Lola

 

The night had been a quiet one. As much as Lola needed the rest, she had been hoping it wouldn’t be. She had held her breath in bed, waiting for Bishop to call and apologize or find a way to break into her hotel room and ravish her once again. He would apologize for being such an ass, beg her to forgive him, and then they would sit down and figure out just what they were going to do about the baby.

 

She had no doubt in her mind that she was keeping it. Pregnancy would restrict her stage time after a few months, but she could use a vacation. Lola could do what countless other celebrities had done and sell the first photos of her child to the highest bidder which would continue her income stream even if she wasn’t actively touring or recording.

 

But she didn’t want to have to do this alone. Her status and her wealth meant that she could hire help, but that wasn’t the same as having the father of her child at her side, even if it was only part-time. But since Bishop didn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore, that just wasn’t possible. Lola had once again made her own decisions, and she was the only person who would have to deal with them. And fortunately, she was heading back to California in the afternoon, which was surprisingly a much more peaceful place to deal with things than Rolling Hills was.

 

A knock sounded on the door that led into the next suite. “Good morning, sunshine! Are you ready for makeup yet?”

 

Lola picked up the extra pillow on the bed and put it over her face. “No.”

 

“You don’t even sound like you’re out of bed.”

 

“I’m not.”

 

Brittany opened the door and charged into the room. She was already completely ready, her makeup and hair perfect. But of course, that was the benefit of being a makeup artist. She yanked the covers off the bed and pulled Lola into an upright position. “Things aren’t going to get any better if you just lie there. Come on. The sooner you get up and get ready, the sooner we can get out of here.”

 

There was some truth in what she said, and so Lola consented to taking a quick shower. She sat in a chair in front of the mirror and let Brittany style her hair and dab layers of foundation and eyeshadow on her face. “Nothing too fancy today.”

 

“Don’t tell me you’re just going for the jeans and T-shirt look again. I hope I haven’t ruined your sense of style.”

 

“It’s not that. I’ve got some things to do before we head to the airport, and I don’t want to look like I’m ready to go onstage.”

 

Brittany smiled and picked up her eyeshadow palette. “Not a problem! I’m as flexible as a contortionist when it comes to makeup styles.”

 

An hour later, with skin that almost looked airbrushed and subtle shades of blue and brown around her eyes, Lola showed up at the hospital once again. Since everyone already knew she was here, she consented to letting Butch come with her. He was the only bodyguard she had left, and he hadn’t had any luck in finding someone local to help out.

 

Butch followed behind her at a courteous distance, watching over her without interfering. He waited outside her father’s hospital room when she went in, and Lola found that she was almost comforted by his presence. Butch wasn’t a perfect person. He worked too closely with Vic when it came to managing her and making decisions for her, but he always did it out of a genuine concern. He and Brittany just might be the only people she could still rely on.

 

“What are you doing back here?” Mrs. Dodson snapped as Lola shut the door behind her. “I thought I made my feelings quite clear.”

 

“That’s always been a particular talent of yours, Mom,” Lola said with a gracious smile. “And I like to think that I’ve inherited at least a few of your genes so that I can do the same thing.”

 

“If you’re just here to upset your father, then you can turn around and leave. There’s nothing you have to say that we want to hear.”

 

Lola pressed her lips together. It was hard to keep her temper in front of her mom, but she would have to for just a little bit longer. “I think you might want to.”

 

Mrs. Dodson started to protest once again, but her husband interrupted. “Just let her speak,” he said softly. “There’s nothing she can say to hurt me, Angela.”

 

When they seemed ready to listen, Lola started in. She knew she had to get it all out at once, or she might never have a chance to say the words again. “I want the two of you to know that I’m pregnant. As I’m sure you can imagine, it wasn’t expected. But that doesn’t mean I’m not happy about it. I plan to bring this child into the world and raise it to live a healthy and happy life. I know you guys don’t really want to have anything to do with me. But just as you, Mom, felt an obligation to tell me about Dad’s heart attack, I feel an obligation to tell you about your grandchild.”

 

“Who’s the father?”

 

Lola had paused just long enough to let him get that question in. Seeing her own father lying there, with the white sheets puckered around him and the numerous wires sticking out of his hospital gown, Lola couldn’t deny him an answer to his question. Not quite, anyway. “A friend of mine.” It seemed a better answer than explaining the random biker whom she’d become entangled with the last time she’d come home. There was a level of complication to that which she knew her parents wouldn’t want to hear.

