Taking Chances

by Susan Lewis

  With a strange, jerky movement he turned round. The door between the two rooms was ajar. He stared at it, then went to it, hardly even thinking about whom or what he might find. The curtains were drawn, but this time he could smell the blood even before he saw it. Escobar and Galvis were on their beds. There was so much blood it was dripping into two small pools on the floor.

  The beat of his heart was the only sound he could hear. His whole body was stiff. He had to get out of there as fast as was humanly possible.

  Turning back he grabbed his holdall and took one last look at Morales. The blood hadn’t yet congealed, the body would still be warm. It had happened less than an hour ago, as he stood on the plaza arguing and bantering with half of Popayán’s drivers over who was to take flowers to a dark-haired girl with the eyes of a child and the heart of a woman. There was no doubt in his mind that were it not for those flowers he would be lying there on the only empty bed, soaked in his own blood, all but minus his head.

  Twenty minutes later he was at Machangara airport waiting to board the next flight out. He had gone deeper into the throes of shock, and the shaking was so bad people were staring. He stayed with the crowds, hoping to blend in and avoid the eyes of any possible pursuers. It was anyone’s guess now whether he would make it out of this city, but, even if he did, there was still every chance he was never going to make it out of the country.

  *

  It was late the following morning when Michael came out of his office to the reception area of the executive suite he shared with Ellen. Maggie, their joint personal assistant, and her two-man backup team, Bob and Olivia, were all at their desks, either fielding phone calls, dealing with mail or, in Maggie’s case, fighting to achieve workable structures to Michael and Ellen’s impossible schedules.

  Most of the reception was cluttered up with a dozen or more half-opened boxes, unpacked patio furniture and cellophane-wrapped plants, all waiting to take up residence on the large, empty veranda outside. But on the whole they were now sufficiently installed in their new location to have started hanging paintings on the walls, and assigning a telephone each to the growing number of the movie’s production personnel who were currently housed in three recently-combined conference rooms just across the hall. As soon as things really got going Michael would relocate them to wherever he could get the best deal on a soundstage and accompanying offices.

  ‘Is Ellen still down in the screening room?’ Michael asked, stopping at the cooler to help himself to water.

  ‘No, she’s gone over to Raleigh to meet with Jill Stoner,’ Maggie answered, ‘she should be back around one.’ Her permanently flushed cheeks and tousled dark curls made her look as romantic as the novels she feasted on, and her gentle Scots brogue was always a welcome reminder to Michael of his good friend and senior agent in London, Zelda Frey.

  ‘Here, did you see this?’ Maggie said, searching the scattered paperwork on her desk. ‘It’s from Richard Conway’s managers. Ah, here it is.’ Her dark eyes were alive with mischief. ‘Brace yourself, hen,’ she advised, ‘the man wants everything from a chef for his dog to a coach for his voice. He’s got a team of fourteen assistants, all of whom need to be on the payroll; and added to that he’s got his own hairdresser, make-up artists, dentist, that’s right, dentist; manicurist, dialogue coach, personal trainer and therapist. He needs four winnebagos to house this royal entourage, and a fleet of limousines to ferry them back and forth from the set.’

  Michael was laughing. ‘Give me that,’ he said, snatching it from her.

  ‘He thinks I’m joking,’ Maggie informed the other assistants. ‘Watch his face when he finds out I’m not.’

  And sure enough the humour made a fast demise as Michael’s eyes scanned the unbelievable list of star demands. ‘Put a call in to his manager,’ he said. ‘Has Ellen seen this?’

  Maggie nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of coffee. ‘She thought it was hysterical, like the rest of us, and can’t wait to see what your incredible powers of negotiation do to the list. Our money’s on it getting longer.’

  Despite himself Michael laughed.

  ‘Call for you,’ Olivia told him. ‘It’s Jonathan Bridge at Fox Searchlight.’

  ‘I’ll take it,’ Michael said, reaching for the receiver. ‘Jonathan? What news?’

  ‘Three million, six per cent and you keep total control,’ the voice at the other end told him.

  ‘Four and a half and the deal’s done,’ Michael responded.

  ‘I’ll get back to you. Is there a script yet?’

  ‘Any day now.’

