Private Lives Part 6

'This is partner's work, Anna. The big time. I wanted to do this job myself, but with the Balon trial happening, it's just not possible.'

Anna nodded.

'I'm happy to take it,' she said, her expression neutral.

'This isn't some jolly to the Med, Anna.'

'I understand.'

'Then I'm sure you also understand that I need the Balon work on my desk before you go.'

'Of course,' said Anna, standing up and walking to the door.

'Oh, and Anna?' said Helen as she was leaving. 'Don't even think about making a single mistake.'

5

Matthew's heart sank the moment he saw Larry's new wife Loralee.

Wearing denim hot pants and jewelled flip-flops, the tall blonde ran up to the hospital ward's reception desk and immediately began shouting.

'Where is my husband? Take me to him at once.'

Call security, thought Matthew, taking a sip of the coffee he had just got from the drinks machine.

Although it had been over twenty-four hours since his father's heart attack, it was the first time that Loralee had visited the hospital. She had had to fly back from Mexico, where she had been on boot camp apparently trying to shift the excess weight she had gained on their month-long honeymoon.

Although the past day had been emotionally fraught, Matthew was glad that he had dealt with it alone. He had only met Loralee on two previous occasions, but he had quickly a.s.sessed that the fourth Mrs Larry Donovan was cut from the exact same cloth as the previous two. Selfish, grasping, young and above all, ambitious. She had been openly furious when Larry had announced his plans for pa.s.sing the business to Matthew. 'Underhand, scheming little s.h.i.t,' were the words she had used, if he remembered correctly. Obviously Loralee had had other plans for Larry's money.

Now he braced himself as the receptionist pointed in his direction.

'h.e.l.lo, Loralee,' he said.

'What the h.e.l.l's been going on?' she said, thumping her Chanel quilt bag on to the seat next to him.

Matthew tried to control himself. He hadn't slept in twenty-four hours and was tired, hungry and drained. The last thing he needed right now was a confrontation.

'Was he drinking?' she snapped. 'Did you let him drink? Did you upset him?'

'Lovely to see you too,' said Matthew.

'Cut the s.h.i.t, Matthew,' she replied, narrowing her blue eyes. 'You knew he had high blood pressure.'

'I didn't, actually,' said Matthew tartly. 'We haven't even exchanged Christmas cards for about a decade, let alone medical histories.'

'So what happened?'

'Look, we were having lunch and he keeled over.'

'Just like that? I don't think so.'

'Well, yes, he had been drinking. You know what he's like.'

'Yes, I do,' said Loralee. 'I know my husband very well and I know he's promised to cut down on his drinking. He must have been agitated.'

Matthew looked away guiltily.

'I knew it!' said Loralee. 'You had a row, didn't you?'

He resented Loralee's implication that he had somehow deliberately brought on his father's heart attack, even if he had spent the last day accusing himself of the same thing. If only he hadn't given his dad such a hard time, if only he hadn't let him drink so much, if only he'd said no to going to lunch; every 'if only' possible had crossed his mind from the moment he had got into the ambulance to the time the doctors had finally told him that Larry was going to be all right. He inhaled deeply, the sterile hospital smell filling his throat.

'There was a heated conversation, yes,' he admitted. 'More of a legal debate really. But Loralee, from what the doctors were saying, he's had some heart problems before. Honestly, I had no idea about the high blood pressure.'

'And would that have made any difference?' she sneered. Matthew noticed with detachment just how white and even her teeth were.

'Of course it would have made a difference. I don't want anything to happen to him, he's my father.'

Loralee laughed mirthlessly.

'Is he? When it suits you, when there's something in it for you.'

The words stung. 'You mean the partnership? Don't be ridiculous. It was Larry who got in touch with me, not the other way around.'

'You expect me to believe that? Rather convenient, isn't it; just when your company is about to go belly up, along comes Daddy out of the blue to offer you the partnership.'

'I don't know what you're implying, but ...'

