Obsession (40 page)

‘It’s called a solarium here, not a conservatory,’ Felicity told them, kicking one of the deep pile white rugs back into place.

‘Oh!’ Corrie exclaimed, and started backing away from an assortment of stuffed animal heads peering down at her from the wall.

Next came the kidney-shaped swimming pool, complete with Jacuzzi, which was squashed onto the first terrace of the garden with just a small paved area for a twelve-seater table and twelve padded arm-chairs. There were changing rooms and a sauna to one side, and a life-size replica of the Trevi fountain the other. A small army of gnomes were fishing in the fountain! The entire garden, with its occasional perfect flower bed and towering palm trees was a blaze of vivid colours which seemed to be melting at the edges into the shimmering heat. ‘Can you smell the pollution?’ Annalise asked Corrie, turning up her nose. ‘Ugh! You can taste it even.’

Down on the next terrace was the tennis court. Both
Corrie
and Annalise gaped with frank incredulity when they walked onto it, since an audience had been created on all four sides by a life-size mural.

‘This place is a joke, isn’t it?’ Corrie whispered to Felicity. ‘It has to be. I mean, no one in their right mind …’

‘You wait till you see upstairs,’ Felicity laughed. ‘It gets worse.’

And she wasn’t kidding. But the opulence, the sheer luxury of it all was awesome. After wading through yet more carpets to the games room with its one-armed bandits, snooker table, antique juke-box, card tables and Leroy Newman sketches of the stars, came the bedrooms. The one Felicity had assigned Corrie would have swallowed Corrie’s entire studio, and Corrie, who was beginning to recover from her initial shock and starting to enjoy herself, knew that she was just going to love sleeping in that king-size bed and pressing all the buttons around it to find out what they did. There were walk-in,
walk-in!
, wardrobes which could have housed more clothes than she’d probably ever own in her life, and a separate room for shoes! But it was the bathroom that finally did for Corrie. She simply couldn’t believe what her own eyes were seeing. Everything in it, right down to the loo roll holder, was of red-veined marble, or brass, or both. There were mirrors everywhere, and Corrie wasn’t at all sure she was going to enjoy looking at herself from so many angles. The bath was made for four people, Felicity told her, but the shower only for one. There was even a telephone on the wall next to the bath, and a portable TV with remote control.

‘This is nothing,’ Felicity said, as Corrie looked like she didn’t know whether to laugh or throw up. ‘There are two bathrooms off my room, they call them his and hers bathrooms. Both of them are as big as this one, but I have to say, slightly more subtle in decor.’

‘Is this an orgasm giver?’ Annalise said, bending over to turn on the bidet. A fountain of water shot out, and
squealing
with delight, Annalise cried, ‘Oh it is! Corrie, you’re not going to know yourself.’

‘You can borrow it if you like,’ Corrie said, generously.

‘She’s got one of her own,’ Felicity said, and took them off to see Annalise’s room.

‘It’s hideous,’ Annalise gasped, flinging herself onto the bed, ‘and I’m going to love it. By the way, who owns this place, Felicity?’

‘A friend,’ Felicity answered. ‘He’s a TV producer.’

‘With a wild sense of humour?’ Corrie added.

‘No. All this is absolutely for real. It might not appeal to your taste, but you have to understand that out here it’s a must to display your wealth in every way possible. They wear it too. And drive it. And talk about it all the time. To us poor, uptight Brits this way of life might be seriously grotesque, but you have to admit it’s bloody fascinating. Thank God not all of America is like it though, but Los Angeles isn’t like the rest of America. You’ll either love it here, or hate it. Personally I love it – for a visit. No way could I live here all the time. Anyway, I’ll leave you two to clean up and meet you downstairs when you’re ready. It’s too hot to have a drink outside so we’ll have it in the solarium.’

Ten minutes later, since she didn’t have three more people to help fill up her bath, Corrie was standing in the shower tentatively turning the knobs in the hope of finding some water. Nothing was happening, so she pushed the button above them, and to her amazement no less than five shower heads suddenly sprang into life, pounding her blissfully from all directions.

