Shafted Read online

  Saying goodbye, Frank watched as they hurried away down the corridor. Larry was looking a whole lot better than he had last year. And he’d been as sober as a judge, which was very good, because Frank hadn’t seen him like that for a good long time before their split. And now that he was back on form and solidly re-established in the affections of the public, Frank really needed to talk to Georgie about getting Larry to return to the show. Matty Kline was doing okay, but he just didn’t have the same mass-market appeal, and it had to be said that Star Struck hadn’t been the same without Larry at the helm.

  Heading out to the parking lot at the rear of the studio just then, Larry was smiling like the cat who’d got the cream. All the way from his dressing room people had been stopping to congratulate him and tell him that they’d missed him, and he was lapping it up. Not only because it felt good to be back among his peers, but also because this was the first time he’d been allowed into Oasis since the telethon. It was like a grand homecoming, because this was where he’d got his first break. And knowing that, in view of his renewed popularity, Alan Corbin had been forced to retract the lifetime ban he’d slapped on Larry was particularly sweet.

  Thanking the security guard when he held the door open for them, Georgie stepped out into the icy evening air and shivered. Pausing to wrap her coat around herself, she noticed a group of women gathered on the street side of the barrier. Nudging Larry, she nodded in their direction.

  Following her gaze, Larry saw the women at the same time as they spotted him and started yelling his name. Grinning, he said, ‘That’s a sight I didn’t expect to see again this time last year.’

  ‘Well, don’t keep them waiting,’ Georgie teased, giving him a gentle push in their direction. ‘But please be quick, because we really do have to get moving.’

  Strolling towards the women as Georgie raced off to fetch the car, Larry smiled to himself when he recognised some of them from Raine’s audience. Her show wasn’t even over yet, but they’d deserted it to come out here and stand in the cold on the off chance of catching him before he left. He was truly back on the crest of the wave – and this time there would be no fuck-ups to knock him back into the water.

  Laughing as the women tussled to get closer to him when he reached the barrier, Larry stayed a couple of steps back to avoid being mauled. He grinned at the familiar old security guard who came out of the booth to assist him, saying, ‘Just like the old days, eh, Don?’

  ‘It is that,’ Don agreed with a chuckle that turned into a hacking smoker’s cough. ‘Can’t say anyone else has caused a ruckus like this since you’ve been gone. But it doesn’t make my job any easier, so don’t make a habit of it.’

  Laughing, because he knew that Don was only joking, Larry took a pen out of his pocket and set about signing the programmes that the women were thrusting at him.

  Working his way through the crowd, he heard a strangled cry of pain from somewhere at the back. Unable to see over the other women’s heads, he craned his neck and called, ‘Everything all right back there?’

  When the rest of the women turned to see what was going on, Larry was able to see that one of them had fallen over and was clutching at her leg, grimacing as if she’d really hurt herself.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he called, dipping under the barrier and going to her.

  Blushing as he held out his hand to help her up, she nodded quickly. ‘Yes, I’m fine. I just tripped over. Sorry . . .’

  ‘Hey, don’t apologise,’ he said, peering down at her concernedly. ‘You’re the one who got hurt, not me. Are you sure you’re okay?’

  Nodding again, she winced.

  Frowning, Larry said, ‘What hurts?’

  ‘I banged my knee,’ she said, dipping her gaze and swiping at the dirt on her trousers. ‘But it’s fine now, honestly.’

  Unconvinced, Larry said, ‘Come to the security booth. Let me take a look at it in the light.’

  Glancing up, the woman shook her head as if she were horrified, and said, ‘No, really, I’m fine.’

  Before Larry could argue, Georgie beeped the car horn. Turning his head, he saw her waving for him to get a move on. He shrugged, telling the woman, ‘Sorry, I’ve got to go. Will you be okay to walk on it?’

  Smiling now, she nodded. ‘It’s feeling better already, thanks. And I don’t need to walk, because I’m getting picked up.’

  ‘If you’re sure,’ Larry said, smiling at her. She was really quite attractive, with dark, glossy hair – which made her stand out in the sea of blondes he was surrounded by – and equally dark eyes, which was a very sexy combination.

