Kiss Heaven Goodbye

'The girl went to the police station with her friend, the other one who was in there. She identified all of us.'

Sasha thought for a moment.

'Would Gary or Martin say you left the room?'

'No chance you know how the papers work. It suits them for me to be dragged into this. They're all Premiership footballers, but they're not Beckham or Rooney, not household names. But if I'm involved, the media will home in on me, won't they? Formula One Ace in Roasting Scandal and all that? No one will be interested in them.'

Sasha knew he was right. Not that Josh was entirely an innocent party here. After all, he'd fondled a drunken girl and then watched the other men have s.e.x with her.




'Go to the police,' she said. 'Tell them what you've just told me.'

'What I say isn't going to matter!' he cried. 'That girl will say I was in the room, she might even say I had s.e.x with her. And that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Gary said he would take me down with them unless I kept my mouth shut.'

He looked at her hopefully. 'There's only one way I can see out of this ...'

'What?'

'Come with me to the station, Sash. Say I left the party with you at two o'clock. I'll admit to having a drink with them but then say I left the room.'

'You want me to lie lie?'

'Why not?' he said. 'You're a respected businesswoman. I admit I was wrong being there, but I'm not taking the heat for something I didn't do.'

He stretched his hands over the table and grabbed hers. 'Sasha, you have to help me.'

Snapshots of the past jumped into her head as she looked at his pleading eyes. The advertising party and the feel of the cold tiles in that toilet stall. Then the island, and Miles Ashford's face on the beach. Power and lies, lies and power. She couldn't do it again.

'I can't,' she said, pulling away. She knew the media would tear Josh apart unless she backed up his story, but he had brought it on himself. And the truth was he wasn't the only victim here. Sasha had her own reputation to think about. She'd built up one of the most successful fashion houses in Europe from the ground up; she wasn't going to let some sordid little c.o.ke orgy screw that up.

'Why not?' he said. 'Why can't you help me? We're partners, friends. That's what friends do for each other. They help each other, protect each other.'

'That's over, Josh,' she said simply. 'I don't want to be in this relationship any more.'

'I can't believe you're saying this, Sasha. Not when I need you.'

'What you need, what we all need is just to tell the truth. It's simpler that way.'

He stood up and walked to the door. 'Well I didn't think I'd hear you of all people say that.'

As he closed the door behind him, she felt a thick sob swell in her throat.

No, neither did I.

61

January 2010

Miles paced up and down the Ash Corp. offices high above the Las Vegas Strip. He was in a particularly foul mood this morning. Not even the b.l.o.w. .j.o.b he'd received from Hans, the Canadian sous chef in the executive kitchen, had done much to cheer him up.

'What are we going to do?' he demanded. 'The whole project is going t.i.ts up and you're all just sitting there with pokers up your a.r.s.es. Give me solutions, people!'

The Ash Corp. management team exchanged glances, but none of them spoke.

'Come on!' shouted Miles, banging his desk. 'I pay you good money to fix these things. I need ideas.'

Miles knew he needed more than ideas; he needed a miracle. After the runaway success of the Laing hotel and its rapid extension into luxury apartments on the Strip, the Las Vegas gaming commission had had a sudden sea change in its att.i.tude towards Ash Corp. As long as certain conditions were met, they said Miles suspected that 'certain conditions' meant 'heavy investment' they were open to an approach vis-a-vis building a casino. Work began on Ashford Towers almost immediately: a vast upwardly mobile hotel, casino and condo project. It had been started in late 2006 when the whole of America was riding on the crest of an economic wave. Sin City was recession-proof, everyone said so. In its entire history it had only suffered one downturn, immediately after 9/11. But then no one could have predicted the scale and impact of the 2008 financial crisis. Sub-prime greed, arrogant hedge-funders plus the hubris of the US banks meant that the world economy not only wobbled, it toppled to the ground, taking Lehman Brothers and a whole house of cards with it. To Miles' fury, Ash Corp. was left badly exposed. If he had stuck with his father's policy of diversification, they might have been able to roll with the punches, but he had restructured to focus on leisure, travel and construction three of the most vulnerable sectors in a recession. Now Ashford Towers seemed to stand as a shining monument to his folly, its rooms empty, the gamblers shifting to Hold 'em Poker, the only game in Vegas where the house failed to win.

