Adventures of Hollywood Jim Ch. 83

Author's Note

Thanks again for your patience everyone, between time constraints and writer's block I haven't been able to spend as much time on this as I'd like. Thanks again!

*****

Hollywood funerals can be no different than any others. Sure you see family members there but in Hollywood, there are an equal number of friends and enemies along with a healthy dose of "what's he/she/it doing here?" So the drama is always there. There's a story of a studio mogul whose funeral was attended by loved ones and an equal number who wanted to make sure he was really dead.

Walter Murphy's looked to be right along those lines. Walter had been a founding partner in Artists Unlimited and guided the company through good times and bad. He had gone into semi-retirement and worked out of the offices in midtown Manhattan while his son Jeff became second in command at the Los Angeles office. I'd only met him 2 or 3 times, most famously when the company was sued. At a time when stress levels were probably sky-high, he was the model of grace under pressure.

And it appeared that pressure was what got to him and caused the massive heart attack that killed him.

Walter's funeral would be in the Hamptons where he'd lived for many years and had the potential to attract a large gathering of friends and colleagues. I was saying good bye to a friend but at the same time I was getting a small respite from the sudden upheaval at Artists Unlimited.

Instead of doing what I was hired to do, take pictures and run the photo department, I was spending much of the day in conference rooms with Jeff Murphy, Michael Baldwin and Mike Schneider. All because I agreed to be their candidate to take over the company and save it from the "evil clutches" of Scott Jackson and his contingent back in New York. On paper their idea made sense, I just wasn't sure I was prepared for something as big as this.

Me? Run the company?

"Hey, if Chuck could run this place, so could you." Jeff said confidently.

"Uh-huh, I'll remember that."

"I think we're done here for now, Jim." Mike said as he looked at his watch "The arbitrator is supposed to call later with an update."

"They won't be making a decision, will they?"

"I doubt it, more than likely they'll table this for later or make a temporary ruling."

"Which means what?"

"We could get a substitute teacher for the rest of the school year." Mike said casually.

All I knew was I had to get out for awhile. For better or worse, a funeral appeared to be my getaway.

The company jet delivered much of the AU staff to JFK airport and we all scattered to different cars, limos and helicopters that arrived in Southampton for the service at a small church in town. This wasn't the time for star-gazing but I couldn't resist looking around to see if there was anyone I recognized.

"For a guy like Walter, I wonder why he chose this place for the service." I asked Michael as we sat in the church.

"What did you expect? St. Patrick's Cathedral?"

"No, but, I don't know, this seems so..."

"Quaint?"

"Right."

"Well for one thing," he began "He largely built this church so I think that entitles him to have his funeral here."

"Really?"

Michael nodded.

"The bigger gathering will be at his house."

"I wonder what that place is like?"

Natalie Hayden, who was seated on the other side of Jeff, leaned in with her reply that said it all perfectly.

"Trust me, you'll remember it." she said, adding that "Little Miss Know-it-all" smile.

All I could do was give her the same smile back.

With the tributes, stories and jokes ended, another line of limos delivered us to a large white colonial house that looked out on the ocean. We all gathered on the beach where his ashes were scattered to the ocean. Natalie held onto my arm and rested her head on my shoulder as the waves carried the ashes away.

"He was a good man..." she said quietly, almost tearfully.

"He made the company." I replied as I softly kissed her head.

Jeff took a deep breath and stood in front of everyone to make a speech.

"Um, if my Dad were here now, he'd invite everyone inside for a drink...so I think that's in order now. Let's raise a glass to the old man."

There was a collective sound of agreement as we went inside.

Just as Michael had predicted, the amount of people at the reception seemed larger than the service. It seemed like every client we ever had was there to pay their respects to the family.

I found myself drawn away from the guests to a quiet downstairs den with huge windows that overlooked the ocean. It had been a classic "Hamptons" kind of day. I guess Walter would've wanted that. Jeff joined me at the windows.

"Jim, thanks for coming. Dad really appreciated everything you did, you know."

"I wish I'd known him better, all those stories people were telling really got to me."

"Yeah, Dad could spin a yarn with the best of them."

"Did he ever think of writing a memoir?"

"I think someone did approach him with that idea once." he said "What the hell, let the historians write that one. What was that line in the old western movie, when fact becomes legend..."

