Shafted (32 page)

‘Hark at Mother Teresa,’ Nora sniped, resenting that she was being taken to task by her own granddaughter – even if it was deserved. ‘Where do you get off pretending you care, anyhow? You’re always calling her a mong.’

‘Yeah, well, she is,’ Molly retorted defensively. ‘But that don’t mean I don’t love the silly little cow. And so do you, so quit overdosing her or you’re gonna feel terrible when something bad happens.’

Tutting, Nora flapped her hand to shut Molly up. But she was right; the overdosing had to stop before it went too far. And Nora did love Lyla – Molly was right about that, too. She loved all her flesh and blood with a passion. Apart from her daughter Christine. That was one bitch she truly
did
hate.

‘I’ll go and check on her,’ Molly said now, reaching for her rucksack. Hesitating, she gazed down at Nora. ‘Can I still put me stuff away, or are you gonna send me packing for telling you off?’

Shaking her head, Nora said, ‘No, you can stay, pet.’

‘Will you tell me mam, or shall I?’

‘I’ll tell her.
And
your dad – though I’m sure he’ll be happy to know you’re back under control.’

Grinning widely, Molly said, ‘Thanks, Nan.’ Skipping out of the room then, she ran upstairs to unpack her things. Her grandmother couldn’t be more wrong if she thought that Molly had any intention of being controlled. She’d only come back because Saeed lived closer to Nora’s place than to Molly’s mam’s flat. That, and the fact that it was so much easier to get cash off her grandmother than off her tight-fisted mother. And it didn’t hurt that her nan actually cooked proper dinners, either. Her mother was so lazy, Molly hadn’t eaten anything but butties and biscuits since she’d been staying there, and she’d put on almost a stone – which
so
wasn’t good. Not with all those skinny slags hanging about outside Saeed’s dad’s off-licence every night, trying to get off with him.

Reaching for her tea, Nora gazed up at the ceiling when she heard the sound of Molly’s music and gave a contented little smile. She’d been dreading her coming back, but now that she was here, things actually felt a bit more normal again.

Now all she needed was for all of her lads to come home, and everything would be perfect.

14

It took six long months from signing the contract to recording the launch show, and Larry had spent the entire time fluctuating between wild exhilaration and sheer terror. Doing interviews and guest appearances on other people’s shows was nothing compared to fronting your own, because at least if anything went wrong with those he could walk away and let the host take the blame. But this was all on him. If he fucked up, there was nobody to hide behind.

But Craig Woodburn obviously had no such doubts, and that helped to soothe Larry’s nerves a little as things began to come together in the later stages. Determined to ensure that it eclipsed every other show of its kind, Craig had splashed the cash like there was no tomorrow, building the best set ever, and inviting the biggest international A-listers to take part. And when some seemed reluctant because they’d never actually heard of Larry, Craig simply chartered a private jet and sent Larry over in person – to meet them on their own turf and schmooze them over mega-expensive dinners.

And it had worked.

Having charmed his way to securing for his launch show the most impressive guest list the country had ever seen and clawed his way back to the top of every party guest list in town, Larry truly was king of the hill when the big night finally came around. He was looking better than ever, his bank account was more than healthy, and he had an ever-growing list of mega-celebrity friends’ numbers clogging up his phone.

Money, star status, and his own prime-time self-titled show – everything Larry had ever wanted in life, and more. But Stephanie hadn’t arrived at the studio yet, and that was really pissing him off.

Contrary to Georgie’s suspicions that she was a stalker who’d manipulated herself into his life in order to further her own aims, Stephanie was as skittish about being seen in public with him as ever. At first she’d wanted to avoid it because she felt guilty about cheating on her dickhead boyfriend. Then, when Larry had finally persuaded her to finish with the guy, she’d wanted to avoid upsetting his parents, claiming that she’d known them for too long and liked them too much to disrespect them by coming out in a new relationship so soon after splitting with their son. But it was a good four months now, and she was
still
holding out, going to hardly any of the parties Larry had invited her to and outright refusing to go clubbing with him in case they got papped.

