Diamond in the Rough (2 page)

“Oh my gosh, that’s Harper Gunn!” Kate chirped, her high-pitched voice silencing the table.  She pointed up at the balcony.  The boys all paused and squinted. 

“Who?” Gavin asked.  Gemma cocked her head.  She recognized the name for some reason.

“She’s a model, slash Zoe Mercury’s best friend,” Kate scoffed.  “Obviously.”

“
Oh
.” Gemma quickly realized how she had recognized the name.

Zoe Mercury was the lovable but recently troubled star of the D Network hit, “Outta This World.”  She had been the network darling since the age of ten, but since turning eighteen, Zoe began partying recklessly and dating much older men.   Additionally, she began taking a special interest in Queen Bee, whom she declared in several interviews to be someone that she was “desperate to meet.”  While Gemma was more than open to having a friend in the industry, her team balked at the idea.  Mira had read about Zoe’s recent misbehavior, and she knew from Hudson that his daughter Harper was no angel.

“Oh, yeah, Kate.  Obviously,” Gavin laughed, downing his champagne.

While the rest of the boys could hardly pick their jaws up off the table as they watched Harper, Gemma was proud to see Gavin having eyes only for Leah.  Not too long ago, he would have marched straight up to Harper’s table and asked for her number.  Knowing him, he probably would have gotten it too.  Gavin was a complete goofball, but Gemma couldn’t deny the touch he had with the ladies. 

“Hey.”

Gemma snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing Lucas whisper at her.  The rest of the table continued to watch Harper, but he cocked his head curiously at Gemma.

“
That
Zoe Mercury?” he mouthed.

Gemma nodded with a giggle.  She forgot that she had told him about Zoe Mercury’s little friend crush on Queen Bee.  It would definitely take some time for her to get used to Lucas knowing.  Knowing about her other identity, about the complete other set of drama going on in Queen Bee’s life.  But as strange as it was, it was also comforting.  As the rest of the group busied themselves by trying to get Harper’s attention, Gemma and Lucas laughed about what no one else knew.

ZOE MERCURY: ON THIN ICE

The Pop Source

June 11

Is Zoe Mercury putting her career at risk with her wild ways?

The tense working relationship between Mercury and D Network has been public knowledge for almost a year now, with the first sign of trouble coming with leaked photos of an intoxicated Mercury at a private party.  Sources claim that following the incident, the top-earning D Network star was given a firm tongue-lashing by studio executives with the ultimate message of, “Do not get caught” – no doubt a reference to the “good behavior” clause in the bombshell brunette’s contract, requiring her to keep a clean reputation and avoid negative publicity.

Unfortunately, since the photo leak, Mercury has been caught getting into various other instances of trouble.  Only months after the initial scandal, Mercury was charged for reckless driving after taking her Maserati Gran Turismo for a 90 mile per hour ride.  Last September, the spontaneous starlet tested the patience of D Network execs by conspicuously tattooing “Haec vita mea est” on her right collar bone – a Latin phrase meaning, “This is my life.”  Let’s not forget that the first look at her new ink was shared through a Tweetpic, in which Mercury struck a risqué pose while wearing just a leopard print bra and shorts.

However most concerning these days is Mercury’s partying ways.  The “Outta This World” actress has recently solidified her title of Hollywood wild child by stealing the spotlight at every L.A party, dancing on tabletops and heading home with the town’s hottest bachelors.  With bad girl best friend Harper Gunn in tow, Mercury has stolen every headline this summer for being wild, reckless and on the brink of cancellation.  D Network recently issued a tense statement regarding Mercury and her rebellious ways: “Our love and support is always behind Zoe.  While we hope that she will continue her success on ‘Outta This World’ for years to come, we would never stand in her way should she wish to continue her career on a less family-friendly network.”

“Outta This World” finished its sixth season this year and its film adaptation, “Outta This World: The Movie” grossed over $150 million worldwide in February.  With the new season ready to start filming in June, D Network will reportedly negotiate Mercury’s contract in the coming days.

“So how are you liking the full house?” Lucas asked as he opened his front door.