  Contrary to what he’d just told Raine – and her nine million or so viewers – he wasn’t averse to hooking up with a woman again. He just didn’t want to risk landing himself with another gold-digging, demanding diva who would sell him out to the papers as soon as he’d shot his load. This woman didn’t look the type to do something like that. But then, it wasn’t smart to judge a book by its cover, and he didn’t have the time to waste finding out.

  Honking the car horn again, Georgie rolled the window down and shouted,‘Come on, Larry. We’re going to be late.’

  Saying,‘Sorry, ladies,’when the women groaned disappointedly, he blew kisses to them all, then ducked back under the barrier and climbed into the car.

  Waving through the window when Don raised the barrier and Georgie began to ease the car out, he winked at the dark-haired one, getting a tiny shy smile in return before she turned and walked away in the opposite direction.

  Watching him out of the corner of her eye as he gazed after her, Georgie said, ‘Don’t even think about it. We’re not picking up waifs and strays, so just sit back and relax, and think about what you’re going to say if you get asked any tricky questions in your next interview.’

  ‘You know, you really should quit acting like my mother,’ Larry grumbled, lighting a cigarette and rolling the window part-way down.

  ‘When you learn how to behave yourself, I will,’ Georgie said mock-sternly.

  Shaking his head, Larry sat back as she manoeuvred the car through the evening traffic and headed for the BBC studios. He shouldn’t complain, because she’d been amazing over these last few months. And, truth be told, he wouldn’t have been so well now without her help. After Dex had attacked him, he’d found himself slipping back into his old drinking habits. But Georgie had nipped that in the bud, and he really felt as if he’d conquered the booze now, too.

  But while he was undoubtedly grateful, he thanked God she hadn’t been invited to Raine’s party tonight, because she’d probably want to whisk him out of there and home to bed by eleven. So, off the hook for the first time in ages, he would go to the party. And if he happened to fancy shagging some lucky lady at the end of the night, then that was exactly what he would do.

  It just wouldn’t be Raine Parker – no matter how obvious she’d made it that she wanted into his pants!

  Larry was knackered by the time he’d finished the last of his three radio interviews. They had gone really well, though, and he was pleased with his performance. Particularly on the second, unscheduled one, when James smart-arse Fletcher had tried to get him to admit that he really had known that the girl from the Star Struck scandal was almost under-age, and that he’d helped her to win the jackpot with the express intention of fucking her brains out – or words to that effect.

  Georgie, who’d been sitting on the other side of the studio glass, had jumped to her feet, all set to pull him from the interview. But Larry had kept his cool, figuring that this was as good an opportunity as any to get his version of events out there. And he must have made a good job of it, because Fletcher had done a complete about-turn by the time the interview came to an end, shaking his hand and inviting him to come back next month to sit on the panel of the Radio Book of the Year Awards.

  His interview with Dixie Dean on Century had been a breeze after that and, despite being exhausted, he was still buzzing about the volume of listeners who’d run
g in to chat to him – which, Dixie had told him, far outweighed what any of her previous guests had managed to attract.

  If the night had been slightly less successful, he probably would have given Raine’s party a miss. But he knew he wouldn’t sleep if he went straight home with all the positive comments still swirling round in his head, so he had Georgie drop him there on her way home.

  Not that it was on her way but, oh, well . . . maybe she’d think twice about sticking to him like glue in future.

  Raine had changed into a flowing evening dress, which plunged in all the right places and caressed her womanly curves like a stroke from a velvet glove. With her shoulder-length honey-blonde hair loosed from its chignon and held in place at the nape of her neck by a diamante clasp, one tanned arm bare while the other sported an intricate gauntlet-style bracelet of diamonds and emeralds, she looked like a goddess when she opened the door for Larry.

  ‘Darling,’ she purred, stepping back to look him over – really a ploy to make him look her over. ‘You look amazing.’

  Smiling wryly, because he was wearing exactly the same clothes as earlier, he said,‘You, too, babe.’

