Hollywood Wives - the New Generation (29 page)

The girl was obviously a whore - exactly like her mother. Eric
wasn't surprised. Most women were whores one way or the other. He'd
never met one he could trust.

He was in daily touch with Arliss, who was supposed to make sure
everyone took care of what they were instructed to do.

On Tuesday night he met with Danny in the same gay bar they always
went to.

As far as Danny was concerned they had become friends. Nobody
listened to him the way Eric Vernon did, or bought rounds of drinks
with such a generous spirit. He found himself telling Eric everything -
including the troubles he was experiencing with his much older
boyfriend.

Eric always listened sympathetically, and told Danny of
his
problems with
his
partner. Danny had this
tingling feeling that when they were both free, they would finally get
together in a sexual way.

'We're off to Vegas on Thursday,' Danny confided, taking small sips
of an apple Martini - his new favourite drink. 'On a private plane no
less. The hotel is sending it for us.

'Sounds exciting,' Eric said. 'Does she always travel by private
plane?'

'Whenever she can,' Danny replied, toying with his new gold stud
earring. He felt it gave him a jaunty, macho look.

'It's just you and her, then?'

'And her makeup and hair people, and security, of course.'

'No daughter?'

'She never has Nicci to public events.'

'Do
you
go with her all the time?'

'Whenever I can,' Danny said. 'Which is one of the main problems
between me and George.' He lowered his voice. 'George is
jealous
of her,' he whispered as if it was a state secret. 'The nerve! Jealous
of
my
princess.'

'I read in the papers that she's getting three million dollars for
one night's work. Is that true?'

'Of course,' Danny said crisply. 'And she deserves every cent. My
princess works so hard, and has such dreadful luck with men. The last
one was very bad.' Again with the lowered voice. 'I think he used to
hit
her
.'

Eric made appropriate noises of horror. If he was the bitch's
husband he would've beaten her non-stop.

'Oooh, look,' Danny said, pursing his lips. 'Isn't that
delicious?'

Eric glanced up as a steroid-enhanced, muscle-bound giant in tight
shorts passed by their table.

'Not my type,' he said.

'What
is
your type?' Danny
asked, getting slightly misty-eyed at the
thought that
he
might be.

Eric shrugged, for once at a loss.

'Do you know,' Danny said, in a confidential tone, 'when we first
met I had
no
hint that you were a friend of Dorothy's?'

'Three million bucks,' Eric said, swiftly changing the subject.
'That's a lot of money. What do they do? Give her a cheque?'

'
I
don't know,' Danny said,
clamming up.

Yes, you do, you dumb-ass faggot
, Eric thought. 'Well,' he
said, digging in his pocket. 'Here's a twenty. Put it on number
thirty-five for me. And stay out of trouble.'

'I'll try,' Danny said, with a high-pitched giggle. 'Can't promise!'

'If I should want to call you, is there a special number?'

'We'll only be there four days.'

'In case I feel lucky and want to make another bet.'

Danny wrote down the private number and handed it to him. 'This
number goes straight to the suite,' he said. 'Only use it if you're
desperate to speak to me. I'm not supposed to give it out.'

'Sure,' Eric said. 'And when you get back—'

'Yes?' Danny interrupted, an eager-puppy look on his cheerful face.

'We should talk about
us
.'

'Oooh, yes,' Danny cooed. 'We definitely should.'

Later, Eric met with Arliss, who assured him everything was set.
Davey had his eye on exactly the right vehicle. Little Joe had already
stolen the chloroform and a stash of sleeping pills to keep their
victim sedated. And Big Mark was set for action.

'Good,' Eric said. 'We'll do it on Saturday. Be ready. I'll let you
know where we meet before then. Keep yourself available, and not a word
to anyone. Got it?'

Arliss nodded his greasy head. He was as ready as he'd ever be.

The party was in full swing when Claude's Rolls drove up to Kyndra
and Norio Domingo's palatial estate in Bel Air. Set in over thirty
acres, the Domingos had lived there for over twenty years.

The Rolls was soon stuck in a line of limos and cars.

'For God's sake, how many people have they invited?' Claude grumbled.

