The Stars Trilogy (17 page)

Celine greeted the guy. They hugged each other and started talking animatedly.

His nostrils flared. His fists started to clench but he willed them to relax.
Get your shit together, you idiot. That’s the fuckin’ director who’d help Ben with your damn script.

Taking a deep breath, he descended the steps toward them.

“Dare!” Ben called out to him in a wide grin. Thank God, the old man was back to his old self.

They exchanged a quick hug. “Feeling okay now?”

“Never better! I’m back from the dead ready to kick ass, my boy!”

Dare smiled and squeezed Ben’s shoulder. He’d missed the old man’s booming voice.

Celine and her friend walked up to them. She was holding on to the guy’s arm, smiling like the sunniest summer. They looked like a fucking love team from Twilight.

Is this guy also her lover?

The thought left him cold. He can easily steal her from Ben but not as easily from a young, handsome lover whom she was obviously fond of. He wanted to shake his head violently. What the fuck did he care if she fucked all the men in Hollywood?

But God, he hoped not. She was so good to Ben. He saw it with his own eyes.

Ben introduced the younger man. “Dare, meet Rocky Artadi.”

Rocky extended his hand toward him.

He reluctantly took it. They shook hands firmly.

“Pleased to meet, you Mr. Montgomery,” Rocky said with a warm, congenial smile.

He had been voted the Sexiest man alive by People twice already but he wondered if Celine found Rocky more handsome than him. He inwardly cursed at his ridiculous, juvenile thoughts.
WTF?!

“Call me, Dare,” he said formally.

He focused on Celine. “Hey,” he greeted her.

She gave him a wide, breath-taking smile. “Hi.”

Shit, but his heart felt like it was racing at the Indie 500 on the last lap.

“Is this place bigger than the last time I was here?” asked Ben, his eyes scanning the breadth of the mansion.

That was years ago. Ben wrote the screenplay for the only movie that gave him an Oscar Best Actor award. “I had it remodeled two years ago, added a new wing and a new infinity pool.”

The house was one of his early acquisitions when he hit the big time. It was never the house that he lived in with his ex-wives. This place was his sanctuary when he was working on a movie or wanted to be by himself. Now, it was his permanent residence.

“Come on, let’s go inside,” he invited them and turned around to climb the steps leading to the main entrance.

He couldn’t help glancing back. Celine and Rocky were flanking Ben. She was holding the old man’s arm to support him in climbing the steps. What would it be like to be an invalid like Ben?

Sheeesh! He hurried up the steps. His butler was waiting for them at the threshold.

“Good evening, Mr. Speedman. Harry at your service,” his butler said with a slight bow at Ben.

“Hey, Harry. How ya doin’? This is Celine and that’s Rocky.”

Celine and Rocky happily greeted Harry.

Dare went inside the house first. He trekked the long corridor towards the vast living room which offered a spectacular vista of LA at night.

Kelsey stood up from a wide sofa. “Are they here?” She looked excited as a poodle.

“Yeah. Is dinner ready?”

“Yes!” Kelsey hurriedly went past him to greet the guests.

He sighed. What the fuck was wrong with him? He wanted this meeting. But he was wired up in a really bad way. He pretended to get busy with his phone while his ears were tuned to Kelsey and the gang’s happy chatter.

“Come on, guys, dinner’s ready!” Kelsey announced and led everyone at the back of the mansion.

“Dare, aren’t you coming?” Kelsey called out to him.

“I’ll be there shortly, Kels.”

His eyes followed them as they exited toward the terrace. Celine’s graceful walk had him staring and he nearly threw his Blackberry against the wall when she saw her cling onto Rocky’s arm again.

He looked at the ceiling. He had to get hold of himself. She was tying him in knots and he hated it.

“Dare!” he heard Kelsey bark his name again.

Sighing, he followed them outside.

Dinner was sumptuous. A chef served them Mediterranean food. The conversation around the table was peppered by Ben’s anecdotes about his past projects and difficult clients. Rocky was listening avidly like a new convert. Kelsey shared her own hilarious stories of Hollywood dirt.

She and Dare were silent the whole time.