Larry knew that her shyness was a major part of the problem; that Stephanie hated being stared at, and would die if she had to face all the attention she’d get when people realised they were a couple. But surely she could brave it for one night? And she should be grateful that he
wanted
her to share his big night, anyway, considering there were so many other women throwing themselves at his feet and begging him to walk all over them. But not
Stephanie
, who had not only not turned up yet after promising faithfully that she would, she’d now switched her fucking phone off!

Tossing his own phone down onto a cluttered ledge, Larry lit his zillionth cigarette in an hour and paced the length of his dressing-room floor, furious with himself for letting her get to him at a time like this. He knew it was probably more to do with injured pride because no woman had ever resisted him before, but Stephanie had got under his skin like an itch that he couldn’t reach to scratch. And the more she resisted, the more determined he was to break her down.

Stopping in his tracks when a tap came at the door, he looked up hopefully, half expecting to see Stephanie. Pissed off when Georgie’s smiling face appeared instead, he said,‘You took your time, didn’t you?’

Saying, ‘Sorry, darling, I’d have been here ages ago if it hadn’t been for the traffic,’ Georgie rushed to him and gave him a hug. ‘Then when I got here, it took for ever to get in, because the security guards are being so thorough. But you’ll be glad to know that the queue is
tremendous
,’ she went on, hardly pausing for breath as she peeled her gloves off and slotted them into her handbag. ‘They’re four deep at the door, and I really can’t see how they’re going to fit them all in. More fool those who’ve turned up without a ticket, because they’ve got no chance.’

Wishing she’d shut up, Larry turned his back on her and poured himself a large Scotch.

Noticing, Georgie tried to keep a casual tone as she asked, ‘Is that your first, dear?’

‘No, it’s my second,’ Larry told her snappily. ‘But don’t worry. I’m nowhere near drunk.’

‘Maybe you’d like to pour me a small one?’ Georgie said, sitting down on one of the two easy chairs and crossing her legs. ‘Then we can have a little chat, if you like.’

‘About what?’ Larry asked, slopping a small shot into a glass and topping it up with ginger ale. Handing it to Georgie, he leaned back against the ledge and peered at her, saying, ‘Well, chat, then.’

‘There’s obviously something wrong,’ Georgie replied calmly. ‘And I just thought you might like to get it off your chest before you go out there. Is it nerves? Because I brought some Kalms if you’d like one.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with my nerves,’ Larry shot back, holding his hand out to demonstrate. ‘See? Steady as a rock.’

Frowning, Georgie peered into his eyes, wondering if he’d lied about the amount of Scotch he’d had. They looked clear enough, but his belligerence spoke volumes, and if he
was
on his way to getting pissed, tonight would be a disaster.

Glancing quickly around when somebody else tapped on the door, Larry jerked his chin up questioningly when Ayshia, one of the pretty young runners, came in. ‘What?’ he barked.

‘Sorry to disturb you,’ she said, blushing because he always made her feel funny inside. ‘But some girl’s been ringing the switchboard all week asking to talk to you, and, obviously, Sue told her that she should write if she wanted to contact you. But now she’s turned up, claiming she’s got a date with you.’

‘It’s not Stephanie, is it?’ Larry asked, fearing that she might have got caught up in the security cordon, like Georgie had.

Having met Stephanie, albeit it only once and fleetingly at that, Ayshia shook her head. ‘No, this is a blonde called Tania.’

‘Great,’ Larry muttered, having no recollection of ever dating any blondes called Tania. ‘Just what I need on a night like this – a bloody psycho fan. Have they got rid of her, or do I have to watch my back all night?’

‘Security are keeping an eye on her,’ Ayshia told him. ‘But she’s threatening to smash the windows, and Mr Woodburn’s concerned that someone might get hurt because the audience are queuing up out there.’

‘So tell him to have the silly cow arrested,’ Larry suggested coolly, wondering why they were bothering him with this.

‘He doesn’t want the police involved, because he doesn’t want any bad publicity or hold-ups,’ Ayshia told him, smiling nervously at Georgie – another one who intimidated her, because she always looked like she was sizing you up and warning you off. ‘He said to ask if you’d sign a picture for her.’

‘Are you supposed to do that with psychos?’ Larry turned to Georgie. ‘I thought you were supposed to stay as impersonal as possible.’

