First the video, then the tour, next the movie. The rest of her year was wel taken care of.
She'd heard that al the tickets were sold out in record time as soon as the box offices opened.
Maybe she shouldn't even worry about Martin until she got back, although she knew if she didn't cement their relationship with a definite commitment from him before she went, by the time the tour was finished it would be over.
His phone cal came at just the right moment.
"I'm going to be in L. A. tomorrow," he informed her, al business. "I'm planning a takeover at one of the studios. I'l pick you up at noon and we'l fly to San Francisco for the day."
She didn't like it when he took her for granted. "What if I'm busy?"
"Are you?" he asked abruptly.
She took a moment before replying. "No." "Why do you always try to give me a hard time?" "Because nobody else does."
He laughed. "Good reason. - Did you get the shares?"
"Oh, those little things," she said casual y. "I added them to my col ection."
"That's what I like about you."
She held the phone tightly to her ear. "What?" "You're total y independent."
Sure, Martin. But not when it comes to you. "Isn't everyone?" she said cool y.
"No. Definitely not."
As soon as she hung up, she couldn't wait to cal Ron back.
"We'l have to cancel the video rehearsal tomorrow. I'm flying to San Francisco for the day." "With whom?"
"Martin."
"Mmm . . ." Ron said in a bitchy tone. "Mr. Big cal s--little Virginia runs."
"Don't cal me that."
"Why not?"
" 'Cause you know it pisses me off."
"Wel , now, I'm so sorry, miss. However, some of us do feel we can stil talk to you as if you're a mere mortal."
Ron was in his definite pain-in-the-ass mood. "Cut it out,"
she said crossly.
He changed his tune, suddenly becoming overly solicitous.
"Shal I pop over and help you select outfits for tomorrow?
You have to look your best."
"I can manage."
"How about Madame Loretta's girls? I could arrange to have them waiting at the hotel."
Trust him to bring up the hookers. She should never have let Ron in on that little game. "The girls were a one-time experience. O. K.?"
"Just checking. What are you doing the rest of the day?"
She relented. After al , he was her best friend. "Nothing.
Come over if you want."
"Can I bring Ken?" he asked anxiously, stil dying for her and the Ken Dol to become close buddies.
No way, Jose. "Another time, Ron."
"You're such a bitch."
"Thank you. I love you, too."
"Have fun tomorrow."
"I plan to."
Putting the phone down on Ron, she immediately cal ed Cooper.
"What are you doing tonight?" she asked, getting straight to the point.
He sounded cautious. "I have a date with a seventeen-yearold ex-porn queen. Why?"
"Can I come too?"
Now he sounded amused. "Are you suggesting a threesome?"
"No! I am not! I'd like to go out for dinner. Martin's arriving tomorrow and I don't feel like being alone tonight. Can I join you or not?"
"I'm sure my date wil be thril ed," Cooper said dryly. "We're going to a Mexican restaurant."
"Wil you pick me up?"
He sighed. "Venus, I'l do anything you want." "Just pick me up. That'l be fine."
Martin arrived home from the office early to attend a dinner party. Since he planned to tel Deena he was leaving the next morning for Los Angeles, he didn't care to experience her wrath by walking in late.
Deena seemed particularly restless.
"I'm off to L. A. in the morning," he announced. "That studio deal is coming through."
* She didn't hesitate. "I'l come with you."
"No," he said quickly.
"Why not?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Because this is a complicated takeover. And when I'm this involved I can't have outside influences." She glared at him. "Is that what I am? An outside influence? I was under the impression I'm your wife." "You know what I mean," he said.
She felt a sickness in the pit of her stomach. This was it. He was going back to Los Angeles sooner than anticipated. Al this talk about the studio takeover coming to fruition was merely a smoke screen. The Bitch beckoned, and he came running.
Deena knew the time was drawing close to put her master plan into operation.
Chapter 57
Eventual y the moment of truth had to come, and Lucky was excited beyond belief. She waited until late Saturday night.
