Hollywood Divorces / Hollywood Wives: The New Generation (24 page)

‘That might be exactly what I need right now,’ Lissa said, laughing ruefully.

‘No way,’ Nicci said. ‘Oh, yeah, and like before I forget, Evan’s mom is flying in. She wants to meet you.’

‘Arrange something for when I get back. How soon is the wedding now?’

‘Two weeks,’ Nicci said, trying not to mind that her mother had forgotten the date of her only daughter’s wedding. ‘And I’m nervous.’

‘It’ll be wonderful,’ Lissa assured her, determined to be more involved. ‘Can I come and see your dress next week?’

‘If you want to.’

‘Of
course
I want to.’

They kissed and hugged. Nicci wished her luck with her show, and Lissa said she hoped the bachelorette night was a blast.

‘I’ll call you Sunday morning, find out all about the dangling macho studs,’ Lissa said, with a smile.

‘Thanks, Mom,’ Nicci said, grinning. ‘I’ll be sure to take notes especially for you!’

By the time Lissa tracked James down, he was ready to go, although Claude seemed to be having an excellent time catching up with all his pals in the music business, listening to the Latino band, and admiring the two gorgeous Latino singers, male
and
female.

‘I’m gonna stay a while,’ Claude announced. ‘You an’ Lissa take the car an’ send it back for me.’

‘Very well,’ James replied, somewhat tight-lipped. ‘Come, Lissa.’

‘You’re an amazing couple,’ Lissa remarked, as they stood outside the front door waiting for the Rolls.

‘What do you mean?’ James said.

‘The two of you are complete opposites. You’re so English and proper. Well,’ she said, laughing lightly, ‘not exactly
proper,
but you know what I mean. And Claude is Mister Music Biz.’

‘Sometimes those are the relationships that work the best,’ James said mysteriously. ‘Although I’m not at all thrilled about Claude wanting to stay. He has eyes for the sleazy singer in the tight pants, the one with the eyebrows and the attitude. The poor dear is experiencing a slut night!’

‘Are you faithful to each other?’ Lissa asked curiously.

‘If you’re inquiring as to whether we’re always true to each other, the answer is…sometimes.’

‘Sometimes?’

‘Yes, dear. Do not question me further. It’s a gay thing.’

Montana drove her sleek black Ferrari extremely fast. She roared up to the front of the Domingo estate, pulling up just as Lissa and James were about to get into Claude’s Rolls.

‘Lissa!’ Taylor said, frantically waving. ‘My best friend! How
are
you?’ She jumped out of the Ferrari, ran over to Lissa and gave her a big hug. ‘I know you must think I’m the disloyal friend of all time, but I’m working. Isn’t
that
something?’

‘Larry told me.’

‘Lissa, do you know Montana Gray?’ Taylor asked as Montana walked over.

Lissa turned and extended her hand to the tall, striking-looking woman. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ she said. ‘I’ve heard many good things about you.’

‘Thanks,’ Montana replied, smiling. ‘The admiration’s mutual.’

‘I hope
we
get to work together one day.’

‘Talk to your agent, I’m available,’ Montana said.

‘Right now she’s mine!’ Taylor interrupted. ‘And I’m having the
best time.
’

‘See you inside,’ Montana said, still smiling. ‘Nice meeting you, Lissa.’

‘Can you believe I’m working with her?’ Taylor said excitedly, as Montana entered the house.

‘She seems great,’ Lissa remarked.

‘Not great–amazing!’ Taylor enthused. ‘It’s only a cable movie, but it’s
such
a moving script. Today we shot my love scene with–guess who?’

‘Can’t wait to hear.’

‘Sonja Lucerne.’

‘Really?’

‘The movie’s about two women in love. And it’s powerful–especially the love scenes. Oh, God, Lissa, I am
so
happy to be back in action. Why did I ever stop?’

‘You
stopped
to be there for Larry,’ Lissa reminded her.

‘And, speaking of Larry,’ James said, joining in, ‘he’s inside, and extremely pissed you’re not here.’

‘Oh dear. I suppose I should’ve called.’

‘That would’ve been a good idea,’ James said.

‘I’d better go see him. Is it a good party?’

‘If you’re into the music scene you’ll be here all night,’ Lissa said. ‘They’ve got a sensational Latino band.’

‘Not
that
good.’ James sniffed.

‘The actors are fleeing now,’ Lissa said, ‘getting ready for their early calls.’

