Upside down, p.1
Upside Down, page 1
Upside Down is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2024 by Danielle Steel
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Delacorte Press is a registered trademark and the DP colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
Hardback ISBN 9780593498378
Ebook ISBN 9780593498385
randomhousebooks.com
Cover design: Laura Klynstra
Cover images: © Ute Klaphake/Trevillion Images (woman and puddle), © art-4-art/Getty Images (shoes)
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Dedication
By Danielle Steel
About the Author
_145816692_
Chapter 1
The line of limousines snaked down the driveway of the Beverly Hilton hotel at a snail’s pace to drop off stars and starlets, producers, directors, ingénues, the famous and the infamous and the unknowns and wannabes, desperate to be seen at one of Hollywood’s most glittering annual events, the Golden Globe Awards. The greatly respected award was second only to the Academy Awards. At sixty-two, Ardith Law, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars for the past forty years, had won three Golden Globes so far. And she had two of the Academy’s coveted Oscars to her credit as well. This was an evening she never missed, as much to pay her respects to her fellow actors as to be seen herself. It was one of those things one had to do. It was expected, and you had to keep your face out there if you wanted to continue to get work, and your face had to look damn good or you’d better not show up!
Ardith was known for the variety and depth of the roles she accepted, and the quality of the movies she starred in. Occasionally, she took a small, unusual part if it intrigued her, which happened from time to time, but as a rule, she only took major starring roles. She was an extraordinary actress with a huge talent and a well-deserved reputation. She was picky about the parts she took. She wanted to be in movies with depth and merit, which weren’t always easy to find after a certain age. She looked exceptionally good at sixty-two, was still beautiful, and unlike nearly every actress in Hollywood, she had had no “work” done. She preferred to keep her own natural face and left it to the makeup artists on set to correct whatever needed attention. And she was never afraid to take an important part if it aged her beyond her actual years.
Ardith wanted roles with substance that stretched her to the limits of her abilities. She turned down most of the easy parts. Although for the past two years, there had been no offers. No one dared to cast her in minor roles, and producers knew that her agent, Joe Ricci, would turn them down before the offers even got to her. But once she turned sixty, there had been no appropriate parts for her. She read scripts constantly, looking for the right roles, but hadn’t seen any she wanted to play. Her high standards and perfectionism on set had won her the reputation of being difficult or a diva, which wasn’t entirely true. She was an extremely dedicated actress and demanded a lot of herself and everyone she worked with. So now and then, when others fell short, forty years of the best parts available and producers who would do almost anything to keep her happy had led to rare but memorable outbursts that supported the notion that she was a diva. She was above all a consummate professional, and a star to her very core. It wasn’t about ego, but more about wanting to be the absolute best she could be in every role, at all times. She hated working with lazy actors, and she hated stupidity and phonies. She was true to herself and her high standards in every way. She was an honest woman, and a great actress more than a diva, no matter what people said who didn’t really know her. Her career was vital to her sense of well-being and purpose. She had missed working for the past two years but preferred it to accepting roles in second-rate movies. She was waiting for the right film to come along, and she knew that eventually it would. In the meantime, she read every book and script she could lay her hands on.
Her personal life had always taken a back seat to her career, and it still did. She had one daughter from an eight-year marriage that began in her twenties. She had been married to one of Hollywood’s biggest producers, John Walker. They had been a powerful pair and had made several movies together, which had been legendary box office successes and enhanced both their careers. It had been a tumultuous but creative match, which also produced their only daughter, Morgan, who was now thirty-eight years old and a plastic surgeon in New York.
Morgan had avoided the Hollywood scene all her life, and chose medicine as an exciting, satisfying alternative. It suited her. She was a partner in a successful practice of plastic surgeons, with two senior partners who had worked together for years. One was close to retirement, the other was in full swing, and Morgan was the only woman they had ever invited to join the partnership. One of the senior partners also taught at Columbia medical school. They set the bar high.
Ardith wished now that she had spent more time with Morgan when she was younger, but her own career had been white-hot then, and she was too often away on location and away from Morgan, and didn’t deny it. Ardith had missed all the important moments and landmarks in Morgan’s life, the school plays, her first prom, her first heartbreak, many birthdays, and there was no way to catch up. She felt guilty about it now but there was no way to make up for it, or relive the past. Once Morgan was an adult, the two women were very different. Morgan respected her mother’s career but had never enjoyed it, and the differences in their personalities and respective careers were hard to bridge now. They spoke often, out of duty and respect, but agreed on very little. Morgan had few memories of her father, who had died when she was seven. There had been scandal around her father’s death, which had troubled her for years.
