Lay in rum supply for VIP (8)
I believe the answer is:
luminary
'vip' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'lay in rum supply' is the wordplay.
'supply' is an anagram indicator (in a supple way).
'lay'+'in'+'rum'='layinrum'
'layinrum' anagrammed gives 'LUMINARY'.
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for luminary that I've seen before include "Prominent member of a group" , "Prominent person" , "star" , "Person of influence" , "Inspirational leader" .)