Interview with the Billionaire Page 7
As they talked, they’d begun climbing the stairs from the first floor living area to the third floor, which was the true heart of the house. The painting was mounted there. A stunning portrait that had been well worth the investment, especially considering he’d ended up with the woman herself and not just the likeness. He’d been hesitant to hang it so prominently at first, not wanting Nikki to feel exposed. But she’d insisted, pointing out that her face was hidden.
At the time, they’d believed no one would know the truth. Now most of the world did, but Nikki had never once intimated that she wanted it taken down. On the contrary, he new that she was proud of it
Now, it hung on the wall above the stone fireplace, not visible until about halfway up the floating staircase. When they reached that spot, Maggie stopped, her attention focused on the portrait of his wife.
“Oh, it’s stunning.”
“It is,” Damien said. “Though not as stunning as the woman herself.” He took Nikki’s hand, forcing himself not to laugh as she rolled her eyes.
“Of course I heard all the gossip. About the payment. But I never heard about how it came to be Blaine that painted it. Do you mind if I ask now?”
“Not at all,” Nikki said. “But let’s get some coffee and get settled first.”
They left Maggie in front of the portrait, then went into the third floor kitchen. Originally intended as a convenient location for catering staff, it had completely overshadowed the fully-loaded commercial kitchen on the first floor, now only used on the rare occasion that the Starks hosted a large party at the house.
He slipped his arms around his wife. “You’re sure?”
“Of course. I’m not ashamed of the painting. And I made one hell of a good business decision. What I hated was the spotlight. And the suggestion in the media that I was prostituting myself.”
“You’re still in the spotlight.”
“Yes, but instead of a harsh and uncomfortable light, it’s more like the low glow that theaters use to line auditorium stairs. It’s there, but it’s almost under the surface. I can live with it.” She brushed a kiss over his lips. “Besides, that painting brought us together.”
“All right, Ms. Fairchild,” he said, sliding into the endearment. “The painting is on the table.”
“I’ll take it off if she gets weird about it. But considering the ground rules you laid down and the fact that you did that after talking to Ash, I have a feeling she’s going to play by the rules.”
“With us, anyway. Who knows what she’ll try to pry out of the others.”
“She’s going to want to bend the rules, you know,” Nikki said. “No abuse? No kidnapping? She’ll want to edge around those.”
He nodded. “There’s leeway. But I’m not going to talk graphically. And I’m going to make her work for it.”
“All’s fair in love and the press?”
“Something like that.” He poured three coffees and put them on a service tray. Gregory had offered to attend to tasks like that, but Damien had feared that Maggie would want to interview him as well, and that wasn’t something he wanted to put Gregory through.
He picked up the tray. “Shall we?”
“Once more unto the breach,” Nikki quipped.
“It’s not like we haven’t been there before.
There is no one else who has the power to tear me apart the way you do, Nikki. No one else who can reach in and squeeze my heart. You are my world, Ms. Fairchild, and I love you desperately.
* * *
- Take Me
Transcript: Stark-1
Day 1, Session 2, 1:17 pm
Audio Transcription by All Access Enterprises
Annotations added by client: Spicer, Magdalena
Location: Stark Home, Malibu, CA, 3rd floor living area
Subject(s): Damien Stark, Nichole Fairchild Stark (Nikki)
Interview conducted by Maggie Bridge
* * *
Begin Interview
[They are seated on a sofa holding hands, entirely at ease with each other. I am facing them in a plush chair. I need only turn slightly to see the painting.]
* * *
Bridge: Again, I appreciate you both doing this. What I’d like to do today and tomorrow is break our conversation down into a few sessions. That will keep us all fresh and also give me the opportunity to follow up with you two about anything that might be addressed by one of the other interview subjects. Would that be okay?
* * *
N. Stark: That’s fine by me. Damien?
* * *
D. Stark: I think that’s perfectly reasonable.
* * *
Bridge: Terrific. You’ve been interviewed so many times on the subject of your meteoric climb in the business world, so I’d like to dig into the man more than the business, at least initially. Specifically, I’d like to spend most of our time together talking about your relationship.
* * *
D. Stark: One of my favorite topics.
* * *
[Nikki laughs, and Damien leans over to casually kiss her on the cheek. Some early press suggested that their relationship was staged. In just the short time I’ve been in this house, I am sure that it is not.]
* * *
Bridge: Damien, most of our readers will be aware of the fact that you paid one-million dollars for a nude portrait of Nikki painted by Blaine. I’m assuming you two were already seeing each other?
* * *
D. Stark: : Actually, no. We were both attending a showing of Blaine’s work at my agent’s home. Evelyn Dodge.
* * *
Bridge: I’m guessing that answers my next question. Blaine’s an exceptionally sought after artist. Was the personal connection how you were able to obtain his services?
* * *
D. Stark: That and the fact that I paid him.
* * *
Bridge: Touché. Nikki, you’ve already spoken publicly about why you agreed to that painting, so I won’t go over that again. But can you tell me a bit about the experience of modeling for the portrait. I have to assume you were eager to do it. A million dollars is a huge incentive.
* * *
N. Stark: It is, but I said no at first. Repeatedly, if I’m remembering correctly.
* * *
Bridge: Because of your scars?
* * *
N. Stark: Yes.
* * *
Bridge: Your history of cutting is something else we don’t need to go into since you’ve now given a number of interviews about the topic, and I know you work with kids with similar issues as a Stark Youth Advocate.
* * *
N. Stark: That’s right.
* * *
Bridge: If you don’t mind, I’ll pull some background from pre-existing material for the article. Only if necessary for context.
* * *
N. Stark: That’s fine. As Damien pointed out, we’ll have a chance to review and veto any sections we find troublesome.
* * *
[Her smile is pure Southern charm, but even so, it has a bite.]