‘Sure,’ Taylor said, laughing. ‘Like some of them haven’t had an early call in years, right?’

Everyone laughed.

‘As soon as I’m through with this movie, I’ll come over and you can fill me in on everything,’ Taylor said, hugging Lissa. ‘Of course, you
do
know that I never liked Gregg.’

‘Who did?’ James said,
sotto voce
.

‘How come everyone’s telling me now?’ Lissa said irritably. ‘I can’t understand why nobody mentioned it
before
I married him.’

‘We did, only you weren’t listening.’

James nodded. ‘Blinded by love, dear.’

‘And probably incredible sex,’ Taylor added.

Lissa shook her head. ‘See you in Vegas,’ she said. ‘And for your information, the sex was
not
that incredible.’

‘Maybe I’ll ask Montana if she wants to come to Vegas,’ Taylor said.

‘I’m sure Larry will be ecstatic,’ James drawled. ‘You know how he
adores
sharing your company.’

‘He’ll have to get used to it,’ Taylor said crisply. ‘I’ve decided to change my lifestyle.’

‘That’ll be amusing to watch,’ James said, getting in the car with Lissa. ‘You mark my words,’ he said, wagging a long, thin index finger. ‘There’ll be nothing but trouble in the Oscar winner’s paradise. Those two are on a collision course, and it won’t be pretty.’

By the time Amber and Quincy left Carol’s apartment, it was past ten. Michael stretched and yawned, he was dying to leave too. ‘I got a real busy day tomorrow,’ he said to Carol, who didn’t seem to be listening.

‘I was thinking,’ she said, picking a rose out of a vase and sniffing it.

‘About what?’

‘I was thinking that you might want to stay over tonight,’ she said, handing him the rose.

‘Y’know, I’d love to,’ he said, already on his feet. ‘Only I’ve got one of those days tomorrow, an’ Q’s kinda putting in half-days. So, you know what it’s like, everything’s left to me.’

She put her arms around him, running her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. ‘Michael, Michael,’ she murmured dreamily, ‘I’m falling more in love with you every day. You do know that, don’t you?’

Oh, Jesus! She’d just come out with the L word. Why hadn’t he given her the speech? Screw Quincy and his ideas. This was getting too hot to handle.

‘Uh, listen,’ he said, wondering how he could make a fast escape without hurting her feelings, ‘you’re a terrific woman, Carol, but I’ve told you before, I’m not ready to be involved in a serious relationship.’

‘I’m not asking you to,’ she answered smoothly. ‘However, I do have to talk to you about something important.’

‘You do, huh?’ he said, inwardly groaning.

‘Will you sit down and have a brandy with me?’

‘You know I don’t drink,’ he said, irritated that she didn’t remember.

‘Sorry, I forgot. Do you mind if
I
have one?’

Oh Christ! What was she going to say? More declarations of love?

‘Go ahead, I’ll have water.’

‘I’ve got that non-alcohol beer you like.’

‘No, that’s okay,’ he said, immediately thinking about Lissa and her joke about the beer gut.

Yeah, Lissa. What was she doing? She’d probably hooked up with some handsome stud by now and forgotten all about him.

Carol poured herself a brandy, passed him a bottle of Evian, and sat down on the couch, patting the space beside her. Reluctantly, he joined her.

‘I’m glad you enjoyed dinner,’ she said.

‘You’re an excellent cook.’

‘Thanks. My mother taught me,’ she said, edging closer.

‘Yeah?’ he said, wondering how soon he could back off without it appearing obvious.

‘Although Amber couldn’t help giving me a few helpful hints.’

‘Amber’s really something.’

‘Yes, she is,’ Carol agreed. And then all of a sudden she moved in and began kissing him.

Michael found it most off-putting when a woman initiated kissing. It meant you couldn’t stop, you had to go forward, even if you didn’t want to.

He kissed her back, he had no choice.

She had an annoying habit of running her tongue over his teeth, and as she did that, he realized there was absolutely nothing left between them. He couldn’t have got a hard-on under any circumstances. The thrill was long gone.

I’ve gotta get out of here
, he thought.
I’ve gotta get out of here right now.

‘Uh…what did you want to talk about, Carol?’ he asked, finally extracting himself.

‘Before I tell you what it is,’ she said, sitting up very straight, ‘I want you to know that I’m not asking you for a thing.’

