Aspen Gold by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online Page B

to the voices of Chip, Nolan, and Abe in the background, the sound of them reminding him of the less-than-subtle pressure he'd been getting from Lassiter on every aspect of this film from casting to his choice of director, from script revisions to the decision to shoot it entirely on location.
    Lassiter. John glanced at the stairs.
    He'd met Kit at the pseudo-social cocktail party Lassiter had thrown at his Bel Air estate--a party John had been commanded to attend. He'd gone grudgingly. ...
    Lights blazed from every window of the sumptuous Italian-style villa, located along one of Bel Air's typically twisting roads, hidden behind high walls and screened by even thicker hedges. John swung the Ferrari around the multitiered fountain in front of the house and stopped at the door. Stepping out, he surrendered the keys to a white-jacketed attendant. Rock music came from the pool area in the rear courtyard, the blare of it filtering above muted voices and laughter. He threw a glance at the villa's Juliet balconies in front and ignored the squeal of tires as the attendant roared off in his Ferrari. With a resigned sigh, he went inside.
    Chip latched on to him the minute he walked in. Totally out of his element, he tagged along while John made the obligatory rounds. The party was exactly what he expected. Dress ranged from Saint Laurent to Salvation Army; the French doors to the loggia and courtyard beyond were open wide, allowing the warm night air and the party guests to circulate freely; the driving drumbeat from the rock band by the pool underlay the talk and the laughter, the falsely hearty greetings, and the bitchy whispers.
    He found Nolan Walker at the bar. The three of them took their drinks and moved off to a relatively quiet corner in the spacious living room.
    "I think Lassiter must have dumped a gallon of Georgio in the pool." Nolan waved a hand at the heavily scented breeze wafting through the French doors. "That stuff gives me a headache."
    "How soon can we leave?" Chip grumbled.
    John had been trying to calculate that himself.
    "Not yet." He spotted Lassiter moving toward them, working the crowd like a veteran politician. "Here comes J.d."
    At sixty, J.d. Lassiter was tall and trim. He had a yachtsman's tan and a full head of dark hair, clipped close and neat with only a tracing of silver. As a young man he'd taken his family's small pharmaceutical company and turned it into one of the largest in the industry. From that, he moved into insurance, then computers, publishing, communications, oil, real estate, until he had more than one hundred companies under the Lasco umbrella, including Olympic Pictures.
    His detractors called him relentless, ruthless, dictatorial, cunning, and egotistical; his admirers claimed he was honest, benevolent, philanthropic, and charming. John suspected the truth was all of the above--depending on the situation and circumstance.
    "I'm glad I found the three of you together."
    J.d. Lassiter stopped before them, his smile wide, his eyes cool. "Have you cast the female lead yet?"
    "We're still auditioning," John replied evenly. "We haven't found the right actress for the part yet, but we will." Assuming she existed other than in Chip's mind.
    "I have some good news for you," Lassiter announced.
    "We could use some." He lifted his drink, toasting the comment.
    "Kathleen Turner will be available through March
    --and she likes the script. We should be able to sign her up for--"
    "In what part?" Chip frowned.
    "The lead, of course."
    "She can't play Eden." Chip shook his head in firm rejection. "She isn't right for the part."
    "Not right for the part?!" The words practically exploded from Lassiter. "We're talking about Kathleen Turner, for God's sake."
    "I don't care if you're talking about Kathleen Turner or the Queen of Sheba. She isn't right for the part," Chip insisted stubbornly.
    "Eden is a woman of mystery, of secrets and deep sensuality. We need an unknown for this role--not some actress the