The Stars Trilogy (36 page)

Today, however, she introduced herself to Roselle as her real self, Celine Lavega. She had to adjust the timbre of her voice while talking to her, too. Roselle might recognize her and she didn’t want to blow her cover yet to that extent. That will really creep out Dare and Kelsey for real.

Roselle was as efficient as always and their conversation went fine. The Daredevils international meet and greet was all set up as planned.

Feeling hungry, she went to the ground floor.

She saw Ken in the living room. He seemed to have just arrived at the mansion.

“Hi Ken!” she greeted him cheerfully.

“Hello, my dear. How was your day?”

“Fine. Where’s our boss today?”

“Oh, we went to a commercial shoot this morning for a Hugo Boss fragrance. It took all day. I’m beat!”

“I see. So where is he now?”

“He and Cruz went somewhere. I don’t know. Carlos drove me back here.”

“I see,” she said glumly.

“Hmm, I know that look.”

“What look?”

Ken smiled knowingly. “My dear, I’ve been Dare’s PA for some time now. I’ve seen how women behave around him.”

She tried to school her facial expression. “So?”

“You fancy yourself in love with him.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh! Oh, no, no, no!”

“Such vehement denial.”

“Because you are wrong!”

Ken grinned teasingly. “Am I?”

She didn’t reply short of completely giving herself away.

“Well, tell you what…you’re a really nice young woman, Celine. Quite different from the women who’d come and gone in Dare’s life.”

“Have you seen a lot?”

“A lot that don’t matter, including his soon to be ex. By the way, have you signed the non-disclosure contract?”

“Yes. Dare drafted it himself.”

“Okay, it’s safe to give you some tips then.”

“Tips?”

“Tips on what he hates in women.”

“And why would you tell me those things?”

Ken shrugged. “I don’t know. I like you.”

She was surprised. “And why is that?”

“First...you don’t walk around almost naked. You dress really nice. Simple, elegant. You have good taste. If I didn’t know any better, you could pass for one of those well-bred young women with really rich folks in the Hamptons.”

She smiled. “Really? I’m flattered, Ken. You’re being really nice. Thank you.”

“Second, you don’t jump on Dare like a poodle in heat when you see him.”

She laughed. “Why would I do such a thing? I’m his secretary.”

“Oh believe me, I’ve seen secretaries behaving just like that. Shameless bimbos.”

Ken’s voice was becoming more effeminate as he talked. But when he was around Dare, Ken was as macho as his boss.

“Third...I think Dare likes you.”

This perked her up. “Why would you think that?”

“He asks for you first thing in the morning.”

“He does?”

“And yesterday, he asked me to call an insurance company. To buy insurance for you.”

“What?!”

“He’s never done that before for his groupies.”

She frowned.

“Sorry. Obviously, you’re not one of them. Come on, let’s check out what Yves is serving for dinner.”

They went to the huge modern kitchen where Yves reigned supreme.

“
Mon cher
, what’s for dinner?” Ken greeted Yves.

Yves’ handsome face lit up when he saw Ken.

They hugged each other and kissed in front of her!

“I missed you,” Ken murmured, smiling.

“Missed you more,” Yves replied.

OMG...are they...?

They duo were looking at her now.

Ken rolled his eyes. “Close your mouth, dear. Yes, we are,” Ken confirmed the obvious.

“
Bonjour, demoiselle
,” Yves winked at her.

She cleared her throat. “I’m famished!”

Yves served them Italian cooking.

“Oh my God, Yves, you should have your own restaurant!” she exclaimed in between bites of the tasty baked chicken and stuffed mussels.

“That’s what we’re dreaming to have one of these days if we can save up enough capital to put up our own place,” Yves said.

We? Hmm, these two are going serious.
“Why not?”

“LA is very expensive. Especially Hollywood. It’s hard to start a business here.”

“Well...we can all dream, right?”

“Like you dream of your boss? Yes, we can all dream, indeed.”

Oh my God. Even Yves knows?
“Yves...I...” she shook her head, doubly embarrassed. Was she that transparent?

“She tries to hide what is so obvious,
mon cher
,” Ken said to Yves, amused.

