Plain Jane in the Spotlight (8 page)

‘Hey, come on,’ he said, taking her into a firm hug. ‘No need to cry.’

‘I’m not crying,’ she wept.

‘Of course you’re not. You’re much too strong for that, aren’t you?’

In despair, she shook her head.

‘I’m going downstairs,’ he told her. ‘I’ll be back in a moment. Don’t even think of locking me out, unless, of course, Lee appears, in which case I’ll vanish.’

But that wouldn’t happen, and they both knew it.

When he’d gone she packed her things, moving mechanically. What happened now was beyond her control. She was in Travis’s hands, his dependant, even perhaps his victim.

The thought should have troubled her but it didn’t. Stronger than anything was the feeling of having landed safely in the middle of a storm.

CHAPTER FIVE

W
HEN
Travis returned Charlene was ready with everything packed.

‘We have to decide on the PR,’ he said. ‘It’s part of living in Los Angeles. PR gets hard-wired into you. You decide what you’re actually doing, and then decide what you want the world to think you’re doing. They’re not usually the same thing.’

‘Right,’ she said, in the voice of someone trying to hang in there. ‘How do we decide?’

‘We must consider whether we want to be seen together. Last night we were, and it was great, but your priority is still Lee, so let’s be discreet until that situation is sorted. It’s best if nobody sees us leave together, so we’ll go down the back stairs.’

‘But my bill—’

‘That’s sorted. Just take my hand.’

It felt inevitable to put her hand in his and feel him clasp it in a firm, comforting grip. Looking back afterwards, she had the feeling that this moment had shone a light on the path ahead. From now on she would go where he led.

Quietly they descended, to find Rick waiting halfway down. He seized her suitcase and hurried ahead. By the time they reached the door he was there with the car. Nobody saw them get inside and settle in the back as the car glided out of the hotel’s rear car park into Sunset Boulevard.

It was still early in the day and the sun was rising high. Already the street was busy and she looked out at it with fascination.

‘I looked it up online before I came out here,’ she said in wonder, ‘but nothing really prepares you.’

‘That’s true. I grew up here but it still makes me think—
get down
!’

Next moment he’d seized her, drawing her close so that her head was against his shoulder, everything about him radiating alarm.

‘There was someone I knew,’ he said from above her head. ‘I don’t think they saw your face, but let’s keep it hidden and not take chances. Sorry to grab you like that. I hope I didn’t hurt you.’

‘No, I’m fine,’ she managed to say.

She could feel one of his hands on her hair while the other lay gently over her face, just enough to conceal her features from anyone who happened to be close.

‘Sorry about this,’ he said. ‘I’ll release you as soon as it’s safe.’

‘Don’t worry. I’m quite comfortable.’

She felt him move so that he leaned down over her, concealing his own face as much as possible.

‘Get into the back streets as soon as possible, Rick,’ he called.

The next moment the car swung wildly around a corner so that she had to move quickly to cling to Travis.

‘OK?’ he asked.

‘Sure. No worries.’

‘Charlene,’ he said, as he sensed something amazing,
‘are you laughing?’

‘I guess I am.’ She chuckled. ‘Don’t ask me why. It’s mad, crazy. Whatever I expected, it wasn’t this.’

‘Me neither,’ he admitted. ‘But that’s life, isn’t it?’

‘I guess it’s more fun that way.’

‘Definitely. And at all costs, let life be fun.’

Now he too was laughing, enfolding her in his arms. She felt his body in her hands, against her own body, and she knew a flash of wisdom. It was lucky she was in no danger of falling in love with him, because otherwise this delicious moment could seriously threaten her common sense.

Luckily she was safe. Quite safe.

She repeated that again. Completely safe.

After a while he said, ‘I think we could risk it now,’ loosening his grip and easing her up from his shoulder.

‘I’ve made a mess of your hair,’ he said, brushing it back.

‘And of course my hair is what I’m chiefly concerned about.’

‘Well, some girls would be,’ he said wryly. ‘Never mind. When we get home you can spend the day looking after yourself.’

‘Where do you live?’

‘Beachwood Canyon, part of the Hollywood Hills.’

