“See? Gansett has her charms.”
“I never said she didn’t. She just has fewer charms than other places.”
“Is that such a bad thing?” he asked.
“Not at all. There are some things about LA I definitely don’t miss.”
“Like what?”
“Traffic. It’s the worst in the country.”
“I’ve heard that. What else?”
“People.”
“There are people on Gansett.”
“Millions fewer than in LA. You wait in line for everything there. It’s not unusual to spend thirty minutes waiting for coffee in the morning. We waste so much time waiting.”
“That’s true in New York, too. Drives me crazy.”
“And some people are worse than others, such as the aforementioned ones who like to stalk celebrities.”
Cooper paused midbite. “You have other stalkers?”
“A few of them.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, it’s become a problem since the show got popular.”
“Shit, Gigi. Having security in LA must suck.”
“It does, but it beats the alternative.”
Cooper needed a minute to process what she’d told him. “And the cops are aware of this?”
“They are, and they’ve done what they can by arresting the one guy who crossed every line before I realized he was dangerous. More than anything, it’s affected my ability to come and go freely, which is inconvenient. I resisted security for a long time until one of the stalkers got a little too close for comfort.”
“What happened?”
“He was, um, in the back seat of my car when I came out of a coffee shop. He said he was in love with me and wanted us to be married and have children together.”
“Holy shit. What did you do?”
“I showed him my pepper spray and told him I wasn’t afraid to use it.”
“Did he go away?”
“It took a few minutes, but he got the message. By then, we’d attracted a crowd that included a police officer. He had a talk with him and gave him a warning.”
“He should’ve arrested him.”
“He hadn’t really done anything more than trespass, though.”
“Still, he made you feel unsafe, and that shouldn’t be allowed.”
“I know how to take care of myself. In addition to my pepper spray, I also have a handheld Taser.”
“Is that legal?”
“Ish.”
Cooper smiled at the way she said that. “Whatever it takes to stay safe.”
“Exactly. As you can imagine, Gansett has been a nice reprieve from all that.”
“Are you safe here without security?”
“Other than Jordan’s crazy ex-husband showing up and taking her grandmother and sister hostage, we haven’t had any issues here. People leave us alone on Gansett.”
“Zane took Jordan’s grandmother and sister hostage?”
“Yep.”
“How come I didn’t hear about that?”
“They kept it quiet. The last thing Jordan wants is any more publicity tying her to him. He agreed to give her the divorce and leave her alone and to tell his fans to leave her alone, in exchange for them not pressing charges.”
“Wow. He’s an example of someone who had it all and let it go to shit.”
“Indeed. We’re all glad she’s free of him. Their marriage was a nightmare for her and those of us who love her.”
“Sounds like it.”
“What you’ve seen reported about him in the media is a fraction of the reality. He’s got major addiction and mental health issues that he’s refused to take seriously until this happened. As part of the agreement, he was ordered to seek in-patient treatment. Again.”
“Addiction is a bitch. I had some friends in college who let the partying get out of hand, and they’ve had problems ever since. A few have ended up in rehab. Some more than once.”
“I’ve had friends who struggled with it, too. Drugs are way too easy to get in LA. I had friends in high school who were hooked on cocaine.”
“That’s young. I didn’t see it until college.”
“I never touched that shit. I was afraid I’d be the one person it killed the first time I tried it.”
“Me, too. My dad used to tell us it only takes one time to stop your heart if you got bad shit. That scared me enough to steer clear. A little pot now and then is more my jam.”
“Right there with you. But not lately. I think I’ve outgrown it.”
“Well, you’re much older than me. I haven’t outgrown it yet.”
“Watch it, mister. I’m not that much older than you.”
“You’re a senior citizen compared to me. A regular Mrs. Robinson.”
“What do you know about Mrs. Robinson?”
“We watched The Graduate in grad school.”
“What kind of grad school did you go to that you watched movies?”
“NYU grad school, MBA program. I took a Business of Film class, and that was one of the movies we watched.”
“Huh, we never watched movies in law school. Maybe I should’ve gotten an MBA instead.”
“Where’d you go to law school?”
“UCLA.”
“I’m very impressed that you’re a lawyer.”
“Because I don’t seem smart enough?”
“No! God, no. I just think it’s interesting that you don’t work the fact that you’re an attorney into the show.”
“That’s not what the show is about. Before we started, we talked about how much of our real lives we wanted to share. For Jordan, her difficult childhood was off-limits. She and her sister were the subject of a custody battle that dragged on for years. The last thing she wanted to do was relive that nightmare in front of millions of people.”
“What was off-limits for you?”
“My two ex-fiancés and my legal career.”
“You have two ex-fiancés?”
“Yep, and that’s something I don’t like to talk about. I was young and dumb and thought I was in love. I dumped the second one when I was in law school, and I’ve learned that love and marriage aren’t for me.”
For some reason, hearing that made him feel sad for her—and himself. “You’ve lived an entire life before you’re thirty.”
“I don’t recommend it.”
Cooper had never enjoyed a conversation more than this one, but it was all he could do to stay awake. Whatever they’d given him at the clinic was about to knock him out. “I hate to say it, but I think I should head next door before I fall asleep on your sofa.”
“It’s okay if you want to stay put.”
“And start a scandal at the James estate after our first date?”
“Pretty safe to say you’ve already done that.”
“Probably so.” Cooper started to get up, but the pain had other ideas. “I had no clue how painful injured ribs could be.”
“I’ve heard it’s a bitch.”
“I can confirm you’ve heard correctly. Would you mind giving me a hand up?”