[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.She was scared to death,146 Selena realized. James and I arranged with the car service to arrive together, Gail said, gesturing behind her. His wife is home with their newbaby.Thank you so much for sending a car for us. She greeted James with what she hoped was equal alacrityeven though she was still finding it hard to stop looking at Gail.Events like this were easier for men, as always.Once they passeda certain bar for quality, any dark suit would do.James lookedsuitably stylish, examining everything out of the corner of hiseyes.She introduced him to Ellen s husband and checked onGail, who was chatting with Ellen.Those two in safe hands, shegreeted other arriving members of the crew, glad of Mirah s easycharm with people and Delilah s sharp wit.Eddie was a man offew words, but everyone in the room knew his credentials.It was a typical well-organized Hollywood fundraiser, nochance of being a brawl.It risked being somewhat of a bore,but that energy changed the moment Hyde arrived.Selena hadwatched it happen before.The attendees quickly fell into twocamps, the group that rushed him, eager to be introduced, andthose who hung back, far too sophisticated to stargaze.They werein a definite minority, and all of them capitulated when Jenniferbreezed in just minutes later.Selena faded to the background and let the stars do theirvoodoo.They shone like beacons with that indefinable qualitythat brought fans to the theater and made an ordinary storyamazing.When someone asked Jennifer if she was having a boy or agirl, Jennifer laughed with delight, pulling her dress tight againsther washboard abdomen. The gossips will make up any lie tosuit themselves.Next thing you know they ll have me married toHyde and doing martial arts movies. There was general laughter.Selena had seen that ridiculousclaim, and was glad Jennifer had put it to rest with the investors.Most of them weren t film people, but if they had heard thatrumor, they might have wondered if it was true.Delilah appeared at Selena s elbow to murmur, Butter147 wouldn t melt in her mouth, and you know it. Ancient history, Selena said. She brought a friend with her. Really? I don t care, Selena thought.Finally, who Jennifermight be seeing no longer mattered. At the bar, chatting up Gail. She glanced that direction and did a double take. Shebrought a woman? Said the blondie was someone she was mentoring.Has somehorror movie lined up. I know the blondie. She really couldn t believe her eyes.Shequickly told Delilah about the incident leaving Hyde s party. In that case, they deserve each other, don t they? Except that I don t want that Vivienne Weston creatureanywhere near this project.Not as anyone s personal assistant orso-called unofficial understudy, nothing. She sighed, knowing she d have to deal with it.Had Jennifersomehow found out about Vivienne s encounter with her? Whatwas Jennifer up to now?Watching that lowlife of an actress talk to Gail was a lesson inopposites.While Weston glittered like overpolished brass, Gailwas shining steady and pure, a quiet star.As she surreptitiouslywatched, Weston tried to take a phone photo of someone in thecrowd, but Gail put her hand in the way, and said something thatmade Weston stow the phone.How had she ever thought Gail capable of the same kind oflow tricks Weston would try? Jennifer had poisoned her towardactors, that was for sure.They weren t all like that, and sheshouldn t have thought she d never be romantically intrigued byone again.Oh, hell&Horrified at the direction her thoughts had taken, she forcedherself to focus on the party.So Gail Welles was new to the insideof filmmaking, so new she thought every aspect was a treat.Sofresh she could literally dance for joy.So what if being aroundher was proving renewing in unexpected ways, it had nothing todo with feelings outside of their professional relationship, and all148 the mayonnaise and chicken and butter pecan in the world didn tchange that.Feeling off balance, she realized Hyde was going to leave.He d stayed the fifteen minutes she d asked for, purely as a favorto her, and she gave him a sincere hug as they walked to thedoor. I really do appreciate this. Enlightened self-interest, he said. Liar.You re in danger of being found out as a nice guy. You slander me.I thought better of you, he quipped as hewent out the door to his waiting car.She knew that once Hyde left, Jennifer wouldn t linger either,and she d take that Weston creature with her.She hoped so, sinceshe hardly wanted another tête-à-tête with either of them.Shedidn t make it back to the patio though.Jennifer was lounging against the patio door.The light fromthe setting sun limned her body under the thin black silk. HaveI done my part? Yes, and I thank you. Behind Jennifer she could see VivienneWeston still next to Gail at the bar, chattering away. Hyde got a hug.I saw it. Selena shook her head. Not tonight.And your little friend,I have firsthand experience with her attempting a slick bit ofblackmail.There s no way she s getting any kind of