  Thanking him, she reached up and kissed him flush on the mouth, letting her lips linger softly for several seconds to give him a taste of what was to come before taking his arm and leading him into the already crowded living room.

  Announcing,‘He’s here!’she smiled up at Larry, thrilled by the look of surprise in his eyes.

  He was surprised all right, but not necessarily in a good way. Gazing at all the old familiar faces as the guests raised their glasses and gave him a welcoming cheer, he was struck by the sheer hypocrisy of it all. Unlike the general staff back at Oasis who had seemed genuinely pleased to see him, every one of these stars and fat-cat executives had turned their backs on him when he’d most needed their support. But that all seemed to have been forgotten now – by them, at least.

  Refusing to give them the satisfaction of thinking that their behaviour had had any effect on him, he smiled now as if he was as pleased to see them as they seemed to be to see him, and said,‘Wow, this is amazing. Thanks, guys. It’s good to be back.’

  ‘Where you belong,’ Raine crooned, reaffirming her intention to keep him to herself tonight by giving him another kiss – although this time on the cheek, because everybody was still looking. ‘Now, let me get you a drink, then I’ll show you around. Still Scotch on ice?’ she asked pointedly, letting him know that she’d noticed him before his career resurrection. Wouldn’t do to let him think that she was just jumping onto the bandwagon now.

  ‘Actually, I prefer dry white these days,’ Larry lied, narrowing his eyes surreptitiously as he peered down at her – there was a tiny spot of what looked like blood at the corner of her mouth. And, once he’d noticed that, he was sure he could see several minute pinhole marks in her makeup-camouflaged forehead. Suspecting that she’d had a quick-fix Botox session in the three hours since the show, he struggled not to grimace. Even if he’d been interested before – which he hadn’t been – that would have turned him right off. Getting a blow job off a woman with a frozen mouth was about as much fun as sticking your dick into an unripe watermelon.

  ‘Be right back,’ Raine purred now, stroking a hand suggestively down his arm. ‘Don’t you dare move.’

  As soon as she’d gone, Matty Kline strolled over. Curls springing out like corkscrews all over his head, he grinned widely at Larry and slapped him heartily on the back.

  ‘Hey, guy . . . long time no see. How’s it going?’

  ‘Fine,’ Larry replied smoothly, slipping his hands into his pockets to keep them from forming fists. He still felt like punching the man whenever he saw his face on TV but here, in the flesh, the desire intensified tenfold. ‘You?’ he asked now, determined to stay cool.

  ‘Great.’ Matty nodded as if he was truly satisfied with his lot in life. Then, smiling guiltily, he said, ‘Look, I know this is probably the wrong time and place, and all that, but I just wanted to apologise for all that shit last year. No hard feelings, I hope?’

  ‘Hard feelings?’ Larry gave him a questioning smile.

  ‘Yeah, you know – about me taking over Star Struck. I know you weren’t happy about it, but we’ve all moved on since then, haven’t we?’

  ‘Christ, yeah,’ Larry drawled. ‘I’d forgotten all about it.’

  ‘Good,’ Matty said, breathing a silent sigh of relief. This was the first time he’d seen his rival since the telethon, but Larry seemed cool as a cucumber, so it looked like they were going to avoid the embarrassment of a showdown. ‘So, what’s on your horizon?’ he asked now, taking a sip of his drink. ‘Anything good lined up?’

  ‘Oh, you know,’ Larry said evasively. ‘Loads of offers flooding in, but I’m biding my time to make sure I choose the right thing. Don’t want to lump myself with a no-hoper like last time.’ Grinning sheepishly now, as if he hadn’t meant to say that, he said, ‘Sorry, Matt, didn’t mean that the way it sounded. You know I enjoyed Star Struck while I was doing it, but you don’t always realise the bad effect something’s having on you till you get a break from it, do you? I mean, take my last performance . . . it’s no secret I was pissed.’

  ‘You can say that again,’ Matty snorted amusedly, remembering it all too well.

  ‘Yeah, well, that was a symptom of how shit I was feeling,’ Larry said, glancing innocently at the large glass of alcohol in Matty’s hand. ‘Don’t know about you, but I tend to drink more when I’m frustrated. But I don’t need the crutch these days, ’cos I’m totally cool with life.’

