• HER LEADING MAN
• Zebra
• 2001

Christina Mayhew doesn't consider herself a gifted thespian.  For beautiful Christina, film acting is simply a surefire way to earn money, which she'll need to get into medical school.  At least she has intellectual, gentlemanly producer Martin Tafft to talk to.  But while Martin is more than happy to discuss matters of the mind with Christina, his reaction to her secret goal is a crushing disappointment -- especially since she has come to see Martin as more than just the boss.  Then an accident on the set forces Martin to take the male lead, and Christina gets a taste of his kisses - on screen, at least.  Now all she has to do is convince him that he would be perfect for another role . . . namely her lifetime leading man.

Martin Tafft frowned as he opened the Indio Gazette and its great black headline hove into view: "Cinema Actress Hurls Self to Death." The opening sentence of the accompanying article declared, "Los Angeles Police detectives believe the young woman's wild life may have been a factor in her tragic suicide."

Farther down on the same page Martin found another article titled, in smaller print, "Drug Use Abounds in Cinema Industry." The first sentence in the article made Martin's blood run cold: "'Hollywoodland is a Mecca for Illicit Drug Activity,' claims famous motion-picture director."

Martin shook his head in consternation. "Bother. Not more of this? When will it all end?"

Since he was alone in his room, having dialed room service in order to avoid the confusion of the crowded dining room below, no one answered his question.

Oh, but this was a blow. And it was one that seemed to be falling every day now. Day after day. Drugs. Alcohol. Scandalous sexual conduct. Unrestrained behavior. Suicides. Could murder be far behind? The very idea of such infamous conduct, not to mention the sure-to-follow publicity, made Martin shudder.

These two latest scandals were going to renew calls for censorship. Martin could almost hear the ladies from the Purity League gearing up for an all-out assault on the studios. The Daughters of the American Revolution would be writing letters by the billion. His mind's eye envisioned an article decrying the immorality of motion pictures in the WCTU's White Ribbon. He shook his head, dismayed.

Still, it was small wonder folks had begun looking upon the motion-picture industry and picture people with disfavor. The motion pictures--a brilliant creation Martin had believed would be all but the salvation of mankind--seemed to have taken a wrong turn somewhere between 1904, when he'd become involved in them, and today. A single decade, and the whole shebang looked as if it were sliding straight downhill.

It made Martin melancholy to acknowledge the bitter truth. But it was true: For every sweet young Lillian Gish or Mary Pickford, who were, while perhaps not blameless, at least bright, moral young women, there were dozens, if not hundreds, of girls rushing to Southern California. Most of them were so eager to get into the pictures that they'd sacrifice anything, including their morals, and even their lives, to accomplish their goals. Silly girls, and sometimes pitiful. Martin wished he could convince them all of their folly, but such was beyond him.

Even worse, he felt vaguely responsible for the mess, because he'd been there in the beginning. At the vanguard. He'd been in at the very infancy of a now-booming industry. But it hadn't gone the way he'd predicted.

Now that everyone was mad for the "flickers," the industry seemed to have sunk into a slough of immorality and decadence. Martin's heart hurt when he thought about how so splendid and worthy a medium was being abused by unscrupulous people with no manners or morals to speak of. Although he wasn't a particular fan of Thomas Edison, the patent-grubbing genius from New Jersey, Martin had a feeling Edison was probably appalled by it, too, if he took the trouble to think about it at all. Edison wasn't known for his bleeding heart.

It was all too depressing for Martin. Especially given his present task, which was making an Egyptian spectacular--containing a nude scene--in the middle of the desert. Not only was Martin uncomfortable with his own participation in producing a sexually titillating picture, he was also so sick of deserts he could happily have chucked his job and everything that went with it, except that he knew he was merely undergoing a low period.

In truth, his life was great. Spectacular, even. He and Phineas Lovejoy, his best friend, were now full partners in the Peerless Studio. Peerless itself was the first and foremost motion-picture production company in the nation, and possibly the world. Martin had more money than he could spend in this lifetime and the next three combined. He knew he should be as happy as a clam.

