The Last Don - Mario Puzo [65]
Athena shrugged. “This time I’ll wait.”
“Why not take both parts? Make it a condition you do the novel first. Then we’ll find an out on making Kevin’s picture.”
“And that won’t make enemies?” Athena asked him smiling.
“The first picture will be a big hit so it won’t matter. Then you can afford to make enemies.”
“Are you sure I can get out of Kevin’s picture afterwards?” Athena said.
“If I don’t get you out, you can fire me,” Melo said. He had already made the deal with Eli Marrion, who could not give the direct no to his son and had chosen this way out of the disaster. Eli wanted to make Melo and Athena the villains. And Melo didn’t mind. Part of any movie agent’s job was to be the villain in the script.
Everything worked out. The first part, the film of the novel, made Athena an absolutely first-rank star. But unfortunately the consequences made her decide on a period of celibacy.
During the sham of the preproduction of Kevin’s movie that would never be made, it was predictable that he would fall in love with Athena. Kevin Marrion was a relatively innocent young man for a producer, and he pursued Athena with unabashed sincerity and ardor. His enthusiasm and his social conscience were his greatest charm. One evening, in a moment of weakness compounded by the guilt she felt about betraying the picture, Athena took him to bed. It was enjoyable enough and Kevin insisted on marriage.
Meanwhile Athena and Melo had persuaded Claudia De Lena to rewrite the script. She rewrote it as farce and Kevin fired her. He was so angry that he became a bore.
For Athena the affair was convenient. It fitted in nicely with her working schedule. And Kevin’s enthusiasm was pleasurable in bed. And his insistence on marriage even without a prenuptial agreement was flattering, since he would inherit LoddStone Studios one day.
But one night after listening to him talk incessantly about the movies they were going to make together, a sudden insight flashed through Athena’s mind: “If I have to listen to this guy one more minute, I will kill myself.” Like many kind people exasperated into being unkind, she went all the way. Knowing she would feel guilty, she made it a package. In that moment, she told Kevin that not only would she not marry him, but she would not sleep with him anymore and that also she would not appear in his movie.
Kevin was stunned. “We have a contract,” he said. “And we’ll enforce it. You are betraying me in every way.”
“I know,” Athena said. “Just talk to Melo.” She was disgusted with herself. Of course, Kevin was right, but she found it interesting that he was more worried about his movies than his love for her.
It was after this affair, her film career assured, that Athena lost interest in men. She remained celibate. She had more important things to do, things in which the love of men had no part.
Athena Aquitane and Claudia De Lena became close friends solely because Claudia was persistent in her pursuit of friendship with women she liked. She first met Athena while rewriting the script of one of her early movies, when Athena was not quite yet a great star.
Athena insisted on helping her with the script, and although this was usually a scary process for the writer, she proved to be intelligent and a great help. Her instincts on character and story were always good and nearly always unselfish. She was intelligent enough to know that the stronger the characters around her, the more she would have to play with in her own role.
They often worked in Athena’s home in Malibu, and it was there they discovered they had many things in common. They were athletes: strong swimmers, top amateur golfers, and very good on the tennis court. The two of them played doubles together and beat most of the male doubles on the Malibu Beach tennis courts. So when the picture finished shooting, they continued their friendship.
Claudia told Athena everything about herself. Athena