Genuine Lies

hadn’t had the leading lady bouncing on him so often during his last project, he might have gotten a decent performance out of her. Onscreen.”
    “He could have been a eunuch and not gotten a decent performance out of her,” Paul corrected Eve. “Onscreen.”
    “It’s all tits and ass these days.” Even skimmed a glance over Darla. Julia took time to hope that she was never on thewrong end of that coldly amused stare. “Tell me, Ms. Summers, what do you think of our current crop of actresses?”
    “I’d say it’s the same in this as in any generation. The cream rises to the top. You did.”
    “If I’d waited to rise, I’d still be making B movies with second-rate directors.” She gestured with her glass. “I clawed and chewed my way to the top, and I’ve spent most of my life in a bloody battle to stay there.”
    “Then I suppose the question would be, is it worth it?”
    Eve’s eyes narrowed and glittered. Her lips curved. “You’re goddamn right it is.”
    Julia leaned closer. “If you had it to do over again, would you change anything?”
    “No. Nothing.” She took a quick and deep drink. A headache was beginning to play behind her eyes, and the dull pain infuriated her. “To change one thing is to change everything.”
    Paul put a hand on Eve’s arm, but his eyes were on Julia. Because he didn’t bother to disguise it, Julia now could see the source of the hostility she’d been feeling. “Why don’t we let the interview wait until working hours?”
    “Don’t be so snotty, Paul,” Eve said mildly. With a laugh, she patted his hand. She turned to Julia. “He disapproves. I’m sure he thinks I’ll spill his secrets along with mine.”
    “You don’t know mine.”
    This time her laugh took on an edge. “My dear boy, there is no secret, no lie, no scandal I don’t know. At one time it was thought that Parsons and Hopper were the ones to worry about. But they didn’t know how to hold on to a secret until it had ripened.” She drank again, as if toasting some private triumph. “How many calls have you fielded in the last two weeks, Nina, from worried luminaries?”
    Nina let out a sigh. “Dozens.”
    “Exactly.” Pleased, Eve sat back. In the candlelight, her eyes glittered like the jewels at her ears and around her throat. “It’s tremendously satisfying to be the one throwing the shit at the fan. And you, Drake, as my press agent, what do you think about my project?”
    “That you’re going to make a lot of enemies. And a lot of money.”
    “I’ve spent fifty years doing both of those things already. How about you, Ms. Summers, what do you hope to get out of this?”
    Julia set her glass aside. “A good book.” She caught Paul’s look of derision and stiffened. She would have preferred to empty her water goblet into his lap, but relied on dignity. “Of course, I’ve gotten used to people considering celebrity biographies a long step below literature.” Her gaze shifted to meet his. “Just as many people consider popular fiction a bastard form of writing.”
    Eve threw back her head and laughed; Paul picked up his fork to toy with the remnants of his trout. His clear blue eyes had darkened, but his voice was mild as he asked, “What do you consider your work, Ms. Summers?”
    “Entertainment,” she said without hesitation. “What do you consider yours?”
    He ignored the question and leapt on her answer. “So you believe it’s entertaining to exploit the name and the life of a public figure?”
    She no longer felt like biting her nails, but pushing up her sleeves. “I doubt Sandburg thought so when he wrote of Lincoln. And I certainly don’t believe an
authorized
biography is exploitative of its subject!”
    “You’re not comparing your work to Sandburg’s?”
    “Yours has been compared to Steinbeck’s.” She moved her shoulders carelessly, though her temper was heating fast. “You tell a story based on imagination—or lies. I tell one based on facts and memories. The result of both techniques is that the finished work is read and enjoyed.”
    “I’ve certainly read and enjoyed works by both of you,” Nina said, stepping in as peacemaker. “I’ve always been in awe of writers. All I do is compose business correspondence. Of course, Drake has those punchy press releases.”
    “Which are a mix of truth and lies,” he said. He turned to Julia with a smile. “I suppose you’ll be interviewing people other than Eve, for a rounded