Keep It Secret: Time Starts Now (Part Book 1)

by Elain Parkinson

  “Thanks, Poppy. Yes, he does pay me really well and he is an amazing boss, but this is one of his cars. He lets me drive it all the time though. He even bought himself a second one,” Jessica tells me.

  “That’s nice.”

  “Do you mind if we listen to some music?” Jessica asks me.

  “No, not at all. Please.”

  So she puts on some music and we both start singing along.

  “Can I ask you something?” I ask Jessica.

  “Sure, anything.”

  “How does one become an assistant of a very famous person?”

  It’s a question I have been thinking about a lot recently. Not because I want to be one. Just for the sake of knowing.

  Jessica chuckles.

  “Well, actually I don’t know how it usually works. In my case, it was that I am a close friend to his sister. Henry was looking for an assistant at the time and I wanted to leave my job, so I started working as his assistant and never stopped. I guess that is how it happens mostly though. Just through connections,” Jessica explains.

  “Yes, that’s what I thought,” I reply.

  “Can I ask you a question now?” Jessica asks me.

  “Of course!”

  “What are Ali’s intentions? I mean she seems like a very sweet woman. It’s just, I have never seen Henry fall so head over heels for someone, and it is all happening unnaturally fast,” Jessica asks in a concerned way.

  “I know what you mean. It is happening all very fast. Even Ali herself says it’s all happening so fast, but also it feels so natural to her. I can assure you she really is a nice person, and she would never ever hurt him at least not intentionally. I guess that’s fair. We will all just have to wait and see how it’ll turn out,” I reply.

  “Yes, that’s true and anyway it’s none of my business. It’s just that I have known him for so long, and I don’t want him to be hurt because he is a really nice guy,” Jessica explains herself and we carry on singing.

  We walk around town and get all the things Jessica needs to buy. After that, we sit in a little bistro and enjoy some fish and chips. It’s so good. I don’t care what other people say, but chips with salt and vinegar, seriously, I congratulate the British people for this amazing idea. When we finish our food, Jessica drives me back to Henry’s house. We say goodbye in the car because she has another appointment. I walk inside the house and am greeted by Ali at the front door.

  “This really suits you, love,” I say as I approach her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You as the lady of this house.”

  “Oh, thanks, dear. I really could see myself living here,” she says with a smile.

  We walk inside and go to the kitchen where Henry is sitting.

  “I’ve just texted Ryan. He asked if we could meet up in his hotel. He booked a table in the restaurant for the four of us. It’s a nice restaurant they have there,” Henry lets us know.

  “Okay, when do we have to leave?” Ali asks Henry.

  “Half an hour. Is that okay?” he asks us.

  Ali looks towards me so I reply, “sure.” Ali and I both rush upstairs to get ready.

  “Ali, can you come to my room for a minute? I need your advice on outfit choices.”

  “Definitely,” Ali replies and follows me into my room.

  I show her three different outfits that I have pre-picked, and I am glad when Ali picks the outfit that I like the most as well.

  “Okay, I’ll go upstairs and get changed. If you need me, just call and I’ll come down,” Ali says as she walks out the door.

  “Girls, are you ready?” I hear Henry call from downstairs.

  I grab my bag and head out my door. Ali walks down toward me at the same time.

  “You’re ready?” Ali asks me.

  “I’m ready,” I reply with a smile.

  We walk downstairs together and are greeted by Henry who is waiting for us.

  “You both look stunning,” he says when he sees us.

  “Thanks, baby,” Ali replies and goes to kiss him.

  He leads us to the lift and we go down to his garage. We get into his Range Rover and drive off.

  “So, where is this hotel?” Ali asks Henry.

  “It’s in town near Victoria Station. It’s nice there,” Henry replies.

  I am excited. I don’t know why. We are literally just going out for dinner, but still, I am. Also, I really want to know who this Ryan is. One thing I don’t like about London though is the traffic. I don’t think I will ever drive here myself. When I look out of the window, I see this impressive building.

