L. A. Candy Read Online Free PDF Page A

She leaned back slightly and went back in for another kiss—on the lips.
    Braden broke away from the kiss, looking flustered. “Hey, guys! Um, this is—”
    “Willow.” She smiled at Scarlett and Jane.
    Scarlett instinctively moved closer to Jane. Jane tugged at the lock of her hair stuck around her index finger. Her happy, mellow, I’m-in-a-bar-and-I-just-met-an-awesome-new-guy vibe had totally died.
    “I’m Scarlett, and this is Jane,” Scarlett said quickly.“We were just on our way to a party,” she fibbed. “Do you two want to come with us?”
    Being the actor he was, Braden knew his line well. “Actually, it’s kinda late. I have that audition next week, and I need to get up early to rehearse. Maybe next time?”
    “Sure,” Scarlett said cheerfully. “Nice to meet you, Willow. Bye!”
    “Bye!” Willow said, leaning possessively into Braden.
    “Bye,” Jane said with a small wave. Scarlett noticed that she avoided Braden’s eyes.
    Scarlett linked her arm through Jane’s as they made their way out of the packed bar. Outside, the air felt warm and velvety, and the city glittered against the dark sky. A guy and a girl were making out under a streetlamp.
    Jane stared wistfully at the couple for a moment. Then she turned to Scarlett. “What was up with that?” she demanded.
    Scarlett rolled her eyes. “I was saving you. Do you really want to hang out with that guy and his girlfriend?”
    “How do you know she’s his girlfriend?” Jane snapped back. “He said he likes to meet friends here. Maybe she’s just a friend,” she added, studying her nails.
    Scarlett shook her head.
    “Okay, so, fine. Maybe she is his girlfriend,” Jane conceded. “He seems like a really nice guy, though. After all, it’s not like we know a lot of people in L.A. Maybe we could be friends with him.” She glanced over her shoulderat the door. “Maybe we should go back and ask for his number—”
    Scarlett grabbed Jane by the shoulders, spun her around, and pushed her gently in the opposite direction. “We’ll run into him again, I’m sure. He’s in this neighborhood a lot, it sounds like. Besides, I promised I’d buy you drinks. Why don’t we find another bar?”
    Jane glanced over her shoulder again. “What did you say?”
    She hadn’t heard a single word. “Another bar,” Scarlett said firmly. “ This way.”

5
IT’S ALWAYS BETTER TO BE THE DUMPER THAN THE DUMPEE
    “Mom, I gotta go! I love you but I’m sooo late! Bye!” Jane said, snapping her cell shut. She glanced at the clock on her dashboard as she pulled into the parking lot: 9:05 a.m. It was her first day on her new job, and she was already five minutes late.
    She caught a glimpse of herself in the rearview mirror and saw that her hair was—well, “windblown” would be a kind way to put it. Because it was such a beautiful, balmy morning, she had rolled down all the windows of her VW Jetta and had driven just a little over the speed limit to make up for the fact that her alarm had failed to go off. Now a windblown mess lived on top of her head.
    Jane reached into her enormous orange leather tote bag and dumped its contents onto the passenger seat: wallet, two lip glosses, pen, sketchbook, notebook, protein bar, bottle of water, rolled-up Women’s Wear Daily (better known as WWD ), apple, another pen, breath mints, tubeof stain remover, eye pencil, another pen, and two movie ticket stubs. Aha, there it was—her favorite tortoiseshell hair clip. She quickly twisted her hair into a knot, secured it with the clip, and checked her reflection again. Perfect… ish.
    After stuffing everything back into her bag, Jane ran out of the car, barely remembering to lock it, and raced into the building. Inside the modern lobby, she signed in with the security guard and then headed up to the fifth floor.
    Fiona Chen Events reminded Jane of a fancy spa. The reception area had dark gold walls, soft lighting, and a miniature Zen garden with a trickling