'Well, we could refinance,' said Greg Barbera, the Ash Corp. COO, cautiously. 'It's a risk of course, given the current climate, but it might help us ride it out.'

'No, that's just throwing good money after bad,' said Miles. 'Besides, we haven't got the time. Every hour it's open, the casino is sucking up more electricity than the whole of New England. We need to make money, not borrow it.'

'Perhaps if we look at the projections?' said Jonathon Cohen, finance director. 'I've run a few figures, and if we experience a bounce effect, we may gain some breathing s.p.a.ce.'

Miles jabbed his finger at the spreadsheet in front of him. 'Screw your projections, Jon,' he said. 'Look at the figures from last month. Hotel booking down thirty per cent on your worst-case scenario. What kind of confidence do you think that instils in me? We need to face facts: it's far worse than anyone dared guess.'

'It's not just us. Have you seen where MGM Mirage stock prices are? Steve Wynn has just had to cut employees' salaries by ten per cent.'

'I don't care what other people are doing,' said Miles. 'I only care what we're doing.'

He looked around at each of the team. 'Right. No more double-talk and marketing-speak b.o.l.l.o.c.ks. I want each of you to go away and come back with real-life workable solutions for rescuing Ashford Towers and Ash Corp.'

He clapped his hands. 'Go on, p.i.s.s off.'

Silently they all gathered their notes and filed towards the door.

'Not you, Michael,' said Miles, gesturing to Michael Marshall to close the door. He walked over to his drinks bar and poured himself a malt whisky. 'Snifter?' he asked, but Marshall shook his head. 'OK, Mike, tell me you've got an idea.'

The lawyer had started out in the company by getting Ash Corp. a foothold out here in the desert; now Miles needed him to perform another of his sleight-of-hand tricks. Marshall had risen up the ranks by doing Ash Corp.'s dirty work, but now he was Miles' consiglieri consiglieri, the one man he trusted to dig them out of this hole, because the alternative was grim: the whole company could go down.

'I do have one idea to get hotel occupancy up, but I'm not sure you're going to like it.'

'If it works, I'll like it, Michael,' said Miles, sipping the amber liquid. 'We've run out of elegant solutions. Ugly is all we got.'

'All right,' said Marshall. 'Hotel occupancy is down, gambling is down, people have fallen out of love with Vegas no one gets excited about blackjack when they're struggling to keep a roof over their heads.'

'My heart bleeds,' said Miles. 'But continue.'

'There's one other thing Vegas does that people will always want s...o...b..z. This place does over-the-top razzle-dazzle like nowhere else on earth, and people will come for that, because in hard times, everyone loves escapism plus they feel they're getting value for money. Now Cirque du Soleil continues to pack 'em in, and Celine Dion's residency at Caesars has taken over fifty-five million dollars in ticket revenues over the first twelve months.'

Miles nodded. 'It's an interesting angle, but let's say forty mill of that is profit forty large isn't going to fill our hole.'

'Exactly, but fifty-five million ticket sales equals at least a couple of hundred thousand customers pa.s.sing our way. They all need food, lodging and gas. And if they're happy, in a great mood having seen a great gig, it will get them into the casino.'

'But who's big enough in the States to pull in that number? Madonna?'

'Too expensive.'

'Well who else sells tens of million of alb.u.ms?'

Michael looked at him and nodded.'Time to call in a favour, Miles.'Alex didn't say yes or no; he just laughed. The speakers in the conference call system crackled as his laugh boomed out.

'Tell me you're joking, Miles?' he said down the line. 'You have to be kidding, right?'

Miles struggled to keep his voice calm. He had been reluctant to call Alex at his home in London, but Michael had persuaded him that it was the only way to bring in enough bodies to get the casino working again.

'I'm completely serious. We both have a lot to gain.'

'You have a lot to gain, you mean,' said Alex.

