The Cast

by Danielle Steel

  Kait was running a hot bath when she heard her phone ring, and rushed to pick it up, hoping it was one of her kids. She was still waiting to hear from Candace about dates when she could come to London, and she answered the phone as she turned off the bath.

  “Mrs. Whittier?” a shaking voice asked her, and Kait knew instantly it was Agnes White.

  “Yes,” she said, wondering if Agnes was sober or drunk. She was almost too tired to deal with her, but didn’t want to put her off.

  “I read your bible,” she said, and Kait was surprised. She’d obviously been curious about it. “It’s a handsome piece of work and a good story. I can see why Maeve is doing it.” She sounded sober, and Kait hoped she was, for her own sake if nothing else. After her visit the day before, Kait imagined her blind drunk, asleep on the couch every night, with one of her movies on TV. “I don’t know why you want me in it, and I’m not sure it’s the right part for me, but I thought about it all day today. I’d like to do it. I like the idea of working with Maeve. And I want to assure you,” she said cautiously, “that I’ll do what I need to do before we start shooting.” Kait knew exactly what she meant and couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Agnes was telling her that she was going to stop drinking. “When do you start?”

  “July first,” Kait said, utterly amazed.

  “I’ll be fine by then,” Agnes assured her. “In fact, long before that. I start tomorrow.” Kait didn’t want to ask her where or how, but figured she could take care of that herself, and maybe had before. And if she didn’t want to go to rehab, she could go to AA, which worked too. She had four months to get sober and ready to work.

  “You’re sure you want to do it?” Kait asked in disbelief.

  “Do you still want me?” Agnes sounded worried that Kait had changed her mind.

  “Yes, I do,” she said clearly. “We all do. Your being on the show will make it a guaranteed success.”

  “Don’t be so sure,” Agnes said modestly. “Maeve will do that for you.”

  “With both of you, it will be a sure hit. Should we contact your agent?” she asked, although she hadn’t been able to find one listed for her.

  “I think he’s dead. I’ll have my attorney handle it. I don’t need an agent anymore.” She hadn’t worked in over ten years.

  “The network is going to go crazy when we tell them,” Kait said, smiling, although she was nervous about Agnes getting sober, and hoped she could do it. But she seemed confident she could. “We’ll be in touch. I’ll have the executive producer, Zack Winter, contact you. Should I tell Maeve or do you want to?”

  “You can tell her. Tell her I’m doing it because of her. And because of you,” she said and startled Kait.

  “What did I do?” Kait was surprised.

  “You watched my movie with me. You’re a good woman. It was a kind thing to do. And you wrote a good part for me. I wouldn’t do it otherwise. I like playing cantankerous. I’ll have some fun with it. Do I have to learn to fly?”

  She seemed concerned about it, and Kait laughed. She was almost giddy at the news that Agnes White had accepted to play the role of Hannabel. What a victory for them! “We have stuntmen for that. All you have to do is learn your lines and show up on your shooting days.”

  “That’s never been a problem.”

  “And we’ll be filming in the New York area. That was one of Maeve’s conditions.”

  “Thank you,” Agnes said simply, and they both knew why. Kait had walked into her house the day before and saved her life. If no one had stopped her, she would have just sat there and drunk herself to death, and Agnes knew it too. “I won’t let you down.”

  “I know you won’t,” Kait said solemnly, and prayed that she was right. She couldn’t wait to tell Zack and Maeve as soon as they hung up.