“It’s a bit crowded, for sure,” Gemma replied, tiptoeing into the corridor.  The dinner at Lilac had finished late and Lucas’s family had already gone to sleep.  “But it’s really kind of incredible.  It’s been so long since the whole family’s been in one city, let alone one house.”  Gemma and Gavin were born and raised in New York with their parents while Mira flitted internationally among her many properties.  While the lakehouse was her favorite, the Beauford, New Jersey house she grew up in with Gemma and Gavin’s father, Malcolm, was the one she called home. 

When Mira and Malcolm’s parents passed away, Mira found herself spending more and more time there – keeping up the house that meant the most to her.  This came in handy when Gavin got himself kicked out of boarding school and no other high school in Manhattan was willing to take him in.  Since the small town of Beauford had a single public high school with private school status and a stellar boys’ basketball team, Gavin packed his bags and made the trip across the Hudson River. 

Gemma found herself at the Beauford home when she wrapped her international tour as Queen Bee.  At the time, her parents had made a temporary move to London in order to convince Gemma’s ailing grandmother to move to the states with the family.  The intention was to ultimately move her into the Manhattan apartment, but with Gavin leaving so soon, Gemma’s parents had decided they’d all spend their summer under one roof – even if that meant sleeping on couches and sharing rooms.  Gemma had been finding herself at Lucas’s house every once in awhile just for the extra breathing room.

She followed him into his kitchen as he made a beeline for the refrigerator.

“Didn’t we just have dinner?” Gemma laughed, hopping up to sit on the kitchen counter.

“If you want to call it that,” Lucas smiled.  “Those kinds of restaurants always serve like… kitten-sized portions.”

“Oh yeah, Gavin always complains about that too.  Why didn’t you order more? Gavin had like, ten entrees.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t want to do that.  It was kind of pricey there and I wasn’t the one graduating.”  Lucas piled on a big glob of Nutella on a piece of bread and folded it in half.  “Besides, in the Grey Family household, this is what we call fine dining.”

“Shut up,” Gemma giggled.  “And give me a bite.”  Lucas held the sandwich out to her.  The moment she reached for it, he stuck the sandwich into her face.  She shrieked and leaned away, wiping Nutella from the tip of her nose.  Lucas laughed quietly as he shushed her.

“People are sleeping, Gemma, grow up,” he grinned mischievously.  “Alright, really now – here.”  He held the sandwich up to her mouth.  She narrowed her eyes at him as she leaned in cautiously and bit into the bread.  Before she could pull away, Lucas leaned in for a bite from the other end.

Gemma sat back up, chewing slowly.  She averted her gaze from him, doing everything she could to keep her cool.  She and Lucas had reached a comfortable level of friendship in the weeks after school ended.  Of course, no longer having to see Lucas’s girlfriend, Madison, on a daily basis made things easier.  Although the two were still together, Gemma knew things were shaky since Madison was a year older and heading to college while Lucas was just going into his senior year.  It was something to be grateful for, since Madison had been nothing short of cruel to Gemma throughout the school year.  Gemma had fallen hard into her well-woven web of merciless mind games, even convincing herself that she was deserving of it all since she
had
harbored a secret crush on Lucas.  Now, with Madison spending most of her time preparing for college in the city, Lucas and Gemma could hang out peacefully and as much as they pleased.

“I make the best sandwiches ever!” Lucas announced, as he poured himself a glass of milk.

“Oh yeah, spreading something from a jar onto pre-sliced bread is such an art form,” Gemma teased.

“It is.  I’ve perfected the bread to spread ratio,” Lucas said, frowning with a full mouth.  “But in all seriousness, I’m also actually a good cook.”

“Really? Why haven’t I heard about this?”

“Because you were too distracted by my amazing carpentry and basketball skills.”

“Probably,” Gemma smiled.  “Speaking of which, why were you and Gavin all dark and dismal with your scholarship talk at dinner today?”

“We weren’t being dark and dismal.  We were just being realistic.  If you put us up against most people, we’re definitely good ball players but if you put us up against the real deal and talk scholarships, it’s kind of a crapshoot of whether or not we’d make it through the game.”  Lucas gazed at the sink as he absently rinsed a couple dishes.  He stood in silence as the water ran.  Gemma hopped off the counter and walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she frowned.

