Chapter One
Lila Fowler was not used to being ignored and she didnât like it. First there was her husband, Ken, whoâd packed a bag, left the house, and wasnât answering his phone or replying to any of her texts, and now there was her best friend, Jessica Wakefield, who seemed to be far more engrossed with her stupid cell phone than with anything Lila had said in the last fifteen minutes.
âAre you even listening to me?â Lila asked Jessica, annoyed. The fact that she even had to ask this question at all made her want to storm out. But then she probably ought to save the theatrics for the True Housewives cameras. There were no cameras here in Jessicaâs tastefully decorated town house in Sweet Valley. Tasteful, Lila thought, if you went for bubble-gum pink .
âWhat? Oh, sorry.â Jessica glanced upâfor the first time in agesâfrom her phone. âItâs the Bruce thing.â She flipped a perfect strand of blond hair away from her blue eyes and gave Lila one of her trademark Wakefield smiles.
Right. Bruce Patman, reigning Sweet Valley perv, Lila thought. Lilaâs family, the Fowlers, and the Patman family never did get along, but even she was a little surprised by the news. In fact, after Lila read the headlines about Bruce trying to force himself on an intern, sheâd had a brief flashback to high school, when sheâd been nearly raped by John Pfeifer at Millerâs Point. She probably would have been if she hadnât fought free, stabbing the jerk in the neck with his own car keys. She didnât like thinking about that. It was ancient history, but still, without even knowing all (or even some) of the facts, Lila was on the internâs side.
âI canât believe he turned out to be such a creep,â Lila said. âHe should go to jail.â
âHeâs innocent,â Jessica snapped.
âHow do you know?â
âBecause I know him. Much better than you do. And I know he could prove it if I knew who his accuser was.â
âYou donât know yet?â Lila asked her, surprised. After all, it was hard to keep secrets from Jessica, especially when she was determined to find out something.
âLizzie is working on it, but so far she says she hasnât found anything. If I did know, I could start really tearing her story apart.â
âWhat if sheâs telling the truth?â
âSheâs not,â Jessica said, refusing to back down.
Lila shrugged. âWhatever.â It wasnât worth a fight.
âIâve got interviews lined up for him on some morning shows,â Jessica said, again thumbing through messages on her phone.
The two old friends were sitting in Jessicaâs living room. Jake, Jessica and Toddâs two-year-old son, and his nanny, Liza, were out at the park, but there were still a few telltale signs of the toddler, like a couple of Lego bricks half hidden in the carpet, one of which Lila had nearly stepped on with her stiletto heel. Lila was still surprised Jessica had gone the kid route. Lila didnât plan to have kidsânow or maybe everânot when a baby was likely to be cuter, younger, and more of a spotlight hog than she was. Lila was the star of her own show, thank you very much.
âItâs been a crazy few days, but I think Iâm starting to make headway for Bruce,â Jessica continued.
Jessica was so engrossed with the Bruce Patman business that she had forgotten entirely why Lila was there, and it wasnât to talk about Bruce or to kick Legos under the coffee table.
âI really think I can nail this, but I need that girlâs name,â Jessica said, still distracted.
âThereâs got to be some reason sheâs made this whole thing up. I know it.â
Lila let out a frustrated sigh.
âThatâs great and all, but how about my problems? Think you could work your PR genius on them for a second?â Lila tapped her
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