The Power Trip Read online

  Sometimes she took the dogs, sometimes she didn’t.

  Today she was on her own, high up in the mountains running like a crazy woman, ear-buds and iPod in place, Drake and Pitbull keeping her well entertained.

  Then it happened. She went flying over a log and hit the ground with a sharp thud.

  She sat there, stunned, feeling like a fool, finally realizing that fortunately there was no one around to witness her embarrassment.

  After a few moments of pure dizziness she attempted to stand. Her ankle immediately gave way and she fell back down with a yelp of pain.

  Now what was she supposed to do? Call her movie-star boyfriend to rush to her rescue? He wouldn’t come – he was currently on the set filming, which meant he’d send people. One of them might tip off the paps, then she’d be trapped not looking her best. Wouldn’t want that.

  Her eyes filled with tears. Why was this happening to her?

  She fished out her cell phone from her shorts pocket, and just as she was about to call for help, she saw it and froze. ‘It’ was a raggedy coyote emerging slyly from the bushes, standing stock-still and staring at her with haunted red eyes.

  She met the animal’s malevolent stare right on and felt fear course through her body. Recently she’d read about a pack of coyotes savaging a couple of German Shepherds. If they couldn’t defend themselves, how could she?

  Then a second coyote came loping out of the bushes, and she knew for sure that she was done for.

  * * *

  After rehearsing his upcoming scene, Cliff returned to his trailer where Enid had made herself quite comfortable stretched out on his couch, shoes off, TV on, soap opera in full swing.

  ‘Make yourself at home,’ Cliff said caustically. ‘Can I get you anything? Coffee? A drink?’

  Unphased, Enid sat up, slipped on her Nurse Ratched shoes and said, ‘It took you long enough. I almost fell asleep.’

  ‘So sorry my rehearsal kept you waiting,’ Cliff said, full of sarcasm.

  ‘I’ve got to get back to the office,’ Enid said, thrusting a sheaf of papers at him. ‘Sign these.’

  ‘What am I signing?’

  ‘For God’s sake, if you want me to explain I’ll be here all day. Your business manager sent them over. They’re for your recent real-estate acquisitions.’

  Cliff knew he could trust Enid, she would never try to put anything past him.

  ‘If I sign, will you give me my couch back?’

  ‘My pleasure,’ Enid snorted. ‘This trailer smells like feet.’

  ‘You’re not supposed to speak to movie stars like that. Our feet do not stink. Besides, you’re the one who had her shoes off.’

  ‘Oh, please!’ Enid said, waving an invitation at Cliff. ‘What do you want me to do about this?’

  Cliff took the elaborate invitation and scanned it quickly. ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Wouldn’t miss it. Go ahead and accept.’

  ‘Just for you?’

  ‘Put your bitch back in the bag, Enid,’ he said. ‘Answer for me and Lori, she’ll get a kick out of a trip like this.’

  Enid sighed. This one was lasting longer than the others. Lori must have hidden talents that only Cliff knew about.

  ‘Whatever pleases my lord and master.’

  Cliff chuckled. ‘Get the fuck outta here before I kick your crusty old ass to the curb.’

  Enid packed up her papers and left.

  After a few minutes Cliff put his head outside his trailer to see who was around. Sometimes he was able to pull together a bunch of the guys and they used their downtime playing softball.

  Today there was nobody around. Except . . . who was that approaching?

  Oh shit, it was his co-star in the movie. Billy Melina, a hot young movie star with naked ambition eating away at him. A ready-to-rock stud at the top of his game. Exactly like I used to be, Cliff thought wryly.

  They’d only had a few scenes together, so they were hardly friends.

  Cliff watched Billy approach. He couldn’t help wondering if Billy was headed for an almost thirty-year career like his. He doubted it. Everything was different today. The paparazzi ruled. The magazines printed anything they felt like. There were no studio heads and powerful managers around to protect their clients. TMZ ran riot on any star who left the sanctuary of their home.

  No. In ten years when Billy hit forty he’d be long forgotten, while Cliff would still be in the game, for he had no plans to retire. He was an up and at ’em kind of guy. Like Redford and De Niro he had no intention of ever quitting; he was in the race until the end.

  ‘Hey,’ Billy said, all bronzed hard body and dirty-blond surfer hair. ‘Wassup?’

