Hollywood Wives - the New Generation (20 page)

So why was her heart beating so rapidly? And why had she lost all
interest in a fitting for her wedding dress?

'I hate dresses,' she muttered to herself. 'Dunno why we're having
such a big wedding anyway.'

Because Evan's mother wants it, that's why. And what Evan's
mother wants, apparently Evan's mother gets.

Larry was driving Taylor insane. So was Oliver. It was almost as if
they'd formed a conspiracy designed to make her crazy. First of all,
Larry was insistent that the very next week they invite Isaac and Jenny
for dinner along with the Rocks.

'Why would you want that other couple?' Taylor complained. 'We have
nothing in common with them.'

'It's not necessary to have things in common to spend an enjoyable
evening,' Larry explained. 'Stan Rock seems like an intelligent man.
Anyway, I promised I'd have them over, so that's what we're doing. He
wants to talk to me about his son - thinks this huge sale on the boy's
script might go to his head. After all, the kid's recently scored
himself a million bucks, so Stan has asked me to give him some pointers
on how to handle himself.'

'Give
who
pointers?' Taylor asked, alarmed.

'His son,'
Larry said patiently.

'His son,' Taylor repeated dully. '
You're
going to meet
with his son?'

How had this happened? How had she fallen into such an impossible
situation?

The day after Isaac's party, she called Oliver. He sounded out of
it, but at least he picked up his phone.

'Where were you yesterday?' she demanded.

'Uh… Jeez!' Oliver mumbled. 'Guess I was out gettin' stoned. Sorry -
did we have a meeting?'

'I told you I was coming by to discuss my script.'

'Yeah, well, this has all been kinda like one big surprise.'

'It's a surprise to me, too,' she said frostily. 'And I had an even
bigger surprise last night. We went to a friend of Larry's for dinner,
and guess who I met?'

'Who?'

'I'm sure they'll call you with the news any minute.' A dramatic
pause. 'I met your parents.'

There was a dead silence.

'Your parents, Oliver,' she repeated, waiting for his reaction.

'Jesus Christ!' He began laughing hysterically. 'You met Molly and
Stanley? The original Mr and Mrs Suburbia? How the fuck didja meet
them
?'

'It's a long story,' she said grimly. 'I'm coming over now.'

'Okay, but I got a lunch.'

Her surprise was evident.
'You've
got a lunch?'

'My agent's fixed it for me to meet some of the other agency dudes.
Everyone's kinda blown away by what's happenin'. I'm like in shock
myself.'

'I'm sure you are, only let's not forget that you and I have a
business deal.'

'No contract, right?'

His words infuriated her. Had he been getting legal advice on the
side? 'I paid you, Oliver,' she said coldly. 'You promised to read my
script, make comments, help me with it.
Now
what are you
saying?'

'Like I didn't realize I'd be selling my screenplay, did I?'

'Obviously not.'

'Don't sweat it, Tay, I got comments for you.'

'How comforting.'

'An' if you're not happy, I'll give you back your money. Course,' he
added jauntily, 'I gotta get it first, 'cause I spent what you gave me.
But now I got big bucks comin' in - eventually.'

'I sincerely hope you haven't been wasting my time, Oliver.'

'Neither of us was exactly wasting time,' he said with a lewd
chuckle. 'We were both gettin' something we wanted.'

'I'm on my way,' she said, irritated by his cocky attitude. 'We'll
talk then.'

She'd driven over to his place and things weren't the same. Neither
of them initiated sex. The million dollars - not to mention his parents
- had come between them with a vengeance.

Oliver informed her that the dialogue in her script was tired and
old-fashioned.

She informed him that he was an arrogant little prick and she wanted
her money back. They parted bad friends.

Several days later Larry walked into the house accompanied by
Oliver. She could not believe her eyes, her stomach did a double flip.

'Hi, sweetheart,' Larry said, pushing his glasses up on his nose.
'Decided to come home for lunch. This is Stan Rock's kid, Oliver, the
million-dollar wonder.'

Oliver had the temerity to look her straight in the eye, extend his
hand and say, 'Pleasure to meet you, Mrs Singer.' It was a good job she
was an actress, because how she managed to keep an impassive expression
was a miracle when all she really wanted to do was run screaming from
the house.

