Lady Boss (71 page)

‘Where's Ken?' Ron looked around peevishly.

One of the parking valets offered the information that Ken had left with Antonio.

Ron's mouth drew into a thin, tight line. ‘Are you sure?'

‘Yeah – I know Ken. They were in Antonio's Cadillac.'

‘Ron, just remember… he was never good enough for you,' Venus Maria whispered

Ron tried to hide the hurt he was feeling. ‘You're right,' he said. ‘I spent far too much money on him. The next fortunate contender will have to be richer and older.
I
want to be taken care of for once.'

‘Quite right,' Venus Maria concurred. ‘Go for it, Ron. You deserve the best.'

Martin was waiting for her by the limousine.

She glanced over at him and then back at Ron. ‘Would you like me to stay?' she asked. ‘I will if you want.'

‘No. I'm a big boy. I can handle it,' he said. ‘You run along. Mister New York is waiting.'

‘Let him wait,' she said recklessly. ‘I don't care.'

‘Happy birthday,' Ron said, kissing her on the mouth.

‘We've both come a long way.'

‘We certainly have.'

She strolled off to join Martin. Meanwhile, Lucky got into Cooper's Mercedes.

Ron turned and walked slowly back into his house. As far as he was concerned the party was over.

* * *

When Johnny Romano was horny there was no stopping him. In his limo on the way home he was all over Warner.

She attempted to push him off, but he was having none of it. ‘Spread 'em, baby,' he said, and then laughed at his own joke. ‘Isn't that what you say to all the criminals? Spread 'em.'

‘Johnny, don't.' She attempted to keep her dignity, but her skirt was so short he had it up around her waist with no trouble.

With one hand he expertly removed her panties.

‘What about the driver?' she objected.

‘He ain't watching,' Johnny said, thinking to himself he's seen it all before.

And then, with one quick lunge, he was on top of her, thrusting away as the limo proceeded down Sunset Boulevard.

On one hand Warner enjoyed it. On the other she kept thinking –
Oh God, I hope we're not pulled over and stopped.
The embarrassment of being arrested for doing it in a car would be too much to bear.

* * *

‘If that little rat writes anything I'll sue his ass,' Martin muttered as the limousine sped down the hill.

‘Who?' Venus Maria asked, snuggling up to him.

‘That asshole Bobo Adam Grant, or whatever his name is.'

‘Bobo's harmless.'

‘He's about as harmless as Johnny Romano's cock!'

‘Martin!' She broke up laughing. ‘I never knew you could be so funny.'

‘Neither did I,' he said grimly. ‘Look, I may as well tell you, I made Deena a firm promise that I wouldn't see you this trip. If Bobo prints anything, she's going to be mad as hell.'

‘So what? You're leaving her, aren't you?'

‘Yes, but I'd like it to be amicable. I don't intend to end up giving her half my money.'

Was that all he ever thought about – money? ‘Legally you wouldn't have to do that, would you?'

‘No, but once a woman gets mad she gives her lawyer incentive to kill. I made her a promise and I suppose I should have kept it.'

‘A little late to be thinking of that now, Martin.'

‘You're right.'

‘I'll tell you what,' she suggested, ‘I'll call Bobo in the morning and give him an exclusive on something else. I'm sure he'll listen to me if I ask him to lay off us. Does that please you?'

‘Yes. But it still pisses me off. I warned Ron, no press.'

‘Nobody regards Bobo as press. He's like part of the scene.'

‘He's not part of my scene. What's he doing out here anyway? He's usually in New York.'

‘Show Bobo a party and he's there.'

The limousine drew smoothly into her driveway.

‘You should have a better place than this,' Martin remarked. ‘There's no electric gates. Anyone could follow you in.'

‘I have an alarm system.'

‘That's not enough protection for someone like you. And it's certainly not enough for me. Tomorrow you'll start looking for a new house. My birthday present to you.'

Didn't he realize she was a working woman? ‘I don't have time.
You
find one.'

