The Stars Trilogy (35 page)

“Celine...”

“You’re wrong. Yes, I believe in fairy tales. But I’m not a damsel in distress. I’m Mulan. I don’t need rescuing. It’s you who needs to be rescued. And I’m going to be your knight, Dare. I’m going to save you from yourself.”

She closed the door.

Rescue?! Him?!

He had to admit, he had an aversion to the word.

Dare pounded the punching bag nonstop until he felt like his lungs would burst. He was up at 5 AM despite having slept so little last night.

He hugged the punching bag, chasing his breath.

Save him from himself?! What arrogance! He couldn’t get over the insult all night. He finally slept at dawn still fuming about it. He removed the boxing gloves and went out of the gym. He ran down the stairs, shouting for Cruz.

His bodyguard came out of nowhere. “Sir?”

“I’m going for a run.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Minutes later, they were on the secluded part of Mulholland Drive. He was running uphill and Cruz was following him at a 100 meter distance in a pick-up truck.

Rescue him, indeed! What was he, some weak-willed, fucked up idiot who didn’t know any better? That girl had some nerve. He can tolerate her saucy mouth in other things but judging him like she really knew him inside out was way overboard. She should know her place, dammit!

And where is that?
taunted his conscience.

“On her knees sucking my dick! Not an inch higher!” he said aloud. What on earth made him believe even for a minute her bullcrap about wanting his heart? For a while there she made him forget their real situation. She had him under her spell. That girl had a lot of experience in charming men. He had to give it to her. She really got to him last night. Right until that moment when she mentioned “rescue”.

That broke the spell. Not a damsel in distress for sure but a damsel with a mission. She was no better than Kasia propositioning him blatantly. Opportunistic bitches.

The thought made him run faster, venting his ire on the road.

She was smart alright, way smarter than most of the women he’d ever met. She was funny, too, the only woman who can actually amuse him with mere talk. And yes she was beautiful, exotic, smelled like a goddamn garden of flowers all the time and she can get his motor rolling like no other. Just a mere kiss and he was a whimpering idiot sporting a boner the size of the Staples Center!

Gracious fuck, you wanna get rid of her, not catalog her damn fine qualities!

She was a smooth operator. She exuded a practiced artlessness, a breath of fresh air in his material dominated world. She would go places with such talent in the art of seduction. Bored, powerful men looking for extra special flavor in women would love her company. Just as he’d loved her company. Too much.

Beauty was easy to handle. It always had an affordable price tag. But couple that with brains and a man must watch out or he’d wake up one day with not a stitch on his ass to call his own. No wonder she can really afford the rent at Sommerset. How many men had she duped by her talents? Poor Ben was getting the boot soon and he didn’t want to be part of any of that shit.

She was no good. If he wasn’t careful, she would fuck up all his well-laid plans.

Why the fuck did Kelsey had to leave for fucking Europe at this time? He didn’t need this shit. He really didn’t.

He dropped to his knees on the side of the road, breathing hard.

Cruz parked nearby. “Water, Sir?” he offered.

He stood up and walked toward the truck. Cruz gave him a bottle of mineral water. He opened it and gulped the liquid fast. “Walk with me,” he said and walked ahead.

Cruz got out of the truck and jogged toward him.

They walked in silence for a few minutes.

“Are you in a relationship, man?”

“Last time I checked, I’m in a relationship with you, Sir.”

“I’m serious,” he said testily.

“Nah. Why?”

He stopped walking and stared at the rolling hills. “Do you ever sometimes want to be in a relationship?”

“Define relationship.”

He shrugged. “You know, like you truly care for each other. That kind of stuff.”

“Ahh.”

“What’s that smile for?”

“Are you actually asking me or yourself?”

He frowned. “I’m asking you.”

“Well, I’m seeing a girl. I’m not fucking her or anything. We’re just seeing each other.”

“What do you do when you hang out?”

“Talk.”

“Talk?”

“Yeah, pretty much like what you’ve been doing lately.”

He grunted. He can’t hide from Cruz. They’d been together a long time.

“She’s a nice girl,” his bodyguard said.

“Nice?” He shook his head slightly.

“Yeah. She’s different from your usual company.”

“How?”

“She makes you laugh.”

He fell silent.

“It matters you know, when a woman makes you laugh.”

He sighed.

“Be careful though. A woman who can make you laugh can also make you want to kill yourself.”

He gave his bodyguard an amused look. “Since when did you become Dr. Phil, man?”

“You asked for my opinion.”

“Not that much opinion.”

“Well, there you have it.”

Chapter Fifteen 

“Ground Zero is record-breaking! Congratulations again, Dare. You  are the most bankable actor in

Hollywood today, according to Forbes.  I’m so happy for you. The Daredevils are so happy for you. Guess

what, I am helping your Indonesian, Thai and Malaysian fans establish their own Daredevils club.

It’s so fun ‘coz we communicate a lot online and share our common passion. YOU. The great thing about

you is you never changed. Since you became famous and successful, your desire to help others also

grew. Since you established the Daredevil Foundation, many of your fans were motivated to donate

money to fund various international charities. You are so influential and people respect you so much.

