Chapter Seven
The New York premiere was the usual tedious marathon of posing for pictures and enduring interview after interview with reporters asking the same generic questions that Edward found intensely boring. Edward and the other leads appeared on stage briefly to acknowledge the applause from the audience, after which he was obliged to sit next to Tanya when the movie started, but managed to slip out of the theatre virtually unnoticed about half way through, leaving Tanya to attend the after-party on her own. She had no problem being the centre of attention at this type of event and he was delighted to let her have another moment of glory without him. The movie had received very good reviews and the producers were already talking about continuing the series after the third film, but Edward had already told them, in no uncertain terms, that he was not in any way interested in being part of any further movies, no matter how much money they offered him.
After a welcome lie-in at his hotel, which helped in some way to make up for the three hour time difference from LA and the stress of the premiere, his driver took him to an office in Queens where he met Mike and Tyler of Empty Productions (M & T = Empty). They were great company, and after a lengthy discussion about the movie and the frustrations in convincing financial backers to commit, they arranged to meet again for dinner during the evening at Edward's hotel. Mike said he would be bringing his assistant with him who was out of the office that day if it was okay, and Edward said he had no problem with this.
Edward had conveniently forgotten to tell James about his plans for the evening, as he wanted these first meetings to be about the movie and not about money for a change. Edward was willing to make this film for a tenth of his usual fee; in fact if he had his way he would do it for nothing, so he wanted the deal virtually sealed before he had to involve his agent.
Because he was now more than three and a half years into his five year contract with James's agency, James was starting to ease up on him, as he knew his most valuable client would soon have the option to use another agent in less than two years' time. Edward therefore felt quietly confident he would soon be allowed off James's leash to spend some of his own time making films he would be proud to be associated with, rather than just ones that paid the big bucks.
Edward dressed casually for the evening in a light sweater and jeans and made his way to the restaurant where he was escorted to a private booth away from the main dining area. Tyler spotted him first and stood up to shake hands. He leaned over the table to do the same with Mike, who was half up and half down, then turned to say hello to Mike's female assistant who was sitting with her arms folded and her face looking downwards at the table, as if she trying to avoid making eye contact.
"Edward, I would like to introduce you to my assistant, Bel..."
"Bella!" he cried and put his hands flat on the table to steady himself. He couldn't believe she was there in front of him, now staring up at his face in bewilderment with the same eyes he had wanted to dive into that day and the face that had been haunting his night-time thoughts for nearly eighteen months.
"Do you guys know each other?" Mike said in his New York accent. "This I've gotta hear." He gave Bella an inquisitive stare then sat down and took a long drink of his beer in readiness for the explanation.
Edward also sat down before his legs gave way as he explained to Mike,
"I swept Bella off her feet, literally, would be the most interesting way of telling how we met, but the real story is I collided with her when she was working as an extra on the first franchise movie, and I ended up on the ground with her." He looked towards Bella for confirmation but she was looking down at the table again; her face and neck flushed with embarrassment.
Mike and Tyler thought this was hysterical and only stopped laughing when the waiter came over with more drinks.
Bella had been quiet throughout but when Mike and Tyler were distracted by the waiter, she leaned over towards Edward.
"How do you know my name?" she whispered and there was an element of surprise or anger in her words. Edward was taken aback by the tone of her voice, but put it down to shock that he had remembered meeting her.
"I asked Paul, the Assistant Director, who you were after the accident and he told me your name." (He didn't think this was the right time to admit to hiring a private investigator to track her down).
"So it was you who had me removed from the set then," she spat back accusingly.
"Hey, hey, no. That wasn't me," he replied defensively, his own voice increasing in volume. "I tried to find you after what happened. I wanted to apologize to you personally and find out if you were okay."
Bella sat back in her chair when she realized Mike and Tyler were looking at them with their mouths open, but it was obvious by the look on her face that she didn't believe him.
"Just a misunderstanding," Edward said, trying to pass the incident off as a joke. "Let's order."
Bella looked down at the menu grim faced and ordered Penne with pesto and salad, then stood up to go to the ladies room. After she had gone, Mike and Tyler shrugged their shoulders and suggested, "PMS?"
The hundreds of scenarios Edward had concocted in his daydreams over the previous eighteen months of the different circumstances where he would meet Bella again were disintegrating rapidly, and he knew he had to do rescue the situation before the moment was lost. Edward interrupted Mike and Tyler, who he was beginning to suspect were partners in more ways than one, pretending he had to go to the rest rooms as well, and walked off in the direction of the ladies room.
