B00CAXBD9C EBOK

  She was shivering.

  ‘Lead the way to the shower,’ he said. ‘I don’t want you catching cold. Strip off slowly. I want to capture it all.’

  He followed her into the bathroom with his cameras, catching every moment as she wriggled out of her wet clothes and secured her hair with a couple of pins. Next she stood under the shower, her body gleaming as the rivulets of water hit her.

  He said, ‘Lean back, close your eyes, just let the water fall over you. Great! Bring your arms up behind your head. Lovely, darling, that’s lovely.’

  They finished in the bathroom and Giles said, ‘Now for some stuff in the bedroom, and then we should have it made.’

  She put on a filmy black chiffon robe trimmed with feathers and let her hair down. The robe was transparent, casting a black haze over her body.

  ‘Lie right in the middle of the bed, bring your head up, bend one knee ever so slightly, no, your left knee, darling – that’s it. Wet your lips and give me the look. No, that’s too hard, a soft look like you just made it.’ He took a few shots and then put his camera down. ‘Listen, you want these pictures to look really good?’

  ‘Of course I do – what’s the matter?’ She sat up, her perfect breasts falling free of the robe.

  ‘You just haven’t got the right look, you’re trying too hard. You gotta relax, kid.’

  She stretched. ‘I’m relaxed.’

  ‘Yeah. I know, but you know what I want – I want the cat-that-just-got-the-cream look.’

  ‘So give me the cream…’ She reached for him.

  ‘Just what I had in mind.’

  They made love easily, slowly, almost offhandedly, and afterward he got quickly up and picked up his camera. ‘Stay just as you are. That’s perfect. Now you look authentic!’

  * * *

  David phoned Claudia at five o’clock. He had been trying to make up his mind whether to take her along with Mr. Taylor of Fulla Beans or not. Eventually he had decided it would be better not to, as he would pay more attention to her than to Mr. Taylor, and that would defeat the purpose of the whole outing.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

  She giggled. ‘Just lying around.’

  He told her about the evening ahead and she said, ‘That’s all right, I’ll find something to do.’

  ‘Why don’t you get an early night? I’ll wake you when I get in.’

  She suddenly laughed. ‘Hey, David, I feel like a wife. Are you sure you haven’t got some hot little number standing by your side?’

  ‘Honestly, Claudia, don’t be so stupid.’

  She laughed. ‘Don’t worry about it, I wouldn’t mind. Anything you can do, I can do too.’

  ‘It’s a business dinner. Now, what are you going to do?’

  She paused, then said, ‘The President of America.’

  ‘What?’

  She laughed again. ‘I’m only joking. Go on, I believe you. Have a nice dinner. I shall probably ask a few people over, and we’ll sit around and wait for your esteemed return.’

  ‘All right,’ he said reluctantly. ‘An early night would do you much more good.’

  ‘You’re beginning to sound so uptight.’ She mimicked his voice. ‘An early night would do you much more good!’

  He ignored her comment. ‘I’ll phone you later. Be good.’

  ‘Yes, sir. Anything else, sir?’

  ‘Good-bye.’ He put the phone down, annoyed at the way she spoke to him. Annoyed by the fact that he was still so jealous of her. Annoyed by the fact she was going to ask people over. He would have to try and find Mr. Taylor a randy hostess and get rid of him early. He went into his private bathroom to change his shirt and shave.

  Miss Field knocked nervously to say good night, and he rewarded her with a glimpse of his naked chest. She blushed deeply, and he wondered idly if she had ever been laid. He really couldn’t imagine it. She wore long, knee-length pink bloomers which he had noticed when she sat opposite him taking dictation. Also she was flat-chested, and who would want to lay a flat-chested, ugly girl? Once he had screwed the most horrifying-looking girl, cross-eyed, bad teeth, acne, but she had had the best and biggest knockers he’d ever seen and wild legs. She had been a great lay, too, but he hadn’t bothered to see her again. That face was too much.

  David had met Mr. Taylor once before, briefly. He was fat and middle-aged with thinning brown hair plastered neatly to his scalp to give the impression that it wasn’t thinning at all, but just grew that way. He had a thick Lancashire accent and a thick Lancashire wife with two matching sons. He was a bore.