  “What is this place, Henry?” I ask him.

  “You mean this building?” Henry asks me and points at the building I am referring to.

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “That is the hotel where we are going to have dinner right now,” he replies with a proud smile.

  “Wow,” I gasp.

  “Told you, it is a nice place.”

  “You sure did, baby,” Ali says and takes his hand.

  He takes her hand to his mouth and kisses it. We pull up in front of the hotel and a valet comes to take the car. We walk inside the hotel. The entrance alone is amazing. A huge dark wooden revolving door with a lot of golden details on it. We stand in the hotel lobby and wait for Ryan to arrive. I just look around the huge ceiling and try to take it all in. I would love to take some photos, but I don’t dare. Henry texts Ryan to let him know that we arrived.

  “Turns out Ryan is stuck in traffic and is going to be running a little late,” Henry lets us know.

  “Isn’t he staying at this hotel?” Ali asks him.

  “He is but apparently he was out in town or something. Do you guys want to wait here in the lobby or do you want to go in the restaurant and Ryan can meet us there?” Henry asks us.

  “No, let’s just wait here,” I reply.

  I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. It’s my mum who is calling me. I answer the phone, but I can’t understand a word she is saying.

  “Guys, I’ll just quickly go outside to call my mum back. I don’t have any reception in here,” I let Ali and Henry know before I walk towards the huge, beautiful revolving door.

  I try to walk out, but it does not turn. I push harder, but it still doesn’t turn. What the hell? I think to myself. I try again, but again it won’t move. Then I hear a knock on the door. I look up and see a young man smiling at me through the window of the door. He is trying to show me something. I don’t know what he wants. Gosh, he is handsome. He motions for me to step back, so I do exactly that. Then he turns the door. Oh Lord, I have been pushing it the wrong way and blocked the door for everyone else including the handsome young man. We both get out and stand in the Lobby.

  “I’m so sorry,” I say as he walks towards me.

  “No, worries, this is England. Everything is the other way round,” he replies with a bright smile.

  I just stare at him maybe a bit too long. But I can’t help it, I have never seen someone so handsome.

  “Are you from here?” I ask him.

  “No, I’m not. I am here to meet some friends for dinner. And you?”

  “Me too,” I reply.

  I just want to ask him what his name is as I hear Henry shout across the lobby.

  “Poppy, Ryan, come over here!”

  We both look in Henry’s direction. Then we look at each other.

  “So you are Ryan,” I say laughing.

  “Yes, I am and you must be Poppy. I guess I’m meeting you for dinner then,” He says and leads me towards Ali and Henry.

  We all walk into the restaurant together and sit down at our table. Henry was right, not only is this a beautiful hotel but also the restaurant is really nice. I sit opposite to Ryan and next to Ali.

  “Where are you from Ryan?” I ask him.

  “I’m from Canada.”

  “Oh no, really? I love Canada. I mean I have never been there yet, but I’ve always wanted to go because I thi
nk everything about it is just amazing.” I ramble.

  “You should come to visit someday. It really is nice there. Whenever I’m on the road, I miss home,” Ryan tells me.

  “We should all come to visit you,” Henry joins into the conversation.

  “Absolutely,” Ryan answers Henry.

  “Love, didn’t you also tell me you always wanted to go to Canada?” Henry asks Ali.

  “Yes I did and I do. From the photos I have seen so far Canada seems to be one of the most beautiful places on earth,” Ali answers.

  We keep on talking and enjoying our dinner until Henry pays the check for all of us. I am kind of sad that the dinner is already over. I am enjoying myself and time just flew by. When I check the time on my phone, I realize that we have actually been here for nearly four hours. We all get up to leave, and then there is this awkward moment in the lobby where Ryan and I don’t know how to act.

  “Ryan, fancy coming back to my house and have some drinks?” Henry breaks the awkward situation and I am so thankful that he did.

