Career Girls (36 page)

It was a small measure of comfort, and Topaz took a slow sip of champagne, trying to banish the vision of her enemy’s triumph. I don’t need this, she thought. I won’t give her that final victory. I won’t let her sour my life.

She got up and strolled to the fridge, checking her reflection in the wall mirror. She was a knockout. ‘Better than Joe Goldstein deserves,’ she said, smiling. Well, she’d do it in style, at least. She’d bought two sensational bottles of wine to congratulate him: vintage Mot et Chandon champagne and a Chateau Lafite 53. Maybe she’d take off the bracelet and wear her diamond necklace instead. After all, she still ran two of the most profitable magazines in the United States.

When t.he chauffeur buzzed up to the apartment, Topaz was ready for him.

She blew a kiss at her exquisite reflection, clutching a bottle in each hand. Wow! The original playgirl of the Western World. Joe would be blown away.

Oh,face one more thing wkile you’re at it, Rossi. You’re head over heels in love with your boss. Again.

The curtain was ripped away from the front of the stage and hundreds of lasers spun into the sky, crossing and recrossing in spectacular webs. The,ecstatic screams of about 8o,ooo girls rent the California skyline. They stayed screaming.

Rowena Gordon, twenty-seven years old, label boss, businesswoman, A&R goddess, rammed her knuckles into

her mouth to stop herself doing the same thing. It was absolute, total, mass hysteria. And then the band came on.

I’m telling you, the men won’t work with her,’ Maurice said, purple with rage and struggling to control himself. Unbelievable. A woman had never sat on the board of a.

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major label, never in the whole history of the record business. It was farcical. The old idiot would make fools of them all.

‘She’s not even thirty years old,’ moaned Hans, reading his thoughts.

‘She’s got no experience in classical,’ saidJakob van Rees, clutching at straws.

Josh Oberman looked at them all, whining, whingeing, carping. Pathetic. lie remembered Rowena storming into his office five years ago, hurling an armful of CDs on to his desk, passionate and furious. What were these snivelling Eurotrash? Glorified fucking accountants.

‘If people won’t work with her, we’ll just have to replace them, won’t we?’ he said with deadly calm.

Maurice and Hans swallowed nervously.

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‘You’ll be able to work with her though, won’t you?’ he

wondered aloud.

‘Oh yes,’ said all three men, hastily.

‘What do you see in her, Joshua?’ askedJakob miserably.

lie fixed the three group presidents with a contemptuous glance.

‘.She’s the son I never had,’ he said.

Joe Hunter stood centre stage, Zach’s guitar howling beauty into the blackness. Alex was running over to the left-hand monitors, his bass swinging against his body, greeting the sea of crazed fans on that side of the stadium. He felt the glory of it course through his veins. It was better than power. Better than riches. Better than sex.

He started to sing.

Why don’t we start at the end

It’s great to see you again

Have you heard anlthing new …

The answering roar shook the foundations of the building.

‘Hi Rowena,’John Metcalfsaid.

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Just when she’d thought it couldn’t get any better. ‘John!’ she exclaimed, shocked at how pleased she was to see him. ‘Oh, it’s so good to see you, it’s so good that you’re here!’

This might possibly be the best moment of her life, and she found she was delighted to have him there to share it with her. He was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, which threw his large, tanned body into sharp relief. An all-access crew laminate hung on his muscled chest.

Rowena smiled at the thought of a movie mogul humping flight cases around; although, if circumstances were different, he’d be big enough and strong enough for the job …

‘Quite a show, young lady,’ John congratulated her. ‘Makes me tempted to try music for a couple of years.’

‘Maybe I can find a place for you somewhere,’ said Rowena.

John shook his head. ‘Are you kidding? I couldn’t take the cut in salary.’

‘God, you asshole,’ said Rowena, livid. ‘You

fucking…’

‘Oh, shut up,’ said John Metcalfgently, and gathered her into his arms and kissed her.

She didn’t even bother with a token protesting squirm.