He couldn't shake the sensation that something was missing from his life, however. It wasn't only that he was discouraged about all the bad press picture people were getting, either. For weeks, a nagging sensation that he needed. . .something. . .had plagued him. If he only knew what it was he lacked, it would be a lot easier to fill the void. But he had no idea, and his faulty imagination in this particular circumstance troubled him.

It also made no sense. Here he was, thirty-two years old, a rich man by anyone's standards, and at the top of his profession. What's more, he'd made his money doing something he loved. How many people could say that? Not many, or Martin would be much surprised. He knew hordes of folks who slaved away at their petty jobs. all the while wishing they were novelists or artists--or actors. Actors, a species of humanity that used to be fairly universally despised, seemed to have taken the public's fancy by storm, bad press and all. Everywhere Martin went, he met boys and girls who wanted to be "stars."

Some of them made it. Others, he thought with a squeezing in his chest, flung themselves from from the roofs of buildings. Peering at the headline article, Martin took note of the girl's age. She'd been twenty-one. For only a second, he felt an unmanly compulsion to cry.

Oh, but he hated to see his beloved moving pictures come to such a pass!

He glanced out the window and wondered how much of his gloomy mood had sprung from his being forced to return to the desert. Martin was sick to death of deserts. Yet, this is where all the cowboy pictures had to be filmed. And, since Egypt looked as much like the desert of Southern California as made no matter, this was also where their Egyptian epic was going to be filmed. He sighed heavily.

Maybe if he had a wife and family, the bald patch in his soul would be in a way to being filled. He gave a short, bitter laugh as he reached for his white linen jacket. When did he have time to propagate a social life? He was always working. The only women he ever met were actresses, and Martin would be hanged from a high scaffold before he'd ever marry an actress, no matter how much he liked some of them. Underneath, with precious few exceptions, they were all egotistical birdbrains. Martin didn't need a wife like that. With a sigh, he plopped a sporty tweed cap onto his head and decided he'd be glad when the pictures started to talk.

Folks scoffed when he expressed this desire. The cameras were too noisy, they said. Nobody could hear the words, they said. Which was true now. But it wouldn't always be true. Martin had great faith in the brains at work in his industry.

The main reason he wanted "talkies" to come into their own was that when actors and actresses had to spend their evenings learning lines for the next day's shoot, they wouldn't have time free to get into so darned much trouble.

As it was now, film folks seemed to be involved in one huge party that went on day and night. Martin had attended some very wild parties--and he wasn't even invited to the raunchiest ones. He'd not enjoyed himself watching young girls and men drink themselves silly and behave in outrageous ways. He seldom went to any parties at all anymore, because he found them unpleasantly disturbing, but he still heard stories.

That wonderful comic actress, Mabel Normand, was said to be able to drink grown men under the table. There were also rumors about her drug use. And she was far from the only one. Roscoe Arbuckle, the great comedian, drank like a fish and reveled in lewd behavior. There were rumors galore about other actors and directors and their exploits, some even with members of their own sex. The whole rumor mill disgusted Martin, the more so because he feared a good many of the rumors were true.

It was, in his considered opinion, too bad more young people who wanted to enter into the pictures didn't have protective grannies, as did Christina Mayhew, the leading lady in Egyptian Idyll. He grinned, recalling stories he'd heard about the elderly Mrs. Mayhew, then shook his head again, when he recalled the poor young woman who'd jumped to her death yesterday.

It was all very distressing, and Martin's mood was gloomy. He paused for a moment at the door to his hotel room, then sucked in a big breath, yanked the door open, and prepared to face his day.

###

The desert air was as hot as a pistol barrel and as dry as a mummy's tomb--which was appropriate--when Christina Mayhew opened the window and glanced out at what was to be her temporary home for however long it took to film this stupid picture. "I hope to heaven we won't be here long," she muttered.

Her grandmother, a withered woman with eyes like an eagle's and a nose like a hawk's, huffed from her perch on the bedstead. "However long it lasts, you'll do your job, girl."

Glancing over her shoulder, Christina grinned at her grandmother. "Of course I will. When have I not done my job, Gran?"