  “Sure, let’s do it,” Ryan replies and then looks at me and smiles.

  I smile back, and I am so pleased with his answer.

  We walk out of the hotel and Ryan goes in front of me to lead me out through the door.

  “I think it’s better when I help you with this door,” he says and winks.

  I think I’m blushing because of the embarrassing situation earlier which he is obviously referring to.

  “Thanks,” I say and laugh. When we stand outside the hotel, Henry’s car is being brought and we walk towards it to get in.

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  Chapter 20

  Alison

  Dinner was really nice. I like Ryan he is kind, funny and I think Poppy is fond of him. So Henry was absolutely right, they really would make a perfect match. It’s too early to say if it could turn into more, of course, but then again if I think back to how quickly things between me and Henry developed. I’m not one to judge about time or timing anymore. We are standing outside the hotel, the car is just being brought, and we are about to get in the car. I start to walk towards the car and think to myself what a lovely evening this was, as all of a sudden Henry pulls me back in a harsh way.

  “What the heck?” I say, but he looks at me very concerned.

  He corners me back to the hotel entrance, shouts to Ryan who just nods, and does the same thing with Poppy. Suddenly a lot of men from the hotel staff come outside and guard us. There is a lot of shouting going on. I look over my shoulder and see several big black vans pulling up. We are being pushed inside the hotel. I don’t know what’s going on, it’s all very hectic and I am terrified.

  When we are back in the lobby, it’s still hectic. There are men in black suits on the phone, Henry doesn’t leave my side but is also on his phone and talking to the men. They rush us to the back door of the hotel lobby. Then they leave us there and tell Henry and Ryan that they will be back soon and that they will handle it.

  Henry takes me into his arms.

  “I’m so sorry, love. I wish this hadn’t happened. I am so sorry,” I look at him and he looks so sad.

  I can’t handle this. I still don’t know what is going on.

  “What is going on?” I ask him. He just looks at me now with tears in his eyes.

  “I really am so sorry,” is all he replies and kisses me on the forehead.

  “I saw the black vans outside. Would you please just tell me what the hell is going on here?”

  Henry won’t let go of me, he just holds me in his arms but doesn’t reply.

  “The cars you saw outside are paparazzi. They somehow found out that we are here having dinner, and now they are here to get photos of us. Or more so probably photos of you,” Ryan explains the situation to help out Henry who still isn’t able to speak.

  My entire body tenses up. I think I am about to faint. I can feel the blood from my head rush down to my feet. This is exactly what I was so afraid of. This is what I didn’t want to happen. I thought I would still have more time until I had to deal with this. Now I am also not able to speak.

  The silence is interrupted by Henry’s phone ringing.

  “Jeff?” he answers the phone.

  Oh good, I think obviously his manager is going to take care of this horrible situation, and somehow is going to rescue us although I have no idea how he is going to do that. I think the phone call is not going too well because Henry seems pretty upset and a little angry, but then again I can’t hear what his manager is saying on the other side of the phone.

  “Okay, thank you,” Henry says as he hangs up the phone.

  He walks back to me and takes me in his arm.

  “Okay, so listen guys. Jeff is sending us a car to the back entrance. The problem is that there are already Paparazzi waiting there. So there is no way out of here without being bothered,” Henry lets us all know.

  “So we are trapped?” I ask.

  And feel like a prisoner. Henry lets out a deep breath.

  “Yes, I’m sorry to say that we are.”

  “Great!” I say really frustrated.

  “So, what do we do?” Poppy asks in a calm voice.

  I’m surprised and pretty impressed by how calm she is. I’m about to lose it.

  “As I said Jeff is sending a car to pick us up in the back, and the hotel staff will bring us there. Unfortunately, in this hotel there is no way for us to get in the car from inside, so we have to walk outside the hotel and into the car. So they will be able to take photos from us for the short distance that we walk from the door to the car. There will be securities shielding us, but still there is no guarantee that they won’t get us on camera.”

