Hollywood Divorces / Hollywood Wives: The New Generation (19 page)

‘You shouldn’t be speaking to him.’

‘Tell me about it.’ She sighed. ‘He spewed a bunch of four-letter words at me, so I hung up. It didn’t bother me, because after that I didn’t pick up again. Silly me for doing it in the first place. I’ve told Danny to change all my numbers.’

‘I asked you to do that the first day I came over.’

‘Please don’t say you told me so.’

‘Well, I did.’

‘Michael—’ she said warningly.

He grimaced. ‘Okay, okay. But I want you to know that if Gregg ever touches you again, he’ll have
me
to contend with. I should’ve dealt with him the last time.’

‘I like to think he’s being punished enough.’

‘And she’s kind-hearted too.’

‘Don’t get carried away,’ she said, taking a sip of Evian. ‘I can be a bitch on wheels.’

‘Not you.’

‘Oh, yes, me.’

‘I don’t believe it.’

She smiled. ‘So…Michael, did you have to cancel something to be here tonight?’

‘No. Why?’

‘It’s just that I have this feeling you’ve probably got women crawling all over you.’

‘Hey,’ he said, feigning a quick look around, ‘I don’t see any women all over me. Do you?’

‘You’re a good-looking guy, and straight—’

‘I am?’ he joked.

‘So I, uh…wondered if you’re seeing anyone special?’

‘I date around,’ he said carefully. ‘Why?’

‘Anything serious?’ she asked, hoping it didn’t sound as if she was giving him the third-degree.

‘You know what it’s like, Lissa,’ he said casually. ‘Sometimes the other person thinks it’s more serious than it is. In fact, right now I’m about to say goodbye to someone who feels that way.’

‘Hmm,’ Lissa said. ‘What’re you going to do? Give her the old break-up speech?’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘You
know
that speech?’

‘I’ve used it a few times myself,’ she said, smiling.

‘Yeah.’ He nodded. ‘I
bet
you have.’

Their eyes met. They both realized they were flirting, but neither of them could help it. The chemistry between them was on fire.

‘Come on,’ Lissa said breathlessly, realizing she was falling into something she wasn’t sure she was ready to handle. ‘Let’s go in the kitchen and see how Nellie’s doing with the lasagna.’

Brian took Nicci to dinner at Matsuhisa and proceeded to tell her all about Evan’s previous fiancée.

She listened in stunned silence. ‘I had no idea he was engaged before me,’ she said, shaking her head.

‘You mean he never told you?’ Brian said, knocking back his third glass of sake.

‘No, he didn’t,’ she said, wondering if Brian was telling the truth.

‘And you never asked?’

‘It’s not the kind of thing you ask–I like naturally assumed he wasn’t. Anyway,’ she said, determined to hear everything. ‘What happened? Why
didn’t
they get married?’

‘’Cause my mother put the kibosh on it.’

‘She did?’

‘I’m sure you must’ve realized by this time that Evan’s her favourite.’

‘I kind of guessed,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘They speak on the phone a lot. And apparently, when she comes to L.A., she always stays with him.’

‘He wouldn’t have it any other way.’

‘How come
you
never get lucky?’

‘
I
refuse to put up with her shit,’ Brian said.

‘What kind of shit is that?’ Nicci asked curiously.

‘You’ve met her, haven’t you?’

‘Is she
that
bad?’

‘She’s a witch, babe. Sucks the blood out of everyone.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘You ever spent any time with her and Evan?’

‘Not really.’

‘Just you wait,’ he said, laughing bitterly. ‘You’re in for a trip.’

‘Evan informed me she’s arriving here any day now,’ Nicci said, ‘so I guess I’ll have to put up with her on my own.’

‘At least she
likes
you,’ Brian offered. ‘’Cause if she didn’t, she’d manage to break you and bro up in a flash.’