‘I’m sure it will be all right to sign a picture,’ Georgie told him. ‘Just don’t put love or kisses, or anything she can misinterpret.’

Thinking it over for a second, Larry said, ‘Okay, but when you give it to her tell her I don’t do dates, and not to bother ringing again because I’m not allowed to take private calls. Okay?’

Nodding, Ayshia waited until he’d signed one of his publicity pictures, then hurried out of the room.

Shaking his head, Larry lit another cigarette and flopped down onto a chair, saying, ‘You’d think they’d have better things to do than fantasise about me, wouldn’t you?’

Chuckling softly, Georgie said,‘My dear, you’ve obviously forgotten that this is
all
some of these girls do – all day, every day. And now you’re going to be back in their lives as a permanent fixture, I suggest you get used to it, because it’s going to get much more intense.’

‘Can’t wait,’ Larry drawled dully, wishing his so-called girlfriend had been here to witness how badly some other women wanted to be in her ungrateful shoes.

Having guessed from the look in his eyes when Ayshia had opened the door that he’d been expecting Stephanie, and suspecting that her absence was at least partially to blame for his mood, Georgie asked, ‘Stephanie not here yet?’

Grunting, ‘Doesn’t look like it, does it?’ Larry sucked on his cigarette. Then, looking at her challengingly, he said, ‘Not going to say I told you so?’

Staying quiet, Georgie sipped at her drink. In all honesty, she had to admit that Stephanie had done nothing to warrant her initial suspicions in the time she’d been seeing Larry, neither pushing herself into his limelight nor trying to curtail his social life. But there was still something about her that Georgie didn’t quite trust. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she felt a little undercurrent of
some
thing not quite right about Stephanie’s relationship with Larry. If she’d known about the ex-fiancé situation she’d have understood, but Larry’s pride had prevented him from telling Georgie about that. Mainly because he’d been too embarrassed to admit that Stephanie had taken so long to decide that he was the one she wanted, when any other woman would have dumped her boyfriend in a heartbeat if he’d so much as looked at her. So, with nothing else to guide her, Georgie could only go on her instincts. And they told her that Larry liked this one more than he’d liked any of the others, which put him in a vulnerable position – and exacerbated Georgie’s already overly protective streak. Stephanie might well be the sweet shy girl Larry claimed her to be, but if Georgie saw the slightest sign that she was up to something – like waiting to see if his show was a success before making her intended move – then she wouldn’t know what had hit her.

‘What’s
this
?’ Tania Baxter gasped, peering down at the photo, which was signed:
To Tanya . . . Best wishes, Larry Logan!
Glaring at Ayshia now, she said, ‘Is this supposed to be a joke?’

‘Not at all,’ Ayshia assured her calmly. ‘Larry just signed it for you not two minutes ago. Oh, and he said to thank you for supporting him, but he doesn’t date fans, and he’s not allowed to take personal calls, so could you please stop phoning.’

Nostrils flaring, Tania drew herself up to her full height, which was only actually an inch or two taller than the young runner. But she looked more imposing because her breasts were so much larger. Perfectly painted eyes flashing with indignation now, she said, ‘Do I
look
like a fan?’

‘Yes,’ Ayshia replied evenly, a little bemused now, because most of the women who were watching from the queue were equally as tarted up as this girl in the hopes of catching Larry’s eye when they got inside.

‘Well, I’m
not
,’ Tania spat, flapping the picture in Ayshia’s face as she added, ‘And he knows you don’t spell my name with a Y.
You
signed it to try and get rid of me. Well, forget it, because I’m not going anywhere till I’ve seen him.’ Balling the photograph up now, she aimed it at Ayshia’s face, but missed.

‘You can’t see him,’ Ayshia told her, glancing around to make sure that the security guards were close enough to intervene if the girl went for her, as she looked like she was about to.

‘Just go and tell him that I’m here,’ Tania demanded, infuriated that they were trying to keep her and Larry apart. She’d been ringing all week, and she just knew that they hadn’t passed her messages on, because he’d have contacted her if he’d known she was trying to reach him. She’d been to his flat loads of time, too, but he was never there, so she’d had to catch him at work. Only now she was here everyone was getting in the way, and she was so mad about it that she was going to hit someone in a minute.