Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul

Author:Crystal Smith Paul
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

CHAPTER 21

Kitty

“Done. I want Cora off the payroll.” Nathan dumped a layer of roast beef from his sandwich onto a spare napkin. “I was hoping that if I delayed production long enough, she’d quit, and everyone would just forget about that damned film. The script is shit. And so is she for what she’s done to my family.”

“But she’s our biggest star, and it’s our only slated feature.” Kitty, she saw, had been tricked into an impossible situation, oblivious until now to how Nathan felt about his father’s affair with Cora. “The media is expecting it. We can’t afford bad press.”

“I don’t give a goddamn.”

“Everything is ready to go. We can rewrite the script.” Kitty used every angle Lucy had given her.

“I want her out of here.”

“Why?” Kitty played dumb. “I thought all of her pictures have done well.”

“It’s no secret. She’s my father’s mistress—or was; he’s not much good to anyone these days. First his mind went, and now his body is ridden with some disease the doctors can’t diagnose.” He poured drinks for them, ranting. “My father’s always had an affinity for actresses, but Cora’s had quite a hold on him. She came from nowhere. He bought her a house bigger than ours, while yelling at my mom about her spending habits. Of course, now that he’s sick, it’s my mother by his side.”

“How did you know about the house?”

“He took me there a few times. All Cora wants is his money. She doesn’t care about him. During one of his lucid moments, he asked to see her—crazy old man does love her—and she refused to come, to punish us for trying to untie her from his finances. She asked to speak to him just to say she wasn’t coming and incite him to hysterics, I think. We had to call the doctor to sedate him.”

“How long has Cora been in his life?”

“She says fifteen years, but it’s hard to be sure. They were discreet.”

“That’s a long time.”

“He’s been married to my mother for forty.” Nathan ran both of his hands through his hair. It was always the first indicator of his distress. “I know I shouldn’t cancel production for personal reasons, but…”

She went to touch his arm but stopped herself. “I understand your feelings, but Cora’s under contract.”

“Which is why it has to be her decision.”

“I think we should talk about her contract after the film.”

“We’d have to find a writer willing to touch ‘Abner Tate’s masterpiece.’ Someone we can also trust not to talk about the original.”

“How about you?” Kitty suggested. “That way, if it gets out, it’ll still be good for the papers.”

“No one is supposed to know he’s sick.”

“Maybe it’s time they did. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Nathan looked as though he was considering it. “Listen, I’m not in a rush. This studio can survive on our television shows until next year.”

“I don’t think you have that sort of time.”

“Or what? Mutiny?”

That was exactly what happened. No one on the lot, except the administration staff, got paid unless they were working on a project.

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