Release the Stars Read Online Free PDF

great sport of softball. So I actually owe you.” Charlie looked at Liz. She had one of the friendliest faces she’d encountered in LA, and Charlie was lucky to count her among the few friends she had here.
    “I’m not a big fan of schmooze fests like this either, but I’m just over the moon I actually get to go.” Liz’s voice was growing more excited. Abe Eisenberg, the CEO of EBC was having a big shindig to celebrate his fiftieth birthday and had invited half of Hollywood.
    The car took a few turns then came to a stop. “Get your smile on, Lizzie.” Charlie exited the car through the passenger door which had been opened from the outside for them.
    “Wowzers,” Liz said. She was wearing her super fancy blazer for the occasion.
    “I know.” Charlie took in the magnificently lit up house in front of her. Jo would have loved being her plus-one for this because she’d be allowed to wander freely and investigate the work of a top-notch interior designer. “This is just obscene.”
    A man dressed in a tuxedo escorted them inside, where the party seemed to be in full swing already.
    “Let’s see who we know.” Liz scanned the living room.
    Charlie glanced around. This room was at least twice as big as the spacious loft she’d shared with Jo in New York.
    “There’s Michelle.” Liz jabbed Charlie in the arm. “Let’s go say hello to our esteemed showrunner.”
    On the way over, they were offered champagne and Charlie drank greedily. It was strange to be invited to the birthday party—and his fiftieth no less—of a man she barely knew. She’d met Eisenberg a few times, but he’d invited the entire writing staff of Underground and probably every other EBC show.
    “I hear he’ll be having five parties,” Michelle said. “This is the first one. The warm-up, I guess.”
    “It’s so nice of him to invite us here. This place is crazy,” Liz said. Her wide eyes grew even wider as she gazed around the room again. For the most part, the furniture was white with a few dashes of turquoise and darker blue as accents.
    “Have you been outside?” Michelle asked. “I think a hundred people can swim in that pool simultaneously.”
    “We must go check that out.” Liz finished her champagne and, as if by magic, was immediately offered another. “Are you coming, Charlie?”
    Charlie drained her glass and happily accepted a fresh one. They made their way through a throng of people Charlie had never seen before. On the other side of the living room, glass doors had been slid open and the inside of the house seamlessly transitioned into the outside to reveal a lush, elegantly lit garden with a huge pool and a spectacular view over the city.
    “Jesus,” Charlie whispered.
    “Elisa Fox probably lives in a crib like this,” Liz said. “If we play our cards right, we might get invited.”
    “Charlie?” a voice Charlie didn’t immediately recognize, said her name. “Sandra, remember?” Sandra, Ava Castaneda’s friend and agent, took her by the shoulders and pecked Charlie very lightly on the cheeks.
    Of course Charlie remembered. Every little detail of last Saturday was etched in her memory forever. Charlie introduced Sandra to Liz and they exchanged a few pleasantries.
    “Abe and I—” Sandra started to say, but was interrupted by a voice Charlie would easily recognize out of a million.
    “Charlie!” Ava said and, in true Hollywood fashion, threw her arms around Charlie as though they’d been friends forever instead of having shared one meal together. Not that Charlie minded in the least. Ava’s hug was far too brief for her liking. Though the evening was looking up—greatly.
    After introducing Ava to Liz, Charlie asked her, “How come you’re invited to the D-list party?”
    “Oh, I wasn’t even invited,” Ava said. “I came as Sandra’s plus-one.” Ava didn’t seem to mind this fact in the slightest and shot Charlie a big grin. She was dressed in an informal orange dress that made the