Nick spent the morning at the gym with his brother Daniel. Because they were both on TV, they were deeply aware of their images.
Daniel ran on the treadmill while Nick worked his arms and shoulders on the free weights.
Afterward, they showered and went to their favorite corner café which offered the best enchiladas in Studio City.
“How are the wedding plans going?” Nick asked as he dug into the food.
“Do you know how crazy it is trying to plan a mobile wedding?”
“Not a clue,” Nick said with a shake of his head.
“Getting married on a float on New Year’s Day during the running of the Rose Parade has fun built into it, but I’d be just as happy eloping to Vegas.” Daniel simply groaned. “Nina, Kenzie and Greer and her sisters are talking about a girls’ weekend in New York for dress shopping. And florists all over the world are competing for the wedding bouquets and table arrangements at the reception. If we handle this right we don’t have to pay for flowers. I saw the bill for the flowers for Nina’s wedding so I’m cool with that.”
Nick knew the wedding was going to be spectacular and flowers would play a prominent role—especially given Greer’s profession.
Nick’s phone rang. The display showed Levi Goldblum, top exec at the network. “I have to take this.”
“Be in my office at two,” Levi said and hung up.
“That was quick,” Daniel said.
“Mr. Personality.”
“Oh, Levi.”
Nick pushed back from the table. “If I don’t leave now, I’ll be late.” He reached into his pocket for his wallet.
Daniel held up a hand. “Don’t worry about lunch, I’ll get it.”
Nick thanked his brother and headed for his car.
* * *
Levi Goldblum was a slim man, medium height, in his late twenties, dressed in an Italian suit that fit him like a glove. He sported a neatly trimmed beard, black-rimmed glasses, and reminded Nick of a well-dressed dork. Levi was hungry, ambitious and ruthless. Someday, he would be running the network from the penthouse office above him. Currently, he was senior vice-president of programming and he’d taken a chance on Nick’s show on the strength of Nick’s talent.
Levi’s huge office was at the top of the network’s thirty-story building and situated in a corner with wide views of Los Angeles. A huge desk dominated the room with a circular black leather sofa large enough to seat ten people in one corner, bookcases along one wall and a full bar and galley kitchen along the other wall.
“Sit,” Levi ordered pointing at the sofa. “Coffee on the table.”
Nick poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned back waiting while Levi paced back and forth with the suppressed energy of a hungry tiger.
“I don’t like failures,” Levi said.
Tell me a surprise. “Nobody does.”
“Having Roxanne Deveraux on your show is a ratings coup. She hasn’t really been in the public eye for over a decade and she’s still in demand. She turns down more than she accepts and still everybody loves her even when she plays a corpse.”
Nick felt confused. “What’s the problem?”
“The bottom line is always money.” Levi settled in the chair opposite Nick. “Her parents own the rights to a script for a TV movie which they sent to her. I had a chance to look it over and it’s a good script. It’s topical and sexy. It has a murder and the internet. All the things that make life worth living. No one hates to deal with crazy more than me. But I smell money and this—” Levi put a finger against his nose “—is never wrong.”
Nick had to agree. Levi could smell money like a pig could smell truffles. When Nick and Mike had first shopped Celebrity Dance around the only person interested was Levi and Nick owed him for that chance at redemption. Celebrity Dance was a success and nothing said forgiveness like success.
“So what do you want from me?”
“The parents are playing hardball with the script and don’t want to move forward with a development deal without Roxanne in the leading role. They aren’t exactly wrong, she’d be great in it, even though we both know there are plenty of other actresses who’d jump at the part.”
Nick raised his eyebrows. “Did you tell them that?”
Levi looked nonplussed. “What do you think? Nick, I don’t like being backed in a corner—certainly by two wannabe hacks like Hannah and Eli Devereaux—but I want that script. Take Roxanne’s pulse. See how she feels about doing the movie.”
Nick already knew how she felt. “I’ll talk to her, because I owe you, but I don’t think she’s really interested.”
Levi was pragmatic. “Do your best. She’s either going to say yes or say no. Just give it a try.”
“And you’ll accept her decision, whatever it is?”
