The Sweet Life by Francine Pascal Page B

attention.
    â€œQuit? What! Never!” Lila couldn’t even conceive of the idea of quitting True Housewives of Sweet Valley . She was the show’s starring bitch and she happened to be good at it. Lila hadn’t done anything with her life so far except drop out of college, marry Ken, and spend her days dumping piles of money on Rodeo Drive. True Housewives was the closest that Lila had ever come to a life’s calling. She had great instincts for camera angles and drama, and her perfect little body looked fantastic on camera. If she gave that up, then who would she be? An NFL star’s wife. That was bad enough. Now she would be his ex-wife. You can’t be more nobody than that.
    â€œI’m just saying, maybe that would help soften things with Ken,” Jessica said, her attention again on her phone’s lighted screen.
    â€œAre you asking me to give something up ?” Lila asked. “Um, excuse me, have we met?” She threw open her arms, which were heavy with diamonds and platinum. “When was the last time I had to cut back on anything ?”
    Jessica had to laugh. The thing about Lila was, she might be spoiled, but she was the first to admit it. You could say a lot of things about Lila, but that she was boring certainly isn’t one of them, Jessica thought. “Sorry, I forgot.”
    Lila pushed her dark hair from her forehead.
    â€œAnd anyway, I’m not going to quit. Besides, there’s a problem: the producers want him on next week’s show.”
    â€œYou really think he’s going to do that?” Jessica’s phone dinged again, drawing her attention.
    â€œHe has to,” Lila said. “They said get him on the show or…else. I don’t know what the ‘else’ is, and I don’t want to find out, either. If I could just get him to talk to me, just once, I know I could straighten this out.”
    Jessica shook her head in sympathy and was about to speak when her phone vibrated again.
    â€œHe has to come on the show,” Lila continued. Of course, technically, he hadn’t signed any sell-your-soul reality show contracts.
    â€œUm-hm,” Jessica mumbled, eyes cast down on her phone, hardly listening, as she tapped out a response.
    â€œJessica, would you stop with the messaging already!” Lila grabbed the phone out of Jessica’s hand. “Screw Bruce!”
    â€œHey!” Jessica lunged for her phone but missed.
    â€œI have your attention now,” Lila declared as she held the phone aloft. “No sudden moves or I will smash this thing.”
    â€œNo, no!” Jessica cried, hands up in surrender as she eyed her iPhone nervously. “Look, Lila, I’m sorry. It’s just you guys have been separated before. It’s not like it’s never happened before.”
    â€œIt’s never happened this way before.” Lila waved the phone.
    â€œOkay, I’m sorry. I’ll listen. I know what it’s like to have your husband leave.” Jessica’s voice sounded full of sympathy now that Lila had a hostage—her iPhone. “Trust me, I know.”
    Lila hesitated. It was true that Jessica knew what it was like since Todd had moved out. Never before had Jessica lost something so dear that she hadn’t intended to lose.
    â€œAt least Ken hasn’t slept with a cheap plagiaristic criminal,” Jessica said bitterly. Well, Lila had successfully gotten her to change the subject of conversation away from Bruce Patman. Unfortunately, not entirely in the direction Lila would have liked.
    â€œYou mean Sarah Miller?” Lila asked. Jessica’s phone was heavy in her hand. She stopped dangling it over the edge of the couch.
    â€œYou know?”
    â€œCaroline Pearce, remember? Everyone knows.” Lila shrugged. Even though Ken wasn’t speaking to her, Lila was totally sure he hadn’t slept with anyone else, certainly not her main Housewife competition, Ashley