Persona (The 'Professional' series) (14 page)

“No, I’m
staying here a little longer.”  Daniel noticed the young man take a sneaky
glance around the room, no doubt trying to get some gossip on who was in the
bedroom with Daniel Spittle.  Daniel was glad Ella was safely in the
bathroom.

“Very
well.  Goodnight, I’ll see you in a couple of months then Mr
Spittle.  My name is Gareth, Gareth Pritchett.  I am in the
‘lighting’ crew.”   He gave a brisk handshake.    

“Yes, no
doubt we will be bumping into one another.  Goodnight.”  Daniel
closed the door behind him and locked it as he didn’t want the man walking back
in unannounced.

Ella
listened to the conversation from behind the bathroom door, which was slightly
ajar.  How sweet of Daniel not to mention he was there with anyone.
 Ella was embarrassed enough, nearly getting caught in a compromising
position, it made it somewhat better that Daniel seemed to be protecting her.

Her heart
thumped into her chest.  Goodness, she did love him and even if he didn’t
love her, she knew he had
some
feelings for her.  That was enough
for now, even if that was all she got from him, she was willing to risk the
future hurt for some time with him.

She breathed
in deeply and walked back into the bedroom, her breath getting lodged
somewhere.  Gosh, he was so handsome standing there with that gorgeous
smile, all for her. He did literally, take her breath away.

He noticed
her hesitate, the emotions flicking so fast across her face, he couldn’t make
out what she was thinking.  He silently cursed, he hoped she wasn’t
regretting what just happened, he certainly wasn’t, so he rushed over to her
and gently grabbed her still hands.

“Shall we
get out of here?  I want to be alone with you, somewhere where we will not
be disturbed.  If that is what you want too?”  He held his breath
waiting for her answer.

She looked
him straight in the eyes. “Yes, I would like that.”

He released
his breath and slowly brought her close, in a tender embrace.

His chest
was warm and comforting.  She could feel his erratic heartbeat underneath
his steady breathing.  She sighed in bliss when he placed a tender kiss on
the top of her head.  Yes, she really did want to be alone with him.

“Come on,
that bed is looking more and more attractive the longer we stay!”  He
realised her, gently took her hand and grabbed her bag that she had long
forgotten.

She watched
his back as he gently led her towards the stairs.  Ella felt like she was
in a dream, she felt so lightheaded.  Boy, she was excited, more than she
could ever remember before.   

At the
bottom of the stairs, anticipation was coursing through her when he placed her
shawl over her naked shoulders, his fingertips gently caressing them.

She turned
back around to smile at him, but something caught her eye.  Some of her
euphoria evaporated when she saw Scarlett making her way over to them. Daniel
picked up her hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

Scarlett
spotted the shawl draped over Ella, she snarled slightly at the fact that she had
seen Daniel put it there.

“Darling,
you just cannot go yet!”  Scarlett’s lips pouted.  “You know how I
like you to stay to the end!”  There was enough innuendo in her statement
to make Ella cringe. 

Daniel
cursed, he should have thought of this hurdle.  Thinking on his feet he
said, “Ella has a little headache coming, so we thought we would go back now,
before it gets any worse.”

Ella half
turned to eye him, not sure if it was the best excuse to say to Scarlett and
secretly hoping he would have just said that he wanted to take her to
bed!  That would put Miss Beautiful in her place!

He shrugged
his shoulders at Ella, he looked as though he was trapped.  Ella sighed,
she did understand that he couldn’t upset the hostess, after all he would be
working with her for months.

“Why, Eric
can take her back.”  Scarlett jabbed his chest with her manicured finger,
a sexy smile on her lips.  “You… young man, have not finished doing the
rounds.”  Her fingers gently pulled on his tie.

Ella watched
Daniel sigh and roll his shoulders, he looked as though he was trapped. 

He turned to
Ella.  “Or you can stay?”  His face lit up in what looked like,
relief.

