Scandalous Lies: An addictive, sexy beach read

by Nigel May

  Georgia had been inconsolable on the entire journey back from Mexico. She had come to the States with the intention of trying to find out what had happened to Mitzi, to hopefully reunite with her best friend. To see her and yet not be able to speak to her had crushed Georgia. Where was the closure? Where were the explanations?

  Charlie wrapped his arms around Georgia as she sat at the granite kitchen breakfast bar and pulled her close, lifting her face towards him and kissing her forehead. He could tell she had been crying, her eyes both tired and glossy with tears.

  For a second they remained entwined in each other’s arms in silence, the mere touch of each other enough to share their love.

  ‘It’s so good to have you two back. Things will get better, I promise you.’ It was Jacob, who had entered the kitchen to grab a glass of wine. He was suited, a sharp Tom Ford jacket hugging his frame. He’d spent the evening at an industry party, discussing ideas for the forthcoming pilot season and had only just returned, despite it nearing 2am. Nova had declined to accompany him, never keen to head to a party where her own show wasn’t number one on the agenda. Jacob was glad that she wasn’t there. It was something he needed to handle himself. Jacob had shaken the right hands and schmoozed the necessary money men but a fun time it was not. Jacob could never relax until the deal was done … and it had to be the deal he wanted. He’d driven home stone cold sober, never good in Hollywood, and craving a glass of quality vino and a much needed cigarette.

  Charlie and Georgia watched him as he opened the fridge door, pulled out a bottle and poured himself a glass. ‘Care to join me? I’m heading out to the pool for a smoke. Tonight’s party was as flat as a Kansas horizon. How come you’re both up so late?’

  ‘I couldn’t sleep,’ said Georgia. ‘My mind won’t switch off.’

  ‘And I was doing a report for the TV back home,’ stated Charlie. ‘I’m just in.’

  ‘I missed you,’ said Georgia, pulling him even tighter towards her.

  ‘I did ring to say I’d be home as quickly as possible. It should be the last report I have to do before we head home.’

  ‘When did you ring?’ asked Georgia.

  ‘I left a message a few hours ago. I assumed you must have crashed for an early night.’

  Georgia picked up her phone that was located on the breakfast bar. ‘Ah, that explains it then, I’ve had it on silent and didn’t hear it ring. I turned the ringer off. I didn’t want to speak to anyone or be disturbed in bed. Not that that includes you of course,’ she smiled at Charlie.

  Georgia continued, ‘It says I have two messages. One from you and one from Addison. What does she want?’ She pressed the voicemail button on her phone and put the phone on loudspeaker so that both she and Charlie could hear.

  Jacob waved to them both and opened the sliding doors that led from the kitchen out to the poolside area, his glass of wine and a cigarette in one hand as he slid the door open with the other. He mouthed ‘goodnight’.

  Addison’s voice filled the air as Georgia and Charlie listened. Her words were intriguing to Georgia. ‘Something important about Mitzi Bidgood? What can she mean? I need to phone her, or seeing as she’s left her address maybe we should go round there now.’

  Charlie was the voice of reason. He looked at his watch. ‘It’s gone 2am, Georgia. Let’s get some shut eye and we can go and see Addison first thing tomorrow. Whatever she has to say is going to be exactly the same in a few hours’ time, isn’t it?’

  Charlie was wrong. After a restless few hours trying to sleep, Georgia’s mind racing with thoughts about what Addison might have to say, she was up, showered and dressed by 8am the following morning. A sleepy yet willing Charlie accompanied her as they drove to Addison’s address.

  The scene that greeted them outside her apartment was not what they were expecting. An ambulance, its light flashing, was parked there as were two police cars.

  Georgia and Charlie ran from their car to where the ambulance was situated. An ambulance worker was just shutting one of the back doors to the vehicle.

  ‘Excuse me, can you tell me what’s going on, please?’ asked Georgia. ‘A friend of mine lives at this address.’ A recent friend, but a friend nevertheless.

