The Movie (43 page)

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‘Where’s Megan?’ Zach Mason asked. ‘I want to talk to her.’

The crew were scuttling around on the beach like tanned worker ants in a hurry, rushing to wheel cameras into position, focus Klieg lights and mike up sound

‘ recorders as quickly as possible. Eight in the morning and everybody was already in position; Florescu was standing to one side going over the next scene with the cast, huddled together for warmth against the early-morning breeze. They were behind schedule, and every minute of fdmable light was precious.

“Dunno, man, haven’t seen her,’ the cameraman replied. ‘Not like her to be late.’

‘Seen Megan?’ Zach asked Seth Weiss. ‘She’s always here on time.’

Weiss shook his head. ‘You could ask David or P,.oxana,’ he said, pointing to the two of them walking towards the set together, over the sands.

Zach shaded his eyes to see better. The two of them were walking arm in arm which confirmed one suspicion. David Tauber seemed as confident and self-possessed as ever, dressed for the heat in loose, unstructured Armani slacks and expensive-looking shades from Cuder& Gross. loxana was in costume, a deliberately tom and dusty evening gown, slashed at the sides where her character had torn it in an escape from the gun-runners. Miles of lean, tanned legs were exposed, and there was another rip bating

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her let shoulder. Her long glossy hair whipped round her neck in the breeze.

What a beauty, he thought. And what a cold, selfish bitch. He’d always admired her stunning looks and never once wanted her; there had been too many beautiful girls for Zach to be impressed, and too many ice maidens melting underneath him for that trick to hold any novelty any more. Tree, toxana hadn’t tried to play Ice Goddess with him. On the contrary, she had thrown herself at him, but even so…

Zach Mason knew loxana Felix the way these others could not. He had walked under the blazing spotlight of fame for years, longer even than she had, and he could tell what was part of the image and what was real. And while most people were comfortable believing her bitchiness was part of the package, Zach was sure it was not. loxana was damaged. There was a fist of cold wrapped tight around her heart, and When he looked at her, he saw somebody frozen to the core. She would reach out and slash violently at anybody who approached her. Her ruthlessness, her silken savagery with underlings, was no surprise to Zach. Like most wounded animals, she was dangerous.

‘Zach,’ David Tauber said expansively. ‘Looks like it’s gonna be another hot morning.’

Yeah, you moron. Like it’s gonna be twenty below in the Seychelles.

‘Where’s Megan, David?’ he demanded.

Jesus, I can’t stand this asshole, Mason thought fiercely. He’s so fucking slick all the time, neve.r gets a hair out of place. What the fuck was I on when I signed up with him? What does a girl like Megan Silver see in him? But I forgot, she’s nothing special. Just another bleached LA blonde with a designer closet.

Even to himself the words rang false. Megan was working flat out for this movie. She was clever. She’d. written a dynamite script. And if she wanted to be with

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David Tauber instead of him, so what? She could choose who she liked.

Jesus, I’m turning into R.oxana, Zach thought wryly. Like I got a divine right to any partner I should happen to

avour.

‘Megan won’t be with us,’ David replied casually. ‘She’s

packing to go home.’

‘She’s doing what?’

‘I fired her,’ Koxana Felix said calmly.

‘Excuse me, Koxana?’ Zach repeated, stunned. ‘You did what? You can’t fire Megan! What are you now, the director? Does Fred know about this?’

‘Hey, Zach, calm down,’ David Tauber said soothingly. ‘In actual fact, Artemis Studios terminated her contract.

‘

They’re the ones that are paying for her stay here, as well as authorizing her salary. Koxana felt she could no longer work harmoniously with Megan, and Sam Kendrick, who runs my agency ‘

‘I know who Sam Kendrick is.’

‘Of course. Well, Sam discussed the situation withJake Keller over at Artemis, and it was felt that for the good of the picture, Megan should start working on some other project.’ David beamed at him reassuringly. ‘You don’t need to worry about the script. I’ve told Kevin Scott to fly out Gordon Walker this morning - Gordon’s been familiarizing himself with See the Lights and he’ll be able to carry out any further rewrites. You’ll like him, Zach. He’s very competent, he’s worked ori two Quentin Tarantino films.’

‘I see,’ Zach said, ominously quietly. ‘Isn’t Megan Silver your girlfriend, David?’

The agent shrugged. ‘I can’t let personal feelings get in the way of business. That would be unprofessional. And where my clients are concerned,’ he added, flashing a warm smile at Zach and loxana, Tm always professional. You can take that to the bank.’