"...Print the legend." I said in response.

"You know your movies, I'll never doubt you there." he said as he sipped his drink, then casually swirling the ice in the glass.

"This is a helluva house."

"Yeah, it was his pride and joy, next to the company I guess." Jeff replied as he now stood behind the large antique desk and looked around the empty room with its shelves crammed with photos and awards from long ago "Lotta memories in here that's for sure."

"If these walls could talk..." I said

Jeff smiled widely, then a look of sadness came over his face.

"Thanks, pal." he said quietly as he hugged me "I gotta get back upstairs."

He quickly left the room, I think he was bound to get more emotional the longer he was in the room that obviously held many memories. Just out of earshot I heard him talk briefly with someone on the staircase; it seemed like a female voice. I turned and coming down the stairs was a beauty in a simple navy blue dress, her hair a golden shade of blonde and tied in a tight bun.

"Hey, I didn't get to talk to you at the service." she said.

I couldn't help but smile as Kate Upton walked toward me.

"I'm so sorry, he was such a good man." she said as we hugged.

"It's good to see you again, it's been too long." I replied

"I know, I think I owe you dinner or something, we didn't get to talk much did we?"

She was referring to our meeting in Miami, I was down there to photograph the launch of her Victoria's Secret lingerie line and we spent quite an evening together.

"Did you work with him a lot?" she asked

"Not as much as one would think, he ran the New York side of things. But he liked me, I know that."

"I love this house." she said as she looked around the room.

"Me too, I was just telling Jeff that. Look at all the photos on the wall, half of Hollywood must be up there."

"I think the other half's upstairs." Kate said.

"Ah! So very true!" I said in a scholarly tone "How 'bout we get ourselves a drink?"

"Lead on, Mister Jimmy." she said with a big smile as she took my arm.

We soon ran into Chuck Tyler upstairs and before we knew it, he started telling Kate a story about Walter when his phone buzzed. His expression became very serious when he looked at the caller ID and he immediately excused himself.

"Chuck loves storytelling doesn't her?" she said to me once he left.

"Yeah, he never runs out of those."

We could see Chuck out on the huge deck intently listening to his phone. But I got the feeling this wasn't an ordinary call. He was nodding every few seconds, then appearing to say "are you sure?" over and over before turning to look at me. By coincidence, Jeff appeared, also on his phone and listening intently. Chuck saw me and started to beckon me to join them.

"Something's up if they're both on their phones." I said to Kate.

"You better get out there." she replied, as curious as I was.

I joined the pair on the deck just as Chuck clicked off his phone.

"That was Baldwin, he's in Manhattan now." he said slowly "Scott Jackson's pulled out of the lawsuit."

Before I could react, my phone buzzed with a call from Roger Sullivan, my own lawyer.

"Jim! There's just been a big development in Scott's lawsuit..." Roger said quickly.

"I just heard, Scott's pulled out?"

"Right, Chuck will fill you in, I'll call you later on."

I hung up my phone and looked at Jeff and Chuck, who were just as stunned as I was.

"So what happened?"

"According to Baldwin, Scott couldn't muster enough support from the board to force a vote, so the arbitrator dismissed his claim." Chuck said.

"And that means...?" I asked.

"Other than a meeting tomorrow morning at the home office...it's business as usual." Jeff added.

"And I'll be back in charge." said Chuck.

"Could he still sue us, like in civil court?" Jeff asked him

"Baldwin says no."

I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, I think we all did.

"Dad would be very happy." Jeff said as he shook hands with us and went back inside. I was about to follow when Chuck took my arm and led me to the deck's railing.

"I want to tell you something, Jim" he began slowly "I know this was all very sudden, we put you through a lot...but I want you to know that if this had gone through...you would've been the perfect man to run this company."

I was speechless.

"Don't ever doubt your abilities, my friend." he said with a reassuring smile "I'll see you tomorrow morning, 10 am sharp."

Chuck went back inside, leaving me alone on the deck. I was once again trying to wrap my head around what had happened in the last few hours; I said my final goodbyes to the man who pretty much made my career in Hollywood, albeit from the east coast, and the next a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. If that was not enough, my hidden potential as a CEO was revealed. I heard the sliding door behind me open and Kate rejoined me.

