Starstruck
OMG, Madison Parker is back for the deliciously mean follow up to The Fame Game. The claws are out in the race to become Hollywood’s brightest star…Madison Parker made a name for herself as best frenemy of nice-girl-next-door-turned-reality-celeb Jane Roberts in L. A. Candy. Now she’s ready for her turn in the spotlight and she’ll stop at nothing to get it.But with backstabbing friends and family, relentless paparazzi and tabloid scandals she can’t control, Madison is going to have her work cut out for her…Filled with characters both familiar and new, this second book in Lauren Conrad’s glamorous series about life in front of the camera dishes Hollywood gossip and drama at every turn.
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To Farrin Jacobs, for working unbelievably hard and making the writing process so fun.
Thank you for not just being an amazing editor but a wonderful friend.
CONTENTS
DEDICATION
3 - NICE GETS YOU NOWHERE IN HOLLYWOOD
8 - WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT LOVE?
12 - MYSTERIOUS CONTRADICTIONS
16 - A BAND-AID ON A BULLET WOUND
21 - YOU KNOW ME BETTER THAN THAT
29 - A SATISFYING AMOUNT OF COMMOTION
BOOKS BY LAUREN CONRAD
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Dear Madison,
You probably don’t remember it, but a few months ago I wrote you a letter. I told you that I was your biggest fan. And I really was! My screen saver was a picture of you from the Fame Game premiere. My ringtone was the theme from Madison’s Makeovers. I loved you.
Well, I’m writing now to tell you that I don’t love you anymore. At all. Everything I said in that letter—about how you were true to yourself, how you worked so hard for what you got—I take it all back. Because everything that you said was a lie.
You had it all, Madison. Money, looks, fame. But I guess that wasn’t enough. Stealing is wrong. Didn’t your parents teach you anything?
Sincerely disappointed,
Becca B.
PS: I unfollowed you on Twitter.
Madison Parker stood in the echoing marble foyer of the Beverly Hills Courthouse, her back pressed against the wall and her purse clutched tightly in her freshly manicured fingers. People in ill-fitting suits and outdated shoes hurried past without a second glance at Madison’s uncharacteristically pale face. (Seriously, was there a law against natural fabrics and current-season pumps around here?)
Madison’s own outfit was carefully thought out. She’d taken a page from Lindsay’s book (after all, who had more experience when it came to courtroom couture?) and opted for white, although Madison wore a bra with her ensemble. Her dress hit right below the knee, and she accessorized with a modest heel and pearls. She had a quilted Chanel that would have looked perfect, but instead she’d chosen a simple black bag. “No labels,” her lawyer had instructed her. She’d been charged with theft, and flaunting an expensive wardrobe wasn’t going to help her case.
She sighed. For the last ten minutes she’d been waiting for Andy Marcus, Esq., to emerge from wherever he’d disappeared to in the moments after her hearing. He was probably off congratulating himself, as if it had been his performance that had convinced the judge not to give Madison jail time for grand theft. Madison knew the truth, of course: When she took the stand, with her big blue eyes full of tears and her voice full of remorse, she saw the judge soften. In seconds, she had him wrapped around her finger. (She often had that effect on men.)
She’d practiced what she was going to say for days. She’d even hired an acting coach—the same one she’d used to help her prepare for her guest-starring role on an episode of Family Guy. She had to be prepared, because every word was a lie.
I got caught up in the moment, Your Honor. All the excitement and the glamour and the celebrity went to my head. I’m a small-town girl, sir. I never could have imagined all this would happen to me. I just—I don’t know—when the Fame Game premiere was happening, I wasn’t myself. There was so much pressure and insanity. It was wonderful, but it was also really confusing. I was exhausted and I wasn’t taking care of myself. Like I said, I just sort of forgot who I was. I saw this beautiful diamond necklace, and I felt like I needed it in order to be as special as everyone thought I was. Even though I know that I didn’t. I’m so sorry, Your Honor. I take full responsibility for my actions, and I deeply apologize to you and to my fans and to the wonderful people at Luxe.…
This line of defense was inspired by the recent antics of action star Austin Beck, who, after being caught climbing a flagpole in a pair of women’s underwear, claimed “reactive psychosis” from stress and dehydration. (Surely his weakness for psychedelic drugs had nothing to do with his stunt.)
But defending herself in a court of law hadn’t been easy for Madison. While she was experienced in exaggerations and manipulations, she was not actually a good liar. On top of that, she was unaccustomed to taking blame for anything, even if she deserved it. She’d spent the last five years of her life looking out for number one, and number one had always been Miss Madison Parker. The words “I was wrong” tasted like poison in her mouth.
But when her estranged father, Charlie Wardell, showed up in L.A., rumpled and sweet and ashamed of the way he’d abandoned her, Madison discovered a selfless side that no one thought existed. She rented him a house. She welcomed him into her life. She forgave him for leaving all those years ago. And when he vanished into thin air the morning after the Fame Game premiere, along with the diamond necklace she’d borrowed from Luxe Paris, she took the fall.