Edward waited by the ladies room for Bella to appear and after a few minutes she opened the door while looking down at her purse, trying to fasten the clip. As she walked past, he grabbed hold of her arm and guided her behind a screen of conveniently placed tall plants and bent down to look at her directly in the eye.
"I…did…not…have…you…removed…from…the…set," he whispered insistently. "On the contrary, Bella, I searched everywhere for you that day and for days afterwards, as I wanted to take you out to dinner to apologize for falling on you and to get to know you better."
Bella huffed and said, "Okay, I believe you; but who the hell did?" she retorted. "I almost lost my place at college because of a stinking letter which was sent from the studio to my Professor, lying about how unprofessional I'd been and that I'd been spreading rumours and gossip about the cast and the script."
Edward couldn't help it, but he let out a hiss when Bella said this. He let go of her arm and stood up straight.
"I found out who was behind removing you from the set, but it was only by chance and at the end of the shoot. You were long gone by then and the studio still refused to tell me who you were or where you came from. You must believe me, Bella, I didn't know anything about a letter being sent to your college or I wouldn't have left it like that; I would've kicked ass and not let up until I sorted it."
Edward could feel his long-suppressed anger building up inside of him again and he didn't want her to see him in an agitated state. He wanted to tell her how hard he had actively searched for her, but now wasn't the right time.
"Can we talk about this over dinner, Bella? Not tonight with Mike and Tyler listening, but on our own?"
Edward realised he was holding his breath waiting for a response. Finally Bella replied, "Okay, I'm free tomorrow night."
They walked back to the table together and were greeted with hoots and whistles from Mike, who was now looking slightly inebriated, as even more alcohol was being placed in front of him.
"Careful, Edward," Mike slurred. "Tanya's spies are probably watching your every move and you'll have some explaining to do when you get back to Tinsel Town," he joked.
Edward's eyes rolled up to heaven, so, mainly for the benefit of Bella, who listened with both amusement and horror, he took great pleasure in putting Mike and Tyler firmly in the picture about his supposed relationship with Tanya Denali.
The evening went well from this point on and he discovered that Bella had first met Mike at her college in New York, after he had lectured to the students about production companies and their role in starting the whole process of getting movies onto the screen. Bella had impressed Mike with her knowledge of the industry and she had worked as an unpaid intern for Empty Productions during her first summer recess. When she finished her degree, and after a short time spent with a girlfriend travelling around Europe, she took up the post as Mike's assistant.
The reason why he had drawn a blank with the colleges in California when he was trying to track her down was now obvious, but he was interested to know why she was on the other side of the country that particular summer, and how she happened to be on the set at the same time as him.
"My uncle owns a small apartment in LA," she explained. "I used it while I was doing my work experience at the studio, which had been arranged through my college. My best friend, Alice, was at UCLA mastering in Architecture and Interior Design, and I spent some time with her and some at the studio until I was kicked out. I came straight back to New York after it happened, then spent the rest of the summer with my mom in Florida."
After listening to Bella's explanation, Edward realised there must have been an elaborate conspiracy to keep him from contacting her again. The studio would have had plenty of information about her if she was on work experience and obviously did have the name of the college which had introduced her in the first place as someone there had written to her professor after he had initially asked the office for her details. Tanya would have had to really trash this girl to the studio bosses to get her removed instantly from the set, and then must have used an extraordinary amount of influence to coerce the staff and crew to cooperate in preventing him from finding out Bella's contact details during the shoot. Edward was starting to suspect Tanya had some sort of hold on the studio bosses that he didn't know about, which could explain why she got the lead part in the first place, as her acting talent certainly wasn't a factor.
It was getting late and Bella indicated she was ready to leave, so Edward decided to call it a night and shook hands with Mike and Tyler then bent down to whisper in Bella's ear about the arrangements for tomorrow evening. He meant to shake her hand also, but the urge to kiss her was too overwhelming and he gave her a soft but lingering peck on her forehead. Bella looked up in surprise, then took his hand and squeezed it. When he opened his palm, he saw she had slipped in her business card.
"Call me," she whispered then she also said goodnight to Mike and Tyler who were just ordering more drinks. Edward walked with her to the lobby and made sure she was safely in a cab and then returned to his room, floating on air and completely turned on.
He had a date with Bella.
He just about made it into the shower!