'Too many,' James answered.

'Are you
sure
I should be doing this?' Lissa said,
worrying, because she didn't know how she'd handle it if any rude
comments came her way.

'Of course, my angel,' James assured her. 'You'll be the star of the
party. And if anyone says anything untoward to you, they'll have
me
to deal with.'

'You're sweet.' She sighed.

'Yes, I'm so sweet that you reveal
nothing
to me.
Claude,'
he said, leaning forward and tapping his partner on the shoulder, 'are
you aware that Madam has a new love?'

'I do
not
,' she objected, furious that James was so
intuitive.

'You cannot fool me,' James said with confidence. 'It's written all
over your pretty face.'

'I've just gotten rid of one,' she answered guardedly. 'Why would I
even
think
about a new one?'

'I suppose when you're a stunning superstar, men simply fall into
your lap. They can't help themselves.'

'Bullshit, James.'

'I can see it, darling. You're glowing.'

'I am
not
glowing.'

'How long do we have to sit here?' Claude complained, a man not used
to waiting. 'This is a joke.'

'Sorry, Mr St Lucia,' his driver said, apologizing as if it was his
fault.

'I wish they'd learn to stagger the guests,' James said. 'That would
be the civilized way of doing it.'

'I can just see them staggering the guests,' Lissa said. 'What did
you have in mind, James? The A group first, and the C group later?'

'There
is
no C group at the Domingos',' James said
imperiously. 'Everyone's a star. And if they're not, they're married to
one.'

Lissa adjusted her diamond earrings. She was getting more and more
nervous about facing everyone. Would they think she was a failure? No.
They would simply feed on her fame, because that's all that really
mattered in Hollywood.

She wondered what Michael was doing. He'd said he was getting ready
to give someone the let's-break-up speech. Hmm… who was that someone? A
long-term affair? A casual three-weeker?

The Rolls was almost at the entrance to the house.

'We don't have to stay long, do we?' Lissa asked, taking a deep
breath.

'Just as long as it takes for you to dazzle and shine,' James said.
'Then, I promise, we'll have you home by midnight, exactly like
Cinderella.'

Kyndra greeted her guests resplendent in a full-length gold,
strapless gown, her ebony skin gleaming with gold flecks, a diamond
choker, long diamond and ruby earrings, and her jet hair piled high on
her head in an Erykah Badu
do. She looked amazing, like an exotic African queen.

Norio, standing beside her, was a tall, distinguished-looking
Colombian man, with hypnotic eyes, a bald head and a sly way of
flirting that made every woman feel special.

Their marriage had endured through several affairs on both sides,
and now they'd settled into an easy togetherness.

'Where
is
that child of ours?' Kyndra murmured to her
husband. 'She promised to be here early.'

'When did you speak to her?' Norio asked, adjusting his onyx and
diamond cufflinks, an anniversary gift from his wife.

'A few days ago.'

'Knowing Saffron, she's probably forgotten.'

'And she's supposed to be bringing Lulu.'

'Good. We don't see enough of our grandchild.'

'Now, Norio, please remember - no pictures of me with Lulu. I have a
certain image to preserve.'

'Of course, darling,' he said, smiling. He knew his wife, and as
much as she adored Lulu, she had a thing about
not
being
labelled Grandma - even though she was in excellent company - including
grandparents Mick Jagger, Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Nicholson.

Larry Singer walked in alone.

Kyndra greeted him with a kiss on both cheeks. 'Where's Taylor?' she
asked.

'Working,' he replied, feeling quite lost without his wife beside
him.

'Oh, yes,' Kyndra said. 'I heard she's shooting a movie with Montana
Gray.'

'I didn't know it was Montana's film,' Larry said, surprised that
Taylor hadn't mentioned the name of her director.

'You'd better watch out,' Kyndra said, with a wily smile. 'You know
what a feminist Montana is. Before you know it, Taylor will be runnin'
your ass!'

'Not even remotely funny, Kyndra,' he said stiffly.

'Happy anniversary, Larry.'

'It's not
my
anniversary.'

'Sure it is,' she teased. 'It's the anniversary of your wife
becoming a major feminist!'