 

She cleared her throat, trying to get back on track. “My plane leaves this afternoon. I know you don’t want me around, and I don’t plan to come back. If you’re interested in seeing your grandchild, then it will be up to you to do something about it. You won’t receive any updates or invitations from me. I’ll stay out of your lives, just like you want me to.”

 

“Laura,” Mrs. Dodson said, coming around the edge of the bed to stand in front of her daughter. With her hands clasped in front of her and a crease wrinkling her forehead, she almost looked motherly. “You know, you do have options.”

 

Of course it would have to be something like that. Lola wasn’t asking for her parents to help raise the child or even give her money to support it. She didn’t ask for their opinions, but here was her mother’s, right out in the open. “No, I don’t. I’ve already made my decision. You might not like it, but there’s nothing you can do about it.” She turned to her father. “I hope you feel better soon.” With that, she turned and left the room.

 

Lola stormed past Butch, but he instantly followed her. He stayed a few feet behind her up until they got on the elevator. She watched the numbers tick down as he quietly asked, “Are you all right?”

 

She sighed. “No. But I will be.”

 

And she was determined that her statement would be true. There were women in much worse positions than hers who had wound up pregnant, women with no support and no money. She might not have much support, but she had all the money she needed for medical care, lactation specialists, baby clothes, and diapers. There would be no problem setting up a nursery in her lavish home and hiring someone to babyproof the place. If she had to let a nanny take care of her son or daughter while she worked, then so be it. As she continued to remind herself, it could always be worse.

 

Once back in her hotel room, with her bodyguards doing their duty in the hallway, Lola explained the entire scenario to Brittany as she angrily threw her belongings into her designer luggage. “You should have seen the look on their faces. Mom looked like she might just keel over and die, but who is she to say? She didn’t even want me, so of course she’s going to suggest that I get rid of the baby.”

 

“That’s awful,” Brittany sympathized, pausing to touch up her lip gloss in the mirror. “What about your dad?”

 

Lola shrugged. “He didn’t have a whole lot to say, but he’s not feeling well. I don’t think he was as upset, but the situation might have been different if he was on his feet and in his own house. Either way, they’re definitely not proud of me. I told them they would have to make the arrangements themselves if they were interested in getting to know their grandchild. But I highly doubt they will. They like to pretend they don’t have a daughter, and now they can pretend that they don’t have a grandkid, either.”

 

“Well, I’m proud of you for standing up to them,” Brittany enthused. “I know that can’t have been easy.” She locked the clasps on her rolling makeup case and parked it by the door where it would be ready when they left.

 

“No, but it seems like that’s the only thing I do anymore. It’s just confrontation after confrontation, and I’m getting sick of it. I think it’s wearing me down.” Or maybe that was just the growing child inside her. The days of staying up late drinking and skipping breakfast were going to be a thing of the past now. It all just needed to slow down a little bit, and then maybe it would be okay.

 

“We’ll get you some good prenatal vitamins when we get back to civilization.” Brittany smiled and picked up another bag. “That’ll make a big difference.” She moved across the room to the closet, double-checking it for anything Lola might have left behind. “So,” she said after a moment, “how did things go with the father of the child?”

 

Closing her eyes, Lola rubbed her temples. “Let’s just say it didn’t go any better than things did with my parents.”

 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

 

It was tempting. Her time with Bishop had been the one thing Lola had kept to herself. At first, it had seemed like a fun secret, one she could reflect on without the public knowing anything about it. But now it was so much more complicated. Bishop didn’t want to have anything to do with her. He didn’t believe her, and he didn’t trust her. Moreover, he hadn’t even shown any interest in the baby. No, saying it all out loud would just make it more real, and she was ready to put it all behind her. “Maybe later.”

 

Lola’s phone dinged from her back pocket. She dreaded checking it, but she couldn’t help herself. She pulled it out and clicked the screen, opening a news app. Stepping backward until she could collapse onto the bed, Lola couldn’t take her eyes off what she was seeing.

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s … everything.” She continued to scroll, skimming the headlines as they flicked past. Every news and entertainment outlet had released something about her within the last twenty-four hours. They talked not only about her arrival in Rolling Hills (which wasn’t a surprise at this point) but about her pregnancy and the fight at The Dive. “I don’t get it. Does someone have a GPS tracker on me or a hidden camera? It’s like they know everything about me as it happens. Is there no such thing as privacy anymore?”

 

“Let me see.” Brittany took the phone from her hand and studied it for a moment. “What do you expect? You’re a hot item right now, and people talk. It doesn’t take much to put two and two together. Just think of it as extra publicity and try not to let it bother you.” She handed the device back.