  ‘It’s a police matter now. We’re too late. Apparently the girl over there came back after a night out and found her house mate with her head caved in and the apartment turned over. Seems she was murdered as somebody tried to burgle the place.’

  Georgia and Charlie looked over towards the apartment. A young woman, dressed in the shortest of dresses and looking completely out of place given the early hour of the day was sitting on the steps at the front of the apartment. She was sobbing uncontrollably. Her hysteria heightened as two officials carrying a body bag walked past her out onto the street. She reached out to touch it in vain.

  Georgia’s fears were confirmed as the woman let out a pitiful scream as the body was taken away. ‘Addison!’

  One word. One conclusion. And for Georgia and Charlie their second brush with death in nearly as many days. Whatever Addison had to say about Mitzi they would never hear it from the woman herself.

  Fifty-Six

  Georgia had told the police about Addison’s phone call to her regarding Mitzi, but as far as the authorities were concerned there was no connection between that and her death. Addison had simply been the victim of a particularly brutal robbery attempt by some LA chancers. Money, jewellery and technology such as iPads and laptops had been stolen but it didn’t amount to much. The place had been trashed and the police guessed that maybe Addison had disturbed the criminals in action and had sadly paid the ultimate price. Another young, beautiful life snuffed out.

  Nova and Jacob had been deeply upset by the news and halted any further filming on Super Nova as a mark of respect. It seemed the least they could do for a woman who had become part of the Super Nova family over recent months. They sent flowers to her funeral a few days later but decided not to attend for fear their presence turning it into a media circus.

  All filming on hold, the timing seemed right for Nova and Jacob to get away and with Georgia and Charlie having to return home to the UK, it was decided that they should all go together. Evie’s charity event was merely a few days away now and maybe a stretch of time away from the glare of LA would be just what the group needed. Plus Georgia wanted to make a visit to see Mitzi’s mother. They had spoken on the phone and the torture in her voice at the news of her daughter’s death was something that Georgia would never forget. Mitzi’s mother asked her if she would help arrange the funeral. She said she would consider it an honour.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing at London’s Heathrow in just under fifteen minutes. We hope that you have enjoyed your flight with us today and that you’ll be flying with us again in the future.’

  The voice of the in flight attendant woke Georgia up from her slumber. She’d managed to sleep for most of the flight back to the UK. As she stretched her arms above her head and looked around the cabin of the airplane she felt grateful for the support she had around her. Nova and Jacob, both draining the final drops of champagne from their glasses as they prepared for landing, had become a real family to her. It was amazing to spend time with them again in America, despite the gravity of the situation. Having a woman like Nova to talk to, a real woman who knew after all that she lived in a plastic world, reminded Georgia just how much she missed her own mother. Nova and the late Sophia may have been poles apart but they both shared a common love for Georgia, which was clear. And Jacob, so different from her own father, Devon, was a solid pillar of strength to those around him and that now included Georgia too.

  Nova raised her glass as she spied Georgia looking at her and smiled. Jacob followed suit. It felt good to have them around a little longer than she’d planned. The charity event organised by Evie Merchant would be the perfect opportunity to try and put all of the horrors of recent times behind them. Whatever Mitzi was, good or bad, just the mere fact that peopl
e were coming together to remember her felt right. Maybe it would provide her with the answers she needed, if not to questions, then at least to her own personal quest for closure and inner peace.

  Even though they wouldn’t be filming in the UK for Nova’s show, the star had still insisted on bringing a team with her. There were four seats in premium economy occupied by Nova’s make-up artist, Nova’s favourite LA hair stylist, Sarah the production assistant – who was finding herself incredibly busy now that poor Addison was no more – and one of the senior producers on the show named Mike. Nova still needed to look her best as doubtless there would be papped photos in magazines and Jacob had thought that even though no TV filming would occur, it would be wise to have crew members to consider locations and potential future UK storylines for the show as well as having their loyal service should he or Nova require anything.

