Sunday laughs. “I guess my mother didn’t tell you about her latest attempt to ruin me, to climb back to control the board with my half sister at her side, did she?”
“No, she’d hardly tell me that, would she? What did she do?”
“She bribed one of my staff to drug me, and had me carried to a sleazy motel where she arranged for some mob guy to be staying. When the press got there, it looked like I was shacking up with a lowlife right out of Pulp Fiction. She wanted the board of directors to turn leadership back over to her. Susan would have been her CEO.”
“That couldn’t have been pleasant for you.”
“I won’t forget that headache for a long time, that’s for sure. As for the rest-” Sunday shrugs and gives him a cold smile. “It’s the cost of doing business with the likes of my mother.”
“You’re making light of it, but it was an evil thing for her to do.”
Sunday shrugs again, looks bored. “You married her. You must have guessed what she was capable of.”
He shakes his head. “Not really. She was young then, so full of possibilities.”
“Maybe she wouldn’t have become what she is if you hadn’t run out on us. Maybe if you’d stayed married, I wouldn’t have a half sister who’d shoot me if she had the guts.”
He looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t, only shakes his head.
“And you want to know what else, Reverend Galliard? For revenge against my half sister, I was thinking about sleeping with her husband, a real winner, that guy. Would that have sent me right to hell?” She gives him a patently false smile. “I was going to cut him off at the knees, of course, once I was done with him. But then you came along. You saved me from wasting my time on him.”
She stops, stares at him. “I can’t believe what just came out of my mouth. You’re good, you know that? You’re really good. A preacher, a shrink-you’re good at both.”
He looks at her steadily. “Maybe you feel on a gut level that you can trust me. No, don’t say you’d rather trust the devil. I hope to show you it’s true.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t even know you.”
“I never wanted to leave you, Sunday, never, but-”
“Yes, there’s always a ‘but,’ isn’t there? You know what, Reverend Galliard? I don’t want to hear it, although I’m willing to bet your delivery would be worthy of you.” She waves her hand around his office. “I bet you’ve come to love your trappings and your Italian loafers. I’ll bet you’d do anything before you gave them up. Good luck saving all those souls in exchange for their worldly goods.”
She flicks a finger at his suit. “Versace, right?” She turns on her three-inch black heels and walks out.
He doesn’t move, stands staring after her-
“Clear! Good scene, Norman, Mary Lisa. Just great. You’re on again right after lunch, Norman.”
Clyde came bounding onto the set. “Not bad, guys. We’re off to a good start. I gotta tell you I wasn’t sure when Bernie sold me this story line. But it’s going to grab our viewers. And it’s completely fresh, we’ll be working it for months.”
Mary Lisa patted his arm. “I’m glad you’re pleased, Clyde. So am I.”
Clyde was already trotting back to the booth where the director stood watching them, toasting them with his cup of black coffee.
“The powers that be are happy. Good for us.” Mary Lisa smiled at Norman Gellis, newly arrived to play her father from ATWT-As the World Turns-and patted his arm. “Welcome aboard.” What an incestuous business the soaps were. Norman had run out of enthusiasm for his character on ATWT and so they’d killed him off, shot by his jealous wife when he’d come home from a hunting trip late at night. Mary Lisa thought Norman Gellis was perfect for the role of Reverend Phillip Galliard, Sunday’s long-absent father. He was an experienced, accomplished actor, and he’d played off her very well in their initial scene. Amazingly, his eyes were nearly the same color as hers, and she actually resembled him quite a bit. Was it all a coincidence, or had the producers planned to bring him over all along?
FORTY-ONE
Lou Lou caught up with her as she walked toward the front door of the studio. “Your father here yet?”
“Which father?” Mary Lisa grinned. “Everyone’s talking about how much Norman and I look alike. My real father-I hope I talked him out of coming. I heard Jack promise he’d call Dad if they needed him. Then he backed me up and lied, said everything was under control.”
Lou Lou began humming.
“Spit it out, Lou Lou.”
“I just wondered when you were going to tell me what’s happening between you and Jack.”
“Of course, Lou Lou, what are lunches for? But if you have another steak sandwich the size of Chicago in that lunch bag of yours I’m going to hit you with my sneaker.”
“Nah, it’s fish and chips today. They’re probably a little limp, but nothing that mayo relish won’t perk up. Come on, let’s sit down.”
Lou Lou had at least a pound of fish and chips, along with her favorite sweet-and-sour green relish for the chips.
Mary Lisa looked down at her own lunch, two small tubs of strawberry yogurt, with real strawberries mixed in. They were nice and cold. She’d sprinkled some pecans on top. Mary Lisa dug in, determined not to whine.
“Jack Wolf,” Lou Lou said, waving a French fry at her. “That was some show you guys put on last night until I managed to get everyone back inside.”
“Thank you.” Mary Lisa savored the yogurt. It was hard, but she did it. It was cold, wasn’t it, and that was nice. “I had an orgasm,” she said.
“What?”
“You saw me lying on top of him, you must have seen his hands on my butt. Well, he did all the right things and I’ll tell you, Lou Lou, I zoomed right into outer space. I’ve never felt like that before in my life. And it was unstoppable; it was on me and I flew out of control.” She grinned. “He’s something else.”
“Yeah, he is, as a matter of fact. I’ve felt the tension between the two of you, but I didn’t think-well, never mind that.”
“You didn’t think it was mutual? That we wanted to jump each other? Fact is, I didn’t realize it either. That, or it was simmering inside me and it all burst out last night. You know something else, Lou Lou? I really like him. He makes me laugh as much as he makes me want to punch him out.” She paused, grinning off at nothing at all. “Fact is, I can’t wait to do it again, only this time I’ll get him out of his jeans and-”
It was then she saw a black Italian boot appear on the bench beside her. She heard Lou Lou snicker as she followed that lovely boot upward and into Jack Wolf’s face. He was grinning at her and it was clear what he was thinking. The curse of all redheads-she turned as red as the strawberries in her yogurt.
“Hi, Goon Leader. Where’s Pitty Pat?”
“He’s parking the car. He’ll be here in a minute.” He paused a moment, and Mary Lisa knew, she just knew, he was going to innuendo her into the ground, but what he said was, “What in the name of heaven are you eating?”
“Yogurt. Strawberry. Pecan halves. Umm umm good.”
Jack looked revolted and picked up a French fry from Lou Lou’s pile, frowned at the relish, but dipped and ate it. As he chewed he closed his eyes in bliss.
Mary Lisa eyed him, waiting for him to say something sweet perhaps, or maybe finally dredge out some sly innuendo, but he kept on chewing, happy as a clam. “You want to try my yogurt?”
He gave her a slow smile. “Not in this lifetime.”