Hollywood Divorces / Hollywood Wives: The New Generation (72 page)

L
inc had never been to a strip club with a woman before, and Allegra was into it. The moment the girls began strutting their stuff, Allegra jumped up–all six feet of her–whistling as if she was a randy guy out on the town looking to get laid. ‘Gimme money,’ she kept on demanding of Freddy.

He obliged, bringing out his considerable bank roll.

She snatched a handful of cash and immediately began sticking twenty-dollar bills into the girls’ G-strings. ‘Let’s get us a private room,’ she shrieked. ‘I’ll pick out three girls, one for each of us.’

‘Oh, Jesus,’ Linc groaned. He wasn’t thinking straight: the booze was clouding his brain. ‘I dunno if I wanna do this.’

‘For Crissakes,’ Freddy complained. ‘You’re turnin’ into an old fart.’

‘I got a reputation to protect.’

‘
What
friggin’ reputation?’ Freddy exploded. ‘You’re all over the goddamn papers with the Latina sex bomb and Shelby’s dumped you, so relax, have yourself a ball.’

Yeah, that’s what he should do–have himself a ball. Although Shelby hadn’t dumped him. He’d told
her
to fuck off.

What a mistake.

No. It wasn’t a mistake. He was free now. He could do whatever he felt like without having to listen to her sanctimonious nagging.

Allegra spent fifteen minutes picking out girls to accompany them to the private room. She selected three different types: a sinuous black girl, a southern redhead with huge knockers, and a petite Asian.

On their way to the private room, Allegra was whooping and hollering, causing other patrons to stare and recognize Linc–which pissed him off.

‘This is fuckin’ ace!’ she yelled, in her loud Australian accent. ‘You guys are fan-fuckin’tastic!’

Finally they settled into a private room.

One of the strippers had a key, and Allegra ordered her to lock the door. ‘I’ve been here before,’ Allegra offered, winking jauntily at the guys. ‘We gotta have our privacy.’

Linc sat back, ready to enjoy his first lap dance in a while.

‘I’ll take the one with the big tits,’ Freddy roared.

‘Fake,’ Allegra pointed out, in a bitchy tone.

‘You think I give a fast crap?’ Freddy chortled, waving a wad of bills at the redhead.

The black girl was all over Linc, humping and grinding while brushing her pointed breasts against his mouth as she straddled him.

Half-way through her routine she did something that turned him off, so he shoved her away and clicked his fingers for the delicate Asian with her china-doll features.

‘Looks like I’m stuck with
you
,’ Allegra said, attempting to kiss the black girl on the mouth.

Soon everyone was going at it. Dry-humping, heaving and groaning.

Before long, Linc found himself getting a blow-job, although it was strictly against the club’s rules. Any kind of
fucking or sucking was against the club’s rules. But who gave a shit?

The Asian girl was into it–a regular little suction pump.

Linc leaned back like a king, allowing her to service him. Hookers and strippers were the best. A man didn’t have to buy them presents or take them out to dinner. No foreplay. No declarations of love. And no recriminations in the morning. Merely a businesslike exchange of cold hard cash. It suited him fine.

By the time they left the club he was completely wasted. Allegra was all over him, while Freddy had paired up with all three strippers.

‘Everyone back to my place,’ Freddy announced.

‘I’m on!’ Allegra said, before whispering in Linc’s ear, ‘Or we could dump him and have our own party at your hotel. I can do things you’ve only ever dreamed about!’

God! He was
so
fucked up. Drink, drugs, women–he was back to his old ways big-time.

What was so bad about that? At least he didn’t have Shelby watching him like the town detective.

Outside the club, two paparazzi came darting out of nowhere.
Flash! Flash! Flash!

For a brief moment Linc was blinded. Then he lashed out, grabbing one of the photographers, wresting his camera away from him and smashing it to the ground. The photographer was livid: he lunged at Linc, who managed to kick him in the groin. Within moments they were fully involved, while the second photographer snapped away.