Levi gave Nick a long look. “Number one, you won’t owe me anymore. Celebrity Dance turned out a lot better than I expected. Trust me, your show will keep me on top for a couple more years.”
Yeah. The life expectancy for someone in Levi’s position was around ten years unless they had more gold mines in the wings. “I’ll talk to her.”
Roxanne would be hurt because she’d just started to trust him and he had the feeling she would see this as a betrayal, but he couldn’t change what he couldn’t change. Trust was a marketable commodity. It wasn’t given easily or lightly.
He knew that compromise was the rule in this game. A lot of people had to be made happy. He only hoped she would be okay with him broaching the subject with her. He owed Levi for taking a chance on Celebrity Dance, so doing this favor for him was important.
“I know their history with their daughter and trust me, my sympathies are with Roxanne Deveraux, but...” Levi’s voice trailed away as he frowned with whatever thought occurred to him.
Nick did understand. Show business was all about money, no matter how pretty it looked on the outside. God, he only hoped Roxanne remembered that and didn’t blame him.
Levi sighed. “My hands are tied. And I’m not giving up on what I want without exhausting every option.”
“I’m going to say this again, but I don’t think she’s ever going to agree to work with them.” He knew she wouldn’t quit Celebrity Dance. She’d probably find a way to break her ankle before she’d allow her parents to exploit her again.
“She signed a contract to help promote Celebrity Dance. She’s a professional and will do what needs to be done.”
“I can’t do this to her,” Nick said quietly. “Roxanne is a nice woman. It’s not her fault her parents...are...difficult.” Difficult was the only word he could say about them without sounding crude. Hell, he wanted to be her hero. He wanted to date her. Where the hell did that thought come from? Damn, he was in trouble. He couldn’t get personal with her. That would break rules one through ten. Don’t date a partner, ever.
“I know,” Levi said. “I like Roxanne Deveraux, too. She’s always been bankable. People look at her and remember her as that cute little girl with the smart lines on Family Tree. She can have any kind of future she wants in this business. Even I’ve thrown her a few roles throughout the years, but she always passed. Maybe her stint on Celebrity Dance means she’s ready to step back into leading roles.”
“I don’t think so. Having to deal with Hannah and Eli isn’t on her plate at the moment.”
“Don’t be so sure. Blood is thicker than water and I’ve seen some of the bitterest family breakups in this business healed with the right opportunity at the right time. I’m willing to throw her parents a lifeline in order to get her, but I’m not drowning so they can live.”
“Maybe you better talk to Roxanne instead of me.”
Levi smirked at Nick. “Not a chance.”
“Chicken.”
Levi laughed. “I’m vegan, that’s why I like to save chickens. I’m sorry I have to put you in this position and I’m even sorrier Roxanne has barracuda for parents, but you can’t tell anyone I said that. It will ruin my reputation.”
Nick nodded. “My lips are zipped.” Nick stood and they shook hands, his estimation of Levi’s character went up a couple notches. “You like her, don’t you?” Nick said as he walked to the door.
“One time,” Levi said with a wistful expression on his face, “she was the romantic fantasy of a pimply-faced boy.”
“You just went to an uncomfortable place.”
Levi laughed. “I realize I have the reputation of being a cold, heartless reptile, but once upon a time I had feelings.”
“I think you still have a feeling or two.”
“Don’t tell anyone.” Levi slapped Nick on the back, opened the door and grinned. “I’ll be in touch.” He closed the door.
Nick was surprised at Levi’s honesty. Levi was a company man who made decisions based on company policy and kept his eye on the bottom line. With Roxanne, he thought Levi was still that pimply-faced boy in love with a beautiful, lovable TV star and Nick would work with that.
Nick nodded at Levi’s assistant as he headed for the elevator. His dinner with Roxanne was going to be very uncomfortable.
* * *
Roxanne was almost in heaven over her dress for the first show. She stood in front of the mirror staring. The wardrobe mistress, Fay Benson, grinned at her. Fay was a tiny woman with impeccable taste. She’d studied fashion design in Paris, but brought her skills to Hollywood instead of working for one of the big fashion houses.