Soon she could see the land rising steeply above them, crowned by the famous HOLLYWOOD sign that defined this magical place. Much of Hollywood’s activities had now drifted to other parts of the city, but this was where it had all begun. Humphrey Bogart had lived here, also Charlie Chaplin. In this place was enshrined much of the city’s glamorous history, especially in the part known as Beachwood Canyon.

As they climbed higher and higher, Charlene gazed out of the window, riveted. Soon they were driving along a street lined with palm trees, until they came in sight of a three-storey block.

‘I’m on the top floor,’ he said.

His cellphone rang and he answered it impatiently. ‘Yes, I’m on my way—something came up—I’ll call you back.’

‘Am I making you late for work?’ she asked anxiously.

‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll show you in and then dash off.’

Luck favoured them in the elevator ride to the top, and they entered his home without being seen.

‘I’ve got to go now,’ he said at once. ‘The spare bedroom’s over there. Make yourself at home. Raid the fridge. The place is yours. Here’s my phone number. Call me if anything worries you.’

‘I can’t call you while you’re working,’ she said, aghast. ‘What would your bosses say?’

‘Nothing. The only thing that upsets them is if I damage my public image. But if I behave like a spoilt brat on-set it’s just dismissed as part of my “great star” personality.’

The wicked gleam in his eyes robbed the words of conceit. To him it was all a joke, she realised, and if the joke was against himself he enjoyed that best of all.

‘We’re not filming today, just rehearsing again. So call me if you need to.’

‘All right, I’ll do whatever you think best.’

‘Now that’s wisdom talking. And don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.’

He vanished.

Yes, she thought. He could make her feel that all would be well as long as he was there. It was a rare gift.

The apartment was luxurious but in a down-to-earth way that pleasantly surprised her. Instinct told her that the man who lived here wasn’t ‘full of himself’ as he might so easily have become. He just liked his own way. Which was fair enough, she reckoned.

Charlene spent the day as he’d said, making herself at home, eating a snack from the fridge, always alert for a call from Lee. But when the phone rang in the late morning it was Travis to ask how she was. Later he called again to say he was on his way home.

But from Lee, not a word.

When Travis arrived he gave her a searching look and said quietly, ‘Nothing?’

‘Nothing.’

‘He just needs a little time to think about it. Now, let’s have supper, if you can stand my cooking.’

He was no chef but his cooking was edible. As they devoured chicken he said, ‘Lee kept giving me some odd looks today. He doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going.’

‘I think he’d like to be going,’ she said sadly. ‘Then he could get away from me.’

‘He’s probably just confused. He might be a father, or he might not. He needs to know for sure before he can decide how he feels.’

‘You talk as if you know,’ she said curiously.

‘It happened to me once. We’d known each other a while, then she said she was expecting but she didn’t know if it was mine or not. In the end we found that it wasn’t.’

‘Did you mind?’ she asked, struck by a new note in his voice.

‘It might have been nice. A baby anchors you to reality, tells you where you belong.’

‘But you have all those brothers.’

‘Yes, but at a distance. I hear about them, and about my father, and it’s like getting messages from another universe. If her baby had been mine nothing could have kept me away, and Lee will probably be the same when he knows.’

‘Yes,’ she said, knowing she didn’t sound convinced.

‘Are you really in love with him?’

‘I don’t know. We had that time together—and it was so sweet, so close. I really wanted that closeness.’

‘I know the feeling,’ he said quietly. ‘And at least I had my brothers, even if they lived at a distance. But you have nobody except your grandparents, is that right?’

‘I have a stepbrother, James, but we’re not in contact. My mother and his father took a trip to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and never came back. Their plane crashed. The last time I saw James was at their funeral.’

‘And your grandparents? Are they any comfort to you in this situation?’

‘I haven’t told them. They know I’m in Los Angeles but not why. If it works out badly I don’t want to spoil their African holiday.’

‘So you knew it might work out badly,’ he said, ‘right from the day you came out here?’

‘Yes, well—you always hope for the best, don’t you?’

‘That’s right. Keep on hoping.’

Travis squeezed her hand and they sat in silence for a moment.