The club bouncer emerged from inside and separated them.

‘You’ll be sorry for this,’ the photographer yelled, picking up his broken camera. ‘My friend got it all, buddy. You fuckhead movie stars think you can get away with anything. Forget it, cocksucker.’ Then the two photographers ran off down the street.

‘Shit!’ Freddy mumbled, attempting to bundle the three strippers into his limo. ‘What didja havta do that for?’

‘He deserved it,’ Linc answered, rubbing his jaw where he’d received a glancing blow.

‘Come on, mate,’ Allegra said, pulling him by the sleeve of his jacket. ‘Let’s go get it on.’

Why not? Why the hell not?

Only a few hours later, Linc sat in the makeup trailer, scowling and hung-over.

‘What am I supposed to do with you today?’ the makeup girl bitched. ‘Your skin’s like sandpaper, your eyes are super bloodshot. Lean back, Linc, I’ll try putting Visine in them.’

‘Leave my eyes alone,’ he muttered. ‘I feel like crap as it is.’

‘You
look
like crap,’ the makeup girl scolded. ‘Relax, while I do my best to make you look human.’

Lola entered the makeup trailer with Matt right behind her. ‘Well,’ she said, flopping into one of the makeup chairs. ‘I see you’ve taken over the front-page spot.’

He’d already viewed the damage. The
Daily News
carried a photo of him with Allegra, whereas the
Post
had a picture of him kicking a photographer.

‘Jesus, Lola.’ He groaned, then he spotted Matt. ‘Hey,’ he muttered.

‘Hey,’ Matt responded.

There was an uneasy silence.

‘Matt and I are back together,’ Lola said, breaking the silence.

Linc peered at her in the mirror. Was it true?
Had
he slept with her?

Freddy was probably wrong. If he’d screwed Lola Sanchez, it would surely be something he’d never forget.

Damn! He simply couldn’t remember.

‘I’m fixing you up,’ Cat announced.

‘Excuse me?’ Jonas replied.

‘I
said
I’m fixing you up. I’ve found the perfect girl for you.’

‘If I was interested in the perfect girl, I’d go find her myself,’ Jonas said. He hated it when Cat got busy with his love-life. He didn’t need any help. Unbeknown to Cat, he and the continuity girl had been hitting it off quite nicely.

‘How would you do that?’ Cat asked, hitching up her low-rider jeans. ‘You never
go
anywhere, you work
all
the time.’

‘Something wrong with that?’

‘Forget about it. This girl is great and we’re all going out.’

‘Who’s
we
?’

‘You, me, her and Nick.’

‘Nick?’

‘Coincidence. Amy is Nick’s sister, and she’s interesting
and
pretty. She’s also a stand-up comedian, isn’t that wild?’

‘A stand-up comedian?’

‘Yeah, she’s funny. You like funny, don’t you?’

‘I do
not
need fixing up.’

‘Too late. We’re all having dinner at Chow’s tonight.’

‘You can’t go ahead and make arrangements for me,’ Jonas protested. ‘I’m not going.’

‘Oh, yes, you are. You
work
for me.’

‘Since when do I work for
you?
’

‘Well, you work for Merrill Zandack and
I
do too, so it’s all in the family. Anyway, I need to discuss post-production things with you, and there’s never time on the set. Chow’s, eight o’clock, you be there, Jonas, otherwise I’ll definitely
assume you’re gay.’ She hurried off before he could object further. Amy was perfect for Jonas, even though Nick kept on insisting that Jonas was gay.

‘I’m telling you, he’s
not
,’ Cat assured him.

‘He’s either gay or the dude’s got a major crush on you,’ Nick said.

‘Don’t be crazy. We’re like brother and sister.’

‘You haven’t seen the way he watches you on the set.’

‘He’s watching me
work
, Nick. He’s Merrill’s spy, it’s his job to keep an eye on what’s happening.’