‘I don’t think so,’ Nicci said, quite insulted that he thought she’d be that easy to get rid of. Evan genuinely loved her, and if it came down to a choice between her and his mother, she was sure he’d choose her.

‘How long have you and Ev been together?’ Brian asked.

‘Almost six months.’

‘Well, babe,
she
’s had him for thirty years. If there’s a contest, guess who wins?’ He handed her a glass of sake. ‘Drink up,’ he said. ‘You’re gonna need it.’

She didn’t know what to think. Evan not telling her that he’d been engaged before was a major gap in communication. She drank the sake and picked up a piece of sushi with her chopsticks.

‘Who was Evan engaged to?’ she asked, deciding that she may as well find out everything.

‘A script girl on one of our movies,’ Brian answered, waving at a slinky blonde.

‘And?’ Nicci persisted. ‘What happened?’

‘Mommy didn’t think the girl was good enough for her precious little Evan.’

‘Why not?’

‘Cause she didn’t come from a famous family like you, and she had no money of her own. Lynda convinced Evan she was only chasing his big bucks and he should dump her. So he did.’

‘Oh,’ Nicci said flatly. ‘How long ago was this?’

‘About a year.’

‘A year?’ she said, confused and upset that this information had not come from Evan himself. ‘That’s only a few months before he met me.’

‘Right,’ Brian agreed, drinking more sake.

‘What was her name?’

‘It’s not important, Nic,’ Brian said, yawning. ‘She’s out of the running, an’ believe me, she’ll never come back. By the time my mother’s finished with someone, they’re gone.’

‘I can’t believe he never mentioned it to me.’

‘There’re probably a lot of things he hasn’t mentioned to you. I’m telling you, Nic, he’s not the man you think he is. Oh, yeah, he’s my brother an’ we work together, only you got no clue what you’re getting yourself into. Haven’t you noticed that he’s a screamer? Moody? An asshole?’

‘Everyone has their bad moods,’ she said quickly.

Brian stared at her intently. ‘Jesus Christ, you take some convincing, don’t you? How old are you anyway?’

‘Nineteen,’ she said, wishing he’d drop the subject.

‘Too young to screw up your future. Take my advice and hit the road while you can.’

‘Evan calls you a total fuck-up,’ she blurted.

‘I bet he does. He’s been trained by the best.’

‘Anyway,’ she said defensively, ‘how do I know you’re telling me the truth?’

‘All you gotta do is ask Lynda. She’ll be happy to fill you in.’

‘There must be a reason he hasn’t told me,’ Nicci said weakly.

‘Evan’s secretive. Always has been.’ He gave her a sleepy bedroom-eyed stare. ‘Drink up, we’re goin’ to a rave.’

‘We are?’

‘Yeah. Nic, I’ve decided it’s about time you got back into livin’ again.’

O
ver dinner Michael revealed more than he was planning to. It seemed Lissa had a way of getting him to talk about things that were intensely personal. He found himself telling her about his estrangement from his family because of Bella, and the difficulties he’d had being raised by a violent stepfather after his real dad had left home when he was ten. ‘Eddie used to beat the crap outta me,’ he confessed. ‘Until one night, when I was sixteen, I took off for eighteen months, and didn’t come back until I was sure I was stronger than him.’

‘How did you support yourself?’ she asked, her blue eyes wide with interest.

‘Lied about my age an’ got a job as a bartender,’ he said ruefully. ‘
Real
smart for a budding alcoholic.’

‘What happened then?’

‘I finally went home, decided I wanted to be a cop, and made it into the Police Academy. That
really
pissed the family off, considering my brother, Sal,
and
my stepfather regarded all cops as the lowest form of life.’ He laughed at the memory. ‘Too bad. It gave me a feeling of strength and purpose, and I kinda moved through the ranks fast. Then, much to Eddie and Sal’s disgust, I got promoted to detective.’

‘Good for you.’

‘By the way,’ he said, eating heartily, ‘this lasagna is delicious.’