Please don’t ever change. We will always be here for you, no matter what. Especially me:)

Remember, I AM your no. 1 fan. Love you always.”

WHEN SHE ARRIVED THAT DAY, Dare had already left his mansion.  Celine was disappointed.

She woke up this morning with a heavy heart. Yesterday was a big day for her and Dare. It felt like she’d spent thirty years with him in just one day. So many things seemed to have happened and yet they just talked for a few hours.

It didn’t end up on a high note. In fact, if she would just take it for what it was, Dare rejected her last night. He rejected her love.

It really hurt. She cried some but she realized, Dare had shared so much to her yesterday. If she meant nothing to him, he won’t talk to her like that, divulge so much information to her, laugh with her, be interested in anything she said, at all. But he did all that and more.

No, she refused to believe that it meant nothing to him at all. So, she chalked that last bit as a part to be troubleshot, not a cause to give up. No, it will take more than a clipped brush off to discourage her now.

She went to Kelsey’s office.

First on her to-do list today was the MTV thing. Dare rejected her suggestion regarding the Cyclone. She was puzzled. She thought it was a cool concept. Ah well, she had to think of something else.

Using her laptop, she logged onto the internet to research.

She googled about the latest news on Dare. Yahoo yielded some articles about him and Gabby. Her eyes widened. The supermodel wasted no time in bragging about her upcoming movie with Dare! That wretched woman! The final divorce settlement wasn’t even inked!

Her phone rang. “Hi, Kels! How are you? Are you in Europe now?” she greeted her cheerfully.

Kelsey was all business. “No. I’m on my way to the airport. Are you at Dare’s now?”

“Yes. In fact, I’m reading the news.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m calling! What in hell is happening? Gabby will be in Dare’s movie?! Do you know anything about this? Dare’s not answering my call.”

She bit her lower lip. “Yes, it’s true.”

“But I don’t get it! He cannot stand that woman!”

“Uhm...You know, come to think of it...It would be good for Dare’s image.”

“How so?”

She told Kelsey what she told Dare. She didn’t directly admit it was her idea.

Kelsey sighed on the other line. “You have a point there. My, I would have thought of that myself! Brilliant!”

She inwardly sighed in relief.

“Is Dare there?”

“No, he left early.”

“Is everything okay?”

“I’m working on the MTV presentation.”

“Good. Hey, I forgot to tell you, call Roselle Gibson. Her number is in your phone. She’s the LA president of Daredevils. She emailed me an update regarding the Daredevils meet and greet.”

She swallowed. “What...will I tell her?”

“Tell her Dare is definitely going to be there. They’re organizing it with the different Daredevil clubs in the US. Several chapters from Europe and Latin America and the clubs from Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and the Philippines will also be represented. Dare is quite huge in those Asian countries.”

Didn’t she know it? She was the president of Daredevils Philippines.

“Anyway, Dare is donating funds for selected charities supported by the Daredevils. I want you to see to it that everything is going smoothly until the event. Coordinate with Roselle. She’s the chairman of the event.”

“Alright, I will.”

“Remind Dare of it, okay? He tends to forget these types of events. Friday next week.”

“Yes. Anything else?”

“Call US Magazine. Look for Margaret Sherwood. She’s one of the editors there. Tell her that you have some news about Dare.”

“What news?”

“That he’s probably going to do a new movie with Alana Christensen.”

She nearly dropped the phone. “Is that true?”

“It’s in the works. Dare and I have discussed it. I’ve called Alana and she sounded ecstatic with the idea of doing a movie again with her ex. She’s still pining for him, obviously.”

Her heart sank. “O...kay.”

“I want that bitch Gabby to turn blue in jealousy.”

“Are Dare and Alana...getting back together?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d have an encore. Having them together again will be great for Dare’s image as a budding director. Alana is an Oscar favorite.”

“Yes...she is.”

“Okay, I gotta go. You take charge, okay? Ba-bye for now.”

After talking to Kelsey, her mood took a nosedive. Alana and Dare in a movie? Just great. Two of Dare’s ex-wives wanted him back. Where would that leave her?

She sighed morosely.

Dare didn’t come home all day. Where could he be? He hadn’t called her for anything.

Celine sighed. She felt stupid for feeling anxious. Of course, Dare was a busy man. He was probably attending to his businesses or an important event.

She’d finished the concept for the MTV presentation. She was also able to talk to Roselle over the phone. It was all she could do not to choke on her words. She and Roselle were actually friends online. They met in a forum Roselle made for the fans of Dare and hit it off right away. They’d Skyped a lot in the past years, exchanged emails, even followed each other on social sites.

Prior to her decision to go to the States, she and Roselle had been discussing the Daredevils international meet and greet. They’d shared ideas on how to make it so grand and memorable. They were both looking forward to finally meeting in person.

Roselle knew her by another name. She hid her real identity because her parents had strictly forbidden her to join such tacky fan clubs populated by the masses. Her mother’s words. She was a Levaga, heiress to Vega Multi-Media. Her parents took care of their family name like it was royalty so she was known in the Daredevils online communities as Anette Vega. Really, her parents were such big snobs. How ironic was that? VMM owned the biggest television network in the Philippines, watched and consumed by the tacky, celebrity-gaga masses, too.