Thrill

by Jackie Collins

  “Sweetheart, I have only your best interests at heart,” he said, meaning it. Because alerting Alison Sewell to the photographic opportunity of her life was merely a way to force Lara to see things clearly.

  “I know,” she said softly.

  “You’re on my mind all the time.” He paused, gauging her mood. “I’m sure you know the main reason Nikki and I are no longer together is because you and I still have a very special connection? A connection that can never be broken.”

  “Don’t start, Richard,” she said, hoping he wasn’t going to get too caught up in this.

  “No,” he said sharply. “Hear me out, Lara. Screwing around on you was the biggest mistake of my life. And I want you to know that if you can ever forgive me and think about us getting back together, then I’m always here for you.”

  “That’s very flattering,” she said, picking up a cold mug of tea and sipping it anyway. “But Richard, I’m with somebody now. I’m very involved.”

  “How involved?”

  “Well . . .” she hesitated for a moment. “Joey and I are thinking of getting married, only please keep it to yourself. No one knows.”

  He stared into her clear green eyes and wondered how someone so beautiful and nice could be so fucking naive. “Are you serious?” he said disbelievingly.

  She nodded. “Very.”

  “Listen to me carefully, Lara,” he said in measured tones. “I warned you what would happen to you on this movie. Now I’m warning you what will happen if you marry Joey.”

  Why did he always have to try and run her life? Why couldn’t he just be her friend? “Richard,” she said, attempting to remain calm. “Please don’t tell me what to do, because it’s really none of your business.”

  He began pacing. “Did Joey ever mention Madelaine Francis?”

  She shook her head.

  “He used to live with her—in fact, he was with her when he met you.” He checked out her reaction. She looked surprised. “You should talk to Madelaine,” he added, striking fast.

  “Why would I want to do that?” she asked, her eyes two stubborn pinpoints of light.

  He kept going, knowing exactly how to get to her. “Scared of what you might find out?” he challenged.

  She stood up, wishing he’d leave. “This is ridiculous,” she said impatiently.

  “Do it for me, sweetheart,” he said, using his best powers of persuasion. “Meet the woman, if only for a few minutes.”

  “There’s no reason—”

  “For old times, Lara.”

  “Oh, all right,” she said, agreeing reluctantly, her curiosity aroused. “But I can assure you, it won’t make any difference.”

  He smiled to himself. Wanna bet? “She’s in my car,” he said. “I’ll go fetch her.”

  CHAPTER

  56

  GREG GORMAN WAS A MASTER photographer with several coffee table books full of pictures of stars. Joey was impressed. And the good thing was that Greg liked him, encouraged him to shine. So there he was in Greg’s Beverly Boulevard studio, center stage, under the lights, the camera clicking away, and Toni Braxton belting out a sexy love song on the stereo.

  Joey got off on being the center of attention. Getting primped and fussed over was his idea of a good time. And the good news was, he hadn’t even had to pay for the session, because Lara had spoken to an executive at Orpheus Studios—the studio responsible for The Dreamer—and gotten them to pay for it.

  Greg stopped to change film, and the makeup person, hairdresser and stylist all descended on Joey at once.

  This is how it should be, he reflected. Me—on a star trip. It’s about time.

  He grinned and stretched. He had a career. He had a fantastic woman he planned to marry. Things were finally turning his way.

  • •

  Richard ushered Madelaine into Lara’s trailer. She was sitting on the banquette, tapping her fingers impatiently on a plastic table. “Hi,” she said, a little cold and a little tense.

  “Honey,” Richard said warmly. “Say hello to Madelaine Francis.”

  Lara nodded brusquely.

  Madelaine stared at the beautiful actress. She was even more gorgeous in the flesh than on the screen.

  Richard edged toward the door. “Why don’t I leave you two alone,” he suggested.

  “Fine,” Lara replied, wondering why she’d agreed to do this. Oh yes—she knew: Richard and his persuasive ways had struck again.

  As soon as he was gone, she shifted uncomfortably. “I feel most awkward about this,” she said.

