Paradise (9 page)

‘What’s that?’ Angel asked, inside recoiling from the prospect of seeing Benny. She hadn’t forgiven him for his comments about her needing another agent and new implants. The man was a complete asshole, in her opinion.

Ethan looked evasive. ‘It’s kinda best if Benny tells you himself.’ He paused then added, ‘It would be great if you could keep an open mind to what he says. I’m going through a real shit time at the moment with my finances. Without boring you with details, it turns out my accountant hadn’t been paying my taxes for the last five years – he was taking the money and now he’s disappeared and I’ve got a massive backlog of taxes to pay. He did it to a whole string of people including Benny. And of course Ella Richards is still out for a big pay off.’

‘Christ, Ethan! Why didn’t you tell me before? Why
the hell did you buy me that necklace? I had no idea things were so tough for you.’

‘I didn’t realise things were quite as bad as they were.’ He looked reluctant to say any more on the subject. ‘I’ll see you downstairs.’

Seeing Benny Sullivan was so not a good start to the day. The minute Angel wandered into the living room, she received the usual double kiss from him, leaving her with an overwhelming desire to wipe her face to remove the damp marks left by his fleshy lips.

‘Beautiful as ever, Angel. I saw the shots from your Victoria’s Secret campaign – you look seriously hot! A real angel.’

He beamed at his own comment. Angel simply nodded, wanting to keep communication with him to an absolute minimum. But now Benny was opening up a large black portfolio of news cuttings, which Angel saw were all about her. ‘While you’ve been away I’ve been doing some research on you. Boy, do the tabloids love you! You get so much coverage, Angel, you really should be using it to your advantage . . . and Ethan’s.’

And your point is? she wanted to say.

‘I think you and Ethan combined make an irresistible package, as I’ve said before. So many people are interested in you guys. I’ve been talking to some big-hitting TV executives and we’ve come up with a killer idea. Everyone is really excited. We could all do so well out of it.’ Benny was practically bouncing around on the sofa in his enthusiasm. He was such a wanker, Angel thought dismissively.

‘E! want to do a four-part reality show with you and Ethan!’ Benny declared as if it was the most momentous news ever. ‘They’re thinking of calling it
A Player
and
an
Angel
. . . What do you think? We could start filming right now. That’s the joy of reality TV – no sets to build,
no actors to hire, just you and Ethan, access all areas. And they’re offering great money.’

Angel was totally unimpressed. She wasn’t interested in doing a reality show. She’d been through so much in the last year that now all she wanted was peace and as much privacy as possible. ‘It’s not for me, Benny,’ she said quietly.

It had clearly never even crossed his mind that Angel would say no, and he turned an unusual shade of aubergine as her words sank in.

‘
That’s
your answer!’ Benny exploded, slamming the portfolio down on the table, so the cuttings scattered on to the floor and Angel was surrounded by images of herself. ‘Come on, Angel! This is a perfect launch pad for you into the States. You’re starting to get a profile, but you could be so much bigger.’

Angel shook her head. ‘I want to concentrate on modelling, and Carrie and I have plans for more lingerie and perfume. That’s enough for me. I want my private life.’

‘And what about Ethan? He told you about his situation, didn’t he? He’s been totally screwed, and this deal could really help put him straight. Along with the fee for the show, there are so many new possibilities for advertising and sponsorship. This is a big fucking deal, Angel!’

She just hated being blackmailed. It wasn’t her fault that Ethan’s accountant had ripped him off or that he had got Ella Richards pregnant.

‘Like I said, Benny, I’m not interested.’

He shot a furious look at Ethan. ‘You gotta tell her – there’s no way E! will want the series without her. We need this fucking deal!’ He was speaking to Ethan as if he was a child. Angel couldn’t believe that Ethan didn’t tell him to fuck off. Instead he turned to Angel and said quietly, ‘Is there any way you would consider doing
this? It would really get me out of some serious financial shit, and it would be good for your profile.’

‘Can we talk about this somewhere else?’ she asked. ‘Just you and me?’ She didn’t think she could bear to be in the same room as Benny for another second. And without waiting for a reply she went outside, ignoring the cuttings on the floor. Let Benny clear them up.

