West Hollywood was a grid of wide boulevards and narrow residential streets. The neighbourhood also had a concentration of the most avant-garde restaurants in Los Angeles (rivalled only by the burgeoning restaurant scene Downtown). So it was little wonder this was the neighbourhood of choice for the entertainment industry’s up-and-comers. Producers, directors, writers and aspiring actors called this area home, or so Jay informed me.

Taming the wisps of hair that whipped around my face in the cool evening air, I managed a side glance at Jay, wondering again what he was doing here, in this town, in this scene. He looked every bit the part of a Hollywood star. Jay conversed effortlessly, pointing out landmarks and telling stories, a stark contrast to our first car ride together, in which he’d seemed barely able to construct a sentence. Tonight, he seemed relaxed.

‘So what’s this place like? Will the lighting be harsh on my skin?’ I said, studying my arm, paranoia at an all-time high.

‘Relax, I’ve called ahead and organised for you to be slipped in through the back entrance, through the kitchen under a blanket.’

‘Oh, ha-ha,’ I said.

‘You look fine,’ he said, but I really wanted him to tell me I looked beautiful like the first time; geez, when had I become so needy?

‘Why do you care so much anyway?’ Jay asked. ‘Your manager, the audition, sure, but why is drinks with your friends worth stressing over?’

I scoffed. He really had no idea.

‘They’re not my friends.’

Jay flicked me a glance. ‘What?’ he smirked.

‘I don’t even think I like any of these people and, truth be known, I actually feel physically ill at the thought of catching up with them tonight.’

Jay stared at me, confusion evident on his face. He studied me until the car behind us honked to let us know the lights had changed. Jay quickly moved into gear.

‘Okay, so let me get this straight: not only do you have lunch dates with people you don’t like, you have drinks with them too?’

‘Well, yeah, same girl you met at lunch, Sienna Bailey and the “LA Family”.’

‘The LA Family?’

Oh, I really should stop talking. As the words tumbled out of my mouth, they sounded juvenile and ridiculous. But how would someone outside of this world understand the need to network, which, more often than not, meant socialising with people you didn’t even like.

‘I know it sounds crazy,’ I said, looking down and smoothing my dress across my lap. I really didn’t want to get into the dynamics of the LA Family, especially to Jay. At this point I really just wanted him to drop me off so I could get this night over with, and be left to stress about my meeting with Ziggy tomorrow. Best to just focus on one thing at a time.

I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I know we had a private booking – Sienna had ensured me as much. But what did that mean? Would I wink at the doorman as he unlinked a velvet rope for me? I had no idea how it worked.

Luckily, Jay seemed to pick up on my terrified energy and took the lead. He parked the car across the street and, without a word, slid out from the driver’s side and made his way around to my door. If he hadn’t opened it up for me I probably wouldn’t have moved from my seat. There was a long queue outside and a couple of men with cameras lingering nearby, waiting for a newsworthy shot. I was very much a nobody, able to skim through the crowds in obscurity, although I was sure that certain members of the LA Family wouldn’t be as lucky. Knowing them, they wouldn’t care. Whether it was a protective measure or Jay thought I was actually more of a big deal than I was, he led me away from the paps loitering down the street, and I laughed.

‘Good idea – imagine how the tan would look under flashlight.’

But Jay didn’t laugh, instead marching me across the street until we were safely curb-side. Looking down the street and over his shoulder, he was one earpiece away from being a bodyguard; were we in a dodgy part of town? My smile dimmed, seeing the trademark serious façade slam down over Jay’s previously relaxed demeanour.

‘What’s wrong?’

Jay’s focus shifted back to me and he tried to force a smile. ‘No, nothing. So you think you’ll be right from here?’

‘Sure, I’ll just join the queue and name-drop at the door.’

He nodded in hesitant approval, but he didn’t seem happy about it. Glancing down the street once more, he seemed eager to leave.

‘Thanks for the ride. I’ll find my own way back,’ I said, but it fell on deaf ears.

‘Okay,’ he said, stepping away without so much as a ‘see ya’. I would have been a bit offended had a deafening squeal from behind us not completely destabilised me.

‘There you are!’ Sienna Bailey’s heels clicked to a run – well, the closest thing to a run as she could manage in her skin-tight skirt – wrapping her arms around me. ‘I am so happy to see you,’ she said, pulling back and cupping my face as if she was committing it to memory, before her eyes lifted and her face brightened. ‘And you brought Jay, awesome!’ She beamed, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him, closer and longer than she did me.

Jay’s eyes shifted to mine, his horror evident, as if he were a fly caught in a spider web, which was not so far from the reality of the situation. Before he could protest, Sienna slipped her hand into his and grabbed mine, dragging us into motion.

‘You’re going to love this place – it has some of the finest views of LA,’ she said, hauling us past the long line of patiently waiting customers and straight up to the doorman.

‘Leon Denero party.’

And as if she had summoned him by magic, Leon appeared from behind us, on his phone, nodding at the doorman in a ‘what’s up’ gesture as his bodyguard barked at the crowd to keep their distance. I felt Jay’s hand at my back, guiding me inside as the doorman stepped aside, allowing us in just as the paps starting yelling for Leon’s attention.

‘Leon, man, right here, brother! Come on, give us a wave, yeah?’

‘Leon, Leon, are you excited for the next Hero Squad movie?’

‘Leon, are the rumours true? Did Mexico happen?’