Celine couldn’t stand the tension anymore. She was toying with the remains of her dessert and spoke only when asked a question. Dare was so quiet. What was he thinking? She was seated between Ben and Rocky, facing Kelsey. Dare was sitting at the head of the table.

“By the way, Dare, Rocky and I finished the rough draft of the script.”

“Yeah? Great. Let’s look at it later,” Dare said in a tone lacking in interest.

“Rocky here is a genius! He added a lot of good stuff to our original concept and it’s much more authentic now as he knows more about Asian culture than I do. This boy will go places in Hollywood,” Ben said proudly, beaming at Rocky.

Rocky smiled shyly. “You’re my idol, Speedy.”

“That’s great news, Ben! I know Dare’s been killing you for that script for so long,” said Kelsey.

“Almost every week for the past six months,” Ben supplied, chuckling.

Kelsey laughed. “He can be so tenacious when he badly wants something.”

Dare just grunted and toyed with his wine glass.

“Well, now that he has his precious script, I know he’ll behave and get busy. I can now attend to my other client on the other side of the globe.”

“Who’s that?” Ben asked.

“Drew Arroyo.”

“I know him,” Rocky said.

Celine kicked Rocky’s shin under the table. He looked at her questioningly. She shook her head slightly, silently telling him to shut up. He gave her a puzzled look, but he seemed to get it quickly.

“I’m sure you do, Rocky. He is Filipino, too,” said Kelsey. “Have you met him?”

“Yes...in a way, in public gatherings, but we’re not close friends. I just follow his races.”

Kelsey nodded. “So, Dare, can I leave you for a few weeks? Will you be fine?”

“Who’s gonna assist me in my meetings?”

“I’m sure Ken can manage that.”

“You know he can’t write shit, Kels.”

“Dare!” Kelsey said in a reprimanding tone. “If you’ll only be more tolerant of him and stop terrorizing him, he’d perform better.”

“I doubt it.”

“What about Linda? Or Shiloh? Or any of our numerous staff at Phoenix?”

“They are all a bunch of show offs who don’t know shit. Their resumes were overrated.”

Kelsey sighed “I rest my case. So, you want me to advertise for a secretary or something? With a masters in communication?” Kelsey added with sarcasm.

“You can do that before you leave for Europe. I’ll be meeting with producers and directors soon. I want someone who knows film language and the difference between a comma and a period in English and in Math. I’d be dealing with tens of millions, you know?” Dare bit back.

Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Alright.”

A giggle escaped Celine. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

“You can hire, Celine,” Ben suggested.

Celine dropped the fork she was holding, creating a shrill sound. She gave Ben a warning look.

Ben smiled at her slyly. “She’s good with words and numbers. Don’t you have a degree in Mass Communication, Celine?” he asked her all too innocently.

Dare was looking at her with curiosity now.

“A magna cum laude, too, major in journalism, minor in film,” Rocky threw in.

“Rocky!” Celine protested, embarrassed that Dare was looking at her now in disbelief.

“Actually, she’s over-qualified to be just a secretary. Didn’t you do post grad in film and creative writing at the Tisch in Singapore?” Ben added.

Her cheeks must be so red now. She’d done a lot of schooling in preparation for this moment when she’d meet Dare again. She had designed her ultimate arrival in his life like a Sun Tzu student. She armed herself with credentials worthy to be called his colleague in the business. Of course, she didn’t know she’d have a fairy godfather in Ben to help make her goals easier. Ben was her lucky trump card.

“The Tisch?” Dare repeated.

She knew it sounded impressive attached to her resume. The Tisch School of the Arts was the extension of New York University in Asia.

“Yup. We were schoolmates when I took a digital animation course there. Celine finished at the top of her class.” Rocky volunteered the info with relish. The teasing look in his eyes made her want to kick his shin again.

Ben had put her on the spot and she was not prepared. “Uhm, we will be busy, right, Ben? With the script?”

“I got Rocky. We’ll be fine. You can work for Dare. Right, Rock?”

“Sure. No prob, Ben,” Rocky happily played along.

“Well, this is just great!” Kelsey exclaimed. “You are definitely hired, Celine. You can start tomorrow!”

Celine’s jaw dropped.