‘Why don't we look together? I'll have someone line up some suitable properties. We can do it next weekend.'

She wasn't sure she wanted to move. She liked her house.

‘You're staying tonight, aren't you?' she asked.

‘Of course.'

They dismissed the limo and entered the house.

‘So, Mr. Swanson.' She turned to face him. ‘It's my birthday. What have you got for me?'

Martin smiled. ‘What
haven't
I got for you? Come here.'

She walked slowly over to him, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him very close.

He managed to peel down the top of her dress, touching her breasts.

‘Oooh, I love the way you do that.' She shivered with anticipation. ‘Touch me like it's my birthday. And don't let it happen too soon. Let's take our time. Tonight I want to do it slowly. Very, very… slowly.'

He began to kiss her in earnest.

She gasped softly and fell back onto the couch. ‘Unzip me.'

He did as she asked. Underneath she wore nothing but minuscule black bikini panties.

Martin shrugged his way out of his jacket, loosened his tie and bent to kiss her again.

Neither of them heard Deena enter the room.

Venus Maria threw her arms back over her head and sighed voluptuously. ‘
Oooh,
Martin, I really get off on the way your mouth feels. I adore it when you touch me…'

Neither of them heard the click as Deena took the safety catch off the gun.

Venus Maria reached for his pants and pulled down the zipper. ‘Satisfaction… guaranteed…' she teased, releasing him.

‘Oh, God, I love you,' he groaned, as she began to please him with her tongue.

Martin's words struck Deena like a lethal blow.

He loved her?

Martin loved The Bitch?

Impossible.

Unthinkable.

The ultimate betrayal.

‘I've been waiting to hear you say that,' Venus Maria murmured softly. ‘Do you mean it, Martin? Do you
really
mean it?'

‘Oh yes, baby, oh yes.'

The sound of a gunshot drowned out any further conversation.

‘You're not driving fast enough,' Lucky said.

‘Are we in a hurry?' Cooper asked, glancing over at her, a quizzical expression on his handsome face.

‘It's one o'clock in the morning. I have to be back at the studio in six hours.'

‘So do I. Wouldn't it be convenient if I stayed the night?'

She began to laugh. ‘Didn't I tell you?
No
staying the night.
No
coming in for coffee.
No
nothing. I'm a married lady.'

He reached out and placed his hand lightly on her knee. ‘You're a very beautiful married lady.'

‘Let me ask you something,' she said, deftly removing his hand.

‘Go ahead.'

‘Do you always feel obliged to make a pass at every woman you find yourself alone with?'

He smiled. ‘Why not? When you've got my kind of reputation, women expect it. If I don't make a move women begin to wonder what's wrong with them. And the
last
thing I want is you thinking you're unattractive.'

She burst out laughing again. ‘Cooper, I can assure you I'm a
very
secure person. You don't have to worry about me.'

‘Oh, but I do.'

‘Such a gentleman!'

‘Thank you.'

‘Anyway,' she said, ‘I'm very intuitive.'

‘Yes?'

‘And I know you like Venus.'

‘She's my friend,' he said defensively.

‘She's your friend and you like her a lot, right?'

‘Venus is with Martin.'

‘Oh yeah, he's a real prize.'

‘They're very happy.'

‘Come
on
, Cooper. You and I know it's not a match made in heaven. How long before he starts screwing around again? That's his way of operating, isn't it? Make a conquest and on to the next. A lot of high-powered businessmen are like that. It's the chase that turns them on.'

‘Maybe,' he said carefully.

‘Listen, trust me, I
know
what I'm talking about. I used to be like that myself.'

‘Like what?'

‘Oh, you know – the thrill of the conquest was everything, and then on to the next. My father was always telling me I conducted myself just like a guy! If a man came along I wanted, I'd have him. It was the “don't call me, I'll call you” syndrome. I didn't want to get involved. Of course, that was in the good old seventies when it was safe to sleep around. Now not only do you have to get a Dunn & Bradstreet on them, you also have to know their medical history for the last seven years. Not to mention keeping your favourite condom manufacturer in business!'

