Video Vixen

Chapter One-1

Chapter OneThe three main topics of conversation among the luncheon crowd in Maxwell’s Plum were the current price of gold, Wall Street’s noontime rally and yesterday’s fifteen inches of snow that paralyzed Manhattan, closing both LaGuardia and Kennedy airports. Of course, all that changed when she walked in wearing the now notorious coat.

The fur was mink – boot-length, double-breasted, and cut like a man’s jacket. Luxurious black pelts, lined in her shade of scarlet silk, that rippled and flowed over the tall, well-proportioned woman cocooned inside. The wide shawl collar and oversized black mink beret framed an equally notorious face.

Elbows nudged elbows, gazes left their windowed study of snowplow architecture, and stock market advice ceased to be bantered back and forth. The famed restaurant’s excellent cuisine was abandoned. Appetites were piqued but not by the food. Hungry patrons let their eyes feast on an infinitely more interesting entrée.

Jerry Corry was the only man in the room not watching her. And why should he? He knew her intimately. From the long, luxuriously wavy chestnut hair with its distinctive widow’s peak, the high, smooth forehead, the straight nose, crystal-clear blue eyes that pierced a man’s soul, full lips and slightly square jaw all sitting atop a full-breasted yet supple five foot eight inch frame.

With his shoulders relaxed against the leather-backed chair, Jerry viewed the diner’s reactions with supreme satisfaction. When she stopped at his table, he rose, kissed her on one winter-flushed cheek, and heard a chorus of envious masculine sighs.

“I know you don’t have much time, so I took the liberty of ordering: French onion soup, salad niçoise, and limed mineral water.” He watched as the mink was shrugged off, revealing a black knit dress with a vivid red Chanel jacket. His brown gaze shifted to study her face. “You look tired.”

One precisely defined eyebrow arched and a smile lifted the corners of scandalously scarlet lips. “I did have an exhausting morning.” Her throaty voice purred a subliminal message. “I seduced my virginal eighteen-year-old stepson in the hot tub while my crippled husband played grateful voyeur. Then I posed for a revealing fashion layout. Now I’ll take care of you and later –“ thick black velvet lashes lowered demurely “— I’m scheduled to ravish the local minister who has been making quite a nuisance of himself.”

Laughter and a pleased expression etched Jerry Corry’s angular face. “Victoria Kirkland, at last you are enjoying the role of Vixen Mallory!”

“You’re giving me no choice!” Came her tart rejoinder. Vikki leaned forward; one scarlet-coated fingernail tapped the crystal on his gold watch. “Hundreds of eyes are boring into my back this very minute. Hopefully they’re all talking about the billboard featuring this mink coat that was unveiled in Times Square yesterday.”

“Hopefully they are discussing more than that gorgeous gigantic ad and the stunning woman in the mink,” Jerry corrected her. “Hopefully they are discussing what fifty million other Americans talk about every day. The program that has made twelve thirty to one thirty the lunch hour for businesses, homemakers, and college students.

“I’m betting my job as PR man on the fact that everyone in this restaurant is whispering about Always Tomorrow, Garner Broadcasting’s cable-TV entry into the daytime soaps and currently number one in the ratings against all the major networks combined.”

“Number one!” Vikki’s kohl-rimmed eyes widened. “I – I hadn’t realized the ratings book had come out.”

A Cheshire-cat grin spread Jerry’s mouth; his arms crossed complacently over his chest. “I’m going to tell the entire cast and crew later this evening after the final taping. Only eighteen months on the air and courtesy of a super satellite, number one in the country whether it’s daytime or primetime! And now Always Tomorrow is going primetime.”

At Vikki’s arched brow, Jerry continued. “I just learned that next month on Valentine’s Day, the show is repeating every night from the beginning, with On-Demand paid downloads. Residuals, baby, residuals. You’ll be able to send all your nieces and nephews to college, make your parents retire in style and establish one helluva nest egg for yourself.”

She took a deep breath. “Wow, this is more than I ever imagined.”

