The Stars Trilogy (59 page)

“Maybe because they didn’t happen to be your dreams, too,” she replied gently.

He glanced at his manager again.

She smiled and patted his cheek lightly. “Think about it, darling.”

Kelsey walked toward the door. “By the way, her family is still in Singapore. But they may leave for the Philippines anytime soon.”

Dare was up at 6AM the next morning. The war inside him was over.

He immediately looked for Cruz.

“We’ll fly to Singapore.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. Tell Rocky. He’s coming with us. Ben and Kelsey will stay here.”

Cruz went to attend to business.

To avoid the paparazzi, a chopper picked them up and brought them to the Phuket airport where his Bombardier business jet was waiting. Two hours later, they were airborne for Singapore.

“So, are we meeting some people who’d work for the movie in Singapore?” Rocky asked in a pleasant tone.

“No.” He looked at Rocky seriously. “You know why we’re going there.”

“Actually, no.”

“You will ask Celine out.”

Rocky straightened in his seat. “I will...?”

“That’s the only way she can escape her family. They are billeted at the Four Seasons. Cruz will be at your disposal. You’ll go see her, ask her out and I will wait for you at my unit at The Marq. Be discreet. No media must detect my presence in Singapore.”

“Does she know we’re coming?”

“No. Not yet. We will not tell her. I want her to go with you. If she knows I’m around, she might refuse to see me.”

“Why would she refuse to see you?”

“I don’t know. She might. I don’t want to take the risk. So you invite her out to lunch or anything you can come up with. Don’t blow the cover or you’re fired.”

Rocky grinned. “So, my career is riding on in your love life. Okay, I get it.”

He gave Rocky a sour face. “You talk just like her.”

Rocky settled back in his seat. “Can’t blame us for sharing the same language, man. We’re pretty close.”

He scowled. “How close?”

“I guess you know how close, Dare.”

He grunted. “Just don’t get any closer.”

Rocky grinned again and chose to say nothing.

He reclined back in his own seat. After being intimate with Celine and discovering she was untouched, his jealousy over Ben and Rocky was pacified. But he got irrationally irked whenever Rocky and Ben would talk about Celine fondly. The past days, he couldn’t count how many times they’d “accidentally” blurted out how they missed Celine. Even Kelsey’s incessant reference to Celine’s secretarial skills was getting to him.

But at the same time, he was thankful he’d hear her name every now and then because he had been avoiding mentioning her name.

How he missed saying her name.

Kelsey was right. He was a stubborn fool for going against his inner desires. It had been pure hell without her.

His hell would end today.

Celine just arrived from another shopping spree with her mother. She was sick of shopping. All she wanted to do was lie in bed all day and forget the world.

It had been five days since she left Thailand. Since she last saw Dare. Her family did all they can to cheer her up so she will forget the ordeal she’d experienced in the jungle. But they didn’t know it was far from an ordeal. It was the adventure of her lifetime, with the man she loved, with the man she had been fantasizing all her adult life. She would take another jungle trip with Dare anytime without second thoughts.

Dare still hadn’t called her. For the past days, she had waited every hour, in vain. Kelsey, Ben and Rocky had been calling her everyday, just chatting her up. They had proceeded working on Dare’s movie as planned.

Kelsey was especially sweet and would call her twice a day. She didn’t know why Kelsey still did so, but she was very grateful the woman gave her time and importance to ask about her well-being and tell her about Dare’s activities. She really dug Kelsey like a cool, much older sister. She didn’t realize how much she had enjoyed working for Dare until now. She missed the gang. She even missed Ken, Yves, Carlos and Cruz. But most of all, she missed Dare.

Lord, she  was dying inside.

Maybe she’d just call him. But her remaining pride would scream at her in denial. It was very, very hard to combat the dictates of her heart to protect her self-respect.

In three days, she and her family would go home to the Philippines. VVM’s negotiations with Singapore’s StarHub Cable TV was successful. AZN will soon be launched in Singapore and other parts of Asia.

She was in the hotel, lying on the sofa, contemplating between lunch and a nap when her phone rang.

It was Rocky.

“Hi, Rock, what’s up?” she greeted him cheerfully.

“Guess where I am right now.”

“Hmmm. Cavorting at the beach with a sexy Thai?”

Rocky laughed. “I wish! But no.”

“Then where? Don’t make me think too hard, please.”

“Open your door.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I sent something for you.”

“What is it?”

“Surprise. It should be at your door by now.”

“Okay, wait.” She got up and ran to the suite door and opened it, expecting a hotel staff. Her eyes widened. “Rocky!”

Rocky opened his arms. “Surprise!”

She hugged him. “What are you doing here? Who’s with you?” Her heart was instantly expectant.

“Dare asked me to do some hardware shopping. Cameras, laptops, you know, stuff for filming. I came alone.”

She hoped the disappointment wasn’t too apparent on her face. “I see... Well, come in!”

They entered the presidential suite she had been sharing with her parents the past days at the Four Seasons.

“How are you, Cee?”

She shrugged and tried to project a happy disposition. “Good. I’m good, thanks! Mom’s been taking me shopping all over Orchard Boulevard I actually miss the quietness of the jungle now.”

“Hey, wanna go out?”