“The dress is beautiful and perfect on you.” Fay stepped back to eye her critically.
Roxanne couldn’t stop staring. Ginger Rogers, eat your heart out. Her gown wasn’t an exact replica, but close. The strapless bodice hugged her tightly, showing off her toned shoulders and arms, but the full skirt of feathers danced around her legs like it had a life of its own. Instead of the original white, the gown was a deep scarlet.
“I love it.” Nick had told her she would.
“Nick has terrific taste.” Fay tweaked the dress around Roxanne’s hips. “It’s a little loose. You’ve lost weight.”
“And here I thought little elves were holding it up.”
“Some double-sided tape will take care of the girls.” Fay winked at her. “Don’t worry. I’ve never had an unplanned wardrobe malfunction.”
“I’ve never had a wardrobe malfunction ever.”
Fay laughed. “You’ve never needed one.”
Roxanne trusted Fay and had worked with her before when she’d been nominated for an Emmy for costume design.
“Now that you’re all grown up,” Fay said walking around Roxanne, “I can really dress you. I’ve been dying to do so for years.”
When Fay dressed her, she put Roxanne in elegant, age-appropriate clothes. In an industry where the right dress could make or break a woman’s career, Roxanne was thankful to have Fay’s vision.
She may not want to be a huge star anymore, but she didn’t want to look ridiculous, either.
Hitting the right steps without falling on her face was worry enough.
“I thought what you did at sixteen took a lot of courage. Most sixteen-year-old kids don’t know their butt from a hole in the ground, but you took control of your life and didn’t go off the deep end, unlike some child stars I could name like Maddie, whose last name I can’t remember, from Maddie’s Mad World.”
“Yeah, she was a hotbed of crazy.”
“She still is,” Fay said.
“I have so missed working with you.”
“You need to stay on the show for the entire season. I want to see you win the grand prize.”
Roxanne nodded hoping for the best.
* * *
The kitchen smelled wonderful. Roxanne peeked in the oven at the pot roast. Her grandmother chopped salad while Roxanne set the table.
She loved her huge country kitchen. Two sets of French doors opened to a brick patio, pool and spa. A fireplace dominated one wall with two chairs and a sofa flanking it. Over the fireplace hung a flat-screen TV which swung out to reveal the electronics set into the wall behind it. A snack bar separated the family room from the kitchen.
Her favorite colors were green and blue, and they were both reflected in the furnishings and kitchen where the walls were a peacock green contrasting with the stark white cabinets. A door next to the refrigerator led to a walk-through pantry and the formal dining area beyond.
“Do you want me to disappear for the evening?” Donna asked after she covered the salad bowl with plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator.
Stunned for a moment, she had to think of her answer. Yes, she did, but knew it would be the wrong choice. “This is business, not romance,” Roxanne said. “You don’t have to leave.”
“You like him.”
Roxanne sighed. She was so busted. Impossible to keep much from her grandmother. Most of the time that was a good thing, but at the moment, not so much. “What’s not to like. He’s fun, personable, talented and...”
“Pretty to look at,” her grandma half sang.
“...and nice. He likes to read.”
“He’s perfect. Start having babies with him today.”
She felt herself flush. With embarrassment? The possibility? There was that. “We’re not talking about this anymore,” Roxanne said. “Did you get started researching his mother?”
Her grandmother liked to keep busy and had offered to help with Nick’s project.
“I did,” Donna said. “Grace was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Atlanta after her parents divorced. Her mother remarried, but not her father. Or at least not what I can find. He’s quite interesting. Grace Torres’s father was career air force. He served as a fighter pilot in Korea and Vietnam. He had quite a distinguished career. He retired after Vietnam and came out to California.”
“That’s great info, Grams, thanks.” Roxanne could show Nick that she’d already found some terrific information on his mother.
“I think I’ll call Portia and have dinner with her.” Donna grinned.
“Really, you don’t have to.”
“If somebody doesn’t do something about your love life, you’ll never have one.” She winked as she left, leaving Roxanne speechless.
* * *
Roxanne opened her front door to find Nick there. She caught her breath and couldn’t help but smile at him. “I brought a red and a white,” Nick said handing two bottles of wine to Roxanne.
