by Fiona Harper
She hadn’t realised they were going to be travelling with Kat and her ‘people’. Immediately she’d gone into tortoise mode, feeling she had nothing much in common with the assorted bunch of strangers. Kat seemed nice—very young, and much shorter than she’d expected.
She studied the other members of the entourage. There was a tall, burly guy with a pair of shades who she presumed was a bodyguard or something. The girl with the funky white-blonde hair had to be a make-up artist or hairdresser. But she couldn’t even guess what the others did. The woman in the lurid boob tube could be Kat’s personal grape-peeler for all she knew.
The young guy with the pierced nose finished telling a funny story and the whole group erupted into laughter. Ellie’s eyes followed Mark’s every move as he grinned away, pleased with the reaction. The funky-haired woman put a pressureless hand on his arm as she wiped a tear from her eye.
Ellie frowned and turned back to face the anonymous jets parading round the runway. Her forehead met the cool glass with a delicate thud.
Basket case.
At thirty-five-thousand feet she was still wondering what she was doing with these people. Sure, she’d been on aeroplanes before, but it had been rubber food, cramped leg room and fighting about who had the armrest. Not this. Not champagne and seats you could fit a small family into. It all seemed so foreign—yet it shouldn’t. Nobody else seemed to be pining for garish seat covers and lager louts singing football songs.
She felt like an impostor. Any minute now people would start pointing and staring, and she’d be dragged back to Economy, where she belonged. This wasn’t her world. What a huge mistake to think she could slide in here with Mark and find it a perfect fit.
However, the outsize chair was definitely comfy, and she sank into it, her eyelids closing of their own accord.
The next thing she was aware of was something brushing her cheek, something soft and slightly moist. She swatted it away without opening her eyes.
‘Ow!’
She pulled her eyelids apart with enough force to unstick her eyelashes and squinted at the fuzzy shape in front of her. As it came into focus she realised it was Mark, and his lips were slightly pursed.
‘Why are you holding your nose like that?’ she asked, shifting in her seat to get a better look.
‘I was trying to wake you up when you walloped me.’
‘I didn’t wallop. I swatted. There’s a difference.’ She rubbed the spot on her cheek that was still tickling her. ‘And how did I end up hitting you on the nose? What were you doing that close?’
In the semi-dark of the cabin she could have sworn his face turned a shade pinker.
‘I was just…Never mind what I was doing! I was waking you up because the pilot just announced we’d be landing in half an hour. I thought you’d want to get yourself together.’
She stretched her arms past her head, yawned and looked out of the window. It was so dark out there they could have been flying through a black hole.
‘What time is it?’
‘Our time or local time?’
‘Whichever.’
‘Well, it’s just after midnight local time. At least we get a few extra hours to catch up on sleep.’
Ellie made a face. ‘I think I could do with a whole week!’
He smiled, and she forgot to be grumpy.
‘You know, you look very cute when you’ve just woken up,’ he said.
Ellie snorted, then pulled a mirror out of her bag and inspected the damage. Just as she’d thought. All her mascara had migrated into a gloopy lump in one corner of her eye. Very cute.
‘You need glasses, then,’ she said as she threw the mirror onto her lap and searched for a tissue in a bag pocket.
‘Here—let me.’
Before she could refuse he’d whipped a handkerchief out of his pocket with a flourish and tipped her chin towards him with his other hand. He leaned so close all the hairs behind her ears stood on end. She did her absolute best not to look too pathetic as he gently dabbed her eye. Somehow, with him taking care of her like this, she didn’t feel so lost.
That incident set the tone for the rest of the journey. When she hauled her cases off the carousel at baggage reclaim Mark was there with a trolley before she even blinked. He shepherded her into one of the cars that appeared like magic out at the front of the terminal and saw her settled at the hotel.
It had been so long since she’d felt like this. Safe. Taken care of. Not struggling to do everything by herself. It was very tempting to give in and forget they’d be home in a few days. And that, technically, she was being paid to look after him.
