Hollywood Stardust Supporting Roles - Wilson and Giselle (6 page)

Out of nowhere, Giselle blew her whistle
again.

One of the waiters jumped and his glasses
fell over, spilling their liquid all over the floor.

Again, everyone froze.

She stalked over to the waiter with the
dripping tray.  “Please return your tools to the bar and head
toward the exit.”

“
Why did you blow the
whistle?”  The man shook his head.  “Didn’t someone else
make a mistake?”

“
I needed to see who is
easily distracted and startled.  For today’s round, I’m using
plastic dishware, but when the bar opens we have expensive glasses
and top of the line alcohol, none of which I want wasted.” 
Giselle sighed.

“
That was a good
twist.”  Logan elbowed him.

“
This has it all, suspense,
intrigue, competition.”  Wilson couldn’t take his eyes off the
show or his girl.

As Giselle explained her reasoning, a woman
scurried over and mopped up the spilled drinks.

Foregoing any more discussion, the man
handed the woman his tray and walked out.

“
Hey you.”  Giselle
pointed to the cleaning woman.

The woman stopped, held her tray up high and
turned toward her.

“
You’re in the final round,
go stand by the bar.”  Giselle used the spoon to show her the
way.

With a grin, the woman nodded.  Before
taking her position, she put her tray and glasses behind the
bar.

“
Nice touch.”  Again,
Giselle blew her whistle.  “Game on!”

“
Maybe we need to shop this
show around.”  Logan leaned in further.

“
I’m not sure I want anyone
to know our secret.”  If Wilson couldn’t look away from her,
the world wouldn’t be able to either.

With the first person in the final round,
the rest of the prospective winners seemed to up their game.

One male went through the bar and refilled
the nuts and in return was given a pass to the final round, one
woman checked a credit card for fraud, and yet another one helped
the bartender organize some glasses. 

By the time Giselle was through, she had six
people left.

“
This is incredible. I’m
actually anxious for the end.”  Logan shook his head. 
“What did you tell her to do?”

“
I just told her to find
some wait staff.”  His own voice dripped shock and
awe.

“
Well, she not only did
that, she gave you a whole reality show.”  Logan let out a
chuckle.  “What’s she going to make them do for the
finale?”

Before Wilson could answer, he got his
answer.

“
All right,
contestants.”  Spoon in hand Giselle paced in front of her
selections.  “You are the cream of the crop. Are you ready for
the last round?”

Her minions nodded.

“
What could the last round
be?”  Logan shifted his weight from one leg to the
other.

“
I can’t imagine.” 
With Giselle, everything was a fun mystery.  When he told her
to help him hire people, he never expected a full-fledged ready for
prime time show to play out in his unopened bar.

With no warning, she spun around to
them.

Both he and Logan tried to back up, but only
succeeded in tripping over each other while the door hit him in the
face.

“
There you are!” 
Without even noticing their flub, Giselle skipped over to
them.  “I need the star of the show to pick the final
winners.”

His jaw clenched and on automatic he pushed
Logan forward.  Now Logan would walk out into his bar and make
everyone all starstruck.

“
Hi Logan.”  Giselle
shoved Logan aside and reached for him.

“
If I’m not needed, I’m
going to reclaim this.”  Logan plucked the spoon away from
Giselle and replaced it with a baster.  “Here you go, it’s
wireless so it should work fine.”

“
Oh, this is even more
authentic.”  She held the bulb of the baster up to her
mouth.  “Wilson Alexander, we have narrowed down our
selections.  Now we need the man whose name is on the door to
make the final call.  What do you say?”  Now she held the
baster out to him.

For the first time, he was the star, at
least in Giselle’s eyes.  In fact, except for the first time
being introduced to Logan, she never really paid much attention to
his baby brother, except for a passing hello or to move him out of
the way.  “I say this.”  He grabbed her by the waist,
pulled her in and kissed her.  Now his staff would know they
were together. It went against every rule in the book, but he
didn’t care.

