The Stars Trilogy (70 page)

“At Nigel’s studio in Beverly Hills.”

“Is Celine’s phone off? She’s not answering my calls.”

Kelsey was silent.

“Kels?”

“You’re headlining the rags again today, Dare. Celine saw it on TV.”

“What? What is it?”

“Google it, you jackass!”

Kelsey hung up.

What…? He stared at his phone for a few seconds, perplexed. The woman sounded pissed. What did he do?

He asked Ken to check the internet.

“Oh my God!” his PA exclaimed in a feminine tone and then quickly covered his mouth.

“What?”

Ken turned his tablet toward him.

He saw the headlining story in a celebrity blog and cussed colorfully.

He called Kelsey again. “Put her on the phone.”

“She’s busy with Nigel. Shooting’s in progress.”

“Is she okay?”

“Of course not!” Kelsey snapped at him. “What were you doing, Dare?”

He sighed. “I’m coming over.”

“Be careful. Some paps may spot you.”

Right now he could smack a paparazzo’s ugly face! Won’t they ever leave him alone?!

He went with Ken to NBstudio in Beverly Hills. Nigel’s fourth floor studio was thankfully situated within a guarded building that had a discreet back entrance for celebrities who didn’t want to be seen entering and leaving.

The moment he stepped into the expansive studio that comprised all of the floor, he was arrested in his tracks. Nigel and Celine were in the middle of work.

They didn’t notice his entrance. He quietly watched from the background, holding his breath.

Damn, she was made for the camera.

She moved with the grace and sophistication of a professional model, posing and emoting as Nigel clicked away with his camera. Clearly, Celine was not new to public attention. Only a well-photographed person would be at ease with a professional like Nigel. He remembered all those pictures of hers he’d seen at Google Image Search. Photographers loved her face for sure.

There was a point where he wanted to take over Nigel’s job.
God, she is magnificent!

He was used to beautiful women and beauty was commonplace in Hollywood, but this woman was just different. She moved him in a different way. Packed within that petite frame was a force unlike any other he had seen and felt.

And she was his.

The pride that he felt in his heart at the mere thought was indescribable. He had the feeling she would be a huge star in no time and she won’t be exclusive for his personal appreciation anymore. He would be sharing her with millions of people. That was the part he wasn’t looking forward to.

“Okay, that was great, Celine! Let’s take a small break,” Nigel announced.

Lights went on inside the studio.

Celine saw him immediately.

He didn’t miss the anger in her eyes as she abruptly turned away and entered a room.

“Dare!” Nigel greeted him in a booming voice.

“Hey, man. Been awhile,” he said as they exchanged a brotherly hug.

“Am I going to shoot you, too?”

“No...just her.”

Nigel was eyeing him with puzzlement. “New client of Kelsey’s. Gorgeous woman. Love her. I can shoot her all day. She’s got this elegant, classic vibe about her, and yet she can be goofy on cam. She’s gonna go places for sure.”

“I know. She’s my girl.” If he didn’t know Nigel was happily married, he’d be pissed at the famous photographer’s glowing praises for Celine.

Nigel looked dumbstruck.

He smiled. “What’s in that room?” He pointed to the door that Celine entered.

“The dressing room.”

“Will you excuse me for a moment, man?”

“Sure.”

He approached Kelsey who was talking to Ken. She raised a disapproving eyebrow at him. Even Ken was giving him a hard look now.

He raised his hands, halting a tirade he knew was coming. “I know. I’ll explain to her.”

Kelsey smirked. “You can try.”

*  *  *

Celine’s anger rose up again when she spotted Dare in the studio.

She wanted to rant at him but she remained calm and entered the dressing room instead, locking the door. While waiting for Nigel to finish setting up the lights and camera with his assistants, she surfed the net with her MacBook.

It was already viral. Just Jared and Pop Sugar Rush quickly picked up on it and soon, the internet was full of it. Perez Hilton was especially cackling about it in his famous blog. Even Yahoo had Dare and Alana’s faces on its web page with a headline:
Reunion of America’s golden couple, for reel and real?

That kicked the mystery woman at the airport out of the picture. All speculations were hot in the air again following Alana and Dare’s last red carpet get together at the FA Awards and their recent meeting at THE Blvd. Clearly, it was Alana’s moment.