‘Huh?’ he said, wondering what the hell she was coming up with.

‘I
want
to do this,’ she said earnestly. ‘I’m doing it for me. So…you can be as involved as you want, or not involved at all. Whatever you decide, I promise I’ll understand. And I’ll
never
ask anything from you financially.’

He felt a bad feeling enveloping him. ‘What?’ he managed.

‘I’m pregnant,’ she said.

L
arry was anxious to leave the party as soon as Taylor showed up. ‘I’ve been here for hours,’ he complained, tapping his watch, ‘and I’m very tired.’

She was having none of it. ‘Well, I’m
not
,’ she said, quite exhilarated.

‘Aren’t you working tomorrow?’

‘Late call,’ she said, waving at Stella and Seth across the room.

We have important things to discuss regarding your project,’ Larry said, hoping to lure her home that way.

‘Do you mind if we sit down first, so I can at least get something to eat?’ she said, pulling him out to the tented patio.

‘I’ve already eaten,’ he said. ‘It would be better if we talked at home. This band is too noisy for conversation.’

‘You’re such a grouch,’ Taylor said, obviously on a high. ‘Please
don’t
spoil my great day.’

‘I have things to tell you, Taylor. Things that will please you.’

‘So tell me at the table, darling,’ she said, holding onto his arm. ‘Come on, I want you to meet Montana.’

‘I already know Montana,’ he said, in a surly voice. ‘I worked with her husband once.’

‘She mentioned it. You were married to Susan at the time.’

‘What has that got to do with anything?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Then why bring it up?’

‘I’m having the
best
time with Montana,’ Taylor said, refusing to let him ruin her night.

‘I’m sure you are,’ Larry said, getting more uptight by the minute.

‘She’s an amazing director,
so
in touch with her actors.’

‘That’s nice,’ Larry said.

‘Of course,
you
’re always in touch with your actors, aren’t you?’ she said, grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

‘I try to be,’ Larry said, sensing it was going to be a long night. ‘Taylor,’ he said seriously, ‘I’ve been giving a lot of thought to your project, and you’re right, you
should
be in control, not working for other people.’

‘What if the other person was you, Larry?’

‘Meaning?’

‘There’s a wonderful female role in your next movie,’ she said, seizing the opportunity. ‘Why can’t
I
play it?’

It was the first time she’d asked if she could be in one of his films, and she felt particularly bold doing so. But what the hell? She was an actress, for crissakes, and he was her husband. Why
couldn’t
he give her the part?

‘I…I hadn’t thought about it,’ he said hesitantly. ‘The studio—’

‘Oh, please!’ she interrupted. ‘
You
tell the studio what
you
want. Everyone knows you make all the creative decisions.’

‘I wasn’t aware that you had any desire to be in my movie.’

‘Why wouldn’t I? You’re an incredible director. Most actors would kill to work with you.’ She took a gulp of champagne. ‘Montana said I was brilliant today, absolutely brilliant.’

‘What did you do?’

‘Shot a love scene between me and Sonja Lucerne, who, I must say, is extremely charming, and totally professional.’

‘I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,’ he said, not liking the thought of
his
wife indulging in a love scene with another woman. Quite frankly, it disgusted him.

‘Anyway, darling,’ Taylor said, ‘if
you
want to go home, I’ll understand. And I’m sure you won’t mind if I stay and wind down. You know what it’s like when the old adrenaline is pumping. I won’t be able to sleep for hours.’

‘I’ll stay with you,’ he said stiffly. ‘And then you can hear what I’ve arranged.’

‘What?’ she said, her eyes darting around the room to see if she could spot Montana.

‘I gave your script to a new writer,’ Larry said, stroking his beard. ‘I think he can do something special with it, something the studio will approve of. So I’ve gone ahead and arranged a meeting with him and a couple of Orpheus executives. Naturally you’ll be there. And if you want, I’ll come too.’

‘Larry,’ she said happily, ‘this is fantastic news. Who’s the writer?’

‘Now don’t get excited, because the studio has already approved him.’

‘They have?’

‘You have to trust me on this, because if there’s one thing I know, it’s talent.’

‘
Who,
Larry?’

‘Oliver Rock.’

There were more messages from Evan when Nicci got home. Saffron had not come with her, she’d decided it was better for Lulu to sleep in her own bed.

Nicci played the messages over several times. Saffron
was right, he
did
sound uptight, especially when he called her unreliable.