‘And have you told Fred about the change of plan?’ ‘I was just about to,’ David said.

1Zoxana Felix gazed at him triumphantly, the light of victory shining in her eyes.

Mason took a deep breath. ‘You know what, Tauber? I wouldn’t bother. I’d run along back to the hotel and tell Megan you just reinstated her. Then you can call Mr Keller and tell him that I wouldn’t be able to work harmoniously with any other screenwriter. OK?’

Paling, David Tauber took a step backwards. ‘But what about P,.oxana?’ he protested. ‘Her creativity as an

actress — ‘

‘P, oxana and I are going m have a little chat abotit that,’ Zach told him, his voice cold. He stared hard at the supermodel. Tm sure that by the time you get back I’ll

have persuaded her to see things from my point of view.’ ‘David, ;tay where you are,’ l:koxana snapped.

‘David, get your ass back to the hotel now,’ Zach

repeated. ‘Or you’re fired as my agent.’

‘David!’ P,.oxana insisted.

‘It’s a tough break, isn’t it, Tauber?’ Zach said menacingly. ‘Whatever you do now, you’re either going to annoy l:koxana or me. Because if you aren’t gone in ten seconds, it’s going to get ugly between us.’

David Tauber hesitated, his eyes twitching from Zach to P, oxana and back again.

‘David, stay here,’ 1Loxana warned him, her voice suffused with quiet fury.

‘Ten,’ Zach Mason said softie,. ‘Nine. Eight. Seven. Six ‘

With a small, agonized cry, David Tauber turned on his heels and fled.

‘It can’t be true,’ Eleanor Marshall said blankly. ‘It can’t be. You’ve made a mistake.’

‘No, my dear. No mistake, I assure you,’ Dr Haydn

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replied cheerfully. She gave Eleanor a conspiratorial smile. ‘Tests these days are very accurate. Especially when you go to the best hospitals, as we do.’

Eleanor clutched onto the armrest of her pale pink leather chair, feeling dizzy. Thank’ God she was sitting down, she thought. If she’d heard this news standing up she might have fainted.

‘Eleanor, I swear you must be the most unobservant patient I’ve ever had,’ the old woman went on. ‘Even if you thought the nausea was related to something else, didn’t you realize you’d skipped a period?’

She shook her head. ‘No, I - I didn’t notice - it’s been chaos at work, I haven’t had time to think about much else.

And to tell you the truth, I wouldn’t have thought ‘ anything of it if I had. I skip periods occasionally, if I’m

stressed.’ ‘You work too hard altogether,’ Dr Haydn said severely. ‘And you’ll have to reduce as many stressful activities as you can.’

I.e.
none whatsoever, Eleanor thought wryly.

‘But the charts, Doctor!’ she said. ‘All that lovemaking in the right position and at the right time of day…’

‘Evidently not needed,’ Dr Haydn told her. ‘Quite amusing when you think about it, dear. You were pregnant the whole time anyway.’ She chuckled. ‘At least

you didn’t have to start with the fertility drugs.’

Tm two months pregnant?’

‘You are. And quite soon we’ll be able to scan for the sex of your baby, if you like. Are you hoping for a boy or a

rl?’ ‘

‘I don’t mind,’ Eleanor said blankly. Her head was spinning with all the implications of this, trying to accept it, trying to make some decisions.

Tom’s baby! I’m pregnant with Tom Goldman’s child!

‘You must have taken my advice on your last visit, and started to make love to your fianc without a diaphragm.

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And that was all it took!’ the doctor said, with obvious satisfaction. She leaned across the desk towards the patient. ‘Your little one will arrive eight months after the wedding, Eleanor, but that’s hardly something to be concerned about in this day and age. In my young day, it was very different. I had to tell everybody that my eldest son was premature!’

Eleanor smiled at the old lady as she laughed, warming to her. She’d misjudged Dr Haydn; her joy in being able to pass on good news was infectious.

‘You’re going to have a baby, Eleanor!’ the doctor exulted. ‘Isn’t it wonderful?’

And suddenly, with .that simple expression of delight, Eleanor felt all her confusion crystallize into one gigantic wave of happiness. Because come hell or high water, she was going to have the baby of the only man she had ever loved.

‘Oh, Liz, it/s wonderful,’ Eleanor Marshall said, her eyes suddenly full of tears. ‘It truly is.’

tLoxana Felix settled back against the dark blue leather sofa in Howard Thorn’s private jet, making herself comfortable. She had called him that morning and told him to send it to Mah6 immediately; if she was forced to leave the set for a while, she was damn well going to do it in style.