role in thefilm or behind the scenes.She either has endless chutzpah forshowing up in a room where I am, or she really doesn t knowwho she tried to rope into her little blackmail scheme. Jennifer left the door, a small frown creasing her forehead. Really? She s someone I met, seemed genuinely eager to learnthe ropes.Kind of fun. I don t care if she s your latest pet or project, I don t wanther near me or G anyone.She was trying to take pictures outthere. I ll take your word for it, Lena.Seriously. Jennifer was onlya few feet away now. Thank you for the warning. When she took one more step toward her, Selena made149 herself not retreat. Are you leaving? I need to get back to theparty.It s time for the pitch. I don t have to leave.I was thinking maybe you and I No.That s not going to happen. I ll send Viv home with my driver. No.We re not doing anything together but make thismovie. She was aware of voices near and didn t want to setanyone s gossip mill in motion, especially not investors. I haveto go back out there now. There s no way you kissed me the way you did and it didn tmean anything. Selena stepped closer so she could lower her voice. It wasgoodbye.Please take your pet with you when you go. It was a good exit line, and she used it as such, sliding aroundJennifer to rejoin the party.Not that she hadn t met some perfectly lovely people, but asAunt Charlie would say, trash was trash.Gail didn t know whothis woman was, but she had already gone from talkative to leech.She d admitted she was there only as Jennifer s guest, then she dtried to take pictures.Now she knew how easy it was for all thoseHollywood gossip sites to get photos from inside parties.As the leechy woman babbled on about her big start inpictures, some slasher movie where she had a line and then aboutninety seconds on screen in the shower, Gail had to remind herselfthat a month ago she d have been happy with a part like that.Sheknew how frustrating it was to get anyone to look at her seriously.Even if she had the money and desire to do it, she d stop beforegrapefruit-sized enhancements, though.The woman next to herhadn t and was proudly displaying the surgeon s handiwork.She let her attention wander, hoping to catch someone s eyeand have an excuse to walk away.She watched Jennifer go throughthe wide open French doors where Selena had disappeared a fewmoments earlier with Hyde.From where she stood, she couldsee them moving closer and closer together, as if they wereirresistibly drawn magnets [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl milosnikstop.keep.pl
.She was scared to death,146 Selena realized. James and I arranged with the car service to arrive together, Gail said, gesturing behind her. His wife is home with their newbaby.Thank you so much for sending a car for us. She greeted James with what she hoped was equal alacrityeven though she was still finding it hard to stop looking at Gail.Events like this were easier for men, as always.Once they passeda certain bar for quality, any dark suit would do.James lookedsuitably stylish, examining everything out of the corner of hiseyes.She introduced him to Ellen s husband and checked onGail, who was chatting with Ellen.Those two in safe hands, shegreeted other arriving members of the crew, glad of Mirah s easycharm with people and Delilah s sharp wit.Eddie was a man offew words, but everyone in the room knew his credentials.It was a typical well-organized Hollywood fundraiser, nochance of being a brawl.It risked being somewhat of a bore,but that energy changed the moment Hyde arrived.Selena hadwatched it happen before.The attendees quickly fell into twocamps, the group that rushed him, eager to be introduced, andthose who hung back, far too sophisticated to stargaze.They werein a definite minority, and all of them capitulated when Jenniferbreezed in just minutes later.Selena faded to the background and let the stars do theirvoodoo.They shone like beacons with that indefinable qualitythat brought fans to the theater and made an ordinary storyamazing.When someone asked Jennifer if she was having a boy or agirl, Jennifer laughed with delight, pulling her dress tight againsther washboard abdomen. The gossips will make up any lie tosuit themselves.Next thing you know they ll have me married toHyde and doing martial arts movies. There was general laughter.Selena had seen that ridiculousclaim, and was glad Jennifer had put it to rest with the investors.Most of them weren t film people, but if they had heard thatrumor, they might have wondered if it was true.Delilah appeared at Selena s elbow to murmur, Butter147 wouldn t melt in her mouth, and you know it. Ancient history, Selena said. She brought a friend with her. Really? I don t care, Selena thought.Finally, who Jennifermight be seeing no longer mattered. At the bar, chatting up Gail. She glanced that direction and did a double take. Shebrought a woman? Said the blondie was someone she was mentoring.Has somehorror movie lined up. I know the blondie. She really couldn t believe her eyes.Shequickly told Delilah about the