No Matter What Read Online Free

glass down and picked up the ‘phone, dialling the number in Las Vegas , checking his watch to make sure of the time difference.   It took a few rings before it was answered at the other end and Reece suspected this was because it was the very early hours of the morning over there.   A ‘phone call from him was probably the last thing they’d be expecting.  
    The voice from Vegas was groggy and, unsurprisingly, slightly annoyed.
    “Who the hell is this?   Do you know what time it is?” Vince Maine, one of the movie’s producers, had been in the middle of a particularly pleasant dream involving Julia Roberts and hadn’t taken too kindly to being dragged out of it.
    “Vince?   It’s Reece.”
    “Reece?   What the hell are you doing calling at this time of the morning?   Couldn’t it wait?”
    Reece ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes again.   “No.   Not really.”
    “Ok,” Vince sighed.   “What is it that’s so important you couldn’t hang on for a few hours?”
    Reece really hoped this was going to work.   He hoped India was going to get out to L.A. and show them that she did have the ability he badly hoped she had.   Because he needed her over there.   India Steven needed to be there, in Los Angeles .   She needed a reason to be there.
    “I’ve found her, Vince.   Our perfect leading lady.   I really think I’ve found her.”
     
    ***
     
    “Oh, for God’s sake, what now!”
    The ‘phone ringing was an irritation because Michael Walsh was tired.   He’d had a day of interviews and photo shoots and all he wanted to do now was sit down in front of the TV with a bourbon on the rocks and watch the news.
    Michael Walsh was a character actor of the highest order, extremely talented at what he did with an incredibly successful movie career.   He could turn his hand to anything – drama, romantic comedy; he could play the villain or the good guy.   He’d avoided that problem of typecasting by taking on a variety of roles in the early part of his career and that had really paid off.   He was a true star, although it was very rare that he ever acted like one.
    His life, however, hadn’t been without the often obligatory womanising, drink and drug-fuelled past that many in his position sometimes fell into.   But that was all behind him now; he’d been there, done that and bought every t-shirt possible.   He’d had three failed marriages and a long stint in re-hab, and that had focused his mind, got him back on track and made him more in demand than ever.  
    He’d finally settled down, bought himself a gated house high in the Hollywood Hills and was now concentrating on his work, thankful that there was plenty of it.
    In his late thirties and staring forty in the face he wasn’t what you’d call conventionally handsome but, despite the slightly receding hairline, he still had the most piercing blue eyes, a devastating smile and more than enough charm to attract the women, although they were few and far between now.   He could do without the distractions and the trouble they’d brought him in the past, but he could turn it on when he needed to, when it suited him.  
    Originally from Chicago his family had moved to L.A. when he was fifteen.   He’d always wanted to be an actor but coming from a family of lawyers and doctors everybody had expected him to take the same route, but he’d rebelled.   He’d graduated from High School but said no to college, instead choosing to throw himself straight into the world of acting.  
    He’d moved himself to New York at the age of nineteen and had spent his days waiting tables and his evenings in acting classes until he’d finally landed a break in an off-Broadway play.   Just a small role but enough to make him realise he’d made the right decision in deciding to take a chance.  
    That small role had been a start.   After that he’d got one or two parts in small New York theatres until a Broadway director had spotted