Jackie Collins - The Power Trip

‘Make yourself at home,’ Cliff said caustically. ‘Can I get you anything? Coffee? A drink?’

Unphased, Enid sat up, slipped on her Nurse Ratched shoes and said, ‘It took you long enough. I almost fell asleep.’

‘So sorry my rehearsal kept you waiting,’ Cliff said, full of sarcasm.

‘I’ve got to get back to the office,’ Enid said, thrusting a sheaf of papers at him. ‘Sign these.’

‘What am I signing?’

‘For God’s sake, if you want me to explain I’ll be here all day. Your business manager sent them over. They’re for your recent real-estate acquisitions.’

Cliff knew he could trust Enid, she would never try to put anything past him.

‘If I sign, will you give me my couch back?’

‘My pleasure,’ Enid snorted. ‘This trailer smells like feet.’

‘You’re not supposed to speak to movie stars like that. Our feet do not stink. Besides, you’re the one who had her shoes off.’

‘Oh, please!’ Enid said, waving an invitation at Cliff. ‘What do you want me to do about this?’

Cliff took the elaborate invitation and scanned it quickly. ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Wouldn’t miss it. Go ahead and accept.’

‘Just for you?’

‘Put your bitch back in the bag, Enid,’ he said. ‘Answer for me and Lori, she’ll get a kick out of a trip like this.’

Enid sighed. This one was lasting longer than the others. Lori must have hidden talents that only Cliff knew about.

‘Whatever pleases my lord and master.’

Cliff chuckled. ‘Get the fuck outta here before I kick your crusty old ass to the curb.’

Enid packed up her papers and left.

After a few minutes Cliff put his head outside his trailer to see who was around. Sometimes he was able to pull together a bunch of the guys and they used their downtime playing softball.

Today there was nobody around. Except… who was that approaching?

Oh shit, it was his co-star in the movie. Billy Melina, a hot young movie star with naked ambition eating away at him. A ready-to-rock stud at the top of his game. Exactly like I used to be , Cliff thought wryly.

They’d only had a few scenes together, so they were hardly friends.

Cliff watched Billy approach. He couldn’t help wondering if Billy was headed for an almost thirty-year career like his. He doubted it. Everything was different today. The paparazzi ruled. The magazines printed anything they felt like. There were no studio heads and powerful managers around to protect their clients. TMZ ran riot on any star who left the sanctuary of their home.

No. In ten years when Billy hit forty he’d be long forgotten, while Cliff would still be in the game, for he had no plans to retire. He was an up and at ’em kind of guy. Like Redford and De Niro he had no intention of ever quitting; he was in the race until the end.

‘Hey,’ Billy said, all bronzed hard body and dirty-blond surfer hair. ‘Wassup?’

‘Nothing much,’ Cliff responded. ‘You?’

‘Same old crap,’ Billy said, flexing his muscles. ‘Just tryin’ t’stay outta the rags.’

‘Yeah,’ Cliff said, thinking that Billy Melina was one handsome son of a bitch. ‘I know the feeling.’ He hesitated for a moment. Should he invite the younger actor into his trailer to shoot the shit, or should he let it go?

Let it go , his inner voice warned him. Do you really want to hear all about Billy’s divorce from the very famous Venus ? Or the Vegas murder scandal the kid had been vaguely involved in ?

No. He had better things to do.

‘See you on the set,’ he said, retreating back into his trailer.

‘Yeah, man,’ Billy said. ‘Later.’

Cliff hit the couch again and reached for his cell. Might as well see what Lori was up to. Maybe even invite her to visit him on set.

Yes, he’d do that, tell her about the invitation.

Little Lori was going to be so excited.

‘Aha!’ Suga exclaimed, descending on Luca like a full-blown cyclone, all mountains of blond curls, bouncy breasts and jiggling hips encased in a bright orange and green low-cut jumpsuit, with sky-high gold Louboutins on her tiny feet — the only small thing about her. ‘How’s my favorite Baby Daddy?’

Suga was an over-the-top voluptuous diva with a steamroller personality. She looked exactly like her fans would expect her to look, and they adored her for it.

Luca rolled off his sunbed and stood up, allowing his ex-wife to envelop him in her generous curves. He got a whiff of her strong signature perfume and many fond memories came flooding back. Ah yes, the day she’d discovered him and plucked him from obscurity. The day they’d first made love. And most important of all, the day he’d stood in her recording studio and cut his first single.

Suga hugged him so tightly he could barely breathe, showering him with wet jammy kisses as was her way.

Luca was glad Jeromy wasn’t around to witness his ex-wife’s display of affection. He knew it pissed Jeromy off that Suga was still such a big part of his life. Too bad. As far as Luca was concerned, it was something that would never change. He owed everything to Suga. Without her there was no way he would have risen to become the star he was today — the blond, blue-eyed Latin singing sensation that Suga had introduced to the world.

‘You’re back early,’ he remarked, gently extracting himself from her clutches. ‘Thought you weren’t due home until next week. What happened?’

Suga pulled a face. ‘My manager — he cancelled the Sao Paulo concert. The ticket sales — they were not so fantastic.’

‘Must be the economy,’ Luca said without taking a beat. ‘Ticket sales are down across the board.’

Suga patted his cheek affectionately. ‘Not for you, mi amor .’

‘For everyone,’ Luca assured her, although he suspected it wasn’t true. On his last concert tour, ticket sales had hit an all-time high.

He hated the fact that Suga’s star was starting to fade. What could be do about it?

‘Where is my other tesoro ?’ Suga demanded, hands on ample hips. ‘I have to hug my little Luca junior.’

‘He’s out playing soccer with some of his friends.’

‘Too bad,’ she said, pursing her lips. ‘I must go fetch him.’

‘No way,’ Luca said, hurriedly shaking his head. ‘The kid’s nine, he’ll be embarrassed if you descend on him, you know what he’s like.’

‘Embarrassed! Ha!’ Suga snorted. ‘I am his mama. I could never embarrass my little baby.’

‘Let’s get together for dinner tonight, just the three of us,’ Luca suggested, knowing that Luca junior would be mortified if Suga turned up at his soccer game in all her glory. ‘We’ll have fun.’

‘ Si ?’ she said, raising an artfully pencilled eyebrow. ‘And where is Mister Stick Up His Ass?’

‘If you’re talking about Jeromy, he’s in London, back tomorrow.’

‘Ah,’ Suga sighed. ‘ Me vuelves loco ! You have so many beautiful boys to choose from, an’ yet you stay with someone so… dry.’

‘You need to get to know him better,’ Luca said calmly. ‘We should hang out, spend more time together.’

‘I don’t think so, mi amor ,’ Suga said, shaking her curls. ‘He doesn’t like me. I don’t like him.’

‘Why can’t you two get along?’

‘Because Jeromy is not the man for you.’ A meaningful pause. ‘You will see. You will learn.’

Luca shrugged. ‘Nothing to learn. I know everything there is to know about him.’