The old lady smiled, an expression that didn't soften her sharp features appreciably. "Never. You're a good girl, Christina, even if your father was a benighted fool."

Christina shook her head and tried not to laugh. "You really shouldn't talk about your own son that way, Gran. Daddy is a lovely man as well as a wonderful doctor."

"He's a ninny." The old lady sniffed.

Since Christina knew her grandmother was given to pronouncements of such a nature and had become accustomed to cowing others into accepting them without argument, she broadened her grin. "Daddy is a love. You're just mad because you could never get him to do what you wanted him to do, and you could never make him lose his temper. He's the best doctor in Los Angeles, and you know it."

"Stuff!" Gran said. But her bird-of-prey eyes glinted, and Christina knew the old lady was amused.

The trick to getting along with Gran, as Christina well knew, was to stand up to her. Gran didn't respect people who allowed her to push them around, although you'd never know it since she treated everyone like dirt. Egalitarian. That was Gran. She treated everyone absolutely equally.

With a sigh, Christina closed the window and turned to observe her grandmother. "I guess I'd better get this over with. I'm supposed to meet Pablo Orozco this morning. And Martin Tafft." She was looking forward to the latter, although she'd have liked to skip the former, having heard stories about the egomaniacal Orozco.

Gran's eyes thinned until Christina could barely see them in her wrinkled old face. "I should be there with you, girl. Don't let those men do anything I wouldn't approve of."

As Gran didn't approve of anything, this was impossible, although Christina didn't bother to point it out. "Don't worry, Gran. I'll be fine."

Her grandmother huffed again, clearly not believing that Christina wouldn't come to grief without her there to protect her. Which was kind of funny, really, as Gran wasn't even five feet tall. Christina herself stood five feet, six inches tall, rather too large to fit the image of a fragile film star. Since she didn't give a hang about being a film star, she didn't care. She was only glad her auburn hair, fair skin, and big hazel eyes were so photogenic. A girl could make lots of money acting in the pictures, even a girl like her, who thought moving pictures were one of the most nonsensical inventions ever inflicted on humanity.

Nevertheless, she knew which side her bread was buttered on. After striding to the bed and dropping a fond kiss on her grandmother's withered cheek--a sentimental gesture Gran pretended to disdain--Christina checked herself in the mirror for flaws, discerned none, picked up her parasol, sucked in a deep preparatory breath, and opened the door, ready to do her duty. Holding her parasol like a knight of old might have held his sword, she said to her grandmother in a deep, dramatic voice, "Onward, into the breech!"

She was pleased when Gran cackled her approval, and was feeling pretty good by the time she descended the hotel's stairs and found the parlor, where the cast was supposed to meet this morning. Several people had already arrived. Pausing at the door to steel her nerves--while Christina made a living acting in the pictures, she really didn't much like having to mingle with hordes of strangers--she walked into the room.

Talk ceased as all eyes turned toward her. Mentally rolling her eyes as she noted several men perk to attention, she marched into the room as if she didn't have a nerve in her body. In truth, it always made her tense to have to meet people. She'd be so glad when she had enough money and could chuck this stupid career.

Spotting a shelf of books at the opposite side of the room, Christina decided to wait there for things to happen. No matter how ill at ease she felt around people, she adored books.

She had picked up a novel by Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie, which she'd been wanting to read--the book had been banned in Boston, and Christina always tried to read such books--when a greasy voice assaulted her senses.

"Ah, the beautiful Miss Mayhew."

Turning, she espied her co-star in the upcoming production, Pablo Orozco.

Wonderful. Just what she needed: A man who believed his own press clippings. Touted as a fellow who radiated "sex appeal"--a term Christina considered inane--Orozco fairly dripped suavity. Unless that was the pomade with which he greased his hair melting in the desert heat.

She stiffened like a pointer eyeing a duck when Pablo Orozco lifted her hand to his lips. If Gran were here, she'd smack him with her cane. Since Gran was laid up in the hotel room, suffering from a painful bout of lumbago, Christina would just have to take care of herself. She snatched her hand back and snapped, "There's no need for any of that hand-kissing folderol. I'm as much a fake as you are, Orozco. You're as much a hand-kissing gentleman as I am a queen."

