Sunset Boulevard Read Online Free PDF Page B

his arm as
    the valet opened his door and Ash made his way out and into the restaurant.
    Spago's interior looked like a geometry lesson gone horribly awry. An obsessive-compulsive
    guest could spend hours trying to find all the trapezoids, diamonds, and parallelograms hidden
    in the paintings, the furniture, even the ceiling. The décor was mostly unchanged since the
    restaurant, historic by L.A. standards, had opened in 1982.
    Ash walked directly to the hostess stand, even though he was early. It was seven forty-five, but
    he wanted to be here before his father, just to show how important this night was to him.
    The hostess, a tall, sharp-featured woman with short, spiky black hair, greeted Ash with a purr.
    "May I help you, sir?"
    Ash, noticing many men were wearing jackets, slid his on as he answered. "I'm meeting my
    father, Gordon Gilmour," he said. "I'm early, though."
    The woman checked the giant reservation book spread open atop the hostess stand. "Mr.
    Gilmour's party has already been seated, in the private dining area," she corrected him. Ash
    nervously checked the time on his phone. He was definitely early. And what was this about
    "Mr. Gilmour's party"? She waved one hand for Ash to follow her, and they cut through the
    dining room, past a table of harried-looking agent types all tapping e-mails into their
    BlackBerries.
    The private room was painted the same bright yellow, but the lights were dimmer, and candles
    flickered on each of the dozen tables. A long red felt banquette ran along one wall, and Ash
    found Gordon sitting here, surrounded by his minions from his label, More Records. Gordon
    was laughing at something his lead A&R guy, Lee Winters, was saying. His bellow seemed to
    suck all of the air from the room. Gordon's eyes flickered in Ash's direction, but the way his
    father's gaze swept right over him, Ash could have been a busboy.
    He stood there dumbly. His dad had said, "Meet me ." Not "Come to some boring business
    dinner so I can ignore you in front of my staff."
    Ash saw his dad's high forehead crinkle above his raised eyebrows. His eyes, a harder brown
    than Ash's, scanned his son's neat hair, jacket, and pressed pants. "Everyone, I think you know
    my son, Ash," he said, and immediately, the whole table was at attention, the half-dozen guys
    in suits rising to clasp Ash's hand tightly and slap him on the back. The two women competed
    with their male counterparts for firmer handshakes. Ash sat down, water and a glass of red
    wine materializing before him. Next to him was an empty place setting, the wine drained, traces
    of red lipstick smudging the rim of the glass. Maybe Moxie was here. He thought he smelled
    her heavy rose perfume still swirling in the air.
    "How's the car?" Gordon asked, leaning across the table. When he'd moved to Malibu, he'd left
    several of his pet cars at the Beverly Hills house, and told Ash he could have one. Ash had
    chosen the 1969 Camaro SS not only because its turbo engine took full advantage of rare
    openings on Sunset Boulevard but also because his dad used to take him for drives up the PCH
    in it. But ever since Ash started driving the Camaro, Gordon had taken a newfound interest in
    its health and well-being, as if expecting Ash to total it within months.
    "Good, drove it here today," Ash said, taking a gulp of the dry wine, letting its warmth course
    through his chest.
    Waiters came to the table, adding seared tuna, pan-roasted chicken, and braised veal to each
    plate, alongside baby artichokes, fresh cavatelli pasta with pine nuts, and oversize mushrooms
    bursting with goat cheese. Once everyone had food, Gordon clinked his glass with his fork.
    "You all know why we're here," he boomed, as his staff clung to every word. Not me, Ash
    thought. Gordon rarely mixed family and business. "We have an auspicious new addition to the
    talent roster at More Records, even if she has been in the bathroom an awfully long time."
    Light giggles burst out around the