Star (33 page)

“Twenty-one,” she answered calmly. “I’ll be twenty-two in August.” She wasn’t even a minor. It was perfect.

She was innocent, she was pure, and she was exactly what he’d been looking for, for ages. And he was going to play it for everything it was worth. He even knew of the right picture for her. All he had to do was call the director and have the star kicked off the picture, but for Ernesto, it was a small feat, and he had every intention of making the call the following morning.

He told her what he wanted her to do. He wanted her to go shopping, buy some clothes, a lot of them, he said as he peeled off a roll of bills. And come to his office on Monday morning. He was going to have the director there, he could see for himself, and by that afternoon she’d be working on a picture. He just prayed she could remember lines, but the acting coach would teach her some tricks to help her. He wondered if the other woman would stick around, too, and he turned and asked Pearl finally if she was Crystal’s mother.

She smiled, flattered that he had asked, but she shook her head. “No, I’m just a friend.”

“And your mother?” He turned to Crystal. “Where is she?” Girls like her always had ferocious mothers who were a pain in the ass for him. It was a lot easier when there was no one. Especially if there was any trouble later.

“Dead,” Crystal said quietly in her silky voice.

“And your father?”

“He’s dead too.” Her eyes looked sad and he knew it was the truth as she said it. It was even better than he thought. He could do exactly what he wanted with her. He even liked her name. It had a good ring to it for Hollywood. Crystal Wyatt. She was going to go places.
He thanked them all then, left, and a few minutes later Pearl and Crystal left too. Crystal looked dazed, and she stared at Pearl in amazement. “What does all that mean?”

“I think,” she said dabbing at her eyes with emotion, “it means that you’ve made it. Wait till I tell Harry!” But for a minute, Crystal was almost disappointed. It was everything she wanted and yet she knew that she wouldn’t be going back to the safe comfortable world of Harry’s. She was out in the real world now, and she was suddenly a little frightened of what she would find there. Ernie Salvatore did not seem anything like Harry.

“What exactly does a personal manager do?” Crystal asked Pearl, thinking of him again.

“I’m not sure. I think it’s kind of like an agent.”

“He looks scary, doesn’t he?” Crystal had never met anyone like him before, and she still wasn’t sure if she liked him.

“Don’t be silly.” Pearl brushed it off. “I think he’s very handsome.” But Pearl’s standards were a lot different from Crystal’s. And she was still haunted by memories of Spencer.

They spent the weekend exploring Beverly Hills with a car and driver who had mysteriously appeared at the hotel, sent by Ernie Salvatore. And they went to two movies, and the La Brea Tar Pits. And on Monday, Crystal reappeared in one of the dresses she’d bought with Ernie’s money. He had called it an advance when he gave it to her. But it still made her feel a little nervous. He had given her five hundred dollars, and although the prospect of shopping with his money excited her, it also scared her. Why was he doing all this? What did he want from her? She remembered hideous tales she’d heard of agents and managers in Hollywood, but she tried to tell herself this was a dream come true, wasn’t it? If she couldn’t
have the man she loved, then at least she could have her dream of stardom, and Ernie was going to help her get it.

She had bought four dresses, a handbag, two pairs of shoes, and three hats, and there was still almost two hundred dollars left over. The outfits played on her virginal looks, yet all of them had a vague suggestion of sex. A slit here, a glimpse there, a bit of veil, an open button. The heels were very high, and the skirts full, and just short enough to show the legs that Salvatore had almost applauded. And the promised director who was waiting for her in Ernie’s office was as impressed as Salvatore expected. He owed Ernie some favors anyway, so the outcome had been certain. He promised to fire his star, as long as Crystal could at least talk and remember her lines. But the part wasn’t a complicated one, nor was the story.

“You got it, babe.” The director smiled. “We start shooting next week on Monday. That gives you a week to study the script and get ready.”

She stared at him in amazement. The dream was coming true after all. And all thanks to Ernie. And suddenly everything around her seemed unreal and she felt as though she were moving underwater.

The director left shortly afterward, after promising to send her the script, and a few minutes after he left, Ernie handed her a contract.

