Taking Chances

by Susan Lewis

  Sandy’s spirits sank. ‘Ellen told you,’ she said.

  He nodded.

  She went to sit down too, facing him on an opposite armchair. ‘Yes, he’s showing an interest,’ she said. ‘Actually, he’s been quite helpful, putting Ellen in touch with various investors and producers.’ She paused. ‘You know, I’m surprised she has time when she’s so involved in the movie.’

  He laughed. ‘You know Ellen,’ he said. ‘She likes to keep busy.’

  Sandy smiled. She wanted to ask if Ellen was showing yet, or if there were any signs that she and Michael might be getting back together, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answers.

  She glanced at Tom again. ‘Has Michael talked to you at all about trying to take back control of World Wide?’ she asked.

  He shrugged. ‘He just mentioned it was on his agenda. I think the fact that Forgon’s giving him a pretty free rein with the movie is making it all tolerable for now. Did he approach you yet, with an offer?’

  She shook her head, then laughed. ‘I’ve got to tell you, I could be tempted to give him all my shares just to see Forgon go flat on his face. I loathe that man.’

  Chambers grinned. ‘Fortunately, I don’t have too many dealings with him,’ he said, ‘but I get the impression your assessment’s pretty universal.’

  ‘Except Ellen seems to get on well with him.’

  ‘I don’t think that means she likes him. By the way, did you catch Matty on Access Hollywood? It was on a half-hour early tonight.’

  Sandy grimaced and put a hand to her head. ‘Sorry, I forgot. How did she get on? Was she good?’

  ‘They gave her all of four minutes, but yeah, she was good. You know, Ellen was right, she’s great casting for Rachel, and since she’s got a bit of a profile here, in the States, she’s probably going to bring in a lot more publicity for the movie than I’d realized. Did I tell you I keep getting offers too?’

  ‘You mean for interviews? No, you never said. Are you doing them?’

  He shook his head. ‘Not right now. Michael wants me to, obviously, but you know, I’m just not comfortable with the idea of having my and Rachel’s lives picked apart. They’re getting the movie, it’s enough.’

  Sandy noted how protective he still felt towards Rachel, and what they’d shared, but rather than jealousy she experienced a deepening of the tenderness she felt for him. She’d have liked to call it love, because she was sure it was, but she was determined not to rush this, the way she had with Michael.

  ‘Any more calls from Bogotá?’ she asked.

  Though his expression didn’t change, she sensed the stirrings of tension. ‘Just one,’ he answered.

  ‘From Alan Day?’ she said, referring to the journalist who’d called him before.

  He nodded. ‘Galeano’s still pissed off and still making noises,’ he said.

  ‘Does Alan think there’s anything to worry about?’

  He shook his head. ‘No.’

  Sandy wondered if he was telling the truth. If someone was making threats on his life she couldn’t imagine him telling anyone, even though he’d be a damned fool not to. This was LA, not Bogotá, here the police responded, and protected.

  ‘Do you think there’s any chance that events could start mirroring the script?’ she said. ‘I mean, will they arrange for someone here to come after you?’

  He laughed. ‘I wouldn’t think so,’ he answered. ‘No, what Galeano wants is me back in Colombia. On his own territory he can get away with a whole bunch of stuff he’d never get away with here.’

  ‘But he’s in prison.’

  ‘That hasn’t stopped him running the cartel. Oh sure, it slowed him up for a while, but his nephews have worked pretty hard to put him back on top, and if the Colombian Congress passes this latest bill, which they will because he’s managed to buy more than half of them, he could be out any time.’

  She was shaking her head in disbelief. ‘What kind of country is it?’ she said.

  ‘One that’s a bit different to the one you’re used to,’ he told her, a glint of humour in his eyes.

  ‘You’re not going to go back there, are you?’ she said. ‘Please tell me you never will.’

  He laughed. ‘I’ll tell you this,’ he said, ‘if I do ever go back, it won’t be because Galeano’s trying to pull my strings.’