They'd made love again, sent out for pizza, and now Lennie was settling down to watch "Saturday Night Live."
"Hey--you coming in?" he cal ed out.
She was in the bathroom brushing her long, dark hair. Clad in one of Lennie's oversized shirts and nothing else, she wandered back into the bedroom. "Are you real y going to watch TV?" she teased. He was stretched out on the bed.
"Sweetheart, I don't have the strength to do anything else."
"Doesn't take much to tire you out, huh?"
"Right!" he joked. "Nonstop sex'l do it every time!"
She curled up beside him. "Complaining?" "Are you kidding? C'mere, wife."
He kissed her, putting his tongue in her mouth and sliding it across her teeth.
She shivered. "Don't do that unless you mean it." "Oh, I mean it, lady." His hands began to explore beneath her shirt.
She felt herself responding. Lennie always had that effect on her. "I thought you were tired."
"I made a rapid recovery."
"You're turning into Superman, Lennie."
He smiled lazily. "Hey, give me a break. I've been seriously deprived."
Gently she pushed him away. She wanted to make love again, but not until after she'd told him her news. "It's time to break open the champagne," she said softly.
"How come?"
She took a deep breath. "Remember that surprise I mentioned?"
"Yeah."
"Now's the time."
He stared at his wildly beautiful wife and it came to him in a flash. She was about to tel him she was pregnant. That was her surprise. And he was going to be the happiest expectant father in the world!
",Hold everything," he said. "Don't move. I'l get the champagne, you light the candles, and I'l be right back.
Then you can give me the good news."
"You'l be crazy with happiness," she promised him, kneeling on the bed.
He couldn't stop himself from grinning like an idiot. "You're probably right. You're always right."
She grinned back. "Oh, yeah, I'm always right!" He rushed downstairs, grabbed the bottle of champagne she'd put in the fridge earlier, balanced two glasses, and raced back upstairs.
Lucky sat cross-legged in the center of the bed. He popped the cork on the champagne, poured the golden liquid into two glasses, and handed her one. Solemnly she toasted him. "Lennie Golden," she said, control ing her exhilaration,
"I know it's not your birthday, but . . . I have something for you." He reached out and touched her face. "Did I ever tel you how much I--"
"Quiet!" she interrupted. "This is my surprise." He settled back on the bed. "O. K., go for it."
In his mind he thought about a name for the baby. Maria for a girl, after Lucky's mother. And if it was a boy, how about Lennie Junior? Or was it too difficult for a kid to grow up with Junior attached to his name? Yeah, it probably was.
Hmm . . . How about Nick? A real gangster's name. Nick Golden--sounded good. A kil er name for a kil er kid.
"Lennie," Lucky said quietly, savoring every word, "I bought you Panther Studios."
He stared at her blankly. "Hdh?"
She repeated the words as slowly as she could. "I said, I bought you Panther Studios."
There was a long moment of si
lence while he digested this incredible information. "You've done what?" he managed at last.
"How many times do I have to tel you?" she yel ed happily.
"I bought Panther Studios. We bought Panther Studios. It's ours, Lennie, it's ours!"
* "What about the baby?" he couldn't help blurting out.
She looked puzzled. "What baby?"
Her news sank in. "Jesus, you're serious, aren't you?"
"Of course I'm serious. Where do you think I've been for the last six weeks? I made a deal to buy the studio from old Abe Panther, and he wouldn't sel to me unless I went in there undercover for six weeks. What a trip! Can you believe it? Me, undercover--pretending to be Luce, the obedient little secretary. And Lennie, get this. I've been kissing Mickey Stol i's ass! In fact, I even talked to you on the phone one day."
He was in a severe state of shock. "You talked to me on the phone one day," he repeated blankly. "That's right." She grinned. "Isn't it incredible! We're movie moguls. We're gonna kick butt and make great movies!"