“What do I do with this?” She looked blankly at him. Things were moving much too quickly. She wanted to talk this over with someone, but there was no one to talk to. Pearl looked as starstruck as she felt herself, and even Harry would have been out of his league with Ernie Salvatore. The agents had already told her that he was one of the best managers in town, and they had turned her over to him without a qualm. In no uncertain terms, they had released her. But something told her that she
shouldn’t trust him. She wished she could talk to Spencer about it all, but he was in another world, and through his silence she had finally understood that he had left her. But after almost three years, she still longed for him. She had been barely more than a child when he left three years before, but even he had told her that she should go to Hollywood. Maybe he’d be impressed with her if she finally did it. Maybe he’d see her name up in lights one day … maybe he’d come back to her when she was a star … but even that sounded crazy. He was gone, back to Elizabeth. For all she knew, he was back in the States by then, and he had never called her. Her days with Spencer were over now, and she had her long-awaited career to think of. At last. It felt almost like Christmas.

Salvatore handed her a pen with a knowing smile, and patted her hand very gently. “Don’t be afraid, my dear. You’re going to be a very big star. This is only the beginning.”

“Is the contract for this movie?” She was still confused, and she was wondering how he had gotten it so quickly. How had he known she would get the job? Or had the director brought it with him?

“This is an arrangement between the two of us. This way I can handle all the contracts for whatever movies you make. It’s much simpler this way. One contract between the two of us, and I handle all the rest of the nonsense for you.”

“What kind of nonsense?” She was looking straight at him, and he was slightly less amused than he had been. She was a bright one. But she was also hungry for what he had to offer, and he knew it. She had bought the clothes, ridden around all weekend in the limousine, and like all the rest of them, she was dying to be in a movie. All the lures were in place. All she had to do now was
sign the contract. And she would. He was sure of it. They all did.

“You don’t want me to bore you with all of that, do you, Crystal?” And then he laughed, as though she was being incredibly childish. “You trust me, don’t you, my dear?” How could she not? The agents had said he was one of the biggest. She glanced at Pearl, who almost imperceptibly nodded. And with that, Crystal took the pen, glanced at the contract she didn’t understand, and signed it. “Perfect.” He took the pen away from her, and then took her hand in his own and kissed it, and then slowly his eyes moved up into hers and she felt a chill run up her spine. The way he looked at her was disturbing. But as he moved away from her again, she told herself that she was being stupid. He knew what he was doing, and he was obviously good at it. He had gotten her a job in a movie, hadn’t he? But he had also gotten someone else fired to do it. She didn’t let herself think of that as he told her that he was moving her to another hotel, a better one than the place Harry had reserved for her. This one was in Westwood.

“Can I afford that now?” She didn’t even know what she was going to make on the picture, but Ernie laughed at her worries.

“Of course you can.” And then he glanced at Pearl. “And will you be staying too?” But something subtle in his eyes said that she wasn’t welcome and she felt it.

“I … well …” She looked at Crystal nervously. It was almost as though in the last few minutes, she had become useless. “I suppose I should get back to San Francisco.” She looked apologetically at both of them, and Crystal looked disappointed. Salvatore saw it, too, and smiled at them both as he put away the contract. He locked it in a drawer where, he assured Crystal, he kept his most valuable possessions.

“Why don’t you stay until next week when Crystal starts work? She’ll be awfully busy then anyway. And I’m afraid she’ll have to do a little work this week too.” He turned to her with a fatherly air and explained that he wanted her to get to work with a voice coach. She would have to go to acting classes of course, but she would also learn a lot right on the set, if she paid attention.

Pearl agreed to stay until the following weekend, and Ernie assured them both that he would have them moved to the new hotel before nightfall. He suggested they go back and pack their things, and the driver would take them to the hotel. And with their permission, he would join them later that afternoon, for cocktails. And five minutes later they were back in the car again, and Crystal was strangely quiet. She was thinking of everything that had just happened to her, and she was still too overwhelmed to believe it. Pearl chatted on endlessly, about how handsome he was, how debonair, what a great opportunity this was for her, and what a big star she would be before she knew it. And Crystal didn’t know why, but she still didn’t trust him. She didn’t say anything until they got to the hotel, and then she turned to Pearl as they were folding their clothes back into their valises.