  David met him in the bar of his hotel. He had been drinking lager beer but switched to Scotch as soon as David arrived. David tried to be charming – but Burt Taylor’s idea of charming was a person who drank fast and told an everlasting run of dirty stories.

  David tried to please, and Burt rewarded him with hearty guffaws and conspiratorial winks. By the time they arrived at the restaurant, David was well on the way and Burt already there – drunk, that is.

  David tried to insert a little business into the conversation, but Burt switched it neatly back to the subject of sex by remarking how he bet David had a lot of hot ones passing through his job.

  ‘All those little model girls,’ Burt said, ‘that’s how they get the job, by sleeping with you, isn’t it?’ David didn’t argue.

  Eventually they left the restaurant with Burt singing snatches of old rugby songs.

  David patted him on the back. ‘Let’s go and have some fun.’

  They went to a plush nightclub filled with tired, painted hostesses and jocular, lecherous, out-of-town businessmen on expense accounts. The maitre d’, a smooth, suave Cypriot, asked if they would care to meet two nice young ladies.

  ‘Yes,’ Burt boomed. ‘Only make sure they’re not all that nice.’ He roared with laughter.

  A few minutes later two girls arrived at their table. One was tall and buxom, with red hair and a strapless green velvet dress; she was about thirty. The other was smaller and slightly timid-looking – in spite of a dress cut low enough to reveal almost all of her scrawny bosom. She was very young.

  They both tried to attach themselves to David, but he excused himself from the table, realizing he hadn’t phoned Claudia.

  A man answered the phone, and he was told to hang on while the mystery voice located Claudia. ‘Shit!’ David mumbled. There was so much noise and music coming through the receiver. What was going on? He hung on grimly, feeling the alcohol pounded out of his body by a sudden mad anger. By the time Claudia spoke he felt almost sober.

  ‘Hi, darling,’ she cooed. ‘Where are you? I’m having a marvellous time. It turned into a party.’

  ‘Who answered the phone? Who’s there?’

  ‘I don’t know, heaps of people. Hurry home, baby.’ And she hung up.

  He stood in the booth for a few minutes, then, intent on getting rid of Burt Taylor, he hurried back to the table.

  Burt had ordered champagne, naturally, since David would be paying the check. The two hostesses were flanking him on either side, and he looked blissfully happy.

  David thought the best thing to do was to get hold of the big brassy redhead and proposition her to take Mr. Burt Taylor off somewhere. He obviously preferred her to the younger one.

  There was a corny Latin-American band playing. ‘How about a dance?’ he said to the redhead.

  She smelled heavily of cheap perfume and pressed herself groin to groin with him. ‘I like you,’ she lisped.

  He managed to push her away a little. ‘Hey, listen, you want to make yourself some money?’

  She looked interested while he explained the proposition. They bargained, reached an agreement, and sat down, David carefully slipping her the money beforehand.

  Burt Taylor seemed put out. He took David to one side.

  ‘I saw her first, boyo. I don’t want the skinny bit.’

  David smiled. This was going to be easy. ‘It’s all right, she can’t stop talki
ng about you. You’ve got it made.’

  ‘In that case…’ Burt leered, ‘we won’t be wasting much more time here.’

  David reckoned another half an hour and he would be home. He patted Burt on the shoulder. ‘I’ll get the check,’ he said.

  * * *

  There were photographers outside the court waiting for Linda. The fact that Claudia Parker had been named as the other woman made the case newsworthy.

  ‘Over here,’ one of them called.

  Linda rushed straight ahead, her lawyer gripping her arm. The cameras clicked.

  ‘What do they want?’ she questioned. ‘Can’t they leave people alone? I’m nobody.’

  Her lawyer hailed a passing taxi and pushed her in. ‘It’s best for you to get away from here. Congratulations again. We’ll be in touch with you.’

  ‘Don’t you want a lift?’ she said, trying to delay being left on her own.

  ‘No. My office is just around the corner. Thank you all the same. Good-bye, Mrs. Cooper.’ He was gone, and the taxi was moving off down the street.

  ‘Where to, lady?’ asked the cab driver.