This wasn't exactly the news he'd imagined. This was a bombshel . "You're serious, aren't you? You've bought a goddamn studio."
"You bet your ass I have," she said excitedly. "That's why we have to fly back to L. A. tomorrow. I've arranged a meeting on Monday morning I think you should come to. It'l be great. The lawyers wil be there, and old Abe Panther himself. He's quite a character. I can't wait to see Mickey's face when they tel him. Not to mention his wife, the delightful Abigaile." "How much did it cost you?" he asked blankly. "A lot. Trust me, a lot. But you know me when it comes to business, and Panther is worth every penny.
There's land to be sold off, and a wonderful library of old films. Plus, the television department is real y successful. Of course, when we stop making these dumb tits-and-ass films, the revenues wil go down. But only temporarily." Her black eyes gleamed with excitement. "I plan to make real y good movies, Lennie. I want to show women as real people. I mean, come on, what do we see on the screen today? We see women as men's fantasies. The guys making movies are a bunch of jerks--and it seems to me they al hate women. They've either got some slasher chasing them around cutting their heads off or they've got them taking off their clothes while adolescent boys jerk off through holes in the wal . I mean, movies don't celebrate the human condition--they degrade it." He stood up, shaking his head. "Lucky, you don't know the first thing about filmmaking."
"You hardly have to be a fucking genius to put together a movie," she pointed out. "Have you seen the guys running the industry? Anyway--" she continued, racing on at ful tilt--
"let's discuss what we can do about your movie. I've taken a look at the dailies and there's some terrific stuff in there. If we leave Marisa on the cutting-room floor, recast, reshoot, and you'l rewrite, then we can hire a new director and put it together again. It's salvageable if we take control." She paused for a breath. "Hey--maybe you'd even like to direct it yourself? How about that for a great idea?"
"Would I be working for you?"
She missed the tightness in his voice. "Lennie, aren't you listening to me? I bought the studio for us. We're in this together."
Agitatedly he ran a hand through his hair. "Did you use my money?"
"I don't have your money, do I?" she replied patiently. "I used my money."
"The money you inherited from Dimitri?"
Was his problem whose money she used? "O. K., so I had a rich husband; I inherited part of the Stanislopoulos fortune. But now it's my money, and I can spend it any way I like."
He began pacing up and down the room. "So you weren't in Japan?"
Was Lennie being obtuse on purpose? "Hardly." "Let me get this straight. You were in L. A. impersonating a secretary at Panther Studios, while I was getting my bal s busted in Acapulco. Is that right?" "I was securing our future," she corrected. "You want to be a movie star--let's be in control. It's the only way."
"You'l be in control, Lucky. I'l be working for you."
She was exasperated. "Wil you quit saying that? How many times do I have to tel you? It's our studio. Ours. Hey--
Lennie--I'm beginning to feel like a broken record."
"Why didn't you at least mention what you planned to do?"
She reached for a cigarette. "Because it would have spoiled the surprise."
"You know what I thought, Lucky?"
"No, what?"
"I thought you were going to tel me we were having a baby."
She stared at him. His negative reaction was so total y unexpected and hurtful. She struck back. "I'm so sorry," she said sarcastical y. "Maybe you'd be happier if I was in the kitchen, barefoot and preg: nant."
"Is that such a terrible 'thing?" he retorted angrily. She leaped off the bed. "I don't believe this. I've been stuck at the studio imitating a secretary for six weeks for us. And now I tel you, thinking you'l be knocked out, and what do you do? Goddamn it, you start nagging."
He glared at her. "Nagging? Oh, so that's what I'm doing, is it? You blatantly lied to me for six weeks. Then you break into my apartment, we have nonstop sex for twenty-four hours, and final y you spring this on me. And I'm nagging.
Do you real y think the world has to revolve around you, Lucky?"
She couldn't understand his attitude. "What have I done that's so terrible?" she demanded. "Tel me that."