I could get used to this, she grinned to herself as she started to twirl, and letting the water cascade luxuriously over her she started fantasizing herself towards the dizzy heights of movie stardom. She didn’t get too far though before she found herself wondering if Cristos’s house was anything like this one. The very idea that it might be took
the
smile from her face – the thought of him having so much money, together with his talent and his fame, was just too daunting to contemplate. But he had to be worth millions, and this, to Corrie’s surprise, was the first time that had actually occurred to her. It was a distressingly uncomfortable realization, for that, probably more than anything else, was at last bringing home to her the utter hopelessness of her situation. But it wasn’t only the money, it was the fact that he lived here, in this dreadful town, that he was a part of this society! Never before had it occurred to Corrie just how far apart their two worlds might be, but it was coming home to her now, and to her dismay she realized that after just these few short hours in Los Angeles she was already starting to feel like she was on another planet rather than in another country.

Fearing that she was becoming prejudiced before even giving herself a chance to get to know the place, Corrie made a supreme effort to banish Cristos from her mind and entered into the spirit of things by trying out the bidet.

Yes, she decided a little while later, she should very definitely think about getting one installed. But those few moments of pleasure were quickly displaced by the dismal reality that never in her life had she reached an orgasm with a man. Inevitably Cristos returned to her mind then, making her feel gloomier still.

A little later she found Felicity in the solarium, going over the scenes she was shooting the following afternoon, and Annalise joined them almost immediately.

‘Right,’ Annalise said, rubbing her hands together. ‘Let’s get down to what this is all about, shall we? Have you found out yet, Felicity, where Cristos is filming?’

Corrie’s head snapped up. ‘Have you been talking behind my back?’ she demanded hotly.

‘We most certainly have,’ Felicity grinned. ‘And to answer your question, Annalise, he’s just this week moved from the lot to the Mayan Theatre downtown.’

‘Good for him,’ Corrie retorted. ‘I hope he and his movie will be very happy together. Now, I’m going to sit out by the pool and read through the notes I’ve made for the programme
we have come here to make
. If you’ll excuse me, ladies.’

‘She’s just embarrassed,’ Annalise whispered to Felicity.

‘Can’t say I’m surprised,’ Felicity remarked. ‘This is a mighty big fish she’s trying to land.’ And shaking her head almost in wonder, she added, ‘I only suggested she met him, you know, just to say she had, I never dreamt she’d take it this seriously.’

‘Well, I’m afraid she has. I guess she’s going to end up disappointed, well she must know that, but …’

‘Maybe not that disappointed,’ Felicity interrupted with a smile. ‘A mate of mine is the unit publicist on
Past Lives Present
. I’ve already sounded him out about going along to take a look one day, he said he’ll get back to me.’

‘Well done you,’ Annalise remarked. ‘Do you think he’ll swing it?’

Felicity shrugged. ‘It should be easier now they’re off the lot, but all major movies are closed sets no matter where they’re shooting. Better not let Corrie know this, but the final decision as to whether we can visit will be down to Cristos himself. Ah,’ she said as the doorbell sounded, ‘that’ll be Rita. She’s an old friend of mine from way back. She writes one of the major American soaps, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it’s called. Anyway, I’ve invited her round for the evening, I hope you don’t mind.’

As it turned out neither Corrie nor Annalise minded in the slightest, since Rita seemed to have missed her vocation as a writer – she should have been a comedienne. Nevertheless, as funny as her stories were about writing for television, both Corrie and Annalise were profoundly relieved that working in documentary television was nothing like the nightmare it sounded working in drama television. All that interference and committee decision-making – and
sponsorship
! It was a wonder anything ever got made at all.

Over the next few days Corrie and Annalise set about ringing round Luke’s contacts and lining up a crew, while Felicity was gone most of the time, shooting her own movie on the lot at Universal. Corrie and Annalise managed to squeeze in a few touristy things too, like having their photographs taken with the Hollywood sign in the background, doing the Universal Studios’ tour and a shopping trip on Rodeo Drive. It was there, browsing round the designer shops, that Corrie got some idea of what Felicity meant about people wearing their wealth. There was nothing simple to be found anywhere, everything just dripped sequins and glitter. But the night they went to the Four Seasons Hotel to meet up with some more friends of Felicity’s Corrie really had her eyes opened.

