The Stars Trilogy (20 page)

Kelsey burst out in a laugh. “Oh dear, Dare would be in for a treat. Keep me posted, okay, Kenny?”

“Oh, I surely will!”

Three meetings and she was already laughing with Carlos like they were old friends! The gym at the second floor of his house had a clear view of the driveway below and he saw them. Celine rode with Carlos on the front seat of his damn Escalade.

Dare stopped pumping iron and went up to his bedroom on the third floor. He hopped in the shower and scrubbed himself angrily. That girl had a way with men, alright.

He wondered what came over him when he accepted Ben’s offer to lend Celine to him as his secretary. She could really set his nerves off like nobody else. Not to mention other more nerve-centered part of his anatomy.

Cussing, he stepped out of the shower and got dressed.

Minutes later, he was aboard the elevator going to the ground floor. He saw Harry. “Where are they?”

“They’re having breakfast near the pool, Sir,” replied his butler.

“Thanks, Harry.”

He proceeded toward the pool. He stopped near the glass doors to search for Celine. He located her right away, talking to Kelsey and Ken. Her back was on him and he spent a few minutes observing her from a distance. He inhaled deeply to calm his suddenly increased pulse rate. He had yet to get used to these weird changes in his system at the mere sight of her. She could create havoc in his equilibrium without effort and damn him if she’d ever find out.

He stepped into the bright morning light.

Kelsey spotted him and waved at him. “Good morning, darling Dare.”

“Morning, Dare,” said Ken.

“G’morning,” he said and occupied a seat at the rectangular table. He waited for Celine to greet him but she remained silent.

He finally met her eyes.
God, she’s beautiful.

“Good morning...Mr. Montgomery,” she said in a very formal tone.

He just nodded at her. “What’s for breakfast?”

“French, as usual. Does Yves ever prepare anything else?” said Ken.

Kelsey poured him brewed coffee from a porcelain pot and put the cup and saucer in front of him. She then put a piece of croissant on his plate and strips of crisp bacon.

He began to eat.

Kelsey started outlining some of Celine’s duties.

Celine’s eyes would transfer to Kelsey and then back to him. She was watching his every move and it was unnerving. He was the celebrity, immune to any kind of scrutiny from the public, but the girl’s avid eyes on him were like a microscope that made him want to squirm. He drank from his cup, his temper resuming its rise since he saw her emerge from the front seat of his Escalade with Carlos.

“So, are you ready, Celine?” he asked her when Kelsey paused to eat.

“Whenever you are, Mr. Montgomery.”

“I have a dinner meeting with Jamie Knoxville tonight. I’d need you to be there.”

“T-tonight?”

“Yes. This is not a nine-to-five job, you know. Your job can extend late into the night.” he said, challenging her

She nodded. “Of course, I understand, Mr. Montgomery.”

“Good.” He wiped his lips with a napkin and stood up. “It’s gonna be at Mastro’s. Change to a more appropriate dress. Be here by six PM. Excuse me, I need to make some phone calls. Kels, take care of it.”

He turned around and walked away.

Celine was thankful that Dare decided to leave the mansion early that day. She was too tense with him around and she needed to concentrate on her first day on the job. Kelsey was dumping a considerable volume of tasks on her lap. She’d picked up bits and pieces of info from Kelsey while they talked. Ken was Dare’s PA and he took care of Dare’s personal needs like wardrobe, grooming and styling and anything connected to his ad shoots. She would be temporarily handling Dare’s business and social calendars and a lot of paper works in Kelsey’s behalf.

“So, do you have a LBD for dinner later or you’d need to buy one? Dare likes to impress people. Being impeccably dressed in any occasion is part of your job. Not that you’re not looking great in that dress. But it’s just too business-like. Jamie Knoxville is one of Dare’s top choices to co-produce his movie. It would be nice if you can help charm him into splurging his millions on Dare’s project.”

“Why is he going for independent production when he has all the majors to back him?”

“Dare wants to have total control of this project. Having the huge studios financing it will give them a hand in the script, casting and production. Dare doesn’t want that. He wants his baby to be solely his to run from beginning to end.”

She nodded. “I have a nice dress. I’ll just go back to my flat to change and be back here before six.”

“Hmm, we have plenty of time. Let’s go shopping at Rodeo Drive.”

“Uhm...”

“No worries, Dare maintains credit lines in all the best boutiques there.”

Not that she cannot afford to shop at Rodeo Drive. In fact, it was one of her fave hang-outs in LA. But she was specifically curious about Kelsey’s last statement. “He has credit lines even in shops for women?”

“You know, to please the floozies. Abusive starlets, too! You wouldn’t believe the bills that arrive every month. And they weren’t even his wives! Now, don’t get me started on his exes.”

“Ah,” she said, hiding her dismay.

“Come on, let’s go!”

Kelsey was pretty well-known in Beverly Hills as they were stopped by celebrities also shopping in Rodeo Drive that day, colleagues in the industry and some press too, all asking about Dare.

“Is he going to the SAG?”

“Is it true he’ll do Bourne?”

“Tell me he’s single again!”

“Kelsey, when is he coming to my show?”

“Ms. Styles, where is Dare holing up lately?”

“Is it true that he used to beat up his wife?”

Celine watched in amazement how Kelsey effortlessly handled the PR for Dare. She was suave, professional and gracious to everyone, even to the obnoxious paparazzi.