  So it was a team of eight that taxied from Heathrow into London. Jacob and Nova went to his house in Kensington, Nova’s stylist and make-up artist following them to set up camp in two of the many bedrooms at the palatial house. Super Nova crew members, Sarah and Mike, went to a Kensington hotel not far from the Chevalier London home. Nova was keen to have them near, but certainly not under the same roof as her and Jacob. And finally, Georgia and Charlie went to his flat in Old Street. Georgia was in no hurry to return to work and worry about early morning meetings concerning cloud striations or cold air funnels and if her bosses were gracious enough to give her extended leave then she intended to make the most of it and be close to Charlie as much as possible.

  As she stared out of the cab window her thoughts turned to Devon and how she would have to go and see him. He had not been himself on her last visit and she needed to find out why. Hopefully that guttersnipe of a wife, Tanya, wouldn’t be there when she visited.

  Georgia still couldn’t work out why a man like her father had married such an odious creature as Tanya.

  Fifty-Seven

  ‘It’s simple. You get me and Andy an invitation to that charity event and I’ll sort your fucking life out.’ Jack wasn’t joking.

  Chloe cursed her own big mouth. Post-coital conversation with Jack Christie, especially after he’d just tipped a rather fat line of cocaine onto her pussy and then proceeded to rub it in with his own tongue, had made her loose-lipped. Both those on her face and those down below.

  Chloe’s sex life with Jack seemed to be becoming more and more unconventional. Since the threesome with him and Andy, which she had to admit she had found much hornier than she would have imagined, they had tried all sorts. He’d tied her up, used amyl nitrate, introduced a range of sex toys and even persuaded her to finger his ass. Plus he’d started to use drugs during their sexual adventures. She’d always been aware of his own narcotic habits but he had been insistent that she too should try it, starting with cocaine. She’d tried snorting it herself but didn’t like the feel of it up her nostrils, so he’d suggested he rub it onto her gums and that had in turn travelled south to the fleshy folds of her pussy. It was another novel way for the drug to enter her blood stream.

  When she became a little high, she became a lot talkative. And one of the things she’d talked about was the invitation to Evie’s charity bash.

  ‘I love that fucking actress,’ spat Jack as soon as Chloe had mentioned it. ‘I knocked one out thinking about her many a time when I was inside. How come you’re going?’

  ‘I’m not … as yet. The invitation is to Scott and his wife. She knows her really well, and Scott’s work has helped out with Evie’s finances on many an occasion so they both have their own reasons for going. But now there’s talk of divorce, I assume they won’t both go.’

  Chloe had filled Jack in about the situation at the Palmer-Roberts household on one of her previous visits.

  ‘So get your feet right under that table and get rid of the wife. Get her out of the picture, you bag banker man and everybody’s happy. As long as I still get a shag on the side once in a while then all is good.’

  ‘Is that what I am to you, a shag?’

  ‘Yes. If you want more, you’re barking up the wrong tree.’

  This wasn’t news to Chloe.

  What was news to Chloe though was that maybe she would be much better off if Victoria was out of the picture once and for all. Maybe then she and Scott would stand a real chance. No wife, ex or otherwise, meant no chance of a reconciliation.

  Scott held all the aces. He had money, he had the swanky home, he had the capability to put her out on the street should he become fed up of her. Then what would her future hold? Sure, their sex life was good, he seemed to like what Chloe had to offer between the sheets, but what was to stop him trading her in for another younger model in a few years’ time? Shagging the hired help was one thing, letting it become mother to your kids was quite another. But that was what she wanted, wasn’t it? She was falling for Scott and she had to make sure that Victoria didn’t upset the apple cart. Chloe’s imagination was piqued by Jack’s words. Plus the feeling of the coke ribboning its way from between her legs was making her mind stray into many different heavenly scenarios.

  ‘So, what are you suggesting?’ asked Chloe.

  ‘You leave that to me and Andy. Ask no questions and you’ll receive no lies. But make sure you swing us an invitation to that charity event. When is it?’

  Chloe cast her mind back to when she’d seen the invitation. ‘Next week I think. But how the hell do I manage to blag you and Andy an invitation?’

  ‘Just bring me an invitation and leave the rest to me, alright? You’ll be pleased you do.’

