The Modeliser (40 page)

“That should be obvious,” he replied removing a velvet ring
box from his pocket. Talia glanced around, already people had started to
recognise Alex and one woman shamelessly held her camera aloft, filming the
action.

“Talia Blake, will you marry me?” Talia stared down at him in
stunned silence.

“Are you crazy?”

“I’ve never been more serious about anything.”

“We’ve not been together for a minute. And where did you even
get that ring?”

“I know this is right.” Alex said and Talia could see the
stubborn set of his chin.

“Alex, this is not the place, we’ll end up on youtube.” Talia
pulled him up, relieved when he finally stood to stare into her eyes.

“Is that a No?” He asked. Talia looked around embarrassed and
shrugged.

“It’s a let’s take things slowly. Remember that was your
idea.”

“Yeah, you’ve go me there.” Talia watched as Alex tucked the
ring back into his pocket and sighed. She looked hopefully up at him.

“So can we go back to bed?” Alex gave a bark of laughter.

“Nah, reservations.”

He
clasped her hand in his much larger one and turned to press a kiss to her
cheek.

“I’ll convince you,” he said as they continued down the
street. “You’ll marry me.”

“How presumptuous of you,” Talia said not bothering to hide
the smile in her voice.

1
Year Later

They
had brought London to a standstill just two nights before and now the Undone
Premiere had reached Los Angeles. On the balmy summer evening Hollywood
Boulevard was a din of screaming fans, awash with girls armed with large
posters, photographers and the venerable might of Hollywood’s Entertainment
press – E! Access, Inside Hollywood, TMZ… Everybody, just everybody was
there.

Tamara
was in her element. Her first Hollywood premiere and even if she did say so
herself she had hit it out of the park.

“Tamara! Tamara! Tamara!”

The pack of photographers screamed her name, worked up into a
frenzy as she stepped out of the car in an eye-popping multi-coloured
confection of Gucci Couture. From the minute that the first trailers had
appeared, with Tamara in the lead female role as the vixen blonde, the word of
mouth about her had been through the roof. The early reviews had been
universally glowing in their praise and there was already Oscar buzz about her
performance, which the New York Times had described as “assured and
star-making.” It had taken a decade longer than expected but Tamara was finally
having the career of her dreams. Avital had bent over backwards to sign her and
she had offers coming thick and fast from film and television on both sides of
the pond.

Tamara paused on the red carpet facing the crowd with a sexy
smile that made a groan rise through the gathered ranks of photographers. By
Hollywood standards, she was practically at retirement age but unlike the
never-ending stream of disposable twentysomething ingénues, Tamara had captured
the imagination of audiences and critics. She was all woman and they knew it;
her smoky eyes, her confidence and the dirty laugh that she had deployed to
such devastating effect on her Letterman appearance had left nobody in any
doubt that she was the real deal.

From
the back of a limousine with tinted windows that pulled slowly towards
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Talia watched the crowds her mouth going dry with
nerves.

“Oh my god,” she breathed. Next to her she heard a small
chuckle from Alex and he leaned over to press a kiss to her bare shoulder.

“They’re all here for you.” Alex said with a smile.

“I doubt that somehow,” Talia said not hiding the amusement
in her voice, which was laced too with awe. The Leicester Square opening in
London had been incredible, the stuff of her childhood dreams come true but it
seemed nobody did premieres quite like the Americans. Outside the din grew
louder.

“Alex, Alex, Alex.” The fans chanted.
 

“Your public awaits,” Talia said. Even now, after almost a
year together, she was still not quite used to being at the centre of the
whirlwind that was Alex’s life. From New York to London and even to the
isolated set of Defender in the wilds of New Zealand, there was always a fan, a
photographer, someone who wanted something. And yet from Alex; his easygoing
demeanour, the way he never seemed to let any of it faze him, Talia had taken
her cue. The car slowed and once again, she looked out of the window at the
screaming fans. Many carried cameras and mobile phones ready for the chance to
snap a photograph of their hero. Even as they chanted for Alex, others waved
homemade signs:
Marry me Alex, I’ll be your Golden girl.
Talia gave a small smile as
she felt the car come to a halt. She turned to Alex who looked every inch the
movie star in a bespoke Armani suit that he had chosen just that morning. She’d
agonised about her dress for weeks, allowing the stylist that Helena had sent
to her to help her whittle down the selection.

“Ready?” Talia shook her head as she heard another roar from
the assembled fans. Already the flashbulbs had begun to explode like lightning
streaking across the early evening sky. How could anyone ever be ready for
this, she wondered. She felt Alex’s hand close around hers.

“You look great, everybody loves you and this is your movie.”
Talia felt tears at the back of her eyes and rapidly blinked them away. The
stylist would kill her if she let her make up run.

“Our movie,” she said huskily. She watched the smile crinkle
across Alex’s eyes and he smiled down at her. The private smile that was just
hers – not the toothy, million-watt Hollywood smile that the world got
but this small, serious smile that actually reached his eyes, which she’d come
to realise was hers and hers alone.

“Let’s do this,” she said firmly, watching as Alex climbed
out of the car. The roar of approval from the fans was almost deafening and
Talia felt the butterflies in her stomach trying to take flight. Alex had come
around the car and in a moment, her door was opening and as carefully as she
could, she climbed out of the car, to be greeted by a smaller cheer of her own.
Slowly she let out the breath that she had been holding and allowed a tentative
smile across her face. They really had made progress.