  ‘I’m sticking my neck out for you here,’ Bridge reminded him. ‘It would help to have a script.’

  ‘You’re not kidding,’ Michael muttered as he hung up. He was only too aware of how many favours he was being done, and just hoped to God that Tom Chambers was going to come through with this script. If Chambers failed them, he and Ellen would be in bigger trouble than either of them wanted to think about.

  As if on cue the private line in his office started to ring. ‘Tom?’ he said, snatching it up.

  ‘Thank God you’re there,’ Chambers responded.

  ‘Where are you?’ Michael demanded. ‘What happened? You sound stressed.’

  ‘You could say that,’ Chambers remarked drily. ‘I’m in Bogotá. The guys I was with got involved with a machete in Popayán, just hours before we were due to connect up with Molina.’

  ‘Jesus Christ, are you OK?’

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine. I’m pretty sure I was supposed to go the same way, but I was out buying flowers.’

  Michael frowned. ‘Flowers?’

  ‘Another time. The important thing is I managed to get out. I’m with someone I can trust now, at least for one night. But just in case anything goes wrong I’m going to e-mail you the bare bones of a script and all my notes.’

  ‘Tom, it’s more important that you get yourself out of there. Is there anything I can do this end?’

  ‘If there is, I’ll let you know. Check the e-mail and with any luck, the next time you hear from me I’ll be in Miami en route to LA.’

  Much later in the day Michael walked into Ellen’s office and found her sitting in a corner of a tan leather sofa, her long bare legs curled under her. She was reading the partially-written script and notes they had downloaded and printed from Tom Chambers’s e-mail a couple of hours ago.

  ‘So what do you think?’ Michael said, closing the door behind him.

  Ellen looked up. ‘The first word that comes to mind is relief,’ she responded. ‘I mean, at least we’ve actually got something now, so we don’t have to keep lying and stalling. But yeah, it’s good. Needs a lot of work, but on the whole it’s better than I expected. What about you, what did you think?’

  ‘I agree it needs work,’ he answered, coming to sit on the coffee-table in front of her.

  She stretched out her legs, putting her feet in his lap, and moaned luxuriously as he began massaging her calves. ‘Did I tell you, I got your son the whole way to school this morning,’ she said, ‘then he reminded me he had gym first thing and I had to go all the way back again for his kit. Boy, was he mad at me, like it was my fault. I could have crowned him, especially as it made me forty minutes late for Jill Stoner. Mmm, don’t stop that,’ she murmured, letting her eyes close as he began squeezing her toes. ‘Have you got any idea how much this turns me on?’

  ‘Well, seeing as you’ve fallen asleep on me three nights in a row,’ he reminded her, ‘I could be up for taking my chances while I’ve got them.’

  Ellen’s eyes started to dance. ‘Don’t tempt me,’ she said, and inhaled deeply as he pressed his thumbs into the soles of her feet.

  Grinning, he relaxed his grip. ‘So will you take it on?’ he said, nodding towards the script. ‘Help him get it into shape?’

  Ellen eyed him for a moment, then smiled. ‘Is this the carrot?’ she said. ‘Get her involved in the script, it might soften her up a bit. Make her feel more needed.’
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br />   ‘Oh, come on,’ he said. ‘You’re so far into this now you surely can’t be in any doubt about that. No, what I’m saying is, we both know you’ve got a gift for making scripts work, and I happen to think you could really make something of this.’

  ‘While you do what, exactly?’

  ‘Fight with Richard Conway’s managers to see if he’ll agree to Spot’s chef taking on the catering for the Conway cur, and for my manicurist to fix up the acrylics.’

  Ellen was laughing. ‘Since when did Spot get himself a chef?’ she enquired.

  ‘You’re looking at him,’ he replied. ‘And as you know, I come cheap.’

  Still laughing, Ellen returned to the notes in front of her. ‘You know, if I didn’t have a wedding to sidetrack me I’d be pouring all my excitement into this,’ she said. ‘I really think it’s going to work, especially now I’ve seen what Tom’s already done. And we’re pulling a terrific team together, in case you hadn’t noticed. Some of the best.’

  ‘Thanks to you.’

  ‘And you. After all, you’re the one who’s raising the money to pay them.’