  “So do I,” Madelaine agreed.

  “It’s Richard’s idea,” Lara added. “And quite frankly, if you have anything to say about Joey, I think he should be here to listen.”

  “Wouldn’t bother me,” Madelaine said, sitting down. “In fact, he should be here.”

  “Richard doesn’t like Joey,” Lara stated with a weary sigh. “He’s busy digging for dirt.”

  “Perhaps he’s trying to protect you.”

  “From what?” she answered sharply, appalled at the woman’s nerve.

  “Just a thought,” Madelaine murmured.

  “Anyway, how do you fit into this?” Lara asked, her tone abrupt. “Did you know Joey’s fiancée?”

  “Why does everyone keep mentioning a fiancée?” Madelaine said irritably. “When I got him the part in The Dreamer, he was living with me.”

  “You?” Lara said, hardly able to conceal her surprise. The woman was old enough to be his mother. “When Joey and I met, he was engaged to a girl called Phillipa. Are you Phillipa?”

  “No,” Madelaine said, adding dryly, “and I’m not a girl, as you’ve probably noticed.”

  “I didn’t mean—”

  “Look, Miss Ivory,” Madelaine said. “Joey Lorenzo and I were lovers until he met you. After that, it appears I was no longer useful.”

  Lara took a long, deep breath. Why is this happening to me? she thought. Why?

  Because you’re an ugly little slut and you don’t deserve any happiness.

  Her father’s words came back to haunt her. So harsh. So unforgettable.

  “Did Richard put you up to this?” she asked at last.

  “Not at all,” Madelaine said. “I’ve been an agent for twenty-five years, I have an impeccable reputation. You can ask anyone about me.” She began searching in her purse for a cigarette. “Mind if I smoke?”

  “Go ahead,” Lara said flatly.

  “Unfortunately, several years ago I foolishly got involved with Joey,” Madelaine said, lighting up. “We were together almost a year, then he took off for six years. I have no idea where he went. When he returned, he moved back into my apartment.” She dragged deeply on her cigarette. “And this is something I didn’t tell your ex—when Joey left the first time, he stole seven thousand dollars of my money.”

  Lara felt a queasy sensation in the pit of her stomach. Instinct told her this woman was speaking the truth. “What about Phillipa?” she asked in a strained voice.

  “There is no Phillipa,” Madelaine said, waving her cigarette in the air. “He made her up. Joey has a very lively imagination.”

  “Why . . . why would he do that?” Lara stammered.

  “Who knows with Joey? I can only assume he didn’t want to tell you about me.”

  “He could have,” Lara said bravely. “There’s nothing wrong with living with an older woman—”

  “Be realistic, dear,” Madelaine interrupted. “He was with me for what I could do for him. The ungrateful bastard stole my money, and I let him get away with it. If you’d found that out, you might have regarded him differently.”

  Lara got up and began wandering aimlessly around the trailer. “What else do you know about him?” she asked.

  “Not very much. Joey was always secretive about his background—didn’t want me prying.”

  Lara remembered the number she’d called in New York—Phillipa’s number. If it was the same as Madelaine’s that definitely meant she was
telling the truth. She asked Madelaine for her home number, then buzzed Cassie and had her check it against the call sheet from The Dreamer.

  It was the same number.

  She turned back to Madelaine. “Are you sure he stole your money?”

  Madelaine nodded. “No doubt about it. When he returned, he gave me back three thousand dollars. The rest I recovered from the check he got for his work on The Dreamer.”

  Lara’s mind was in turmoil. So Joey—her Joey—was nothing more than a cheap opportunist, a thief who used women for what he could get out of them. Her head was spinning. “I . . . I don’t know what to say, Ms. Francis. This is information I’d sooner not have heard. But now that you’ve told me, I suppose I’ll have to deal with it.”

  “I understand,” Madelaine said, bobbing her head sympathetically. “It’s not easy. Joey’s very charming. He has the knack. And of course he’s also an extremely talented lover, as I’m sure you know. When Joey makes love to you, he makes you feel as if you’re the only woman in the world.” She chuckled wryly. “And believe me, at my age, that’s quite a feat.”

