“So I’m going to work with him on it,” Oxnard concluded.
Gabriel’s face froze in a scowl. “Why? Why do anything for that lying bastard?”
Oxnard shot a glance at Brenda, then replied, “He was sick. Those New York bankers were pressuring him. So I agreed to work with him on it. It impressed the bankers, helped make them happier with a small return on ‘The Starcrossed.’ ”
“You oughtta have your head examined,” Gabriel said. “He’ll just try to screw you again.”
“I suppose so,” Oxnard agreed cheerfully.
But Gabriel chuckled. “I think I’m going to drop a little hint about this to some of my acting friends. They’ve got a guild, too…”
Brenda said, “Do me a favor, Ron? Wait a month… until he’s strong enough to fight back.”
“Why should I?”
“For me,” she said. He stared at her.
“For you?”
“Please.”
He didn’t like it, that was clear. But he muttered, “Okay. One month. But no longer than that.”
Brenda gave him her best smile. “Thanks, Ron. I knew you were just a pussycat at heart.”
Gabriel shook his head. “It’s just not fair! Dammit, Finger goes around screwing everybody in sight and comes up smelling like orchids. Every goddamned time!l He works you to death, Brenda, sticks you with all the shit jobs…”
“That’s true,” she admitted.
“Leaves me high and dry…”
“You got your award,” Oxnard said.
“Can’t eat awards. I need work! There’s nothing coming in except a few little royalties and residuals. And your mother-humping B.F. has spread the word all over town that I’m too cranky to work with.”
Oxnard broke in, “Come to work with me, Ron.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Sure,” Oxnard said. “Listen to me, both of you. Why should you have to put up with all this lunacy and nonsense? Ron, how long can you stand to be trampled by idiots like Earnest and that Canadian censor? Come to work with mel I need a good writer to direct our advertising and public relations staffs. You can be a consultant… work one day a week at the lab and spend the rest of the time free to write the books you’ve always wanted to write.”
Before Gabriel could answer, Oxnard turned to Brenda. “And you too. You’re a top-flight administrator, Brenda. Come to work with me. Why should you give yourself ulcers and high blood pressure over some dumb TV show? We can be a team, a real team—the three of us.”
She looked shocked.
Oxnard turned back to Gabriel. “I mean it, Ron. You’d enjoy the work, I know.” He looked back and forth, from Gabriel to Brenda and back again. “Well? How about it? Will you both come to work at Oxnard Labs?”
In unison they replied, “What? And quit show business?”
