Hollywood Divorces / Hollywood Wives: The New Generation (62 page)

‘All you think about is your goddamn stomach,’ Linc remarked, jogging at a steady pace. ‘It wouldn’t hurt for you to lose a few pounds. You got a gut like a pregnant cow.’

It was impossible to insult Freddy–he was impervious to it. ‘Listen to Mr Fit,’ Freddy chortled. ‘You
gotta
stay in shape. I don’t.’

‘Dead right if I’m doing your next movie,’ Linc agreed.

‘Bet your ass,’ Freddy said, swatting a fly from his face. ‘The studio were screamin’ for Vin Diesel. I told ’em to go fuck ’emselves. This script is yours.’

Freddy had flown in the night before to meet with Linc and talk about the film he wanted him to sign on for. Although it was another big action adventure, Linc figured that after the romantic comedy it would be a wise move to return to his usual genre.

He hadn’t had a chance to mention Freddy’s movie to Shelby, although he was sure they could work it so that they’d both be able to spend time on each other’s locations. After all, work was work, and she’d chosen to do another movie rather than stay with him in New York. He conveniently forgot that he’d persuaded her to do so.

Freddy insisted that they go to the Carnegie Deli for brunch.

‘Can’t go there,’ Linc objected. ‘I’ll get hassled for autographs an’ shit.’

‘You got security,’ Freddy pointed out. ‘This is New York–nobody gives a crap about you.’

‘Thanks. Did you happen to see the paparazzi hanging out the fuckin’ trees?’

‘What they gonna say about you?’ Freddy said. ‘That you’re a fag ’cause you’re out joggin’ with me?’

Linc laughed. ‘
That
’d make a change.’

‘Have your guys meet us at the deli,’ Freddy suggested, leaning against a tree, totally out of shape.

Linc signalled to one of his security team. ‘I’ll see you at the Carnegie Deli. I’m going in Mr Krane’s car.’

Freddy’s car and driver were waiting at the entrance to the park. The two men got in the car and the driver took off.

‘How was Cannes?’ Freddy enquired, lighting a cigarette. ‘Same old rat-fuck?’

‘I got my usual shitty reviews.’

‘Throw ’em in the crapper. I
never
had a decent review, an’ I’m the richest goddamn producer in Hollywood.’

‘Yeah, you and Arnold Kopelson.’

‘Arnie’s the greatest. But
I
make the best action films,’ Freddy boasted.

The Carnegie Deli was crowded. Freddy pushed to the head of the line. When the hostess saw Linc, she immediately made room, seating them at a corner table. Freddy summoned a waitress and ordered eggs, smoked salmon, lean corned beef, bagels and cream cheese for the two of them.

‘No surprise you got a gut,’ Linc remarked. ‘Whatever happened to fruit and yogurt?’

‘Screw the healthy crap,’ Freddy scoffed. ‘My cholesterol’s rising, but who gives a shit?’

‘You should look after yourself,’ Linc lectured. ‘You’re no kid.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Freddy said, not listening. ‘We’ll have dinner tonight, you’ll meet my new girl.’

‘Christ, Freddy,’ Linc groaned. ‘Not
another
would-be actress.’

‘
You
did okay, an’
you
married an actress,’ Freddy pointed out, attacking a large onion bagel.

‘Shelby’s different.’

‘You always were one lucky sonofabitch,’ Freddy said, slathering on the cream cheese.

‘You can say that again.’

An energetic, tanned man approached their table. Freddy jumped up and they exchanged high fives.

‘Kenny, m’boy!’ Freddy greeted. ‘How’re they hangin’?’

‘No complaints,’ Kenny replied, with a big smile.

Freddy turned to Linc. ‘This guy knows everyone in New York,’ he enthused, ‘
and
he manages t’ keep a sharp
eye on my portfolio. Made me a bundle last year. Kenny Rickle meet Linc Blackwood.’

‘A pleasure,’ Kenny said, slipping his card in Linc’s direction. ‘Anything you want while you’re in town, call. I’m a
big
fan.’

‘I’ll do that,’ Linc said, pocketing Kenny’s card.

Kenny drifted off to join a table crowded with several New York models.

‘The dude’s a player,’ Freddy said, sitting down and piling even more cream cheese on his bagel. ‘Jeez!’ he added, waxing nostalgic. ‘Remember
our
single days?’

‘You rarely
had
a single day,’ Linc reminded him. ‘You skipped from one wife to the next.’

‘Fuckin’ alimony whores,’ Freddy grumbled. ‘Those bitches are worse than the IRS.’

‘Who’s this one tonight?’ Linc asked.

‘One of those supermodel types–she’s lookin to break into movies.’