* * *
Bridge: So you ultimately agreed because of the money.
* * *
N. Stark: I did. And that money financed my own business.
* * *
Bridge: What was it like? Modeling for a piece that is both beautiful and erotic? And for a man like Blaine who has made his living off of eroticism?
* * *
N. Stark: It was scary. It was intimate. And it was freeing.
* * *
Bridge: How so?
* * *
N. Stark: Well, at first I was scared that Damien would call it off—and I wanted that million.
* * *
Bridge: That he’d call it off because of your scars?
* * *
N. Stark: He didn’t know. And they were my shame. My mother had drilled into me how ugly they were. My mother and, well, other people who had seen them.
* * *
[She barely shudders, but I see Damien take her hand. It’s easy to see that his touch comforts and relaxes her.]
* * *
Bridge: That all does sound scary. Were you scared of what Damien would think?
* * *
N. Stark: Only about the scars. I know I’m attractive. My mother made a career out of my looks. Or tried to, anyway. As much as I hated her for that, it also got into my pores. That was how I judged myself. I was pretty. Without clothes, I had hideous scars that destroyed everything good. I believed it. Why wouldn’t Damien?
* * *
Bridge: But he didn’t.
* * *
N. Stark: No. That’s when my mask really fell away.
* * *
Bridge: Mask?
* * *
[She looks irritated, and I think she is wishing she could call back the words.]
* * *
N. Stark: It’s something I do. I didn’t want to be a pageant princess. So I created Pageant Nikki. I didn’t want to be the dutiful and dainty child my mother wanted, and so I had the Dutiful Nikki mask, too. I used to hate parties, especially when I didn’t know anyone, but my mother insisted I go to any associated with a pageant or a pageant director or anyone with money or clout. And Social Nikki was born.
* * *
Bridge: And what mask were you wearing when you met Damien?
* * *
[For a moment, she looks confused.]
* * *
N. Stark: Honestly, I don’t remember. I was Social Nikki at the party. Or I was trying to be. All polite and refined, but that mask fell pretty quickly. Damien’s the only one I’ve ever been with where I’ve had to fight myself to keep the mask on. Usually, I have to fight to take it off. No, wait. Evelyn. I met Evelyn right off, and was pretty much
mask-free.
* * *
Bridge: Do you believe in soulmates?
* * *
N. Stark: I never did before. But Damien is everything a soulmate should be.
* * *
Bridge: And was Damien present while Blaine was working?
* * *
N. Stark: Now you’re starting to sound prurient.
* * *
Bridge: I didn’t intend it that way, but during the time you were being painted, you and Damien began to date.
* * *
N. Stark: I’m not sure I’d call it dating, but we can go with yes.
* * *
[It’s clear from their expressions that my question amuses them.]
* * *
Bridge: Why is that funny?
* * *
N. Stark: No reason.
* * *
[I don’t believe them, but I know when to move on.]
* * *
Bridge: Would you say the painting was the catalyst for your relationship?
* * *
N. Stark: I think that’s fair, yes.
* * *
D. Stark: I disagree.
* * *
N. Stark: Do you? So what was it? My shoe debacle on the stairs?
* * *
[They laugh, but since he shakes his head, I don’t ask. I’m too curious to see what he does consider the beginning.]
* * *
N. Stark: The limo?
* * *
D. Stark: Dallas, of course.
* * *
[Her smile blooms like a flower, and it is easy to see why she did so well on the pageant circuit.]
* * *
Bridge: What happened in Dallas?
* * *
D. Stark: Absolutely nothing. But we saw each other. It was during a break in a pageant she was in and I was judging. We spoke to each other.
* * *
N. Stark: You could say there was a vibe.
* * *
Bridge: So you stayed in touch?
* * *
D. Stark: No. We never spoke after that night until the party for Blaine.
* * *
Bridge: I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m following. If nothing happened, how was that the beginning?
* * *
D. Stark: It just was. I just knew.
* * *
Bridge: Knew what?
* * *
D. Stark: That she was mine.
* * *
Bridge: And what if the party for Blaine hadn’t happened?
* * *
D. Stark: But it did.
* * *
Bridge: Yes, but—
* * *
D. Stark: The point is I knew immediately that she was my future. If there was no party, there would have been another moment in the future.
* * *
Bridge: That seems rather woo-woo for a man so scientifically inclined.
* * *
D. Stark: Maybe that’s why I’m so damn successful. I see things beyond the realms of expectation.
* * *
Bridge: There’s a quote for the article.
* * *
[We all laugh. Considering the awkwardness a few hours ago, I’m relieved.]
* * *
Bridge: So the baseline reason you two are now happily married with a family is because of a beauty pageant?
* * *
N. Stark: Yes.
* * *
D. Stark: Actually, if we’re walking this line, then as much as I hate to admit it, I think we need to point to Jeremiah and Elizabeth.
* * *
Bridge: Your father and Nikki’s mother?
* * *
N. Stark: Seriously?
* * *
D. Stark: Would you have been at that pageant if your mother hadn’t pushed you? And I wouldn’t have been judging if my father hadn’t pushed me into tennis.
* * *
N. Stark: But we would have found each other anyway.
* * *
[She takes his hand.]
* * *
N. Stark: So I say that we were the catalyst. Not them. Never them.
* * *
D. Stark: You’re right. It all goes back to us.
* * *
Interview End
Damien’s Journal
Scars
I saw her secret today. What she thinks is her shame. What she believes she has to keep hidden.
* * *
She couldn’t be more wrong.
* * *
Those are battle scars. Proof of what she has endured.
* * *
She is exceptional.
* * *
And even if I have to move heaven and earth—even if I have to give up every dollar I’ve earned and everything I’ve built—I will make her see the strength inside her.