  ‘Not good enough,’ she said. ‘I want to hear you say that you’ll never go back, no matter what.’

  At first he didn’t answer and she wished she could read his mind. He’d once told her what kind of vengeance he’d planned for Rachel’s killers. It was horrible, too horrible even to think about, yet in truth was no more violent or grotesque than what they had done to Rachel. How could anything be that bad?

  She continued to look at him, and when his dark eyes at last came back to hers she stared into them as they slowly searched her face. ‘Believe me,’ he said, his voice so soft she could barely hear him, ‘the last place on God’s earth I ever want to go again is Colombia.’

  She swallowed. ‘Even to track down Salvador Molina?’

  Though he didn’t drop his gaze, his face was suddenly hard and she knew already that even if she got an answer it wouldn’t be the one she wanted. In the end all he said was, ‘I think we should change the subject.’

  Michael’s mood was good. He wasn’t too sure why when his life was all but falling apart, but he guessed it had a lot to do with Robbie. His child’s love was given so readily, and undemandingly, and his joy was so easily shared and infectious, that even the ache Michael felt for Ellen was sometimes soothed just by the sound of Robbie’s laughter. He wished to God he could spend more time with him, but all too often the pressing demands of work got in the way. And it was only going to get worse now the movie was so close to starting. This was why he had made an effort to spend the entire weekend with his son, because there was no way of knowing when they’d be able to do it again.

  So far they’d had a great time, riding their bikes along the beach at Santa Monica; taking a boat trip around the marina and laughing uproariously when Clodagh’s hat took off in the wind; watching two movies back to back and creeping several rows forward when Clodagh fell asleep; and hiding from her on Sunday morning in order to get out of going to church.

  She was now back from mass and refusing to speak to them as she banged about in the kitchen, clearing up after lunch. Michael was sitting at a table next to the pool, shaded from the scorching sun by a mahogany-framed parasol, while Robbie tried to teach Spot to dive. Though he’d vowed not to do any work this weekend, he was using these quiet few minutes to go over the bond documents again, reading through clauses the World Wide lawyers either wanted added or clarified before Michael and Ted Forgon signed. As far as he could tell there was nothing to get excited about, it all looked pretty straightforward, and as the most important aspect, the completion guarantee, had all the right figures and conditions attached, he could see no reason not to go public now with the start date.

  As calm and philosophical as he was attempting to be, in truth he was as nervous as hell about this movie, for it wasn’t only his first major feature as an executive producer, it was by far and away the biggest budget he had ever handled. Added to that was the fact that, one way or another, virtually everything he owned was wrapped up in this film, and though he stood to make untold millions if it was a success, if anything were to go wrong it wouldn’t only be his reputation and career on the line, it would be just about his entire life.

  But nothing was going to go wrong. The script was in shape, the money was in place and the cast and crew were the best in their field. Matty was working out great, getting stacks of publicity already, and, from what Vic had been telling him, was so inside Rachel’s skin it was spooky. Whether or not Tom agreed with that Michael had no idea, it wasn’t the kind of thing they discussed, though Ellen had been at rehearsals a few days ago when Tom had gaped in astonishment, then growing discomfort, at the amazing impersonation Richard Conway had
done of him.

  Casting was virtually complete now, deals were being sewn up on the Mexican locations, and the sets, which were being built over at Paramount, were due to be finished any day. Sandy, who’d been in town for the past three weeks, had been over several times to look at them, and was regularly reporting back to her investors in Europe.

  Thinking about Sandy, Michael couldn’t help wondering about the changes in her lately. He couldn’t put his finger on what they were exactly, except that there was a very subtle kind of difference in the way she approached things, and a quiet confidence and sophistication in her manner that was much more alluring than the aggressive sexuality she had once turned on him. Whether this was working for Chambers, though, was something of a mystery, because though the two of them seemed pretty close, his calls were always put through to separate rooms at the Four Seasons – and there was nothing, when he was with them, to suggest anything more than friendship. If he was right, then he just hoped to God that the reason Chambers was holding back had nothing to do with Ellen – but that wasn’t something he could afford to dwell on if he wanted to get through the next few months with his sanity intact.