  She sat there in a daze. It had all happened so quickly, it was like a dream.

  ‘Where to, lady?’ the cab driver repeated impatiently.

  She didn’t feel like rushing straight to the station. She felt like a drink and a cigarette and a half-hour of quiet relaxation. ‘The Dorchester,’ she said. It was the first place that came to mind.

  The bar was fairly crowded, mostly with businessmen, but she found a secluded table, ordered a sherry, and sat back to enjoy it. She decided she would have lunch there. It was good to be on her own. She would order smoked salmon, fresh strawberries with cream, maybe even drink champagne.

  ‘It is Linda Cooper, isn’t it?’

  She looked up, hesitated, and then said, ‘Jay – Jay Grossman. Why, I would hardly have recognized you. What a wonderful tan.’

  He sat down, smiling. ‘I just got in from Israel. How are you? It’s been months and months.’

  ‘I’m fine.’ She smiled back at him.

  ‘And David?’

  ‘David? I don’t really know. I just divorced him about half an hour ago.’

  Jay looked surprised. ‘You really did it, then. Was it about that night?’

  She nodded. ‘Yes, it was about that night. He’s living with her now.’

  ‘Wow, you certainly mean what you say.’

  ‘How is Lori?’

  ‘Lori is very happy. Lori is married to a Texas oil tycoon who buys her two mink coats a week, so she’s very happy.’

  ‘You mean you’ve divorced too?’

  ‘Yes, I’m divorced yet again. We do these things quickly in the States. She went to Nevada and shed me in six weeks. Extreme mental cruelty, I think she said. Then she married this other man the very next day. The only good thing is she didn’t knock me for any alimony or settlements, so I was lucky. Supporting the other two exes costs me enough.’ He laughed. ‘Are you meeting anyone?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘What about having lunch with me?’

  She smiled. She liked Jay. ‘I’d love to.’

  ‘Good.’ He stood up. ‘I’ve just got to rearrange a few things. I’ll be right back.’

  After he left, Linda quickly took out her compact. She studied her face and added more lipstick. She wished she looked a bit more glamorous, but she had deliberately dressed down to appear in court. Jay was a very attractive man. Since separating from David, Linda had only been out on one date, partly because her lawyer had warned her not to, and partly because she didn’t want to. The episode with Paul had left its mark, and she preferred to stay at home or visit married friends. The one evening she had gone out had been a bore. And to add insult to injury, her date had expected her to go to bed with him. Divorcees, she gathered from him, were supposed to include sex in the evening’s activities.

  Jay returned to the table. ‘Everything’s under control. Where would you like to eat?’

  They decided to stay where they were. They moved into the restaurant, and Jay entertained her with amusing anecdotes about the location and idle gossip about the people involved. He took her hand over coffee and said, ‘My God, it’s nice to be with someone who has a brain and not just a body. You know, I really like you. Linda, you’re a nice person.’

  She smiled a little stiffly. She didn’t want Jay to think of her as such a nice person. Nice was such a dull word, it conjured up twinsets and sensible shoes.

  He looked at his watch. ‘Wow – it’s nearly three o’clock. I’ve got to rush.’ He called for the check. ‘Let me drop you at the station. I’ve got a studio car.’

  ‘No, it’s out of your way. I can easily get a cab.’

  ‘If you insist. I’ll put you in the cab, though.’

  They left the restaurant and walked through the lobby, where Jay was hailed by a couple standing there. The woman was tall, blond, and pretty. The man short, stocky, and red-faced.

  The man said, ‘Oh, Mr. Grossman, sorry you couldn’t make lunch. This is my client, Miss Susan Standish.’

  Miss Susan Standish smiled a direct smile at Jay. She had very small white teeth and looked even prettier when smiling.

  Jay smiled back. Linda saw his eyes flicker with interest as they swept over Miss Susan Standish. Tall, pretty blondes were obviously his type.

  ‘I’ll be right back,’ he said, and took Linda to the entrance.

  He made no comment about the couple he had obviously stood up for lunch. He kissed her on the cheek. ‘Linda, let’s do this again sometime. When will you be back?’

