348 - Hollywood: Blueprint (Patreon)

348 - No More Interruptions?

It was going to be a restless night, not only for the people in Los Angeles watching Evan's troubles with their own interests in mind, but also for the entertainment and financial press across North America.

His wealth had become a regular subject of coverage. Talk shows were inviting self-styled financial experts to pick apart the young director's investments from every angle.

Once the allegations joined the story, other business outlets took notice. A famous man with a fortune could hold the public's attention even when the publication had little to do with film. Editors knew a story that would sell.

In the master bedroom of his Four Seasons suite in Boston, Evan sat on the edge of the bed with the telephone in his hand. He listened without showing much on his face, giving a brief answer now and then.

Jennifer Connelly was still between his knees. Frustration crept in despite her efforts to hide it.

Two calls had interrupted them tonight. She was close enough to hear a woman's voice on each call, but not the words. Whatever the callers wanted, Evan considered it important enough to stop what they were doing.

Jennifer had seen enough of men to know how unusual that was. Most of them did not set aside sex for a conversation that could wait until morning.

This night mattered to her. She had grown up around the industry and knew that hard work and a powerful ally could lead to very different careers.

Being cast in The Departed was valuable, but she did not want this to be the only Evan Rosenberg film on her resume. A grounded crime drama could be a step toward more visible work.

They were away from Los Angeles, and none of the women usually close to him were here. Jennifer had chosen to use that opening to become someone he would remember when he put together his next large commercial production.

One role in a hit on that scale might do more for her public profile and her asking price than several smaller, critically admired films.

Awards and independent films had their place. Jennifer also understood what a mainstream studio picture could do for a woman whose presence sold tickets. She did not intend to apologize for wanting that kind of career.

She had no ambition to follow Meryl Streep's path, however much she respected the work and the Oscars. What Jennifer wanted was the visibility that made a star unavoidable.

Cameron Diaz already had a reputation as a sex symbol. Naomi Watts was gaining ground, and Nicole Kidman's marriage to Tom Cruise had helped put her in the public eye. Jennifer measured herself against women of her own generation.

From where she stood, talent was only part of the equation. Each of those women had someone able to open doors. It was a harsh way to think about her competitors, but it made her determined to use the chance she had with Evan.

When people spoke about actresses of the nineties, Julia Roberts was one of the first names they mentioned. Jennifer wanted to be one of the women people would name when they looked back on the turn of the century.

She knew how crowded that ambition was. Other actresses wanted the same roles, the same attention, and the same rare chance to move from respected work to genuine stardom. Much of the competition never reached the public eye.

That was the humiliating part of her calculation. She had trained and worked for years, yet a promise from the man holding the phone might change her career faster than her talent or persistence could.

The woman on the first call seemed to have received exactly such a promise. Jennifer had heard enough of Evan's side of that conversation to recognize it.

"Leave things as they are for now," Evan said after listening a few more minutes. "I'll have Nina contact you. We need to draw out whoever made the offer. I want to know who's been reaching in from behind the scenes."

He paused, then added, "Stay focused on Independence Day. At least it doesn't look as though Fox is part of this, though I'm not ruling anything out. Be careful what you say, and don't give any interviews for now."

The receiver clicked into its cradle. Evan took a cigarette from the nightstand, lit it, and drew on it until he could release a long breath of smoke.

Jennifer looked up when he touched her hair. The smile he gave her was the first unguarded one she had seen in days, as if the call had cleared some of the pressure hanging over him.

"We have to pause again," he said. He indicated the robe she had left nearby. "Put that on and ask Nina to come in. I need to speak to her."

"Now?" Jennifer asked.

"Now. Please."

She fought the urge to roll her eyes, wiped her mouth, and slipped into the robe. At the bedroom door, she stopped and turned back toward him.

"And after that? Do you still want me here tonight?"

"Of course, sweetheart." Evan rose and straightened his own robe, the cigarette between his lips. "Wake Nina, then wait in the living room. This won't take long."

Nina arrived with tangled hair and a sleepy, irritated expression. She had changed into a nightshirt and was still rubbing her eyes. Jennifer must have woken her not long after she had fallen asleep.

"Boss, shouldn't you be busy with your guest?" Nina asked. "What could be more urgent at this hour?"

Evan ignored the edge in her voice and told her about the two calls. She was fully awake before he finished.

"So the people behind this want someone close to you to make the accusation that really lands," Nina said.

They both understood the risk. If Cameron or Halle spoke against him, their words would carry more weight than Katie's. The story could become much harder to contain.

Evan gave a short, contemptuous laugh. "Neither of them is foolish. Call them both tomorrow and find out who approached them."

He had stayed in Boston and kept working as though the campaign were happening to someone else. It did not mean he had forgotten it. First he wanted names. Then he would decide how to answer each person involved.

They worked in the same industry. In Evan's mind, that meant there would be time to return the favor, however long it took.

"All right. I'm going back to bed." Nina yawned and started toward the living room. "Do you want me to send Jennifer back in?"

"Yes."

For much of the remaining night, Evan and Jennifer went back to bed together with an intensity neither tried to hide. She met his appetite willingly; he had plenty of energy left. The hotel's thick walls kept the sounds inside the suite.

Jennifer eventually fell asleep against him, exhausted. Evan reached for his watch. It was after two in the morning, but he felt more awake than he had before.

There was something about her that held his attention. Her striking face and reserved air concealed a willingness to experiment that surprised him.

She was attentive to what he liked and willing to try some of his preferences. He could imagine wanting her in his bed again.

With Jennifer asleep in his arms, he thought about the two women who had called. They had recognized the offers for what they were and refused to let themselves be used against him.

People who knew Evan well also knew how dangerous it would be to mistake his pleasant manner for an inability to retaliate. He could be patient when he believed someone had crossed him.

He was convinced his relationships would not bring him down. In the life he remembered, wealthy men had survived scandals far worse than rumors about their private lives. He treated that as proof that money and influence could absorb almost anything.

That reasoning suited him. He believed access and financial security mattered more to the women around him than an uncertain offer from someone else. He dismissed the men who had lost everything after a former partner spoke out as men who had failed to look after their own interests.

He thought of the women he knew and the careers some of them would build. None struck him as incapable of weighing a bargain. The conclusion flattered his confidence in both them and himself.

An offer from a stranger might tempt someone for a moment. Given time to compare it with the work Evan could actually provide, he expected each woman to stay with the choice she knew.

He preferred a dependable arrangement to a grand promise that might never be honored. He could not see why they would choose otherwise, though he knew perfectly well that other people in Hollywood broke promises as soon as they got what they wanted.

"What will they try next?" he murmured.

Holding Jennifer a little closer, Evan closed his eyes.