Shafted by Unknown Read Free Book Online

period!’
    Jumping up now, he paced the length of the bedroom, his mind ticking over painfully as he struggled to remember what had happened the night before.
    ‘It’s a set-up!’ he declared after a minute. ‘You know what those paps are like – they’ll do anything to discredit you when you’re at the top, and they’re always gunning for me. I’ll bet the bastard who did this got himself a nice pay-off. But let’s see what he’s got to say when I sue him for libel! And I’ll have a blood test to prove I didn’t touch any drugs. They’ll have to retract the story then, and Frank will have to give me my job back.’
    Instinctively believing him – about the drugs, at least – Georgie said, ‘Okay, Larry, I’ll arrange a blood test if that’s what you want. But it won’t change anything as far as Frank’s concerned. He is absolutely not going to change his mind this time.’
    ‘He will if he knows what’s good for him,’ Larry shot back, looking around for his jeans.‘ Star Struck is my show, and when I prove I’m innocent he’d better reinstate me or I’ll sue him as well. There’s nothing in my contract that says I’m not allowed to have a couple of drinks when I’m working, so he’s got no justification for sacking me.’
    ‘No one who saw the telethon will ever believe you’d only had a couple, so you’re onto a loser with that argument,’Georgie told him firmly.‘Even without the subsequent drug stuff, and the girl’s age, Frank is well within his rights to fire you, because you made yourself incapable of performing the work you’re contracted to do.’
    ‘It was a one-off,’ Larry said, pulling the jeans on without bothering with underwear. ‘I’m not letting this go without a fight. Where’s Frank now? At the studio?’
    ‘I believe so. But he really doesn’t want to see you.’
    ‘Only because he’s believing the shit in the papers. Soon as he realises it’s a set-up he’ll—’
    ‘He’s already signed up your replacement,’ Georgie cut in, sounding genuinely sorry for him now. Larry was a pain, but she knew how much he’d loved the show. Unfortunately, just not enough to make him pull himself together before it got to this.
    Slumping down onto the edge of the bed, Larry said, ‘You’ve got to be joking. He can’t do this to me.’
    Assuring him that it was true, Georgie closed her eyes when Larry demanded to know who had been signed in his place, and murmured, ‘Matty Kline. Sorry, Larry, but it’s a done deal.’
    ‘I’ll kill him!’ Larry snarled, the blood boiling in his veins. ‘I will fucking kill him!’
    Sensing that he’d taken as much of a kicking as he could stand right now, Georgie said, ‘Look, go and clear your head with a cold shower before you do anything stupid. I’ll get onto the doctor to arrange that blood test. And when you’re feeling better, we’ll sit down and talk about finding a new show for you. But, whatever happens, you’ve got to knock the drinking on the head, Larry. You might think you’ve got it under control, but the fact that you can’t even remember what you were doing last night should tell you that you haven’t.’
    It was good advice, but Larry didn’t hear a word of it; he was too busy staring at Tania, who had just come back into the room. Disgusted that she was parading around naked with a stupid smile on her face while his whole world collapsed around him, he felt the rage welling up inside him.
    ‘Larry . . . ?’ Georgie’s distant voice drifted out of the phone. ‘Are you still there?’
    Switching the phone off without responding, Larry followed Tania with his stare as she slinked over to the other side of the bed and placed the coffee cups on the table.
    Pretending not to notice his intense gaze, Tania strolled to the dressing-table and leaned provocatively forward to smooth her hair in the mirror. If there was one thing she knew about boys, it was that they were natural voyeurs who got turned