Kiss Heaven Goodbye Part 36

'Alex, stop acting like a big girl,' said Miles with irritation. 'You just gave your demo to David Falk. People would literally kill for that opportunity. If he likes it, he'll call you. Now don't ever say I owe you one.'

Suddenly Alex wanted to get away from this place. He shouldn't have come here, he knew that now. He felt soiled and shameful just being close to Miles Ashford. Miles corrupted everything he touched.

'I have to get back to the hotel,' said Alex.

'Call yourself rock and roll?' said Miles with a mocking laugh. 'And how do you intend getting back to the Chateau?'

'I'll find a taxi.'

'You'll be lucky.'

'Goodbye, Miles.'Miles was right. Again. It took Alex thirty minutes of walking through the dark before he could flag a taxi, and when he got back to the hotel he ordered a triple Jack Daniel's which sent him into a deep, medicinal sleep until ten o'clock the next morning. The phone woke him, a shrill ring that clattered round his fragile head. He clawed for the phone and pulled the receiver under the covers.

'Ungh? Whoizit?' he mumbled.

'OK, here's what I think,' said an unfamiliar voice down the line. 'One minute you're trying to be Jeff Buckley, the next minute you're trying to show off what a brilliant experimental musician you are, and if that's what you want you should be trying to join Philip Gla.s.s' orchestra, not touting yourself to me.'

Alex immediately sat up in bed, stars popping in front of his eyes. 'Mr Falk? Is that you?' he asked incredulously.

The mogul wasn't listening. 'But there're moments of f.u.c.king genius on this tape, baby. Total genius. And it doesn't hurt you look so hot either.'

'Wow,' stuttered Alex. 'Thanks ... So you're interested, then?'

'I'm only going to say this once, Alex. Sign with Falk Records and I'll sell you two hundred million records.'

'Whoo-hoo!' screamed Alex, trying to punch the air, but getting tangled in the sheets and landing with a crash on the floor. 'Mr Falk? You still there?' he said, grappling with the phone.

'There're lots of things we need to talk about. Management. I'm thinking about putting a band around you too, like Springsteen and the E Street Band. I know you're talking to other labels so I want to move quickly to get you in our studio. We have a movie coming out next summer. It's going to be hot with the sixteen to twenty-four crowd. We've been looking for a t.i.tle track and that song on your tape, "Angel Falls"? It's good, really good. It's about a woman, right?'

'Actually, a place,' said Alex more quietly.

'Place, woman, we can fix that,' said Falk. 'I'll see you in my office, three this afternoon.' And he clicked off.

Alex stared at the receiver in disbelief. Then he let out a whoop of delight and ran around the room doing a victory dance, finis.h.i.+ng with a screaming dive back on to the bed. He stared at the ceiling, a big grin on his face. This afternoon he was supposed to be in Santa Barbara playing to students; instead he was going to sign a record deal with the the biggest star-maker in the business. He thought of Miles. He thought of Angel Cay. And then he thought of nothing, as he got up, had a shower and prepared himself for the first day of his new life. biggest star-maker in the business. He thought of Miles. He thought of Angel Cay. And then he thought of nothing, as he got up, had a shower and prepared himself for the first day of his new life.

39

March 1997

Philip paced up and down the deep-pile carpet checking his watch. The suite at the Peninsula was costing the Rivera company three thousand dollars a night and that was before Sasha had transformed it into her romantic vision of a Parisian fitting room. A dozen vases of ivory lilies gave the whole room an exotic perfume, while light refreshments came in the form of iced Cristal and chocolate-dipped strawberries. In the bedroom of the suite were rails of Ben's most exquisite gowns in a rainbow of colours together with neatly paired heels and Judith Leiber handbags to complete the look.

'Are you sure anyone is going to come?' he said.

'Relax,' said Sasha as she made last-minute adjustments to the room. 'It's going to be fine.'

Philip was such a worrier, thought Sasha irritably; always focusing on their cashflow, he never took the time to see the big picture. The fact was that the Beverly Hills store was due to open in April and without this afternoon of dressing-up and canapes there was a very real chance the whole company could collapse. In two days' time, LA would be locked down for the biggest event in the city's year, the Oscars ceremony, and they desperately needed to get the actresses and wives walking along that red carpet in Rivera gowns. They had launched the company on the red carpet three years ago with Giselle's daring, dazzling dress and it had been a ma.s.sive success, making Rivera a household name and ensuring the London store had to employ a queuing system in order to deal with the demand. But getting a dress into the Oscars would mean global exposure; the coverage was watched by thirty million people in the US alone. With the cost of hotels, flights, catering, not to mention the gowns, this afternoon was a huge risk for them, but Sasha firmly believed it was worth it.