  ‘Nothing much,’ Cliff responded. ‘You?’

  ‘Same old crap,’ Billy said, flexing his muscles. ‘Just tryin’ t’stay outta the rags.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Cliff said, thinking that Billy Melina was one handsome son of a bitch. ‘I know the feeling.’ He hesitated for a moment. Should he invite the younger actor into his trailer to shoot the shit, or should he let it go?

  Let it go, his inner voice warned him. Do you really want to hear all about Billy’s divorce from the very famous Venus? Or the Vegas murder scandal the kid had been vaguely involved in?

  No. He had better things to do.

  ‘See you on the set,’ he said, retreating back into his trailer.

  ‘Yeah, man,’ Billy said. ‘Later.’

  Cliff hit the couch again and reached for his cell. Might as well see what Lori was up to. Maybe even invite her to visit him on set.

  Yes, he’d do that, tell her about the invitation.

  Little Lori was going to be so excited.

  Chapter Eleven

  ‘Aha!’ Suga exclaimed, descending on Luca like a full-blown cyclone, all mountains of blond curls, bouncy breasts and jiggling hips encased in a bright orange and green low-cut jumpsuit, with sky-high gold Louboutins on her tiny feet – the only small thing about her. ‘How’s my favorite Baby Daddy?’

  Suga was an over-the-top voluptuous diva with a steamroller personality. She looked exactly like her fans would expect her to look, and they adored her for it.

  Luca rolled off his sunbed and stood up, allowing his ex-wife to envelop him in her generous curves. He got a whiff of her strong signature perfume and many fond memories came flooding back. Ah yes, the day she’d discovered him and plucked him from obscurity. The day they’d first made love. And most important of all, the day he’d stood in her recording studio and cut his first single.

  Suga hugged him so tightly he could barely breathe, showering him with wet jammy kisses as was her way.

  Luca was glad Jeromy wasn’t around to witness his ex-wife’s display of affection. He knew it pissed Jeromy off that Suga was still such a big part of his life. Too bad. As far as Luca was concerned, it was something that would never change. He owed everything to Suga. Without her there was no way he would have risen to become the star he was today – the blond, blue-eyed Latin singing sensation that Suga had introduced to the world.

  ‘You’re back early,’ he remarked, gently extracting himself from her clutches. ‘Thought you weren’t due home until next week. What happened?’

  Suga pulled a face. ‘My manager – he cancelled the Sao Paulo concert. The ticket sales – they were not so fantastic.’

  ‘Must be the economy,’ Luca said without taking a beat. ‘Ticket sales are down across the board.’

  Suga patted his cheek affectionately. ‘Not for you, mi amor.’

  ‘For everyone,’ Luca assured her, although he suspected it wasn’t true. On his last concert tour, ticket sales had hit an all-time high.

  He hated the fact that Suga’s star was starting to fade. What could be do about it?

  ‘Where is my other tesoro?’ Suga demanded, hands on ample hips. ‘I have to hug my little Luca junior.’

  ‘He’s out playing soccer with some of his friends.’

  ‘Too bad,’ she said, pursing her lips. ‘I must go fetch him.’ />
  ‘No way,’ Luca said, hurriedly shaking his head. ‘The kid’s nine, he’ll be embarrassed if you descend on him, you know what he’s like.’

  ‘Embarrassed! Ha!’ Suga snorted. ‘I am his mama. I could never embarrass my little baby.’

  ‘Let’s get together for dinner tonight, just the three of us,’ Luca suggested, knowing that Luca junior would be mortified if Suga turned up at his soccer game in all her glory. ‘We’ll have fun.’

  ‘Si?’ she said, raising an artfully pencilled eyebrow. ‘And where is Mister Stick Up His Ass?’

  ‘If you’re talking about Jeromy, he’s in London, back tomorrow.’

  ‘Ah,’ Suga sighed. ‘Me vuelves loco! You have so many beautiful boys to choose from, an’ yet you stay with someone so . . . dry.’

  ‘You need to get to know him better,’ Luca said calmly. ‘We should hang out, spend more time together.’

  ‘I don’t think so, mi amor,’ Suga said, shaking her curls. ‘He doesn’t like me. I don’t like him.’

  ‘Why can’t you two get along?’