‘Tell Nellie.’

‘I will.’

‘Only please,’ she added, with a slight smile, ‘try to look businesslike when you do it. I’m sure she thinks there’s something going on between us.’

‘Now why would she think that?’

Lissa shrugged. ‘Who knows?’

Their eyes met for a long, intimate look.

‘Hey, I guess I’ve been talking too much,’ he said, breaking the contact.

‘Not at all,’ she said. ‘Your stories are so interesting, especially after I bored you with
my
life story the other day.’

‘You told me nothing,’ he said, trying not to stare at her lips. ‘What you gave me was a press release.’

‘No, I didn’t,’ she objected.

‘That’s exactly what you did,’ he said, cleaning his plate. ‘Any chance of hearing the real truth? Like why you left home so young? Sounds as if you might’ve been stuck with violent parents too.’

‘No,’ she said, vigorously shaking her head. ‘They were merely emotionally bankrupt.’

He gave a hollow laugh. ‘I know
that
feeling.’

‘My shrink informed me that emotional neglect is equally as damaging as violence, and I think she’s right. After I left, they never tried to find me.’

‘You haven’t seen them since?’

‘No,’ she said, as if it didn’t matter, although deep down it still hurt when she dredged up the painful memories.

‘Sounds to me like you should call them, Lissa.’

‘Why?’ she said defensively. ‘They mean nothing to me. If they’d wanted contact, they would’ve come looking. Believe me, Michael, I’m glad they didn’t.’

‘You don’t
know
that they didn’t,’ he said, pushing his plate away.

‘I also don’t know that they did.’

‘I think you
should
call.’

‘Do you?’

‘Yeah, why not?’

‘Have you called
your
family lately?’ she asked sharply.

‘Hey, I
told
you what my brother did. He stole my daughter and claimed she was his.’

‘You also told me she
was
his.’

‘Yeah,’ he said, his stomach churning every time he thought about it. ‘When she was five years old he kidnaps her, and I’m the last to find out. My mom didn’t even tell me.’

‘I’ll make a deal with you,’ Lissa said, thinking he looked even more handsome when he was angry. ‘When
you
talk to
your
dysfunctional family,
I
’ll talk to mine.’

Nellie knocked and entered the room. ‘It’s five minutes before nine, Miss Lissa,’ she said. ‘You asked me to remind you to switch on the TV.’

‘Thanks, Nellie,’ Lissa said. ‘You can take the trays, we’re finished.’

‘And, wow, was it good!’ Michael said, flashing a killer smile in Nellie’s direction. ‘You can cook for me any time.’

Nellie beamed and removed the trays, first placing the small votive candles on the coffee table.

‘She likes you,’ Lissa said, when Nellie left the room.

‘I meant every word. I ate like food was going out of style!’

‘I’ll have to invite you again,’ she said, with a good-natured grin. ‘I appreciate a grateful guest.’

‘Name the day. If Nellie’s cooking, I’m here!’

Lissa picked up the remote and clicked on the TV.

‘Have we
really
gotta watch this?’ Michael groaned. ‘You know he’ll have nothing nice to say.’

‘I think I should stay informed.’

‘Why? It’ll only piss you off.’

‘No, it won’t,’ she said firmly.

‘Here’s an idea,’ Michael said. ‘You go put on a movie in the other room, and
I
’ll monitor the show for you. How’s that?’

‘I
want
to see what he has to say. I want to hate him even more.’

‘Hate’s not good, Lissa.’

‘Then why are
you
so full of it?’ she questioned.

‘I’ve got a legitimate reason to be mad at my family. My scumbag brother
stole
my daughter.’

‘It must have been very tough,’ she said sympathetically.

‘You have no idea,’ he said, shaking his head at the memories. ‘I loved that kid.’

‘I’m sure,’ she murmured.

The Real News
started, and they settled down to watch.

