1036 P.M. #2
Miguel narrowed his eyes and scratched his head with his index finger.
“Wait. I’m supposed to be doing something, but I forgot what.
” He snapped his fingers. “Oh yes, I was planning to pump you two for information about Mr. Bishop. I need to get an edge for when we negotiate my show.” He turned to Charlotte.
“I probably shouldn’t have told them that though. ”
Charlotte let out a loud laugh and picked up her drink. “No, I think you were supposed to keep that thought to yourself.”
Waving his hand, Miguel said, “Oh screw it. Might as well be honest with you all.” He planted his chin on his fist. “We’re all friends here. Now, what can you tell me about him?”
“He’s a hell of a tough negotiator,” Ted answered at the same time Antonia said, “He’s an overt narcissist.”
“Jesus, Toni,” Ted muttered.
“What? It’s true,” she answered, her words slurred together slightly.
Winslow raised one eyebrow. “Is that your professional diagnosis?”
Antonia shook her head. “I don’t do that anymore. I’m not a real psychiatrist these days. I’m the dowdy half of a circus act.” Snapping her fingers, she said, “Wait! I did make it to the circus after all.”
She and Miguel burst out laughing, then she added, “Only I juggle ridiculous guests who want fifteen seconds of fame for being complete morons.”
Ted glared. “Toni, seriously.”
She waved him off. “Forget I said that. I might be a little tipsy.”
“You might be blackout drunk,” her husband said.
Miguel leaned in and lowered his voice. “Back to Travis. One thing I’ve always wondered was how the hell he landed Mercy Deveraux. I mean, I get that he’s rich, but she could’ve landed a prince. Or someone rich and devastatingly handsome.”
“If I had to guess, I’d say she’s an empath with low self-esteem. Narcissists know exactly how to pull them in,” Antonia said.
“Toni, please don’t diagnose our hosts,” Ted told his wife, giving her a meaningful look.
“I don’t think she’s got low self-esteem at all,” Charlotte said.
“I think she knew exactly what she was getting into with him. And if I had to guess, I’d say she’s the one with all the power.
I mean, him landing someone like her? He must be thanking his lucky stars every day she agreed to marry him. ”
Winslow nodded. “A mismatch if ever there was one.”
“Seriously,” Miguel said. “She’s one of the most beautiful women alive. And she was a rising film star.” Clutching one hand to his chest, he added, “Remember how good she was in Gone Away?”
“God, what a movie that was,” Antonia said. “That was Talbot Sterling’s last film, wasn’t it?”
Miguel let out a sigh. “Oh, Talbot Sterling. If I didn’t already know I was gay, I would have figured it out the first time I saw him on the big screen.”
“Such a tragedy,” Winslow added. “He was so young and talented.”
“And buff,” Miguel said.
Charlotte leaned in and lowered her voice. “I think Mercy knows more about what happened that night than they’re saying.”
“Really?” Miguel asked, leaning in and looking excited.
“No, not really,” Ted said. “That’s just gossip and none of it was ever substantiated.”
“I don’t know.” Charlotte wrinkled up her nose. “I heard she and Sterling weren’t just acting during those love scenes.”
“No!” Winslow said.
Miguel gasped. “Like, do you mean they were actually having sex?”
Charlotte shrugged. “Apparently. And remember he was engaged to that model—you know, the one with the horse teeth—at the time?”
Antonia tsked. “Snake.”
“What? No,” Miguel said, his face glowing with good gossip. “Not my beautiful Talbot Sterling. He was not a cheater!”
Charlotte, who clearly was enjoying being the purveyor of juicy news, had a triumphant look. “It was a not-so-secret secret in Hollywood that he was a total dog. If he were alive, he’d definitely be getting Me Too’d right now.”
“So, you think Horse Teeth killed him for sleeping with Mercy?” Miguel asked.
Charlotte shrugged. “Or Mercy did it.”
Miguel shook his head. “No, it was an accident.”
Ted nodded at Miguel. “Exactly, he fell. End of story. And quite frankly, we shouldn’t be talking about it, certainly not here.”