Conversation was halted when the bow-tied waiter brought their luncheon order. The young man’s hand noticeably shook when he placed the steaming liquid appetizer and salad in front of Vikki. The waiter continued to hover, straightening unused silverware, adding water to untouched ice-filled goblets, dusting nearly invisible crumbs from the pristine white cloth until a superior’s peremptory voice hailed him.

Jerry’s grin broadened even further, his hand smoothed graying blond hair that grew thick despite an ever-receding hairline. “I love it!”

Vikki looked up, her spoon continuing to pierce the tight seal of mozzarella cheese that blanketed the savory onion broth. “Love what?”

“You still don’t take it in, do you?” At her bewildered expression, Jerry exhaled a patient sigh. “You, Victoria Kirkland, are lusted after by ninety percent of the male population. According to TV Guide, various soap magazines, the internet and a small notation in Time, you are currently the most scheming, manipulative woman on TV, who is seldom found in anything but a horizontal position and whose torrid, uncensored cable love scenes make regular and even premier network officials pale and envious.”

“You’re describing Vixen Mallory, Jerry,” Vikki countered. “She’s the one who has been married four times, murdered her last two husbands and was never caught, had three abortions, has been r***d, kidnapped and enslaved, seduced her stepson and minister, succeeded in driving her sister-in-law insane ...” She drew a deep, chastising breath. “You had the nerve to say I looked tired!”

Their joint laughter caused the surrounding patrons’ heads to turn. Again, Vikki fell victim to whispers and questionable glances. Shifting in nervous discomfort, she reached for a calming mouthful of mineral water.

“All humility aside —“ Jerry paused to blow across the spoonful of steaming soup, “—this plan of mine has worked out brilliantly. I’ve kept the entire cast, writers, and crew in a cloak of mystery for the last year and a half, letting the news media’s imagination run wild with titillating stories leaked here and there. Fans are chomping at the proverbial bit to read, see, and hear anything about Always Tomorrow.”

He rubbed his hands together in a savoring gesture. “Vikki, this is going to be the year.” Jerry’s index finger stabbed the air. “Your year. Do you know your fan mail has jumped to ten thousand letters a week? We’ve stopped counting the emails.”

“I’m afraid to ask how many are death threats.”

“None! Vikki –“ he twisted the gold nugget ring on his pinky “—the women of America admire your strength, your spirit. Vixen Mallory goes after what she wants. Nothing and no one gets in her way. She spits at sentimentality.” Jerry’s expression was serious. “While the men may lust and fantasize about being seduced by Vixen, women fantasize too. They want to be Vixen. They’re tired of being victims; they want to stir things up and take what they want without a twinge of conscience.”

Vikki opened her mouth but once again, the public relations man’s voice interrupted. “Vixen Mallory is going to be number one this year. The billboard and the mink ads are just a warm up. This hits the newsstands today.” Jerry handed her the January issue of Playboy. “Peter Finch’s camera lens loves you. He’s going to be the photographer on next week’s Vixen perfume ads.”

Blue eyes briefly inspected the glossy pages of the fabled men’s magazine. Vikki silently wondered how her parents would take to this latest publicity gimmick. Maybe the magazine wasn’t sold aboard they cruise ship they were on in the South Pacific. “This will definitely cause a commotion.” She drew a deep breath, her brother’s would never stop razzing her now.

“It had better or I’m out of a job!” With a satisfied smile, Jerry spread chocolate butter on warm, fresh bread. “You know, Vikki, you’ve been one helluva good sport about doing all this.” He shook his head. “I remember the all-night session the cast and I had talking you into being the show’s main focus.”

She stared at the salad, her fork spearing a vinaigrette-glossed potato and anchovy. “I’d do anything for them. They’re top-rate professionals, all of them. Besides being twenty of the most wonderful human beings I have ever met.” Vikki’s eyes locked into Jerry’s. “We are a family, working eighteen to twenty hours a day on a labor of love.

“We both know Vixen Mallory was a fluke, an accident. I was the associate producer on an up-and-coming cable soap and one day an extra didn’t show. I just happened to have a union card and could fit into the slinky dress that was in the wardrobe department. I knew nothing about acting.”