‘Ambitious. The worst kind.’

‘You’ll like her, she’s a far-out broad. An’ talkin’ of broads, how ya doin’ with La Sanchez? She as hot as everyone says?’

‘She’s a number, all right.’

‘I
bet
she is,’ Freddy said, busily stirring three lumps of sugar into his creamy coffee. ‘Saw her on
Letterman
the other night. Y’know, there’s somethin’ about her that’s kinda familiar.’

‘Sure there is,’ Linc said, drinking his coffee black. ‘She’s been in–what? Five movies in the last four years?’

‘I’m wonderin’ if she was an extra on one of
my
movies,’ Freddy said, slurping his coffee. ‘It’s like I know her from before.’

‘Before what?’

‘Before she was a star, schmuck.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Linc said sarcastically. ‘
You
discovered her.
According to you, everyone from Meg Ryan to Julia Roberts was your discovery.’

‘It probably
was
me. I got the eye,’ Freddy said, watching two tall blondes who were standing by the counter.

‘You’ve got an eye all right,’ Linc said, swivelling his head to check out the blondes. ‘New York women, stylish, right?’

Freddy rubbed his hands together. ‘Forget about style,’ he said with a raucous chuckle. ‘Gimme a hot L.A. body any day. Fake tits an’ a cocksuckin’ mouth. That’s
my
style!’

W
orking with Nick Logan turned out to be a pleasant surprise. He was on time, knew all his lines, looked almost handsome once the makeup and hairdressing department had shaved off his beard and cleaned him up. Best of all, he was a terrific actor.

Cat had dealt with a raggle-taggle band of amateurs on her previous movie. Now, working with professionals was a major kick. Her cinematographer was a thoughtful and extremely helpful collaborator. He advised her, but not in a superior way, which made her feel that she was getting the best out of him and
still
implementing her own ideas.

There was so much to think about, so much to do. As the director, everyone came to her for decisions. It was a huge responsibility, but one she felt she was capable of taking on. She even had her own assistant, Kodi, a cute Chinese girl who was probably older than her but did everything she asked, which was kind of cool.

Fortunately Jonas was there for her, watching her back, making sure it all went smoothly. Even Merrill visited the set on the first day of shooting to wish everyone luck. He was his usual powerful presence, puffing on a huge cigar, trailed by a temporary assistant–a skinny man with bright red hair, handpicked by Jonas.

On the second day of principal photography Cat’s lawyer
called her on the set. ‘I know you’re in the middle of a thousand things,’ Leo said, ‘only I thought you should know that I’ve had a response from your husband. He doesn’t want a divorce, refuses to hire a lawyer, insists that he talks to you, and says this can all be worked out when he gets back.’

‘That’s crap, Leo,’ she said angrily, cradling her cellphone. ‘He doesn’t get it. There’s
no way
I’m putting up with him screwing around on me.’

‘I hear you,’ Leo said. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll deal with it.’

‘Please do,’ she said, and clicked off her phone.

Like she didn’t have enough to deal with, and Jump was
not
a priority.

‘What’s up?’ Nick Logan asked, sidling over, a cigarette dangling from his lower lip. ‘Boyfriend problems?’

‘Were you listening to my conversation?’ she demanded.

‘Half the set heard it,’ he said, squinting at her with sleepy amber eyes. ‘You were fuckin’ yelling.’

‘I was
not
,’ she responded indignantly.

‘If you say so.’

‘And I don’t
have
a boyfriend,’ she added. ‘If you
must
know, I have a husband.’

‘Nasty.’

‘What?’

‘Husbands who dick around,’ Nick said, flicking ash on the ground. ‘’Specially on a knock-out babe who looks like you.’

‘Don’t hit on me, Nick,’ she said, fixing him with a steely glare. ‘I’m not into it.’

‘Then you’d better let me know when you are, an’ maybe we’ll do somethin’ ’bout it.’

Before she could reply he drifted off, conferring with the script supervisor who definitely had a crush on him.

God, he was annoying! Although his cocky attitude didn’t seem to stop every woman on the set from developing a crush on him.

Cat couldn’t care less. As long as he did good work, that was all that mattered. She had no eyes for getting involved, and certainly not with an actor.

Shelby continued to see Pete, reasoning to herself that she wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was well aware that her husband would hardly approve of her spending time with an old boyfriend, but what Linc didn’t know wouldn’t irritate him.

On the other hand, Pete was a good friend, and it wasn’t as if she’d ever slept with him. During the time they were together they’d indulged in a few steamy necking sessions, which was kind of juvenile, considering the amount of women Linc had slept with in his past.