Charlotte held both hands up in surrender. “I’m just repeating what I heard.”
Giving her a stern look, Ted said, “Well, don’t. Besides, that’s just an ugly rumor. She wasn’t even there when it happened.”
“That’s not what the security guard said,” Charlotte answered in a knowing voice.
“He was wrong. The footage proves she wasn’t there.”
Antonia narrowed her eyes a little, her cheeks hot. “I don’t know, Ted. I think Char might be onto something. I mean, those tapes can be erased. Who’s to say what really happened?”
“The coroner and the police, that’s who,” Ted told her.
“But right after that movie, she suddenly gave up all that glamor and fame to become a little wifey?” Miguel said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe it’s guilt. She couldn’t handle having the public adore her anymore,” Charlotte said.
“Charlotte, stop.” Ted’s voice was firm. “This is not an appropriate conversation, especially not when we’re getting drunk off Travis Bishop’s booze while we’re on his yacht.”
Antonia gave him a sloppy smile. “Darling, we’re just having a little fun. None of this is serious.”
“Lobbing baseless accusations seems pretty serious to me,” he said, glancing at Oliver, then back at her. “So, let’s change the subject or call it a night.”
Miguel clicked his tongue. “Aren’t you the party pooper?” Looking at Antonia, he said, “I thought for sure you would be the party pooper, but it turns out it’s your husband.”
Antonia beamed at him, even though somewhere very deep in her brain, she knew this wasn’t exactly a compliment.
“Thank you, Miguel. You’re so sweet.” She sucked in a long breath of fresh summery air, then let out a happy sigh.
“I am having the time of my life. We should go skinny dipping. Who’s in for a midnight swim? ”
Ted stood up. “Okay, time for bed.”
Pouting, Antonia said, “Come on, Ted. Let’s go skinny dipping like we used to when we were young!”
“What the hell was in those drinks?” Ted asked, taking her hand and pulling her off the bench.
“Alcohol,” she answered, leaning her hand on his chest. “You don’t want to swim with me? Remember what fun we used to have? Remember that night at the lake? God, we were wild back then.”
“We were reckless,” he said, leading her away from the table. He called over his shoulder, “Good night, everyone! Thank you for a lovely evening.”
She followed him up the stairs and down the hall to their suite. “I’m glad you know where we’re going because I have no idea which room is ours.”
“Um-hum.”
He opened the door and stepped aside to let her go first. “Come on, Tipsy. Let’s get you to bed.”
She walked into their room, then turned back to him and put her hands on his shoulders, squeezing them before dragging her hands down to his biceps. She moved her lips so they were hovering over his. “How about it, Dr. Dawson? Should we pretend we’re twenty-five?”
“No, we should not. You’re drunk, and quite frankly, I’m pretty pissed about how you conducted yourself.”
She narrowed her eyes a little, wracking her brain for what he was talking about, only to come up blank. “Help me out because I honestly don’t have the first clue what I did wrong.”
Before he could answer, she held up one finger to his lips. “Actually, don’t tell me. I’m in too good a mood to fight. Let’s just…do it. No talking. Just sex.” Pointing to the floor she added, “Right here. Let’s pretend we’re so wild for each other we can’t even be bothered to get to the bed.”
She pressed her hands against his chest and closed her eyes, waiting for him to kiss her. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and leaned toward him. “Heeelloooo?” She snort-laughed to herself, too drunk to care about how angry he looked.
Then the room started to spin and she gripped his shirt to steady herself. “You know what, Teddy? I may have had too much to drink.”
“You think?”
“Yes, I do.” Holding up one finger, she snorted again. “My professional medical opinion is that I’m totally wasted.”
She pushed off of him and staggered across the room. Flopping onto the bed, she said, “I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit. I’ll get ready for bed after I have a nice little nap.”
“In your dress?”
“S’very comfortable.” A moment later, her eyes were closed and she felt herself falling asleep. She heard him sigh, then felt him put the covers on her, and suddenly she was warm and loved and happy again. “I love you, Ted. With my whole heart.”
By the time he answered, his words were quiet, and she was only a very small bit conscious. “And I hate you with all of mine.”