Chapter 14
A few minutes before Ronan had spotted Katy, Billy was politely listening to a woman who had cornered him moments earlier.
“They tell you that it’s a dry heat, as if that makes it better.
” She snorted and waved her fingers like she was batting something away.
“It may be dry, but it’s still heat. The moment it gets above eighty-five, I head to my place in Big Bear, and don’t come back down until the temperature does the same. ”
“That sounds reasonable to me,” Billy said, smiling and nodding politely.
Her name was Edie Jones. She’d apparently been the ex-wife of a television executive back in the seventies and had been living in Palm Springs ever since. From the clues Billy had picked up, she had to be more than ninety. But she seemed to have the energy of someone several decades younger.
“It’s practical, is what it is,” she said. “Makes it easier to keep my boyfriend here separate from my boyfriend there.”
“Oh, uh, I suppose that’s true. Is your local man with you tonight?”
She grinned and took a step closer to him. “He’s out of town.”
“Is that right?” Billy glanced around, looking for any excuse to make his escape.
“Perhaps after the party, you’d like to come over for a nightcap.”
“Uh…”
“Billy?”
Billy turned to see Stone walking over to them.
“Do you have a moment?” Stone asked.
“Of course.” To Edie, Billy said, “Please, excuse me.”
“Sure, doll. You know where to find me when you’re done.”
“I do indeed.”
As he walked away with Stone, Billy whispered, “Thank you.”
“You looked like you needed a bit of rescuing.”
“You could say that.”
“At the risk of tarnishing my heroic deed, I actually came to tell you something I overheard.”
“Oh?”
“The man in charge of the party is named Ronan Davis. He’s Damian’s assistant.”
“Is that so?” Billy said, interested. “You don’t happen to know where I could find him, do you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Stone said. He looked across the crowd, then pointed at a young man standing near the stage where the band was setting up. “That’s him.”
“If you ever get tired of lawyering, you should try being a detective.”
“My former bosses at the NYPD would disagree, but thanks.”
Billy walked over to where Peter was speaking with the former star of an early 2000s hit sitcom. “Pardon my interruption,” he said. “But I need to borrow Peter for a few minutes.”
“Of course,” the actor said. “Nice talking to you, Peter. Remember, I think we’d work great together.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Peter nodded.
Billy and Peter stepped away.
“I swear, if anyone else tells me how much they want to work with me, I’m going to hide in one of Damian’s bathrooms.”
“I recommend the one just down the hallway. I used it earlier. It’s very nice. Roomy, too, in case you have to be there for a while.”
“I appreciate the way you always have my best interests at heart.”
“I do, indeed. And speaking of interests, I thought we could have a word with Damian’s assistant and see if he can set up a meeting for us with his boss.”
“Good idea. Do you know who that is?”
Billy looked to where he’d last seen Ronan, but the man was no longer there. He glanced around until he spotted him walking toward the house. “This way.”
He headed into the crowd.
—
“What are you doing here?” Ronan demanded.
“What do you mean?” Katy asked innocently. “I’m here to celebrate Damian’s birthday.”
“This is a private party, and I know for a fact that you are not on the guest list.”
“Which was very hurtful, by the way,” she countered. “I would have thought you would have at least extended me that courtesy, after what we shared.”
“What we shared?” Ronan could barely hold in his anger. “Despite what I thought at first, what we shared wasn’t even real. I was just a means to an end for you.”
Their relationship had been a sham from the beginning. She’d gone after him solely because of his connection to Damian, in the hopes he would help her acting career. When Ronan finally realized the truth, he’d quickly cut her off. It had been months since he’d last seen her.
“You’re overreacting again,” she said. “I told you it wasn’t like that.”
“It was exactly like that, and both of us know it.”
She opened her mouth to argue the point but was stopped by Ronan’s cold stare.
Ronan was about to tell her to leave when out of the corner of his eye he noticed two people looking in his direction.
He glanced their way and instantly recognized them as Peter Barrington and Billy Barnett, the Oscar-winning duo behind Desperation at Dawn.
Their latest film, Storm’s Eye, had quickly become one of Ronan’s favorites.
After they had RSVPed for the party, Ronan had been hoping to meet at least one of them. And now here they were seemingly waiting for him.
Billy Barnett noticed his attention. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“Not at all,” Ronan said. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“I understand you’re Ronan Davis, Damian’s assistant.”
“That’s correct.”
“When you’re free, we’d love a moment of your time.”
“Of course,” Ronan said, barely able to contain his excitement. “Give me a sec, and I’ll be right with you.”
“Take your time,” Billy said, then he and Peter stepped several feet away.
Ronan turned his attention back to Katy. “You need to leave.”
“Please, Ronan. I’m already here. Can’t you just let me stay?”
He closed his eyes.
“I promise I won’t get in your way,” she said.
He blew out a breath and looked at her again. If he threw her out, he wouldn’t put it past her to make a scene. “If you stay, you cannot talk to Damian, not even to say happy birthday.”
“I won’t,” she said quickly.
“And the moment I hear you’re bothering anyone else about getting a job…no, about anything, you are out of here.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be a good girl.” She smiled. “Thank you!”
He glared at her for a second. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“I would never. Thanks, Ronan.”
After she hurried off, he took a breath, then walked over to where Billy and Peter were waiting.
—
“Gentlemen, how can I help you?” Ronan asked as he joined Billy and Peter.
Billy smiled. “My name’s Billy Barnett, and this is—”
“Peter Barrington,” Ronan said. “I’m a big fan of you both.”