Edward called her the next morning after another lie-in and arranged to pick her up from her apartment, which was in walking distance of Empty's office in Queens.
From his lofty hotel suite near Central Park it looked as though it was a beautiful day in New York, but he decided to stay in the hotel for the rest of the morning and afternoon, watching movies and playing video games, thus avoiding the risk of being spotted out and about on his own. James was still in the city, but he was busy with meetings with other clients and as Edward had no close friends in town to call on, he was actually grateful for the rest. The last few weeks had been full-on, never mind hardly being able to sleep a wink last night as he was excited about finally spending time with the girl from his favourite fantasy. He wanted to be fully alert this evening as he had never anticipated a date with a girl so much in his life.
At seven o'clock, his chauffeured car pulled up outside a shabby, three-story, red-brick house which had obviously been converted into apartments judging by the number of bell pushes by the front door. Edward had called Bella from the car and the door opened just as he arrived and she appeared on the doorstep giving him a little wave as she pulled the door shut. She was wearing black skinny jeans which fitted her perfectly and a long-sleeved sapphire blue loose-fitting blouse over a black camisole. Her flat shoes were also sapphire with black bows on the front and she was carrying a multi-coloured sparkly purse. Her long brown hair was brushed into a neat pony tail which swished behind her as she lightly skipped down the steps. When she reached the sidewalk, she turned to wave at someone who was looking out from one of the first floor windows, but Edward couldn't see who it was as a shaft of evening sunlight was shining directly onto the glass. She wasn't wearing any jewellery, apart from a pair of tiny silver studs in her ears, and as she walked towards the car, in Edward's appreciative eyes, he thought she looked gorgeous.
Edward jumped from the backseat onto the sidewalk and said, "Hi" and held the door open for her to climb in. As she passed him, he caught the same scent from her hair which had reminded him so much of an English summer when he fell on her before, and he smiled as he recalled how that had affected him so deeply.
"This is nice," she commented with a grin, appreciating the luxurious comfort of the cream leather upholstery. Edward's car wasn't one of the pretentious stretch limos that were a nightmare to manoeuvre around the tight corners of the New York grid system; this was a classy Mercedes with deep, comfortable seats and room enough in the back to accommodate Edward's long legs.
Bella settled herself in and the car glided off in the direction of a small Italian restaurant in the Bowery area of Manhattan which had been recommended to Edward by Tyler. On arrival, they were shown to a table near to the back of the restaurant which Edward had requested for privacy, and Edward helped Bella into her chair before sitting down himself. He smiled to himself as he did this, as he recalled his grandmother instructing him in etiquette when he was a small child, saying that "Gentlemen should always remain standing until the ladies are seated, Edward."
It was still too early for New York's usual night-time clientele and there were only a family of four and one other couple in the restaurant and they were sitting at tables near the window. Edward was relieved he hadn't been recognized when they walked in, as that could have ruined what he hoped would be an undisturbed evening with Bella. He wanted to tell her everything that had happened to him since that day on the set, and he wanted her to know he had thought of her every day since.
Bella chose Prosecco from the wine list, as she had been looking forward to trying it. The waiter poured the sparkly Italian wine into champagne glasses and then withdrew while they looked at the menu. Edward lifted his glass and gestured to Bella to do the same. He clinked their glasses together and offered the toast, "To a new start?"
Bella smiled and replied cheekily, "Well, Edward, I hope it's not your intention to get me flat on my back again this time!"
Edward's mouth dropped open at the innuendo, and Bella burst out laughing at the look on his face, which was priceless.
When Edward had regained his composure after the carefully stored memory of Bella lying underneath him had flashed into his brain and his pants, he asked one of the questions he had intended to ask her before.
"Did I hurt you when we fell?"
Bella shook her head and replied quietly, "No, not badly. My shoulder blades and one elbow were a bit tender for a few days, but what really hurt was being banned from the studio. I didn't want to think it was you, because you offered to help me up and you smiled at me kindly, but I couldn't imagine who else it might be. It upset me for a long time; in fact I still don't think I've gotten over it. Injustice is a terrible thing and I felt like a victim. I know that the movie industry can sometimes be a cruel and heartless business, but I'd done nothing to warrant the accusations that were being made about me, and it hurt, real bad."
"I'm so sorry, Bella," Edward responded. He could see the pain in her eyes and he could easily tell how badly this had affected her.
