as he spent time with the kids, serviced his wife every once in a while and made sure his next film was a long-awaited triumph, he didn’t see the problem.
Kate had insisted on keeping on that sneaking cow Su-Su, but what was he going to do about it? He felt sorry for her–she’d wanted more than he’d been prepared to give and when he’d gone off her, she’d freaked. It was understandable, she was only human.
‘Jimmy, this way, Jimmy!’ He gave the cameras every angle, leaning in to kiss Kate’s neck. The cameras sparked.
Jimmy was about to work with Sam Lucas for the first time, the director hot on everyone’s lips after Eastern Sky. This was a more serious role than his previous endeavours, and he hoped it would be the same vehicle for Hart as The Truman Show was for Carrey. Jimmy felt that someone up above was finally on his side. Gone were the days of self-loathing and drink. He had a gorgeous wife and two adorable kids, a great job, and on top of that he had beautiful girls queuing up to share his bed. This was most definitely the life. And long may it continue.
Nate Reid, his hair in a state of dishevelment that appeared to be unpremeditated but, in fact, had taken an hour to achieve, showed off his newly whitened teeth to the cameras. The girl on his arm, a brunette actress and famed burlesque dancer known only as the Pink Lady, dared to bare all in a shocking-red floor-length gown that was split up to the thigh. Her glossy mane was swept over one pale shoulder; her lips bruised purple. Together they were LA’s anti-couple, a dazzling combination of raw talent, sex and couldn’t-give-a-shit attitude. Nate worried that his state-of-the-art gnashers might compromise this, but decided that at this point in his career, he was immune to criticism.
Where other twosomes were chastely pecking at each other, Nate grabbed his beau and proceeded to lodge his tongue down her throat. The paps went crazy. Easy. He’d be front page news tomorrow.
Speaking of chastity, he caught sight of Chloe and Cole Steel, working up a PR storm at the other end of the red carpet. They were talking to fans and greeting media contacts, smiling and laughing like they were with old friends. She was good at it, he had to admit. And he was prepared to take the credit: if it weren’t for him toughening her up, she would never have landed with a powerhouse like that.
It wasn’t as if he’d enjoyed what had happened to her in Vegas. On the contrary: at times he’d been absolutely shitting himself. At one point back there he’d thought Chloe had gone and croaked on him–that would not have been good. Fortunately, with a few bouts of cold water chucked on her face, she had eventually come round.
But it had been a mistake getting caught up with Kate diLaurentis, he saw that now. Sure, their shared cause had been sweet, but she had revealed herself since then to be a bitter old tart. He had tried to contact her several times, even showed up at her mansion when Cole’s letter came through, but the old lady claimed never to have met him. He’d been escorted from the premises and that had been that.
The Pink Lady, real name Amanda, was being interviewed by an overweight journalist with a beard that looked like he’d drawn it on himself. Nate stood alone, savouring the cameras’ undivided interest–at the end of the day, he guessed, even having a partner was enough of a compromise on that front.
Shortly after the premiere, Nate had abandoned the group that had made him famous and had gone it alone. Last Nate heard, The Hides had done a chain of shambolic gigs in Archway and were still playing songs that Nate himself had copyright on. It proved what he had known all along: that the band was a deadweight without him. Nate Reid was the magic.
He had gone on to release a solo single, which shot to number one on both sides of the Atlantic. He was indisputably the biggest rock star of the twenty-first century.
Marty King and Rita Clay took their seats together in the auditorium. Rita had turned a few heads already, and not just because she was on the arm of her rival agent. She was stunning in a floor-length plum-coloured gown that exposed her smooth black shoulders and complemented her cropped blonde