These were the people who had kept the gates shut against her, who had refused to give her a chance. Any person at this table could have helped her, could have changed her life, but none of them had had five minutes to spare for Jill Castle. She looked over at a producer who was riding high with a big new musical picture. He had refused to give Jill even an interview.
At the far end of the table, a famous comedy director was in animated conversation with the star of his latest film. He had refused to see Jill.
Sam Winters was talking to the head of another studio. Jill had sent a telegram to Winters, asking him to watch her performance on a television show. He had never bothered answering.
They would pay for their slights and insults, they and everybody else in this town who had treated her so shabbily. Right now, she meant nothing to the people here, but she would. Oh, yes. One day she would.
The food was superb, but Jill was too preoccupied to notice what she ate. When dinner was over, Toby rose and said, “Hey! We better hurry before they start the picture without us.” Holding Jill’s arm, he led the way to the large projection room where they were to watch a movie.
The room was arranged so that sixty people could comfortably view the picture in couches and easy chairs. An open cabinet filled with candy bars stood at one side of the entrance. A popcorn machine stood on the other side.
Toby had seated himself next to Jill. She was aware that all through the screening his eyes were on her rather than on the movie. When the picture ended and the lights went up, coffee and cake were served. Half an hour later, the party began to dissolve. Most of the guests had early studio calls.
Toby was standing at the front door saying good night to Sam Winters when Jill walked up, wearing her coat. “Where are you going?” Toby demanded. “I’m gonna take you home.”
“I have my car,” Jill answered, sweetly. “Thank you for a lovely evening, Toby.” And she left.
Toby stood there in disbelief, watching her drive away. He had made exciting plans for the rest of the evening. He was going to take Jill upstairs to the bedroom and—he had even picked out the tapes he was going to play! Any woman here tonight would have been grateful to jump into my bed, Toby thought. They were stars, too, not some dumb bit player. Jill Castle was just too damned stupid to know what she was turning down. It was over as far as Toby was concerned. He had learned his lesson.
He was never going to talk to Jill again.
Toby telephoned Jill at nine o’clock the next morning, and he was answered by a tape-recorded message. “Hello, this is Jill Castle. I’m sorry I’m not at home now. If you’ll leave your name and telephone number, I’ll call back when I return. Please wait until you hear the signal. Thank you.” There was a sharp beep.
Toby stood there clutching the telephone in his hand, then slammed down the receiver without leaving a message. He was damned if he was going to carry on a conversation with a mechanical voice. A moment later, he redialed the number. He listened to the recording again and spoke. “You’ve got the cutest voice-over in town. You should package it. I don’t usually call back girls who eat and run, but in your case, I’ve decided to make an exception. What are you doing for dinner to—?” The phone went dead. He had talked too long for the goddamned tape. He froze, not knowing what to do, feeling like a fool. It infuriated him to have to call back again, but he dialed the number for the third time and said, “As I was saying before the rabbi cut me off, how about dinner tonight? I’ll wait for your call.” He left his number and hung up.
Toby waited restlessly all day and did not hear from her. By seven o’clock, he thought, To hell with you. That was your last chance, baby. And this time it was final. He took out his private phone book and began to thumb through it. There was no one in it who interested him.
26
It was the most tremendous role in Jill’s life.
She had no idea why Toby wanted her so much when he could have any girl in Hollywood, nor did the reason matter. The fact was that he did. For days Jill had been able to think of nothing but the dinner party and how everyone there—all those important people—had catered to Toby. They would do anything for him. Somehow, Jill had to find a way to make Toby do anything for her. She knew she had to be very clever. Toby’s reputation was that once he took a girl to bed, he lost interest in her. It was the pursuit he enjoyed, the challenge. Jill spent a great deal of time thinking about Toby and about how she was going to handle him.
Toby telephoned her every day and she let a week go by before she agreed to have dinner with him again. He was in such a euphoric state that everyone in the cast and crew commented on it.
“If there were such an animal,” Toby told Clifton, “I’d say I was in love. Every time I think about Jill, I get an erection.” He grinned and added, “And when I get an erection, pal, it’s like putting up a billboard on Hollywood Boulevard.”
The night of their first date, Toby picked Jill up at her apartment and said, “We have a table at Chasen’s.” He was sure it would be a treat for her.
“Oh?” There was a note of disappointment in Jill’s voice.
He blinked. “Is there someplace else you’d rather go?” It was Saturday night, but Toby knew he could get a table anywhere: Perino’s, the Ambassador, the Derby. “Name it.”
Jill hesitated, then said, “You’ll laugh.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Tommy’s.”
Toby was getting a poolside massage from one of the Macs, while Clifton Lawrence looked on. “You wouldn’t believe it,” Toby marveled. “We stood in line at that hamburger joint for twenty minutes. Do you know where the hell Tommy’s is? Downtown Los Angeles. The only people who go to downtown Los Angeles are wetbacks. She’s crazy. I’m ready to blow a hundred bucks on her with French champagne and the whole bit, and the evening costs me two dollars and forty cents. I wanted to take her to Pip’s afterward. Do you know what we did instead? We walked along the beach at Santa Monica. I got sand in my Guccis. No one walks along the beach at night. You get mugged by scuba divers.” He shook his head in admiration. “Jill Castle. Do you believe her?”