  With his thoughts still on Sandy, he wondered again whether he should approach her about her shares in World Wide while she was here. He hadn’t really been surprised when the others had turned him down, right now there was a very good chance that World Wide could strike Hollywood gold with Rachel’s Story, so all of them were much more interested in buying than selling. Besides, he hadn’t yet worked out a way of raising the funds, and Sandy, perhaps more than anyone, was aware of how deeply in debt he already was, which was why he had so far held off approaching her. For all the delicate changes she was exhibiting in her personal life, she was still a damned shrewd businesswoman and he wasn’t in much doubt that, even if she were prepared to sell, the price she would exact for her shares would be crippling.

  For the time being though, he comforted himself with the fact that Forgon appeared to be keeping his nose out of the movie, and as long as it continued that way there was no immediate need for a takeover. Even so, he’d be a whole lot happier if he’d managed one, as he didn’t for one moment relish the fact that Forgon had final say on what was turning into a near twenty-five-million-dollar budget – especially not when a good percentage of that figure was being supported by Michael’s worldly possessions.

  ‘Daddy?’ Robbie said.

  Michael looked up to find him sitting on the edge of the pool staring in.

  ‘Yes?’ Michael answered.

  Robbie’s head remained bowed, as he swung his feet back and forth in the water. ‘You know what I told you about Alex’s mum and dad?’ he said.

  ‘Yes,’ Michael answered.

  His feet did several more circles. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘what’s divorce, Dad?’

  Michael looked at his son’s bony little shoulders and felt the weight of his burden. He knew how deeply troubled Robbie was by all that was going on around him, and wished to God he could give him some answers that would help. ‘It means that his mum and dad won’t be married any more,’ he said gently.

  Robbie sat with that for a while, and Michael braced himself for what was coming next. They’d had this conversation about Alex’s parents before, so he knew which line they were going to tread, and it never failed to cut.

  ‘Are you still married to Ellen?’ he said in a small, hollow voice.

  ‘Yes,’ Michael answered.

  ‘Are you going to get divorced?’

  Michael looked out to the spectacular swell of the mountains, and unblemished blue of the sky. The day was so clear, the air so still and hot, that the view seemed more like a painting, too garish, too vital to be real. In a way it was like the pain inside him, too vivid, too pressing to be true. He couldn’t answer Robbie’s question, for he had no answers where Ellen was concerned. All he knew was how hard he struggled to suppress the pain, how he fought not to miss her, yet continued to long for her in every imaginable way. But no matter how deeply he loved her, how desperate he was to have her back in his life, he just couldn’t get past the fact that she could be carrying another man’s child. Not even the doubt made it any easier to handle; he sometimes wondered if in some way it actually made it harder.

  What he needed was to find a way of dealing with his pride, for he knew that it was what had robbed him of the first four years of Robbie’s life. But though he’d rather die than do something like that again, each time he felt ready to speak to Ellen he would find himself thinking about the baby, and what he was going to do should it turn out to be Tom’s. Try as he might, he just couldn’t see himself accepting it as his, but even if he could, he had to face the fact that Tom was going to have some say in it then, and there was every chance Tom would want to be as hands-on with his child as Michael now was with Robbie.

  Robbie turned round to look at him. ‘Are you going to get divorced?’ he repeated.

  Michael lowered his eyes to his. ‘I don’t know,’ he answered.

  Robbie’s face was wrought with confusion. ‘Is Ellen angry with me?’ he said. ‘Is that why she won’t live with us any more?’

  Michael put down his papers and went to sit next to him. ‘She’s got nothing to be angry with you about,’ he said, dangling his legs in the water. ‘She loves you, and I know she’d love to see you, if you wanted to.’

  Robbie’s eyes came up to his.

  Michael smiled past the turmoil. ‘Why don’t you let me drive you over there, then you two can spend some time together? She’s not mad at you, I promise.’