  Chapter 9

  With Agnes White agreeing to play Hannabel, they almost had their full cast, and with some very important names. Agnes White and Maeve O’Hara would knock everyone’s socks off on a TV series. Dan Delaney was the handsome young heartthrob they needed as a draw for younger women, no matter how slutty his reputation was, they ate it up. And Charlotte Manning was more of the same. Abaya Jones was their hot new ingénue, a fresh face on the scene, and Brad Evers, in the role of the badass younger brother, was a promising young actor people liked. He was only twenty-one, and teenage viewers would adore him. And they had found the perfect actor to play Johnny West, Maggie’s big romance. He had been on two very successful soaps and had a number of devoted fans. His name was Malcolm Bennett. He had played mostly villains and was excited about playing a good guy for a change. There had already been some meetings with the cast, and they all seemed pleased with their roles, although no one was enthused about working with Charlotte Manning, who was said to be a diva, and never got along with the other women on the set. But there was no question her name was a big draw, which was what mattered to them all. It was going to be a fantastic cast.

  The one missing link was Anne Wilder’s lover late in the show. They were talking to Nick Brooke, a huge film star, but hadn’t convinced him yet. He was afraid to get locked into a long-term show if it was a success. His entire career had been spent in feature films, and it would be a big change for him if he took the part. Phillip Green, the big star slated to play Anne’s husband, Loch, was delighted to sign for four episodes. They had their cast.

  As soon as Kait signed her own contract the following week, she knew she had to tell the magazine, particularly before it leaked out. She had no idea if the editor in chief of Woman’s Life would want her to give up the column, or try to juggle it while she was working on the set. It was still possible that the show would fail in the ratings and get canceled, but with the lineup they had, it seemed unlikely. Kait was willing to do whatever the magazine wanted, at least until they knew how the show was doing in its early episodes. If they were green-lighted for a second season, Kait was thinking that that might be the right time to end her column, or pass it on to someone else if they preferred. It would be a big change for her after twenty years, and for her readers, who would be heartbroken to lose her.

  Paula Stein, the editor in chief, cried when Kait met with her later in the week, but she was enormously impressed by what Kait had undertaken, which was essentially starting a new career, and not an easy one.

  “It’s all happened very fast. I wrote the story three months ago, and it’s just been a series of lucky breaks. I never thought this would happen. We go on the air in six months, and start shooting the show in three. I just signed my contract a few days ago, so I thought I should talk to you. I’ll do whatever you want. Quit, work on the column at night. We’ll be shooting for about three and a half months. I think I can manage it for that long. And we should have a sense of how the show will do after the first few episodes. We’re shooting thirteen episodes, and if the network is happy, they’ll have us do another nine.”

  “I’d love to have you keep writing the column for as long as you can,” Paula said hopefully. “I don’t see how we can continue it once you quit. The readers love you, and no one can do what you do.” It was flattering to hear, but not necessarily true.

  “I grew into it. Someone else can too.”

  “You have a magic touch.”

  “I just hope the magic works on TV,” Kait said cautiously.

  “I’m sure it will.” Paula hugged Kait when the meeting ended, and Kait agreed to write the column until the end of the year. It gave them time to groom someone else, or hire a new writer just for that. They had time to figure it out.

  By that afternoon the rumor mill was buzzing, and Carmen slipped into her office with a worried frown, and closed the door.

  “There’s an ugly rumor out there that you’re leaving. Tell me it isn’t true.” She looked bereft at the thought.

  “I’m not leaving,” Kait said, sorry she hadn’t told her firs
t, but she had felt obligated to tell her editor in chief before she told anyone else and let her make the announcement. Paula Stein was a good woman and deserved the courtesy. She had always been fair to Kait, although Kait had been there ten years longer than she had. “I’m taking on a second job for now. We’ll see how it works out. I may come crawling back in no time. I’ll be here till sometime in June, and then I’ll be writing the column off-site.”

  “Why?” Carmen looked shocked. All she’d heard was that Kait was quitting, or might be, she had no idea about the rest. Kait had asked Paula not to disclose it until the show was announced, and clearly she hadn’t.

  “It sounds crazy, but I’m doing a TV show. I wrote the bible for it, and I’m co-executive producing. It’s a big job. I’ll do the column for as long as I can.”

  “A TV show? Are you kidding? How did that happen?”