She opened her mouth, gave him a little suck
on his lower lip and then leaned back, letting out a little
chuckle.  “Well, I’m not sure that’s what your prospective
employees want to hear, but I’ll take more in a little
bit.” 

Did this woman really not see Logan or
anyone else but him?  Again, he found himself simply gazing at
her, which seemed to be the theme for the afternoon.

“
Come on.  You need to
make the final choice.  They’re all waiting.”  With a bit
of ownership that only came from couples being together for more
than a few dates, she took his hand and dragged him out to greet
the public. 

Too bad he really just wanted to get Giselle
into a private setting.  Still, she went through a lot of work
to set this all up, and she did an amazing job.  He had to
give her project and his business his full attention.

“
Everyone, this is Wilson
Alexander and he will make the final choice.”  She stood by
his side and hooked her arm in his.

He glanced between the hopefuls and bent
down to Giselle’s ear, breathing in the scent of her shampoo,
clean, fresh and fun.  “You chose six people.”

“
Yes, that’s how many you
said you needed.”  She shot him a huge smile.  “Now they
each need to show you a talent that showcase their
individuality.”

After all she had done, he didn’t have the
heart to ask how he was supposed to eliminate someone if she chose
all the people he needed.  Though normally he would cut to the
chase, he didn’t want to ruin the climax of the show, well reality,
well quasi reality, everything felt unreal.  “All right, I’m
ready.”

With the baster as her mic, she went to the
first person.  “All right show us all you have.”

The first man took a bowl of nuts, juggled
some and as a finale, he caught them all in his mouth.

Both he and Giselle clapped when he
bowed. 

“
You’re more talented with
nuts.”  Giselle elbowed him.

One of the women took a tray full of
glassware and did a little ballet dance all while balancing the
drinks.

“
That was good,” Giselle
whispered in his ear, giving him some welcome shivers.

They jumped when one of the women burst out
into song, and Giselle held on to him when one of the men
demonstrated his ability to lift an entire table of drinks without
spilling a drop.

As a grand finale, the last woman ran a
credit card through the machine using only her cleavage and the
last man did an impromptu rap about the bar.

My name is Clive, I’m glad to be alive,

Wilson’s is where I want to work,

Being here with these peeps is the ultimate
perk.

Choose me, pick me, I’m at your beck and
call,

With me as your waiter, I’ll never let you
fall.

“
Wow, boobs and a song.”
Giselle took him by the shoulders. “Tell me who is your final
selection?”

“
You.” He
winked.

Her cheeks reddened. “What about the
staff?”

“
Well, I don’t know how I
can ever chose from all the amazing candidates. Why don’t we take
them all?” Since they needed six people, it really was a
no-brainer, though he didn’t know how he would select among
them.

“
Oh, that would mean we
would have all the positions filled!” She turned to him and flung
her arms around his neck. “Tell them they all win.”

“
You are all selected.”
Wilson glanced at his new staff and then turned his attention back
to her.

The crowd went into a round of applause.

“
Everyone won.” She pressed
her body to his and gave him another kiss.

His body took off. Yes, everyone won and he
certainty didn’t want to be eliminated. In fact, with the way
things were going, he might want to make it to the final round.

“
SO, DID YOU EVER FIND out
why we are going to Palm Springs?” Wilson drove down Highway 111,
the main road through Palm Springs littered with little shops and
cafes.

“
No, I only know that Ivy
is coming for some surprise and they won’t tell me because of my
sordid past.” She motioned for Wilson to turn.

“
So you never cracked and
told her you were coming down?” He chuckled and followed her
direction and they made their way into the residential area that
housed some of the most amazing mid-century modern
homes.

“
Well, between Wilson’s and
Wilson, I really didn’t get the chance to tell her.” After
indicating another turn, she sank down in the seat. Going to the
Vermont’s was not unlike going to her mother’s in the fact she
would be questioned or interrogated, or basically put on the
witness stand. “Third house on the left.”