John Walker had died in a tragic helicopter accident, which was even more traumatic for Ardith because he was killed with the young woman he was rumored to be having an affair with at the time, a budding actress who was appearing in one of his movies and whose career he was shepherding. She was twenty-two, and Ardith was thirty-one then. The letters she found after John’s death with his protégée confirmed her fears and suspicions about their involvement. Ardith had never forgiven him for it. The press had turned his death into a lurid event. Morgan knew the story once she was older, and had harbored illusions about him anyway. His films remained as tributes to him, but his reputation as a womanizer lasted after his death. Ardith knew it wasn’t his first affair by any means and had said as much to Morgan. He could never resist the actresses in his films. Ardith had never married again and had no regrets that she hadn’t. It was an experience she never wanted to repeat, as she had no desire to be married to another cheater and she didn’t want more children. Morgan was enough to deal with on her own, and their relationship had never been easy, and less and less so when Morgan grew up. She’d been rebellious in her teens, and angry about the parents she didn’t have. Ardith readily admitted that although she loved her daughter, motherhood wasn’t her strong suit. Morgan agreed. Ardith hadn’t been prepared for how much she needed to give a child, especially after her father died. They occasionally had a good time together, but they didn’t see each other often anymore. Ardith had the time to give her now, but Morgan didn’t have the interest or the time. She was busy with her career as a physician in New York, and her mother was proud of her, but Ardith still had her own life as a star in L.A. Morgan was single at thirty-eight and said she didn’t have time for a husband and children, or even dating. Her work and her patients were her priorities. In some ways she was like her mother—her career came first. And the tables had turned. Ardith hadn’t made enough time for her when she was a child, and now Morgan made no effort for her. It was a cycle they couldn’t seem to break, and Ardith had accepted the fact that it was too late and they would never be close. They existed on the periphery of each other’s lives. And living on opposite coasts, they saw too little of each other to heal the damage of the past. They had the occasional nice dinner together, and then Morgan flew back to New York, and they didn’t see each other for months.
For the past twelve years, Ardith had found comfortable companionship with William West, who was almost as big a star as she was. He had been a readily identifiable hero over a fifty-year career, even longer than Ardith’s. He had never won an Oscar, and hadn’t taken the challenging roles she had, but audiences loved him. He took parts that endeared him to his fans. Since he wasn’t as demanding about the parts he played, he worked more often than Ardith, and still did one or two pictures a year. He was leaving in two days for E ngland on location, playing a worthwhile role, although he was no longer the romantic lead. At seventy-eight, he was healthy and energetic and wanted to continue working, even in slightly less important parts. He had no desire to retire.
Ardith always said that the sixteen-year age difference between them didn’t bother her. When they’d gotten together, she was fifty and he was sixty-six, still a handsome man, and a star. They had their careers in common, and he was kind, attentive, and good company. He had slowed down a little in the past few years, but other than the handful of pills and vitamins she handed him every day to keep him healthy, he was in surprisingly good condition for his age. No one knew what would come later, but for now he was doing fine and still working. He hadn’t been as wise with money as she was. He had never commanded the salaries she did and was grateful to be living in her home in Bel Air for the past ten years. He contributed a small amount to expenses, but Ardith didn’t expect anything from him. He had been married and divorced twice, to actresses both times, had only stayed married briefly, and had no children, which kept things simple. He had always been friendly to Morgan, but she was already doing her residency at Columbia by the time he and Ardith got together, so Morgan’s relationship with him was cordial but superficial. She had no complaints against him, he was friendly and polite and good to her mother, and he had appeared much too late to be a father figure to her. She said she had no need for one, and she found him somewhat narcissistic, like most actors, more concerned with his own looks, projects, and problems than anyone else’s. Ardith was used to it and didn’t mind, and they were each the longest relationship either of them had ever had. After twelve years, they had become a legendary Hollywood couple, and were always seen together. It wasn’t a great love affair and never had been, but it was companionship for both of them. They had each other and weren’t alone or lonely.