  ‘Thank you for a lovely lunch, Jay. I’ll be home on Monday.’

  He saw her into a cab. ‘I’ll talk to you then,’ he said.

  * * *

  The phone rang and Claudia stretched languorously across the bed and picked it up. She spoke briefly, and with a grin she hung up.

  ‘Baby,’ she said to Giles, ‘tonight we can have good times. David won’t be home till late!’

  Giles said, ‘What are we waiting for? Let’s have a party. Get on the phone. Call the liquor store first.’

  They picked out names at random. Giles would say, ‘Remember that kooky little girl who always wore those terrible thigh-length black boots…’ and they tracked her down, inviting another half-dozen people en route. Claudia changed into a startling silver-lamé cat suit. Giles snatched a nap, sprawled across her bed, and eventually people began to appear.

  By the time David phoned again the party was in full swing. Claudia was completely stoned. She didn’t even know who half the people were. The music was so loud that the tenants in the apartment below had complained three times. They had stopped phoning, as the last time a beautifully spoken debutante had told them exactly what to do in explicit detail. She was now accommodating an out-of-work window cleaner on the couch in full view of everyone.

  ‘Great party!’ Giles said. ‘What happens when big daddy comes walking in?’

  ‘Big daddy’s going to have to join in the fun, or big daddy can walk right on out again.’

  ‘Darling, sweetie pie – how divine of you to invite me.’

  Claudia blinked, focusing slowly. ‘Shirley, baby, how are you?’

  ‘I’m fine, simply fine. Just got back from the most divine holiday.’

  ‘You look wonderful, all that crazy suntan. Where’s the Honourable whatnot?’

  ‘Ditched him, darling. I’ve got the most divine man now, simply a poppet. You’ll be amazed.’

  ‘Grab a drink and join in the fun. It’s all happening here…’ She trailed off as an Italian waiter type grabbed her from behind. ‘You is beautiful,’ he said. ‘I eat you up.’

  ‘Really,’ Shirley said, ‘it looks like you’re in good hands. I’ll see you later, sweetie.’ She left Claudia struggling with the Italian.

  Claudia had never seen him before. ‘Leave me alone, you oaf,’ she said.

  He was very strong. ‘You beautif
ul,’ he said proudly. Obviously his English vocabulary was limited. He twisted her around in his arms and kissed her.

  ‘Your breath stinks!’ she exclaimed, still struggling.

  He held her even tighter and kissed her again.

  It was at this moment that David appeared. He stood furiously in the doorway of the apartment, spotted Claudia immediately, and, striding across the room, he hauled the Italian away from her – smashing his fist into his face.

  The man slumped to the floor, blood seeping from his nose.

  David then turned his attention to Claudia. ‘You fucking tramp,’ he said, and brought his arm back-handedly across her face.

  Nobody really noticed what was going on. The music was too loud and they were all too stoned.

  ‘Get these dregs out of here,’ David snarled.

  She rubbed her cheek, her eyes huge and filled with tears – more from pain than from anything else. ‘You sonofabitch,’ she screamed. ‘How dare you hit me – how dare you?’

  ‘I’ll do what I want to you. I bought you, didn’t I? Now get this damned place clear.’

  ‘You can go to hell and back, you bastard.’ She bent to the Italian and cradled his head in her arms.

  ‘I’m warning you, Claudia, you’re pushing me too far.’

  She ignored him.

  He stood for a few seconds, then said, ‘Right.’ He marched into the bedroom.

  It was at this particular moment that Giles was reaching a hard-fought-for climax with a skinny redhead. It was unfortunate that it happened to be right in the middle of David’s bed.

  David swore loudly, but nothing bothered Giles. He kept on going, although the girl squeaked and attempted to object.

  David grimly took a suitcase from the top of a cupboard. He methodically sorted his clothes from Claudia’s, packing as much as he could.

  Giles and the girl got up. She glared at David as she rearranged her clothes. ‘Some people just don’t care,’ she muttered. ‘They barge in anywhere.’

  Giles made a mock bow. ‘Performance over, next show at four o’clock.’

  They walked out of the bedroom.

  David locked the door behind them and continued packing. He finally filled three suitcases. His mind was cold with anger.