Ellie shivered as yet another spider scuttled across her foot. The first time one had crawled over her today she’d almost freaked out. Big time. But the cameras were rolling, filming at the first location for Kat’s video, and she hadn’t wanted to sprint round the set like a lunatic in front of the crew.
Or re-live the incident when they watched the rushes at the end of the day.
Or feature in some TV out-takes compilation next Christmas.
So, although she felt as if she’d imploded with the effort, she stifled the screams, put on a stoic face and stood her ground.
She sighed and ran her fingers through the damp curls sticking to her forehead. The whole crew was packed into a tight knot at the end of an idyllic bay where the narrow beach met the rocks. Ellie was hiding out in the jungle-like greenery that fringed the white-hot sand. Hence the spiders. She’d thought she’d do anything to escape something with eight legs, but the need for shade and even a few degrees less heat had overruled her natural instincts. It was only after they’d arrived at the hotel that Mark had explained that summer could be hot and horribly humid on the island. Most of the tourists came in the winter months.
Kat was knee-deep in water, singing along to the track that was due to be her next single. The surf behind her looked mighty inviting. Ellie was fantasising about diving into the sea, acting like a fish and hoping nobody would notice. Nice dream, but in reality she was stuck under the nearest palm tree, wilting, while everybody else did something vastly important.
The heat was making her clothes stick to her skin. Even her skin was sticking to her skin. She longed for the air-conditioned haven of the hotel. Typical of many resorts on the island, the elegant low-rise main building was surrounded by lush tropical gardens and luxurious cabins. She wanted to be doing jobs she knew how to do: faxing things, shredding things. An evil glint flickered in her eyes. She wanted to be stapling things—preferably to Mark’s head.
No, that wasn’t fair. It was her own fault she hadn’t found out what she was letting herself in for. It was the jet lag making her tetchy. And she’d never been on friendly terms with this kind of heat. It made her hair frizz.
The director stood up and bellowed, ‘Cut!’
The music died instantly, but Ellie knew the song so well by now that it kept playing inside her skull, pounding against her temples.
The director barked instructions to anyone within earshot.
‘Baz, zoom out a little so I can see the sand. Jerry, check that last take to see if the light is still okay. Kat, my darling, could you just move to that rock on your left?’ Kat waded obligingly to the rock and took up her position. ‘That’s it. Can you put one foot on top of it? Good.’
Ellie admired her stamina. They’d all been standing on this beach for most of the day. She’d have dived in and floated away hours ago if it she’d been in Kat’s shoes. She massaged her forehead and listened to the pounding of the surf. She’d expected a little time to collect herself after they’d arrived, but it had been straight to work. No lounging by the pool under a yellow umbrella. No sipping coconut-flavoured cocktails in a hammock. Time really was money when video cameras were involved, it seemed.
‘Playback!’
The director’s yell was like a crack from a shotgun. Birds scattered from the treetops in terror. Ellie checked her clipboard. All her tasks were done. There was no
thing left to do but drift over towards the director and watch Kat’s progress on one of the boxy little monitors.
The minute hand on her watch dragged itself listlessly through the next few hours and the sun began to set. They moved position a few times, and each move meant ages of checking the lighting, setting up cameras and other kit. Then Kat would have to sing her song another thousand times, this time in close-up, this time on a long-shot. See? She was even starting to learn the lingo.
Just as the sun had finally set, and Ellie was about to scream with the monotony of it all, Mark suddenly waded into the sea and scooped Kat into his arms.
‘Cut!’ the director bellowed, impotent with fury.
Ellie could only imagine the myriad expletives scalding the tip of his tongue. He spluttered, searching for the right word to unlock the torrent. Ellie turned quickly to face the trees and hid a smile. The prima donna on this set was definitely not the singer!
