting you,” said Luke, going to shake Claudia’s hand. But she dismissed him, clapping him on the shoulder with the tip of her encrusted clutch instead.
“Oh my god! That accent!” said Claudia in an even louder tone. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming and that you had a hot British boyfriend!”
“Not my boyfriend,” said Sol. “Luke’s my romantic partner.”
“Tomato, tomahto. No wonder you don’t want to leave London, though!” Claudia continued, and Luke was starting to get annoyed by her brazen personality and the fact that he could sense Sol’s discomfort. “And you said he’s a private investigator ... That sounds naughty.”
“Luke co-owns an agency in London with quite the success rate in high-profile entertainment cases, actually,” Sol said.
“He does, huh?” said Claudia. “It’s a pity you’re so attached to London, because the right position just opened up, and I would offer it to you on the spot.”
“Now I’m intrigued,” said Sol, and Luke could see her thinking behind a veil of perfect composure and nonchalance.
“Travis is finally retiring,” said Claudia. “And we’re looking for an experienced TV reviewer with a personal point of view to replace him. And, of course, I thought of you immediately!”
“Thanks. That’s so ...” Sol was apparently too flustered to find the right words. “Will you send me the job posting so that I can take a look? It sounds so—interesting.”
“Sending it right this moment.” Claudia took her oversized iPhone and a pair of equally big and bold reading glasses out of her minuscule clutch, and she started typing.
“ There, I sent it. But the position is going to be based in Los Angeles—New York perhaps, for the right candidate—and I’m not sure you want to lose sight of this cutie. ”
Sol fake laughed uncomfortably, and Luke imitated her, but he could sense her body going stiff.
“Listen, we need to go grab a drink, as I can’t do these things sober, but I’m so glad we bumped into you,” Sol said, her California drawl fully on. “And thanks for thinking about me!”
“Nonsense! You’d be doing us a favor. But you can’t leave yet, because I haven’t told you all the gossip!”
“What gossip?” Luke could see Sol was reaching the end of her limited patience with Claudia, even if the editor was seemingly offering her a job.
“Simon. Smith. Has. Gone. Missing,” said Claudia, getting closer to them and exaggeratingly enunciating each word. “Rumor has it that he pissed someone off again with one of his incendiary reviews and finally got what he’d been asking for for years.”
“You can’t mean to say someone made him disappear because he dissed their movie?” asked Luke, full of curiosity.
“Look at you, sexy and sneaky!” said Claudia, bumping Luke’s shoulder again with her clutch and looking at him with eyes that could almost be described as appreciative.
“But you seriously should read what he wrote about Haughty Horizons . I would have killed him if he said that about a movie I’d written and directed after spending ten years developing it like Victor Lago has. ”
“Wow, yes,” Sol said. “I’d forgotten he’d been developing it for forever.”
“But enough about Simon. Where did you two meet?” Claudia suddenly changed subjects just when things were starting to get interesting.
“London, of course. But we’re going to go get that drink now. I loved seeing you,” Sol said, putting an abrupt end to the conversation. She grabbed Luke’s arm and steered him away from the editor in the direction of the bar.
“Why are we moving away from the woman who could have given us more information about Simon Smith and was offering you a job?” Luke murmured into Sol’s ear, guiding her through the sea of people, an arm around her waist.
“Because I can’t stand the woman!” Sol brushed his neck with her nose as she spoke.
“She was offering you a job.” He tried navigating around the incoming celebrities and their considerable entourages surrounding them in all directions.
“And I’ll take a look at it, but she’s literally one of the reasons why I hate her profession so much, so forgive me if I tell you that if she is going to be my boss again, the offer doesn’t sound too enticing,” Sol said. “And that was before she said I’d have to move back here.”
Luke had always been supportive when it came to Sol’s career, but he had to admit he also hadn’t liked the idea of a job that would take her away from London. Even if the position, to him, had sounded perfectly fine, and he didn’t want to be the reason she wouldn’t contemplate it.
“She seemed to have some information on Simon.” Luke continued whispering in Sol’s ear while they were still moving toward the bar.
“We’re in a room full of journalists. It’s going to be easy to find someone else who babbles.
News travels fast in this sector, and the best thing is, you don’t even have to pry people for information.
Everyone is probably already hammered and loves gossiping.
The food is not only not good, and I wouldn’t recommend having any of it, but there’s really not that much to begin with.
But everybody knows there’s plenty of free booze,” Sol said.
“Plus, the woman was annoying me even more than usual. She was getting handsy with you.”
Luke couldn’t repress his smug smile.