by G J Morgan
“And this is your reaction?”
“You expected one though, surely?”
“You know what, Max? At first, I did, I expected that you would do something juvenile like this, make a noise, cause a scene. But you know what, I also hoped you’d just leave me alone, let me get on with my life, least have the decency to realize how fucked up you made me and just let me be. But I never thought for one minute you would sink as low. How did you even find out about me and Tom?”
“It was obvious.”
“And why is it any of your business who I see? When are you going to realize, Max? Me and you are over. I don’t love you anymore.”
Max laughed, hands behind his head. “Lilly, this is business.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“You wanna know the truth, Max? You need me because without me your career is over. That’s what I think.”
“I agree, Lilly.”
“Then just fuck someone just like me. I’m sure they’re a dime a dozen. Go on, go and groom your next reprobate.”
“If only it was that simple.”
“It’s easy, Max. Find someone new, break her spirit, turn her into an emotional wreck. Screw her up emotionally and physically. Then leave her in a crumpled heap.”
“That’s unfair, Lilly. I loved you once.”
“Yes, Max, you may have loved me, but you can love someone too much. Crush them with it. Suffocate them with it. And some girls want that, that type of love. That type of control. But not me. Go and find someone new, Max. A more beautiful, younger and more talented Lilly Goodridge. I’m pretty damn sure they exist. The press will forget about me and you very quickly. Trust me.”
“I wish that was true, but again, it’s not that simple.”
“Then what is it you want, Max? Why the fuck am I here?”
Max stood up, unbuttoned his suit jacket and took himself over to the window, admiring the view, admiring his reflection.
“Lilly. Remember that day we met?”
“Max. I’m not here for nostalgia.”
“Humour me,” he said, smiling. “I knew right away you would be a star. That first time I saw you in that tiny little dance school. You wanna know why?” he started to wander the room like it was a gallery. “You know why I knew you were going to be a star? Because I knew every part you would play, you would always be Lilly. No matter what role, what director, you would always play you. And any director that doesn’t know that will fail. Hence why your subsequent movies have failed and your latest movie will fail no doubt also.” He sat on the table. “Some characters are too big and too complex to change. You know a superstar when every single movie you watch they will only ever play themselves. Everything else, the plot, the cast, the wardrobe. It’s just for show. A ruse.” Max sat back down.
“Sounds like a curse, a shackle.”
“Only if you fight it. Not if you embrace it.”
“What is it you want, Max? Why am I here?”
“I have a proposition for you.”
“I’m not getting back with you, Max.”
“And you’ve made that pretty clear. I don’t want love from you Lilly either, just to be clear.”
“What do you want?”
“I want success, for both of us. Alone we can’t do that.”
“So, what’s your proposition? You want to expose me and Tom. Then what?”
“Well it depends how you answer my next question really.”
“Go on.”
“It’s a simple question. I just want a yes or no answer.”
“Get on with it, Max.”
“Would you be the lead in my next feature?”
“What? You caused all this shit, just to ask me that? You could’ve just rung me. Spoke to my office.”
“Yes or no, Lilly?”
“You expect me to answer that? Where? How long? I’ve not even seen a script.”
“Would it matter? Does any of that matter? The question is, would you work with me on my next feature. Yes or no?”
“No. You’ve wasted everyone’s time today, Max, including your own.”
“That’s what I thought you’d say.”
Max took out his cell.
“Max who are you ringing? Max?”
He ignored me, got up, walked back to his chair, told whoever else was on the other end of the phone to come in.
“Max. What the fuck is going on?”
“As I said, Lilly. This is business.”
My agent walked through the door. Suit, briefcase, a smile hard to read.
“Ralph, what are you doing here?”
“I invited him,” Max said, as Ralph sat beside him.
“Who gives you the right for you to contact my agent?”
“Lilly, you forget he’s actually my agent too. Technically he was my agent first if you remember?”
“Ralph, what the fuck is going on?”
He looked uncomfortable. “Max invited me here, told me to bring all the required paperwork.” squirming in his chair.
“And you didn’t think it appropriate to contact me first?”
“Max told me not to. I’m sorry.”
“And you do everything he tells you to, right?”
Ralph didn’t answer.
“Just to let you know, Ralph, you are fired, you hear me?” I said, pointing at him. “Whatever shit this is about, I don’t want you as my agent. After this, we are done.”
“Lilly, claws down.” Max smiled. “You’ve aired your lungs. Take a deep breath. Compose yourself.”
I poured myself some water. Continuing to stare at Ralph as he attempted to avoid eye contact.
“Go on then, Max. Do your little sales pitch. Then I can decline and get the hell out of here.”
“I’m not selling, Lilly.”
“It feels that way. You two sat there like some fucking tag team.”
“Lilly. I’m gonna be honest with you.”
“I doubt that.”
“Shush now, darling. You need to hear this.”