  ‘For now. We’ve still got a way to go, and if we don’t come up with more investment by the end of the month, the payroll’s in jeopardy.’

  She sighed and chewed thoughtfully on her lip. He wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t already know. ‘Do you reckon we’re going to be able to afford another big name to play Rachel?’ she asked.

  He took a breath to answer, then suddenly changed course. ‘Don’t let’s get into the casting now,’ he said, knowing she was about to start making a case for her cousin Matty. ‘Let’s just sort the script out, ’cos without it we’re dead. Will you take it on? I mean, we could get another writer in, but I don’t think Tom’ll go for that and …’

  ‘It’s OK, I’ll do it,’ she said. ‘Though God only knows where I’m going to find the time. Which reminds me, we’re supposed to go see Robbie’s teacher this evening for his progress report. Can you make it?’

  He shook his head. ‘I’m meeting with the Touchstone people at six,’ he said. ‘And there’s a chance Tom might fly in later. I got a call from him saying he was on a flight out of Bogotá. From what he told me on the phone it seems things got pretty hairy down there.’ He was about to enlarge further when he remembered how nervous she already was about the Colombian cartels, so keeping it brief he said, ‘Maggie’s working on getting him a connection in Miami.’

  ‘Will he be staying with us?’ Ellen said. ‘Silly question. I’d better call Lucina, tell her to get one of the guest-rooms ready. We could put him in the suite upstairs.’ She looked at her watch. ‘I’ve got a five o’clock with Rosa and Gerry,’ she said, referring to a couple of the ATI agents, ‘can you call Lucina? Or no, I’ll do it. I’ll have to give her a list for the market. Did you leave her some money for taxis? Oh God, she’s got her driving lesson today, she won’t be back until six. I’ll get Maggie to call her. God, I wish the woman could cook.’

  ‘Why don’t we order in tonight?’ he suggested.

  ‘Good idea. Chinese?’

  ‘Thai?’

  “That’s settled then, Chinese it is?’

  Michael glanced over his shoulder, as though searching out the extra voice that had voted against him. ‘I was wondering,’ he said, getting to his feet.

  Ellen looked up from the script. ‘Wondering what?’ she prompted.

  ‘If we came to a decision about Michelle?’ he asked tentatively. ‘I’m going to have to call her back …’

  Ellen smiled and got to her feet. ‘I’ve had a good idea about that,’ she informed him. ‘Why don’t you ask her if she can put off her visit until the wedding, then she can stay with Robbie while we’re on honeymoon.’

  Michael grinned, and tilted her face up to his. ‘You’re a genius,’ he stated.

  ‘You didn’t ask your mother to take that on yet, did you?’ she said cautiously.

  ‘No, not yet,’ he assured her. ‘But there’s every chance she’ll stay on anyway. How many guests are we up to now?’

  ‘I’m keeping it to a hundred,’ she answered. ‘I just wish I knew where everyone was going to stay. Can we do a deal with a hotel, do you think? I’ll get Maggie on to it. But my parents and your mother will definitely stay at the house. Matty can put up her own parents,’ she continued, walking over to her desk. ‘Thank God my dad’s worked things out with Aunt Julie and Uncle Melvin. Did you hear, Eugene pulled off a great deal with Sony. He’s using their studios to shoot the pilot of that sitcom we can never remember the name of.’

  ‘Which means we should find another title,’ he said. ‘Are you producing?’

  ‘No, I’ve handed over to Kelly. Are you getting involved in the script auction at five thirty, or am I?’

  ‘Which script? And are we buying or selling?’

  She cocked an eyebrow. ‘Remind me, what do you do all day over there in that office of yours?’

  ‘You mean when I’m not fantasizing about my high-powered mistress?’ he responded, backing her up against the desk.

  She could feel his erection pressing against her, and wished desperately that they could just lock the door and have a few precious minutes to themselves. But even as she thought it Maggie’s voice came over the intercom.

  ‘Rosa’s just arrived,’ she said. ‘Gerry’s on his way. You missed lunch, so do you want me to send out for some food?’

  ‘We’ll finish this later,’ Michael said, kissing her softly on the mouth.

  ‘Do you think you can wait that long?’ she teased.