Mark said nothing as he carried Kat out of the water, but his eyes were blazing a warning as clear as if he’d shouted it. The director swallowed his rant. Mark unhooked his arm from under Kat’s knees and let her bare feet touch the ground in one controlled motion.
‘That’s a wrap for today, everybody,’ he said.
His voice was calm, but everyone from the director to the runners knew that negotiations were useless. The generator coughed to a halt. No one moved.
Ellie broke the tense silence with a scurry of movement. She tugged a fluffy towel out of the bag of provisions she’d hauled along with her and slung it over Kat’s shoulders. All that time standing in the water! The poor girl must be prune-like on the bottom half and baked on the top half. She glanced at Mark, and flushed as she saw the flicker of approval in his eyes.
Kat whispered her thanks as they headed to the speed boats that had brought them on the short trip round the coast into the small crescent-shaped bay. It had been chosen because they were practically guaranteed an uninterrupted shoot, with no onlookers or journalists to deal with as it was inaccessible by road.
Mark and Kat headed for the smallest boat, followed closely by Rufus, Kat’s bodyguard—or personal protection officer, as he preferred to be called. Ellie trailed along behind, still feeling like a spare part. The rest of the crew concentrated on unplugging and packing the expensive technical thing-ummy-jigs in foam-padded metal cases. They would follow on shortly, in the larger two boats.
They arrived back at the small marina in the neighbouring bay and made their way to the cluster of anonymous black people-carriers that were waiting for them in the car park. Mark pulled Ellie back to let Kat and Rufus walk ahead.
‘I’m going to wait here for our illustrious director and give him a piece of my mind. If he plans to roast Kat alive in the midday sun tomorrow he’s going to have to think again.’
‘You act more like her big brother than her manager.’
Mark frowned a little. ‘Babysitting the star is part of my job description. On the business side, I wouldn’t be doing my job if Kat couldn’t finish the shoot.’ His matter-of-fact manner softened. ‘But you’re right. I do feel protective towards her. It’s easy to forget she’s only seventeen and all her friends are still at school.’
He shielded his eyes with a hand and looked up the walkway after Kat as she slid the back door of the people-carrier open and climbed inside. ‘She’s a great kid. If she can get through the next couple of years without self-destructing she’ll have a long and successful career.’ He looked Ellie straight in the eye. ‘It would be such a waste if she burns out.’
The compassion in his eyes made something inside her feel very gooey indeed. She’d thought Work Mark would be different—harder, more remote. If it were possible, he was even nicer than Home Mark.
He turned away, stuffed his hands in his pockets and scoured the headland for a hint of the other boats.
‘She’s had a tough time recently,’ he said, and turned back towards her. ‘Will you look after her for me while I wait here?’
Ellie rubbed his arm lightly and nodded.
The clouds in Mark’s expression were banished by a smile. He planted a feather-soft kiss on the tip of her nose and walked down the pontoons to wait by the empty berths.
That kiss was the cherry on top of the weird feelings she’d been having since they’d arrived in Antigua less than twenty-four hours ago. It was as if she was in a parallel universe where, even though she was working for Mark, the ‘employer’ and ‘employee’ labels they’d stuck on themselves had peeled off in the heat, leaving only a man and a woman who were really, really attracted to each other.
CHAPTER NINE
WHEN Ellie reached the car she tapped on the mirrored window, assuming that Kat was taking advantage of the relative privacy to change her clothes.
‘Ellie?’
‘Yes. Are you okay?’
An exasperated grunt preceded Kat’s reply. ‘Well, yes and no—it’s okay to open the door.’
Ellie eased the sliding door open an inch or two. Kat looked more like a half-drowned cat than a sex kitten. Her eyes pleaded and she wore a weary smile.
‘The knot in my bikini top won’t come undone.’
‘Come here.’ She turned Kat to face the other way with the same kind of deft handling that she had used when making Chloe stand still to have her hair brushed. As Ellie set to work on the knot she couldn’t help noticing the angry pink on Kat’s shoulders.