‘What do you think of this place?’ he asked at last, rising to fetch more coffee.

‘Fascinating. Especially your bookcase. All that Shakespeare.’

‘You were naturally surprised to find that a TV actor is bright enough to understand Shakespeare.’

‘No, I didn’t mean that,’ she said hurriedly.

He grinned. ‘Didn’t you? All right, I’ll take your word for it. Actually, the only play I know well is
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
. That’s how I understood what you were saying about how you met Lee. I acted in it once, years ago.’

‘Were you Lysander or Demetrius?’ she asked, naming the two young male leads.

‘Neither. I played Puck.’

Of course, she thought. Puck, the fiendish but delightful elf, described by one person as a ‘shrewd and knavish sprite’ and by himself as ‘that merry wanderer of the night’. He spent the play performing roguish tricks and laughing at the chaos that resulted.

Strangely, Puck was the perfect role for Travis. His ‘romantic hero’ looks might seem more suitable for one of the lovers but the sense of delightfully wicked mischief that pervaded him suggested a different story. And something told Charlene that this was his true self.

‘I’m just staggered by the window in my room,’ she said. ‘Enormous. Floor to ceiling. And that long view down to the city. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’

‘The ones in my room are even better,’ he said. ‘Come and look. It’s a sight you’ll never forget.’

Taking her hand, he drew her into his room and made a gesture of revelation. Charlene gasped as she saw the two huge breathtaking walls of glass, angled to form a corner. It wasn’t yet completely dark, but evening was closing in and the lights of Los Angeles gleamed against the shadows.

‘I was wrong before,’ she breathed. ‘
This
is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Nothing else could ever be like it. Oh, goodness!’

‘That’s how I feel,’ Travis agreed. ‘I look at the view every night before I go to bed.’

‘And the HOLLYWOOD sign,’ she said, pointing into the distance. ‘Just to remind you what it’s all about.’

‘All about,’ he murmured, his eyes fixed on the view. Briefly he glanced at her over his shoulder. ‘Do we ever really know what it’s all about?’

‘Perhaps it’s better not to,’ she suggested.

‘That could be the wisest thing you’ve ever said.’

He gazed at the view a moment longer, then pulled the huge curtains closed and led her out of the room.

‘An early night for me. After this morning I was warned not to be late again.’

Charlene tidied away plates in the kitchen, then glanced briefly out of a small window that looked out over the front of the building. Suddenly she tensed. Beneath the lamp at the gate she’d just glimpsed a woman followed by a man.

And the woman had red hair.

Pictures raged through her mind. The lap dancer who’d set her sights on Travis in the club—she had red hair, didn’t she?

It was impossible.

Was it?

Like the sound of approaching fate, she heard the elevator rise and come to a halt. The next moment Travis’s bell rang.

She flew into the hall as he approached the front door, catching him just as he reached out to open it. By using all her weight, she was just able to stop him.

‘Hey, what—?’

‘That girl who sat on your lap. She had red hair, didn’t she?’

‘Yes, but—’

‘It’s her out there.’

‘
What?
Are you sure?’

‘I caught a glimpse of her hair as she went under the lamp. Don’t you see what they’re doing? If you open up, she’ll grab you and the photographer will pounce. Frank Brenton warned us that he’d try something else.’

‘Then it’s time I hit back. Stand aside.’

He made a lunge for the front door. By using all her strength, she was just able to slam him back against the wall.

‘Hey, what are you doing?’

‘Stopping you making the biggest mistake of your life. Open that door and you’re finished. But you’re not going to, because I’m not going to let you.’

‘Oh, you’re not?’

‘No, I’m not.’

‘Look, I know you mean well, but it’s time for action. I’m going to put a stop to their tricks.’

‘But you won’t. You’ll simply hand them another weapon and there’ll be no end to it. Your only hope is to play it cool. Let them hammer on the door as much as they like. It won’t open.’

‘Won’t it?’ he growled.

‘No, because with your usual brilliance you’ve seen through their rotten little trick and you’re one up on them. That’ll teach Frank Brenton. He won’t enjoy being made a fool of.’

Travis had been trying to free himself from her, but now he stopped, staring into her face as light dawned.