"I didn't want to go to your hotel last night, but Mike insisted," Bella continued. "I knew if I saw you again it might resurrect all the anger I felt after it happened. Anger is such a destructive emotion and I didn't want to risk having months of sleepless nights thinking about that day again."
Edward took her by her hand which was shaking slightly and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"I understand, Bella. I'm so very sorry you suffered like this. Even though I'd nothing to do with you being banned, or the letter to your college, I still feel partly responsible and I want to make amends somehow."
Bella withdrew her hand quickly from his. "What do you mean you feel partly responsible?"
Her attitude towards him had changed in an instant and Edward knew then that under her soft exterior there was a lioness waiting to strike. Edward cleared his throat and took a large mouthful of wine for courage then told her the unabridged story of Tanya and her sexual advances towards him, giving Bella even more detail than the story he had related to Mike and Tyler last night. He told her why he thought he'd been cast in the first place, then about the incident with the stupidly irresponsible shoes and then asking Paul to find out who she was that day. He didn't hold back when he told Bella about the frustration he felt when he was denied any information on her and that he'd even hired a private detective to find her. Then finally, the account of the make-up artist, the showdown with TFD at the end of filming and the guilt he felt afterwards.
"Why did you feel guilty?" Bella asked after he had finished talking. Their meals had arrived and Edward was swirling his fork around a plate of crab ravioli. "It had nothing to do with you, Edward; it was Tanya's insane jealousy which nearly wrecked my career," she declared bitterly. "You shouldn't feel responsible at all."
Edward shook his head as she was speaking.
"No, Bella. I didn't had the balls to tell her the first time she propositioned me that I wasn't interested in having any sort of relationship with her. Instead I ignored her suggestive comments and she presumed I just was being a 'guy' and was playing hard to get." Edward put his fork down and slapped both hands down on the table which made Bella jump.
"I was too inhibited at the time to tell her outright that I would never, ever, have a relationship with her. I wanted the movie to go well; it was a huge stepping stone for my career and I was intimidated by her power as an established A-Lister, even though I quickly realised she's a crap actress and the studio was covering for her. The last thing I needed was to have a high-budget film that bombed on my IMDb record; never mind having to work with a pissed-off leading lady! The saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,' I know now is true, and I was just trying to survive until the end of the movie; doing my best to work with her while fending her off at the same time."
Edward ran his hands through his hair and Bella noticed that a vein in his forehead had appeared, and it was obvious to her he was extremely wound-up.
"If I'd have known about the three film deal in my contract, I would've told her, without hesitation and with witnesses, that she had as much sex appeal as a Barbie Doll and she should find a plastic boyfriend like Ken so they could make plastic babies together."
Bella laughed but Edward was serious.
"She would've hated me so much she probably would've refused to work with me again, which might have wrecked my career, but at least my integrity would still be intact. Instead, I've been forced to work with the bitch for the last eighteen months, pretend to like her, have to touch and kiss her on screen, all to keep up the pretence that we're 'real-life lovers' and keep the PR moguls and our agents happy, and it's not over yet. I'm contracted to do another one of these fucking films, but then it will be all over, thank God."
This time Bella placed her hands across the table to take his clenched ones and held them until she felt him relax.
"I'm glad you found me," she said convincingly. "I can put this behind me now, even though I'm itching to get my own back on the scheming witch."
Edward shook his head ruefully but then a slow smirk spread across his face as a plan started to formulate in his agitated brain.
"What are you doing at the weekend?" he asked while searching in his pockets for his cell phone.
Bella looked surprised for a second then replied, "Nothing important, why?"
"You are now. You're going to London with me, as my date for the British premiere after-party. Ask Mike and Tyler if you can have Thursday and Friday off. No, tell Mike and Tyler that you're having Thursday and Friday off. You'll be networking on their behalf and having fun at the same time."
Before Bella had a chance to agree or otherwise, Edward had pushed a button on his cell and got straight through to James's office in LA where it was still late afternoon. After a brief conversation with James's PA, she agreed to reserve an extra seat on the flight to London and a hotel room for his 'friend' leaving on Wednesday night and returning on Sunday.
Edward sat back in his chair and lifted up his glass. Bella stared at him for a moment, totally speechless as what he had just proposed sank in, and then she lifted up her own glass, smiled and said…
"'Revenge is a dish best served cold' I think is another saying which is appropriate at this moment in time."
They clinked glasses, and after they toasted finding each other again, despite Tanya's best efforts, this time they ordered a bottle of Champagne, which heralded the start of a very long and very boozy evening!