“Just say whatever it is you want to say, Max.”
“Over the last few months, as you know, whilst you’ve been scurrying around some English countryside I’ve been in discussions with various studios about my next picture and in those last few months I have been offered several offers to direct, all of which I’ve declined so far.”
“Why was that, Max? Not enough money?”
“No, in fact the opposite. Too much money.”
“Then why turn them down? Grab the money and run.”
“You know me, Lilly. I don’t make movies for money. You know I’m not driven by pay cheques. I need to be excited by a project. It needs to grab me by the balls.”
“Why’s that, Max. Cos you are the big Oscar-winning director? Cos every other movie is now beneath you?”
“No, Lilly, because I want to make movies that will be remembered. Be revered.”
“Because you want more trophies, Max, that’s why. What is it with you big-time directors and your need for accolades? Whose dick’s the biggest. That’s what all this is about.”
“Lilly, let him talk,” my agent piped up.
“Shut the fuck up, Ralph. You job is to stay quiet and keep the pens warm.”
“Lilly, quit with the cuss words. Otherwise you’ll have to leave.”
“Just get on with your little saga, Max. I’m dying to know what happens next. Does it have an end or like most of your films is it going to last three hours with a long drawn-out middle?”
Max knelt down, so we were eye to eye. “I think you should cut the profanity. You’ll probably want to listen, it affects you quite a bit.” He stood up again, going back to his chair.
“As I was saying I hadn
’t been offered anything that excited me, until I met an investor who liked what I brought to the table. And he offered me something exciting. Something perfect.”
“What?”
“Do you ever think about why our first feature was so popular?”
“No, I don’t Max. I’m too busy to sit and ponder personal glory.”
“Because it was perfect, Lilly, that’s why. Perfect cast, perfect plot, perfect timing. And because of you.” Max smiled. “Let’s be honest with ourselves here, Lilly. The following movies both me and you have made have been poor in comparison. And if I’m being brutally honest we are both at a career crossroads. We are off the boil. If it wasn’t for our volatile relationship we wouldn’t be being talked about at all.”
“You may not be happy with your career choices since you won all your trophies. But I’m happy with mine.”
“Your movies are forgettable, Lilly. And mine too. I can’t think of anything worse than being forgettable.”
“And what did this investor offer you? I’m dying to know, Max.”
“He offered me the funding I needed to finally make my sequel. Taken longer than expected. But now there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. The only problem is you.”
“Me?”
“They will only offer me funding and allow me to direct this feature if you are on board. If you reprise your role. Star as the lead again.”
“Max. I appreciate the offer, and if it was any other director I would jump at the chance. I love that character. I love her storyline. I loved what you did with the first film. Like you said, it was perfect.”
“Then say yes, Lilly.”
“No. I won’t work with you again, Max. I’m sorry. Too much has gone on.”
“And you realize your response will mean the movie will never be made?”
“Unless someone else directs it.”
“Which I won’t let happen. It’s my story, my baby. No one else’s.”
“Regretfully, yes. I’m sorry, Max. Surely you must understand why?”
“I don’t think you understand the severity of your actions, Lilly. How many people this will impact.”
“Just use another actress. Rewrite the script. Write my character out if it.”
“You are the movie, Lilly. I can’t write you out of it.”
“Look, I’ve given you my answer. Can I leave now?” I went to stand up.
“How much do you know about Tom?”
“Excuse me?”
“How much do you know about Tom?”
“Fuck you, Max.”
“Answer the question, please. How much do you know about him?”
“I know he’s honest.”
“No money. Unemployed. He’s spent half of this year chasing you whilst he leaves his cancer-stricken mother to look after his only daughter. Not to mention my photo evidence of him smoking pot. His hymn sheet doesn’t make for great reading, Lilly.”
“You fucking hypocrite. I wouldn’t be surprised if you snorted coke in the back of your cab on the way here.”
“Yes, but I’m not dumb enough to get caught doing it, that’s all.”
“How dare you, Max. The things you’ve just said don’t make him a criminal. You’ve twisted it to sound worse than it is. You’re digging to find dirt you ain’t gonna find. He isn’t doing anything wrong. He has never done anything wrong.”
“Wrong? Tom ain’t no saint. You know he got stopped by the cops, breathalysed?”
“When?”
“Couple years back. Driving around LA early in the morning. Luckily, he was under the limit. Dodged a bullet that night. Likes a drink as much as me that one. Makes you wonder if he was drinking that day he crashed his car and killed his wife.”
“He didn’t kill his wife, you arsehole. The car collided into him, he told me. He would’ve been breathalysed and questioned as part of the investigation. You’re just clinging onto anything you can get your hands on Max. It’s pathetic, even by your standards.”
“Seems a coincidence though, doesn’t it? Wonder if Cassie’s parents would find it coincidental? You think they are happy that Tom has snatched away their only grandchild? Him running off with her halfway across the world.”