Before she’d lived in LA Angel had had the idea the skies there were always effortlessly blue, but she was learning that they could be grey, the sun didn’t always shine, and it did sometimes rain, in spite of what the songs said. She was confronted with grey skies as she went outside and headed as far away from Benny as possible.

Ethan came and found her by the pool where she sat in one of the chairs, staring out at the ocean beyond the vivid pink bougainvillea and palm trees as if it could provide the answers. He sat down next to her, seeming tense and on edge.

‘I’m sorry to put this on you, Angel, but I’ve really fucked up.’ He ran his hands over his short blond hair. ‘I’ve already had to sell my New York apartment and my villa in Martha’s Vineyard. The TV show could really help get me straight. We can do it how we want, I’ll make sure of that. And Benny’s right. It could make you into a huge star out here.’

Angel didn’t want Ethan to put this kind of pressure on her; didn’t think it was at all fair. ‘I can see that you’ve got real problems, and I’m sorry. I want to help, but I don’t think I can do this. I’ve had so much shit with the press over the years, I don’t know if I want a camera crew following me around. Why can’t it just be about you?’

A heartfelt sigh from Ethan. ‘Like Benny said, without you the channel won’t be interested. I don’t want to go on about it, babe, but will you at least promise that
you’ll think about it? The fee is likely to be around a million and a half dollars, for each of us. I don’t want to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to . . . but it would really help me out.’

‘What about if I gave you some money towards your taxes?’ But even as she said it, she knew Ethan would not want this.

‘No fucking way,’ was his blunt reply, ‘I’m not taking your money. That’s why I thought you’d go for the TV idea, because there’s something in it for both of us.’

‘But there’s someone else to consider.’

Ethan looked at her blankly. ‘You mean Honey?’

‘Yes, and there’s . . .’ She winced as she was about to come out with Cal’s name and knew what an impact this would have. Ethan’s expression hardened. ‘What the fuck’s it got to do with your ex?’

‘He won’t want Honey to be filmed. He’s a really private person.’

Ethan shook his head in disbelief. ‘And what am I? An asshole who wants the world to know everything about me? Of course I don’t. I’ve just said, we will do the series how we want.’ He looked angry. ‘You think Cal’s so perfect, don’t you? Even after he screwed around, you still think he’s perfect. I can’t win, can I?’

And before Angel could say anything he abruptly got up. ‘I’ve got stuff to do, I’ll see you later.’

Angel watched him stride back into the house. She felt helpless in the face of his anger, and by the way her past life kept spilling into her present . . .

Over the next few days Ethan said nothing more about the TV series, but he seemed unusually subdued and, when he wasn’t training, was in tense meetings with his accountants and Benny. Angel longed for the carefree days when they’d first got together. It seemed as if one
obstacle after another had been put in their way recently, testing their relationship. Benny wasn’t going to give up, though, and early one evening Angel received a phone call from Susie who was almost beside herself with excitement.

‘Darling! Why didn’t you tell me about the TV series? It is the most
amazing
opportunity for you to make it . . . not just in the States but to become a global name!’

How the hell did Susie know about the proposal? Angel soon found out as she gushed, ‘Benny Sullivan called and told me himself. He is perfectly okay with us each cutting our own deal. It is
so
exciting. This is the best piece of news we’ve had about your career in a long time. You must be thrilled?’

‘There’s just one thing, Susie,’ Angel said when she could finally get a word in, ‘I don’t want to do it.’

Susie made a weird choking noise then managed to splutter, ‘But, darling, it is the perfect career move for you. I surely don’t have to remind you that in three years’ time you’ll be
thirty
, which, face it, even with all the cosmetic surgery you can have done these days is still ancient for a glamour model.’ Susie said ‘thirty’ as if it were ‘seventy’. ‘And we need to explore other career options – the acting route didn’t exactly pan out, did it?’

A year ago Angel had had a small part in a film, playing a gangster’s moll. It wasn’t her finest moment. The camera might have loved her but she didn’t have the acting gene and delivered all her lines in a robotic monotone, which was probably why most of the scene was cut.

‘Thanks for reminding me, Susie,’ she said dryly.