  It was true. Chloe was loving the idea. Whether it was the coke or the thought of being some kind of Bonnie to Jack’s Clyde as he planned Victoria’s downfall and secured her own future with Scott at the same time, the notion of it all was igniting her nerve endings and turning her on.

  ‘So what are you going to do to her?’ coaxed Chloe.

  Jack wasn’t really listening though. He was thinking about the charity event. One successful job like this and it would be easy street for a few years to come for him and Andy. And it was all Jack’s idea. Major kudos.

  And if sorting out this Victoria woman for Chloe so that she could be with this banker twat of a husband was what he had to promise to gain entry to this Aladdin’s cave then so fucking be it. Mind you, if you asked Jack, this Scott bloke sounded a right tosser.

  Jack grabbed his bag of coke, licked a line of moisture across one of Chloe’s breasts and poured out the white powder. Let the Jackdaw play.

  Fifty-Eight

  ‘Nobody can ever say to me that contemplating buying a Zac Posen dress one size larger to cater for the delights of that dessert is not a totally valid option,’ enthused Nova. ‘That poached William pear, sticky toffee pudding and crème fraîche sorbet was just to die for.’

  Georgia smiled as she watched Nova virtually bury her spoon into her plate in an effort to remove any last traces of the food from her crockery and into her mouth.

  The two women had just finished their lunch at Galvin At Windows on the twenty-eighth floor of London’s Hilton Hotel on Park Lane. Nova had wanted to dine and experience some of the best views of the city and their balcony table at the famous eaterie had allowed them to do just that. As they treated their palettes to a fare of gastronomic gems, Nova, a typically effusive American in the UK capital, had stared out across Green Park, Knightsbridge and her beloved Harrods, and of course the most British delight of all, Buckingham Palace. A sight that Nova was not going to let pass by without telling Georgia and indeed a few people not really within ear shot, just exactly what it meant to her.

  ‘To think that Her Majesty is in that house right now while little old me, the queen of reality TV, is looking down at her from this great height is just something else. It only seems two minutes ago I was back in West Hills dreaming of a prince, and now look at me. There might be all sorts of princes running around down there. It’s too much. I count my blessings. At least I have
found a king in Jacob.’ It could have been a script from one of her shows. There were moments when Nova couldn’t resist ramping up the melodrama to infinity and beyond.

  ‘So where is King Jacob today?’ queried Georgia, sipping on a chilled glass of rosé wine.

  ‘Business, darling. Same old nonsense. He’s out with Mike and Sarah, looking for some potential storylines for future Nova’s. Keeps them busy and it means you and I manage to spend more time together. Shame Charlie couldn’t join us today.’

  ‘He has some winner of a TV talent show to interview today, but I’m sure he’d much rather be here than speaking to a troupe of street dancers or a girl and her dog or whoever it is he’s grilling,’ grinned Georgia.

  ‘Well, I’m hoping one of the future storylines on Super Nova might be Jacob and I heading to these shores for a wedding, soon. Namely yours and Charlie’s.’ It was now Nova’s turn to grin.

  That old chestnut. Georgia had last dodged this line of fire around the poolside in India. ‘One day, Nova, one day …’

  ‘Maybe we could have the wedding at Westminster Abbey,’ cried Nova, riding the rollercoaster of her own enthusiasm. ‘Prince Willy and Kate just looked amazing there and those children George and Charlotte are too adorable. Can I see it from here?’ Nova returned to staring out of the window and at the magnificent view across London.

  Georgia didn’t want to pop Nova’s effervescent bubble of frothiness even if the chances of her and Charlie ever getting married at Westminster Abbey were slimmer than a supermodel’s waistline. They were much more likely to run off to Hawaii and get spliced in a private barefooted ceremony on the beach. Not that she could imagine Nova agreeing to that in a million light years. Maybe some things were best left undiscussed until the ‘I do’s’ were done and dusted.

  ‘I don’t think you can.’ Georgia wasn’t really sure but had given up scanning the panorama. ‘So, what would you like to do this afternoon? Are you feeling the urge to splurge?’