The actor dropped his suave pose and scowled at her. "Fake? Fake? I--" He spayed a hand over his heart. "--am a star."

"Right," said Christina. "And I'm a comet. Just don't kiss me, please."

She hated having to do this. It was ludicrous. It was insane. It was also the best way she knew of to make money. Thank God she had looks, or she'd never get an education.

Orozco sighed heavily. "You break my heart, my darling Christina."

She pulled back and stared at him. "I what? And I'm Miss Mayhew to you."

Orozco didn't believe her; she could tell by the way he lifted a dark eyebrow and smirked. Christina could scarcely conceive of an ego so large that it failed to appreciate a direct rebuff lobbed directly at its center. All this talk of Orozco's magnetic "sex appeal" had obviously gone to his head. She glanced around and wished to goodness Mr. Tafft would show up. She'd always heard he was a punctual man, but he was late today, blast him.

This was to be Christina's first starring role. She ought to be thrilled, but she wasn't. Although occasionally she tried, in order to make herself feel better, she couldn't imagine another single sillier thing than acting in a motion picture.

"Oh, good," she murmured, catching sight of the man she assumed was Martin Tafft hurrying her way through the milling throng. "Thank heaven."

"Ah, so you've changed your mind?"

Christina jumped when she realized Orozco had oozed back up to her and now nuzzled her neck. She pulled away, lifting her hand to slap his insolent face, but dropped it again. If Gran conked an incipient masher over the head with her cane, it would be chalked up to Gran's well-known eccentricity. If Christina slapped her co-star, she'd be fired, and then she'd never earn enough money to go to medical school. Instead she said coolly, "No. I have not changed my mind. Touch me again, and I'll stamp on your toes."

Orozco laughed. "Ah, I adore this hard-to-get pose of yours, my dear."

Lord, he was thick-headed.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Martin said as he reached the two of them, out of breath. Of course, one had merely to take a single step to become breathless in this outrageous town. Indio. Balderdash. There was nothing here but palm trees, dates, blazing heat, and sand. And now a bunch of actors. They didn't improve the place any. Christina was not fond of actors.

"That's all right," she said to Martin. "We've just introduced ourselves." And Orozco had slithered himself into her black books already.

"Good, good!" Martin rubbed his hands and beamed at them.

Christina got the feeling he didn't mean the smile particularly, but she didn't fault him for it. If one consorted with picture people long enough, she imagined, one got out of the habit of meaning anything one said.

Good heavens, when had she become so cynical?

Silly question. Since she'd started acting in the pictures. Still, Christina would put up with almost anything for the sake of her education. These days young women weren't invited to become medical practitioners, and she'd been discouraged at every turning from seeking scholarships. All of the rejection had only served to strengthen her resolve. She'd show them all, blast them.

With a start, she realized Martin had been talking for several seconds. Yanking her mind back to her job, she hoped she hadn't missed anything important.

". . . so, while I know it's hot here, our set designer, George Peters, has created a spectacular Egyptian city for us. We've arranged with a local restaurant to supply iced water and lemonade so that--"

"Lemonade!"

Christina felt her lips purse with distaste at Orozco's interruption. But she didn't speak, knowing that women who spoke up were not admired.

Martin frowned at his male star. "Yes. Lemonade. If you don't like lemonade, perhaps we can secure some orange juice."

"Fah!" Orozco looked as disdainful as only he could. As much as she loathed him, Christina had to give him credit for a remarkable variety of facial expressions. "I require wine."

Martin shook his head. "No wine, Pablo. Not during filming. After the shooting's done for the day, you can drink, but not during the making of the picture."

Christina refrained from applauding, or even smiling, although she wanted to do both.

Orozco glowered. He did that well, too. "Nonsense. I've never heard of such a thing."

Christina couldn't help herself. "You've heard of it now, Orozco, so you might as well get used to it."

She saw Martin's eyebrows arch, and wished she'd kept her mouth shut. But Pablo Orozco was such a miserable specimen. Besides, Martin shouldn't mind her being on his side, should he? She gave him a good hard look to let him know it. He blinked at her, as if her attitude startled him.