  ‘Because Jeromy is not the man for you.’ A meaningful pause. ‘You will see. You will learn.’

  Luca shrugged. ‘Nothing to learn. I know everything there is to know about him.’

  Suga smiled before leaning over and lightly caressing her ex-husband’s package. ‘Do not waste what you have, carino. You are far too young and far too beautiful.’

  Luca couldn’t help grinning. ‘You think?’

  ‘Ah, mi tesoro, Suga knows,’ she cooed. ‘An’ you know that Suga is always right.’

  * * *

  Jeromy Milton-Gold groaned as he reached orgasm. When he was done, he roughly shoved the boy’s head away from his crotch.

  The boy – a sulky eighteen, if that – wondered aloud if Jeromy would now like to suck him off.

  ‘No,’ Jeromy snapped, as if the very thought disgusted him. ‘You can take your money and go.’

  ‘But I thought—’

  ‘Don’t think,’ Jeromy said sharply. ‘I am not paying you to think. Pick up your filthy money and get the hell out.’

  ‘Fucker!’ the boy muttered under his breath.

  Unfortunately, Jeromy heard him. ‘What did you say?’ he asked, narrowing his eyes.

  The boy grabbed his money from the table and made a run for the door.

  Jeromy thought about chasing him and teaching him a lesson, then he thought, why bother? The boy might be a fighter, and the last thing he needed was to arrive in Miami with a nasty black eye.

  If only he could curb his desire for random satisfaction.

  No, that would be asking the impossible. Besides, after a night out with Ashley and her boring (although admittedly gorgeous) husband, surely he was entitled to some light relief?

  And what Luca didn’t know . . .

  Jeromy was excellent at burying any guilt he might feel. Besides, he’d never promised Luca that he would be faithful, and allowing some random boy he’d ordered off the Internet to give him oral was hardly being a slut. It was more like he was taking care of business in a purely uninvolved way.

  Yes, that was it. No emotion. No connection. Merely a swift sexual transaction for money. In the morning he’d be on a plane to Miami, then straight back into the arms of his super-star boyfriend.

  He hoped that Luca’s fat ex-wife, Suga, wasn’t around. The woman was a joke with her huge floppy breasts, loud voice and ridiculous blond curls. It was surely time that Luca disassociated himself from her.

  The thought of his young partner ever having been with Suga made Jeromy physically sick. Although he tried not to think about it, there were times he couldn’t stop himself from imagining them together. Suga, rolling on top of Luca, crushing his perfect body with her outrageous tits, opening her legs for him, sucking his delicious cock. The images were unbearable.

  What he couldn’t understand was why Luca encouraged the cow to still be in his life. True, they had a son together, Luca junior. But why couldn’t Luca start putting some distance between them? Suga’s Miami mansion was five minutes away from Luca’s mansion. In Jeromy’s eyes it was not a happy situation.

  Jeromy had made up his mind that when they were on the Kasianenko yacht, he would insist that they sell the Miami mansion and move far away from Miss Suga Tits – the title he’d bestowed on Luca’s ex.

  Ah yes, perhaps acquire a house in London’s Belgrave Square, a house that he could decorate and transform into an amazing palace for his young lover.

  Jeromy gave a thin smile at the thought of how envious all his London acquaintances would be if he persuaded Luca to move to London. With his prince in tow, he could lord it over everyone. He could certainly lord it over the affluent gay brigade who’d dismissed him as an old man when he’d hit forty.

  Old man indeed! Meeting up with Luca had been a lifesaver. He’d shown every one of his so-called friends that Jeromy Milton-Gold still had it.

  Jeromy Milton-Gold had scored the perfect prize, and they could all go fly a kite. He had a rich famous boyfriend, a revitalized business, and he was on top of the world. So fuck ’em all.

  Chapter Twelve

  Hammond waved the invitation in Sierra’s face as if it were a weapon. ‘We’re taking this trip,’ he said brusquely. ‘And you’d better be sure to look your best. Aleksandr Kasianenko is an extremely rich and influential man, and in case you’re too stupid to realize it, I need to have people like him on my side. Aleksandr can help us a lot.’

  ‘You mean he can help you,’ Sierra muttered, wishing she were somewhere else. She hadn’t wanted to visit Hammond at his office; however, he’d insisted she come, and as usual she’d complied.