The truth was that she enjoyed Pete’s company. He didn’t drink or smoke, he simply got on with things in a down home kind of way. He reminded her of normal life–the way it was before she’d moved to Hollywood and married a famous movie star with a drinking problem.

She drove to Pete’s gym in Santa Monica, found a parking meter and left her car on the street.

The gym was massive, with huge windows overlooking the ocean, and all the latest equipment. It was full of toned, hard bodies working non-stop to make them even fitter. ‘I feel so out of shape,’ she said ruefully, looking around.

‘You’re not,’ Pete responded, once again obviously delighted to see her. ‘You’re very toned and, uh…very beautiful.’

‘Thanks,’ she murmured, wishing he wouldn’t go there. She wasn’t seeking compliments, merely friendship.

‘I’ll give you the tour,’ he said.

‘I’d like that,’ she said, following him around as he
showed her the steam room, lap pool and massage rooms.

‘Gotta say I’m looking forward to seeing you in
Rapture
,’ he remarked. ‘I hear your performance is quite something.’

‘Oh,’ she said, suddenly shy. ‘You must’ve heard about the nude scene.’

‘The word’s around.’

‘Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to shoot? I
begged
the director for a closed set, yet people managed to sneak in anyway.’

‘That’s the way it goes.’

‘At one point there were men actually hanging off the rafters. It was most disconcerting.’

‘And I bet you handled it like you handle everything–with your usual style.’

‘I try,’ she said modestly.

After the tour they sat down in his cluttered office, where he offered her a bottle of Evian, picked up the script and began going over the stunts he thought she might be up to attempting. ‘The car stunt’s a breeze,’ he assured her. ‘You can handle it, no problem.’

‘I can?’ she asked unsurely.

‘You bet,’ he said, nodding vigorously. ‘I already spoke to Cat about it.’

‘You did?’

‘Yeah, it’s important, Shelby, ’cause sometimes the audience spots it when a stunt double takes over.’

‘Not in your movies they don’t.’

‘I appreciate that.’

‘Have you ever doubled for Linc?’

‘Sure did. There was no way you could tell us apart on the screen.’

‘You’re not as tall as him.’

‘We faked it with shoes, hairpieces, whatever.’

‘Show me the movie and I’ll guess who’s who.’

‘I have a DVD of it,’ he said. ‘Hey, wanna come by my place later an’ take a look?’

‘No, Pete,’ she said quickly. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’

‘Why?’ he said, challenging her. ‘We’re friends, aren’t we?’

‘I wouldn’t feel comfortable.’

He gave her a long look. ‘Is there a reason for that?’

‘Well…’ she began, wishing he hadn’t asked. ‘I…uh…haven’t mentioned to Linc that we bumped into each other.’

‘You haven’t? How come?’

‘I’m sure you remember that Linc can be quite jealous.’

‘Oh, yeah, I remember.’ A long, silent beat. ‘Y’know, Shelby, I thought by this time he would’ve got you pregnant. I always imagined you with a couple of kids. You’d be a sensational mother.’

‘We, uh…we’ve discussed having children,’ she said. Then she stopped abruptly. ‘You know what, Pete?’ she said, brushing back her long hair. ‘Talking about this is too personal.’

‘Sorry,’ he said quickly. ‘I shouldn’t’ve gone there. It’s none of my business, right?’

She nodded, suddenly feeling disloyal to her husband. ‘I’ve got to go,’ she said, getting up. ‘Thanks for the tour.’

‘Any time,’ he said, throwing her a quizzical look. ‘Don’t forget, I’m always here for you.’

Lola did not return to her hotel until Sunday evening, having spent
the
most glorious weekend with Tony. In her heart she could not imagine why she had ever left him. Tony Alvarez understood her better than any man ever had. They were soulmates, destined to be together.

Big Jay escorted her up to her suite, where there was a ton of messages waiting for her. She had not bothered to turn on her cellphone all weekend, therefore she’d been unreachable.

Naturally she’d seen the papers.
TONY AND LOLA–TOGETHER AGAIN!
With huge front-page pictures in the
Post
and the
Daily News
.

She was thrilled to see how fantastic they looked together. The story inside was not such a thrill:
Lola and Tony Alvarez a couple again? Where does that leave Lola’s husband, Matt Seel? Sitting in California by himself? Or maybe Lola and Tony are just friends
…

Damn! There was no doubt that Matt would see this and be hurt. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him. It was just that he was so damn
boring
, she’d
had
to get away or go crazy. Besides, she’d known Tony much longer than she’d known Matt, so her soon-to-be-ex shouldn’t feel dissed that she’d decided to go back to her original love.

She sat on the edge of the bed and clicked on the TV while listening to her voicemail.