 

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one with her entire life reduced to headlines and speculation. Look at this article. They’re saying the baby must be Vic’s! That’s so disgusting!”

 

“Makes the ones about Chris sound positively romantic,” Brittany said with a giggle. “At least he’s young and good-looking.”

 

“And a total ass.” It was time to go, but Lola couldn’t stop reading. She landed on an article that talked about the fight, and now Bishop was getting involved as well. He had refused to speak to the press when they asked him for a comment, but that didn’t stop the rumors from flying that he was something more than a patron who happened to be in the bar at the same time.

 

Sources at the scene say that the bodyguard and the biker immediately jumped into a fight with each other, but nobody is quite sure why. There’s speculation that Bishop Blaine may have tried to sexually harass Ms. Lennox, but we have no evidence of that just yet.

 

“What ever happened to real journalism?” Lola mused. “It used to be that reporters were supposed to find out the facts and only report those. They used to check these things. But now it’s all about sensationalism and drawing in the most advertisers.”

 

“And you’re at the very hub of it,” Brittany said with a smile, as though that was a good thing. “Consider yourself lucky.”

 

“How so?” Lola didn’t feel like anything that had happened to her over the past month was very lucky. Up until a few days ago, she would have thought there had been some luck in meeting Bishop. But he’d made it very clear that it was just another mistake.

 

“You’re popular. I’ve said it a thousand times, but I still don’t think you get it. Everybody is interested in you. It doesn’t matter if you make good or bad choices; the public wants to know about them. If someone sees you having avocado toast for breakfast, then you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a run on avocados the next day. It’s when you end up on Dancing with the Stars that you know you’re a has-been, and you’re nowhere near that dance floor.”

 

Lola, despite her desolate mood, couldn’t help but give a small chuckle. “Okay. At least you’re right about that. Let’s get going.”

 

“I’ve got everything arranged,” Butch said as they made their way down through the hotel. “I asked the manager to clear the hallways for us so we shouldn’t run into any other guests. There’s a limo parked out front, and the crowds have completely surrounded it.”

 

A sense of dread weighed heavily on Lola’s stomach. She didn’t feel like dealing with fans today. “Shit.”

 

“No, that’s a good thing. The limo is just there as a decoy. We’re taking you out the back to a different car, one that won’t draw so much attention. By the time everyone realizes you’re gone, you’ll already be boarding the plane.”

 

“That’s no fun,” Brittany pouted. “I brought my favorite pair of sunglasses just to deal with the flashbulbs.”

 

Lola couldn’t express how relieved she was to hear the plan. “Thanks, Butch. You don’t know what that means to me.”

 

He smiled. “Yes, I do. I know it’s been hard on you to go through all of this. I can’t fix any of it, but I can at least make some of it easier.”

 

A warm feeling took up residence in Lola’s chest. Things weren’t going to be easy for her as she dealt with the arrival of a baby and the changes it would force on her career. But she had two good people at her side, people who knew almost everything about her.

 

Wait. People who know almost everything about me. Lola slowed her steps as they made their way through the hall, her brain on overload. Someone had told the press she was going to Rolling Hills, and the fans had somehow found out the first time she was at The Dive. They knew what hotel she was staying at, and somehow Bishop had been able to discover her room number. When she had returned to the small town, not only had everyone been waiting for her at the airport, but they were now talking about her pregnancy.

 

Lola had fired Chris in large part because of the ridiculous fight he had started with Bishop. It wasn’t the professional thing to do, no matter what he wanted from her or who he thought the biker was. Besides, the simple fact that he wanted to use her fame to build his own was enough reason to let him go. But she had also been suspecting him of being the informant. As her bodyguard, he knew her schedule and her whereabouts at all times. It would have been easy for him to spread it around online.

 

But Chris hadn’t known about her pregnancy. That left her pegging Bishop, even though she tried to force the thoughts out of her mind. He had been at the bar both times as well as at the hotel, and he had been part of the crowd at the airport. If Bishop had been interested in getting the public’s attention, though, he could easily have taken her to a much less secluded spot to make love. He could have arranged for a photographer to be nearby to capture nude photos of her, or better yet, photos of the two of them together. He could have blackmailed her several times over, and yet nobody had found out about their time in the hotel or in the woods.

 

There was always Butch, but he had been doing his best to fight off the crowds. Besides, he didn’t know about the pregnancy. She hadn’t told him. He might have heard her say something to her parents, but the online rumors had been flying since early that morning, far before the visit to the hospital.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Dodson wouldn’t have told anyone about Lola’s visit or her pregnancy. They didn’t want to have anything to do with her. That only left …

 

“Brittany.”