“It’s okay
Daniel.  If Eric doesn’t mind, I would like to go back.”  Ella wasn’t
sure if her heart or stomach could watch Scarlett all over him again. 
Perhaps it was for the best anyway, some breathing space for them both, a
chance to change their minds.

Ella watched
his face fall.  “If that is what you want, I won’t be long.  I
promise.”  He hoped she could see the desire burning in his eyes, but all
Ella could see was the daggers Scarlett was sending her.

Lindsey
smirked to herself as she saw the car headlight turn into the drive.  She unclenched
her hands that had gone white with the tension of waiting.   So he
was arriving home, at last.  It was nearly over. 

She prided
herself on how patient she had been over the weeks, but she was losing
placidity now.  

Initially,
it had been problematic to find out where Daniel was, as she wasn’t privileged
to any information now she had lost her job.   Never mind, she was
good at finding out information.  She only had to pretend she was Alice
Hall, Daniel’s agent, to get all the information from Scarlett’s agent. 
They had even told her where Scarlett  lived.  Incompetence was
something that Lindsey couldn’t tolerate. 

To find
Daniel, it was then a case to find out which houses were being rented, and hey
presto, here she was, waiting in the cold, irritating sand.  
 What a bonus that he had rented a house with so much glass, you could
view every room from the beach where she hid. 

She stood up
and straightened her trousers.  It was time to go in and make Daniel
hers.  She was only hoping that he hadn’t brought Eric along and that,
that
whore
, Ella.  She smoothed her newly cut, short, dyed
hair.  No,
that
Ella would have finished her assignment by now, it
was one of the reasons Lindsey had waited so long.  She wanted Daniel all
to herself. 

The car door
slammed shut and someone walked away from it. It was dark, so Lindsey failed to
notice it was Ella, not Daniel that had exited the car.

The interior
light of the car illuminated Eric’s face.  She hesitated when she realised
that he was not getting out, he was going.   Great, she would have
Daniel all to herself without any interruptions from his friend. 

~~~~

Ella pushed
open the front door into darkness.  She breathed in sharply.  The
design flow of the house allowed her to see straight out onto the beach, the
reflections of the stars twinkling on the still water.  It looked like a
mirror, so peaceful. 

It was
pulling her, so she walked over to the windows, not putting the lights on, as
they would reflect on the glass and spoil the view.   She sighed, she
felt so content.   She had grown up near the sea and it always calmed
her, her thoughts drifted. 

Ella jumped,
a noise pulling her out of her trance.  She turned around.  Oh,
great, she had forgotten to close the front door.   Smiling to
herself, she walked over to close it, flicking on the lights as she went. 

Butterflies
started bouncing in her stomach.  She had no idea how long she had been
daydreaming at the view and Daniel would be back soon.  After those
smouldering kisses in the party, she knew what would happen when he got back
and she was looking forward to it.  It was what she wanted. 

A sudden
rush of nerves pitched through her, perhaps he didn’t want her anymore, perhaps
he would realise that it was Scarlett her preferred?  She shook her head,
she should have more confidence in herself, she could see and feel how she
affected Daniel.  She would just have to trust in fate.

~~~~

How on
earth was that woman here?  
Lindsey was seething.  She tried to peep out from behind
the drinks cabinet without being seen, although she could see Ella’s movements
in the reflection of the glass. 

To think
that she had just walked through the open front door, ready to greet Daniel,
and been confronted by Ella standing by the window instead!  Her nails dug
into her palms. 
That
woman had been so wrapped up in her thoughts
that she hadn’t even noticed her walk in. 

This changed
things
.  This
woman was obviously too connected with Daniel. 
She would have to be taken care of. 