‘You’re a fuckin’ girl, you don’t get it. I know these things.’

After his première, Nick had attempted to invite himself up to her apartment.

‘No way,’ she’d said, blocking him in the lobby of her building.

‘Why?’ he’d said, giving her his famous bad boy look. ‘Don’t you fancy gettin’ laid?’

‘Not by you.’

‘Jeez!’ he’d complained. ‘Are you telling me I’ve wasted an evening?’

‘Oh,
pul-lease
. Get
over
yourself.’

Actually, she’d been quite tempted. She hadn’t had sex in so long it was a joke.

Then she realized that she had to be smart. Sex with Nick Logan could turn out to be a major mistake.

Although…maybe when they wrapped.

Yeah. Why not? After all, it wasn’t as if she was a nun.

‘Your father and I are flying in,’ Martha Cheney informed her daughter over the phone.

‘You are?’ Shelby said, quite startled at the thought of her parents descending on her.

‘Yes, dear. Your father needs a break.’

‘He does?’

‘Is it convenient if we stay with you?’

‘Of course. Although you
do
know that I’m in the middle of filming, so I won’t be around too much.’

‘We
were
planning on driving to the South of France, but there’ve been so many robberies there lately that your father feels we shouldn’t risk it. Besides, we’d rather spend time with you. I promise we won’t get in your way.’

‘I’m sure you won’t,’ Shelby murmured.

Since the success of
Rapture
, things had definitely changed. Occasionally there were paparazzi lingering outside her house, and many stories about her and Linc in the tabloids. It seemed that their marriage had become public fodder. The story about Linc being with Lola Sanchez must have hit the English papers, so her parents were concerned. Hence their upcoming visit.

‘When will you be here?’ she asked.

‘At the end of the week,’ Martha replied.

‘You don’t
have
to do this, Mum, I’m okay, really I am.’

‘Darling, you’re our daughter,’ Martha said. ‘We want to be there for you.’

Shelby realized there was no point in trying to put them off. Martha Cheney was a very determined woman.

She hung up and started thinking about the previous evening and Pete’s declaration of love. He’d caught her off guard, and she hadn’t known how to respond.

‘I needed to share my feelings with you, Shelby,’ he’d said. ‘If you and Linc don’t make it, you have to know that I’m here for you.’

‘I appreciate it, Pete, only I can’t think about getting involved with anyone else at this time.’

‘I know,’ he’d said. ‘I can wait.’

Pete was a very special man, and the knowledge that he still loved her was quite an ego boost.

Soon she got into her car and drove to the studio. When she arrived, the second assistant informed her that there was a surprise waiting in her trailer.

‘What?’ she asked.

‘You’ll see.’

She opened the door of her trailer, and there, in the middle of the floor, was a basket containing the adorable golden puppy from last night. Next to the basket was a glass bowl filled with apricot roses–her favourite colour.

She opened the attached note.

She didn’t know how to react. It was such a sweet and thoughtful gesture. So genuine.

She picked up the puppy and it immediately began licking her face.

She reread Pete’s note.

If Linc didn’t get it together soon, she
would
move on.

L
ola was desperate to get back to L.A. so that she could take her turn sitting by Selma’s bedside. Her day was spent either working or on the phone. She called Mama at least three or four times, and after work she spoke first to Isabelle, then Selma’s husband
and
her two children.

Matt didn’t complain. He was so relieved to be back with her that he didn’t dare say anything that might cause her to throw him out again.

Most days–since he had nothing else to do–he followed her to work and hung around the set. He was determined to watch out for Linc Blackwood. He’d seen the newspapers, he knew about the rumours.

Lola’s heart was not in the movie. She was well aware that her performance had become lacklustre, although Elliott Finerman had not complained.

One day, while they were shooting on location at a restaurant in TriBeCa, Tony Alvarez turned up.

Fitch Conn welcomed him to the set, and was all over him like a cheap suit. Tony Alvarez was a cult figure in the directing world: his movies were cutting edge and other directors admired his style.