incident leaving Hyde s party. In that case, they deserve each other, don t they? Except that I don t want that Vivienne Weston creatureanywhere near this project.Not as anyone s personal assistant orso-called unofficial understudy, nothing. She sighed, knowing she d have to deal with it.Had Jennifersomehow found out about Vivienne s encounter with her? Whatwas Jennifer up to now?Watching that lowlife of an actress talk to Gail was a lesson inopposites.While Weston glittered like overpolished brass, Gailwas shining steady and pure, a quiet star.As she surreptitiouslywatched, Weston tried to take a phone photo of someone in thecrowd, but Gail put her hand in the way, and said something thatmade Weston stow the phone.How had she ever thought Gail capable of the same kind oflow tricks Weston would try? Jennifer had poisoned her towardactors, that was for sure.They weren t all like that, and sheshouldn t have thought she d never be romantically intrigued byone again.Oh, hell&Horrified at the direction her thoughts had taken, she forcedherself to focus on the party.So Gail Welles was new to the insideof filmmaking, so new she thought every aspect was a treat.Sofresh she could literally dance for joy.So what if being aroundher was proving renewing in unexpected ways, it had nothing todo with feelings outside of their professional relationship, and all148 the mayonnaise and chicken and butter pecan in the world didn tchange that.Feeling off balance, she realized Hyde was going to leave.He d stayed the fifteen minutes she d asked for, purely as a favorto her, and she gave him a sincere hug as they walked to thedoor. I really do appreciate this. Enlightened self-interest, he said. Liar.You re in danger of being found out as a nice guy. You slander me.I thought better of you, he quipped as hewent out the door to his waiting car.She knew that once Hyde left, Jennifer wouldn t linger either,and she d take that Weston creature with her.She hoped so, sinceshe hardly wanted another tête-à-tête with either of them.Shedidn t make it back to the patio though.Jennifer was lounging against the patio door.The light fromthe setting sun limned her body under the thin black silk. HaveI done my part? Yes, and I thank you. Behind Jennifer she could see VivienneWeston still next to Gail at the bar, chattering away. Hyde got a hug.I saw it. Selena shook her head. Not tonight.And your little friend,I have firsthand experience with her attempting a slick bit ofblackmail.There s no way she s getting any kind of role in thefilm or behind the scenes.She either has endless chutzpah forshowing up in a room where I am, or she really doesn t knowwho she tried to rope into her little blackmail scheme. Jennifer left the door, a small frown creasing her forehead. Really? She s someone I met, seemed genuinely eager to learnthe ropes.Kind of fun. I don t care if she s your latest pet or project, I don t wanther near me or G anyone.She was trying to take pictures outthere. I ll take your word for it, Lena.Seriously. Jennifer was onlya few feet away now. Thank you for the warning. When she took one more step toward her, Selena made149 herself not retreat. Are you leaving? I need to get back to theparty.It s time for the pitch. I don t have to leave.I was thinking maybe you and I No.That s not going to happen. I ll send Viv home with my driver. No.We re not doing anything together but make thismovie. She was aware of voices near and didn t want to setanyone s gossip mill in motion, especially not investors. I haveto go back out there now. There s no way you kissed me the way you did and it didn tmean anything. Selena stepped closer so she could lower her voice. It wasgoodbye.Please take your pet with you when you go. It was a good exit line, and she used it as such, sliding aroundJennifer to rejoin the party.Not that she hadn t met some perfectly lovely people, but asAunt Charlie would say, trash was trash.Gail didn t know whothis woman was, but she had already gone from talkative to leech.She d admitted she was there only as Jennifer s guest, then she dtried to take pictures.Now she knew how easy it was for all thoseHollywood gossip sites to get photos from inside parties.As the leechy woman babbled on about her big start inpictures, some slasher movie where she had a line and then aboutninety seconds on screen in the shower, Gail had to remind herselfthat a month ago she d have been happy with a part like that.Sheknew how frustrating it was to get anyone to look at her seriously.Even if she had the money and desire to do it, she d stop beforegrapefruit-sized enhancements, though.The woman next to herhadn t and was proudly displaying the surgeon s handiwork.She let her attention wander, hoping to catch someone s eyeand have an excuse to walk away.She watched Jennifer go throughthe wide open French doors where Selena had disappeared a fewmoments earlier with Hyde.From where she stood, she couldsee them moving closer and closer together, as if they wereirresistibly drawn magnets [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]