Among a Thousand Stars

by Jo Bartlett

  ‘Aye, now that’s the bit I’m really struggling to get my head around. I still can’t quite believe you sacked the Rottweiler.’

  ‘It wasn’t quite as dramatic as that. The legal bit cost me a small fortune but it was worth it. I couldn’t sack her, but we reached a ‘compromise agreement’. Truth be told I paid her off, otherwise she’d have gone for unfair dismissal, but there was no other option in the end.’

  ‘You said in your message you’d put the wheels in motion for that, even before you shifted Susie-Anne off your books?’ Angus gave him a quizzical look. ‘I thought she was destined to be by your side, one way or the other, for the long haul.’

  ‘That was the problem, so did she - especially after… everything. I couldn’t stand the I told you so look on her face.’ Tom sighed. Had he cut off his nose to spite his face? Francine had been good at her job, but he couldn’t live with the way she’d judged him – or Ashleigh – any more.

  ‘You might have to sack me next then.’ Angus looked unusually serious.

  ‘What do you mean?’ Tom couldn’t imagine Angus telling him how wrong he’d been to get involved with Ashleigh. He thought the world of her; that much was obvious.

  ‘How many celebrities do you think we have in this thing over the course of a year?’ Angus held up a copy of the latest addition of Glitz and then let it fall on to the desk in front of him.

  ‘I don’t know, all told, with parties and everything? Well over a thousand, at a guess.’

  ‘At least that. And there’s you, finding something real, something worth having among a thousand stars who parade across the pages of this thing, and you let it go.’ His brogue came through strongly when he was passionate about something and right now it sounded like Angus had never left Glasgow.

  Tom shook his head. ‘It was never meant to be anything serious, and according to Zac she’s chasing her dreams in Las Vegas now. So although your advice is pointless, I won’t be sacking you just yet.’ He managed another half-smile. ‘It’s far too expensive!’

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Ashleigh fumbled for the clock on the bedside table, which seemed to be about a mile away. The blackout curtains and jet lag meant she had no idea what time it was. It was her seventh day in Vegas and she was hoping she might have finally cracked the time change thing. Five thirty a.m., not bad. It was nine thirty in the evening in England. Stevie wanted her to call every Friday; in fact he’d made her promise.

  When she told him she was leaving, there’d been a few tears – mainly his – but he’d understood and even told her she was right to follow her dreams. He’d only tried to talk her out of it once, when they were out of earshot from Zac, and she would probably have been offended if he hadn’t. His insistence that it was the right thing to do hadn’t stopped him texting her twenty times a day and he could still be relied upon to impart the gossip from back home. The night before hadn’t been any different.

  * From Stevie

  What R U doing? Partying hard with dancing girls & magicians who’ve got orange skin & bigger hair than U? xx

  * From Ashleigh

  I’m doing some research about Lake Mead. Party central here! What are you guys up to? Xx

  * From Stevie

  Glad U R making the most of Vegas! Only U could work so hard somewhere like that. Life of leisure can be quite boring but big goss 2day! xx

  * From Ashleigh

  And? Xx

  * From Stevie

  Tom’s got rid of Francine and Susie-Anne. Angus thinks he’s having a break down! Xx

  * From Ashleigh

  Doubt that. It will be a financial decision. Speak tomorrow. Love you Xx

  She didn’t respond to his follow up text. She wasn’t interested in hearing about Tom, it was the rule she needed to live by. Knowing Stevie, he’d have forgotten the thread of those texts by now anyway and moved on to something or someone else to talk about. She picked up her iPad and put through the FaceTime call

  ‘Morning gorgeous. It is morning there, isn’t it?’ Stevie’s face filled the screen, but then he grimaced. ‘Christ honey, you could have brushed your hair before you called!’ Zac leant over his shoulder as he spoke and joined in the laughter at her expense. God, she missed them.

  ‘I need a stylist.’ She was only half-joking and she bit her lip to stem the emotion bubbling to the surface.

  ‘What’s on the agenda this morning, more Lake Mead research?’ As Stevie spoke, Zac cut across him.

