Read Online Brainrush 04 - Everlast 01: Everlast by Richard Bard - Free Book Online Page B

his favorite pastime. The plastic smiles and hidden agendas that
usually accompanied the Hollywood crowd rubbed him the wrong way. But soirées
like this one were an important aspect of Lacey’s acting career so he’d never
hesitated to be there for her. Besides, every once in a while—like tonight—the
attendees seemed to leave their masks behind and simply dive in for a good
time.
    They were in the Rome Cavalieri Hotel, which in Marshall’s
mind lived up to its reputation of being one of the most prestigious addresses
in the city. Situated atop a rise that was enclosed by fifteen acres of lush
Mediterranean parklands, the Waldorf Astoria resort was like an oasis in the
heart of the Eternal City. The party was on the ninth-floor Terrazza degli
Aranci, a glammed-out room dripping with elegance—richly paneled walls, subdued
accent lighting, and plush inlaid carpets surrounding a parquet dance floor,
where Marshall and Lacey and a dozen other couples moved to the music of a live
band. The room was filled to its two-hundred-fifty-people capacity, much of the
crowd spilling onto the expansive terrace with the stunning panorama of Rome.
    Juxtaposed against the stylish features of the space was the
boisterous film crowd. The doors had opened less than half an hour ago, but the
noise level was already at a point that made Marshall pull his wife close so
she could hear his words.
    His lips brushed her cheeks, and her delicate perfume
stirred him. “You look amazing,” he said. Her blond hair hung loose above a
black cocktail dress that showed off her slim waist and flowed in soft layers
to her knees. She wore the sapphire choker and matching earrings he’d given her
last year on her thirty-second birthday, their sparkles accenting her Caribbean
blue eyes.
    “I feel amazing!” she said, spinning and making her skirt
twirl.
    And there was good reason for it, he thought. Her latest
film had completed production today and the entire crew was here to celebrate.
    “You deserve it, honey. You’ve come a long way since we met
at Sammy’s eight years ago.”
    “Eight years. God, it seems like yesterday.”
    “Yeah, I know what you mean,” he said, pulling her into his
arms as the band played its first slow song.
    Lacey had been a server at a Redondo Beach sports bar where Marshall,
Jake, and Tony were regulars. Marshall had noticed her. Who wouldn’t have? He could tell she’d been interested in him but his head had been elsewhere, as
it had been for most of his life. Sure, he’d had plenty of hookups since that
unexpected first time in high school, but sex and girls had never been his
primary focus. He’d always preferred the ones and zeros of the computer world
over the one-night stands and threesome opportunities that had dropped into his
lap because of his looks.
    Everything had changed shortly after the MRI incident that
had caused his best friend’s brain to become magically supercharged. Jake’s
talents had gone viral and everybody had seemed to want a piece of him. Then
Jake’s home had been destroyed by a gas explosion and he’d been killed. Or so
they’d thought. When they’d discovered the burnt body wasn’t Jake’s—and that
he’d been kidnapped and taken halfway around the world—the way Marshall and
Lacey had worked together during the wild rescue on the canals of Venice had
sealed the deal for Marshall. His eyes had opened to her spirit and complexity
and they’d been together ever since.
    He was pulled back to the present when a young guy on the
edge of the dance floor—Marshall recognized him as one of the grips—gave him
one of those man-to-man thumbs-up gestures that signaled his appreciation of Marshall’s
gorgeous “catch.” Marshall grinned as the guy raised his cell phone and snapped
a photo. The flash drew Lacey’s attention, and he led her into an arm-in-arm
pose for the shot he knew the kid was hoping to capture. The camera flashed
again, followed quickly by four or five other