‘You look like you’ve caught the sun, despite the lotion you slathered on.’
‘Great. And I’ve got to do it all over again tomorrow.’
Ellie released the tangle in the bikini top straps and stood back outside the car as Kat finished changing, leaving the door slightly ajar so she could catch her conversation.
‘The director will probably have me snorkelling with sharks or something,’ Kat said with a tired laugh.
‘I’m sure Mark would have something to say about that.’
‘He’s great, isn’t he?’
Ellie tried not to comment for fear of incriminating herself. She made what she hoped was an ambiguous noise to cover all eventualities, but knew she’d failed when Kat slid the door open for Ellie to climb in. Kat had obviously absorbed some of Mark’s mannerisms while she’d been working with him, because that smirk was pure Wilder. Ellie busied herself by doing up her seat belt.
Kat leaned across and whispered in a conspiratorial manner, ‘Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.’
Ellie’s eyes jumped from Kat to the back of Rufus’s head as he drove the car out of the car park.
‘Don’t worry about him, Ellie. Rufus knows all my secrets and his lips are sealed—aren’t they, Rufus?’
Rufus agreed by remaining silent, his thick neck motionless.
‘See?’
Ellie groaned. Was she really so transparent that every passing stranger could read the contents of her head?
‘I trust Mark one hundred percent,’ Kat said, giving her a meaningful look. ‘Some managers sign up young talent and work them like crazy until they drop. Then it’s on to the next fresh young thing. But Mark’s not like that. He always looks after me.’
Kat looked down at her lap. ‘I just split up from my boyfriend. I thought he was perfect. They do say love is blind, don’t they?’
Ellie squeezed her hand softly. Kat sniffed.
‘It’s hard to get over it when I see pictures of him in the papers almost every day. On a beach with some girl. In a nightclub with some other girl. At a premiere with—you get the picture, right? But Mark has been great. I can’t count the number of times he’s handed me tissues as I told him the latest sob story.’ A fat tear rolled down her cheek and she sighed and looked out of the window at the lush tropical scenery. ‘Sometimes I wish I could run away for a bit and have a little time to myself to get over it. But just when I think I’m on my own, bam! There’s a telephoto lens sticking out the bushes. I can see the headlines already: “Kat’s Secret Anguish Over Split.”’
Ellie felt her own eyes grow wet. Mark was right. Kat was a great girl, and she lived a difficult life for a seventeen-year-old. When she spoke, there was a croaky edge to her voice.
‘My husband used give me a piece of advice that I’m going to pass on to you—’
Kat jumped round to face her, eyes stretching wide open.
‘You’re married!’
‘I was married. I’m not now,’ Ellie said quickly. ‘Long story. Anyway, Sam used to tell me that life should never feel small. I’m a bit of a tortoise by nature, I’m afraid, much happier if I’m all tucked in inside my shell, where I’m safe and warm. But I’m starting to remember that safe and warm can be incredibly dull and lonely. Sometimes we’ve just got to have the courage to step out and live, no matter what happens.’ She turned to look Kat in the eye. ‘I can see that kind of strength in you. You will get through this.’
They hugged as far as the seat belts would allow, then Kat shifted in her seat and stared out the window.
‘What happened to…to your…? Did you get a divorce?’
Ellie tried to eliminate any trace of emotion in her voice. ‘No. He died.’
Kat’s head snapped round. An involuntary hand covered her mouth, trying to catch the words that had already escaped.
‘And here’s me snivelling about a man who doesn’t deserve my tears…’
Ellie’s smile was braver than she felt. ‘It’s okay.’
‘When did it…? I mean, how did he…?’
‘He and my daughter were killed in a car accident a few years ago.’ Ellie glanced down at the date function on her watch. ‘In fact, it will be exactly four years in a week’s time.’
A tear ran down Kat’s face. ‘Oh, Ellie!’
‘Don’t you start!’ She pressed the heels of her hands into her own soggy eyes. ‘Now you’ve got me going.’