"You did it without me," he said flatly. "We should have discussed it. I do not appreciate being shut out." "And I don't appreciate being told what to do. I'm not a child, Lennie."
"Sometimes you act like one."
"Fuck you!" she exploded. "If this situation was reversed, you'd expect me to be jumping up and down with delight."
"And would you?"
"Yes."
He stared at her for a long time before saying, "You know what I feel like?"
She dragged on her cigarette. "What?"
"Like a kept man. It's as if you said to yourself, Òh, poor Lennie's not happy at the studio, I'l buy it for him.' You've made me feel like nothing."
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," she said abruptly.
"It's how I feel."
"You're not being fair."
"I'm not, huh? Can't you see what you've done?" "I can see very clearly what's going on around here. I'm not pregnant, so you're pissed off. That's what it real y gets down to, isn't it?"
He didn't reply.
She stubbed out her cigarette and walked into the bathroom. From sheer exhilaration she was now reduced to frustrated anger. Men! They pretended they liked women with bal s, and when they found one, they just couldn't handle it. She'd thought Lennie was different. It seemed she was wrong.
Quickly she threw on some clothes and emerged. "I'm getting out of here," she said curtly. "There's no need for this to escalate into a bigger fight than it already is."
Her words made him even more furious. "What are you saying? That you're going to walk?"
"I don't want to be around you anymore tonight." Now it was his turn to explode. "You don't want to be around me? Hey, Lucky--you walk out of here and you walk out of my life."
Her black eyes were deadly as she turned to him. "Are you threatening me?"
"Can't you listen to what I have to say?" he yel ed. "Has it always got to be your way?"
She felt tears sting the back of her eyelids and quickly turned away. "Like you said, Lennie, I'm not the little woman at home. I never wil be, and I never pretended I was. I've got nothing against having a baby one of these days, but right now there's so much I want to do."
"Then maybe you'd better do it by yourself," he said bitterly.
She couldn't believe how wrong this was al going. Lennie's reaction, her disappointment. This was supposed to have been the most wonderful moment for both of them. And yet it was turning out to. Be the worst. Maybe he was right--
maybe they weren't destined to be together. After al , what did they real y have in common? A sense of humor, great sex, Chinese food, and walking on the beach--it wasn't eno
ugh.
She picked up the phone and cal ed a cab. "I'm going to the apartment," she said. "We both need time apart. Think about it, Lennie. And remember--I did this for you. I didn't do it for selfish reasons."
He couldn't look at her. "You can't buy me, Lucky," he said tightly. "There's no sales tag." "That wasn't my intention. I'm flying back to L. A. tomorrow. If you decide to come I'l be delighted. Let me know."
With a sick feeling she walked to the front door, waiting for him to cal her back. Longing for him to say he was only joking, that everything was O. K., and he was thril ed.
He said none of those things.
Outside on the street she was accosted by a stoned teenage girl, eyes as big as saucers, long, matted hair.
"Spare a coupla bucks?" the girl whined.
Lucky handed her a fifty. "Get yourself a life. Throw away the drugs and straighten out."
"Hey, man--what else is there?" the girl said blankly as she wandered off down the street.
Lucky's cab zoomed up to the doorway. The Puerto Rican driver was busy muttering to himself.
She opened the door and climbed in. Leaning from the window she could see the lights in Lennie's apartment. He hadn't even bothered to fol ow her down. "Goodbye," she whispered. "Don't write, don't cal . I can make it without you."
"Huh?" the cab driver said.
"Just drive," she replied dul y. "And while you're at it, try not to kil us both."
Chapter 58
Emilio Sierra delivered the goods, much to Dennis Wal a's satisfaction: The photograph of Venus Maria with Martin Swanson was worth every penny they'd had to pay. It was sexy and intimate. Two people entwined. A real front-pager.
Dennis congratulated Emilio. "You real y came through, mate," he said, clapping him on the shoulder.
Emilio was pleased. He'd decided to spend a week in Hawaii and take his newfound love, Rita the firecracker.
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