Belinda Barrow appeared on the screen, blonde and brittle. She favoured the camera with a superior smile. ‘Good evening. I’m Belinda Barrow bringing you the real news.’

‘Isn’t she a little tight around the eyes?’ Michael observed.

‘This is Nip and Tuck City,’ Lissa said. ‘One has to stay looking good.’

‘I don’t get it–what’s the point of looking thirty if you’re fifty?’

‘Who says she’s fifty?’

‘I can tell.’

‘Oh,’ Lissa said, amused. ‘So you’re an expert on women, huh?’

‘Didn’t say that.’

‘How old am
I
?’

‘Pushing seventy,’ he joked. ‘But I gotta say–you look great!’

She burst out laughing. ‘Forty,’ she said. ‘I’m forty.’

‘I know,’ he said, laughing too.

‘And you?’

‘Gettin’ up there,’ he said ruefully. ‘Forty-four.’

‘You look good.’

‘You should see the picture I got hangin’ in the attic.’

‘You’re funny when you let yourself go,’ she said, smiling.

They exchanged another long look.

‘Here we go,’ Lissa said, turning up the volume on the TV.

‘Tonight we’ll be talking to up-and-coming singer-songwriter, Gregory Lynch,’ Belinda said, reading the teleprompter with assured professionalism, her eyes barely moving as they scanned the words. ‘Gregory’s been in the headlines lately because of his separation from superstar, Lissa Roman, and later on we’ll be bringing you
his
side of the story. Our interview with Gregory Lynch makes particularly fascinating viewing, so don’t go away, because we’ll be right back after the break.’

‘Oh, God,’ Lissa groaned, running a hand through her platinum hair. ‘This is making me nervous. Why would he want to get on TV and talk about me?’

‘For money.’

‘You should’ve heard what he said on the phone earlier.’

‘What?’

‘I can’t tell you,’ she said, hesitating for a moment. ‘It’ll only make you mad.’

‘Did he threaten you, Lissa?’ Michael asked, angry at the thought. ‘’Cause if he did, I’ll pay him a visit.’

‘I hung up before he had a chance.’

‘Do me a favour, don’t answer your phone again. By tomorrow you’ll have all new numbers.’

‘It won’t be too difficult for him to get them.’

‘What does your lawyer say?’

‘He informed me that I’ll have to agree to a settlement since we were married for two years.’

‘Doesn’t your pre-nuptial cover that?’

‘I’m supposed to pay him two hundred thousand dollars a year for every year we were married. My lawyer says I’m getting off cheaply.’

‘That’s cheap?’ Michael said, raising an eyebrow.

‘According to him it is.’

‘Jesus!’

‘So I’ll pay, and hopefully he’ll go away. Wouldn’t
that
be nice?’

‘You’d better remind your lawyer to have Gregg sign a confidentiality agreement. Something that’ll stop him going public.’

‘I’d like nothing better than to shut him up,’ she said, adding a venomous–‘Permanently if I could.’

‘We should be discussing whether he has a gun,’ Michael said. ‘That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?’

‘So
that
’s why you’re here,’ she said, powerless to stop herself flirting.

‘Can’t think of any other reason,’ he said, trying not to react.

‘No?’ she said, still flirting.

‘No,’ he said, meeting her gaze.

The sexual tension between them was mounting.

‘Maybe I saw him with a gun once,’ Lissa said. ‘I’m not sure.’

He gave her a sceptical look. ‘You’re not sure?’

‘I can’t remember.’

The commercials finished and the show started. Belinda Barrow teased the Gregg Lynch interview again, then proceeded to introduce a segment about cloning.

‘Gregg must love this.’ Lissa sighed. ‘He was so
desperate to be a star. When we’d arrive at premières and everyone would yell
my
name, he hated it because
he
wanted the attention. Sometimes I think he simply grew out of love with me because I’m famous and he isn’t.’