* * *
—
When the car finally stopped in front of the Hilton, Ardith stepped out of the car, in a long sleek black satin gown, which molded her impeccably maintained figure. She had a white fox wrap on her shoulders, was wearing a diamond necklace and earrings she had borrowed from Van Cleef & Arpels, and her blond hair was combed in a smooth, elegant bun. She looked dazzling, and the press went wild when they saw her, flashing her picture, shouting her name, waving to catch her attention as Bill West stepped out behind her in an impeccable tuxedo. She smiled and waved like royalty at the mass of photographers and the fans hovering near them at the edge of the crowd, and she and Bill glided smoothly inside to make their way down the red carpet before the dinner and award ceremony began. Once Ardith and Bill were in a room or a crowd, all eyes were on them. Most people assumed that they were married by now, but they weren’t, and she still had no desire to be. She said there was no reason for it, although Bill reminded her from time to time that he would prefer it, but he was of a previous generation. And she always pointed out that at this point marriage wouldn’t change anything. They had lived together for ten out of twelve years, and there was no additional benefit to marriage, except emotional reassurance she didn’t need. Ardith was a strong, self-sufficient woman and preferred her life that way.
Bill had beaten prostate cancer five years before, which had left him healthy and cancer-free but unable to perform sexually, which she accepted. She was young to give up sex, but it was a sacrifice she made for him. The relationship they had suited her, and him as well. She couldn’t imagine meeting someone else now and having to adjust to a new man. She had had enough men in her life and was satisfied to have Bill West be the last one. They were both Hollywood icons and thought to be the perfect couple. In some ways, being with a man his age aged her, and in others it made her feel young. They seemed right together in everyone’s eyes, including their own. He was the perfect supporting actor to her, the star.
They spent half an hour going down the red carpet, then made their way to their table, where they would have dinner and watch the awards. The Golden Globes were important and often predicted how the Oscars would go two months later. Ardith and Bill were seated at a table of comparable major stars, and the TV cameras sought them out constantly. They would be under close scrutiny all night, and Bill had already told Ardith he wanted to go home right after the awards and skip the after-parties. He still had a lot to do before he left for England two days later, and he didn’t want to stay out late, although she would have enjoyed it. She didn’t want to go to the parties without him, so she planned to leave with him.
* * *
—
Ardith and Bill both accurately predicted who would win that night, and approved of the foreign press’s choices, and after making their way back through the photographers, they escaped without attending any of the parties and were back at Ardith’s house in Bel Air before midnight. Ardith had already packed most of what Bill would need in England, but he kept adding to it, afraid she had forgotten something. She was going to pack his various medications in his briefcase, with notes about what to take when. He fell asleep with his arm around her that night, with Oscar, Ardith’s tiny white toy poodle, on the bed next to her. She took him everywhere, which Bill had objected to at first, but he finally got used to him. Ardith claimed the dog was her soulmate, and his constant presence was nonnegotiable.
* * *
—
Ardith was an early riser and was already at the breakfast table the next day when Bill appeared in a navy cashmere dressing gown with navy satin lapels. She looked up and smiled when she saw him. She read the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal every day. She had an insatiable hunger for knowing about the world around her, more so than Bill, who read Variety for news of the film industry, which was all that really interested him. He said that he left Ardith in charge of world news, and was sure she’d let him know if the stock market crashed or a war broke out, and she promised she would.
“Did you sleep well?” she asked him, as she did every morning, with a tender look.
“I did.” He smiled at her. “I hate to leave you for two months,” he said wistfully, as she poured him a cup of coffee. But he had no desire to retire either. He enjoyed his work and loved going on location. It made him feel busy and alive, and important. “I had an email from the producer this morning. Your assistant starts tomorrow, when I leave.” As part of his contract, and to induce him to go on location for two months, the producers would provide an assistant to help Ardith with all the small tasks Bill did for her. He worried about her being alone for so long with no one to help her and felt mildly guilty leaving. He was still a bankable name and to keep him happy, the producers agreed to provide Ardith the assistant, she had guessed probably a young actress they knew well who wasn’t currently working and needed the money. And she was grateful for whatever help an assistant would give her. She was expecting a female assistant. She had a housekeeper who came daily during the week, and left dinner for them if they weren’t going out. Ardith often drove herself around town, but used drivers too. She drove Bill when he had appointments, or he took an Uber. She thought an assistant might be superfluous, but Bill wanted her to accept it. It was free and an add-on to his contract, which his agent had negotiated. It was a perk for her to share, so she agreed somewhat hesitantly. Since it wasn’t Ardith’s contract, they didn’t offer her the opportunity to interview whoever they hired. She was mildly worried that an unknown assistant might be more of an annoyance than a help, but she could always fire her if she didn’t like her, and it made Bill feel as though he had done something special for her, so she hadn’t argued about it.
“Did they tell you anything about her?” Ardith asked, as she poured skim milk into a bowl of cereal for him. She watched his diet more carefully than he did. He would have preferred bacon and fried eggs, which she didn’t allow him. There was a responsibility that went with being with a man his age. She was as much a nurse as a girlfriend.