"Looks like you got some good news." she said.

I took another deep breath and turned to face her.

"You could say that, yes." as I held her around the waist "Uh, you feel like getting out of here?"

Kate gave me a little smile, like she knew what was on my mind.

"Lead on, Mister Jimmy." she said with a big smile as she took my arm again.

"This time I'm driving." she said as we reached her car, only this time she had a dark green Range Rover.

After a stop in a McDonald's drive-through, we reached a small, secluded home also on the beach. It had that brown, weathered exterior common to vacation homes I'd always seen. It wasn't out of Architectural Digest, but it looked very cozy.

"You live here?" I asked as I got out of the car.

"Nah, remember that designer in Miami? He owns this place too."

"And where is he this time?"

"Paris, I think. The big shows are coming up soon and he's gotta oversee everything."

"Just out of curiosity, do you actually have a home of your own?" I said as we approached the front door.

"I don't!" she said with a laugh as we walked inside "All my stuff is either in storage or at my parents' house in Florida. Hopefully I can get one soon if my schedule ever slows down."

"Where would you want to live?"

She thought for a minute.

"You know, I've never really given it much thought. I guess L.A. Since a lot of the business is there. But New York is nice too."

"I guess you'll know when you know, right?"

"Right. What about you? Where's your home?" she said as we sat out on the deck.

"L.A., for the same reasons. But New York has its charms too."

"What about Florida? Ever thought of living there?"

"Well, I'd be around a lot of snowbirds, retired dentists..."

"Me." she added, with eyebrows raised and and cute smile.

"Oh yeah that has its advantages too." I said with a smirk that dissolved into laughter for both of us.

"Well, just the same...it's good to see you again, Jim." she said as she gently touched my hand.

"You too."

We were both giving a look of mutual affection. I'd forgotten how charming she was, she just had the ability. As if on cue, we leaned in and kissed one another.

"Oh, that was nice." she said with a sly, flirty smile.

Kate reached back and pulled out the pin holding her hair up, then gently shook her blonde hair free. Now she was the "Kate" I knew. She reached over and loosened my tie even more before slowly pulling it off my collar.

"You look even better that way." she said.

"So do you."

The evening chill was slowly coming on so we moved inside to the kitchen.

"I think Sergio's got some Ben & Jerry's in here" she said as she looked around in the freezer "Ah-ha! He's got Heath bar crunch..."

"I'll go with the Heath bar."

"That's all he's got." she said with a playful smile.

"Oh, really?"

She took a spoonful of ice cream and fed it to me, it had been a long time since I'd had any of this, and it was still just as good as I remembered. Kate took a smaller spoonful, and looked at me as she slowly licked it off the spoon.

"Pretty good, huh?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Have some more." she said as she fed another spoonful to me.

"Yep, it's pretty good." I said.

Kate looked very sexy as the spoon went into her mouth, she giggled a little as she tried to avoid spilling any on her dress.

"Maybe you should get a napkin."

"I've got a better idea." she said.

Kate reached behind her neck and while looking at me unsnapped the top of her dress, slowly pulling it down her shoulders, revealing a lacy black bra. It soon dropped to the floor revealing matching black panties.

"That's probably a better napkin." I said with a chuckle.

"I think it is." she said as she took my hand to feed her another spoonful, but this time she let it drip onto her chest, just missing the little gold cross around her neck.

"Why don't you lick it off." she said in a softer voice.

"It'll be pretty tasty that way..." I said as I stepped up to her and we kissed. The scent of her perfume only made things sexier as I licked the ice cream off her chest. Her head went backwards and I could hear a soft moan of pleasure. She softly brought my head up.

"Keep this up your suit might get dirty...let me help you."

Kate began to slowly undress me. First she removed my jacket and casually tossed it onto a nearby chair, then unbuttoning my shirt. Her soft fingers went inside my shirt, she didn't remove it, just felt inside.

"Ooooo...you feel so nice..." she said in that same soft voice.

"You do too." I said as my shirt was removed and tossed aside.