‘You're a straight-talker, aren't you?'

‘Sure, it's the only way.'

‘It's refreshing.'

‘Thanks.'

‘In fact—'

‘Yes, Cooper?'

‘Can I call you one of the boys?'

She laughed. ‘Sure. Call me anything you like. Me and Lennie will be your new best friends.'

‘I'd like that.'

If he ever comes back
, she thought with a deep sigh.

The Mercedes roared down the Pacific Coast Highway.

‘Make a left here,' she instructed. ‘The house is in the Colony.'

Cooper made the turn and asked if Gino was returning home.

‘I sincerely doubt it,' she said. ‘When he and Paige get at it there's no telling when they'll stop.'

‘You mean… at his age?'

‘
You
should be so fortunate.'

‘Hmmm.'

‘Thinking it over, you probably will be.'

He pulled the car to a stop in front of her house.

‘OK' she said firmly, ‘you
can
come in for a cup of coffee, but that's all you're getting.'

He smiled. ‘I appreciate your generous offer, but I'm not taking you up on it.'

She smiled back. ‘Goodnight, Cooper.'

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Goodnight, Lucky.'

She got out of the car, walked over to the front door, waved, and let herself in.

Cooper waved back, revved the engine, and took off.

Neither of them noticed the black sedan slide past and stop a few yards down the street.

She hadn't been inside the house two minutes when the doorbell rang. Thinking it was Cooper, she flung open the door.

Link didn't give her a chance to defend herself. He grabbed her before she could scream, roughly covering her mouth with his arm.

Frantically she tried to bite him.

He hauled back and smashed her in the face with his other fist.

Lucky slumped into unconsciousness without a sound.

Rita ranted and raved all the way home. ‘I've
never
been so embarrassed. How could you do this to me? There were important connections at that party, Emilio, and
you
got us thrown out. How could you?'

‘Don't worry, you'll read all about the dumb party in
Truth and Fact
,' Emilio said sourly. ‘I'm going to expose every one of those uptight assholes. Show 'em up for the phony bums they all are. Nobody throws Emilio Sierra out.'

‘What are you going to do when you run out of stories?' Rita jeered. ‘That's all you've got going, Emilio. You make enemies of these people, an' you're
never
going to work in this town.'

‘What do
you
know?' he snapped.

‘Plenty.'

Their argument escalated, and by the time they got back to his apartment, Rita was ready to move on. She got all her stuff together and called a cab.

‘You'll never find another guy like me,' Emilio screamed after her.

‘And I never want to,' she screamed back.

* * *

In the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Paige kissed Gino on the lips and snuggled into his comforting embrace.

‘Goodnight, Gino,' she sighed contentedly.

‘Hey – what's so good about it?'

She shook her copper-coloured curls. ‘We're together, aren't we?'

His hand reached down her leg, and travelled up it with his fingers. ‘For keeps?'

‘I want my ring!'

‘Sweetheart – you got it! Tomorrow we go shoppin'!'

They embraced again and settled down under the covers.

‘What took you so long?' he asked curiously, stroking her thigh.

‘I was frightened.'

‘Of me?'

‘Of making another commitment.'

‘Well, this is it.'

She smiled happily. ‘I know, Gino. I know.'

‘Get used to it, kid.'

‘I already am.'

* * *

‘It's good to be home,' Mickey said.

‘You're not home yet,' Abigaile replied tartly. ‘You can keep your bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel until we're both quite sure. You're here on probation, Mickey.'

‘What is it with the probation bit? We've been married long enough to know we belong together.'

‘If we
do
decide to reconcile, it has to be different from before,' Abigaile said. ‘No more mistresses. No more whores. I've been thinking, maybe we should see a marriage counsellor.'

Mickey roared incredulously. ‘A marriage counsellor! You and me? We'd be laughed out of town.'

* * *

Venus Maria had departed, but there were still plenty of guests left. Ron wished they'd all get the hell out. He was destroyed about Ken taking off with Antonio.