'This afternoon is going to put us on the map, sweetie,' she said, allowing herself the tiniest sip of champagne. 'Two years ago everyone thought Prada was just a handbag line. They get Uma Thurman in that lilac dress at the Oscars and bam, they're the hottest fas.h.i.+on label in Milan. This isn't Giselle Makin making waves in London. This is the big time, Philip.'

Philip didn't look convinced. 'What time is the first appointment? '

'One thirty. Why?'

'First of all, I'm worried we're going to have a bottleneck of starlets arguing over the same b.l.o.o.d.y dress. And two, where is our b.l.o.o.d.y publicist?'

Marina Schwartz had been the biggest expense of this afternoon's showcase, but she was essential to the operation. One of LA's top celebrity publicists, she had for a very large fee agreed to spend the day bringing her roster of clients over to the suite to try on the gowns one by one. She had also got Sasha on the guest lists for the most important Oscar-night parties.

'She'll be here,' said Sasha. 'You look very handsome today, you know,' she said, adjusting his collar. He was being a pain in the backside, but Sasha needed him to stay on side. If he had wanted to, he could easily have derailed the whole scheme. 'I hope you're not going to distract these greedy little starlets too much from the dresses,' she purred.

Finally he smiled and pulled her towards him. G.o.d, men were so easy to manipulate.

'When we've got rid of them all, why don't we make the most of the suite?' she whispered.

Philip pulled a face. 'Remember we've got dinner with Doug Petersen tonight. I've got us reservations at Spago.'

Sasha shook her head. 'Not tonight. Marina is taking me to some pre-Oscars party in the Hills. I need to be out there being seen to be glamorous, especially just before the Rodeo Drive opening; we need the face of the company in all the pap shots.'

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. 'But this is Doug Petersen, Sash,' he said. 'You know he's Robert Ashford's top guy in America. We've got to keep Ash Corp. sweet.'

He was right, of course. Expansion on to America's West Coast had only been made possible with strategic investment from Robert Ashford, who had rented the label one of the units Ash Corp. owned on Rodeo Drive in return for a small stake in the US arm of the business. Impressed by their business plan, Robert had also been swayed by his wife's enthusiasm for Ben Rivera's designs 'as good as Lagerfeld' she had remarked after a visit to their Ebury Street store. Sasha also suspected that part of Robert's interest in Rivera was due to the fact that Miles was also a shareholder. He might no longer hold financial sway over his son, but at least with access to the books, he could legitimately keep tabs on him.

'Don't worry about Ash Corp.,' smiled Sasha. 'You know I go a long way back with the family.'

Philip picked up a strawberry and bit into it. 'Aren't these starlets going to want to meet the great designer himself?'

'I am the face of the label, Philip,' said Sasha with irritation. 'Anyway, Ben didn't come for a reason. He's been getting b.l.o.o.d.y snarky lately, always wanting to know why he isn't doing any interviews in Vogue Vogue or the fas.h.i.+on pages of or the fas.h.i.+on pages of The Times The Times. I can't tell you the amount of times I've had to stop myself from reminding him that no one wants to see a camp little midget as the frontman of the company.'

Philip winced. 'Oof, more than a little harsh there, baby. He's just finding it hard to let go.'

'No, he's clinging on for dear life,' said Sasha. 'He knows we don't need him any more. I swear it's like pulling teeth these days; when I mentioned a diffusion collection, he threw another hissy fit.'

'But we do need him, Sash,' said Philip gently.

'No, Phil, we don't,' she said angrily. It was the one thing that drove her mad about the business. Sasha Sinclair was seen as a well-dressed a.r.s.e-kicking businesswoman, while Ben took all the credit for the designs. But the collections were all her vision, her look look. With each season, she had more input in the design process, adapting the label's cla.s.sic shapes and seasonal staples with inspired changes, or choosing a template of colours that would flatter any woman. And now that the clothes were being made in ready-to-wear factories in Italy, Ben's skills as a tailor and couturier had become superfluous. They were not just selling dresses, they were selling a lifestyle. Sasha Sasha's lifestyle. She was about to say more when the door of the suite buzzed. In swept Marina Schwartz in a cloud of expensive scent. lifestyle. She was about to say more when the door of the suite buzzed. In swept Marina Schwartz in a cloud of expensive scent.