  His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. ‘Can you?’ he countered.

  Smiling, she leaned over for the intercom. ‘Ask Rosa if she wants something,’ she instructed Maggie, ‘and I’ll have the same.’ She let go of the button just in time, for Michael’s hand was slipping under her skirt and as he pushed it between her legs she groaned out loud.

  ‘Gerry’s here now,’ Maggie’s voice informed them. ‘Shall I ask them to wait, or shall I send them in?’

  Ellen reached for the button again, inhaling deeply as Michael’s fingers moved inside her panties and started to stroke her.

  ‘Give us a moment,’ she managed to respond, then let go fast as Michael pushed his fingers deep inside her. ‘Oh God, Michael, this is cruel,’ she murmured, as he lifted her skirt to her waist and pulled down her panties. ‘Someone might come in.’

  ‘They won’t hang about,’ he assured her, making her laugh. ‘And I thought we were supposed to be trying for a baby.’

  ‘We are,’ she confirmed.

  “Then this is the way to do it,’ he said, and unzipping his fly, he took out his penis and pushed it right up inside her.

  ‘Oh yes,’ she whimpered. ‘Yes, yes,’ and as her legs circled his waist, his mouth came crushing down on hers and his hips began to jerk against her.

  Within minutes they were both struggling to silence their orgasms, and almost as soon as it was over they were laughing.

  ‘Sssh,’ she whispered, stepping back into her panties. ‘I thought we made a pact, no sex in the office. Remember?’

  ‘I never was any good at playing to the rules,’ he responded. He lifted her face up to his. ‘Love you,’ he whispered.

  ‘Love you too,’ she smiled. Then she started to laugh again. ‘Do you think they’re going to know?’ she asked.

  His eyes twinkled. ‘Who cares?’ he responded, and kissing her briefly on the lips he turned back towards the door.

  As she watched him go she was surprised to find herself thinking about Sandy Paull. It was this very kind of relationship Sandy had always wanted with Michael, to be his partner in every way, though why on earth that should have come into her mind now, she didn’t have a clue.

  ‘Oh by the way,’ he said, turning back as he opened the door. ‘Thanks.’

  Ellen’s eyes widened.

  He grinned. ‘About Michelle,’ he said. ‘I’ll call her tonight.’

  After g
reeting Rosa and Gerry he returned to his own office and the mountain of work that was piling up on his desk. Though his mind was fully on what he was doing, it was only a few minutes before he was stopped by his conscience and his thoughts returned to Ellen – or, more precisely, to the conversation he’d had with Robbie a couple of nights ago.

  It was the first time Robbie had mentioned anything about wanting his mummy and daddy to get back together, and though common sense told Michael that this problem was long overdue, he couldn’t help but be uneasy when it had happened to coincide with Ellen’s own insecurity over Michelle. Were it not for that, he might have discussed it with Ellen so that the three of them could try to work through it together, but with the way things stood he really wasn’t sure how to play it.

  Nor was he feeling very comfortable with the way he had as good as lied to Ellen when he’d claimed not to know what Chambers and Michelle were cooking up. Not that either of them had actually told him what they had in mind, but he had a pretty good idea. And, if he was right, he didn’t even want to think about how Ellen was going to take that.

  ‘Do you know what’s most interesting about this script?’ Sandy said, looking up as Nesta came into the sitting-room of the flat they shared in Chelsea.

  ‘What’s that?’ Nesta yawned, sinking down on the adjacent sofa and kicking off her high heels. ‘I thought you’d have been in bed by now.’

  ‘The message from Michael that came over the e-mail with it,’ Sandy replied. ‘Did you have a good time? Where did you go?’

  ‘It was OK. Ronnie Scott’s. What message?’

  ‘He’s asked me not to discuss the script with Ellen for the time being,’ Sandy answered.

  Nesta yawned again. ‘Do you think I’m getting too old for all this?’ she said, looking down at her expensive purple and black dress that was cut so low in the front that her breasts were barely covered.

  ‘Probably,’ Sandy answered. ‘You’re back early, so I take it it was just a date, no extras?’

  ‘No extras,’ Nesta confirmed, her small, kittenish face looking pale and tired. ‘So what’s it like, the script? Any good?’