“
Wow.” Wilson stopped the
car and stared at the home, the same reaction everyone had the
first time they saw this little get-away.

“
I have something to tell
you.” Thus far, she’d tried to keep talk of this trip to a minimum,
not only because she basically admitted this is the man she was
seeing and with more than her eyeballs, but also because they would
be staying overnight for the first time together like a real
couple.

“
Uh, oh.” Wilson put the
car in park and faced her. “What is it?”

She stared at him. What would it be like if
they were a real couple? She never even allowed herself the thought
before, but being in this situation, she really had no choice but
to try on the shoe. “This is Curtis Raleigh’s home. Ivy’s mom is
Curtis Raleigh’s daughter.”

“
Curtis Raleigh, the real
Curtis Raleigh as in the superstar actor Curtis Raleigh?” He leaned
down and took in the home.

“
Well, if it was any other
Curtis Raleigh it would be stupid to tell you except to mention its
not the right Curtis Raleigh.” Ivy’s grandfather famously died of
an overdose.

“
That does make sense.” He
continued to stare at the gorgeous home.

She gazed at the house as well. Yes, it was
magnificent.

They both sat there looking for quite a
while until the front door opened “Giselle, get in here before Ivy
arrives.” One of the Vermont clan came out holding her baby.

She groaned. The woman’s screech rattled
through her skull.

“
Who’s that?” Wilson got
out of the car.

“
Fern, the sister. If she’s
not careful, we can play hair salon again and this time it will be
more than a five inch trim.” Giselle got out of the car wondering
if she could use the baby as a shield against Ivy’s weed of a
sister. “Everything in this family is a big theatrical
production.”

“
Well, some families are
more dramatic.” Suitcase in tow, he came around the car and grabbed
her hand.

“
No, the whole family is
actors. Classically trained actors. Everyone but Ivy, who is scared
of the stage or camera or anyone looking at her.” In keeping with
her own role for the night, she coiled her arm around Wilson’s and
stood slightly behind him. He was a much better shield than an
infant. “Ivy’s mother hates actors that aren’t trained.”

“
Good thing Logan isn’t
here. He was actually discovered in the street like people dream
of.” Wilson’s laugh was cut off when Fern stomped over to
them.

“
Fern Vermont Pollack.” The
older, faded version of Ivy thrust her hand at Wilson. “Welcome to
my family’s home, and you are?”

With their bags in one hand, he went to lift
his other hand.

Giselle held him fast. “I can make the
introductions.”

“
Is that Giselle?” Ivy’s
mother came outside, as well as her father and Fern’s
husband.

“
Well, you’re not making
them, so what I am supposed to do?” Fern jutted her jaw
out.

“
I thought we were in a
rush with Ivy on the way, so I was waiting to be efficient.” Like
any other horrible chore, the best course of action was to dig
right in or save it for later. Saving this for later wouldn’t work,
and she dragged Wilson into the center of the group. “Wilson, this
is Cecelia Vermont, Ivy’s mother, Dennis Vermont, Ivy’s father,
Robert Pollack, Ivy’s brother in law, Little Rose Pollack, Ivy’s
niece, and the weed, Ivy’s other relative.” She pointed to each
person.

“
I’m her sister.” Once
more, Fern thrust her hand out.

“
Only by a freak chance of
DNA.” Still, she restrained Wilson’s arm. “Everyone, this is Wilson
Alexander. The last name is not a coincidence. He is Logan
Alexander’s brother.” At last, she let him go.

“
Are you an actor?” Cecelia
leaned in.

“
No. Never stepped one foot
in front of a camera.” Wilson shook hands with Ivy’s father and
brother-in-law.

Giselle noticed he didn’t shake Fern’s hand
yet. The guy she was seeing was a fast study.