Persona (The 'Professional' series) (7 page)

Ella took a
quiet step back and looked away, hoping not to be noticed.  It was at
times like this she was glad that she was only small in height, she could be
easily missed.  It felt like her stomach had dropped to the ends of her heeled
boots.  She could not bear to watch Scarlett kissing Daniel, so she
averted her eyes.  It wasn’t fair, they were both so stunning they looked
as though they belonged together.  She could just imagine their stunning
children!

“Let’s hope
we both get the parts then.”  Scarlett purred at him.  “For old
time’s sake.”   She winked knowingly at Daniel as she left for her
reading. 

Ella arched
her eyebrows at Daniel, she had to do something to make him think she was
unaffected.  A small smile played on her lips.  “
Old time’s sake
?’

“Yes,
well.”  Daniel swallowed. 

Ella was
glad to note, that he did look a little uncomfortable.

“Hey,
Daniel.  Are you awake?”  Eric shouted through the bedroom door.

“Well I am
now!” replied Daniel grumpily.  He had had another night of little sleep,
his thoughts about Ella making him toss and turn for hours.

“You better
get up.  You have a plane to catch in a couple of hours.  They want
you to fly for another audition.  In the studio they are going to be
using.   The tickets are waiting for you at the airport.  I’ll
put the coffee on.”

Daniel
dragged his fingers though his rumbled hair, still half asleep, he made his way
to the kitchen. 

Half way
across the lounge he heard Ella’s bedroom door open.  He turned around to
catch the little cute
o
she made with her mouth, whenever she was
surprised or embarrassed.  Why would she be surprised or embarrassed?
 He looked down at his naked torso and striped pyjamas hanging low on his
waist.  He quickly looked back at her.  So she was checking him out
and got caught, how interesting.  He did have some effect on her.

“Eric’s got
the coffee on.  Come on, you have got some packing to do.”

Relief
poured through her, she had listened to the conversation between Eric and
Daniel from her bed.  She had wondered whether Daniel would allow her to
go with him. 

He had been
acting a bit strange since his first audition.  Perhaps, as her Editor had
warned her, he might need some space for a while, so she was relived to be
invited to go with him and Eric.  Ella walked on in the tail end of the
conversation between the friends.

“…, that’s
okay with you, isn’t it?  You have got Ella to hold your hand.”  Eric
laughed and nodded towards Ella entering, as he looked at Daniel.

She looked
towards Daniel who looked thoughtful. “Because the trip is short notice, Eric
wouldn’t be coming with us. He has a book deadline to honour.
  That’s not a problem with you is it?”  Daniel was secretly
hoping it would be.  He was finding it hard enough being around her with
Eric acting like a chaperone.  How was he going to manage in a
hotel?  He would have to just keep reminding himself of Jeff.

