“What about that new girl?”
“Don’t get me started on what a nightmare she is. Maybe I can get Cassidy to help me,” he ventured.
“Isn’t she the one who likes spaghetti with hot dogs?”
David chuckled at that.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m just spoiled because Lexi would have already known how to make everything come off without a hitch.”
“It’s a family thing, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Let the moms organize it.”
“You’re a genius. If my mom hears that, she’ll wade in and take over. Problem solved.”
“You know that there’s a special place in hell for boys like you,” Tami chided.
“Whatev,” David said in a perfect Valley Girl impersonation. “Now, let me get some sleep.”
She slugged him in the chest, and they both got the giggles. This was why he was her best friend.
◊◊◊
David was out the door before sunup. He had all kinds of press activities to do today for the movie.
Tami spent the day with David’s mom. She warned Carol of her son’s plans to enlist her in planning a ‘welcome to campus’ party for his new teammates and their families. Tami wasn’t surprised when his mom just shrugged it off. Tami knew that Carol was secretly delighted that her son was letting her take charge. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t make him squirm as only a mother could.
The plan for the evening was that they would go to dinner and then travel to the Royal Albert Hall for the world premiere of Devil May Care. They’d picked the Royal Albert Hall because it was where the most successful James Bond movie, Skyfall, premiered. Afterward, the promoters had planned a party.
Tami and Carol got a text to come to David’s suite, where he’d returned to change for tonight’s festivities. Tami used her key to let them into his rooms.
“David?” she called out.
“I’ll be out in a moment,” he called from the bedroom.
“Look what I found,” Carol said to Tami.
Sitting on the side table was a bottle of champagne and a cheese-and-fruit tray. There was a card from the studio wishing David the best. Tami wasn’t surprised when Carol opened the bottle and poured them each a drink. Tami made herself a plate and found a comfy chair. Carol joined her.
“Did I tell you about David’s dog?” Carol asked.
“What did he do this time?”
Duke was David’s big Lab, who loved everybody.
“He started to disappear for a couple of hours each day, which was strange because he was always in the middle of David’s kids, watching them.
“He came home last week with a note attached to his collar. It said he’d been going to the neighbor’s house each day for a nap. The neighbor lady said that he would come to her door, and she would let him in. Duke would find a quiet spot, take his nap, and then find her so she could let him out,” Carol shared.
“Poor thing.”
“I’m sending him to David’s for the summer. Being surrounded by five two-year-olds has worn the hound out,” Carol shared.
David came out of the bedroom, blinked, and then gave Tami a smile that she swore would knock her off her feet if she were standing.
“This is why the British press is calling you the American Gigolo,” she said to cover her feelings.
“Did you just call me a man-whore?” he asked, feigning shock.
“I didn’t call you a man,” Tami shot back.
Carol toasted her for her witty comeback. The corner of his lip twitched with amusement.
“You’re un-hideous,” David said by way of a compliment.
“When are you two going to act your age and just admit that you belong together?” Carol asked to put a stop to their banter.
Carol was all smiles when they both blushed, which secretly pleased Tami. Maybe there was a chance for their ‘someday’ after all.
◊◊◊
Chubby Feldman hosted the dinner party and had invited all the cast, plus the former Bonds and Bond Girls. David almost sent his PA home when she wanted to take selfies with everyone. Tami later saw his look of amusement as he watched Kristen. His PA apparently became enamored with one of the geriatric former Bonds, and the two of them left the private room where the dinner was to be served.
David grabbed Tami’s arm, saying, “Come on, let me introduce you to everyone.”
David had never met a stranger, and his dad had encouraged him to work a room whenever they went out, so this was nothing new for her. She wasn’t surprised when everyone was happy to see David or excited to meet the new Bond. Everyone said that he might eventually become the next leading Bond in the franchise.
That is to say, everyone was glad to see him until they were approached by Isabel Alexandra, who played Miss Moneypenny in the movie.
“How could you do this to me?”
From there, the conversation went downhill. Isabel went apeshit. Ape. Shit.
Her beef with David was that he’d allowed his PA, Lexi, to go to Paris with Isabel’s boyfriend, Ben, where he was to film a movie. Isabel assumed that Lexi was sleeping with Ben because ‘everyone’ knew that she’d slept with David. Tami was in utter shock when David just stood there and took it.
Isabel was just warming to her task when Rita James, who’d been the Bond Girl in Tomorrow Never Dies and played David’s mother in the current film, pulled her away. Everyone in the room slowly went back to their conversations.
“That girl is nastier than my neighbor’s pet poodle,” Tami observed.
“She’s actually very nice,” David said to defend Isabel.
Tami connected the dots.
“You slept with her again! Did you do it while on set?”
“I’m not saying anything. If you want to know, you’ll have to ask her,” he shot back.
“She’ll think I’m nosy.”
Tami caught his ‘and your point is?’ look and poked his arm.
“Admit it, David, you let Mr. Happy do most of your thinking,” she said.
He gave her a pained look.
“You know me so well. My normal MO is to hook up with a girl because I rarely ever hang out with them in a platonic way, and there has to be a time limit. When I’m filming a movie, I want to get her in my bed, satisfy my manly needs, and get her out of my room. I can’t be distracted with a relationship,” he said sarcastically.
“I see we are experiencing ‘classy David’ tonight.”
“Just completing my daily asshole-actor quota for today. Wouldn’t want me to give you any less ammo for your assault on my personality, would you?”
It was all softened by his devilish smile. David knew he could get away with murder when he looked at a girl like that, and Tami was no exception. But she had known him since the first grade, so his sex appeal only went so far.
“This sounds like a story you’ve told a million times. Why don’t you give me the real one?”
When he finally spoke, he couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
“You … I … Ahhh!” he said in frustration.
Tami chuckled and mentally patted herself on the back for rendering David speechless. Carol, his mother, would be pleased when she heard about this.
“You’re thinking you shouldn’t have invited me because I see through your BS. That you should cancel my hotel room and ticket back, stranding me here,” Tami said with a straight face.
David rubbed his palm on his forehead. She was impressed that he thought about his answer before blurting something that he would regret later.
“Contrary to what you’re thinking right now, I’m not going to dump you on the side of the road like some kitten in a sack.”
Tami finally smiled at him.
“I know,” she said as she got on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “But that doesn’t explain why she’s so upset.”
Unlike David’s mom, who could start an argument in an empty house, Tami had a reason for provoking her friend. His habit was to ignore things he didn’t want to see. When David hadn’t fought for Lexi’s honor, Tami knew that he suspected that what Isabel was worried about was true. The kicker was, he didn’t want to admit that to himself.