I gently pushed Kate against the marble counter and could feel myself getting hard as we kissed again. I made the move towards her tits and she responded with another series of moans as I felt probably the most famous breasts around today. Kate loved my touch coupled with our kisses. Her hands now moved toward my belt and she looked at me with that giggly look on her face as my pants were unbuttoned and soon on the floor. I knew I was fully erect as I kissed her while slowly grinding against her. Kate looked into my eyes and gave me that flirty smile she was famous for.

"I wanna try something." she said with a giggle.

"OK, what?"

"You'll see." she said as she lowered my underwear, my dick popped out making her giggle all the more. She gave it a few gentle strokes while looking at me.

"Just relax." she said as she reached for the ice cream container "This'll be fun."

Kate took my dick and dipped it into the ice cream, making me shudder. I looked down and she took my dick, now with a coating of Heath Bar Crunch, and slid it into her mouth. The contrast of hot and cold was strange, but I found it very sexy.

"Mmmmm...it tastes even better!" she giggled before dipping it again into the container, this time as far it would go and then into her mouth. My dick was fully in her mouth and she eagerly slid her tongue all around its length. When she came off it, there was a sexy ring of Ben & Jerry's around her mouth. I stood her up and licked the ice cream off her mouth.

"I doubt I can do the same with your tits." I said sheepishly "They won't fit in there."

She only laughed in response.

"Let me show you the bedroom." she said, giving me a look of anticipation as she took my hand.

The bedroom had a high ceiling with a fan slowly spinning and large windows that looked out onto the ocean, now shrouded in darkness but whose waves could be heard as they lapped the shore. A large bed with delicate floral designs dominated the room which was colored in shades of white, I would guess to make it even brighter on sunny days. If Martha Stewart designed a bedroom, it would look like this. Kate stood at the large mirror on the dresser.

"If you're trying to make yourself more beautiful, it ain't workin' luv."

"Very funny." she said as she checked her makeup "Why don't you unhook me?".

I stood behind her and undid the clasp on her bra and she exhaled slowly as she was "freed" as it were. She let the lacy bra fall off her and appeared to admire herself in the mirror. Her breasts looked just as beautiful as I remembered them. She held them and gave me that flirty smile she was famous for.

"You look so hot standing behind me." she said into the mirror with a smile.

"I do?" I said as I wrapped my arms round her waist and took a deep breath of her perfume, an exotic and beautiful scent.

"Oh yes...oh yes, you do." she replied confidently "Why don't you do my panties now?"

"Why not?" I said as I began to slide them down, then I thought of something and caressed her ass through the silky material.

"Like that?"

Kate responded with a soft moan.

"Yessss..."

My hand moved to the front, then slowly slid my hand inside and felt her pussy, now dripping wet. Kate's eyes were closed and she was making little sounds of pleasure and gently swayed back and forth the more I fondled her. I finally hooked my thumbs inside the waistband and slid them down. We were both naked now.

"That felt nice..." she whispered as she turned around and kissed me. I knew my dick was getting super hard as it touched the soft, warm skin of her legs, how sticky it was I didn't know. Kate gently led me to the bed and lay back on it, giving me a loving smile as she opened her legs. She was naturally smooth as silk down there. I smiled at her, then knelt down and began to kiss the inside of her leg, working my way towards her love nest. I gave it the softest of kisses, then the softest of licks. Kate was breathing heavily and I heard little moans from her. My tongue penetrated her now and she moaned even louder. I looked up and could see her eyes were closed, a look of divine serenity on her face the more my tongue was swirling around inside her.

"Oh!Oh!OH! OH!!" she cried out before her hips thrust upward.

"Feeling good?" I asked with a smile as I got up close to her.

"Wonderful...wonderful..." she said softly "Come on...make it better...I'm ready..."

I slowly eased my dick into her pussy, it was just as hot as I remembered. Kate had a smile of pure pleasure on her face as I began to fuck her. I wrapped my arms around her back to draw her in closer. Her nails dug into my back the closer I was to her. Hearing her soft moans, full of passion and pleasure, was truly erotic. I could now feel her legs gently wrap around me as I slowed my pace down and held her close. Our kisses were soft and romantic.

"Ohhhhbaby...do me from behind now..." she said softly.

I slowly withdrew from her pussy and she rolled over, raising her ass up. Her skin felt incredibly soft as I caressed her ass, then leaned in and kissed it, she responded with a giggle.

"Like that, huh?"