The Pretty Sister

After The Cameras Stop Flashing

Chapter 2

Fiona suddenly woke up to the sound of Choco's incessant barking at the front door. Quickly, she jumped out of her bed and ran to Choco to calm him. In an upper-class apartment in Beverly Hills, it is not often you hear the loud barks of a Lab more like the whimpers of a cute poodle. Eventually, Choco calmed down enough for Fiona to throw on some sweats. She called for Vinny, one of the bellboys, who usually did her a favor for a couple of extra bucks. Within minutes, Vinny came to take Choco for a walk. With Choco satisfied, Fiona scavenged through her cabinets for some cereal. All of a sudden, the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Fifi!” screeched a voice on the other end. There was only one person who thought a dog’s name would be a good nickname.

“Hi Stacey. I’m surprised you’re up.” It is only 9:30 in the morning. Way too early for Stacey Wilcox to be up.

“I wanted to go work out. You know, one can never be too fit, but they can be too fat. How about you join me?”

“I had a late night last night, so I was planning on just staying in.”

“Fifi, you are a movie star. You have appearances to make.What do you say we head to McAlister’s Gym and then stop by the cafe across the street. Both perfect photo ops.” Who needed a publicist when you had Stacey?

“I am really not feeling up to it. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” Fiona quickly hung off before the protests started. “That girl doesn’t get it." Then she remembered who she was talking about."I will just go to my bed until she comes. She always comes.”

Just as she expected, Stacey came pounding on the door half an hour later. Stacey did not take ‘no’ as an answer. Fiona partly believed that was how she got married to George Wilcox, the best lawyer in southern California. George may be good at closing the deal, but Stacey was better. Fiona opened the door and walked outside after waving bye to Choco. Choco was used to his master’s weird ways. She may reject Stacey's suggestions at first, but sometimes it was just better not to argue once she came. Fiona felt some power for a few seconds, but Stacey had the real control.

“Now, let’s run,” Stacey said as if her friend hadn’t rejected her. Fiona followed as they headed to the gym. Just as Stacey said, the gym turned out to be perfect for networking and photo ops. Still, it was extremely difficult to look good while exercising. Unlike some of the clientele and contrary to popular belief, Fiona had not grown up in luxury. Sometimes, her family had barely made it. The Delafield story was a certified family done good type of story.

After jogging on the treadmill and using other exercising machines, Fiona decided to head off to the spa part of the elite gym. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead with a soft pink towel that matched her outfit.

“Even sweating, you look outstanding. Even more so, I think.” Fiona turned around to face her former co-star Matt Hudson. That was surprising. She was sure that he would be passed out with some barely-legal starlet from the after party.

“Hi Matt.” She knew she had to be civil. There were witnesses that could testify against her in court if she tried to kill him for just being alive. Nope. Like her agent said, she has to smile for the camera. It is her job, right?

“Oh c’mon. I know you didn’t want to hold my hand last night. I was being an ass. Sorry. How about we forget about last night? This is a new day, Fi. How about you and me . . .”

“Don’t Matt. There is never a you and me. There will never be a you and me.” She smiled as she spoke the harsh words for any onlookers. She had a reputation to protect. With a nod, she headed off. She really needed to meet Stacey in the spa wing. The gym part was always filled with guys. Many women would argue that they are the cream of the crop. McAlister’s catered to lawyers, doctors, stars and others of the top of the top who needed to be in shape for that meeting or movie. The owner, a former weightlifter and UFC star, knew exactly what his clients went through.  Everyone had images to protect in this very appearance-oriented state. Why else did the rest of the world think California was filled with beautiful people? More importantly, why disappoint them?  If a girl wanted the cream of the crop, she applied for a membership at McAlister’s Gym.