'I'm not implying anything, Matty Matty,' she said sarcastically. 'I'm stating it as fact. You jumped in and took advantage of a sick old man you don't give a s.h.i.t about.'

'Loralee, listen ...' he said, pulling himself up to his full six-foot-four-inch height. He had a rower's build, honed on the River Cam at university, and could look pretty intimidating when he wanted to be.

'No, you you listen,' she hissed, lowering her voice so they couldn't be overheard. 'I love your father. I want what's best for us. You've had nothing to do with him for the past twenty-five years and he's been fine, absolutely fine. Then the second you come back into his life, he ends up almost dead.' listen,' she hissed, lowering her voice so they couldn't be overheard. 'I love your father. I want what's best for us. You've had nothing to do with him for the past twenty-five years and he's been fine, absolutely fine. Then the second you come back into his life, he ends up almost dead.'

Her words had an unsettling ring of truth. He looked back into the private hospital room where his father lay, pale, weak, the irrepressible life force drained out of him. How could a man who had always been such a towering presence seem so small and meek in his hospital bed? He was glad Larry was sleeping. He would hate the feeling of being like that.

If only I hadn't accepted the partnership.

Matt wasn't a doctor. He had no idea if their argument had directly contributed to the heart attack. But it was inevitable that their working relationship was always going to be tense and destructive. There were clearly too many emotions guilt, resentment for it to be anything else. He knew he should have turned the offer down; for years he had wanted to punish his father, and rejecting Larry's offer would have been a lethal way to do it. But he had taken the partnership for other, selfish reasons, and look where it had got them.

'We've had a difficult relationship, that's true,' he said, feeling his cheeks turn red and angry. 'But don't dare say I don't give a s.h.i.t about him. I've been by his bedside for twenty-four hours. I've had no sleep because he's my dad and of course I care what happens to him. Now can we stop this bickering, because it's not helping and in the scheme of things it doesn't matter.'

Loralee looked away and was silent for a few moments. When her eyes reconnected with his, they were glistening with tears.

'Look. I'm sorry if I flew off the handle, but this is very stressful for me.' Her voice wobbled. Her show of emotion caught him by surprise and he instantly softened.

'I know. I'm sorry too. Come on, why don't I take you down there?'

'No, it's fine. How is he?'

Matthew shook his head.

'He's sleeping. And I could do with some fresh air.'

She looked down the corridor nervously.

'How is he?'

'Don't worry, the doctors say he'll be fine.'

Loralee's eyes searched his.

'I feel awful not being there for him, but I got the first flight I could.'

Matthew nodded.

'He'll just be glad to see you now.'

She touched his arm, stroking it. Her hand lingered long enough for him to think there was something traitorous in her gesture.

'Thanks, Matthew,' she said. 'I think we need to be friends, don't we?'

He nodded, dismissing his paranoia. His father's heart attack had scared him, shocked him into realising there was something worth salvaging in their relationship. It was a time for being open and forgiving. Not cynical and suspicious.

'Sure. Friends,' he said slowly, turning and walking out into the warm summer air.

6

Sam sat back on the white leather seat of the Riva speedboat, his arm around a beautiful model, and sipped his eighth c.o.c.ktail of the day. Okay, so it wasn't a real c.o.c.ktail, but then this whole set-up was completely unreal: he was bobbing on the sparkling sea just off the coast of Capri, a former Pirelli girl named Adrianna was purring in his ear, and best of all, he was getting paid a small fortune to appear in an advert that no one he knew would even see. Still, he felt like a fraud. This Italian drinks commercial should have been like a holiday for him, a chance to lark about and recharge, but instead he felt edgy, distracted, as if he was watching someone else clink gla.s.ses and laugh and look relaxed and carefree for the crew.

'Cut!' shouted Dino the director. 'The light is no good. We stop until tomorrow.'

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure for how much longer he could keep a cheesy smile pasted on his face, even with Adrianna running her fingers across his chest.

'You want to go out for supper, Sam?' she said, tipping her head seductively to one side. 'My grandfather is from Capri. I can show you around.'