'Think about it, Alex. It's a golden opportunity to really reach your core audience. You tour all over the world, but you sell far more alb.u.ms here in the States. They love you here. And it's good for you, too. You've been quiet for the last eighteen months. AWOL from the industry, from your fans. And this way, you can stay in one place throughout the residency, instead of flying from country to country.'

There was a pause.

'OK, I'll admit that appeals to me,' Alex said. 'Touring is one of the things I hate the most about this job.'

'Exactly,' said Miles. 'And you could build whatever kind of set you liked, be really creative with the way it's presented. You won't get that when you're playing in football stadiums.'

'What, are you thinking like a theatre in the round or something?'

Miles looked at Michael, who just shrugged.

'Anything, the sky's the limit on that score,' said Miles enthusiastically, leaning over his desk.

'I don't know, Miles,' said Alex. 'I've just got out of rehab, I'm feeling good about myself. I'm not sure I'm ready to go out there yet.'

'But you must have new songs you want to showcase, a new direction perhaps?'

'Maybe,' said Alex. 'How long were you thinking?'

'Seventy-five nights. Maybe more.'

'Whaaaat!'

'We'll give you two hundred thousand a show.'

Alex was laughing again. 'I don't need money, Miles. Right now I need my sanity.'

'You owe me, Alex.'

'I'll always be grateful for your help. But a seventy-five-night residency! I've been ill, Miles, you know that.'

'Not ill enough to work for my sister.'

'That's a film score. I can do it from home.'

'Don't let me down, Alex,' said Miles, his tone turning angry. 'You're saying no to me? After everything I've done for you?'

'You know what?' said Alex. 'For once in my life I am saying no to you, Miles Ashford.' There was a soft click through the speakers.

'Alex?' said Miles. 'Alex?' He looked at Michael. 'Get him back, Marshall!' he shouted. 'Get the f.u.c.ker back on the line!'

'He's gone, Miles. He said no.'

No one said no to Miles Ashford, no one. He looked out of the window at the silver tower twinkling in the sun. And roaring with frustration, he swept his arm across his desk, smashing the phone to the floor.

62

Alex pressed 'save' on his hard drive, feeling a familiar rush of excitement. It was the same feeling he remembered getting when he pressed 'stop' on his battered old tape recorder, having just committed a song to ca.s.sette. Only this time, he wasn't sitting in that mouse-ridden house in Fallowfield; he was in his recording studio in the bas.e.m.e.nt of a Georgian mews house in a quiet pocket of Highgate. And this wasn't a song; it was his first film score two whole hours of sweeping, soaring music that had pushed him to the limit of his abilities as a composer. The last few months he had spent working on Grace's film had been some of the hardest he'd had to go through, constantly questioning himself, constantly pushing himself harder until he'd created something he just knew was better than anything he'd done before. More than anything else, he felt proud of himself. Six months ago, he had been shivering and puking on the floor of his room in Second Chances; now he was sober, hopeful and content to just be here, doing what he loved. With a new song, he could connect with people, he could make someone cry, he could make his fortune. But here, he felt he had turned a corner in his life. Here he had opened a new door.

He sat back in his Aeron chair. Usually at this point he would have celebrated by going to the pub and not coming back for days. He smiled. That was one reason why he liked living in Highgate: it was only a couple of miles from fashionable, happening London, but it was just far enough out. It was quieter, older, more serene. Not like the 'Twin Hills of Temptation', Primrose Hill and Notting Hill, where there was always someone asking him down the pub or to a party, which was where his troubles usually began.

He reached for his coat, locked his studio and headed out towards Waterlow Park; it was a lovely afternoon for a walk cold but crisp. He thought about Grace Ashford and smiled. The doc.u.mentary score had given him a renewed sense of purpose and a reason for getting out of bed in the morning. A reason to think about the future and not dwell on the past. But it was their renewed friendship which had really saved him from sliding backwards. After he left Second Chances, he'd declined Grace's offer to stay at Toddington there was something about Julian that aggravated him but he had seen her at least one a week: trips to the movies, a walk around the Heath, or for brunch to discuss the doc.u.mentary. He'd put any romantic thoughts to one side jumping into another messy relationship was the last thing he needed right now but their platonic mini-dates had really brought him back to life and he would always be in her debt for that.