Oh, goody. Now she'd annoyed the producer of the picture as well as its star. She wished she could start her day again. Maybe she'd just shoot herself and get it over with. Or maybe she could contract some of Gran's lumbago and spend her day in bed.

But no. That was stupid, unproductive thinking. Because she wanted Martin to know she was on his side, she smiled at him, hoping the change in her facial expression would make up for her prior hard look. He blinked harder, and she sighed.

"Er, thank you, Miss Mayhew. Exactly. We'll have no drinking of alcoholic beverages on the set while filming is under way, Pablo. I'm sure it won't be much of a hardship for you."

Pablo snorted, reminding Christina of a fussy horse.

"Anyhow, to get back to what I was saying," Martin went on, "I'm sure you've both read the shooting schedule and the story line." He lifted his eyebrows in a look of inquiry.

Christina nodded.

Orozco snorted again.

"Then you know our picture is a retelling of the Moses-and-Ramses story, but from the point of view of the sidekicks to both men. Miss Mayhew's role will be that of a slave girl sought after by Pharaoh's brother and rescued by one of Moses's favored underlings, played by Pablo." He smiled graciously first at Christina, then at Orozco.

Christina's nose wrinkled at the thought of being rescued--or anything else, for that matter--by Pablo Orozco. She smoothed it out as soon as she caught herself doing it. If she could only keep in mind the money she was making, and of how far it would go to pay her way through medical school, she could do this.

"The picture is going to be adult in content," Martin said in a voice that didn't contain so much as a trace of irony.

Christina herself felt like snorting at that one. "Adult in content" meant she'd have to bare her bosom for the camera. School, she said to herself. School. She wouldn't be the first actress to appear on screen in the altogether, and she undoubtedly wouldn't be the last. She didn't like it, but she would endure.

Orozco waggled his eyebrows at her, and she didn't like it even more than she hadn't liked it before he did so.

Martin cleared his throat. Christina wondered if he disapproved of nude scenes, but didn't ask. He obviously wasn't going to cut it out of the picture. Well, and why should he? Once word got out that the star of the picture was showing her naked bosom, the whole world would flock to see the blasted thing.

"Ah, I thought your grandmother always came to location shoots with you, Miss Mayhew."

She hadn't expected Martin's comment, and she glanced at him sharply, looking for disapproval. She didn't detect anything in his expression but interest. "She's laid up today. Lumbago."

"Oh." Martin frowned slightly. "I should think this awful heat would be good for lumbago."

Christina grinned as she thought about her grandmother. "Gran's a little eccentric, Mr. Tafft."

He opened his mouth--Christina assumed to say he'd already heard that about her--but shut it again before any words came out. Christina was impressed. She'd always heard Martin Tafft was a good guy and a diplomatic one, but she'd decided to reserve her opinion on the matter. She did appreciate his refraining from making a snide comment about her grandmother, however.

"I'm sorry she's not feeling well," was what he eventually said.

Even more impressed, Christina said, "Thank you, Mr. Tafft."

"And, um, well--"

Christina cocked an eyebrow, curious to hear what he was so reluctant to say.

"Well--" He took a big breath. "I just want you--and your grandmother--to know that we will use all possible discretion in the filming of the, ah, adult portions of the picture."

Yeah. Right. "I'm sure you will." Christina managed not to sneer, but it was an effort. Besides, she kind of liked this man. She'd heard he loved the pictures and considered them of value to the culture, but she guessed anyone might be allowed a misguided opinion or two. He did seem genuinely concerned about her level of comfort with regard to being displayed to the nation in the altogether.

If Los Angeles University ever heard about this, she'd be drummed out of medical school before she even enrolled. But they wouldn't. Christina would see to it.

"Truly, Miss Mayhew. I know how such scenes might embarrass a girl--"

Christina hated being called a girl.

"--and we'll clear the set of all but the people involved."

"Thanks." She hoped, but didn't anticipate, that Orozco would not be involved in that particular scene. All she needed was to have this lecherous Latin lover slobbering over her naked body. Pseudo-Latin. Christina would bet money that Orozco's original name was Capolotti or Goldfarb.

