B00CAXBD9C EBOK by Jackie Collins

sheet. ‘I’m going to get in his damn movie if it kills me,’ she muttered to herself. ‘I haven’t screwed
that
for nothing!’
    He came back into the bedroom munching on a piece of toast. ‘This is lousy caviar – you want to go out somewhere?’
    ‘What time is it?’ she asked, surprised.
    He consulted a large gold watch. ‘One-thirty – what’s open?’
    She thought quickly. If they went out she wanted to be sure that she came back to the hotel with him after. She was determined to stick with him until he got her a test.
    ‘All the clubs stay open till around four,’ she said. ‘And we can stop by my apartment so I can get some clothes to wear to the studio tomorrow. Great idea.’ She jumped out of bed.
    He studied her figure. ‘You know, you’ve got a gorgeous body. How would you feel about appearing on the screen nude?’
    ‘I hadn’t really thought about it.’
    ‘Think about it. There’s a part you might be right for. I can test you.’
    ‘When?’ Her green eyes gleamed.
    They went to a new discotheque – Charlie Brown’s. It was jammed, but they were squeezed onto an already full table due to the fact that Conrad slipped the headwaiter money. The music was so loud you couldn’t hear yourself speak. On the tiny dance floor couples were jammed frantically together. There was a scattering of well-known people, a lot of girls with long straight hair covering half their faces, and a few representatives of the latest rock groups sporting hair as long as the girls’. It was very dark.
    At their table was a photographer Claudia knew. She greeted him with a kiss and introduced him to Conrad. He was with one of the top models of the moment, a tall slim girl who photographed out of this world.
    Claudia couldn’t sit still; the music swept over her in great waves.
    ‘Want to dance?’ she asked Conrad.
    He nodded and they struggled to the dance floor, where she broke loose in wild sinuous gyrations while Conrad just sort of stood there jiggling about. It was hot and the sweat started to trickle down his face.
    You think you’re a real swinger, Claudia thought. Don’t you know you’re too old to do this?
    She said, ‘Darling, you’re a peachy dancer!’
    ‘Sweetie pie!’ The voice was unmistakable. Right beside them on the dance floor was Shirley, complete with the Honourable Jeremy. ‘Where’s your divine boyfriend?’
    Claudia smiled. ‘Thought you were going to Windsor,’ she yelled.
    ‘We did, but it was absolutely
too
dreadful. I mean, it was almost empty. Can you imagine anything more ghastly?’
    The Honourable Jeremy nodded vehement agreement.
    By this time Conrad was sweating profusely. ‘Let’s sit down,’ he said weakly.
    ‘Sweetie, we will come over in a minute. Where are you sitting?’
    Claudia smiled and waved, pretending she hadn’t heard. She didn’t relish the thought of being stuck with Shirley and Jeremy again.
    When they got back to their table it was even more crowded, and there was a great squeezing up of people to make room for them.
    The model said to Conrad, ‘I adored your last film. Will you be making your new one in this country?’
    The photographer asked Claudia to dance. She accepted, not too eager to leave the skinny model chatting up Conrad, but anxious to dance again, and Giles, the photographer, was a wild dancer. She had indulged in a short affair with him at one time, but then they decided it was more fun to be mates. They were too much of a kind to be lovers. Occasionally, if one of them was at a loose end, they would call each other and spend an evening together, and if they felt like it, end up in bed. But it was purely a brother-and-sister relationship with a little sex thrown in. Giles was very good-looking in a dark Spanish way. Women were mad for him, and his services as a fashion and society photographer were in demand.
    ‘Who’s the father figure?’ he asked cynically. ‘Cindy says he’s a big Hollywood mogul, and I think she