Between Dare’s three most significant exes, it was Alana whom she felt really threatened of. Instinct told her, Dare had something else going for the best actress. She could read it in his body language.

Her anxiety was compounded by the fact that his divorce was taking so long to happen. She hated hiding  from the public, evading the press. This was not the life she had grown up with. She had always been her family’s princess, proud of her name and of herself. But now, she was hiding like a rat, afraid of being exposed as a famous celebrity’s mistress. She cannot even claim that she was the new woman in his life.

Worse, he had been seeing Alana clandestinely at night while she was waiting for him like a stupid doormat at home and pregnant with his baby!

She had worked herself into a volcano about to explode again. There was a knock on the door.

“Celine?” came Dare’s voice.

“Go away!” she shouted.

“Let’s talk, baby. I can explain. Let me in.”

“Explain it to the moon! I’m not listening to you, you cheater!”

“Celine, open this door!” he said more loudly now.

“Go away, I’m busy! Go to her!”

“You’re being unreasonable, baby. Hear me out first.”

“I waited for you the other night but you were with her! You didn’t even call!”

“I wasn’t...Open this door, dammit!”

She didn’t reply. If she opened that door, she would bash his head with her MacBook. She was not a violent person, couldn’t even hurt a fly but Dare could really bring out the worst in her. She thought he would persist but silence followed.

She sat there, still fuming. Then she heard Kelsey’s voice. “Celine, shoot will resume now. Let the make-up artist retouch your face.”

She went to open the door.

“Is he gone?” she asked Kelsey in a hushed voice, her eyes quickly scanning the studio.

“I asked him to leave as you two were giving all the people here something to tweet about.”

She groaned inwardly. There were workers in the studio, Nigel’s people. She hoped they won’t gossip about her and Dare.

“Anyways, he’s off to the Olympus Studios for a meeting with the big bosses. He won’t be bothering you for hours yet.”

The make-up artist retouched her face and she went back to the set.

The moment Celine and Kelsey stepped out of the building, people rushed toward them and their cameras started clicking and flashing.

She panicked, covering her face with her hands. “Kels! What’s happening?!”

Carlos quickly protected them from the marauding paparazzi and guided them into the Cayenne.

The paps didn’t stop taking pictures of her even when the vehicle started moving. They were chasing them on the street.

“What was that, Kels?!” she exclaimed, totally winded and shocked.

“Let’s find out.” Kelsey brought out her tablet and checked the internet.

“Perez is really quick. You’re quite famous now, my dear.”

“What...? What do you mean?”

Kelsey read aloud from her tablet. “
Hot hot hot scoop! As we speak, Dare Montgomery is at the NBstudio in Beverly Hills having a tiff with his latest squeeze, a yet no-name wannabe actress, a pretty brunette with Asian looks. Could this be the same Asian we saw at the LAX? Spot the similarities!
There’s a picture of you here posing for Nigel.”

She was aghast. “Oh my God, who would give out such information to the rags? We were just at Nigel’s five minutes ago!”

Kesley shrugged. “Twitter, what else? Then it says here
...More scoop! The still mystery lady won’t come out of the dressing room as Dare banged on the door. How sweet! Dare left the studio fuming madly. The lady finally came out of the dressing room and continued posing for famed photog Nigel Barker. Seems like the mystery lady at the airport has been solved! That Asian beauty at the airport and this woman at NBstudio are one and the same!
....There’s a pic of you taken from the airport...
We’ll keep you posted on this for sure!”

Celine was stupefied. “Are they...are they really referring to me?”

“It seems like you’ve been found out, my dear. No point in hiding now.”

“Oh God!” she whined, disgruntled. “People can’t just keep their noses out of other people’s business!”

“Look at the bright side. You so quickly kicked Alana out of the headlines,” Kelsey said gleefully.

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think I’m liking this! The paps are scary!”

Kelsey laughed good-naturedly. “This is Hollywood, my dear and you’ve only just begun.”

“Okay, you’re overdoing this now, Celine. I’m not amused anymore.”

There was no answer from inside the master’s bedroom. She’d locked him out.