'Showtime, darlings!' she purred, air-kissing them both. 'You know Nicole, of course?'

A pet.i.te girl with waist-length copper-coloured hair came into the suite carrying a tiny dog.

This was a promising start, thought Sasha to herself. Nicole Barton was the star of the hottest new ABC drama and a fixture in the US celebrity style magazines. She had been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her first big screen role as a downtrodden servant girl in a lavish adaptation of a Henry James novel.

'Am I the first?' she said, running over to the rail of dresses with a little squeal of pleasure.

'Of course you are, Nicky,' said Sasha, pouring on the fas.h.i.+on charm. 'We wanted you to have first pick. We have so many wonderful gowns, but I thought this one would look amazing on you ...'By three o'clock there had been a steady stream of celebrities and superwives the partners of Hollywood producers and directors pa.s.sing through the suite. Nicole had been so delighted with her amber scooped-back column dress, she had phoned all her young Hollywood friends and told them to get over to the Peninsula immediately. They had quickly adopted an efficient system: Philip and Marina would entertain the incoming actresses, stylists and a.s.sorted hangers-on in the living room while Sasha took the next in line into the bedroom for a consultation.

With a break in the traffic, Sasha flopped down on the bed and helped herself to one of the exquisite hors d'oeuvres standing on a crystal tray: perfect choux pastry wrapped around Ligurian truffles. They had remained completely untouched throughout the day: no one ate so close to the ceremony. Peeking around the door to make sure no starlets were still inside, Philip came in to join her.

'This is getting out of control,' he moaned, taking off his suit jacket and fanning himself with a room-service menu. 'Marina is telling all of them that if they wear the gown on the red carpet they can keep it!'

'I told her to say that,' said Sasha calmly. 'I'm absolutely sure Armani is saying the same thing.'

'But what about the dresses that get taken and not worn?' said Philip, exasperated. 'How many of those do you realistically think we are going to see again?'

Sasha sighed. She was getting tired of his penny-pinching. 'Does it matter?'

'Of course it matters!' cried Philip. 'Forty dresses have gone out so far and their wholesale price is three thousand bucks apiece. a.s.suming we never see thirty of them again, that's almost a hundred thousand dollars we're going to have to write off.'

'Which is a bargain if we even get five five celebrities to wear a Rivera dress down the Oscars red carpet,' said Sasha patiently. 'That's what we're doing this for, remember?' celebrities to wear a Rivera dress down the Oscars red carpet,' said Sasha patiently. 'That's what we're doing this for, remember?'

Marina popped her head around the bedroom door. 'Important client alert,' she whispered. 'Ginger Wilson.'

Sasha and Philip looked at each other.

Ginger wasn't strictly speaking a celebrity herself, but as the wife of Steven Goldberg, one of Hollywood's biggest producers, she was one of the most powerful women in LA. The fifty-something walked in wearing fitted jeans and a cashmere T-s.h.i.+rt with a crocodile Hermes Birkin hanging from the crook of her arm. Pulling off her sungla.s.ses, she went straight over to the clothes rail.

'Oh my G.o.d, I just love this,' she said, removing a long sequinned sheath dress and holding it aloft so it s.h.i.+mmered in the light. 'I've just got to try it on.'

'A perfect choice,' smiled Sasha, shooing Philip out of the room as Ginger grabbed a pair of silver shoes to go with it. Sasha had noticed that in Hollywood, the richer the woman, the more she wanted a freebie. Sasha didn't mind, as long as she could get something in return.

'This looks amazing,' said Ginger, admiring herself in the mirror.

'Well there's more where that came from,' said Sasha. 'It's the opening of the Rodeo Rivera store next month. Maybe we could talk later about you hosting a little launch there.'

'Absolutely,' gushed Ginger. 'I just know all my girlfriends are gonna go green when they see me in this.'

The doorbell rang again and Sasha was dumbstruck when Ben Rivera flounced into the room.

'Ben?' said Sasha and Philip in unison.

'In the flesh,' he said. 'I just couldn't stay away.'

'So you're the design genius I've been hearing about,' said Ginger, extending her hand. 'One of my girlfriends came here this lunchtime and said your stuff was to die for. I had to come and check it out, and you know what? She was right.'