Atomic Mass were blasting through ‘Karla’ when the Musica board finally made it to the executive box, panting from the effort of climbing so many stairs, even though hordes of respectful security guards had shown them every short cut in the book. The group presidents were all wincing from the violent music and the delirious screams of the fans; Jakob was trying to hide an unimpressive hard-on which he’d got on passing two teenige girls, who, mad with worship, had torn at their shirts so much that they’d exposed their breasts, bouncing around in time to the beat. Josh Oberman noticed them too, and wished he was forty years younger. He was ecstatic with the job his protegee had done; the scene reminded him of the Beatles at Shea Stadium.

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‘It’s getting closer, It’s getting clearer, I don’t believe you, I’m getting out of here,’ soared Joe’s spectacular voice.

The board stopped dead in their tracks. Maurice, Hans andJakob were overjoyed. Surely now he would see reason.

Rowena Gordon, managing direc.tor of Luther Records, lay flat on her back, stretched underneath John Peter Metcalf III, chairman of Metropolis Studios, kissing him wildly, pressing herself into his caressing hands. Metcalf had thrust her skirt up almost to her panties, exposing her magnificent right thigh.

Joshua roared with laughter. ‘How’s it going, John?’ he bellowed. ‘I see you’ve met the president of our North American operations!’

Joe Goldstein liked to think he had the best apartment in

,TriBeCa. It was basically one huge room, with a separate bathroom. He had stripped the pine floorboards himself and painstakingly coated them with a dark varnish. The gentle light from his soft red lamps gleamed on the wood. He sat on the couch, underneath his poster of Sid Fernandez, pitcher for the Mets and all-time Goldstein hero. North wa, rds outside his window the spires of the Empire State Building stared back at him.

Good, he thought. I’m going to enjoy this.

The bell rang, and he went to open the door. He was wearing a flannel shirt, beat-up jeans and sneakers.

Topaz stood there in full evening dress, defiant and nervous and utterly beautiful. Diamonds glittered on her throat and ears, sending little points of light dancing over her blue eyes and red hair. Her deep green gown hugged her bosom and ass provocatively, taunting him. She was

without question the most attractive woman he’d ever seen. ‘Jesus Christ,’ he said, staggered.

‘Don’t say that! You’re not a Christian,’ snapped Topaz, weak with longing for him. Oh my God, you beautiful bastard.

She pushed her way past him into the apartment, trying to catch her breath from the sudden rush ofdcsire.

‘I brought you a congratulations present,’ she said,

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roughly thrusting the two bottles at him. ‘Well done.’

She sounded nearly as awkward as she felt. But what could she say? It should’ve been me! Damn you to all hell for ruining my life! Let’s go to bed?

‘Come on, Topaz. You’re hardly the good Catholic girl, now are you?’ demanded Joe, opening the Mot and wondering how long he should let her stew before he told her.

‘Don’t you insult my fucking religion,’ said Topaz, perhaps not as piously as she might have done.

Joe courteously pulled out a chair for her, and they sat

down.

The mahogany table was covered with silver candlesticks and pink and white roses, and Joe had set out fresh mango slices as a starter. He poured champagne into two Lalique crystal glasses.

‘To the director of American Magazines, East Coast,’ said Joe, raising his glass.

Topaz swallowed her anger. Once, just once, she’d allow him to gloat over her. ‘To Joe Goldstein,’ she said, saluting him.

Joe regarded her across the table. Unless he was very much mistaken, her nipples were erect. All this battling must be getting to her, he thought. He remembered how much he’d hated the pushy, masculine bitch that night, and how furious he’d been when his cock seemed to have other ideas … and how she’d hated him right back … until that one touch had set everything off.., and he remembered screwing her so hard on that desk, their mutual need so

urgent and demanding that it blocked out all reason… Topaz licked a drop of mango juice offher lips.

That’s it, Joe thought. Forget about’teasing her. If I get any more turned on, this table is going to lift an inch from the ground.

‘I wasn’t toasting myself,’ he said shortly. ‘That’s your

title now. I’m not taking the job.’

‘What?’ gasped Topaz.

‘Don’t you understand English? I’ve been offered a,

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programming position at NBC. I’ll have to drop a rung to do it, but that gets me into television, which is where I’ve always wanted to go.’

Topaz took an unladylike slug of her drink. The room was spinning.

‘So! You just reckoned you’d let me stew for a day, did you, you asshole?’ she demanded, trying to hide her joy. Poor Marissa, she thought bitchily.

‘Why don’t you shut up,’ said Joe thickly, ‘and ask me nicely ifI’ll luck you, like you want.me to.’