He walked past the tennis courts, breathing in the air and enjoying the squeals of a group of children trying to climb a tree. At Second Chances they'd called this 'the Technicolor Rush', the pure pleasure of seeing the world again through clear eyes, enjoying simple things like birds and flowers for what they were. Alex knew he wasn't completely free from that little devil on his shoulder whispering about how nice a pint would be right now, but he was learning to ignore it. It was easier when you were surrounded by gra.s.s and trees and ... G.o.d, I'm turning into a hippy G.o.d, I'm turning into a hippy, he smiled to himself.

He paid his three pounds and walked into Highgate Cemetery. This was one of his favourite places in London; he loved the poetic bleakness of the place. Around the edges, the graveyard was pretty and well-kept fresh flowers in front of polished headstones, tourists posing in front of the Karl Marx memorial but if you ventured into the middle, where the tottering headstones were overgrown and choked with ivy, it was somehow more beautiful and serene. A place for the dead, it was one of the few places Alex felt at peace. He sat on a weatherworn bench and smiled as a young mother pushed a toddler by in his buggy. He waved at the little boy, who giggled, hiding behind his stuffed rabbit. For a second Alex thought of Melissa and their plans to start a family. He'd heard from Ted that Christopher Hayes had gone back to Jennifer, but that part of his life seemed so distant and strange, as if his marriage had been part of a bio-pic movie about someone else.

It was starting to get dark, so Alex put on his iPod headphones and began to walk back up towards the gates. He had come so far in such a short s.p.a.ce of time and he wondered where he would be if he hadn't gone on that bender in Soho, if he hadn't gone to Second Chances. Would I still be lying on the sofa at my old house? Would I still be lying on the sofa at my old house? He would never have had the strength to say no to Miles' offer of the residency at his Vegas hotel, that was for sure. Part of him still felt bad about letting Miles down, but he did not want to be bound to him any longer. He'd paid that debt. He would never have had the strength to say no to Miles' offer of the residency at his Vegas hotel, that was for sure. Part of him still felt bad about letting Miles down, but he did not want to be bound to him any longer. He'd paid that debt.

He pushed his hands into his pockets, lost in the music he was listening to the funk-groove soundtrack to an obscure blaxploitation movie. He didn't hear the running footsteps behind him, didn't know anything of the attack until he felt the blow on the back of the head. The ground swung up to meet him, the gravel digging into his ear. He tried to cover his head, to roll into a ball as he was repeatedly kicked in the face, back, legs, only vaguely aware that his headphones and wallet were being torn from him. And then all he could hear was a baby crying: 'Mama! Mama!'

63

February 2010

Toddington Hall had never looked more magnificent. In the decades before Julian had bought the mansion, it had changed hands a number of times one wing had been used as a conference centre, then briefly turned into an old people's home but it had been neglected and allowed to peel and crack. Now it had been fully restored, it made perfect sense to reintroduce Toddington to polite society with a modern version of a debutante ball. Hurricane lights twinkled like fireflies, hanging from the long row of lime trees that flanked the drive; a marquee on the rear lawn seated three hundred for dinner around a koi carp pool, while the ceiling of the ballroom was covered in black velvet pierced by thousands of fairy lights to give the impression of dancing under the stars. It had taken all Grace's powers of persuasion to convince Julian to throw an eighteenth birthday party for the twins. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't keen to have hundreds of drunken teenagers marauding through his lovingly rejuvenated stately home, especially considering the priceless art in the gallery wing. But once Grace had pointed out that Joe and Liv's friends were the sons and daughters of the super-rich, people they could subsequently invite to parties, screenings and gallery openings, he decided it was to be a no-expenses-spared event. A funk band, a DJ from Pascha and musical fireworks were arranged, with accommodation laid on for all the guests in a series of local hotels and B&Bs. It was going to be a night to remember.