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eBook Category: Mainstream
eBook Description: She was the plaything of any man willing to promote her! But that was the price for Hollywood Stardom! There are certain elements which make stars. A little guts, a little luck. But more than that. The willingness to do anything to get on top. Ruth got there--at a price! She was a woman destined to conquer Hollywood. The hard way, up through the beds of important men. Hers is the story of a brutal woman who was willing to use her body; who was willing to use men like most peopled used cars--when one wore out, she picked another. A frank, honest expose which strips the silver from the silver screen, revealing the tarnished, perverted by-paths which demand full attention on the road to stardom.

eBook Publisher: Fictionwise.com, Published: 1964
Fictionwise Release Date: November 2005

1 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [891 KB], eReader (PDB) [148 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [126 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [115 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [230 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [165 KB], hiebook (KML) [414 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [265 KB], iSilo (PDB) [106 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [132 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [212 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [171 KB]
Words: 39405
Reading time: 112-157 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

CHAPTER ONE

The woman appeared tall and well built even in the ill-fitting green dress, as she walked down Main Street, away from the bus station. There was little about her which might indicate the international screen personality she would be in a few years. Her hair was a little too long to be in fashion, and a little too mousy to be called glamorous. Yet there was a subtle carriage about her, as she walked down Main Street that revealed an understanding of life most women at twenty lacked.

Her name was Ruth Browne, but in a few years the public would know her under another name. At the moment, all dreams of stardom and fame were distant and unimportant.

She carried a little over-night handbag that held all her worldly possessions. The trip from Kansas City to Los Angeles had stripped her savings down to a few dollars; not enough for a room and meal.

Her full attention was centered on finding a place where she could make some quick money--immediately.

The street was dirty and had the look of dopies, whores and bums. There were several strip joints, cheap magazine stores, and bars.

After having walked three blocks, she spotted a small bar that looked suited for her purpose. Without breaking pace, Ruth turned and stepped into the saloon. She sat at the bar and placed her handbag on the floor. Her eyes slowly examined the room, making a careful sweep of the male customers. She smiled knowingly when she spotted a couple of likely prospects. One was a young, nervous man; probably in the service. The other was more mature and looked like a business executive. Either one, she decided, might be an easy mark.

Without apparent effort, Ruth shifted her position on the barstool so that her body was presented in a more sensual inviting way. Her skirt slipped higher, revealing the upper curve of well shaped calves. With a slight action of her long, tapered fingers, she unlatched the top button of her dress. A soft, supple hint of flesh revealed itself. The expression on her face became more brazen.

"Highball," she said in a low, throaty voice, just loud enough to carry throughout the room, without sounding projected. Her eyes made a hurried sweep of her two "marks".

The young man looked up, his eyes met hers and shifted nervously away.

Ruth automatically rejected him.

The older man's gaze leveled with hers--held.

Ruth smiled enough to suggest interest. A flicker of response showed on his handsome face. She looked slowly away, and waited.

"Could I buy you a drink?" a voice asked at Ruth's side.

She turned, startled.

A seedy looking man was standing there. His thin lips were curled upwards in an eager grin.

"No. Sorry," she told him in a soft voice.

"Come on, lady--I seen you lookin' around," he insisted, sitting down beside her.

"Get lost, Buster!" she snapped, nastily.

The man's eyes narrowed. His gnarled hand clamped around her arm. "Look, you little tramp--don't tell me where to get off! What makes you so high and mighty?"

"Let go!" she reached for her handbag and was about to swing it into his face when another man stepped between them.

"Get lost, Buster--like the lady said!" It was the guy she'd been flirting with a moment before.

The two men glared at each other and then the seedy one released Ruth, and moved away.

"Thanks," Ruth said, as her "mark" settled down beside her.

"Think nothing of it." He offered her a cigarette and their eyes met searchingly as he lighted it.

"Name's John Davis, and you're..."

"Ruth." She blew smoke between them.

"New in town?"

"Just arrived."

"Thought so. The handbag," Davis explained. "Where are you heading?"

"Nowhere in particular. Don't know the town." She smiled warmly.

"In for a drink, or something, before settling?" His eyes indicated he guessed her real purpose in being in the bar.

"Or something," she offered, letting it lay suggestively there.

The man grinned. "I could suggest a place." Ruth felt a tingle of satisfaction at that; she'd been right on mark. It was working out faster than she'd hoped it would. "Making an offer?"

"What do you think?"

"That's what I thought," Ruth commented dryly, finishing her drink.

"You don't play around, do you?"

"Is there any reason?" she countered. "You don't play games, either."

"Guess not." He sounded pleased. "Have any objections to ... leaving?"

Ruth shrugged: "Why should I?"

It was a record pickup for Ruth. In the past, in Kansas City, it had taken much longer. But, she realized, luck had been with her.

John Davis paid for Ruth's drink and then took her handbag. They walked out of the saloon and he directed the way down the street. "My place isn't too far from here. How about it?"

"I thought that's where we were heading," she said matter-of-factly.