the president of a multinational corporation, as he is, you’re ubiquitous. And he thinks nothing of hopping onto that private plane of his and hitting the sky as casually as though he’s driving down the Los Angeles freeway.’ He lifted his glass. ‘Cheers.’
‘Down the hatch.’ Victor fixed his eyes tightly on Nick. ‘I have the oddest feeling you’re about to tell me Lazarus is on the war-path. About the picture. So what? I’m ready for him. And I’ve told you before, I can deal with him. Believe me, I really can. ‘
Nick raised his hand. ‘Wait, Vic. Just hear me out, please. You’re right. Lazarus is on a rampage. He’s also heading for London – ‘
‘How come you’re so well informed about Lazarus? And what he’s up to? How do you know so much?’
Nick said slowly, choosing his words with care, ‘You know, life is full of surprises, and it can be awfully ironic. Do you remember Hélène Vernaud, the Dior model I used to date?’
‘Sure. The tall brunette with the stunning figure and the great legs.’
Nick could not resist laughing. Trust Victor to remember a beautiful girl. ‘Let’s forget about her figure. She happens to be a graduate of the Sorbonne and the London School of Economics, and she is extremely astute. In fact, she’s a hell of a lot smarter than most people I know. Anyway, as you know, we remained friends after we split up, and I called her when I got to Paris three weeks ago. We had lunch, a few laughs remembering old times, and all that jazz. Halfway through lunch she asked me what I was writing. I told her I was doing the screenplay of Wuthering Heights. For you. She immediately became tense and strained, even a little agitated, much to my amazement. She then blurted out that she knew something about the picture because she was involved with its main backer, Mike Lazarus. To tell you the truth, I was floored. But, not to digress. Hélène begged me not to mention our lunch. Apparently Lazarus is very jealous and keeps her on a tight rein.’ Nick stood up. ‘I need another Bloody Mary. Can I fix you a Scotch?’
Victor declined, then asked, ‘What’s a beautiful, bright, high-class girl like Hélène doing with that slimy snake-in-the-grass Lazarus?’
‘God knows.’ Nick returned to his chair. ‘In any event, I promised her she could rely on my absolute discretion, should I have the misfortune to be in Mike Lazarus’s company in the near future. We finished lunch in a more relaxed manner, and that was that. Natahe flew in from Hollywood for a few days, and I forgot all about Hélène and her involvement with Lazarus. Until yesterday morning. She called me from her mother’s apartment, sounding very secretive and nervous, and asked me to meet her there within the hour. I didn’t know what it was all about. Obviously. But I think enough of Hélène to trust her judgment. I’m glad I do. Last Friday she was having dinner with Lazarus in his suite at the Plaza-Athénée, when he received a call. It was either from New York, or the Coast, Hélène wasn’t sure – ‘
‘And she heard something of importance about the picture, is that it?’ Victor interrupted.
‘Yep.’
‘Look, I don’t want to throw aspersions on Hélène’s veracity, or whatever, but I hardly think a man like Mike Lazarus is going to discuss important business in front of a girl friend. He’s secretive and paranoid, among other things.’
‘I agree with you. And perhaps someone less bright than Hélène would not have been able to put two and two together and make six. It was all pretty cryptic. However, a number of things he said led her to believe he was referring to us, and our picture, although he didn’t actually mention any names.’
‘Then how can she be so sure?’ Victor demanded, giving Nick a doubtful stare, one brow lifting.
‘Because he had some scathing things to say about a screenplay by an esoteric novelist who is also a Rhodes Scholar, to quote Hélène quoting him. He was also extremely disparaging about a movie star who thought he was a producer, who was suffering from la folie des grandeurs. Again, that’s a direct quote. It has to be us, Vic’
Straightening up in the chair, Victor said, ‘O.K. I’ll grant you that. Now shoot. Give it to me straight.’
Nick took a deep breath. ‘He wants a new script by another writer. He won’t approve of an unknown actress playing the female lead. He thinks the budget is astronomically high. He discussed that at great length, by the way, with whoever was on the other end of the line. Hélène distinctly heard him say he thought it was padded, that three million dollars couldn’t be justified, couldn’t possibly show up on the screen. He seemed to think, from the tenor of his conversation, that he was about to be bled dry and robbed blind. Finally, he said he was going to remove the producer if he didn’t toe the line, and make him do what he did best. Acting.’
‘The son of a bitch!’ Victor exclaimed quietly, and his black eyes flashed dangerously. ‘What makes him think he can take over my film without so much as a by your leave! A project I’ve worked on for almost a year!’
Nick said evenly, ‘Because he has unmitigated chutzpah and also because he’s holding the cheque book. That’s why he thinks he can take over. And you know it.’
Victor gazed at Nick silently. Then he nodded, and after a long moment, he said, ‘Lazarus is correct about the budget, Nicky. It is too high. Mind you, it’s not padded. Merely erroneous.’ He glanced at the desk. ‘I’ve been sitting there all morning, cutting production costs.’ He related the conversation he had had with Jake Watson the previous evening, and went on, ‘I’m trying to bring the picture in at two million dollars.’
‘That ought to more than satisfy Lazarus,’ Nick said. ‘But there’s still the question of the script, and your position as producer – ‘
Cutting in, Victor said, with unusual sharpness, ‘Lazarus knows he cannot, and I repeat cannot, remove me as producer under any circumstances, however much screaming he does. He’s obviously trying to pull one on. And as the producer I have the final word on the script, and Lazarus knows that too.’
‘Even so, I honestly think he’ll give you trouble about casting an unknown in the Catherine Earnshaw role.’ Nick stopped, wondering uncertainly whether or not he should go on, and then he plunged in: ‘Listen, Vic, perhaps that is a bad idea. I know you can carry the picture yourself, that you don’t need any other big-name stars backing you up, but maybe Lazarus does have a point. Why even bother to test Katharine Tempest? Why don’t you give the part to an established movie actress, and save yourself additional problems with Lazarus?’
Victor shook his head. ‘No, Nicky. I’m testing Katharine.’
Nick observed him closely, and noting the adamant set of his jawline, he refrained from comment. He wondered to himself if Victor and Katharine were romantically involved, and quickly dismissed the idea as highly unlikely. But even if they were, the days of the casting couch were long since gone. Besides which, Victor was too shrewd, too tough and too much of the businessman to fall into that dangerous trap. He wouldn’t take any chances with his career, or his money, for a quick fling with a passing fancy. Notwithstanding, Nick was curious. ‘Why are you so keen on testing her?’
‘Because I gave her my promise, and because in a way she has earned it. Of course, there’s another reason, the most important reason of all. I just happen to believe she would be perfect in the part. There’s a kind of wildness in her, a fire, that reminds me very much of Cathy in Wuthering Heights. I think she would be as good as Merle Oberon in the role, perhaps even better. It strikes me Katharine Tempest has a lot more vivacity