  “It just did. I sat next to a TV producer on New Year’s Eve, and the next thing I knew, I wrote a story, and it all fell into place like lightning after that. I’m still in shock myself.”

  “That’s crazy,” Carmen said, as she slipped into a chair and stared at her friend. “Who’s in it?”

  “You can’t tell anyone,” but she trusted her not to talk, and reeled off some of the names. Carmen stared at her in disbelief.

  “You’re lying. Dan Delaney? Oh my God, give me one night with him and I’ll die a happy woman.”

  “Maybe not,” Kait said, laughing. “Apparently he’d sleep with a yak and cheats on everyone, and all his ex-girlfriends hate him. We’re scared to death of what he’ll do on the set, but everyone has the same reaction to him you do. So he’s good for the show, if he doesn’t drive everyone nuts.”

  “What’s Maeve O’Hara like?”

  “Wonderful. The nicest person you’ve ever met and a real pro. I can’t wait to watch her work.”

  “I can’t believe this. It just fell out of the sky?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “What’s the producer like? Is he cute? Are you having an affair with him?” She was dying to know.

  “Yes, he’s cute, and no, I’m not having an affair with him. We work really well together, but I think we both want to keep it that way and not screw it up. This is business. And the serious people in it don’t play around. I’m learning a lot from him.”

  “Can I come watch on the set?”

  Kait nodded, and realized that she was going to miss seeing Carmen every day.

  “I’m happy for you, Kait,” Carmen said. “You deserve this. I would never have said it, but you were stuck in a rut here. You’re too talented for this, and too good a writer. I hope this turns out really well for you.” She sounded totally sincere.

  “I hope so too,” she said, and got up to give Carmen a hug.

  “And I don’t care if Dan Delaney is a slut. I want to meet him.”

  “You will, I promise.”

  “I can’t wait to watch the show.” She left Kait’s office a few minutes later, and the magazine was buzzing with the news that Kait was leaving. That night, Kait called Stephanie in San Francisco. She had friends over and they were watching a basketball game.

  “You’re doing what?” Stephanie thought she’d heard wrong. “What kind of show? And you’re selling bibles? Have you lost your mind, Mom?” She knew her mother went to church occasionally, but that sounded extreme to her. “Did you just become Mormon or something?”

  “No. I said I wrote a bible for a TV series, and one of the cable networks picked it up. We’re shooting it in July, and it goes on the air in October.”

  “You did? When did that happen? Who’s in it?” Stephanie sounded dubious, and her mother told her the major names. “Holy shit, do you mean it? This sounds like a big deal.”

  “It could be, if people like the show.”

  “What’s it about?”

  “Women in aviation in the 1940s and ’50s.”

  “That sounds a little weird. Why did you write about that?”

  “I used my grandmother for inspiration. Even you will have to watch it at least once,” Kait said, teasing. She knew that Stephanie and Frank never watched TV, except sports. They were baseball fanatics, and loved football and basketball as well.

  “Well, I’m proud of you, Mom. I never expected you to do something like that.”

  “Neither did I,” Kait said, and laughed.

  “Can I tell people about it?”

  “Not yet. The network will make an announcement once we have all the contracts signed, all the deals set. That takes a while.”

  “Can I tell Frank?”

  “Of course.” They talked for a few more minutes and then Stephanie went back to the game and their friends. But before she did, she told her mother again how proud of her she was.

  Kait called Tommy after that. They had just finished dinner, and Maribeth was putting the girls to bed. Tommy was even more startled than his sister, and asked Kait various questions about the deal she’d made. He was impressed by the contract she’d gotten and that she would be co-executive producer with Zack, making many of the decisions with him.

  “What are you going to do about the column?” he asked her.

  “I agreed to do it till the end of the year, but it’s going to be a juggling act once we start shooting. I’ll stay at the magazine till June, after that I have to be on the set.” She didn’t go to the magazine every day anyway, and worked from home a lot of the time.

  “Did you tell the girls yet?”