  Matty smiled uncertainly. He was sure that Larry had just taken a pop at him, but there was nothing he could say about it, because it hadn’t been delivered as an insult – more like sympathy at the fact that he was stuck in Larry’s old rut while Larry’s own career was soaring to new heights. And it couldn’t have escaped Larry’s notice that Star Struck’s ratings had slipped since his time as host, so he just had to be gloating about that. Matty knew that he would be if the situation were reversed.

  Larry was gloating, as it happened. And knowing that Matty knew it only added to his sense of satisfaction. That was the price you paid for jumping into someone else’s grave – you got buried right along with them. And, judging by the amount of neat Scotch that Matty was nursing, he already had one foot planted firmly in the dirt. Poetic justice, or what?

  Frank Woods and Alan Corbin arrived just then, along with their respective wives, Brenda and June. Spotting Larry, Brenda made a beeline straight for him.

  ‘How lovely to see you, Larry,’ she said, kissing his cheek.‘Frank mentioned that he’d bumped into you at the studio, and I was hoping I’d get to see you, too. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you.’

  Giving her an affectionate smile, aware that Matty was looking more than a little put out that she hadn’t said hello to him first, Larry hugged her warmly, saying, ‘Missed you, too, babe. Still running round like a French maid after the old man, are you?’

  ‘As if !’ Brenda chuckled. ‘He knows to behave himself if he wants his dinner on time. And don’t be fooled by the sophisticated façade. He might pretend to like the fancy restaurants, but he couldn’t survive without my steak-and-kidney pud.’

  ‘Oh, don’t,’ Larry groaned. ‘I can still taste that last one you made me.’

  Patting his hand, Brenda said, ‘Give me a ring when you’re free, and we’ll get together for dinner.’ Turning to Matty now, she said, ‘Hello, dear. I hope you didn’t think I was ignoring you, but I haven’t seen Larry for ages.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Matty said, wondering how come she never greeted him like that. Not that he particularly wanted her to, but it would be nice to know that the boss’s wife had loyalty to the new over the old.

  ‘So, tell me what you’re up to?’ Brenda said now, switching her attention back to Larry as if Matty hadn’t even spoken. ‘I hear you’ve got the drinking under control at last – which is wo
nderful, because I could have shaken you silly for letting yourself go like that.’

  ‘I wish somebody had,’ Larry murmured wistfully, as if a good talking-to was all it would have taken to keep him on track.

  ‘Oh, come now,’ Brenda chided softly, cutting through the bullshit in one fell swoop. ‘I’m the first to admit that Frank has his failings, but you weren’t one of them, my love. He tried his damnedest to bring you to your senses before it was too late, but you were too wilful for your own good. And if he couldn’t get through to you, nobody else stood a chance. It was down to you to sort yourself out, and I’m delighted that you finally realised that.’

  Laughing, Larry looped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick squeeze. ‘Frank’s a good man,’ he conceded, shoving all the bad thoughts he’d levelled at his former boss in the last year to the back of his mind. ‘And you don’t have to worry about me, because I’m all grown up now, and I can take care of myself.’

  ‘Yes, well, just make sure you don’t slip back into your old habits now that things are looking up,’ Brenda warned.

  ‘Stop it,’ Larry groaned. ‘You’re starting to sound like Georgie.’

  ‘Oh, is she here?’ Brenda asked, glancing around. ‘I’d love to catch up with her; she’s a lovely girl.’

  ‘She couldn’t make it,’ Larry lied, not wanting to have to explain why he hadn’t wanted to bring her after everything she’d done for him.

  Coming back with Larry’s drink just then, Raine said a cool hello to Brenda, who, as the mere wife of one of her acquaintances – and not a particularly important one at that, given that Frank had no part in or power over her show – was less than nothing to her.

  Brenda couldn’t give a toss what Raine Parker thought of her, and felt no urge to make small talk with her, either. So, giving Larry a kiss and reminding him to give her a call when he wanted to come for dinner, she made her way back to her husband and left them to it.