She-Rox: A Rock & Roll Novel by Kelly McGettigan

to be a little more reserved, play hard to get.”
    “You want to play hard to get with Slade? Are you kidding me? He can have anybody he wants!”
    “That’s only partially true. We, dear sister, are members of a most exclusive club. We are the un-gettable get. We’re blonde, thin, beautiful, sisters, musicians and models. Everybody wants us. And so will he, he just doesn’t know it yet. Guys like Slade are always searching for the next big thing and that would be us, so, let’s get ready to do some damage.”

     
    December 31, 2006, 9:35 p.m.
     
    The last bobby pin was in place. It had taken Eddie a while to get all her hair pinned up, but it was done. She took the immaculate white satin dress off its hanger, put it on, and realized that she didn’t own any appropriate jewelry. She went to borrow something suitable from Raven who was in front of her closet mirror, wearing a pink vintage Herve Leger bandage dress, black open-toed stilettos. She was trying to hook a diamond encrusted choker around her neck.
    “Help me with this clasp,” she begged.
    Eddie came from behind, grabbed the tiny metal hinges, and snapping them into place, asked, “You got any earrings I could borrow?”
    “Sure, try the ones that go with this necklace,” Raven said, looking in the mirror.
    “You aren’t going to wear them?”
    “Nope, they’re in that box on the dresser.”
    Eddie went to retrieve the earrings. She put them on and gazed at her reflection. She liked the long glam earrings that swung around her face. “These aren’t real are they?”
    “Yeah, Eddie, I own a fifty thousand dollar pair of diamond earrings to go with my vintage dress, which I bought secondhand only after I jerked the nice sales lady down from her original asking price.”
    “Is G-force still here?”
    “No, they left an hour ago.”
    The doorbell rang. Eddie asked, “Are we ready?”
    Clutch in hand, she met Raven at the front entry. They weren’t met by Todd, but his driver, who tipped his cap and bid, “Good evening, ladies, I am here to pick up a Miss Von Drake for Todd Rivers.”
    “That’s us,” Eddie sang.
    The driver opened the door and Eddie asked, “Do we have room for one more, this evening? I couldn’t leave Raven home alone.”
    Todd, bending forward, genially said, “Raven, we couldn’t let you stay home when you’ve got such a gorgeous dress on.” Opening the opposite car door, he instructed, “Come and get in on this side.”
    After a smooth ride to the middle of Hollywood, the glass partition slid down and the driver informed Todd they had arrived.
    Getting out of the limo, Eddie took in her first close up view of the famous Chateau Marmot. She had driven past it on Sunset, but now, she was a guest at the impressive hotel dubbed “The Castle on the Hill.”
    At the security checkpoint, one of the four very big men greeted, “Good evening sir. May I have your name?”
    “Todd Rivers.”
    Flipping over the pages, he checked off the name and said, “Enjoy your evening.”
    As they entered the lobby, Eddie could hear the commotion coming from the hotel bar. As Todd pulled open the heavy door, the muffled chaos hit them in the face. Pushing through the crowd, Eddie caught glimpses of a rock star here, an actress there. Bodies were packed to the walls. They walked outside into the cold night air where fire torches lit up the grounds casting orange reflections off the pool. The surroundings were hip and glamorous. Females were all dressed to kill and the men were all in stealth mode. Even the waitresses pedaling champagne on silver trays were knockouts. One approached Todd. “Good evening, Mr. Rivers. Care for any champagne this evening?”
    Todd took two glasses and handed one each to Eddie and Raven. Then he took one for himself. “I believe we could use a little of this.”
    Making the rounds, Todd introduced Eddie and Raven to lots of very important industry “lesser—knowns.” Eddie did her best to try and