Jerry swallowed a mouthful of lettuce. “As I recall, all you did was sit in a chair, cross those long legs and begin to unbutton the dress.” One brown eye gave a broad wink. “Face it, Vikki, you’re a natural talent.” He tapped the cover of Playboy. ”You photograph beautifully. You convey more with those wicked blue eyes and pouty lips than an army of trained professionals.”

Vikki stared at the magazine for a long time, a myriad of memories clicking through her mind. Suddenly a very vixenish laugh bubbled from her throat. “I’d love to get my hands on two hundred and twelve issues.”

“Well, I – I suppose I can get them.” He blotted his lips. “I know you have a big family but ...”

“Not family, Jerry. That’s how many kids were in my high school graduation class.” At his baffled expression, she continued. “Let’s be brutally honest for a moment. Without the designer wardrobe I’ve been fitted into and allowed to use, without the considerable talents of the studio makeup man and hairdresser, precision lighting, and practiced camera angles, I’m just a plain Jane.”

Her upraised palm halted his sputtered interruption. “You are promoting a girl who was twenty pounds overweight all through high school and college, who kept Clearasil in business and nearly developed curvature of the spine from trying to hide breasts that developed in the fifth grade.” Vikki’s lips twisted against remembered adolescent cruelties.

“I just never fit in. I was totally opposite of whatever the current style was. I was over developed and had curls.” Her long fingers pulled against the cascade of hair that tumbled against her shoulders. “My father came home early from work and caught me ironing my hair. I can still feel that beating. My four brothers claim they don’t recognize me without the giant purple rollers I wore twenty hours a day trying to straighten out this Shirley Temple mop.

“I never had a date all through high school. I missed the junior prom and the boy I asked to the senior ball turned me down. College, well ...” she licked full lips. “That was all work and no play until I met Gregg. He saw the woman that had been hiding in me; he goaded, teased, nurtured, and loved me, but then –“ her voice faltered “— he was taken away.”

Vikki’s chin tilted downward, her gaze concentrated on the magazine. “I’d dearly love to send two hundred and twelve issues out with a big: So there! Scrawled on each cover!”

Long scarlet-tipped fingers curved around her glass, lifting in a toasting gesture. “Here’s to a dynamite year for you, continued number one status for Always Tomorrow and –“ Vikki favored Jerry with a wide-eyed glance and disarming smile “— here’s to Video Vixen, the lady who’s given me the best year of my life and who made turning thirty a prime number!” Their glasses clicked to a simultaneous “amen.”

“I am very glad your attitude has changed, Vikki. You were a little ...um...pigheaded about accepting any of these fashion layouts and cosmetic contracts.”

“Awed and overwhelmed,“ she rectified. “It’s a new experience for me to be wanted for my...body.”

Jerry aimed a butter-smeared knife at her. “You really are a natural in front of any camera. Stick with me, kid, and you’ll have fame and fortune.”

Her empty soup bowl was pushed to one side. “The fortune part is heavenly. I’m earning more in one day than I ever did in a month. I’m also enjoying giving back to my parents a little fun they so richly deserve and to my brothers and their families and charity. But the fame –“ Vikki’s eyebrows arched “—I’m a realist. Fame is fleeting. Fifteen minutes, isn’t it? But I’ll have some fun.” She gave a low laugh. “Those phantom writers in their Mt. Olympus office towers may decide to –“ her index finger sliced across her throat “— eliminate the scheming villainess.”

“Not unless your fan mail drops below five hundred a week,” came his dry quip. “Seriously, Vik, on screen or off, you handle yourself like a pro. The hierarchy loves the fact that Vixen Mallory is no vacuous cupcake.”

Her fork toyed with a black olive, batting it back and forth across the nearly empty salad plate. “They have real stars to thank for that. Turning Vikki into Vixen took the combined talents of everyone involved. It took a lot of perseverance to teach this rank amateur about voice inflection, movement, presence, and hundreds of other essentials.” Vikki exhaled a trapped breath. “I’m smart enough to realize this is just an event in my life, not a career, and when all this melts, I’m lucky enough to have a master’s degree in broadcasting to fall back on.”