  It pained him so deeply to know that Robbie was blaming himself for the break-up that he had already mentioned it to Ellen in the hope she might know what to do. It was why he’d suggested that Robbie went over to see her now, for it had been her idea that he should, as soon as Robbie was ready.

  ‘Shall we call her?’ Michael prompted.

  Robbie looked down at the pool again, his tender little body hunched with indecision. ‘Can I take Spot?’ he said finally.

  Michael smiled. ‘Of course,’ he said.

  Robbie called out to his dog, who leapt out of a quiet doze in the shade and trotted into the house after him.

  ‘Do you want to speak to her yourself?’ Michael offered, as he dialled the number.

  Robbie shook his head. ‘No, you do it,’ he said.

  Michael looked down at his worried little face and felt his throat tighten with emotion.

  Matty answered on the fourth ring. ‘Oh hi, Michael,’ she said, disguising the surprise she must have felt. ‘Ellen’s not here, I’m afraid. She’s gone over to take a look at one of the sets.’

  Michael was still looking at Robbie. ‘OK,’ he said. ‘I’ll catch up with her later.’

  As he rang off he could see that Robbie’s disappointment was almost as great as his own. ‘I know,’ he suggested, after telling Robbie where she was, ‘how about we go and take a look at the sets too?’

  Robbie looked undecided. He was obviously having a difficult time with this. ‘Will it be like the outer-space one we saw with all those monsters?’ he said.

  ‘Not really,’ Michael answered, ‘but we don’t want to frighten Gran, do we?’

  Robbie grinned, then with Spot barrelling along happily at his heels, he went off to get dressed.

  An hour later the three of them, and Spot, were heading along Melrose towards Paramount. Clodagh, thoroughly approving of their mission, had forgiven them for being heathens and was getting as excited as Robbie at the possibility they might bump into the famous Richard Conway.

  Michael was quiet as Robbie and his mother chattered on, steering the car through the traffic and trying to deal with what was going on inside him. He knew how much Robbie’s visit was going to mean to Ellen, how much it meant to him too. They were still a family, albeit fractured right now, but maybe they were going to find a way of putting it back together. He had to remember that there was a chance the child was his, and even if i
t wasn’t Ellen was still his wife. It was the way he wanted it to stay. The very idea of divorce was unthinkable, it simply wasn’t an option, not when he loved her this much. He just had to come to terms with what had happened, and why it had happened, and, like she said, take some responsibility himself.

  ‘OK, wait here,’ he said, pulling the car into the parking lot. ‘I’ll just go and check she’s still here, and see if there’s any construction going on. If there is we might need some hard hats.’

  He’d visited the soundstage several times before, so knew his way through the maze of buildings and alleyways that finally led to the sets for Rachel’s Story. A couple of trucks were parked outside, backs open as huge blocks of scenery and set dressing were transported in through the vast soundproofed doors. There was a lot of hammering going on inside, a radio blasting and builders and electricians swarming over scaffolding and along the gantries. Spotting a couple of the line producers in conference with the designer and art director, he skirted a disorderly pile of foliage and started heading their way.

  ‘Is Ellen here?’ he asked one of them as they turned to greet him.

  ‘Yeah, at least she was five minutes ago,’ he answered. ‘She was over at the hostage set. Do you know where it is?’

  Michael nodded, thanked him and walked off in the direction of a newspaper office. As he recalled, the hostage set was behind it. He was right, and from the look of it, as he rounded one of the walls, it was pretty near complete. There had been a lot of discussion about this set, as no-one actually knew where Rachel had been held during her three days in captivity, so it had been up to Tom and the designers to create something plausible. Since Tom had interviewed a number of ex-hostages in Colombia, he’d had a better idea than most of the kind of conditions she could have been held in, and since it wasn’t a guerilla kidnapping they’d dispensed with the idea of a remote forest camp or mountain village. What they’d opted for was apparently more in keeping with a cartel-style kidnapping, a room in a large old house, with boarded-up windows, an old wooden bed and a menacing network of overhead beams.