“Do you really think he’s okay? … I mean … oh, I don’t know …” She sat down on a chair, and kicked off the high heels, wishing she could wear blue jeans for their evening out. But he had already told her that from now on she had to think of her image. She had to wear beautiful, sexy clothes, makeup, well-groomed hair, and she had to be seen all over town at every party where she was invited. And he was going to see to it that she was invited to all of them. It sounded exciting, but suddenly she couldn’t help wondering why he was so anxious to do so much for her. She shared her fears with Pearl, who told her she was crazy.

“Of course he’s okay. Are you kidding? Did you look around that office? It must have cost a million bucks just to decorate it, or something like that. You think he’d have an office like that if he weren’t someone important? Baby, you fell right onto the gravy train and you don’t even know it. And he’s doing all this because he knows you’re going to be a big star one day. The only one who doesn’t know it is you, you dummy.” She grinned at her young friend, and Crystal laughed. Listening to Pearl she suddenly felt better, and after they called Harry before they left the hotel, she felt terrific. He told her how proud of her he was, and what a big break she was getting. It was why she had come after all. And she had gotten exactly what she wanted. And they were right. She was crazy to worry about all of it. She had nothing to worry about at all. All she had to do now was sit back and enjoy it.

The suite in the new hotel looked like something in a movie set, as did the red velvet and white marble lobby. It was a small hotel in a good neighborhood, and it was undeniably very showy. But Pearl told her it would be a great place for her to be seen, and suggested she change clothes several times a day and walk around the lobby. Crystal laughed at the idea, but that afternoon she decided to try it, and the two women laughed uncontrollably as Crystal changed clothes three times and kept going back down to the lobby, ostensibly to mail a letter, get another key for her friend, and ask if someone had dropped off a package.

“Did anyone see you?” Pearl asked excitedly. She had insisted Crystal go alone, and Crystal was still laughing when she came back to relax and change into her blue jeans. She had brought them with her just in case, along with her cowboy boots and Jared’s red socks, which were still among her most treasured possessions.

“Yeah.” Crystal was still laughing as she hung up her dress and peeled off her nylons. “The desk clerk saw me. He probably thinks I’m a hooker.”

“Wait until he starts going to your movies, then he’ll know who you are!” She said it so proudly that Crystal turned slowly to face her, and walked across the room to give her a hug. She had been such a good friend for the last four years. It was going to be strange when Pearl left, being without her.

“Thank you.” Crystal said it very softly.

“What for?” Pearl sounded gruff but it barely concealed how much she loved her. Crystal had become the daughter she’d never had, and it was going to kill her to leave on Sunday and go back to San Francisco.

“Thank you for believing in me. I’d never be here if it weren’t for you and Harry.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. The agents found you at the restaurant. We had nothing to do with that.”

“You had everything to do with that. Harry hired me, you trained me. You taught me everything I know about singing on the stage. You’ve believed in me for all these years and now you’ve brought me down here. That’s a hell of a lot, if you ask me.”

“Don’t be silly. Just be happy here,” She turned to smile at her as she walked to the huge red Formica and gold bar, and helped herself to a beer in the fridge, and then sat down on a tall black velvet stool and toasted Crystal with the bottle. “To you, kid …” And then grandly, waving at the suite he had reserved for them, “And to Ernie.”

“To Ernie!” Crystal agreed, helping herself to a Coke, and feeling a lot better about him than she had that morning. She wasn’t sure anymore why she had been
worried, but she knew she had been. And obviously, without reason.

He arrived at six o’clock for drinks, as promised, and found Pearl more than a little sloshed, and Crystal in blue jeans. And Crystal felt as though she’d been caught cheating on her homework. She knew she was supposed to look glamorous, and behave herself, he had told her about the morals clauses in studio movie contracts. And here she was in blue jeans only hours after signing the contract. But he laughed at her, and even seemed amused at Pearl, and Crystal decided that he was much nicer than she had originally thought him. And when she looked at him more closely as he opened the champagne he had brought, she decided cautiously that he was actually fairly handsome. But his looks were very different from Spencer’s. Spencer was all distinction and handsome young warrior. This man looked as though he had been making his way through drawing rooms in Europe. At least once she had had several glasses of champagne, that was how Pearl described it. She called him suave and debonair, and after a few minutes, Ernie ignored her, and concentrated on Crystal. He spoke to her in a gentle voice, and told her how happy he was about the contract. He also put a thick envelope in her hand. It was a gray envelope, with his name and the address of his office engraved on very expensive paper.