“Don’t be,” he said as he turned off the faucet and faced her.  “If it doesn’t happen for me, there are plenty of things out there besides basketball.  For example, I could maybe disguise myself and start a singing career on the side.  You did something like that once, right?” Lucas smiled as he nodded towards the living room.  Gemma followed him in, watching as he plopped down on the rug, stretching his long body lazily across the floor.  She seated herself next to him.

“That reminds me, do you want to come to my birthday party?”

“You as in… Queen Bee? Or…?” Lucas asked.

“Well
I
have no birthday plans yet but yes, Queen Bee’s birthday party,” Gemma said.

“Is like, Gavin or anyone I know going to be there or am I going to be the guy where everyone’s like, ‘who the hell is he and how did he get an invitation?’”

“The second one.”

“Oh, man,” Lucas laughed.  “And I’m assuming this is going to be paparazzi-swarmed and I probably shouldn’t bring Elisa?”

“Well, you could but…”

“Yeah, I’m not bringing her.”  They laughed.  “Why do you even want me there?”

“Because you’re my friend,” Gemma said.  Lucas looked at her for a beat before nodding as if he found it a valid enough answer.

“Alright,” he smiled.  “I’ll go.  To support the girl under the get-up.”  He paused.  “Are Zoe Mercury and Harper Gunn going to be there?”

“I’m actually not the one sending out the invitations so I don’t know.  I’ll have to check with Penelope.”

“I hear from Elisa that Zoe might be single these days…” Lucas smiled, raising his eyebrows repeatedly with mock interest.  Even as a joke, it was a bit strange to see him talk about any girl that way.

“Why do you care?” Gemma said a little too defensively.  “I mean, don’t you have Madison to worry about?”

“I don’t know,” Lucas shrugged.  “I’ll probably be officially single by the time your party rolls around.”

“What? What do you mean? How have you not told me anything?”

“She’s not exactly a favorite subject between us, is she?” Lucas said.  Gemma nodded, conceding to his point.  Though Madison was for the most part out of mind, the mere thought of her often still had Gemma shuddering.  “But, yeah, Madison and I are pretty much over.  She made it clear last time she was in town.”

“Did she say why?”

“Something about moving onto bigger and better things,” Lucas chuckled.

“No way.  She did not say those exact words did she?”

“Not exactly, but pretty much.  I think she still thinks she’s going to date Tyler Chase one day.”  He shook his head, smiling.  Gemma giggled.  Lucas glanced over at her, his eyes narrowing to a soft gaze.  He pulled himself closer, placing his head in her lap.  She ran her fingers through his dark hair.  The gesture felt natural to her.  She had imagined this simple moment a thousand times.

“I think I’m going to beat Madison to the punch,” Lucas said as he looked up at Gemma.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m totally going to date a celebrity before she does,” he laughed.

“I told you, already,” Gemma laughed with him.  “I’m not sure if Zoe or Harper will be at my party.”

Lucas opened his mouth to speak but decided to shrug it off, smiling softly.  Gemma sat quietly, listening to the rustling of the soft summer breeze and chirping crickets outside the window.

“I like hanging out with you,” he whispered as he closed his eyes.

- Chapter 2 -

“Of course I want to meet her!” Gemma exclaimed, practically spilling the almond milk she poured into her coffee.  “I
need
a friend who’s actually in the industry.”

It was the first time in ages since Armand, Penelope and Gemma had a chance to sit down and relax without the madness of Queen Bee.  Armand had set up a brunch spread on his apartment balcony in hip downtown Brooklyn.  Penelope cut another piece of the chocolate almond cake that he had baked on his own.

“Let’s not detract from the point here – don’t you think Zoe Mercury possibly maybe perhaps wants something out of this?” Penelope stabbed at her cake, looking disturbed.  “It’s a little strange that she’s making such a huge fuss about being your friend.  Maybe she needs good publicity because of all the rumors going on about her.  Or she’s been after Tyler and wants to keep her enemies close.  I mean, what if she just wants to steal your thunder?”