  Then Henry looks at me, “just put my coat on your head, I will lead you to the car don’t worry but that way they won’t get your face.”

  I take a deep breath.

  “Is that okay? Will you do it?” he asks me.

  “What choice do I have? Of course, I’m going to do it,” is all I say.

  I know I am being unfair, and I don’t mean to be angry with him because I’m not. It’s just the whole situation that is stressing me out right now.

  “Poppy, what about you?” Henry asks Poppy.

  “Do you want my coat?” Ryan asks her.

  “No, I’m fine. I really don’t care,” Poppy replies and again, I am very impressed.

  The hotel staff comes and leads us to the back entrance, we stand there waiting for the signal that the car has arrived. Then the hotel manager who is also with us gets a call, and we have green lights to go outside. There are six securities, three on every side shielding us. We walk to the door before the hotel manager opens it, he asks us if we are ready and inside of me everything is screaming NO. I am so not ready for this, but I don’t have a choice. Henry puts his coat over my head and takes me in his arm leading me. He is holding on tight.

  “Ready,” Henry says to the hotel manager and he opens the door.

  We walk outside, and there are people screaming Henry’s and Ryan’s name. I look down to the floor because that’s all I can see. I see a lot of flashlights going off but then again I can’t see anything.

  “Henry, is that your latest chick?”

  “Henry, why do you hide her?”

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Henry, is that the woman you are fucking?”

  “Is she your latest one-night stand?”

  “Henry.”

  All of a sudden it’s quiet. We have made it inside the car. Henry takes the coat off my head.

  “Are you okay?” he asks me.

  “I guess I am,” I reply sitting back and just staring out of the window.

  There are still a lot of flashlights going off, and people banging on the door.

  “Don’t worry. They can’t come in and they can’t see us,” Henry tells me and takes my hand.

  “I’m sorry you had to hear all that. I hope you know that that is not who you
are. They only say those rude things to get a reaction from me,” Henry explains all the hideous comments those paparazzi just shouted out.

  “Is it over?”

  I wish I could say more. I wish I could show Henry that I am not angry with him for what just happened, but I can’t. I am so overwhelmed at the moment, I don’t know what I should think right now. I feel trapped in a situation I just want to get out of. I just want to get back home and not deal with any of this.

  “It’s over,” Henry replies and takes me in his arms.

  I bury my head in his chest and feel relieved.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but it’s not over yet,” the driver lets us know.

  “What do you mean?” Ryan asks the driver.

  “They are following us, sir.”

  “Oh, this is a nightmare!” I think to myself and apparently, one that keeps going on and on.

  “What do you want me to do, sir?” the driver asks Henry.

  “Just drive around town. Hopefully, we will be able to lose them in the traffic,” Henry replies never letting go of me.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this. Nothing will happen to you. I won’t let anything happen to you that you don’t want I promise you that!” Henry whispers in my ear.

  I know he is doing everything he can to make this go away, and I know it is killing him to know that this just happened, but I still am not able to reply. I just hold on tight to him.

  “Are they still behind us?” Henry asks the driver.

  “Only one left, sir.”

  “What’s the plan, Henry? We can’t drive around all night. Can’t we just go to your place?” Ryan asks Henry.

  “Of course we could. I do have a garage so they wouldn’t see us, but as long as they are behind us they will know that whoever was with us, did come back to my house with us and you know exactly what the headlines will be!”

  Ryan sighs and leans back in his seat.

  “Are you okay?” Ryan asks Poppy.

  “I’m okay. Just worried about Ali, and trying to realize what’s just happening,” Poppy replies.

  “They are gone, sir. I’m going to take you to your house now,” the driver lets us all know, and I feel so relieved, but then again I don’t allow myself to be too relaxed just yet because I’ve heard that it’s over before and it wasn’t, so until I’m back in the house and out of this car, I won’t be able to feel completely safe.