To avoid the growing horde, Kelsey dragged her inside a Chanel store.

“Sorry about that, dear.”

“You handled that really well.”

“You should learn to do that, too, while I’m gone.”

“You won’t be gone that long.”

“Well, just in case.”

“I’ll try.”

Kelsey focused her eyes on the shop’s elegant interior. Two attendants dressed to the nines immediately approached them. “Ms. Styles, happy to see you again here,” greeted one of the attendants.

“Hello, Tandie. I’d like you to meet, Celine. I want her to look her best tonight. Sexy and enchanting. That look.”

Tandie gave her a curious once-over and then she gave Kelsey a meaningful smile.

Kelsey shook her head, laughing a bit. “No, Tandie. She’s my trainee.”

Tandie nodded with a silent O. “Well...we have a new collection that just arrived. This way, ladies.”

They were ushered into an elegant dressing room where a few dresses were hanging individually on racks. They screamed several thousand dollars apiece.

Kelsey sat on an armchair and crossed her legs like a diva. She pointed at a dress. “That! Go fit that, my dear!”

Shopping was something Kelsey obviously loved to do. They were treated royally every time they walked into a shop.

She grew up in wealth and privilege but even she felt guilty of the extravagance Kelsey subjected her to. Many people were starving in her country, but then again, she was in the first world, in Rodeo Drive, accompanied by the manager and publicist of the biggest star in Hollywood. Money was definitely no object.

“Kels, I only need a dress. One dress!” she interrupted the woman a lot of times.

“Nonsense. You’ll be working for him for a whole month. You’d be attending a lot of functions, meetings and even galas. You’d need to look like a movie star.”

“But I’m just a secretary!”

Kelsey gave her a hard look and thrust another Lanvin dress toward her. “Go fit that.”

Two hours later, she had a movie star wardrobe enough for two months that included designer underwear, too. And it was her first day on the job.

“How am I gonna pay for these? Do secretaries to the stars earn big?” she asked Kelsey anxiously as they were cruising back to Dare’s place. She had to ask her Mom back home to send her additional allowance for her exorbitant expenses today. Really, she didn’t need more clothes. Her closets were still full of newly purchased designers.

Kelsey was amused. She patted her hand affectionately. “My dear, I do like you! Just enjoy the perks, will you? It’s okay. It really is.”

Chapter Nine 

Heya Dare!:)) Congratulations on being nominated for best actor in Mob. You were really scary in that movie.

I’m not really into those gangster stuff but since it’s your movie, of course I had to see it. The way you massacred the Luchesi clan gave me a nightmare afterward haha. How brutal!  Oh, I’m so looking forward to

your movie with Sandra Bullock. I miss your comedic side. You’ve been doing serious stuff a lot lately

and I’m so glad for this break. What, I love romance!  My high school graduation is next month. I’ll keep ya posted.I’ might be (cross fingers) salutatorian, thanks to you! You’re always my inspiration.

Love you!:))

THE MOMENT CELINE EMERGED from the glass-encased elevator, Dare almost regretted his impulsive decision to bring her to dinner with him. This vision would torment him all night.

Simply breathtaking.

The soft, pink color of her dress made her natural tan glow like a perpetual blush of youth. Her puffy lips were glossed and her hair shone like the finest silk under the soft chandelier light. She looked like a debutante, young and fresh and untainted by man’s worldly pleasures.

Don’t be fooled by looks. Young women nowadays can look as soft as marshmallows outside but are hard as stone inside.

She was relatively short compared to him, probably around 5 feet 4 inches, and slender, but her bumps and curves were all in the right places. Her body was not the kind sculpted by a personal trainer or a plastic surgeon but a very womanly form, firm and yet soft-looking. He was grateful the front of her dress totally concealed any cleavage, although it couldn’t cover up the generous swell underneath. The lovely shape of her thighs and calves were emphasized by the black stiletto heels she was wearing.

She looked like a dream. If the Light Fairy in his dreams took real shape….he would want her to look like this.

Shit.
Don’t even go there. And quit waxing poetic over her beauty like a fucking virgin. Haven’t you seen enough pussy? Jeeez.

But he couldn’t help it.

She gifted him with a shy smile that quickly turned into a dazzling display of perfect teeth, dimples and shining eyes. Something squeezed inside of him. It started in his gut. Sensations normally paused in his gut and then traveled lower to his groin. But it went further up and settled in his chest. The odd feeling was becoming quite familiar to him now.

He’d been thinking of her the whole day while he went about his business. The taste and feel of her burned in his head like a hot branding iron. Nothing had made his pulse pound faster at the wheel of his Ferrari race car than thoughts of this young woman. His racing buddies even commented on his different energy on the race track during their two-hour rally earlier today. The Celebrity Challenge was still months away but he had to practice with his new car to defend his title as the current Celebrity Champion Driver for Team Scuderia Ferrari.

He approached her. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

He offered his arm to her.

She linked her arm to his and it was all he could do not to drag her toward him and the hell with Ben and his meeting with Knox.

They silently walked to the Hummer stretch limo parked in the driveway. Cruz opened the door for them.

“Thank you, Cruz,” she said sweetly and went in first.

“You’re welcome, Miss Celine,” answered Cruz in an unusually gentle tone.