Lola was shocked to see him–it had been weeks.

‘Hey,’ Tony said, walking straight over to her, his
intense dark eyes burning into hers.

She drew back automatically. ‘Tony,’ she said nervously, ‘what are
you
doing here?’

‘You won’t take my calls, you don’t phone
me
. Why do you
think
I’m here?’

‘I…I’ve been so busy,’ she said, thinking how handsome he looked in a black silk T-shirt and perfectly creased pants. ‘This film is taking up all my time. As soon as it’s over, I’m flying to L.A. to be with Selma.’

‘How’s she doing?’

‘She’s still in a coma.’

‘That’s real messed up.’

Her eyes darted around to see where Matt was. She did not want them coming face to face–that would
not
be a good idea.

‘Well, Tony,’ she said in a strained voice, ‘it’s nice of you to visit but, as you can see, I’m busy, so maybe we should do this another time.’

‘Are you handin’ me bullshit?’ Tony said, in a low, angry voice. ‘You got a short memory, Lola. You
swore
when we got it back on there’d be no more walkin’ out. You
swore
you were tellin’ the world about us. An’ now, ’cause there’s a little trouble, you run.’

‘I would hardly call my sister getting shot a
little
trouble,’ she said, her brown eyes flashing.

‘I took care of that problem,’ he said ominously.

‘Took care of
what?
’ she asked, shivering.

‘You’ll hear about it.’

‘Do you know that I’ve been questioned by the police several times? How do you think
that
makes me feel?’

‘Ignore that crap.’

‘They wanted to know if you carried a gun.’

‘What did you tell ’em?’

‘Nothing.’ She sighed deeply. ‘I am not happy about any of it.’

‘Scared it’ll hurt your career again, huh?’ he said mockingly. ‘Is it your fuckin’
lawyer
advisin’ you to stop seein’ me?’

‘It has nothing to do with my career this time,’ she answered quickly. ‘I don’t know if you can understand this, but I feel that what happened to Selma is our fault–you
and
me. So…it’s better if we don’t see each other any more. We create too much turmoil.’

‘You can be a cold bitch when you turn it off.’

‘Calling me names now, Tony?’

‘I’m saying it like it is. You professed your love for me. One smell of trouble and you’re gone. What kind of loyalty is
that
?’

‘I’m trying to explain how I feel.’

‘No, baby,’ he said forcefully. ‘
I
’m explaining how
I
feel. I wanna be with you, only you got the wrong dude if you think you can treat me like a piece of shit. If you
don’t
wanna be with me, you’d better say it now.’

Lola bit down on her lip. The very sight of Tony was an emotional experience. He still sent tingles up and down her spine, making her weak with desire. How
could
she give him up?

Because she had to, for Selma’s sake.

‘Are we finished?’ he demanded, his dark eyes staring into hers. ‘Is this for real?’

Before she could answer, Matt appeared. Obviously furious at seeing Tony, he took her arm possessively. ‘Is everything all right?’ he asked in an uptight voice.

‘Who the fuck is
this
?’ Tony growled.

‘For your information,
I
’m Lola’s husband,’ Matt said.

Tony laughed derisively. ‘So
you
’re the jerk she kicked to the kerb so that she could be with me.’

Matt took a step towards him.

Lola held him back. ‘No, Matt,’ she ordered. ‘
Don’t
.’

‘Leave my wife alone,’ Matt said. ‘She doesn’t want to see you.’

‘Who the
fuck
d’you think
you
’re talkin’ to?’ Tony raged.

‘You,’ Matt responded. ‘And you’d better take notice.’

‘Or what?’ Tony jeered.

‘Or you’ll regret it.’

‘Are you
threatening
me?’ Tony said. ‘You got any idea what happens to people who
threaten
me?’

‘Tony,’ Lola said, becoming alarmed, because Matt had no idea what kind of man he was dealing with, ‘please don’t.’