'Umm, that colour is so good on your skin,' said Ben, one camp finger to his lips. 'Although I think I might be able to add something here ...' he said, pinching the material at the waist.

'Could you?' she gushed. 'My husband's mistress is going to be there on Sunday. I want something that's going to knock them both dead.'

'I will make you even more stunning than you already are.' He smiled.

'Actually, I'm having a little pre-Oscars drinks party tonight,' said Ginger. 'Perhaps you could come over and we can talk about it? My girlfriends will love meeting the man who's going to make them look so pretty pretty tomorrow night.' tomorrow night.'

'Of course,' said Ben. 'That is what I am here for!'

Sasha coughed discreetly. 'Ben?' she said. 'Can I just have a word with you for one moment?'

She led him out on to the terrace, her cheeks burning with fury.

'What the h.e.l.l are you doing here?' she said as soon as the doors were closed. 'I thought you were holding the fort in London.'

'How could I stay there and miss all this?' he said with a note of petulance. 'This is my company too. I don't want to be left in a dark room with a tape measure round my neck.'

That's where I'd like it to be, thought Sasha. Tied really tight. Tied really tight.

'We have roles, Ben,' she said angrily. ' I I am the amba.s.sador. am the amba.s.sador. You You are the designer.' are the designer.'

'Exactly, which is why people want to meet me today. You heard Ginger.' He smirked. 'I am the man who makes women beautiful.'

'No, you are the little queen who b.i.t.c.hes about everything.'

Ben gasped. 'How dare you speak to me like that?'

Sasha knew she should back off, save this for a better time, but this fight had been coming for months and she was incensed at Ben's game-playing. He knew this would embarra.s.s her and undermine her hard-won position in LA, yet he'd come anyway. Well, she wasn't going to have anyone steal her thunder, not now.

'I want you out of here,' she said, her voice rising.

'Who the h.e.l.l do you think you are, Sasha?'

'The woman who has turned this company into the hottest new label in town,' she spat. 'Who do you you think you are?' think you are?'

Philip put his head around the door. 'Ginger is leaving,' he said with a warning glance. 'You might want to have this conversation later, in private private.'

Sasha tried to compose herself. She knew it was unprofessional to leave such a big client, but the whole afternoon was beginning to wind her up. Philip's disapproving looks every time someone opened a bottle of champagne, Marina's constant backhanded compliments about how such a small company was doing so well, and the endless grabbing expectancy of the actresses when they knew how important exposure at the Oscars was to a label.

Squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath, she walked back into the suite, where Ginger kissed Ben on the cheeks. 'Make me look hot, hot, hot and I'll get you into the Vanity Fair Vanity Fair party at Morton's tomorrow night,' she said with a wink as she left. 'We're going to make you into the new Dior.' party at Morton's tomorrow night,' she said with a wink as she left. 'We're going to make you into the new Dior.'

As the door clicked shut, Sasha glared at Ben, but he just smiled smugly. 'The Vanity Fair Vanity Fair party,' he beamed. 'I knew it was worth coming.' party,' he beamed. 'I knew it was worth coming.'

Sasha grabbed her clutch bag and stalked out of the suite. Philip followed her into the hallway.

'Sasha, come on,' he called. 'Don't blow it up out of proportion. It's not the end of the world.'

Sasha glared at him. 'It better not be.'

She walked quickly down to the elevator, but instead of pressing the 'L' for 'Lobby' b.u.t.ton, she went up to the top floor where the roof garden restaurant had a lavish rest room. Leaning into the mirror, she put some blusher on her cheeks, thickened her lashes with mascara and drew a slick of gloss across her lips. Smiling to herself, she hitched up her skirt and removed the cream lace La Perla thong she was wearing, hiding it in her clutch. Walking purposefully back out, she turned away from the lift bank and took the stairs down two floors, the thrill of danger surging through her body as she strode along the soft carpet of the corridor. She took a deep breath, then knocked on the door of the corner suite. It swung open and he was standing there, casual in suit trousers and a blue s.h.i.+rt open at the neck.

'h.e.l.lo, Robert,' she said as she stepped into the suite.

Robert Ashford smiled at her. 'How's it going up there?'

'Ben b.l.o.o.d.y Rivera has just turned up,' she said. 'He is getting to be very troublesome. Philip too; always complaining, never able to see the big picture. I'm sick of both of them. They just don't share our vision.'