Ha! She might be unreliable–although she didn’t think she was. But
he
was a liar–he should’ve told her about a former fiancée, it was unsettling that he hadn’t.

She switched all the phones off, including her cell, and went to bed. Tomorrow she’d get into it. Tonight she was still too hung-over.

And as she drifted off to sleep her last thought was of Brian with his sleepy bedroom eyes and crooked grin.

Brian, Brian, Brian…

Did we? Or didn’t we?

The workforce were out in droves, running in and out of Lissa’s house as if it was a 7-Eleven. Fabio was all over the place.

‘My darling, I want you to try out these extensions,’ he said, holding up swatches of blonde hair. ‘They’ll be absolutely divine!’

‘I’m not sure I want extensions, Fabio. Too much hair when I’m dancing gets in my way.’

‘Darling, they’ll look amazing! And I’ve been dreaming of gold makeup. You have to be a
golden
beauty. Lissa Roman, you will
own
the stage.’

‘Maybe,’ she said unsurely.

‘Shall we test it today, my sweets?’

‘No, we’ll do it in Vegas. I’m not in the mood today.’

Her clothes designer and his three assistants were dashing in and out of the house, ferrying back and forth several outfits, all of which she had to try on. Her favourite jeweller, Neil Lane, was busy tempting her with fabulous pieces of art-deco jewellery, and she was trying to decide what to borrow to wear in her show. She finally decided on an amazing emerald and diamond necklace from the twenties, and two magnificent Cartier diamond
cuffs from the thirties. She toyed with some earrings from the Mae West estate, then decided they were too flamboyant.

Max was running around, attempting to persuade her to grant an interview to the
L.A. Times.

She demurred. ‘It’s too soon,’ she said. ‘They’ll want to talk about Gregg.’

‘They have strict orders not to,’ he assured her.

‘You know how it happens, Max. Whether I talk about him or not, they’re bound to mention him in the piece.’

‘The journalist is a personal friend of mine,’ Max said. ‘We can trust him.’

‘Fine.’ She sighed, realizing that Max was not about to let up. ‘When would you like me to do it?’

‘Lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel?’

‘I wasn’t planning on leaving the house today.’

‘Then should I have Nellie organize a light lunch here?’

‘You know I don’t allow journalists into my home.’

‘Make up your mind, Lissa,’ Max said, getting quite testy. ‘What
do
you want to do?’

‘All right,’ she said reluctantly. ‘Lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel.’ She buzzed Danny. ‘Is everything set for tomorrow?’

‘All organized, Miz Roman,’ Danny said.

‘Add Mr Scorsinni to the list. He’s coming with us on the plane.’

‘Certainly,’ Danny said, quite pleased at the prospect of seeing the extraordinarily handsome private investigator again.

Lissa wondered if she should call Quincy and double-check that Michael was indeed coming. Then she decided no, it wouldn’t do to look too anxious. If Michael
wasn’t
coming, Quincy would have let her know.

Why did she want him there anyway?

She couldn’t answer that. He made her feel safe. Yes,
that was it–safe and secure, protected from anything Gregg might do.

She called Kyndra to thank her for the party. Kyndra was still asleep, even though it was past noon.

James phoned and launched into a litany of bitter complaints about Claude, who apparently had not come home at all. ‘He
said
he went to the beach house and slept
there,
’ James said. ‘
Of course
he did, and he probably took that Latin slut with him. Men!’

‘What are you planning to do about it?’ Lissa asked.

‘Nothing,’ James said sullenly. ‘I
will
get my revenge–just you wait until Vegas.’

That’s all she needed, James in his drama-queen mood prancing around Vegas, trying to get back at Claude.

Across town Gregg Lynch sat with Patrick, the Australian journalist friend of Belinda’s, in a café on Larchmont Avenue, drinking black coffee while trying to dredge up any new information about Lissa Roman he could think of.

‘The bitch won’t even take my calls,’ he complained. ‘She’s a first-class cunt.’

‘They all are,’ Patrick said sympathetically. ‘I’ve dealt with enough movie stars to know what a bunch of useless wankers they are.’

‘Right,’ Gregg agreed.

‘You gotta understand,’ Patrick said, a heavy-set man with greased-back dyed black hair. ‘Anything you come up with is worth money. What about her childhood? Nothing’s ever been written about that. You got any dirt?’

