Vendetta: Lucky's Revenge by Jackie Collins Read Free Book Online

got the blame for everything. If Meryl Streep starred in a movie that flopped, she was instantly denigrated. If Jack Nicholson made three duds in a row, they lined up to pay him millions of bucks for the next one. Not at Panther. Lucky made sure women were treated equally in every way—including star salaries.
    “Why couldn’t I have gotten to Lennie before you picked him off?” Venus complained. “Lennie’s so great. You won’t find him screwing his costar.”
    And if I did, I’d probably kill him , Lucky thought calmly. She had a vengeful streak that was not to be messed with.
    “Leslie Kane!” Venus snorted. “Is Cooper the only guy in town who doesn’t know she used to be one of Madame Loretta’s hookers?”
    “Have you told him it’s over?”
    “Leslie’s having a dinner at her house tonight. I’m considering announcing it over dessert, that way everyone gets to share in the good news. May as well dump him with a bang.”
    Lucky shook her head. “You’re really bad—you know that?”
    Venus raised an eyebrow. “ I’m bad? Try blaming the motherfucker who’s screwing around on me.”
    The rest of the lunch they discussed business, including the grosses on Finder , a couple of scripts Venus was interested in developing, and the future plans of herpersonal production company. Then Venus wanted advice on whether she should switch agents. Freddie Leon had been pursuing her and she felt like a change.
    “Freddie’s the best,” Lucky said, sipping Perrier. “In fact, I had a meeting with him and Alex Woods this morning.” A casual pause. “Do you know Alex?”
    Venus didn’t miss a beat. “Big talent. Big dick. Only fucks Orientals. Doesn’t give head, but loves getting it.”
    “How come you know everything?”
    “Spent a stoned evening at a party with one of his ex’s—a spicy Chinese piece. She gave great detail.”
    “We’re doing his next project. A movie called Gangsters .”
    Venus couldn’t conceal her amazement. “ You’re making an Alex Woods movie? You? Surely you know he’s supposed to be a total chauvinist prick?”
    “With a dynamite script.”
    “Boy—lots of luck on this one.”
    Lucky smiled. “Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll need it.”
     
    The second production meeting of the day went smoothly; possible casting on Gangsters was discussed, and although some good names came up, Lucky knew Alex Woods would have his own ideas. She was aware that he didn’t usually work with stars, but Freddie had called her after lunch to tell her he was pushing the Latino movie idol, Johnny Romano, for one of the leads. Lucky liked the idea—Johnny, with his huge following, could guarantee a big-bucks opening weekend.
    “You’ve got my vote,” she said.
    “Good. I’ll tell Johnny.”
    After the production meeting was over, the last thing she felt like doing was an interview for a magazine. However, she was well aware of the power of good PR, and bringing Panther back to where it belonged wasimportant. With Finder and River Storm doing so well, it was time to put out a positive PR spin—even though she was extremely wary of the press and usually did everything possible to stay out of print.
    Mickey Stolli, the former head of Panther—now running Orpheus—was constantly making negative statements to the press, saying Panther was finished, that none of its movies made money. Even though everything he said was a blatant lie, it wasn’t good PR. The time had come to retaliate.
    Lucky settled in with an earnest black man in his thirties and spoke eloquently about her plans for the future of the studio. “Panther’s making the type of movies I like to see,” she said firmly, pushing a hand through her unruly black curls. “In my kind of movies, women are smart. They are not relegated to the kitchen, bedroom, or whorehouse. They’re strong, well-rounded women with careers and lives of their own who do not live their life through a man. That’s what intelligent women want