Ella
swallowed.  No Eric for company.  Only Daniel?  Her dreams about
him had started becoming more vivid over the last couple of weeks. 
Perhaps she needed time to put things in perspective and visit Jeff.  But
she did not have time.  This was an assignment, not personal.  “No,
no problem at all,” she smiled at them both.

~~~~

The plane
journey was wonderful, first class, not the ‘cattle class’ that she usually
flew with.  She actually felt tipsy and giggly by the time they left the
plane, all those complimentary drinks.  She normally didn’t drink a lot,
an odd glass of wine or nightcap was about her limit.  She had failed to
see Daniel topping up her glass on the journey.

Daniel was
enjoying himself.  He was thrilled to see Ella relax on the plane. 
He even found her being tipsy and giggling very endearing, she became flirty
too in drink, which was a bonus.
 
A
slight trip when she started leaving the plane, gave him a valid excuse to hold
onto her arm, escorting her off the plane and into a taxi.  It was the
first time he had touched her since their subway journey. 

“Here is
your key card, Mr Spittle.  The concierge will show you the way and your
bags will be up in a few minutes.  Enjoy your stay with us.”  The
receptionist, knowing Daniel to be a star, gave him her best service with a
smile.

Ella,
clutching her handbag closely to her chest, whispered, “Did she say key card,
not key cards?”

Daniel
clenched his jaw tight.  Eric always came with him on assignments, so one
room was always booked for the two of them to share.  Normally, he would
bless his lucky stars that he was forced to share one room with a beautiful
woman.  But this was Ella, he needed help to stay away from her, not be
thrown together.

“Yes, Eric
and I usually share. I have asked, but there isn’t any spare rooms.  There
is a conference taking place here.  Don’t worry your honour will stay
intact.”

Ella looked
at Daniel, she expected the last statement to be said as a joke, but he looked
glum.  Strange, perhaps the journey had made him grumpy?  She
giggled, the alcohol making her hiccup.

When they
reached the room, Ella looked around in awe at the hotel room.  It was so
luxurious.  Luckily, she spotted two large beds.  No one sleeping on
the couch then, that was good.  She could feel the tension coming off
Daniel in waves and she was unsure why.  They had a good time on the plane
hadn’t they?  Perhaps he was worried about the audition tomorrow? 
She made small talk to lighten the mood.

Daniel
generously tipped the porter and made his way to the minibar.  He wanted
to ignore her, he was trying to forget he was alone with her in a hotel
suite.  Manners got the best of him.  “Would you something to
drink?” 

She turned
around from studying the view, and wobbled a little. “Oh no thanks, I think I
have had enough.  Everything is a bit woozy.”  She smiled at him, her
dimple deepening on her cheek. 

Christ, she
was beautiful, those dimples were doing things to him. Even her curves were
doing crazy things to his body, she was turning him into a mess.  He
gripped the glass tighter.  Perhaps he should get her drunker and then he
could get her into one of those large beds that seemed to be taunting
him.  No, he couldn’t treat her like that.   He took a mouth
full of the whiskey, liking the burn it was giving him.  It suited his
mood.

“You should
order room service and go to bed early to sleep the alcohol off.”  He
watched her face drop.  He needed to do the right thing. “I’ll go out and
leave you relax.”  He placed the glass on the table and walked to the door
without looking at her.  “Goodnight, see you in the morning.”

Ella watched
him close the door.  What was wrong with him?  He was being so
moody.  Perhaps he had grown tired of having a journalist follow him all
the time?  It must be a bit of a strain having your life analysed. 

She held
onto the side table, her head spinning slightly. Well, he could just go off in
a huff if he wanted.  She was just here to do her job.  She lay down
on the bed, tiredness and alcohol working their magic on her.   She
closed her eyes to stop the spins and was out cold in no time at all.

~~~~

The hotel
bar had lost its appeal.  Daniel was fed up watching either couples having
intimate dinners together, or the lonely people sitting at the bar, which was
where he was.   He raked his hands over his face.  Oh well, he
couldn’t stay any longer.  He would have to get back to the hotel
suite.  He looked at the clock on the wall of the bar, it was after
midnight.  Hopefully, Ella would be sleeping by now.  He did need to
catch a little sleep before his audition tomorrow.

He pushed
his stool away and heard a ruffle of noise from the doorway.  Scarlett
stood there looking around the room, she caught his eye.  She smiled and
started towards him.  Daniel had to smile to himself when he noticed all
the male eyes, following her every move towards him.  A typical reaction,
she was flawlessly beautiful.  A slightly uneasy feeling moved through
Daniel when he realised that he didn’t want to spend time with Scarlett, he
wanted to go back to the suite to Ella.

“Well, hello
Darling,” she purred into his ear as she kissed his cheek.  “Ready for our
scene tomorrow?”   She ran her hands over his chest
suggestively.  “Fancy coming to my suite for some practise?”  She ran
her tongue over her bottom lip.

Christ, she
was pulling out all the stops thought Daniel.  He sighed, normally he
wouldn’t think twice about the offer.  Hell, he would normally be jumping
at the chance, she was so hot.  When they worked together in the past,
they normally would spend the time in front of the camera, pretending to be
involved in a love scene, and the time off camera, doing it for real. 
Tonight, the idea didn’t appeal to him. 