  ‘What he really wants to know is whether you’ve got any gossip, Stevie’s run the well dry this end.’

  ‘I’m having breakfast with Calvin Welch’s assistant, although I’ve not seen much of the big man himself yet.’ Ashleigh raked a hand through her hair as she spoke. Stevie was right, a brush definitely wouldn’t go amiss.

  ‘Like I said, he’s got his fingers in a lot of pies, you don’t get to amass his kind of fortune otherwise, but remember he wanted you enough to track you down and write to you personally and he’ll honour your deal.’ Zac was quite partial to pep talks lately and she smiled. He was totally different to the man he’d been before Stevie. They were jostling each other to get closer to the screen and she couldn’t work out what room they were in; there were so many of them at Zac’s place they could have been anywhere.

  ‘Oh I’m not worried and his assistant is lovely.’

  ‘Not like Francine, then.’ Stevie shuddered at the thought.

  ‘No, nothing like Francine.’ Marcus couldn’t have been less like Tom’s ice-cold PA if he’d tried. He’d been so helpful, taking her to places where she could capture aspects of Vegas that most tourists didn’t get to see.

  ‘Thank Christ for that. Although she might well be on the lookout for a new boss now, so if Calvin’s got any jobs going you two could be roomies!’ Stevie laughed a bit too hard and Zac had to hit him on the back.

  ‘Are you trying to give me nightmares?’ She couldn’t help smiling. She didn’t care what Tom did, but the thought that he’d finally given Francine what she deserved was strangely cheering. ‘Much as I love the abuse you two give me, I’ve got to go!” Ashleigh blew them both a kiss and ended the call. Time to get ready for the hotel’s famous breakfast.

  ****

  The hotel foyer was typically Vegas, over the top and opulent. The gold theme was everywhere, from the huge statues that flanked the entrance to the flower displays taller than Ashleigh. She’d miss this when she moved out to her rented apartment, but she had to stop pretending she was on holiday and get on with her new life.

  ‘How are you doing today?’ Marcus stood up from the table where he was already waiting and kissed her on both cheeks. ‘Over the jet lag and the change of climate yet?’

  ‘I am. I feel almost human today and I’m ravenous too!’ Ashleigh moved towards the buffet. At one end the grill chefs were offering freshly cooked steak, but that was a step too far – even for her.

  ‘I’ve got a few hours to spare and I thought maybe we could check out some more sites off the strip?’ Marcus loaded his plate with fresh fruit, as she speared some bacon. A rasher shot across her plate and she couldn’t fight the memory of that breakfast with Tom at Christmas, as it hit the floor, when he’d said she needed a dog. Bertie would love it here, a mountain of bacon would be his idea of heaven. Pushing the thought away, she turned to look at Marcus.

  ‘That would be great and I’ve got my first shoot at the theatre later, I think?’

  ‘Yes, we’ve got a new act, Bill Desire, coming in to do a fortnight of shows while Melindra is on a break. If it goes well, he might take over when she finishes her residency.’ Marcus looked delighted and Ashleigh couldn’t bring herself to confess that she’d never heard of Bill. They seemed to do a line in country and western singers at The Golden Rock, who she was loathed to admit she’d never been into. Melindra Meadows was a huge star in the St
ates, but that genre of music had completely passed her by.

  ‘Where were you thinking of heading today?’ It was probably safest to steer the conversation away from music. They’d been into the desert the day before and it had been amazing, although exhausting.

  ‘I’m thinking of Paradise,’ His warm brown eyes crinkled in the corners. She knew from their conversations that his grandparents, on his mother’s side, were originally from Mexico, and he’d clearly inherited their olive skin tone and dark hair.

  ‘Paradise? Now there’s an offer I can’t refuse.’ It was a town on the outskirts of Las Vegas, largely ignored by tourists, she knew that much.

  ‘I thought the campus at the University of Nevada might give you some fodder.’

  ‘It will, but are you sure you’ve got time?’ She could find it, that’s what cabs were for, and Marcus must have better things to do than to babysit her.