‘I do not,’ denied Topaz, unconvincingly.

‘Yes you do, Rossi,’ said Joe, rising from his chair and walking round the table towards her. ‘Yes you do. You’ve been hot for me all day. You’re wet for me now. Did you fantasize about it? Huh? Did you wonder if I’d sit in that big black chair in the director’s office and make you kneel under my desk and suck me off?.’

Topaz was so aroused she could hardly breathe. She sat transfixed in her chair, watching Joe come slowly towards her, a colossal erection straining under his jeans.

‘Why should I bother fucking you?’ she asked dismissi,vely. ‘You’re not even a print man any more.’

Joe towered over her, his crotch right next to her face. TII enjoy making you pay for that,’ he said.

Topaz stared at the outline of his cock, and was seized

with a paralysing longing to have it inside her.

‘Beg me to fuck you,’ said Joe.

‘Please fuck me, Joe,’ whispered Topaz, dying of lust.

‘Louder,’ Joe demanded, trying to control the urge to jump her bones immediately.

‘Please fuck me,’ she said, shaking with need.

TII fuck you when I’m good and ready,’ Joe said, and then he knelt down and seized her left ankle in a vicelike grip, and slowly licked the tender hollow under the anklebone.

Topaz moaned.

Joe worked his way up her legs inch by inch, refusing to hurry his pace, holding her down if she tried to shove herself

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against him. Eventually he reached the top of her thighs, and roughly pulled down her panties.

Topaz tensed. ‘Joe… I’ve never…’

But he could smell the beautiful thick musk of her desire. ‘I’m going to give you what you want, Topaz Rossi,’ he growled. Then, as she was shuddering with longing, he languidly trailed the tip of his tongue back and forward over her clitoris.

‘Oh, Jesus!’ Topaz screamed. ‘Oh, my God!’

‘Don’t blaspheme,’ Joe teased her. Then he licked her some more.

‘Oh,Joe! I love you! I love you! Oh,Jesus! Please fuck me! Fuck me!’ Topaz begged, insane with pleasure.

Joe’s erection was swollen almost to the point of pain. Continuing to lick Topaz out, he kicked off his shoes and pants. ‘You do want it, don’t you,’ he said. ‘Catholic girl. You want my Jewish cock in your pussy. Isn’t that right?’

Topaz withed against his tongue, completely incapable of speech.

Joe pulled her roughly offthe chair, and, unable to wait a second longer, shoved himself inside her, losing himself in the pleasure of her tight wet heat around him.

They moved together.

‘I love you,’ said Joe.

‘I love you too,’ said Topaz.

‘You’re going to get me pregnant,’ said Topaz.

‘I know that,’ said Joe.

‘Will you marry me?’ asked Topaz:

‘Oh yeah,’ said Joe Goldstein, enterin her for the fourth time. ‘Yeah.’

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Once again, Elizabeth Martin was throwing a party.

Once again, both Topaz Rossi and Rowena Gordon were invited.

And this time, everyone was watching them.

‘You can’t get an invite. Nobody can,’ Rowena told John.

,

‘If you lived in New York she’d have chosen you like a shot, but you’re from LA. Elizabeth isn’t David Geffen or Mike Ovitz. Running a movie studio won’t give you any clout with her.’

Tll get an invite,’ Metcalf told her with supreme confidence, and he had.

‘How did you manage that?’ Rowena asked, surprised, when he rang her a week before the bash. ‘That’s impossible.’

‘Nothing’s impossible,’ John teased, refusing to say. Tll pick you up at eight.’

‘What are you going to wear?’Joe asked Topaz. Since they’d been living together, Goldstein had developed an intense interest in women’s fashion, as far as it related to Topaz. The style and boldness with which she wore clothes used to infuriate him, but now he adored it. So what if the look disturbed her co-workers? Topaz was answerable to nobody. Topaz was a free spirit. That was exactly why he hadn’t been able to forget her.

‘You can wait and see,’ she replied.

‘You’ll be the most beautiful woman in the place,’ Joe said, coming up to her and taking her in his arms.

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‘I haven’t told you what I’m wearing yet,’ she pointed out.

‘You’ll be the most beautiful woman there if you turn up in a sack, he said, kissing her.