‘Don’t
what
, Lola?’ Tony said, playing with her. ‘Don’t tell this dumb prick about our life together? About how
hot
an’ steamy the sex is between us? Or how many times you’ve complained about the asshole you were married to? Now he’s standing here
threatenin’ me
. Jesus holy
Christ
! Go back to him, live your dull life, ’cause
I
’m outta here. An’, baby, don’t
ever
come beggin’ me to take you back again. This time it’s
finito
.’

She watched him walk out, and later, on the evening news, she was horrified to see a report of Tyrell White’s mysterious death. He’d fallen from a nineteenth-floor hotel window. The newscaster called it a tragic suicide.

Lola shuddered. Tony Alvarez was an extremely dangerous man.

Linc informed Allegra she could not come to the set.

‘Why not?’ she demanded.

‘Because I don’t want you there. It’s distracting.’

Allegra scowled. She was a woman used to getting her own way. Especially as she now considered herself Linc’s girlfriend.

He didn’t know how it had happened.

Well, yeah, actually he did. Sleeping with her was a start, and Freddy leaving town was a second.

Allegra had no intention of going anywhere without her new movie-star boyfriend. She was into booze, drugs and other girls. In fact, she was into anything Linc wanted. When it came to drugs and drinking, she made
him
look like a Boy Scout.

She had jet-black hair, slanted grey eyes and Slavic cheekbones. Her body was long and lean, her small breasts all nipples. If only she would keep her mouth shut and not talk so much, she’d be quite beautiful–in a tall, skinny supermodel way.

However, Linc didn’t want a girlfriend. He wanted his wife back, by his side so that she could protect him like she always had. He felt his life spiralling out of control, and it wasn’t a good feeling.

Sometimes he thought about Shelby. Drunk, he hated her guts. Sober, he loved her beyond reason.

Most of the time he was totally out of it, barely able to remember his lines.

Elliott Finerman was furious. The dailies were shit. Linc was looking worse every day, and Lola was merely going through the motions. When Elliott tried to talk to him, Linc told him to fuck off.

Elliott Finerman could not believe the two stars he’d gotten stuck with: a dazed Lola Sanchez, and a stoned Linc Blackwood. A fine romantic comedy
this
was turning out to be.

Linc had his routine down. First thing in the morning a couple of snorts of coke. For breakfast, two Bloody Marys. Lunch, more Bloody Marys and more coke. At night–whatever took his fancy.

Occasionally he experienced a lucid moment or two when he realized he was running on empty. He knew it was
bad. Very bad. But he was unable to stop his self-destructive behaviour.

Unasked, Allegra had moved her stuff into his hotel suite. A few nights after she’d moved in, Linc experienced a horrific nightmare. He awoke screaming, his body bathed in a cold sweat.

Allegra did not stir.

He got out of bed, made his way into the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. Jesus! It was the same nightmare he’d experienced over and over again as a child. For years he’d suffered from vivid dreams, then one day they’d stopped. Now the nightmare was back.

His hands were shaking as, once more, he pictured the scene. His father was a brutal man, but never as brutal as that particular night when he’d picked up a cast-iron frying-pan and smashed it across his wife’s face until she’d dropped to the ground covered in blood.

After killing her, his father had calmly taken his gun and, in front of Linc and his sister, blown his brains all over the kitchen wall.

The images were scorched into Linc’s mind for ever.

Cat found there was no escape from Nick. Since she was directing him in a movie, they were constantly together. Making movies creates a very intimate situation, and Nick was always there–watching her, laughing with her, teasing her.

Somehow it was becoming extremely comfortable being with him, and quite a kick to be working with someone who was totally on her wavelength. Nick got it. He was an instinctive actor with talent to spare. And on the screen he and Shelby were dynamite together.

How did I get so lucky
? Cat asked herself every morning
when she got out of bed.
How am I directing a big movie with two major stars? And they’re both a dream to work with
.