It was fast and confusing, much like the plotless movies Leon was linked to, but he didn’t flinch at the attention; he simply smiled wolfishly. ‘What happens in Mexico stays in Mexico.’ He winked, leading his entourage, which somehow included Jay and me, into the bar.

‘You can go if you want,’ I said in a low voice, feeling terrible for subjecting him to a world he was clearly repelled by.

‘Ah, yeah, about that,’ he said, glancing down at Sienna’s arm, firmly linked through his, pulling him into the restaurant.

‘Fashionably late,’ called out Dion Preston, moving from his position at the bar and heading towards Leon.

‘You know it, brother.’ He laughed as they slapped hands and bumped fists in the most elaborately choreographed handshake I had ever seen. Disappointingly, it didn’t end with a synchronised chest bump. I wished I could telepathically communicate with Jay to gauge what he was thinking about all this, yet his sneaky little brow rise clearly said, ‘What fresh hell is this?’ And I kind of adored him for it.

Billie assured me that there was no chance that Jay was going to get starstruck anytime soon, which made him the perfect, if reluctant, wingman. Much to his surprise, I linked my arm through his, the other side still occupied by Sienna, who appeared to have permanently fused herself to him. Meanwhile, Leon worked the waiting group inside with more secret handshakes and back slaps.

‘Leon, these are the two I was telling you about,’ Sienna called out over the noise, but Leon didn’t seem to hear her, or didn’t want to.

‘Oh, man, it’s so loud in here.’ She laughed, waving at her face as if the temperature was also a factor. ‘Be back in a sec,’ she said, squeezing Jay’s arm and weaving away from us. We simply stood at the bar, watching on as the clique chatted around us. I felt hugely deflated, and very insignificant.

I now knew better than to make a judgement in the first few minutes of meeting someone; I mean, I had judged Jay and had since learned he wasn’t quite so bad after all. But I couldn’t help it; Leon Denero seemed like a complete douche.

‘Why is he wearing sunglasses? It’s night-time.’

A huge grin spread across my face as I peered up at Jay. ‘Must be all those paparazzi lightbulbs out front,’ I said.

‘What’s the bet he tipped them off that he was going to be here?’

‘Surely not.’

Jay shook his head as he looked at me. ‘So naive, so innocent,’ he teased.

‘Yeah, well, some things I don’t want to know,’ I said, looking on as Sienna lingered next to Leon. She was yet to gain his attention as he spoke to his ‘boys’, who were all laughing and lapping up his conversation.

Jay grabbed my arm and guided me towards the bar. ‘There’s only one way to get through a night like this.’

‘But you’re driving.’

‘Not me, you.’ He laughed, slapping his palms on the marble bar before drawing the attention of the barman, who slid us over some drink menus.

‘Hey, look, this one’s for you,’ Jay said, a line drawing between his brows in concentration. ‘Mediterranean sunset, to match your tan,’ he joked.

I tilted my head, squinting at his utter hilarity, before studying the menu myself. ‘Wow, this place is made for us; look, you can get an ale called “Arrogant Bastard”. You sure you don’t want a drink?’

Jay’s mouth lifted a little in the corner, as he pretended to ignore me.

‘Hey, can I have a bottle of Rosé Perrier for the woman?’ Leon’s voice rang out over all others as he slid in next to Jay and ordered the thirteen-hundred-dollar bottle for his ‘woman’ whom he suddenly realised existed. It appeared he now registered our existence, too, looking our way and dipping his shades. ‘Hey, you’re that chick.’

‘And you’re that guy,’ I said, wondering where exactly this stimulating conversation was leading.

‘You’re Sienna’s bestie from Oz,’ he said, but he was directing his conversation to Jay while he sized him up.

‘We used to work togeth—’

‘Hey, man, I’m Leon.’ He cut off my words, holding out his hand to Jay, who took it and shook it slowly, old school-style. ‘Sorry, I didn’t catch yours.’

Jay smirked. ‘I didn’t throw it.’

Something flashed in Leon’s eyes before he burst out laughing, shaking his finger. ‘Heeey, I like you.’

Before Jay could respond, Sienna moved between them. ‘Here you all are, my favourite people.’

‘Yeah, just speaking with the mystery man here,’ Leon sneered, hooking his arm over Sienna, who could only laugh.

‘This is Abby’s boyfriend, Jay, he’s the owner of the Saloon on Sunset – you know, the place I was telling you about?’ Sienna looked at him, imploring him to remember, no doubt like so many things she had told him.

‘Oh yeah, right, I love that place. Haven’t been there in a while, but hey, we might have to change that. Do you think you can hook us up with some VIP treatment?’ Leon winked, grabbing the bottle and glasses.

Jay didn’t say a word, watching as Leon moved away.

Then Leon stopped and turned, clearly perplexed. ‘Have we met before?’

Jay shrugged. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Maybe you guys met at the Saloon?’ Sienna added helpfully.

Leon’s stare was unmoving. ‘No, that’s not it.’

‘Guess I just have one of those faces.’ Jay smiled.

‘Yeah, you really do,’ Sienna nodded.

‘Hey, grab your drinks and head upstairs – we’ll teach you what VIP is all about. You might even pick up some tips for the Saloon, J-Man.’ Leon laughed, signalling to his posse to make a move. I could feel Jay’s body tighten next to me as he turned to the waiting barman.

‘One arrogant bastard.’

‘A beer?’ The barman questioned.

Jay breathed out a laugh. ‘No, just an observation.’