The men exchanged handshakes.
“I’ve seen Storm’s Eye three times already, and Desperation at Dawn at least that many.” He scoffed at himself. “Sorry, I’m sounding like a crazy fanboy.”
Peter laughed. “Not at all. I’m honored that you liked them.”
“Very much. The layered characters, the shot choices, the stories, are all perfection.”
“Well, now you’re sounding like a fanboy,” Billy said, smiling.
“Oh, sorry.”
“Let me guess, film school grad?”
“Guilty.”
“USC or UCLA?” Peter asked.
“I didn’t have that kind of money. Cal State Northridge.”
“Also a good school,” Billy said. “We know several people in the industry who went there.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” Ronan said. “But enough about me. What is it I can help you with?”
“We’re hoping you can set up a meeting with your boss.”
“I’d be happy to do that. What about?”
“I’m finishing up a rewrite on the script for my next film,” Peter said. “And there’s a part I think he would be perfect for. Actually, I kind of wrote it for him.”
Ronan grimaced. “You do know he’s retired.”
“We do,” Billy said. “We’re hoping he might consider coming out of it, at least for one film. Do you think that’s a possibility?”
“If just anyone were to ask me that, I would say no, but for Peter Barrington and Billy Barnett…” He looked away for a moment, thinking. “May I be honest with you?”
“We would appreciate it,” Peter said.
“Between us, I think this might be the kind of thing he needs. He won’t admit it, but turning seventy is hitting him harder than he’d expected. I’m sure knowing that he’s still wanted will give him a big boost.”
“Enough to take the part?” Billy asked, hopeful.
“Is it a good part?”
“Very,” Peter said. “And pivotal to the story.”
“I read the last draft of the script,” Billy said. “And if that was any indication, there will be a lot of buzz come award season for whoever takes the role.”
“Then I’ll do everything in my power to help convince him to take it,” Ronan said. “When do you want to meet?”
“The sooner the better,” Peter said.
“And this coming week, if possible,” Billy added. “I’m due to return to L.A. a week from tomorrow.”
“Let me see what I can do. How would you like me to get in touch?”
Billy handed him his business card. “The bottom number is my cell. Call me anytime.”
“I will.”
Behind them, a female voice called, “I’m here.”
Billy turned to find a beautiful young woman, with dark brown hair and tan skin, looking toward Ronan expectantly.
“I see that,” Ronan said. “Gentlemen, this is my good friend Emma Perez. Emma, this is Peter Barrington and Billy Barnett.”
“Hello,” she said.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Peter said.
“Same,” Billy added.
She nodded but said nothing else.
“We’ve bothered you long enough,” Billy said to Ronan. “Just let me know when you have a time set.”
Ronan grinned and nodded. “Feel free to bother me anytime.”
—
Upon making her escape from Ronan, Katy had lost herself in the crowd, just in case her ex changed his mind about tossing her out.
Damn him. Why couldn’t he just go with the flow?
Sure, he wasn’t wrong about her getting together with him because he worked for Damian, but she had enjoyed some of the time they’d shared together.
Okay, perhaps tolerated was a more accurate descriptor.
But it had earned her absolutely nothing, because Ronan had broken up with her before she had a chance to get close to his boss.
Her acting career had been full of fits and starts. A couple of national commercials one year, followed by a few guest spots on TV shows the next, interspersed with nothing but low-paid local theater gigs.
At the time she’d met Ronan, she’d been to hundreds of auditions without landing a single decent part and was getting desperate.
So, making his acquaintance at an industry event in Pasadena, where the Damian Leon was being honored for his contributions to some cause or another, seemed like a gift from the acting gods.
She’d cozied up to Ronan and made sure to get his info before the evening was out.
She then found a cheap studio apartment in Banning, about a thirty-minute drive away from Palm Springs, and began “running into” Ronan around town until she had wormed her way into his life.
Her plan had worked, too, for a few months anyway.
Katy looked back to where Ronan was talking with the two men who’d approached him. They looked familiar, but she couldn’t place where exactly she’d seen them. They probably worked in the industry. Maybe she’d introduce herself to them later.
She was just about to turn away when she noticed a woman exit the house into the backyard.
Katy’s eyes narrowed and her jaw tensed.
The new arrival was Emma Perez. It had been her fault that Ronan had broken up with Katy. He’d all but said Emma had been the one who’d opened his eyes to the possibility that Katy had ulterior motives for dating him.
Katy had tried to make friends with Emma, but all her attempts had proved fruitless. The haughty Miss Perez had barely acknowledged Katy’s presence when the three of them were together, and every time Katy tried to engage her in small talk, Emma would just give her one- or two-word answers.
On the list of people Katy hated, Emma was near the top. Which was why, when Katy had snuck into Damian’s house the night before, pretending to work with the caterers, she couldn’t help but crash the stack of plates into the woman. Emma was the reason Katy had lost it all.
The incident had not been enough to satisfy Katy’s thirst for revenge, however. The woman deserved something far worse for her interference.
Katy’s anger continued to build as she watched Emma move through the crowd. It wasn’t until Emma almost reached Ronan that Katy realized where she was going.
Katy ducked down so that Ronan wouldn’t notice her attention and decide to kick her out.
She slipped into the crowd, grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing waiter, and found a spot from which she would not be so easily seen.
She sipped her champagne and eyed her nemesis.
Someday soon, when the opportunity presented itself, Katy would settle their score.