  “I’m sure,” Lara murmured, while her idyllic world spun out of control, crashing around her in tiny, fragmented pieces.

  • •

  Early in the morning, Summer complained of a stomachache, staying safely in bed until her father had departed for his office. As soon as she heard his car leave the garage, she leaped out of bed and raced downstairs.

  Mrs. Stern, their housekeeper, regarded her in surprise. “I thought you weren’t feeling well, missy,” she said accusingly.

  “I’m much better now,” Summer said, all blond innocence. “Gotta get to school. Major test today.”

  “Shall I prepare your breakfast?”

  “No thanks, Mrs. Stern.”

  “If you’re sure . . .”

  “Absolutely.” A very brief pause, then, “I think I left some of my schoolwork in Daddy’s study. I’d better go take a look.” She dashed into his private domain, slamming the door behind her. As soon as she was sure Mrs. Stern wasn’t about to follow her, she began searching his desk. Tina had the right idea: find money and run. And if she did find some, she planned on running all the way to L.A., because there was no way she was staying around for any more nocturnal visits.

  One by one she frantically ransacked his desk drawers, until hidden under a pile of matching folders in the bottom left-hand drawer, she discovered a large manila envelope containing a stack of pornographic pictures, most of them featuring young schoolgirls. What a stinking pervert! Why had Nikki left her with him? Why hadn’t her mother cared enough about her to take her to California?

  On impulse she grabbed the envelope and ran upstairs, where she went straight to his closet, rifling through the pockets of his suits, remembering that when she was a kid, that’s where he’d kept his money. Her eager hands dived in and out of various inside pockets, finally coming across two thousand dollars secured with a rubber band.

  She couldn’t believe her luck. That much money should easily buy her a cheap ticket to L.A.

  Not wishing to alert Mrs. Stern, she hurried into her room, quickly putting on her school clothes. Then she stuffed as much as she could into a large duffel bag, which she managed to smuggle out of the house before Mrs. Stern noticed.

  She lugged the heavy duffel bag to the corner of the street, hopping a bus into the center of town. From there she hailed a cab to the airport.

  L.A.—here I come! she thought. And not a moment too soon.

  • •

  “So Lara was really pissed with you?” Aiden asked, scratching the light stubble on his chin.

  “Yes,” Nikki replied ruefully, as they stood by the Kraft service stand, picking at a bowl of fruit. “Then Richard turned up.”

  Aiden bit into an apple. “What did he want?”

  “I told you; he’s obsessed with Lara,” Nikki said, shaking her head. “I must’ve been crazy to marry him. I didn’t even see it. Although I do remember that on the south of France location he was always worried about where she was and what she was doing. Silly me. I thought he was merely being nice—y’know, the concerned ex.”

  “Fuck Richard. Who needs him?” Aiden said, leading her over to a couple of high-backed canvas director’s chairs. “Let’s talk about us.”

  “What about us?” she asked, slightly breathless.

  “I was kinda wondering,” he said, scratching his chin again. “What happens after the movie? You and I gonna hang out? Be friends? Lovers? What’s the deal here, Nik?”

  Even though she liked him a lot, she wasn’t in the mood to be pressured. Everything was happening too fast, and she needed time to think. “Uh . . . well . . . I’ll be shut away in the editing rooms for the next six weeks, trying to put this movie together with Mick.”

  “Sounds like an experience,” he said dryly.

  “I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “If Revenge is successful, I hope I get a chance to do it again.”

  “You’re really into this whole producing deal.”

  “It’s exciting—in spite of the setbacks.”

  “Guess it beats sittin’ around.”

  “Aiden, I’ve been meaning to thank you . . .”

  “For what?”

  “For giving such a brilliant performance.”

  “Hey,” he smiled faintly, pleased with her praise. “It’s what I do. And y’know something? Lara was pretty good too. Surprised everyone.”

  “She did, didn’t she.”

  “This movie’s gonna get a lot of attention.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “Two thumbs up everyone’s ass.”