Yves lovingly wiped the side of Ken’s lips with a napkin. “Don’t badger the girl.”

“Really...you’re...I don’t...” She was getting tongue-tied denying the obvious.

Ken and Yves were looking at her with raised brows, clearly not believing her.

She sighed. “Okay. A crush. Just a crush.”

Ken raised his wine glass. “To dreams and crushes.”

She smiled and raised her glass, too.

“Hey, want to hear my tips about Dare?”

She giggled. “Do tell.”

“Argh, girl talk,” Yves grumbled.

That night, she had more than likely formed new friendships.

Dare was getting bored with the conversation. He was dining at Spago with his favorite adrenaline junkie directors, JJ Abrams and Brad Bird.

JJ was convincing him to star in his new brainchild. He had to beg off because of his own directorial project but JJ was willing to wait for him until his schedule would permit. Brad was talking about his next Jack Logan film. Olympus had hired Brad to direct.

Dare’s mind was elsewhere.

He finally excused himself from them.

He called Carlos.

“Yes, boss?”

“Did you bring her home already?”

“Yes. At around 9 PM.”

He sighed. “Okay.”

He cut the call.

He went back to his friends and spent another hour listening to them talk about killing the box-office while he sat there quietly, drinking, his common sense having a tug of war with the call of his visceral urges and feeling miserable as shit in the process.

This was as it should be. He would go find someone to fuck tonight and erase her cute smiles and spirited laughter from his blasted mind.

An hour later, he was in his townhouse in Beverly Hills with Hillary Bell, the star of a new teen-oriented TV series. She was playing an eighteen-year old socialite in the soap but she was in fact 27 years old.

He met her at a post-Oscar Party last year and they had been discreetly seeing each other when he felt like it. Hillary didn’t seem to object to the set-up. She was happy to oblige him every time he’d call for a booty. One thing he liked about her, she wasn’t demanding or needy. Although she attempted at one point to slip to the press that they were seeing each other, that was squashed right away by Kelsey’s extensive media machinery. The poor girl didn’t talk about them ever again in public.

Maybe he’d cast her in his movie, too, to boost up her bargaining power.

Hillary came out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of pink, very sheer nightgown.

She went to the stereo to put on some music. Giving him a coquettish grin, she started strip-teasing.

She was good. Very sexy. Her boobs were too big for her torso though and she had this overdone look about her that made her appear artificial...not natural like Cel...

Shit!

“Come here,” he beckoned her to the bed.

She smiled seductively and crawled to join him on the bed, straddling him.

“Oh, Dare, I’ve missed you,” she sighed.

“Take your fill now, sweety.”

She giggled. “Oh, I will!”

She unzipped his fly slowly and pulled out his cock from his briefs. Her face fell when she discovered him still flaccid. She stroked him slowly, trying to bring his member to life.

“I’ve had a long day,” he said, embarrassed. It was the first time that his pole failed to rise to the occasion. “But you know what to do, don’t you, sweety?”

She licked her lips. “I certainly do! I wanna see this monster roaring and rearing for action!”

She removed her nightie and threw it on the floor. She leaned down to feed him with her plastic DD’s. Her perfume invaded his nostrils...cloying...strong and not subtle and fresh like....

He sighed harshly.

“Are you okay, honey?”

He felt like a rotten cad for using this woman as a substitute for someone he truly wanted. Not even a substitute. She simply won’t do.

“Hill, I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed again. “I...I can’t.”

She smiled. “Let’s see.” She slid down his body until her face was on his groin.

“Hill...!” He removed her hands from his cock which didn’t even stretch an inch from its indifferent mood. “I don’t think I can perform.”

“You don’t have to do anything.”

He sat on the side of the bed and tucked himself in his pants. “I’m sorry. I’m not feeling well, Hill.”

She rubbed his back. “It’s okay. What do you want to do instead?”

“I don’t know. Talk?”

She gave him a blank look. “Talk?” The idea seemed to be alien to her.

He smiled. “Never mind.”

Minutes later, Hillary left his house, openly disappointed.

He sighed for the nth time. What the hell was that? He totally wasted the woman’s time.

He drank himself to sleep.

“Mom, I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.”