Larry was unamused. He didn't enjoy attending these big social
events at the best of times. And he certainly didn't need Kyndra making
cracks at his expense.

As soon as they realized he was present, people began coming over to
him. He felt vulnerable and trapped, and there was nothing he could do
about it because he had no Taylor by his side to protect him from the
onslaught of would-be deal-makers who all wanted something from Larry
Singer.

Slowly he managed to edge his way into a corner, finally spotting
Lissa Roman, whom he quickly waved over. Lissa was his favourite of all
Taylor's friends. Not only was she beautiful and talented, she had a
certain sweetness about her, in spite of her sometimes raunchy public
image.

'You look lovely,' he said.

'Thanks, Larry,' she replied, glancing around. 'Where's Taylor?'

'Haven't you spoken to her?'

'We've been missing each other.'

'She's shooting a movie.'

'Your movie?' Lissa asked.

'No, a cable film.'

'I was hoping you'd say that she'd finally gotten
her
movie off the ground.'

'It hasn't happened yet,' Larry said.

'That's a pity, I know how much it means to her.'

Larry was silent for a moment. The previous evening he'd been asleep
when Taylor had finally come home. When he'd awoken in the morning,
she'd already left for the studio. He'd wanted to tell her that he'd
hired a new writer for her project, and that if she wanted him to, he'd
put his name on as executive producer. Better she should be starring in
her own film rather than making a lesbian-themed cable movie. And now
that he'd heard Montana Gray was the director, he was less than pleased.

'Are you okay, Larry?' Lissa asked.

'Yes, why?'

'You seem a little lost in thought.'

'More important, how are
you
? he asked. 'I was sorry to
hear about you and Gregg. Are you coping okay?'

'You know what it's like when you're tabloid headlines,' she said
ruefully.

'Yes, I'm afraid I do,' he replied, remembering his very public
divorce from his first wife.

'It's so embarrassing to have one's soon-to-be ex mouthing off all
over TV and the tabloids,' Lissa confided.

'Everyone says they don't read those papers,' Larry remarked.

'I know,' Lissa agreed. 'They
claim
they glance at them
while they're standing in line at the supermarket.'

'As if any of these women stand in line at a supermarket,' Larry
said.

Stella and Seth joined them, both balancing Martinis.

'My God!' Stella exclaimed, pert and pretty in a red Valentino
dress. 'We were sitting in our car for twenty minutes.'

'So were we,' Lissa said.

'Who's we?' Stella asked, curious as usual.

'I came with James and Claude.'

'Good move,' Stella said, adding an irreverent - 'Safety in fags.'

'Don't be rude. You know James
hates
that word.'

'I tell it like it is,' Stella said, surveying the room. 'Can you
believe
this turn-out? I've already bumped into Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder
and
Gladys Knight - this is like
an old-time soul reunion.'

'Norio
has
been a successful producer in the music
business for years,' Larry pointed out.

'Yes, and Kyndra
is
a major diva,' Lissa added.

'I always get a kick out of the music-business crowd,' Stella said.
'I'm thinking of using a B. B. King track on our next project.
Soundtracks are so important today. Did you know that you can launch a
movie with the soundtrack alone? That's if you do the right marketing
on the Internet.'

'You can't possibly believe that,' said Seth, a wiry-haired man with
cordial features and ruddy cheeks.

'Yes, I can.'

'You and your ideas,' he said. 'There was a time when we made movies
and the story alone brought people into the theatre. Right, Larry?'

'Don't be so old-fashioned, darling,' Stella chided. 'Listen to me,
you
know
I'm always right.'

'The women are taking over, Larry,' Seth said warningly. 'We'd
better watch out.'

Larry nodded in agreement.

A silicone blonde walked by, her large boobs barely covered by a few
strategically placed stuck-on sequins.

'I do so
love
rock 'n' roll parties,' Stella said, staring
at the girl. 'And judging by the way your eyes are bulging out of your
heads, you guys love it, too.'

'What?' Larry said. He honestly hadn't noticed the girl.

Seth nudged him. 'She's referring to the almost naked blonde.'