Alex Ames - Calendar Moonstone 02 - Brilliant Actors Read Online Free PDF Page B

Swan Collins once. It was about five years ago, and she was on top of the heap with her first blockbuster under her belt. Imagine shy young reporter Mundy on one of his first assignments. Man, was I nervous.” He sat down opposite of me. “So, I was ushered into this presidential suite in the Waldorf Tower after a trip through a sequence of assistants and different management spheres. Mrs. Swan Collins was sitting on a beige sofa, her legs tucked away at her side. She wore a white dress and looked like a goddess ready to be painted. I sat down on the low chair in front of her, introduced myself, and asked my questions—probably the very same questions she had heard before all day, only this time asked by a stuttering black hippie.”
    “She was acting the bored actress bitch?” I asked.
    “That was the amazing part; she didn’t. She was answering each and every question with total enthusiasm and honesty. After I was through with my list, we were chatting about the weather and New York, and she asked about my background.” Mundy had to smile at the memory. “I told her about San Francisco, Berkeley U, and the hard fight to get a job at the Post . And she looked interested and gave me feedback, her thoughts on difficult jobs. This little impromptu personal exchange took less than a minute, but when I left the hotel room after my interview slot was over, I had the feeling that we had formed a very special bond.”
    “You had the feeling that she had wrapped you around her finger?” Why was I so negative about this? Could this be … jealousy?
    Mundy shook his head, “No! The opposite. I left with the impression that we had become friends and that if I called her in four weeks’ time she would not only remember my name but would also be glad to hear from me. Yes, I had the feeling I had found a friend.”
    “So call her. Maybe she did indeed. You are a special person, you know. At least for me you are. Get yourself invited to the after-show party. We could party together.”
    Mundy didn’t smile and held up a finger. “The story is not over, yet. When I was back in the lobby, I went into the bar and had an immediate post-interview drink to compensate the female superstar exposure and get my hormone level back to normal. I met my colleague from the New York Times , who had had the interview slot right before mine and was cooling down, too. And guess what. We shared the very same impressions. Both of us were new best friends of Swan Collins.”
    Mundy and I were sitting opposite each other, and he was holding my hands now.  
    I may have sounded a little defensive when I finally said, “So, what do you want to tell me through your little story?”
    “Simply that: remember that your new friend Nicole Berg is an actress just like my BFF Swan Collins. And that both ladies use their talents not only to make great movies and dazzle on the big screen but to influence people, pull them to their side, and make them allies. And there is no way but to pry open their skull and look into the brain to see what they really think of their world. To you, it may feel like a newly formed friendship, but it may be just that: an act or a means to an end.”
    “You mean that Nicole was dishonest with me? I don’t buy that. What does she have to gain?”
    Mundy patted my hands. “I am not saying that she has something evil in mind. Maybe she really likes your stuff; maybe she is a closet lesbian and is trying to seduce you; maybe she is a jewelry art buff. We don’t know. All I am saying is: don’t expect to be a real close part of her life, and don’t put too much true faith from your side into that friendship until she has built up a certain credit with you.”
    I nodded. “Fair enough, Mundy.”
    Mundy said, “There are two things I would hate to see happening to you. One is to see you get hurt.”
    “I am a big girl and have been hurt in relationships before. And second?”
    “Second is to see your butt, your beautiful