He gave her
a brief kiss on her red lips and took a step away while holding her shoulders.
“Sorry babes.  We will have to have a rain check on that.”  He
frantically thought of an excuse.  Saying he was tired or that he didn’t
want to, would not cut it.  “I didn’t have time to read through my
lines.  I need to go through them.  I want to get the part with you
as my leading lady, don’t I?” 

He felt her
fluid body stiffen slightly, but being a great actress, she smiled sweetly to
hide her disappointment.  “Never mind.  We have months to rekindle
our former passions.  Don’t we Sweetie?” 

He nodded
politely at her, and her growing entourage, then left the bar.  As he
crossed the lobby, he noticed that his heart was beating faster and he had a
clenching in his stomach.  He was actually excited to be going back to the
room, back to Ella.  He was hoping that his excitement wasn’t too obvious.

He slipped
the card in the lock and waited for the green light.  He took a breath and
entered.  The only light on in the room was from the bathroom, which
illuminated the two beds.  Daniel noticed Ella on top of the far one
immediately.  She was breathing deeply, obviously asleep.  Daniel furrowed
his forehead.  Was she on top of the bed?  He walked over to her,
glad the carpet muffled his approach, not to wake her. 

Damn,
she was fully clothed on top of the bed, even her shoes were on.  She did
have too much alcohol then.  Now what should he do?  He could leave
her, but she would have an uncomfortable night.  He could get her ready
for bed, but then he might have an uncomfortable night! 

He pushed
his hand through his hair while looking down on her, trying to make up his mind
what to do.  He made the decision.  He would get her undressed. 
He had seen plenty of women undressed, he had undressed most of them
himself.  This wouldn’t be too difficult.  He blew on his hands to
warm them up and silently laughed at himself.  He was acting like a frightened
teenager again!  What was it about Ella that made him think like
this? 

He would
start on the easiest.  He carefully grabbed her feet, one at a time, and
slipped off her shoes.  She didn’t even stir.  Now did he take off
her blouse or skirt first?  He rubbed his chin in consideration…
blouse. 

He sat on
the bed next to her and reached over to start undoing her buttons.  He
noticed his hands shaking slightly.  He pushed the delicate buttons
through the holes starting at the top.  His blood started pumping hotly
when he noticed that she was wearing a red lacy bra, the same colour as her
blouse.  He pushed the sides of her blouse apart ready to remove it. 
Daniel groaned.  Her creamy skinned breasts, encased in her sexy red bra,
stared back at him.  It took all his strength not to bend down and start
kissing the exposed skin.  He could imagine delicately pushing his tongue
under the lacy bra, her begging him to take it off. 

He turned
around to face the bathroom and took some steadying breaths.  It was bad
enough seeing her body lying on the bed, he didn’t need his fantasies to
complicate things even further.  Right, he tried to clear his brain. 
How would a Doctor cope?  They must see many bodies and just think of them
of objects or something that was not attractive.  He would just have to do
the same.

He turned
back around, making himself just look at her face.  He carefully pulled
her shoulders up towards him and leaned her against his chest. Christ, she was
small.  He gently started to pull on the sleeves.  The movements disturbed
Ella out of her deep sleep and she wrapped both her arms around his neck and
started to gently nibble his ear.  He had to keep still.  Just a
minute, just a minute.  She fell back into slumber.  He took in a new
breath, not realising he had been holding his.  His blood was roaring in
his ears.  He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this aroused,
but he could do nothing about it.  He smiled wryly to himself.  He
removed the rest of the blouse and carefully lay her back down.  The bra
would have to stay on, for his own sanity!

Daniel stood
up and looked back down on her, trying to get some distance.  She was
still in a deep slumber.  She was going to have some mighty hangover
tomorrow.  Headache tables and water, that is what she would need.  Perhaps
cold water would be good for him too.  He walked over to the bathroom,
with a glass to fill up with water to place next to her bed.  He dug out
some headache tablets from the open toiletry bag too.