Martin nodded. "Certainly. I'm sure--well, I know--well, anyhow, we'll do our best."

"Thank you." This could go on all day long if he didn't get over his embarrassment soon, she thought with some acidity.

"Oh," said Martin, evidently abandoning her nude scene with relief. "And please, everyone, call me Martin. I'm not used to being Mr. Tafft."

'Twas always thus on picture sets. Everything was so darned casual, sometimes Christina wondered how any work got done at all. Nevertheless, she didn't really mind calling this nice man by his first name. She thought it was cute that he was embarrassed about filming nudity, and she also thought he was considerate to try to reassure her.

She wished somebody would reassure him, actually. She'd do pretty much anything for money, and without embarrassment Doctors couldn't afford to be squeamish. "Please," she said, "Call me Christina."

"Christina," Pablo Orozco purred at her side.

She turned on him with a scowl. "Not you. To you, I'm Miss Mayhew."

Orozco gave her an oily chuckle.

Christina eyed him in rekindled disgust.

Martin sighed heavily.

Feeling guilty, Christina said, "So, Martin, when will we be able to see this famous set?"

He perked up some at her question. "Tomorrow. The crew will haul in the materials today, and George--George Peters, you know--will supervise the construction tomorrow. The camels will be arriving at approximately the same time." He suddenly looked worried.

"What's wrong with the camels?" Christina wanted to know.

Martin gave a small start, as if her question had surprised him, and he shook his head. "Oh, nothing, I suppose. I only hope they got the right kind."

Orozco, who had begun buffing his nails on the lapel of his expensive and exquisitely tailored summer suit, looked off into the distance, obviously bored.

Christina wasn't bored. The only part of film-making she enjoyed was the practical, behind-the-scenes stuff. Acting seemed a fatuous pursuit. "The right kind?"

"Yes." Martin's expression of worry melted into a smile. "Don't mind me, Christina. I spent most of my childhood in Egypt, you see, and I'm eager to make our picture as true to the place as possible."

"You did?" Suddenly, Christina's interest in Martin Tafft spiked.

"Yes. My parents were archeologists."

Mercy sakes, what Christina wouldn't give to be able to pick Martin's brain. She adored archeology.

"And I'm hoping we can stick to reality in the picture." He didn't sound as if he anticipated cooperation in this endeavor.

Both his hope and his doubt made sense to her. "Are you worried about the camels' humps or something?" Since she had always possessed a curious mind and had read with vast interest accounts of pyramid excavations, she'd also learned that there were different kinds of camels: those with one hump and those with two, although she couldn't recall which was which. "Bactrian or Dromedary?" She also couldn't recall which type the Egyptians used.

Martin blinked at her again. He did that often, she guessed. Or maybe he wasn't accustomed to people asking him questions. "Um, actually, I was thinking about the colors."

"The colors?"

"Yes. You see, Egyptian camels are blond."

Good heavens. Mary Pickford camels. The mind fairly boggled. "I had no idea."

"Yes, well, I guess since my parents were Egyptian archeologists, and I used to live there at the dig site, I'm a little more fussy than most people might be."

"Fah," said Orozco, startling Christina, who'd forgotten all about him. Which only made sense, really.

She lifted an eyebrow and peered down her nose at him. "Fah? Why fah?"

Orozco threw out his arms, barely missing Christina, who had to jump back to avoid being belted. "Nobody cares about the camels. People go to the pictures to see the stars."

As he lifted his chin, pasted a noble expression onto his handsome face, and peered off into the distance as he delivered the line, Christina had no difficulty in figuring out which star he meant. She grimaced before she could stop herself.

Martin, on the other hand, appeared slightly taken aback. "I hope that's not the only reason, Pablo," he said gently. Christina had to give him credit for being able to put up with guff remarkably well. "We at Peerless always strive to deliver a superior product."

Since he was talking about an industry Christina despised as manipulative and mind-numbing drivel, she was proud of herself when she restrained a contemptuous guffaw.

Nevertheless, she was more encouraged than not when she returned to her hotel room to report to her grandmother.