“Tom is Molly’s father. He didn’t snatch her away. He has a legal right to look after his own child.”
“You are right, Lilly. But would the State see it that way?”
“Tom’s a good man. A decent person. A great father. What have you poisoned Cassie’s parents’ minds with? What have you said to them? Tom has written to Cassie’s parents. I remember him telling me.”
“Do you know what a Declaration of Paternity is, Lilly?”
“Of course I don’t.”
“Well, neither does Tom by the looks of it.” Max smirked.
“What does that mean?”
“It means he has no legal right to Molly.”
“He’s her father, Max. Course he has a legal right.”
“Might take a lot of aggravation to prove that, though. Blood tests, courtrooms, lawyers.”
“Then I’ll buy the best lawyer money can buy, Max.”
“Hey, and maybe you’ll win. But maybe you won’t.”
“Is this even legal, Max? What is happening in this room today?”
“All I’m doing is warning you of the danger. Which could easily be avoided if you just do this movie with me. Tom can continue living his little life in England. With little Molly and his dying mother.”
“And that’s all I’d have to do. Just make this movie with you.”
“Not all, Lilly, I’m afraid. I want you to end things with Tom.”
“What?”
“I want you to end it with Tom.”
“And get back with you I suppose? You’re unbelievable, Max. You really are. You honestly believe I would get back with you after this stunt you are trying to pull?”
“Not physically, not emotionally. Just visually. We can continue our separate lives. But as far as the press, the world media and Tom are concerned. We are back together and couldn’t be happier. This won’t work if Tom is in the picture.”
“You’re sick and twisted.”
“No Lilly. I’m just determined, that’s all.”
“You can’t do this.” I stood up. “Ralph, he can’t do this. This is blackmail.”
“The only legal document so far is the film contract,” Ralph butted in. “Everything else is just being discussed between these four walls.”
“And what’s in this for you? Your 10% I guess. A big payday. You’re supposed to be on my side, Ralph. I pay you a salary to be on my side.”
“I am on your side. This deal will make us all rich. And make you a global superstar. It makes business sense to accept.”
“Fuck you,” I said, feeling myself launch for him. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“We’ll give you ten minutes.” Max walked over to the door. “We’ll grab some fresh air. Give you time to weigh up your options.”
“I’m not doing it, Max. You think you’ve won this game but you haven’t.”
“We’ll be back in ten minutes to get your final response. And please don’t ring Tom. And don’t run off, Lilly. If you run off or talk to him then I have to assume you’ve made a decision not to sign the contract. And you know what that would mean for poor little Tom.”
“I could still speak to Tom? Be friends. Give him a decent explanation on why me and him won’t work.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because you might slip up, change your mind. It’s a bad idea.”
“Then what? Just stop talking to him. Ignore him.”
“Yes. Cut all communication.”
“Easy as that, is it? You’re fuckin
g evil.”
“He’ll get over it. How long has he known you, like, a month?”
“I love him.”
“You fall in love too quick. I’m sure you can fall out of love just as quick.”
“I love him, Max. More than I ever loved you. I want you to know that.”
“How sweet. I was counting on you saying that. It’s made today a hell of a lot easier for me. Sacrifice is so much easier when love is involved. Ralph, can you please give Lilly the paperwork?”
“I’m not signing this without my lawyer, Max. I’m a fool, but I’m not that foolish.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Like agents, we both share the same lawyer.”
“Is he outside, too, I guess?”
“He is.”
“You’re a snake.”
“He’s already had time to view all the small print. It’s all pretty standard. I’ll bring him in after you’ve had time to make your decision.” Ralph handed me the contract and a pen.
“Max, I’m not doing this. I’m not making your movie.”
“Think carefully. A lot is at stake. Be a good girl and sign. Let’s not make things difficult.”
“Max, I need more time.”
“No.”
“How do I know you want to expose Tom anyway? Even if I do everything you say?”
“Ten minutes, Lilly. I need an answer.”
45
“Tom, I can see here you are twenty-seven but you’ve only had the one employer. And as far as I can tell you have never had a job in the United Kingdom.”
“That’s right, yes.”
He scanned his notes. “Interesting,” he said, showing little interest at all.
“I worked for just over two years for the same company back in LA.”
“Oh yes,” he said, turning to the previous page. “Hollywood Star Tours.”
“I was one of the top guys.”
“But still no references. I’ve no proof on whether you were a top guy or not. In fact, I haven’t got proof of anything in front of me.” He huffed. “What about before? Talk me through when you left education.”
“After university, I travelled. Worked a few odd jobs in various countries, bar work, fruit picking, cleaning.”
He smiled, scribbled at his paper. “Says here you left Hollywood Star Tours around July last year. That’s quite the gap of unemployment. Nearly a year.”