“We’re having pot roast and salad.” She took the wine, touched by his gesture.
He looked very handsome in gray dress pants and dark blue shirt open at the throat. “How did you like your costume for the first show?”
“Oh, my God,” Roxanne said. “The gown is so beautiful I didn’t want take it off, but it still needed alterations. I had some containment issues.”
He laughed as he followed her down the hall to the kitchen. “The nice thing about being the producer is I get to pick the stars’ outfits, and the fact that Fay threatened me if I didn’t assign you to her was a great incentive.”
“Fay and I worked together on Family Tree.” She put the white wine in the refrigerator to cool and searched for the cork puller in a drawer. She handed the bottle of red wine back to him.
“She told me. I tried to get her to tell me stories about you when you were on the show. She must like you. She didn’t say a word.” Nick uncorked the wine and she pulled out two wineglasses.
“I didn’t behave badly in front of Fay. I’m not dumb.”
Nick poured wine into her glass and then his. She led him into the formal dining room where her charts and preliminary information were spread out over the table.
She forced herself to think about work and not him. He was distracting and captivating. “I have some information you will enjoy.” Roxanne gestured at the dining table covered with charts, two open laptops and a dozen file folders. “My grandmother helps me and she started tracing your maternal grandfather. He was career air force.”
“My grandfather was a car mechanic in Atlanta.”
“No, your grandfather is Lionel Stanton. He served in Korea and the Vietnam war.”
Nick stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
Roxanne frowned. She glanced at the information spread out on the table. She found a marriage certificate for Leonore Burgess to Lionel Stanton and then the divorce papers dated four years later. She handed them to Nick.
He read through them quickly. “I didn’t know. My mother never talked about this man. She only talks about Grandpa Al.”
“Maybe she thought her father was dead.” Roxanne rustled through a stack of certificates her grandmother had found and printed off one of the registries she used. “From what I see here, your grandmother—Leonore Burgess Stanton—divorced her husband after four years of marriage. Here is a second marriage certificate to Alfred Bridges. At that time your mother was three years old.”
“She’s never said a word,” Nick said with a frown. “I wanted this to be a surprise.” He gestured at the table.
“I think it’s a bigger surprise than you thought,” Roxanne said. “One thing about doing genealogy is all the secrets delving into the past uncovers.”
“I wonder what other secrets my mother has.”
She took a deep breath. She understood that this could be a painful process and sometimes people changed their mind. “Do you want to keep going or scrap the project?”
“I want to keep going.”
“You’ll need to be prepared. Let’s eat dinner and we’ll get back to this.”
They sat at the kitchen table. Roxanne wasn’t a great cook, but she did a few things really well and pot roast was one of her best dishes.
“I had a meeting with Levi Goldblum today.” Nick helped himself to a generous helping of the food.
“I’m not going to like this, am I?” She took a deep breath, preparing herself. Bad news was going to happen. She could handle this. And from the glint in his beautiful eyes, she could tell he was upset. “Okay, right between the eyes.”
“The situation isn’t as bad as you think.” He paused to think through what he was going to say. “Levi is interested in a television movie your parents want you to star in. He thinks the movie is the perfect vehicle for you.”
“And of course, he smells the money.” The situation could have been a lot worse. Levi could have insisted she reconcile with her parents.
Nick shrugged. “Show business.”
Oh, she knew. “I always heard he was an...egotistic, narcissistic, money-grubbing pain in the butt. And I’m saying this as nicely as I can.” She finished with what she hoped was a bedazzling smile. “Though he does have the ‘nose.’”
Nick grinned at her. “He is all of those things, but he was a fan of Family Tree. He remembers you fondly.”
“Really,” she said. “I’m kind of surprised someone like him remembers me. He’s inundated by people every day.”
“He does remember you and can shoot your star into the stratosphere.”
“They did send me the script and I glanced through it. Surprisingly enough it was good—lots of commercial appeal. But I don’t want to work with them. I don’t even want to be in the same building with them.”
“From what I’m hearing, they want to move into producing and get away from agenting.” Potentially there was more money in producing though it was a riskier investment.