‘Nothing,’ Gregg said. ‘She told me she left home and ran off to New York when she was sixteen, hasn’t seen her parents since.’

‘Bingo!’ Patrick crowed, waving his pen in the air. ‘That’s good enough.’

‘It is?’ Gregg said blankly.

‘There’s your story–dumped her family. Never seen them since.’

‘I’m not sure,’ Gregg said hesitantly. ‘She never talked about them, always said they never came looking for her, so she never went looking for them.’

‘This is juicy stuff,’ Patrick said, scribbling down a few notes in a tattered notebook. ‘Now all you gotta do is tell me what town she came from. Maybe you’ve got an address or something? I can take it from there.’

‘How’m I supposed to know that?’ Gregg said.

‘Christ, you were
married
to the skirt. You gonna tell me you don’t know where she’s from?’

‘We weren’t exactly investigating her history,’ Gregg said. ‘We were too busy fucking.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Patrick said. ‘We’ll play up the nympho angle. But I gotta have more. Did she keep a journal, shit like that?’

‘As a matter of fact,’ Gregg said, ‘she did have a bunch of old journals from when she was a kid.’

‘Where’d she keep ’em?’

‘In a big storage room behind her pool house. That’s where she stores all her old junk.’

‘Can you get into it?’

‘How? She’s got guards crawling all over the property. I can’t get into a fucking thing. They packed up my stuff and dumped it outside the front door. What a
bitch!
’

‘You must have
some
connections. A maid, one of the guards, the friggin’ gardener, for crissakes?’

‘She has a gay assistant, Danny,’ Gregg said. ‘He kind of had eyes for me.’

‘How about calling him?’

‘I could do that.’

‘Go for it,’ Patrick said, waving at the waitress to bring him more coffee. ‘If you want big bucks for your story, we
gotta dig deep. The diaries could be the stuff we need. I can see the headline now.’

‘Maybe I can get in the house when she’s in Vegas,’ Gregg said, thinking it might be possible. ‘She’s opening the Desert Millennium Princess Hotel on Saturday night with her show.’

‘Legally you’re still her husband,’ Patrick said, encouraging him. ‘You have rights. I don’t see how they can keep you out. And the security won’t be so intense if she’s not home.’

‘That’s true,’ Gregg said. ‘I’ll call Danny, see what I can find out.’

‘You do that, mate. Big score–here we come!’

‘What the
fuck
is the matter with you today?’ Quincy said, staring at his partner as they sat in his office.

Michael had spent the day wandering around in a daze. He was so shocked by Carol’s news that he didn’t know what to do next. The first thing he’d wanted to ask her was if she’d slept with anyone else, only that would have been insulting. And, anyway, he knew she hadn’t, because when they’d first started sleeping together she’d promptly informed him she was planning on being monogamous, and she hoped he was too. That had been months ago.

‘I don’t feel so good,’ he said, rubbing his chin.

‘You don’t look so good either,’ Quincy observed. ‘You’re still goin’ to Vegas tomorrow, right? You know I’d go if I could, but look at me–I’m on crutches, for crissakes.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I’m goin’,’ Michael said, lighting a cigarette. ‘I’ll be glad to get out of town.’

‘Somethin’ happen after we left last night?’ Quincy asked curiously. ‘You didn’t give her the speech, did you?’

Michael wanted to tell him the truth, only then Q
would go running back to Amber, she’d open her big mouth to the world, and who needed that?

On the other hand, if he
didn’t
tell Quincy, what was he going to do? Keep it to himself?

He got up and closed the door. ‘Here’s the deal, Q. I’ll tell you what went on, but you have to give me your word not to run back to your wife, who probably knows anyway. This is strictly between us, okay?’

‘What the fuck you talkin’ about?’ Quincy asked.

‘Carol’s pregnant.’

‘She’s
what?
’

‘Pregnant, knocked up–a bun in the oven.’

‘Yours?’

‘According to her,’ Michael said, exhaling a stream of smoke. ‘I could get her to take a test, but I know it’s mine.’

‘Aw, jeez, there goes your let’s-say-goodbye speech.’

‘You can say that again.’

‘What’re you gonna do?’

‘What
can
I do? I don’t believe in abortion, and even if I did, she wouldn’t do it. She says she’s having the kid and doesn’t want anything from me.’

‘Shit!’ Quincy said. ‘I’m sorry, man.’

‘You think I want another child coming into the world that’s not really mine?’ Michael said.