circular drive and parked my Cayenne out front.
As I walked to the door, I could hear the annoying yap of Janessa’s Chihuahua, Lulu. The bark was a typical greeting of any household in the Hills.
Janessa opened the door in her pink Juicy tracksuit, her face scrubbed clean, and her trademark red hair pulled back in a ponytail.
“Dr. Love, thank God you’re here,” Janessa said, in her Texas twang. Janessa was from Dallas and she’d worked hard with a voice coach to get rid of her accent. But when she was stressed, it came back with a vengeance.
“What’s wrong, Janessa?”
“I think I’m… pregnant ,” she said, in a whisper.
“Is someone else here?” I glanced into the living room. White pregnancy sticks littered the floor, coffee table, and couch. I made a mental note not to accept any dinner invites to her house.
“Just the maid,” Janessa answered.
I followed her into the living room. “Just how many tests did you take?” I asked, carefully picking up one. It had two pink lines down the test center, indicating a positive result.
“Fifteen, I think,” Janessa said, sheepishly.
“Then I think it’s safe to say that you are pregnant,” I said. “But let’s get you into the office and do a proper exam.”
Janessa shook her head. She plopped down on the couch and started crying. “You don’t understand. I can’t have this baby.”
Here we go.
“What’s going on, Janessa?” I sat down next to her.
“I’ve been secretly dating Apollo Ortiz. If the tabloids find out we’re seeing each other, let alone that I’m pregnant with his baby…my career will be over. My father will disown me. I’ll never get another decent acting job.”
I knew that Janessa’s father was some big shot senator from Texas, but I didn’t realize he had such a hold on her. Finding out that you were pregnant, especially when you were single, was daunting enough. But Janessa was taking this too far.
“Janessa, you’re a grown woman. You make your own choices. Plenty of single, successful actresses have had babies and their careers didn’t suffer. Plenty of soap opera actresses work while they’re pregnant. Some even work their pregnancies into the story line. And as far as whom the father is, that’s up to you, whether or not you want to announce that.”
Apollo Ortiz was a hot, young, up-and-coming Latino actor who’d starred in several small films. Why a relationship with him would affect her career – I had no idea.
I got up and found a tissue box in the guest bath. I handed one to Janessa. She blew her nose loudly.
“Thanks for coming by, Dr. Love.”
“Look, Janessa. Don’t make any major decisions right now. Come by my office on Monday and we’ll do an exam, then we’ll talk. Okay?”
She nodded her head.
“Don’t get up. I’ll let myself out. Relax this weekend. I’ll see you on Monday.”
Just another day in the life of Hollywood Hills, I thought as I headed back to the office.
Chapter 6
I rang the doorbell and waited on the portico with a bottle of very expensive red wine in one hand and my new Jimmy Choo handbag in the other. I also wore the matching Harlequin shoes and a cerulean blue Betsey Johnson sundress.
Venus answered the door looking lovely as usual wearing a dress from XOXO that I had recently admired on a fashion blog. I could’ve sworn that dress hadn’t come out yet. I think Venus has every hip fashion designer on speed dial.
“Hey. Sorry I’m late. Crazy day at work.” I handed Venus the bottle of wine.
“Come on in. No worries. I have the steaks warming in the oven,” she said, as I followed her into the massive kitchen. “We’ll open this first and have some nibbles.”
I hadn’t had lunch and was famished. Venus had a nice spread of brie cheese covered with raspberry jam surrounded by crackers and red grapes. I helped myself to the delicious goodies.
“So, how did it go with the scrumptious Dr. Whitford?” Venus handed me a huge glass of