Not Wanted in Hollywood by Leonie Gant Read Free Book Online Page B

found photos in frames.
I found one with Denise when she was young standing next to a much
younger version of Hammy Pollard in a white mini dress.
    “ Our wedding
day,” Denise said sadly from behind me.
    “ I’m sorry,”
I said, as I put the photo back. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
    She handed me a cup of tea. “It was a long
time ago.” She pulled out another photo. “This one is when I used
to work at Hammy’s club.”
    I took the
photo and looked at it. In it was Denise in one of the skimpy
costumes that I had become used to seeing on the dancers at the
club. She was posed on a pole, her strength and flexibility obvious
to see. I could see why Hammy had been taken with her. In her
younger days Denise had been beautiful.
    Glancing up
at Denise I saw her frown as she patted her hair. “Time has not
been kind to me. That photo was taken a lifetime ago.”
    I put the photo down and took a sip of
tea.
    “How did you meet Hammy?” I asked.
    “ Would you
believe at church?” Denise said.
    I stopped myself from choking on the tea. I
had to admit that the thought of Hammy Pollard in a church was a
bit of a stretch.
    “ His mother
was still alive back then. He doted on that woman. She never knew
that he owned a strip club. He managed to keep it from her and
convinced her that he was an accountant. He even did her taxes for
her. How she didn’t fall foul of the IRS is a miracle to me,
because he had no idea what he was doing, but his mother had to
believe it. I was new in LA, wanting to be an actress of course,
like every young girl who came here. I went to church, because that
was how I was raised, and I met Hammy. I didn’t know what he did at
first, but when my big break didn’t come and I was running out of
money, he came to me with an offer. He thought I had the right look
to be one of his girls. He timed it perfectly. I trusted him and
I’d reached the point where I was desperate. Before I knew what was
happening I was on stage. Soon after I was the headline act. I
thought Hammy was in love with me and I was devoted to him. He
swept me off my feet and proposed. I found out later that he only
married me because his mother was dying and it was her final wish
that he be married before she died. After she died I was considered
surplus to requirements. He left me six months later.”
    “ I’m sorry,”
I said awkwardly.
    “ Don’t be,”
she said. “Everything works out for a reason. I stopped working at
the club. I was fortunate and got a job at the church. It gave me a
purpose.”
    “ You never
divorced Hammy?” I ventured.
    Denise shook her head. “No, Hammy didn’t believe in
divorce and like he said, he was never going to marry again. Having
a wife gave him a ready excuse if any of the girls got a bit
clingy.”
    Hammy really had been a prince among men. The
more I knew about him the more surprised I was that somebody hadn’t
killed him years ago.
    “So you are now the owner of the club. Why
would Hammy leave it to you?”
    Denise smiled. “There was no one else to leave it to.
Hammy always said that he would change his will if there was
someone he cared about enough to change it for. It looks like he
never found anyone.”
    “Is there any reason why you aren’t going to
sell it immediately?” I asked.
    There must
have been a strange look on my face because Denise smiled at me. “I
have not had an easy time since Hammy left me. This may be my one
and only chance to make something out of my life. I worked in the
bar, I know how it was run. Despite what Hammy believed about all
his girls, I was a lot smarter than he thought I was. I know Hammy
had pretty much run the place into the ground. I think I can build
it up again.”
    I was
impressed. She may not look like I imagined a strip club owner
would look, but she was determined.
    “ Some of the
girls have told me about the man you work for,” Denise said
thoughtfully.
    I had to stop myself from cringing. Nothing
that those girls had said