Thrill! Read Free Page A

back,"
    he said, with an insolent grin.
     
    "So I see,"
    said Madelaine, shifting uncomfortably, wondering what wrong deed she'd committed to have Joey Lorenzo reappear in her well-ordered life.
     
    Six years ago they'd been living together - the forty-eight-yearold agent and the twenty-four-yearold actor. An unlikely combination, but for eight months it had worked. Then one night she'd 13 arrived home to find Joey gone, along with seven thousand dollars in cash she'd kept in her safe.
     
    Now she was fifty-four and he was thirty and the bastard was back.
     
    "What do you want?"
    she asked, her voice a tight coil of buried anger.
     
    "You're pissed, aren't you?"
    Joey said nonchalantly, as if he'd merely popped out for cigarettes and a beer.
    "Really pissed."
     
    "Yes, Joey, I am,"
    she said, removing her tortoiseshell-framed glasses and staring at him bitterly.
    "Wouldn't you be?"
     
    "Guess you musta wondered what happened t'me,"
    he mumbled.
     
    "Yes, I wondered - about you and about my money."
     
    "Oh yeah, your money,"
    he said, groping in the pocket of his weathered leather jacket and producing a packet of hundred-dollar bills neatly tied with a rubber band.
    "Here's three thou. I'll get the rest to you in a coupla weeks."
     
    She couldn't believe he was returning her money. Not all of it, but three thousand dollars was a start. She continued staring at him. Six years had done him nothing but favours - he was more handsome than ever. His hair touched the back of his collar, thick and black - too long, but it didn't matter. His body was nicely muscled with a washboard stomach. He had grown into a man, with knowing eyes, full sensual lips and a smile that would melt stronger women than she. She remembered that smile. She also remembered his cock, even though she tried not to. Perfect. Like the rest of him.
     
    Pity he was a thieving sonofabitch.
     
    "What do you want?"
    she repeated, keeping her voice on the hard side, knowing time had not been as good to her as it had to him. Her reddish hair was flecked with grey. Lines and wrinkles abounded. And she'd put on fifteen pounds of disgusting fat.
     
    "Here's the thing,"
    Joey said, fixing her with his intense eyes, seeing right through her.
    "Before I took off, you'd gotten me two movie roles."
     
    "That's right,"
    she said coldly.
    "Your career was just about to happen. You ran out on that, too."
     
    14
    "Somethin"
    went down that was outta my control,"
    he said restlessly.
     
    She refused to give him the satisfaction of begging for an explanation.
    "I don't care, Joey,"
    she said, shuffling a stack of papers on her messy desk.
    "If you return the rest of my money, we'll leave it at that."
    She paused a moment, remembering the first time he'd walked into her office - a cocky kid from the Midwest, with way too much attitude. She'd seen the potential and decided to help him. Eight months of craziness and great sex. Eight months she'd never forget.
     
    "I didn't go to the police,"
    she said slowly,
    "even though it's what I should've done."
     
    He nodded, face sincere, faint stubble on his chin adding to his look.
    "Y'know, Maddy,"
    he said.
    "I wouldn't've taken your cash unless it was an emergency."
     
    She was silent. How many times could she ask him what he wanted from her now? Obyiously it wasn't money.
     
    He broke the silence, placing his hands on her desk. Long artistic fingers, pianist's ringers. She noticed his nails were manicured - which surprised her, considering Joey had always favoured the macho look.
    "I need to get back into the business,"
    he said.
    "An"
    you're the person who can do it for me."
     
    She raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
     
    "Here's what I'd like,"
    he continued.
    "Another movie. Not TV. I'm not into TV. Fuck that ER shit. I gotta be back on the big screen."
     
    Well, nobody ever said he didn't have nerve. But surely he didn't expect her to resurrect a career he'd run out on?
    "Joey,"
    she said, deliberately pacing her