'We'll be in my office,' Larry said. 'I read Oliver's script and
it's quite something. Can you be a sweetheart and have Edna fix us a
sandwich?'

Taylor nodded numbly, thinking all the while,
This isn't
happening to me, this isn't happening to me
…

So now it was obvious that Larry was planning to help Oliver with
his script - not that Oliver needed any help: he'd sold his damn script
for a shitload of money.

When it came to
her
script, Larry had no time. But for
Oliver Rock, a total stranger, he had plenty of time. This was a
ludicrous situation.

She yelled for the housekeeper and told her to see what Mr Singer
and his guest wanted for lunch. Then she marched into her dressing
room, picked up the phone and called Dennis Mann, her agent. 'Remember
that cable offer you came to me with a couple of weeks ago?' she said
briskly.

'The one Larry made you turn down?' Dennis said.

'He didn't
make
me,' she said irritably. 'He simply didn't
think playing a lesbian was good for my image.'

'Or
his
?' Dennis interjected.

'I've decided to accept it,' she said, not interested in Dennis's
comments.

'You have?'

'Definitely.'

'I thought you were working on your script.'

'My damn script is taking too long to come together. I need to do
something creative. I've been out of action long enough.'

'Didn't Larry get you a deal at Orpheus?'

'Pending script approval. Only I can't seem to find a writer who's
worth a damn.'

'I recommended Oliver Rock, didn't I?'

Her eyes narrowed. 'You certainly did.'

'Well… he just sold an original screenplay for a million big ones.
Not bad for a novice.'

'I found him to be useless,' she said coldly.

'Sorry you feel that way.'

'Get me that part, Dennis. Messenger me the contract. I'll sign
today.'

'Good. Because as far as I know they start shooting almost
immediately.'

She slammed the phone down. She was mad at Larry.

Even more so at Oliver - although he was too stupid to realize who
he was screwing with.

Well, let's see how Larry liked it when she hooked up with some
delectable young actress on the screen. Let's see his reaction when she
was actually kissing a woman in front of the world.

She'd show Larry Singer. And how.

Lissa was lonely. With Gregg gone she noticed a big void. Although
the last six months had been hell, it was still strange adjusting to
not having him around.

The days were taken care of with a vigorous rehearsal schedule and
various meetings on new projects. The problem was that at night, unless
she made arrangements to see friends, she was by herself in a house
large enough for a family of ten. Of course Chuck had a room over the
garage, Nellie lived in the maid's quarters, Danny usually stayed late,
and the guards were outside, but it wasn't as if she was hanging with
the help.

A few months ago she would've been into her computer, visiting chat
rooms and various sites - but that was when Gregg was around, and on
good days they'd had a laugh doing it together. Now the thrill was
gone. She had no desire to converse with strangers in cyber-space. Too
weird.

James tried to persuade her to get back on the party circuit. She
refused: she'd never enjoyed lavish Hollywood parties and events at the
best of times, and now - with Gregg and his big mouth - going out in
public would be an ordeal.

As soon as the news was out that she was available, the herd of
perennial Hollywood bachelors - a motley crew of ageing playboys,
upstart agents, big-time actors and all-out rich jerks - sprang into
action, calling non-stop. Lissa couldn't have been less interested.

Nicci dropped by a couple of times and commiserated about what a
piece of crap Gregg was. Lissa was pleased that her daughter had taken
the time to be supportive, especially since Nicci was busy organizing
her wedding.

Lissa decided that once Vegas was behind her, she would spend more
time helping Nicci. It was not too late to have a really good
mother-daughter relationship, although the truth was they were more
like sisters.

Quincy came to see her. He hobbled in on crutches, a big fat smile
on his face. 'So, did I leave you in good hands or what?' he demanded.

'You certainly did,' she answered, adding an offhand, 'Where
is
Michael?'

'Around. Anythin' you need, all you gotta do is call.'

'Just like the song, huh?'

'And the two new guards, they're okay?'