  ‘For you, yes.’ He gave her a lazy smile as they returned to their table.

  ‘Won’t Calvin mind?’ Ashleigh couldn’t imagine someone like him assigning so much of his assistant’s time to help her out.

  ‘He can’t complain really. He gave me the day you arrived to help you settle in, but I’ve been on annual leave since then.’

  ****

  Ashleigh ran through some of the shots she’d captured on her camera and couldn’t help smiling. Marcus had been right. The university had been a rich source of inspiration, but her favourite photos were of the elderly professor who’d been lecturing outside, talking to his students about the origins of the pioneer wall. His face was an illustration of wisdom, each deep line drawing his mouth upwards. His students were rapt, looking at him as though he were some sort of evangelist. When people thought of Vegas, they thought of showgirls, neon lights and roulette wheels – not this – which was exactly why it was so brilliant.

  ‘Did you get some good material?’ Marcus addressed her, but kept his eyes on the road. The traffic on the strip was crawling slowly forward and the engine of the car, which was one from the staff fleet at The Golden Rock, hummed in quiet impatience. Next to them was a pink limo, almost bouncing along the road with the volume of music coming from inside.

  ‘I really did, thanks so much for taking me. I think I might even have one or two that could make it to the final exhibition and the book.’ As she spoke, there was a ‘whooping’ sound from the limousine in the neighbouring lane and suddenly a pretty girl in a cheap wedding veil popped out of the sunroof where she was quickly joined by two other young women wearing shot glasses around their necks.

  ‘They seem to like the sound of it!’ Marcus looked at her briefly, but the bumper-to-bumper traffic drew his eyes back to the road almost instantly.

  ‘Looks like they’re ready to party. Do you ever find it too much, living in a party place like this?’ A man dressed as a Roman Centurion strolled past on the pavement as their car inched forward.

  ‘As you’re finding out, you can find a hundred different versions of Vegas if you look for them.’ The car pulled to a stop at the intersection and for the first time he turned to look at her properly. ‘But it can be ironic, being single in the wedding capital of the world.’ There was another whooping from the pink limo. ‘Not to mention the bachelorette parties.’

  ‘I’m sure…’ Ashleigh faltered; not knowing what it was he wanted to hear.‘It’s okay, I’ve been building up the nerve to ask you to dinner, but you’re giving out quite obvious messages that it would be a bad idea.’ Marcus went back to looking at the road ahead, the traffic moving again but still crawling unbearably slowly towards their destination.

  ‘It’s not you.’ She wasn’t going to tell him about Tom, rake all that up again, it was bad enough every time Stevie mentioned him. The last couple of days she’d even started to wonder if Tom had been right all along and that work was the only thing that could be truly fulfilling. At least she’d felt something close to love for her new job when she’d been at the university. A fling with Marcus might have given her a temporary boost, that someone wanted her, but Liam, of all people, had it spot on – she had to stop looking for someone else to make her feel worthwhile, in the end it was down to her.

  ‘You don’t need to explain.’ Marcus smiled, he was so sweet. ‘I’ve enjoyed watching you work, I wasn’t expecting anything in return.’ They both jumped, as a scream from the limo pierced the air. ‘Jeez, I hope they aren’t heading to The Golden Rock. Just in case, I think I’m going to drop you off, dump the car and head straight home. Not sure I can face much more screaming.’ If her gentle rebuff was the real reason for his quick getaway, he was doing a good job of hiding it. ‘How are you feeling about your photo-shoot with Bill Desire by the way?’

  ‘I still can’t get over that name!’ She’d finally admitted to Marcus at the university that she didn’t know who Bill was and that she’d made a rule never to Google the celebrities she worked with beforehand, even if she had no idea who they were. She wanted to find a way of photographing them that wouldn’t be influenced by what others had done and getting drawn into viewing endless images of them online wasn’t the way to go. It was what Calvin Welch had written in his email, he loved the photos of Zac because she’d captured him in a different way than everyone else. Now that she didn’t have to jump through Glitz’s hoops anymore to fit their formula, she was going to make the most of it.