‘Hey,’ Michael said, staring at her intently, ‘nobody in their right mind could grow out of love with you.’

‘Why are you so nice to me, Michael?’ she said softly.

‘Because I can see it’s time somebody was.’

Taylor loved the excitement of being back on a movie set. It made her feel unbelievably comfortable, surrounded by a crew who almost always became like one big family. Since marrying Larry she hadn’t worked at all, and she’d genuinely missed it. She was enamoured with everything about film-making–even the long hours between takes.

She especially enjoyed being treated like a star. Larry was the star in their household and she was his wife–a role she’d never coveted. She’d always had a burning desire to be equally important, and now she planned on achieving her objective one way or the other.

The director of the movie was Montana Gray, an interesting and smart woman who’d been around Hollywood for quite some time. Montana wrote and directed all her own projects, preferring to maintain control, which was one of the reasons she worked mostly for cable where she found she could get the freedom she desired. Succeeding as a female director was not easy. If a male director made a film that flopped at the box office, he soon got another deal. If a female director did the same thing, her career was almost over. Montana had done the unusual–she’d managed to survive in what was basically a male arena.

Montana had been married to Neil Gray, the famous English director. Neil had expired of a massive heart-attack fifteen years ago. The rumour was that, at the time, he’d
been in bed on top of Gina Germaine, a luscious blonde screen siren.

Apart from being a talented writer-director, Montana had a reputation for being a wild woman. Once, when a certain producer had pissed her off, she’d delivered an enormous gift-wrapped package of bullshit to his office. He’d discovered it on his pristine desk early one morning and gone totally berserk.

The story had sent shock waves of laughter around Hollywood. And the message was clear–Montana Gray was
not
a woman to be messed with.

When Montana strode onto the set, everyone took notice. She was, at five feet ten inches, a lean, striking-looking woman in her mid-forties, with waist-length black hair worn in a braid down her back, and direct, gold-flecked tiger eyes usually hidden beneath tinted shades.

Taylor and she hit it off immediately. Taylor was secretly thrilled that Montana had requested her for the part. No interviews, no auditions, she was the actress of choice, and that boosted her confidence.

‘What did you see in me that made you request me?’ she’d asked Montana, during the lunch break on her first day of shooting.

‘Well,’ Montana had answered thoughtfully, ‘I remembered your work, and when you married Larry Singer, I noticed you at various events. It struck me that, even though I was sure you had a strong marriage, there was a vulnerability about you, a need within you that works perfectly for this part.’

‘Oh,’ Taylor had said, somewhat taken aback that Montana was so intuitive. ‘Yes, I do have a strong marriage.’

‘Good. That’s the way it should be.’

‘That’s the way it is,’ Taylor had assured her.

‘I like Larry,’ Montana had said. ‘We’ve known each other a long while.’

‘You’ve never worked together, have you?’

‘Neil and Larry worked on a movie once. It was not a happy experience.’

‘What film was that?’

‘Nothing anyone remembers,’ Montana had said lightly. ‘And I have a suspicion Larry would prefer to forget it, too.’

On the second day of shooting they worked late. Taylor phoned their housekeeper to make sure Larry got his dinner on time. The moment he arrived home he called her. ‘You didn’t warn me this was a night shoot,’ he said, obviously put out.

‘It happens in the movie business,’ she replied. ‘How many times have
you
called
me
from the studio to say you won’t be home until midnight?’

‘That’s true, Taylor. However, I’m not happy about you being out by yourself. Have they got a car and driver for you?’

‘Of course, Larry,’ she said, savouring the words. ‘I’m the
star
of this movie.’

‘Hmm…’ he said. ‘I’m still uncertain about you accepting the role.’

‘Why?’

‘You have a reputation to maintain.’

‘
What
reputation?’ she said scornfully. ‘I’m married to
you,
so anything I do should be acceptable.’

‘Would you like me to visit the set one day?’