  She laughed, suddenly realizing she was going to miss him. “So,” she said tentatively, “what are your future plans?”

  He shrugged like it didn’t much matter. “If anybody’ll insure me, there’s a few independents who’re willing to take a chance. Course, once you’re a known druggie, it’s a bitch gettin’ work.”

  She watched him carefully. “Tell me the truth, Aiden. Are you really straight now?”

  “I take it day to day,” he answered restlessly. “Course, it ain’t easy on account of the fact temptation’s in my face every single minute. There’s a shitload of actors into heroin, an’ coke is like Sweet’n Low—you want a little snort with your breakfast, no freakin’ problem. It’s everywhere I go.”

  “That must be difficult.”

  A cynical grin. “You could say that.”

  “I do want to see you,” she said shyly. “But first I need time for myself.”

  “Hey—” A sly smile. “As long as I’m not taken by the time you’re ready.”

  She smiled back. “You’re much nicer than you want people to think.”

  “That a compliment?” he asked flippantly.

  “I’ll leave you to decide.”

  Lara passed by on her way to the set, her expression grim. Richard probably hasn’t made things any better, Nikki thought. He’s getting off on the drama. Damn him!

  “Need anything?” she called as Lara rushed past.

  “Yes—a new life,” Lara snapped.

  Nikki started to follow her. “You are coming to the wrap party tonight?” she asked, hopeful that Lara would say yes.

  “I wouldn’t count on it if I were you,” Lara replied, not stopping.

  Nikki knew when to back off.

  • •

  Lara had no intention of attending the end-of-filming party. She went to the set, performed her scene, then got on her cell phone to Cassie. “We’re taking a trip,” she said, her mind still in turmoil. “Pack me a couple of bags, and meet me at the studio as soon as possible. I’m not coming home. Whatever you do, don’t mention anything to Joey.”

  “I take it he won’t be coming with us?”

  “You’ve got that right.”

  “Where are we going?” Cassie asked curiously.

  “To the house at the beach. Not a word to anyone.”

 
; “It’s done,” Cassie said.

  Yes, Lara thought. It’s done. My life with Joey is done, too. Over. Finished. History.

  And she was filled with an overwhelming sense of sadness and loss.

  CHAPTER

  57

  “HOW DID IT GO?” RICHARD asked, when Madelaine returned to his hotel as he’d requested.

  “I’m sure it went ’exactly as you planned,” she responded crisply as he ushered her inside. She was not stupid, she knew the result Richard was after. He wanted his exquisite ex-wife back, and who could blame him?

  He was cradling a hefty vodka on the rocks. “Want one?” he asked.

  “No, thank you,” she replied, walking over to the couch and sitting down.

  He joined her. “Did you tell Lara everything?” he asked intently.

  “Yes.”

  He nodded to himself. “Excellent.”

  “I also told her about the seven thousand dollars Joey stole from me.”

  Richard sat up straight. Seven thousand bucks! Jesus! This was better than he’d thought. “What did she say?”

  Madelaine shrugged. “She didn’t have to say anything. It was all in her eyes. Disappointment, betrayal . . .”

  “Good,” he said, before he could stop himself.

  Madelaine raised a cynical eyebrow. “Good?” she questioned.

  “Uh . . . I mean it’s good she found out the truth before it’s too late.”

  “I suppose so.”

  “They were planning on getting married, you know.”

  “Really?” Madelaine wasn’t surprised. What did Joey have to lose by marrying Lara Ivory? Exactly nothing.

  “Yeah. I’m sure you’ve persuaded her to change her mind,” Richard said, taking a hefty swig of vodka. “When she gets over being hurt she’ll thank both of us.”

  “I’m glad I could be of service,” Madelaine said.

  He jumped up. She’d served her purpose, now he was ready to see her on her way.

  It was at that moment Madelaine’s memory nudged her into almost remembering where she knew Richard Barry from. The walk, the eyes, something about the voice . . . “Tell me,” she asked curiously, “were you ever an actor?”

  “No,” he said quickly. “Never.”