'I hardly see them - they're busy patrolling the grounds - but
Chuck's pleased to have the extra help. Three photographers tried to
jump the wall yesterday. They soon put a stop to that.'

'Yeah, they're good guys. Ex-cops are always the best.'

'So… will Michael be dropping by any time soon?' she asked casually.

'Do you need him?'

'I
should
talk to him, shouldn't I?'

'I'll have him call you.'

'How's your leg doing?'

'I'm gettin' around.'

'That's good, isn't it?'

He pulled a face. 'My old lady's drivin' me. Man,' he complained,
'Amber's the worst damn driver to ever hit the road.'

Lissa laughed softly. 'Where is she now?'

'Outside in the car. Waitin' to torture me some more on the drive
home.'

'Why don't you bring her in?'

'Got a rule,' he said. 'Never mix things up.'

'In that case, I'm coming out to meet her.'

'Aw, Jeez,' Quincy exclaimed. 'She'll have a heart-attack. Thinks
you're the bomb.'

'Then let's go,' Lissa said, smiling.

She strolled outside the house with Quincy, surprising Amber, who
was sitting behind the wheel of their car reading
People
magazine.

'Hi,' Lissa said, leaning in through the window. 'I wanted to meet
the woman who snagged the great Quincy.'

'Oh, my
God!'
Amber exclaimed, completely flustered.

'You have a great husband,' Lissa continued. 'He's done a lot of
good work for me.'

'
I
like him,' Amber said,
beaming proudly.

'Thanks for lending him to me,' Lissa said. 'I'm giving him back to
you in one piece.'

'Did you sign his cast?' Amber asked.

'Was I supposed to?'

'Yes, you were supposed to,' Amber said, glaring accusingly at her
husband. 'I
told
the fool to get your signature.'

Lissa grinned, she immediately liked Quincy's feisty wife. 'Not too
late,' she said.

Danny, hovering behind her, produced a pen. Lissa bent down and put
her signature on Quincy's cast.

'They're
never
gonna believe this at the hospital,' Quincy
crowed. 'When they take this motha off, they're gonna havta frame it.'

Everyone laughed.

'Nice meetin' you, Miz Roman,' Amber said, still slightly in awe.

'Next time we'll do lunch,' Lissa said. 'And you can tell me all of
Quincy's deep dark secrets.'

'Ha!' Amber snorted. 'Like
he
has secrets!'

'Come on, baby,' Quincy said, manoeuvring himself into the passenger
seat. 'Be nice.'

'You're prettier than you are in the movies,' Amber said to Lissa
admiringly. 'Is it okay if I tell you that?'

'Of course.'

'Let's go,' Quincy said, anxious to leave before Amber embarrassed
him.

'Bye,' Lissa called, waving, as their car took off down the long,
winding driveway.

She waited until they were out of sight, then walked back into the
house. Her thoughts turned to Michael Scorsinni, and she wondered why
he hadn't come with his partner. Was he working on a new case?
Following some other cheating husband?

She was entitled to know, wasn't she? After all, she
was
a
client so, therefore, he should have come too.

And then she realized, with a shiver of surprise, that she actually
missed him. A man she hardly knew. A man it would certainly be folly to
get involved with.

She shook her head. Silly thoughts.

Or were they?

'You're making a mistake,' Taylor said, as she and Larry sat at
the breakfast table on their patio, where they had a magnificent view
of the Santa Monica mountains and the ocean.

'What kind of a mistake would that be?' Larry answered, eating his
oatmeal.

'This Oliver Rock person,
why
are you taking such an
interest in him? It's not like he's a relative or anything.'

'That's true,' Larry said, taking a sip of hot water and lemon, his
preferred morning beverage.

'Anyway,' Taylor continued, 'I thought you never read other people's
material. You get sent scripts all the time and you always have Edie
send them back unread. I've seen you do it a hundred times.'

'Isaac has known Oliver's parents forever,' Larry explained, 'and
the kid needs guidance.'

'He doesn't look like he needs any guidance to me,' Taylor snapped.
'He looks like a real smartass. And he's
not
a kid, he's a
grown man.'

'You're always so critical of people,' Larry remarked, moving onto a
plate of sliced papaya, apple and banana.