Lady Boss Read Free Page B

Hollywood princess.
    Primrose – the younger and prettier of the two – had opted for a different kind of life in England, where she was able to raise her two children in what she considered a more real atmosphere.
    And then there were his granddaughters’ husbands. Abigaile’s husband, Mickey Stolli, ran the studio, while Primrose’s spouse, Ben Harrison, took care of Panther Studios’ overseas operation.
    Mickey and Ben also loathed each other. For the sake of business they had formed an uneasy truce. It helped that they lived on different sides of the Atlantic.
    Abe had christened them the scum-in-laws. He considered them both cheating connivers who would steal everything they could.
    It amused him to discuss the scum-in-laws with Inga. She hardly ever cracked a smile, although she was certainly an avid listener, missing no detail of what he imagined were the scum-in-laws’ latest nefarious activities.
    Abe had a loyal employee firmly ensconced on the studio lot. This was Herman Stone, an unassuming man with the useless title of Personal Assistant to Mr. Panther. Herman visited Abe once a month and gave him a rundown of studio activities. Everyone knew he was Abe’s spy, therefore he was left alone and was never privy to any important information. He had a comfortable office, and an elderly secretary, Sheila. Herman and Sheila were both relics of Abe Panther’s reign, perfectly harmless and absolutely unfirable until the day Abe Panther dropped dead.
    Soon, Mickey Stolli hoped. For then he would have complete control and could set about getting rid of his brother-in-law, Ben Harrison.
    Soon, Ben Harrison hoped. For then he was going to move back to Hollywood and grab the studio from his conniving brother-in-law’s grasp.
    When Abe Panther dropped, Abigaile Stolli and Primrose Harrison knew they were destined to become two of the most powerful women in Hollywood. Abe had never gone public with Panther Studios. He owned it – all one hundred and twenty glorious acres of prime land. So the girls would inherit everything.
    Mickey Stolli planned to rule his inherited kingdom like the studio heads of the old days.
    Ben Harrison planned to sell off parcels of the valuable land just as Twentieth Century Fox had done, and become a multi-billionaire.
    The scum-in-laws. They couldn’t wait, and old Abe Panther knew it.
    That’s why he had other ideas. Ideas that if Abigaile and Mickey, Primrose and Ben knew about, they would have committed hara-kiri in the middle of Chasens on a Sunday night.
    Abe planned to sell his studio.
    And the buyer he had in mind was Lucky Santangelo.

Chapter 4
    In New York Steven Berkeley kissed Mary-Lou, patted her lovingly on the stomach, and headed for the door, pausing only to ask, ‘Are we in or out tonight?’
    â€˜Out,’ she replied.
    Steven groaned. ‘Why?’ he asked plaintively.
    â€˜â€™Cause when that baby starts to bulge, I ain’t goin’
no
where, man.’
    They both laughed. Mary-Lou was a glowingly pretty black woman, a few months away from her twenty-third birthday, and two and a half months away from giving birth to their first child. They’d been married nearly three years.
    Steven Berkeley had skin the colour of rich milk chocolate, black curly hair, and unfathomable green eyes. Six feet three inches tall, and forty-seven years of age, he kept himself in great shape – visiting the gym three times a week, and swimming at an indoor pool every other day.
    Mary-Lou was the star of a popular television sitcom, and Steven was a highly successful defence attorney. They’d met when her managers had approached his firm to represent her while she sued a low-life magazine for publishing nude photos of her taken when she was sixteen. Steven had accepted the case, won her an award of sixteen million dollars – since appealed and reduced – and married the girl. In spite of a twenty-four-year age