“I have to think about this. I really like playing a corpse. The role is uncomplicated and all I really have to do is look dead and hold my breath.”
“Don’t you want to stretch yourself?”
“Holding your breath is hard and unnatural. Besides, I believe launching my own genealogy business is me stretching myself. Let’s set this topic aside for the moment and eat.”
“Everything smells delicious.”
“I can’t compete with your parents, but I do have a few dishes I can do well and pot roast is one of them.” She spooned salad onto her plate and drizzled dressing across it. “So tell me, when did you know you wanted to dance?”
“From the first time I saw Singin’ in the Rain with Gene Kelly.”
“How old were you?”
“Six,” Nick replied. “My mom signed me up for dance lessons the very next day.”
“I can relate,” Roxanne offered. “I always wanted to be an actress. At least until it stopped being fun.” She’d been four when she told her parents she wanted to be on TV. She made her first commercial six months later. Six months after that she was cast for Family Tree.
“When did the change happen?”
“By the time I was eleven, I wanted to quit.”
“Why did your parents make you keep going?”
“Because they didn’t want to get real jobs. I was the moneymaker and they made sure I knew if I wasn’t working the family would starve.”
“What about their other clients?”
Roxanne shook her head sadly. “They only received a 15 percent management fee for their work, but as my parents they managed all of my money.”
“That’s a heavy burden for a kid.”
“A kid has no rights and guilt is a great control mechanism.” Even though she loved the people she worked with, she’d started to resent the hours she spent on the set. Even with the child labor limitations it was more than she wanted. “If not for my grandmother, I probably would have gone off the deep end. My grandmother sat me down and kept me busy with my studies so I didn’t have time to be depressed. My grandmother loves history and she made me love it, too.” And that love had started her on her quest to find out more about her ancestors. “What a surprise when I found out I’m a direct descendant of Alexandre Dumas through one of his many mistresses.” Nearly forty at last count.
“He was French. That’s what they do.”
Roxanne started laughing. Nick always seemed to know how to lighten a moment. She sobered a bit. “You seemed to just glaze over this thing with my parents.”
“What can you do? Your parents are a fact of life.”
“I don’t want them back in my life.” Roxanne felt guilty for not liking her parents. “They always make me feel like a commodity and not a daughter. And seeing what they’ve done to my brother and sister...”
“I think that’s sad.”
Roxanne just nodded. “I guess I should thank Levi for his enlightened self-interest.”
“He’s thinking about the bottom line.”
Roxanne shrugged. “That’s the Hollywood way.”
They’d finished the rest of their meal with lighter small talk and Nick helped Roxanne clear the table. After setting the dishes in the sink, he rinsed and she placed them in the dishwasher.
“Show business can be so callous. There’s a lot of ugliness in the background.” Roxanne closed the dishwasher and stood with her hands on her hips. She studied Nick.
“I really like you and watching you have to rehash the past with your family is hard.”
“Wow. Thank you.” She felt oddly pleased. With those words she was totally committed to Celebrity Dance. She wasn’t going to let Nick down.
“Will you think about the movie?”
“How about if I think about thinking about it?”
Nick slid his hand on top of her hand. “Thank you.”
Before she knew it she leaned in and didn’t stop until she felt her lips meet his. His mouth was soft and yielding and his lips opened to her. His tongue slowly slid into her mouth and she felt his warmth and tasted his slightly minty breath. Her heart could have leapt from her chest. Their kiss was passionate yet soft. He moved his mouth over hers and she felt his hand move around her neck. She gave herself over and let him lead the way. For a few moments she thought their kiss would never end. She didn’t want it to. Finally, he pulled back.
“Wow,” he whispered.
Yeah, wow. She laughed. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. I’m not.”
“Well, thank you for being in my corner.” God, she hoped she didn’t sound as awkward as she felt.
No, that wasn’t right. She wanted that kiss. She wanted him.
He leaned back and shrugged. “Not a hardship.”
“I promise I’ll think about it. I’ll even read the script all the way through...” She let her words trail off.
He gave her a strange smile. “Thank you.”
Roxanne stood. “Let’s get back to work.”