Faye was first, naturally. ‘What the
hell
do you think you’re up to?’ her bossy publicist rasped. ‘And why didn’t you tell
me
first, so that I could maintain
some
degree of control? I’ll be back on Monday, we’ll have to deal with it then.’

Oh, good, she couldn’t wait.

The second call was from her highly expensive attorney, Otto Landstrom. ‘Not a smart move, Lola,’ Otto said, in his disapproving father voice. ‘We should talk as soon as possible. You’re putting ammunition into the hands of the enemy.’

What did
that
mean?

The third message was from Selma. ‘Mama’s about to have a heart-attack,’ her sister wailed. ‘You’d better call me back immediately.’

And so on and so on, with many other messages from friends and relatives, all putting in their ten cents’ worth.

Why couldn’t they leave her alone? Didn’t anyone understand? No bad publicity was about to frighten
her
off. Tony Alvarez was her man, and this time she was staying with him come what may.

She
loved
Tony. She loved him passionately. And no bad publicity would ever split them up again.

Freddy Krane’s idea of a good time was staying up all night. Since Freddy was also into doing coke, Linc decided it wasn’t such a bad idea.

Freddy’s latest supermodel girlfriend, Allegra, joined in the fun too. She was a six-foot beauty who hailed from Australia, with a strong accent that could cut glass. She talked a lot, assuring them that when she finally broke into movies, she would make Nicole Kidman look like a Girl Scout.

‘Bin a supermodel for five years,’ she announced. ‘’Bin on the cover of
Sports Illustrated
twice. I’m, like,
huge
in the modelling world.’

Linc and Freddy didn’t care what she was as long as she joined them in their habit.

Linc had a feeling that he shouldn’t be indulging in front of some strange model with a loud mouth, but then he thought,
What the hell
? He was in New York, far away from Shelby, and what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

The three of them started off having dinner at Coco Pazzo, where Linc bumped into several acquaintances. After dinner they stopped by a few clubs, all of which Allegra was extremely familiar with. She sailed past the door people with a disdainful flip of her hand, and headed straight to the VIP room where she downed apple martinis
as if they were lemonade. ‘I’m out every night,’ she boasted. ‘Staying up late never affects me. I’m what they call a natural beauty.’

Yes, and modest too
, Linc thought.

‘I’m gonna put her in my next movie,’ Freddy announced, winking at Linc behind her back. ‘Is it
my
fault if she ends up on the cuttin’ room floor?’

At around three a.m. Linc decided he was tired and ready to go home. Freddy cornered him, informing him that Allegra would not be averse to a threesome.

‘Sorry,’ Linc said, remembering that he had an early call. ‘Not my scene.’

Freddy jeered that he was getting old.

Maybe he was. He was forty-something, not exactly a kid any more. Besides, he was looking forward to seeing Shelby at the weekend.

There was nothing wrong with missing one’s wife.

After a restless night’s sleep, Lola reported for work accompanied by Big Jay and Jenny. They were shooting a scene on location at the Central Park Zoo and the paparazzi were in full evidence. She hid in her trailer until she was called. Then, with Big Jay by her side, protecting her, she headed for the set.

Linc Blackwood was already there. She’d been so caught up with Tony all weekend that she’d forgotten about Linc and her plan. The moment she saw him it all came rushing back. As she stared at him from a distance she realized that she could never have babies with Tony, the love of her life. She could never have a little girl that looked like her, or a little boy that looked like Tony, and it was all because of Linc Blackwood. He’d treated her like she was less than nothing, used her, got her pregnant, and
dumped her all in one night. What a piece of shit he was.

Now she was more determined than ever to smash his dreams the way he’d smashed hers. She’d already decided that the only way to do that was to trap him in a sexually compromising position and break up his precious marriage.

So…what was she waiting for? Let the games begin.

Clad in a beige cashmere Valentino coat and a wide-brimmed hat, she waved casually at him.

‘Hey,’ he said, strolling toward her. ‘You’re all over the front pages.’

‘I know,’ she answered demurely. ‘I’ve been a very bad girl, haven’t I?’

‘Bad girl suits you,’ he said, with a half-smile.

‘You think?’

‘You’re glowing.’

‘I am?’

‘Oh, yes.’

They exchanged a long look, before Lola quickly changed the subject. ‘Is your wife here yet?’ she asked, as if she cared.

‘Flying in this weekend.’

‘I bet you’re looking forward to seeing her.’

‘Sure am.’

A wistful sigh. ‘It must be nice to be happily married.’

‘It certainly is.’

‘Matt and I, we had so many plans…’

‘What happened?’

She lowered her eyes. ‘I can’t talk about it, Linc. It’s too upsetting.’