Nick was hot to take things further, while her thought was, why complicate matters? She might look like a total raver, but her raving days were in her wild child past. Now she was interested in a relationship that meant something, not a few weeks’ stand with an admitted carouser.

On the other hand, as Luanne had suggested, a revenge fuck was not completely out of the question–although she was fearful that if she slept with Nick, it might upset the delicate balance between actor and director.

She decided to stick to her original decision and wait until the movie wrapped.

The fix-up between Amy and Jonas couldn’t have gone better. They seemed to like each other. According to Amy, they’d even been out a few times, without the watchful eyes of Nick and Cat all over them.

‘Okay, so you’re right,’ Nick informed her. ‘Jonas is not gay.’

‘I told you,’ Cat responded.

‘Apparently he’s getting real cosy with Sis.’

‘Does that mean—’

‘Yeah, she’s into him.’

Cat was happy for Jonas. Amy wasn’t a Hollywood starlet type, she was a smart girl with brains and a dry sense of humour, exactly the kind of girl Jonas needed.

Nick had stopped inviting a parade of nubile girlfriends for lunch in his trailer. He now spent the lunch break with Cat, or he sat around with the crew swapping dirty jokes. Most nights they grabbed a plate of pasta or a burger, and went to bed early. Not together, although Nick refused to give up. ‘We
gotta
do the nasty,’ he kept on urging her. ‘This is turning into a freakin’ joke. I’m developing a relationship with my right hand I haven’t had since I was ten!’

‘Didn’t I tell you?’ she answered casually. ‘I’ve decided it’ll be your wrap present. How’s that?’

‘Hmm…’ he said. ‘How many weeks we got left?’

‘Not many,’ she said. ‘Think you can wait?’

He grinned his irrepressible grin. ‘I suppose I can try.’

‘She did
what
?’ Lola shouted excitedly over the phone.

‘She moved a finger,’ Isabelle repeated.

‘That’s
fantastic
!’

‘Yes,’ Isabelle agreed. ‘The doctors say it’s an excellent sign, so perhaps she
will
come out of this coma, after all.’

‘I couldn’t be more thrilled,’ Lola said. ‘I only have two more days on the movie, then I’m on a plane. I’ll be able to sit by her bedside, sing to her, tell her stories. I’ve been reading so much about what to do for people in comas. We must be there for her every second. You understand that, don’t you?’

‘Of course
we
understand it, Lucia,’ Isabelle replied, a touch frosty. ‘
We
’ve been doing it every day.’

‘Yes, I know. I can’t wait to see you all.’ She ran into the living room of the suite where Matt was watching TV. ‘Matt!’ she yelled. ‘Can you believe it?’

‘What?’ he said, eyes fixed firmly on a college football game.

‘Selma moved her finger. Isn’t that great news?’

‘Great,’ he agreed, stuffing his mouth with a handful of corn chips.

‘I think I’ll start getting things together. The moment we wrap, we’re out of here, okay?’

Matt barely moved his eyes from the TV.

Lola was psyched, her bargain with God was working. She’d given up Tony in exchange for Him bringing Selma back to life, and now it was starting to happen.

She summoned Big Jay to fetch her suitcases from downstairs in the storage room of the hotel, then she called Jenny to come up to the penthouse and help.

Five minutes later Jenny arrived. ‘Can I put on the TV while I pack?’ she asked. ‘There’s an interview with Nick Logan coming on
ET
. He’s
such
a hottie.’

‘Got a crush, have you?’ Lola asked.

‘You bet,’ Jenny said, blushing.

‘Okay, go ahead,’ Lola said.

Jenny switched on the TV, then she began removing Lola’s designer gowns from the closet, carefully laying them out on the bed, ready to fold into special plastic bags before she put them into the suitcases. When the Nick Logan interview started, she stopped everything.

‘Hmm…’ Lola said, taking a peek at the TV. ‘Nick Logan looks like he could use a shower.’