“You just don’t know what perfect timing this is! I need to delegate a lot of tasks to you ASAP. Oh Ben, thank you for lending Celine to Dare. She will surely be a great help! Thank God, I can now look forward to my trip without worries!” Kelsey looked ecstatic.

Celine stole a glance at Dare. He was half-smiling now.

“Well...will you be my temporary secretary, Celine?” he drawled, gifting her with that megawatt smile that had graced a hundred magazines and had made silver screens heat up with female sighs of desire over and over.

Her heart did a series of acrobatic loops.
Oh dear!
“Uhm...okay.”

“That’s settled then! Let’s make a toast! Oh, I’m so happy!” Kelsey stood up and lifted her wine glass in the air. “May you win best director for this dream project of yours, my darling Dare.”

They all lifted their glasses for the toast.

“Hear, hear!” Rocky and Ben said in unison.

Celine gulped the red wine in one go.

She cannot believe what just happened.

I’m his new secretary? I will see him every day? For real?!

Ben winked at her.

Celine wanted to hug him tight. Ben was really the fairy “godmother” in her unfolding fairy tale.

After dinner, Dare, Rocky and Ben transferred to the huge study that also served as Dare’s conference room to discuss the script. Kelsey went to make some phone calls.

The trio occupied the conference table while Celine sat on a sectional sofa, idly browsing several magazines.

The men became engrossed in the discussion of the script. She decided to get some fresh air and finally obey her curiosity. She’d been waiting all her life for this. She had to tour Dare’s beautiful mansion.

She quietly left the room and trekked back to the living room. Everything looked familiar. She had stared at them a thousand times in magazines in the hope of one day setting foot in this place. And now...it felt surreal, to be surrounded by the very things she was only dreaming of in the past.

Dare was a modern art fiend. The high-ceilinged, open-plan architecture of his multi-storied mansion with the wide white, uncluttered walls were designed to showcase his extensive collection that ranged from early masters like de Kooning, Rothko, Pollock, Klee, to the more contemporary geniuses like Basquiat, Haring and Goldstein. The art works found in this house were worthy of a museum and the collective value could probably ransom ten royalties!

She gently touched a small bust sculpture by Henry Moore sitting in the middle of a glass pedestal. The famous artist usually did huge bronze sculptures for parks and city landmarks. This replica must cost a fortune.

She would like to tour this house leisurely, stay in one corner for hours scrutinizing every art work. This day won’t be enough. Thank God she’d be working for Dare soon and she would have all the time in the world to enjoy the entire mansion.

Her heart was racing as she filled her eyes with the beauty of Dare’s home. She was getting to know him intimately through his choices of possessions.

She went to explore further, walking along well-lighted corridors full of more artworks until she came into another expansive, circular space lined by glass on three sides and in the middle of it, a grand piano.

THE piano.

It sat there, solitary in the middle of the room. The blinking lights from the city of Los Angeles yonder added to the romantic ambiance. She had always wondered if Dare played the piano. It was never mentioned in any of the articles she had read about him. How come he had a grand piano in his house?

She walked toward the black, gleaming musical instrument that bore the most expensive brand only the masters and virtuosos were worthy to play. She sat on the cushioned bench that could accommodate three people and slowly opened the lid, exposing the ivory keys.

Smiling, she slid her fingertips on the keys reverently, creating a soft melody in the surrounding silence. Her fingers started to play.

She got lost in the poignant music that complemented the overwhelming joy in her heart.

When he heard the very familiar melody softly wafting in the air, he stopped dead in his tracks. An avalanche of memories assaulted him he was totally immobilized.

Dare closed his eyes, right there in the hallway and listened. His chest constricted as bittersweet pain sliced through him. His eyes immediately burned with unshed tears.

He wanted the music to stop...but God, he wanted it to go on.

Lured by the haunting melody, he followed its source in the only place he would find it. And he found the most arresting sight.

Celine was playing the piano.

She was playing it like she owned it, oblivious to the world around her.

She didn’t know the cardinal rule in his house.

Nobody was allowed to touch that grand piano. He barely touched it himself. But then again, nobody had put so much real interest in it save for the fact that it was a limited edition Kuhn-Bösendorfer crystal-inlayed masterpiece that cost more than a million dollars.