There was no getting away from it, she realized despondently as she watched a sea of bejewelled and bewigged humanity ebb and flow before her, this really was a town of supreme superficiality. She was truly sorry she felt that way, since she wanted to like the place, more than anything else she wanted to love it, but it just wasn’t happening. It was like looking into a swimming pool, she thought; it all looked so wonderful, as though there was nothing else in the world that could be more inviting than that pool, but every time you tried to immerse yourself in the water you found that it wasn’t water at all, but glass. There was no way in because there was no depth, no reality, only illusion. She found it both touching and tragic to watch the grotesque grasping at a lost youth; women who simply made themselves ridiculous by wearing mini-skirts and high heels at the age of sixty or more; and sun dried old men who decorated their entourage with the youngest, blondest and leggiest females in town. But as depressing as Corrie found it all, Annalise, who had been there before, was frequently able to make her laugh about the sheer awfulness of it. And
Annalise
making her laugh was something in itself that delighted Corrie, since she had been worried that Annalise might have started to become difficult, being so far from Luke. But if anything she and Annalise were developing a closeness that pleased Corrie no end, and at the same time Annalise seemed happier than Corrie had ever known her.

But Corrie soon discovered why Annalise was so happy when they returned late one afternoon from their first filmed interview down at Santa Monica to find Luke looking very much at home in the solarium.

‘Just thought I’d pop out and see how you’re getting along,’ he laughed, as Annalise threw her arms around him. Corrie simply stood there, holding his eyes and allowing her anger to show. She realized of course, that Annalise had known he was coming, and she was intensely annoyed at Annalise for not telling her. She became even more irritated as the evening wore on and she was forced to watch them nuzzling and whispering and giggling like silly lovebirds.

‘Jealous,’ Felicity told her, ‘not irritated, jealous. They’re in love and so are you. But theirs is working out and yours isn’t.’

‘It’s not as simple as that,’ Corrie retorted. ‘There are things I just don’t want to go into that make his presence here … Well, unacceptable.’

‘She’s happy, I thought that was what you wanted.’

‘Of course I do. But …’

‘Then it’s time now for your happiness, don’t you think? You’ve got a free day the day after tomorrow haven’t you? Good. So have I. So what about going to the set of
Past Lives Present?
’

Corrie instantly came over so hot and cold it was like she was having some kind of attack. ‘No! No,’ she said quickly. ‘I can’t do it. It’s too humiliating, and I won’t.’

‘Oh yes you will. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get us onto that set, at least my friend Carl has, so you’re going whether you like it or not.’

‘Going where?’ Luke enquired, strolling into the kitchen at that moment.

‘Nowhere,’ Corrie answered hastily. ‘Actually, I’m glad you’re here, Luke, because I wanted to talk to you about the Kennedy Smith interview. He doesn’t want to do it.’

‘Who did you speak to?’ Luke asked.

‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Felicity said. ‘Dinner’s in an hour, I’m having it sent in.’

She wandered outside to find Annalise swimming in the pool and sitting down on the edge with her drink, she allowed her legs to dangle in the water. ‘I’ve set it up,’ she told Annalise, as Annalise swam over to her.

‘When for?’

‘The day after tomorrow. The trouble is, Corrie says she won’t go.’

‘Oh, she will,’ Annalise said, dismissively. ‘She’s just playing hard to get.’

‘Yeah, well, all the same I think I’m going to need your help persuading her.’

‘You got it,’ Annalise grinned.

But when it came to it Annalise was no longer there to lend her help.

If there was one thing Corrie loved about Los Angeles it was the service. Nothing she’d ever encountered before came even close to it, and sending someone else to park the car seemed, to her, a luxury in the extreme. But even that was starting to wear a little thin now, as she and Annalise climbed out of their car at the Beverly Hills Hotel and handed their keys to a jockey.

‘If one more person tells me to have a nice day I’m going to tell them to fuck off,’ she declared.

‘Oh, come on, don’t be in a bad mood,’ Annalise laughed, taking Corrie’s arm as they strolled along the red carpet towards the hotel’s front entrance. ‘It’s not your
fault
today’s a foul up. You didn’t have much time to set it up, did you?’