Dare sighed heavily and felt the urge to kick the damn door down. But it was past midnight and he was bone tired. He had a series of meetings this afternoon and quarreling with his GF was the last thing he wanted to do tonight.

He went to crash in one of the other rooms.

Tomorrow, he will deal with her for being so stubborn and immature.

Dare lay on the bed still clad in the clothes he’d worn all day. He didn’t shower. It was not him to sleep without taking a hot shower. He looked tired.

She gently spread the blanket over him..

He touched her hand, squeezing it. “I want to sleep beside you, baby, ” he murmured, his eyes closed.

Her anger melted. “Okay, come on, let’s go to bed.”

They hobbled together to the master’s bedroom. Dare stripped naked and dragged her under the bed covers. They lay together spoon-fashion as they’d gotten used to.

“Alana and I were finished a long time ago, baby. Nothing’s happening between us that you should be jealous about,” he said in a very sleepy tone.

She didn’t answer.

“You just have to trust me on that.”

Then he was softly snoring.

Really? Really?! That was it? Just trust him? With no explanations at all?

Hah!

But she was able to sleep peacefully with those thoughts.

Dare woke up alone in bed. Celine woke up earlier than him again and it really pissed him off this time. They hadn’t made love since...forever. He needed her!

He put on a robe and went looking for her. He found her seated in the kitchen island with Kelsey, having breakfast. Celine stood up and went to open the fridge.

“What the hell are you doing here so early, Kels?” He didn’t hide his ire. He was horny and he wanted to fuck. Now.

“Hi, darling. We need to discuss your first public outing,” Kelsey replied cheerfully.

“What outing?” He walked over to Celine and kissed her cheek, “Morning, babe. Let’s go back to the bedroom,” he whispered.

She took a can of peanut butter from the fridge and brought it to the island counter, evading him.

“Didn’t you know? Celine was chased by the paparazzi yesterday.”

“What?!” He was instantly concerned. “You okay, baby?”

Celine didn’t reply but prepared his coffee in his favorite mug. She didn’t hand it to him like she normally did. She put it on top of the island with a thud.

Still pissed off, I see.

“Poor thing got the scare of her life. But Carlos was such a knight. He scared them off.”

He picked up the coffee mug. “Why in hell were you chased by them?”

“Why, I’m the hottest item in the gossip mill right now. Your new squeeze,” Celine finally replied with dripping sarcasm. “I’m so thrilled and proud of my new title. Squeeeeeze!”

“Will somebody properly explain to me what happened?” He drank from the mug and nearly spit the coffee out. He forgot it was steaming hot.

“Someone from Nigel’s people tweeted about your little drama yesterday. It’s all over the internet now.”

He cussed.

“Well, I can’t say it’s really bad. It just sped things up,” Kelsey added.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We’d be flying to France for the Cannes in a few days. What better way to appear in public for the first time as a couple than at the festival where the whole world is watching? Right now, everyone is speculating about you two. Celine hasn’t been identified yet. She will take the world by storm!” Kelsey was practically hyperventilating in her excitement.

“As his mistress? I don’t wanna be starting my career as the world’s most famous mistress!” Celine objected.

“Dear, you’re exaggerating. This is the twenty first century and it’s not like you’re royalty with strict traditions about relationships.”

“But in my country, my family is very respected. My parents are chummy-chummy with the Catholic cardinal and archbishops and even go to the Vatican City once a year to see the Pope!”

Kelsey smirked. “Wow, they sound pretty straitlaced. I wonder what happened to you? You certainly strayed very far from the flock, my dear.” Kelsey said with a dig.

Celine made a face at her.

“I’ll ask Chris to escort you. He is a bachelor and currently very hot.”

“Who?” Dare butted in.

Kelsey threw him a sweet, sweet smile, knowing full well he knew who Chris was. “The new supah gorgeous Captain Kirk, ring a bell? I heard he’s going to do a Jack Ryan movie, too.”

“Absolutely not!” he thundered.

“Don’t worry, he’s gay, darling.”

“Really?”

Kelsey rolled her eyes. “No, silly! He’s a nice guy. Come on, Celine will be fine with him.”

“Why the hell won’t you just walk with me?”  he asked Celine. He had no patience for publicity strategies. Especially now that he was with someone he really truly cared about. He wanted to show her off to the world as his woman.