Page 42 of The Crush Next Door

Social Distortion

Friday afternoon traffic was the worst, and it was a good thing Josh and I had planned ahead, leaving extra time to get to the Beverly Hilton. Along the way, I filled Josh in on all things Dr. Haute-related. But before long, we returned to our favorite topic because, with any luck, I'd be quitting my day job soon.

The funny thing was our driver became involved in our conversation too, giving us his two cents as a major Dodgers fan. And when we arrived at the hotel, he said he'd give our podcast a listen. We were both thrilled to have a new listener. Woohoo! One fan at a time! Maybe by the next century, we could really be something.

Josh helped me out of the car and all the way up to the penthouse floor where we were hosting this event on our own large, private balcony overlooking the city, a stunning view that always amazed me.

"Whew," Josh whistled, appreciating all of the beautiful table settings, flowers, candles, fairy string lights, plush couches and ottomans in private little areas.

And my favorite part... the bar at the far end, where I steered Josh.

Being Los Angeles, most guests hadn't arrived yet. But Anaya was there and made a beeline for me, and I quickly introduced her to Josh.

"I feel so weird here," she gushed, her eyes steadily watching Dr. Haute as he looked over the silent auction area.

"Why would you feel weird?" I asked her. Anaya belonged here almost as much as Dr. Haute. She'd worked for him longer than anyone else, including Allison.

She shrugged her pretty, bare shoulders. "I don't know. I just feel so damn strange and don't know what to do with myself."

In years past, Anaya had been busy with the planning and execution of this event. She had done almost all the work before quitting, but Allison had taken over for the last two weeks.

"Oh, baby, you need a drink."

We ordered some Grand Marnier margaritas to begin with, a tradition for Anaya and me, and settled in at a small table by the bar to watch as people started to arrive.

Dr. Haute was the gracious host as always, greeting everyone, looking incredibly handsome in his fitted suit, his hair back in a man bun. Even Josh started to call him Dr. Hot.

And then, they started bringing out all the food, and the three of us pigged out, staring at all the fancy people whose faces didn't move when they fake laughed and chatted.

God, Hollywood was such a trip. But Dr. Haute sure knew how to use all these rich people to his advantage as he schmoozed and flattered them, milking them for all their money.

After a while, Anaya disappeared to the bathroom, and when she tried to come back to us, she was snatched up by a client, who I knew wouldn't let her go for a long while.

So it was just Josh and me, sitting there, completely out of our comfort zone. But together. I remembered last year, Devon and I had done the same, talking the whole time, enjoying the beautiful scenery surrounding us.

The sun began to fade to the west of us, the lights of the city slowly coming to life against the twilight sky. Dusk had always been my favorite time of day, giving me that feeling that something magical was about to happen, that anything was possible in that mystical time between darkness and light.

But then night always came, freaking the crap out of me if I was alone. However, I wasn't alone. Josh was sitting beside me, quiet, accepting, supporting, even though I was sure he'd much rather be hanging out in his living room watching the game. So would I, honestly. Sometimes, though, it was fun to change it up a bit.

We sipped on our drinks, plates full of small bites in front of us, and I felt this sudden curiosity about the guy sitting next to me. I mean, he was my neighbor, my friend, and now my business partner. But I hardly knew anything about him.

"So, Josh," I began, turning slightly towards him.

"What's up?"

"Just, you know..." Weird. Why did I suddenly feel a little nervous?

"Just what?" His eyes started to narrow like he was suspicious of what I was going to say.

"Just... as friends and neighbors..." I took a huge gulp of my drink. "I know nothing about you."

"Oh, Jesus, you totally scared me there, Jessica."

"I scared you? How?"

"I thought you were going to say you were done with the podcast or something."

"God, no," I huffed. "Why would I say that?"

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