She’d been really lonely the past days and Rocky’s sudden presence surely perked her up. “Sure! Let’s have lunch!”

Rocky grinned. “Great. Where are your folks?”

“They went to attend an exclusive gathering hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce. I was not in the mood to go. I’ll just call and tell them we went out.”

“Wow, expanding to the west?”

“You know my brother. When he wants something, he won’t rest till he gets it.” She went to her bedroom, grabbed her bag and put on her new pair of LV 5-inch wedge shoes. She was wearing a flowing, sleeveless floral sundress perfect for the humid weather. “Let’s go!”

Celine rode a taxi with Rocky. He was taking her to a new restaurant he’d discovered in the city where food was great. Rocky’s company was a welcome break in the past days’ monotony. She was also hungry for any news about Dare and she was hoping Rocky would start talking about his boss. So far, he hadn’t.

“Where exactly are we going?” she asked him.

“Patterson Hill.”

“And what’s the restaurant?”

Rocky grinned. “That’s a surprise.”

Minutes later, the taxi entered a driveway lined with tall trees. She caught sight of the huge bronze emblem that proclaimed its posh address.

“The Marq! We’re going there?” she exclaimed.

“Uh-huh.”

“But that’s a very exclusive, private place. Not a hotel.”

“I know.”

“They have a public restaurant in there? I thought this place is uber-exclusive?”

“Sure.”

The taxi stopped in front of the huge establishment flanked by two towers. It was the height of ultra-modern architecture, looking entirely made of glass, metal and real stone. The magazines had declared the place as the most expensive commercial residence in Singapore. The units were designed and furnished by Hermes, no less.

“Let’s go,” Rocky said and he helped her out of the taxi. Two valets immediately approached them at the imposing colonnaded entrance.

Even with her upscale taste and personal experience with luxury, she was still very impressed with the place. “Are you sure there’s a walk-in restaurant here, Rock?” she whispered to him.

“Of course, I made a reservation, silly.” Rocky replied, amused.

The expansive minimalist lobby furnished with advanced sophistication was awesome but was almost deserted except for the impeccably dressed staff standing by.

“Where are the people?” she asked, puzzled.

“Probably still sleeping. This place has not many occupants yet.”

“It figures.”

“Are you sure you can afford the bill here?”

Rocky assumed an insulted look. “Do not underestimate a Hollywood director’s income.”

She snorted. “You just got your biggest break, dude. Did Dare give you an advanced pay?”

“Some. Come on.”

Rocky directed her toward the row of elevators. They boarded one. There was a man manning the lift, dressed in a mocha-colored uniform.

“Good day, Sir, Ma’am. Where shall I take you?” the man said cheerfully.

“The tenth,” Rocky replied.

“Will be there in a breeze,” the man said and pushed the buttons.

The elevator zoomed up, barely causing pressure and seconds later, the doors opened.

“The tenth unit,” the elevator man announced. “Have a great day!”

“Please wait,” Rocky said to the man.

The man nodded with a smile.

They left the elevator and entered a spacious foyer.

“Where’s the restaurant?”

“Come on.”

They entered an oversize door made of  red wood framed with thick, buffed stainless steel and she was greeted by a breathtaking view.

She can see the city from three sides of the huge, high-ceilinged room that didn’t look like a restaurant but a very, very posh residence. Whoever owned this place was extremely loaded.

She looked at Rocky, puzzled. “Okay, enough of the suspense. This is obviously not a restaurant. I’m hungry.”

Rocky shrugged and didn’t answer.

“Lunch is waiting for you.”

She gasped and pivoted toward the source of the voice.

Chapter Twenty-five

“Tisch is really great. I’m learning so much here. It’s my second and final year here and we’re doing all the difficult stuff now. James Cameron visited last week and gave a really fabulous lecture. I‘m still awestruck!  It’s so cool ‘coz my good friend Rocky is also here taking up a course in film animation. He’s already a prolific director for music videos and ads back home. A really talented guy. By the way, I hate the Oscars for always snubbing your performances. You should have been nominated for best actor in One Shot. That’s one performance that should never be ignored. I think they’re pissed ‘coz it earned 200 million in the US alone. Maybe you’ll get the Golden Globe. I’m always rooting for you...”

IF DARE HAD ANY DOUBTS about the intensity of his need for Celine, it was obliterated the second he saw her enter the door.

God, she was beautiful.

“Hello, Celine.”

Her mouth was agape in surprise but he didn’t miss the sparkle of joy that lit up her eyes when she saw him, as well. Relief flooded him. His agony wasn’t a one-way street.

Rocky quietly left.

They stood there, probably five meters from each other, unmoving.

He’d never felt like this before. His entire being was screaming with desperate need to touch her, hold her.

The moment he stepped toward her, she ran to him, straight in his waiting arms.

“Oh Dare!”

They hugged each other tightly. Extreme relief and intense longing mingled inside him. He burrowed his face in her hair, inhaling her familiar scent. His arms tightened around her body, feeling her warmth and softness and the life vibrating within her from head to toe.

It wasn’t enough.

He kissed her.

God, he had missed kissing her. Her eager response intensified his longing. She was kissing him back with equal hunger, undulating her sweet body against him.

“Baby, are you very hungry?”

“Huh? What...?” she said, kissing him all over his face and neck.