The lights
flicked on, as she noticed Ella making her way up stairs to the bedroom. 
The lip that she was biting started to bleed, but Lindsey didn’t notice the
pain.  She knew what she had to do.  She reached into her bag for her
gun.

~~~~

Ella opened
the drawer she had put her new underwear in a couple of hours ago.  Lace
and silk stared back.  Okay, so she might have hoped something would
happen with Daniel on this trip, it certainly wasn’t her usual underwear! 

A cold sweat
came over her.  Perhaps she shouldn’t wear this underwear – did it look
like she had brought it for him to see her in?   She took a deep
breath to balance her fluttering heart.   She was just nervous. 
She was old enough to know, that once he had her in his arms, all her nerves
would disappear.  Wouldn’t it be nice for him to ‘find’ her in some lovely
underwear?   

She picked
out a deep purple one.  It would look nice and sexy, but not too
vampish.  She put it on, alright, perhaps it did show a lot of flesh, but
it did make her feel feminine and sensual.  She picked up her black robe
and tied it firmly around her.  Even if Eric came back with Daniel, he
wouldn’t know what was underneath her modest robe.  And if the situation
had changed with Daniel, if he had changed his mind and didn’t want her
anymore, he would never know what was underneath either! 

Happy with
her choice, Ella started down the sweeping stairs to the lounge. .Her
forehead puckered into a frown.  Strange, she thought she had left more
lights on; it was quite dark in the sitting room. 

She looked
towards the bar, what drink would help steady her nerves?  Ella stopped
abruptly.  Lindsey was standing behind the cabinet with a gun pointed at
her! Her mouth went dry, no words would come out as fear had gripped her
throat.  Lindsey held her eye contact, revealing nothing of her
thoughts. 

All Ella’s
senses went on to alert.  In the total silence, she heard a car arriving.
 Daniel and Eric were returning!  A tear slipped from the corner of
her eye in relief.  She turned her head towards the door, a mistake, and
felt the searing pain of a bullet.  Everything went black as she collapsed
down the hard, cold, marble stairs.

Panic welled
in Lindsey, the car returning wasn’t in her plans.  She had wanted to make
Ella realise that
she
was meant to be with Daniel
before
she shot
her.  She hadn’t had time to make Ella realise that she had no choice but
to get rid of her. 

Ah well,
never mind, it was all done now.  She impassively looked towards
Ella.  Good, she was hidden from view, behind one of the leather chairs. 
Footsteps approaching the door required Lindsey to turn in greeting. 

Daniel was
excited and strode to the door quickly.  It had annoyed him that he had to
stay at the party, he had definitely wanted to go home with Ella.  Just
think what they could be up to now if he hadn’t had to stay for another hour!

The little
scene when he told Scarlett that he wanted to be with Ella hadn’t gone down
well at first.  But after a while, she seemed okay, she even gave them her
best wishes.

He smiled, even
his good friend, had known that he wanted time with Ella, alone.  Eric had
gone back to the party, back to that lady he was chatting up.  Daniel
grinned to himself, he was hoping his friend struck lucky tonight too, it had
been far too long.  

The house
was dimly lit.  Perhaps Ella was already in the bedroom?  Now that
would be good.  He had missed her when she had left the party.  He
chuckled, he recalled the moment of panic he experienced in the party, when he
realised that he always wanted her around.  He didn’t just love her, he
wanted her around permanently!  That is when he decided to have a quiet
word with Scarlett, make sure she got the message that he was off limits from
now on. 

He shook his
head, he obviously wouldn’t tell Ella yet, she had just recently split up with
Jeff and he didn’t want her to feel rushed into another permanent
relationship.  He would give her time, it would kill him, but he would be
patient.  He knew that he felt completely different towards Ella than any
of his previous lovers.  She made him feel good, she completed him. 
His heart gave a little squeeze which he enjoyed. 

He saw a
slight movement and turned towards the silhouette by the window, a large grin
splitting his face.   His heart gave another squeeze, but this time
in anxiety.  He recognised not Ella, but Lindsey smiling back at him, with
a gun in her hand.