  She had a dull throbbing headache, which lately was becoming a daily occurrence.

  ‘You’re such a miserable bitch,’ Hammond snarled. ‘My God, you’re starting to look your age too. For Christ’s sake, get yourself together.’

  ‘Maybe you should get rid of me,’ Sierra replied with a flash of her former self. ‘Find yourself a newer model – I’m sure there’s plenty of fresh meat around to accommodate you. How about the young intern I saw in the office when I came in? She seems a likely candidate.’

  ‘Shut the fuck up,’ Hammond said with an icy glare. ‘You’re my wife. Try to act as if you deserve the position.’

  Sierra was about to respond, when Hammond’s chief aide, Eddie March, entered the office. Eddie was the complete opposite of Hammond. A genuinely nice man, excellent at his job and full of boyish enthusiasm. Eddie was the real deal.

  As soon as Eddie appeared, Hammond’s attitude changed. Suddenly he became Hammond Patterson, the smooth and charming man of the people.

  ‘You should run along now, darling,’ he said, turning to his wife and kissing her on the cheek. ‘I want you to buy anything it takes for you to be the most beautiful woman on our upcoming trip. Here,’ he added, fishing in his pocket and producing a black American Express card. ‘Buy whatever you deem suitable. I know your taste is impeccable.’

  Sierra nodded. She was married to Jekyll and Hyde. She was married to a man of many faces.

  ‘That’s generous of you,’ Eddie said with an admiring chuckle. ‘If I gave my girlfriend a card like that she’d zip out of town and never come back!’

  Sierra smiled politely, while thinking, I wish I could leave town and never come back. Only she knew that escaping from Hammond’s clutches was impossible. Somehow or other he’d make good on his threats – she had no doubt at all about how far he would go.

  ‘You look beautiful as always,’ Eddie said, smiling at Sierra. ‘Morning, noon and night. How do you do it?’

  ‘You’d be wise to stop flattering her,’ Hammond said with an affectionate glance at his wife. ‘Too many compliments will go straight to her head. And that’ll cost me.’

  Sierra couldn’t take any more. Hammond’s Mister Nice Guy act in front of people sickened her.

  ‘I’d better get going,’ she said.

 
; ‘Always a pleasure,’ Eddie said.

  Sierra plastered on an empty smile and exited. She’d taken two Xanax in the morning to dull the pain of her false existence. Now she needed another pill to get her through the day.

  The outer offices were full of people who worked for Hammond. His supporters, his team, most of whom had helped get him elected.

  She wondered what they’d think if they knew the real man who lurked beneath the façade. Would they ever find out?

  No. Because Hammond was too adept at concealing his real self.

  Nadia, Hammond’s main assistant, stopped her on the way out.

  ‘Mrs Patterson,’ she said. ‘Our newest intern is such a huge fan. Would you mind if I introduced you? It would absolutely make her day.’

  ‘Not at all,’ Sierra said graciously as Nadia ushered the girl over to her.

  The girl was ripe and young, slightly overweight with large breasts and a toothy smile.

  ‘This is Skylar,’ Nadia said. ‘She’s joining the team for the summer.’

  Yes, Sierra thought, exactly the way Hammond likes them, enthusiastic and naïve. He’ll soon ruin all her illusions.

  ‘Hello, Skylar,’ she said with a warm smile. ‘Welcome.’

  ‘Thank you, Mrs Patterson,’ Skylar replied, totally thrilled to be meeting the Senator’s popular wife. ‘It’s an honour to be working for Senator Patterson. I feel so lucky.’

  I’m sure, Sierra thought. And will it still be an honour when he grabs your ass and asks you to go down on him? Will you fall in love with him like a legion of foolish girls before you?

  ‘Enjoy your summer,’ Sierra murmured. Enjoy giving the Senator head and getting nothing in return. It’s inevitable. A fact of life. Poor little girl, you’ll be powerless to resist his honest brown eyes and ready smile. Tread carefully, for he will use you and then abandon you like all the others.

  She made it outside and fell into the town car waiting for her, Hammond’s black Amex card still clutched in her hand. What to do with that?

  Go shopping, of course. Infuriate him by spending more money than he intended. He’d only handed her the card to look like the generous husband in front of Eddie; it was all for show.