In the early days after news of her relationship with Alex
had first leaked – the fan girls had been savage and vitriolic.
Everything from Talia’s height (too short) to her hair (too frizzy) to her
weight (too fat), to the fact that she was just a nobody, everything had been
critiqued and dissected in minute detail and in every respect she had been
found wanting. Her dismissal from Encounters, unflattering beach pictures from
holidays past, no stone had been left unturned but they had weathered the
storm, Alex had been supportive, always by her side as he was now. He had been
true to his word and had tried every way to get her to marry him, the proposals
becoming more elaborate but Talia had been cautious determined not to rush into
anything that they might both regret.

Talia shielded her eyes from the staggering flashbulbs. She
felt Alex’s arm resting gently against her back and she allowed herself to
relax into the moment and enjoy the premiere,
their
premiere. Alex’s thumb stroked
along her spine, which was exposed in a backless fashion-forward Armani Prive
shimmer of silver, that was exquisite against her brown skin and which Helena
had pronounced fabulous. They moved towards the gathered pack of journalists
and Talia looked on dazed, as Alex dazzled each reporter with his witty banter,
making them feel, if only for a moment like they had his absolute undivided
attention.
 

Looking through the throng of people moving up the red carpet
– celebrities, competition winners, industry executives and a few
familiar faces too, Talia felt a surge of excitement. Somewhere in the
auditorium, Sula, having made the trip from Paris, would be taking her seat.
Since the release of the Époque Centenary issue, Sula had slowly been trying to
build a relationship with Helena and in recent months, perhaps because of the
ocean that separated them, Helena had started to thaw and acknowledge her
mother’s overtures.

Talia raised a hand to wave at Helena who was heading towards
the auditorium. She gave her friend a wink, noting that Helena was wearing a
directional Stella McCartney jumpsuit, with cutaway panels of laced webbing, a
far cry from her conservative look of the last few years. But that wasn’t all
that was different about her friend. Next to her was Haydn, a hot young male
model who had been in great demand on the catwalks of Paris fashion week.
Helena’s photo editorial of him for V-Man had put Haydn squarely on the map and
Talia had every intention of quizzing Helena about the new relationship when
she got a chance. Talia smiled as she caught sight of Tamara who still had the
gathered photographers eating out of her hand. They would never be friends but
during the filming of Undone, they had grown to warily respect each other.
Marriage to Vassily hadn’t dulled Tamara’s edges but being in love and her
newfound success had instead brought out a warmth that had previously been
lacking.

“So Alex, when are you two going to make it official?” Talia
felt a shaft of heat wash over her cheeks as a forward journalist thrust a mic
into their faces.

As always Alex took the question in his stride, “I’m trying
Christina, I’m trying.” He laughed as they continued up the red carpet.

Talia felt Alex’s hand on her back again as he pulled her
gently to his side for another photo-call. She stared up at him, her man and
not for the first time, she couldn’t believe how lucky she was. In his every
word, gesture and there were many grand gestures, Alex showed her that she was
loved. He had said the words first, the day after the cameras rolled on Undone.
Unable to stop herself Talia leaned up and pressed a kiss to Alex’s jaw. He
looked down and smiled at her and suddenly she knew.

“Yes,” she said. Alex’s eyes widened as immediately he
realised the importance of her word. She was finally giving him her answer; she
had finally agreed to marry him. Alex leaned down and grabbed his bride-to-be
in a hungry kiss and the flashbulbs went mad.

The next morning the image of them locked in a kiss made all
the covers.

Undone
was released to critical praise and debuted at number one in both the USA and
the UK, hanging on to the top spot for 4 weeks. The film was that rarest of
things; a thriller that the critics admired and yet commercial enough to fill
the multiplexes. It became the first production for Alex Golden’s newly formed
Golden Productions.

Gabe
Tynan produced a collection of nude photographs of Sula, which briefly
scandalized Paris and he returned to London soon after Sula ended all contact
with him. His second film was abandoned after financiers pulled funding.

Max
Maguire's latest film a romantic-comedy was panned by critics and bombed at the
box office. After a brief stint in rehab, he is currently shopping for a new
agent and looking for opportunities to take to the London stage.

Days
after the premiere, Vassily and Tamara were surprised and delighted to discover
that Tamara was pregnant. Tamara surprised herself and did not as expected
succumb to Pregorexia. She and Vassily are now parents to twins Nikolai and
Leo. Within days of the delivery at London’s exclusive Portland Hotel, Tamara
was back at the gym. Her wedding, planned for next summer, is shaping up to be
the hottest event of the season and Australian Vogue are talking about a cover.

If
Talia had thought that her career was hot, after the release of Undone, she
watched it go supernova. After walking away with a screenplay BAFTA for Undone,
the offers have been coming non-stop. Talia currently has two scripts about to
go into production and true to his word Alex purchased the New York Duplex for
her. They now divide their time between homes in New York and London.

For
Alex Golden: bad boy, philanderer, The Modeliser, the stellar opening of Undone
cemented his return to the top. His pay cheque for Defender combined with his
exec producer credit and profit share participation put him back at the top of
the Hollywood pay list. With the building Oscar buzz for Defender and a focused
new approach, Alex Golden is back.

To
mark the release of Defender, Vanity Fair ran a profile on the return of
Hollywood’s legendary bad boy, beneath Alex’s cover photograph was the tagline
- The Reform of the The Modeliser.

As
for Talia and Alex, they were married in a private ceremony in London
surrounded by friends and family. Naturally Helena took their official wedding
photographs and the happy couple are honeymooning around Asia.

I’d like to
thank my agent Rowan whose encouragement and feedback on the first few chapters
spurred me on to finish the first draft of The Modeliser.