‘Can I get you anything, Ms Felix?’ a stewardess enquired, her eyes roaming enviously over tLoxana’s stunning Chanel suit in white cashmere. ‘Champagne, wine, mineral water, fruit juice?’ “

‘Bring me some fresh orange juice.” Slice of lime. No ice,’ tLoxana snapped.

‘Yes, ma’am.’ The girl scurried away hastily.

ILoxana took several deep breaths and tried to control her temper. This situation was going to require careful handling, and disintegrating into white rage wouldn’t help

her.

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But it was so hard!

Who the hell did Zach Mason think he was? Taking her aside like that after he’d crushed the fight out of David Tauber, that spineless little worm, and threatening her? The conversation ran through her mind, the words searing into her memory: ‘I want you to take a week off, tkoxana. And back off Megan. She’s the only reason Fred hasn’t given up on this movie.’

‘And what if I don’t?’ l.oxana had spat back at him, her chocolate eyes narrowed in venomous fury.

‘Simple, babe,’ Zach replied - God, she could see it now, his gorgeous face set hard as rock against her, his grey, thundercloud eyes so alive with menace that even she had shrunk from it - ‘If you don’t, I’m going to walk offthe film today. P, ight now. And I’m going to fly straight back to Los Angeles and call a press conference, where I’ll tell the entire world what a class-A bitch you are. In fact, I’ll get Florescu to sit alongside me. We’ll both tell them how you disrupted this movie, and if you say anything different, I’ll get statements from a hundred different people agreeing with me.’ He gestured sharply towards the set. ‘Little people, l.0xana. The ones you tread on every fucking day - the catering staff, the make-up girls, the lighting director. That’ll look good on Oprah, don’t you think? “Working with the Beauty Queen Bitch from Hell”. A nice feature in Vogue, too. I could give them an exclusive. And I’ll tell them that you tried to ,have the screenwriter fired because you were jealous of her relationship with me. I’ll tell them that all that coy posturing at your cosmestic deal and the Electric City show was bullshit. I’ll say you flung yourself at me, but you’re such a fucking snake that I’d rather fuck a leper.’

‘You wouldn’t,’ she’d managed.

Zach Mason shook his head. ‘Don’t let’s play games here, lady. You know I would. I don’t need this movie; whatever little web you’re spinning, you can’t trap me in

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it. I’d do all that in a heartbeat. And what would that do to

your fat contract with Jackson cosmetics?’

That son of a bitch! 1Loxana thought.

She’d been offthe set, packed and waiting at the airport in Victoria within the hour. What Mason had done to David Tauber-she didn’t know and couldn’t care less about. The little prick had zero cojones, not that she’d expected better.

But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. This was just a temporary annoyance; within days Jake Keller would present his new plan to Artemis, Eleanor Marshall would be fired and the movie would be back on track. Then she could go back to the set, relocated to somewhere more suitable, and-act her heart out. She’d be Meryl fucking Streep, as far as the cast was concerned. And she’d be so hard-working and so sweet to all the stupid little hired hands that’Zach Mason’s heart would melt.

1Loxana picked up a copy of Variety laid out for her on the smoked-glass coffee table and idly flicked through it.

Maybe she had overdone the leading-lady routine a little , but so what? Everybody loves the return of the prodigal son … or daughter. Once Zach had been won over by the new-look, hard-working, polite and considerate 1Loxana Felix - that’s when she could have the little mouse bitch fired, Sam Kendrick was already eating out of her hands, and Eleanor Marshall was history. She could wait for Megan. It was no big deal.

‘Your juice, ma’am, the flight attendant said, handing P,.oxana Felix a Baccarat crystal flute full. of freshly squeezed juice and topped with a slic6 of lime, exactly as she’d ordered it. The girl placed a mahogany tray in front of her, laden with a plateful of lime wedges and a silver pitcher of juice. ‘May I get you some lunch? The chef suggests melon and prosciutto, followed by caviar with blinis, and then strawberry sorbet with a Cointreau sauce.’

R, oxana nodded. ‘That will be fme.’

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The familiar cocoon of respect and luxury was enveloping her again, and it felt good. She began to look forward to spending some time in LA. It would have definite fringe benefits… Sam Kendrick, for one. Her body pulsed at the thought of him, warm desire beginning to melt and poolin her belly. He gave her pleasures she had never dreamed of, and there was something comforting about his love, his protectiveness towards her; she was enjoying the process of enslaving this one, more so than any other man she’d yet encountered.