Hollywood Wives - the New Generation (24 page)

'Now that my black eye has kind of faded,' she murmured.

'I can see that.'

She walked towards the bar. 'Can I offer you a - no, I can't, can I?'

'I
do
drink,' he said, impressed that she'd remembered.
'Water, orange juice, soda, or maybe you've got a non-alcohol beer?'

'I doubt it,' she said, opening the small fridge behind the bar. 'I
could send Chuck out to get some.'

'Don't bother. I gotta stop drinking it anyway - don't want to end
up with a big beer gut.'

'Oh, yes,' she teased. 'I can just imagine you with a big beer gut.
Sort of like a white Quincy!'

'Ouch! That's mean.'

'Don't take it the wrong way,' she said quickly. 'I love Quincy,
he's like a big, cuddly bear.'

'Q's the best guy I know. A true stand-up.'

'How's orange juice?'

'Healthy.'

She smiled, poured him a glass and handed it to him.

'Thanks,' he said, watching her as she opened a bottle of Evian for
herself.

'By the way,' she said, 'there's a TV programme on tonight I should
see. Something called
The Real News
. Have you heard of it?'

'Yeah, crap TV at its worst,' he said, leaning on the bar. 'Why do
you have to watch it?'

'Apparently Gregg's making an appearance.'

'He is?'

'I've alerted my lawyer. Anything he says about me can be held
against him, and I assure you, I am
not
anxious to pay him
alimony.'

'Didn't he sign one of those pre-nuptial deals?'

'Fortunately he did, only because my lawyer insisted.'

'You must have a smart lawyer.'

'I do,' she said, thinking how good he looked all in black. 'Only
can you imagine how difficult it is when you're just about to get
married to suddenly have to say, "Oh, by the way, can you please sign
this pre-nup?"
Not
exactly the most romantic words in the
world.'

'How'd he take it?' Michael asked.

'Badly. Got very uptight. Then, when he saw that my business people
meant it, he backed off and finally signed.'

'Here's
my
take,' Michael said thoughtfully. 'If two
people are getting married, why would one of them object to signing
something that only comes into being if they get divorced? Hey, I'd
sign a piece of paper saying I didn't want anything from anybody, but
that's just me.'

'You're an original, Michael,' she said, smiling warmly. 'Especially
in this town.'

'Right,' he said ruefully. 'I'm the one with the murdered wife, and
the alcoholic past. Oh, yeah, and I haven't told you about how I got
shot when I was a cop in New York. You've got that sorry story to come.'

'Quincy already told me about that. Besides, I like your stories,'
she said quietly.

'I'm glad somebody does,' he said, with a wry grin.

'I thought we'd eat in here,' she said. 'After all, this
is
a casual business meeting, right?'

'Nothing else,' he said, clearing his throat.

'Well,' she said, walking out from behind the bar, 'let's go in the
kitchen and I'll introduce you to my cook, Nellie. She's making
lasagna. Whatever it's like, please smile and say it's great. Nellie's
very sensitive to criticism.'

'I can understand that.'

'And… if you're
very
good, maybe she'll fix you a
milkshake before dinner.'

'Lasagna and a milkshake,' he said, shaking his head. 'How lucky can
one guy get?'

Belinda Barrow was starting to think that she might have made a
mistake. Moving Gregg Lynch in had seemed like a good idea at the time.
After all, he'd been married to Lissa Roman, he was a
singer-songwriter, not bad-looking, and could be potential husband
material - especially if he scored plenty of alimony from his famous
wife.

Now she was discovering that he might be nothing more than an angry
drunk, although she had to admit he was an energetic performer in bed.

As usual, she discovered him in the bar. 'Y'know, you'll ruin your
looks if you keep on drinking the way you do,' she remarked.

'Are you talking to me?' Gregg said, looking at her like he couldn't
believe what he was hearing.

'Yes, I am,' Belinda said. 'It's for your own good.'

'It is, huh?' he said, pouring himself a shot of vodka.

'You want to be a star, Gregg, and over the next few weeks you'll
probably get a lot more exposure, so I suggest you control your
drinking for a while.'

'What is it with you women?' he said belligerently. 'If you want me
to stay here, you'd better cool it with the nagging.'

She bit back a sharp retort. She'd been around too long to take
abuse from a man. On the other hand, there were not a lot of available
men in Hollywood. The single ones were either burned-out perverts or
totally gay. She decided she'd give Gregg a chance. After all, they'd
only been together a short while.

'Just a suggestion,' she said, keeping it light. 'Doesn't make any
difference to me. I'll make sure the bar is stocked up and
you can go ahead and lose your looks. Only when you do, that's the time
I'll say goodbye.'

'You
bitch
?' he said disbelievingly.

'No name-calling,' she said curtly. 'You may have gotten away with
it with your wife, but you can't move into
my
house and call
me
names. Now, do we have something going here, Gregg? Or are you intent
on playing the bitter, disillusioned husband?'

He realized the alternative. Another hotel. Another set of bills to
pay with money he didn't have. 'Sorry,' he muttered. 'Dunno what comes
over me. I'm so bummed out by this whole thing.'

'I can imagine.'

'I don't think so.'

'I've asked a few people over tonight to watch the programme,'
Belinda said. 'A captive audience.'

'Who?' Gregg asked suspiciously. He wasn't in the mood to socialize.

'Friends of mine, including a journalist who might be willing to buy
your story. He writes for
Truth and Fact
. We go way back, he
used to be my boyfriend, until we had a major split. He's a good
writer, and if you can come up with something new, I'm sure he can get
the paper to pay you plenty of money.'

'I like the sound of
that.'
Gregg said.

She nodded. 'So do I.'

'Y'know, Lissa, you're not like I thought you'd be,' Michael said.
He was settled on the comfortable couch in her den feeling very much at
home.

'How
did
you think I'd be?' she asked, amused.

'The same as all the rest.'

'All the rest of what?'

'Celebrities,' he said. 'Most of them have that whole entourage
thing going - y'know, a bunch of hangers-on who treat 'em like they
walk on water.'

She knew exactly what he was talking about, she'd worked with enough
of them.

'They're not into being real,' he continued, leaning towards her.
'You're real, Lissa.'

'The only reason you're saying that is because I fed you ice cream,'
she said, smiling. 'You like me because I encourage your bad habits.'

'And… apart from anything else, you have a beautiful smile,' he
said, unable to stop himself from coming out with what sounded like a
corny line. 'But then,' he added, 'how many times a day do you get told
that?'

'Let me see… hmm…'

He stifled an overwhelming urge to reach out and touch her. 'I'm
happy you're doing okay,' he said. 'Even happier you haven't heard from
Gregg.'

'Actually, I have,' she said, her mood changing to sombre. 'He
called today. Unfortunately,
I
answered the phone.'

'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 fiancee.

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' me 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.'