 

“Yes?”

 

They had reached the lobby. Two uniformed bellhops stood on either side of the front doors, which had been locked. They had been placed there to keep the crowd excited and hopeful, not knowing that Lola and her company had other plans. The fans outside were screaming and cheering so loudly that it could be heard even through the thick walls of the building.

 

The manager stepped out from behind the front desk, his manner deferential. “Miss Lennox, I hope that everything during your stay at the Magnolia Blossom has been to your liking. If you’re ever in town again, we’ll be happy to have you as our guest. Is there anything I can get you before you go? Perhaps a complimentary bottle of water for the road?”

 

“No. Thank you.” There was no amount of tiny shampoos or fresh towels that this man could bring her that would make her feel better. Lola had been betrayed by the woman she had come to think of as her best friend.

 

“As you wish. Your car is right outside the back door.”

 

“Thanks.” But Lola had stopped moving completely now. She was still trying to process it all. It wasn’t fair that her talent and her popularity had brought such heartache with it, but that seemed to be the way things were now.

 

Butch checked his watch. “We need to get going. They’re not going to hold back much longer, and we don’t want them to start suspecting us.” He thumbed over his shoulder at the screaming fans.

 

“There’s something I have to do first.” Lola turned to Brittany, who stood beaming at her innocently. “How dare you?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“How dare you?” Lola repeated. “You and I have worked together for years. You’ve been my friend and my confidante. I’ve let you use me as a reference so you can get all the top jobs in Hollywood, and this is how you repay me?”

 

Butch cleared his throat. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, but we really don’t have much time.”

 

“I don’t care. I don’t care if I miss my plane completely, just as long as this traitor isn’t on it with me.”

 

Brittany shook her head sympathetically. “Now, Lola. You’ve had a hard couple of days. You’re tired, and that’s understandable. Let’s just get in the car, and …”

 

“Don’t you dare try to placate me! Just how much money have you been getting for your little stories?”

 

Brittany was finally beginning to look a little frazzled. She tented her fingers over her chest innocently and blinked her eyes. “I … I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“Or was it just because you wanted the attention, too? You figured, just like Chris did, that you could ride on my coattails and build up your own career. You knew that the more scandalous my affairs were, the more attention everyone around me would be getting. It’s sick, Brittany, just sick. I can’t believe you would do this to me!”

 

“Wait a second.” Butch stepped between the two of them. “Let’s not let this get out of hand. Clearly, you two have an issue, but is it something we can hash out at the airport?”

 

Lola shook her head, folding her arms in front of her chest. “No, because there’s nothing to hash out. You’re fired, Brittany.”

 

The makeup artist suddenly took on a haughty attitude. “Seriously? Why the hell did you become a singer if you couldn’t take the heat of being a celebrity, Lola? It’s not just like this for you; it’s like this for everyone who wants to be famous. We all have our sacrifices to make.”

 

“No. There’s no excuse for using someone the way you’ve used me. Or haven’t you realized that the lies you’ve been spreading have actually hurt people?” For a fleeting moment, Lola actually felt sorry for Chris. It had likely been Brittany’s idea to theorize about a possible relationship between Lola and the bodyguard. Reading those articles was what likely had given him the idea to create a fake relationship with her in the first place. He had still been wrong, and he’d still deserved to be fired, but Brittany had stirred the pot.

 

“You’re so sensitive, Lola. And you’ll only regret firing me. I’m one of the best-known makeup artists in Hollywood, now. You’ll want to come running back to me when it’s time for a tour or the award shows, but I’ll be so booked up you won’t even be able to talk to me. Not that I would want to talk to you, anyway.”

 

“Trust me. I can find someone to replace you. Let’s go, Butch.” She stormed toward the back of the hotel with Butch at her side. For a moment, she was sure Brittany would try to follow. Lola was her ticket home, after all. But the woman who had betrayed her at least had some dignity left and she remained in the lobby.

 

There would be other artists, Lola knew. There would be plenty of people clamoring to work for her as soon as they found out that Brittany had been fired, and there was no doubt that people would find out. Lola could even book another spot on Primetime News with Tonya and let the whole world know how she had been betrayed, but she doubted people would care about the pitfalls of fame as much as they did the shooting. It was just another part of the life she had chosen, and she would have to deal with it.

 

They stepped out into the sunshine. The parking lot was full of cars, but everyone had gathered at the front just as Butch had hoped for. He unlocked a small green sedan with rental plates and loaded her baggage into the trunk.

 

Lola let herself into the front seat, figuring she would look less conspicuous than if she rode in the back, and wondered if life would ever get any easier.