He was tempted to say yes Adrianna was drop-dead gorgeous and her cascade of coffee-coloured hair was tickling his shoulder but it was that kind of thinking that had got him into this mess in the first place.

'I'm sorry, Adrianna,' he said, 'but I have a meeting this evening. Legal stuff, very boring.'

The model's smile faded rejection was clearly something she was not used to.

'And I guess we don't want to make Jessica angry, do we?' she said b.i.t.c.hily.

Sam smarted at the jibe, but he had to agree with the sentiment. Actually, no, he thought. We really don't want to make her angry. That was why he had been desperately working with his manager and his new lawyer to contain this s.h.i.t storm, and why he had been letting Jessica's calls ring through to message.

The speedboat circled back to a gleaming sixty-metre yacht moored off Capri's Marina Piccolo. He climbed on board and slipped into a towelling robe being held out for him by an attractive young stylist.

'Call for you,' said Josh, his PA, holding up his mobile. Unlike most high-profile Hollywood actors, Sam had held back from getting a PA until very recently. Now he had one, he admitted that it made his life considerably easier, although the thought that Josh might know about his indiscretion probably did made him feel sick. The fact that the whole world might soon know if he didn't cough up half a million quid that made him feel worse.

'Who is it?'

'Wouldn't say,' shrugged Josh. 'Female caller, very insistent. Says it's urgent, personal business.'

Sam frowned, took the mobile and made his way to the stateroom on the mezzanine level of the yacht, hoping it was the lawyer what was her name? Helen something? She was due any minute. Eli had rea.s.sured him the situation was under control, but he would feel much more secure hearing it from an expert.

'Hey, it's Sam,' he said when the door was closed.

'It's Katie.'

Immediately Sam could feel his pulse start to flutter. What the h.e.l.l did she want now? If he was honest, he hadn't been all that surprised when Katie had called two days ago. Stupidly he'd given her his card, and to be frank, why wouldn't she call? He He would have done. Any struggling thesp worth their salt would try to use whatever contacts they could to get a foot up on the ladder and who better than a Hollywood star: correction, a would have done. Any struggling thesp worth their salt would try to use whatever contacts they could to get a foot up on the ladder and who better than a Hollywood star: correction, a guilty guilty Hollywood star? He had been muttering something about getting her a meeting with Eli when Katie had dropped the bombsh.e.l.l. Hollywood star? He had been muttering something about getting her a meeting with Eli when Katie had dropped the bombsh.e.l.l.

'I want five hundred grand,' she had said, as if she was asking for a signed photograph. 'I have pictures. Very intimate pictures. I don't think Jessica will want to see them. Certainly not on the front page of the New York Post New York Post.'

He had hung up and called Eli, who had put it into the hands of this lawyer with the attack-dog reputation. Wasn't she supposed to put a stop to this? He stared at himself in a full-length mirror. In his oversized robe, he looked vulnerable. Scared. Which was exactly how he felt.

'What do you want now, Katie?' he said, trying to sound confident and in control.

'I thought I made that clear,' she said coldly. 'I want the money. Where is it?'

Sam frowned.

'I thought my manager was going to-'

'I said I wanted the money by five o'clock,' she snapped. 'Don't try and stall me.'

'Katie, these things take time,' said Sam soothingly. 'I can't just magic the sort of cash you're asking for out of thin air.'

'Oh sure. I bet you have that much in your wallet.'

Sam rubbed his eyes. How could he have been so wrong about this girl? That night at the party the bits he could remember and the morning in the hotel, Katie had seemed smart, sa.s.sy, decent. It was what had attracted him to her in the first place. He could understand her wanting to make the most of the situation, but this was insane. Wasn't it?

'Why are you doing this, Katie?' he said softly. 'I thought we got along that night. I said I'd help you out as much as I could.'

'Yeah, right,' she said sarcastically. 'Like you were ever going to call me.'

'But this is blackmail,' he said. 'I could go straight to the police. Do you want that?'