  ‘Sounds a bit like he should be a crooner of love songs, doesn’t he?’ Marcus finally pulled into the hotel and carried on into the underground staff car park.

  ‘He does, or an erotica writer!’ Ashleigh laughed as she spoke, unclipping her seatbelt as the car came to a stop. ‘I’m building up this great mental picture of what he looks like, so I just hope I’m not going to be disappointed.

  ‘Oh you won’t be!’ He dropped a casual wink, suddenly reminding her of Stevie, and she felt another brief pang of homesickness.

  ‘I’m not quite sure what to expect now!’

  Marcus grinned. ‘You’ll see. And if you change your mind about dating, remember what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.’

  ‘I’ll bear that in mind. Have a great evening and thanks again for today.’ Closing the car door, she gave him a quick wave and walked towards the hotel, sadly what happened in London wasn’t playing by the same rules, no matter how hard she tried to forget.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  ‘Come on Bertie, this is getting old now.’ They were on the beach, it was so cold that the pebbles were almost crystalizing, with tiny specks of ice glistening on their surface. The wind blowing off the sea towards them was making Tom’s ears ache and he wondered why he’d bothered.

  Get away for the weekend, Angus had said, so he’d come down to his mother’s house to sort through the rest of her stuff before it went on the market. It had been a mistake. It was grey and cold and matched his mood perfectly.

  Bertie was sitting at the base of the stone steps, which Tom had virtually dragged him down, his soulful eyes staring out to sea. If a dog could really frown, then he was doing it.

  ‘I’m not here for my own enjoyment you know.’ Going home to his old house was supposed to be helping Bertie, but if anything it had made him worse. He’d been excited at first, dashing from room to room, his wagging tail slowing and drooping further and further down as he realised that none of them contained Isobel or Ashleigh. ‘We might as well go home if you’re going to be a baby about it.’ Now they were just cold as well as miserable.

  There was hardly anyone around and Tom shivered as he took the road back up to Isobel’s house, which was on a steep incline. The last time he’d walked Bertie up the same way it had been Christmas Day and things had been good. He hadn’t realised it then of course, but now so much had changed.

  He was lost in contemplation and jumped as a voice interrupted his thoughts. It was Karen, his mother’s next door neighbour – the dentist who’d looked af
ter Bertie with her reluctant husband, straight after Isobel’s accident. He toyed with pretending that he hadn’t heard her but his mother would have hated that, so he turned to look in her direction. It was obvious she’d been crying, but he hadn’t caught what she’d said.

  ‘Sorry, Karen, I didn’t get that. Are you okay?’ Tom put a hand on her arm. Looking at her now, she was pale, her eyes darkly rimmed with red.

  ‘Graham left me. On his fourtieth birthday, last week. He’s been seeing his personal trainer on the side for the last year and it turns out she was giving him the work out of his life.’ Karen tried to smile, but it morphed into a sob before she could stop it.

  ‘I’m sorry. I thought you seemed so settled when we met. It must have been a terrible shock.’ Tom wasn’t sure what to say. This woman, a virtual stranger, was telling him her inner most secrets out on the street and he’d never been exactly skilled at dealing with emotion.

  ‘I thought so too.’ Karen’s eyes were brimming again. ‘The kids are devastated, but the bastard has bought them a puppy at his new flat with… her.’ She almost spat the word. ‘He wouldn’t let us have one here and I supported his decision and all the time he was probably scheming this.’

  ‘Where are the kids now?’ Tom looked anxiously towards her house, the front door was open and he could here Adele’s Someone Like You blaring out from inside.

  ‘With him and Jessica. She’s barely ten years older than the children and she’s got a stomach like a washboard.’ Karen’s voice cracked again. ‘I used to have one of those. Maybe I shouldn’t have let myself go.’

  ‘This isn’t your fault.’ Tom didn’t really know enough about Karen or her husband to know if that was true, but he had to say something to her. ‘I don’t think you should stay on your own. Is there anyone you can call?’