‘Of course, there’s the reality TV show route as well –
Dancing
with
the
Stars
,
I’m
A
Celebrity
, blah blah blah. But I think your own series would be much more exciting. Please tell me you’re going to think about it?’

Angel gave a non-committal ‘Maybe’ and made an excuse about needing to check on Honey. She hated feeling under pressure, with everyone telling her to do what they thought she should. It only made her more determined not to give in. Ethan would just have to figure out another way of sorting out his finances. It was clear-cut as far as Angel was concerned, and she wasn’t going to cave in.

But she hated feeling so distant from Ethan, who seemed to want to avoid her, choosing to stay up late shut away in his games room when she went up to bed at midnight. Angel read for a while, hoping that he would come up and they could talk, but by 1 a.m. she gave up and switched off the light. Around 5 she woke up and reached out her arm but the bed beside her was empty. This was not what she wanted; she had to talk to him.

She grabbed her robe and padded downstairs, expecting to find him still in his games room, but it was empty. That seemed odd. She didn’t think she’d heard his car leave. She quickly checked the rooms downstairs, but there was no sign of him. She eventually found him on the balcony outside his study, slumped on the wicker sofa and mindlessly swigging from a bottle of Maker’s Mark. She had never known Ethan to drink on his own before.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked sitting down beside him.

He turned to her. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked as if he was struggling to focus. ‘Not yet,’ he replied grimly, ‘but I will be when I finish this.’ He took another long swig from the bottle.

‘Hey, how much have you had?’ Angel asked. ‘You’re going to feel wasted tomorrow.’

‘So much the better. I have to tell my grandmother that I may need to sell her house.’ He stopped talking for a moment, choked with emotion. ‘She’s so sick,
Angel. It’s r
eally
not something I want to do, but I’ve got no choice.’ Another long swig.

Angel stared at him, appalled by the news. ‘Can’t you raise more money on this one? Or, please, let me give you some money.’ She couldn’t stand by and see his grandmother lose her house.

‘I would never take money from you, Angel, you know that. And I’ll probably have to sell this place anyhow.’

Angel sat back and looked up at the midnight-blue sky, pin-pricked with glittering stars, and felt very lost. She just didn’t know what else to suggest. She moved her foot and it knocked against something. Reaching down, she retrieved what looked like a bottle of pills. She read the label; they seemed to be some kind of strong painkillers. ‘What are these for?’ she asked, with a sickening premonition.

Ethan took the bottle from her and said bitterly, ‘I was going to mix them with the bourbon. Spare myself and everyone else the inevitable shame and humiliation of seeing me made bankrupt. Except, of course, I couldn’t do it. Couldn’t even do that right.’

Angel couldn’t bear to see him so broken, and hated hearing him talk in this despairing way. She remembered a time in her own life when she had felt so low that she had considered ending it. She’d had no idea Ethan felt so bad and so guilty. She should have known.

She reached out and touched his arm. ‘I had no idea you felt like this. Why didn’t you tell me?’

He hung his head. ‘Thought you would despise me for being weak. I’m sure Cal would never have gotten into such a situation, would he? All I wanted to do was give you and Honey a new life out here, a great life, and I’ve fucked it all up. First I find out about a daughter I never knew I had, then the money problems . . . I’ve
ruined everything, and I know I’m going to lose you.’ His voice caught and he put his hand over his eyes.

‘You haven’t lost me, Ethan, but you will if you carry on like this. It’s not your fault that your accountant ripped you off.’ Angel gently prised the bottle out of his hand. She suddenly realised how insecure she must have made him feel by being so distant with him. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts, in what everything meant to
her
, that she hadn’t stopped to consider what he must be going through. ‘Come on, let’s go to bed,’ she said gently, ‘I’m sure things will seem better after you’ve had some sleep.’

He pretty much passed out as soon as she got him into bed. Angel held him tightly, wanting him to know that she was there for him, that everything would be okay.

But in the morning, as she and Ethan went into the kitchen for breakfast, they were met by Jose, wearing a sombre expression in place of his usual beaming smile. ‘Mr Turner, I am very sorry to bring this matter up, but can you tell me when I and the rest of the staff can expect to be paid? Our salaries do not seem to have gone through this month.’