“You haven’t been calling us. You promised you’d call us everyday.”

Celine mentally counted to ten. “And what will I tell you everyday? Oh okay, I have a job now...in a film outfit! We’re shooting a Johnny Depp movie!” she fibbed. That was true several days ago but not anymore.

Oh God, she felt guilty lying to her Mom like this. But Marjorie would go ballistic if she’d learn she was working for Dare. The only thing that will stick in her mother’s mind was her post-teen obsession with Dare and the fact that Dare was married. Pretty soon, she will be ordered to go back home, pronto. Now she didn’t these dragons breathing down her neck when she was already almost hallway through her mission. She was able to penetrate Dare’s innermost circle. It was a feat!

“Really? What do you do for the company?”

“I’m...uhm, I’m assistant to one of the directors.”
Mom, forgive me. I swear, I’d make up for lying by giving you gorgeous blue-eyed grandkids in the very near future.

“I thought you were auditioning for LA Theater?”

“I’m doing that, too. But there aren’t many roles that suit me right now. Still waiting for a good one.”

“Wait a minute, assistant? Why would you be a mere assistant? You have a Tisch diploma!”

“Mom, I’m in another country. It’s different here. You have to start from the bottom. I need more experience.”

“Have you seen your Uncle Steve yet? I called him. He said you haven’t gone to see him and your Auntie Emma yet.”

“Uhm, I’ve been so busy, Mom…”

“You’re Auntie Donna called me, too. She said your phone can’t be reached there. She’s been sending you messages but you haven’t replied. You’re not even active on your Facebook she said. You haven’t showed up in San Francisco, too. What’s happening there, Celine?”

Her Auntie Donna was her mother’s only sister and she was an old maid. She’d been taking care of their house in San Francisco and a considerable bulk of real estate properties her parents had invested in the States over the years. She had a bunch of relatives on her father’s side spread out in the country and she’d usually make a round of them whenever she was in the States but this year, she was not there to visit her relatives. She was there on her Operation: Get Dare mission. That meant zero contact with her relatives who’d all likely mess up her plans.

“I will call them. Right after this call, I will, I promise. Okay, Mom, I need to go. I’m late for work. Kiss me for Dad and hug for
Kuya
Jordy. How is
Kuya
by the way?”

“He’s a grouch as usual. You know...’

“Ah well, let’s be more patient with him. What happened to him and Angie was quite painful.”

“But he’s been seen going out with Sherry lately.”

“Sherry? Why would he go out with her?”

“I don’t know. He doesn’t talk to us. He rarely joins us at the dining table. He’s always working.”

“I’ll call him. Don’t worry, Mom. He’ll get over Angie.”

“Okay, darling. You take care over there. Don’t forget to call everyday. Promise me. And behave! We trust you.”

She bit her lower lip, wincing. “Okay, Mom. Mwah mwah! Bye!”

She hung up.

She went to see Ben.

“Hi, doll!” Ben greeted her in high spirits. He was dressed up for work.

“You’re early today.”

“Rocky and I are going to the UCLA library to look into some archives for the script and then we’ll go to Dare’s place.”

“Is the script done?”

“Yup! Finally!”

“Oh, that’s great! Dare will be thrilled!”

“Come on, let’s have breakfast at
Mamita’s
. I’ll wait for Rocky to pick me up there.”

“Okay. I’ll direct Carlos to pick me up from there, too.”

Ten minutes later, they were at their favorite café and bakeshop, eating
churros
and drinking hot chocolate.

“How’s your work?”

“Kelsey left me with a ton of concerns. Dare is a veritable bankable merchandise. You can sell everything about him, from his name to his shoe size.”

“And how are you two?”

She smiled. “We’re still kissing.” Dare had been scarce the past days. He was always out working. They hadn’t been within five meters of each other in three days and nine hours. She had seen him briefly within his mansion but it only lasted a few seconds. He would always walk away. It seemed like Dare was avoiding her and it was getting to her.

Ben frowned. “Darling...”

“Ops, no lectures. I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you, really?”

She touched Ben’s nose. “When he makes me cry, I’ll have your shoulder to cry on, won’t I? Besides, what else would we do if not kiss?”

“Plenty. You can...”