  “I just called Stephanie, and I’m going to call Candace in a few hours, and try to get her in her morning. I’m not even sure where she is. I haven’t talked to her in weeks. Have you?”

  “Not since we Skyped with her on Christmas at your house. I never know how to reach her.”

  “Neither do I,” Kait admitted. “I want to go over and see her when she has a break, but I don’t think she’s had one in months. She goes straight from one story to another.”

  He knew that about his sister too. “Give her my love when you find her. And, Mom, I’m really proud of you,” he said it with real emotion in his voice, and she was touched.

  “Thank you, sweetheart. And give Maribeth my love.”

  “She’s going to be blown away. She has the hots for Dan Delaney.” It seemed like every female in America did, which confirmed to Kait that they had made the right decision when they chose him for the part. “And she loves Maeve O’Hara. She’s a very big deal.”

  “Yes, she is, she’s great,” Kait confirmed. “But don’t say anything until it’s announced.”

  “Thanks for calling to tell me the news,” he said, and one minute later, they hung up. All Kait had to do was tell Candace now, if she could reach her. She stayed up till two A.M. to call her at seven A.M. in London, but the call went straight to voicemail, and Kait had a feeling she wasn’t back yet from wherever she was. She could have sent her a text or an email, but wasn’t sure she’d get them, and she wanted to tell her on the phone. It had been too long since they’d talked, at least several weeks, before Kait went to L.A. But she was pleased that she’d told Stephanie and Tom, and their reaction had been warm and loving. It was definitely a new chapter in her life, and she wanted to share it with her children.

  She was amused by all the women’s reactions to Dan Delaney, and had to remember to tell Zack. As Zack had predicted, Becca’s scripts were improving day by day, as she hit her stride and got comfortable with the characters she was writing. She sent scripts to Kait by email, and she read them at night after work. Becca had done some really great writing for the first episodes and despite her youthful looks, she had talent and depth to her writing when she worked at it. Kait made suggestions whenever she thought it was necessary, and Becca took the comments and added additional material to the scripts without resistance. And the distance between them didn’
t seem to be a problem.

  Everything was going smoothly. Agnes had called her to say she had gone to AA and was looking for a sponsor. She admitted that she had been to meetings before and knew how it worked.

  “Do you need to worry about someone talking to the press?” Kait asked her with concern, and Agnes sounded incensed.

  “I should hope not. That’s the whole point of AA. What you hear and who you see there stays there. I’ve seen people at meetings who have a lot more at risk than I do. No one ever breaks that code. I’m going to two meetings a day.”

  “Is it hard?” Kait asked gently, touched that Agnes had called to check in and reassure her.

  “Of course it’s hard. It’s a bitch. But I’d rather be working than watching myself on DVDs all day. I got in a bad spot. You jolted me out of it. I don’t know if the show will be any good, or me in it, but I needed to do this anyway. I hired a maid yesterday. It was either that or burn my house down. I had ten years of magazines stacked up in every room. I told her to throw them all away.” What was happening to Agnes was a miracle. She was finding her way back to the human race.

  “Let me know if I can do anything to help,” Kait offered.

  “I’ll be fine,” Agnes promised again. “I didn’t want you to worry.” And then she sounded serious. “I called Maeve. She told me about Ian. That’s a tragedy. He’s incredibly talented and a wonderful man. I don’t know what she’s going to do after…when…” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words, but Kait understood, and was worried about it too. They had been married for twenty-five years. “At least the show will keep her busy, and her girls. We’ll have to be there for her when things get rough.” It dawned on Kait as she listened that the show was going to be more than just a workplace and a lucky break for all of them, and an opportunity for the lesser-known actors in the group. It would be a family of sorts and a support system too. And if the show ran for a long time, they would face life’s challenges together, its joys and tragedies and the important moments in their lives, for several years. It was comforting in a way, and she was looking forward to it. The people on the show were going to fill her life.