Disclaimer: Mai-Hime belongs to Sunrise.
CHAPTER 5
True to what the receptionist had informed her, the raven haired young director found herself walking on a wide red carpeted hallway with a single door on each side of the wall proving the existence of only two units in that building floor. An array of small round luminous white spotlights was installed on the ceiling, lighting the hallway.
She casted her emerald orbs to her left where a steel star-shaped gold metal was installed on the wall next to the unit's entrance. She read what was embossed therein in silver writing with her mind. "Shizuru Viola." She rolled her eyes upon seeing the name. "Great. Just fuckin' great. That woman will be my freakin' neighbor. Not to mention ONLY neighbor. I guess it's time to say goodbye to the idea of having a good friendly neighbor." The raven haired young director thought dejectedly.
She halted near the entrance of her assigned unit where a steel square-shaped silver metal was installed beside it. She glanced at the embossed encryption therein and saw her name. "Director ." She glared at the innocent and immovable accessory like it had offended her in an unimaginable way, willing it to melt with her deathly glares. "Way to shout to the world who's inside. Hello security measurement? Never heard of living in incognito? Not everyone is as vain as that woman." The raven haired young director grumbled in her thoughts.
If there's one thing that she learned in her still short years of being a director, it was to never let anybody know her living quarter. She hated being pestered by those persistent and annoying talents and managers alike who didn't know how to take no for an answer whenever she rejected their request to direct their movie without even batting an eye.
"Ahem! Ahem!" The valet, whose existence was ignored by the raven haired young director, feigned coughing upon witnessing the raven haired young director's not so appreciative reaction to the accessory. As much as he wanted to keep ogling the beautiful raven haired young director before him, he needed to do his job, finished his shift for the night and be on his merry way home. He wasn't disappointed when the raven haired young director looked at his way but unfortunately for him her death glare was still on, making him gulp nervously.
"Ahm. Madam, you just have to swipe your purple access key card here." The valet gestured to a white swiping machine. "After that you can place either your hands or eyes for biometric scanning here." The valet continued, gesturing to a rectangular screen to the side of the swiping machine. "Or speak for voice scanning here." The valet gestured to another small box that looked like an intercom."You can choose among fingerprints, retinal, or voice scanning for identification purposes. You have the option to use either the purple access key card or the biometrics to access your unit." The valet continued before adding a comment. "Majority of the residents here forgets their access key card or worse loses it, keeping the help center unnecessarily busy. So, the management decided to do a two-way authorization access instead." The valet finished shaking his head lightly, remembering the unfortunate event when he had to skip lunch in order to attend to the residents who were locked out of their units.
"I see. Thank you. You may go now." The raven haired young director said dismissing the valet.
"You're welcome. I hope you enjoy your stay with us, Madam!" The valet bowed before turning on his heels and going back to the direction of the elevator.
The raven haired young director did as instructed. After a few minutes of fumbling with the security system, changing some of its settings and entering the required fields. She finally decided to test her little handiwork. She stood in front of the blinking red light that identifies the presence of a human through the body temperature sensor.
"IDENTIFICATION" A monotone static voice came out of the intercom.
" ." The raven haired young director spoke in her husky voice. She decided to go for the voice identification.
"CONFIRMING VOICE." A monotone static voice announced before continuing after three seconds of delay. "IDENTIFICATION VERIFIED. WELCOME DIRECTOR KRUGER." A very sexy voice of a woman purred seductively in its lust filled voice, if that was even possible for a machine to be. What did the raven haired young director do to the security system settings for the intercom to sound like a perverted sexually aroused woman? Only heaven knows.
The entrance to the unit slid open. The raven haired young director smirked before entering her unit. She was horribly burst out of her happy bubble when the interior design of her unit was presented to her plain sight. She stood frozen on the now sealed entrance of her unit.
"Oi, oi. The last time I checked, there are freakin' different colors of countless shades that exist! Why the fuckin' hell is this unit monochromatically designed with purple shits!?" The raven haired young director screamed in her thought as her emerald orbs caught the sight of the living area with plush purple sofas directly a few feet away from where she was standing. As if the interior designer is not yet satisfied with that, a purple coffee table was installed in the middle. A 51 inches flat screen TV was installed on the left wall to her left. Not to mention the walls were painted with the lightest shade of purple outlined with detailed dark purple swirls.
"Why didn't they just go for safe colors like white or cream maybe or whatever boring color that those hotels used?" The raven haired director continued her nonsensical ramblings before sighing. "I guess it can't be help." The director thought dejectedly before a memory crossed her mind. "Can't wait to see spider's reaction to these shits when she'll take over the project. ." The raven haired young director snickered, knowing the red haired director's hatred for the color purple or anything that resembles the color violet. Whatever reason the red haired director had, she did not know and she did not give a damn. It was one of the things that she used to annoy said red haired director when she was losing an argument with her.
She casted her gaze to her left and she saw a balcony. A hint of joy fluttered in her heart, expecting it to be her little escape from the hilarious scenery of the unit. She decided to stride there and she wasn't disappointed when the view of the city lights welcomed her. The cold night air grazed her delicate skin. This somehow calmed her nerves and made her forgot about her new found hatred for the innocent purple color. Either she really hated the inherently unoffending color itself or just the memory of a certain tawny haired gorgeous superstar that crossed her mind the moment she saw the color purple.
She stood there basking at the calming cold night air when her emerald orbs caught a glance of another balcony to her left. Knowing full well who might emerge from said balcony and having enough sightseeing for the night, she decided to get in.
She walked straight and saw a five flight of stairs leading to a small area below where a curvy indoor swimming pool was installed. She went down and ignored the seemingly out of place swimming pool, not really in the mood to use it. She went straight to a room which she expected to be the bedroom. She wasn't again disappointed when she saw a queen sized bed draped in red blanket.
"Fancy. Matrimonial bed? I wasn't informed that I was in for a honeymoon." The raven haired young director thought sarcastically when she saw red rose petals scattered on the floor leading to the queen-sized bed. At a closer look, she saw red rose petals arranged in a heart-shape on the velvet red comforter. Ignoring all these, she went on laying all the access cards given to her on the nightstand.
She discarded her black-tea-stained v-neck white t-shirt and threw the piece of cloth on the bed, distorting the perfectly shaped red rose petals formation in the process. She was on her way to her supposedly bathroom when she was frozen in her track. Her emerald orbs stared in astonishment at the very familiar figure who was sauntering towards her.
The gorgeous tawny haired superstar emerged from said bathroom in all her wet look glory. Her red bathrobe left untied revealing her creamy skin clad only in black lacy Victoria's Secret limited edition lingerie. Her wet tawny mane was left freely flowing down below her shoulder. Droplets of water visibly cascading down her neck towards the valley of her creamy ample mounds.
"Beautiful…" The raven haired young director thought as she shamelessly glued her emerald orbs to the goddess' gorgeous body before her. Her mind went blank as she was enchanted by the mesmerizing beauty before her.
The tawny haired superstar was surprising herself with the things that her body was doing. The situation that she was in right now was something that she wasn't planning to do anytime sooner. She used to be the one being pursued. Gorgeous women and handsome men were throwing themselves at her feet. Just a word from her beautiful mouth and they were reduced to a worshipping fool who will do anything at her command.
But the raven haired young director, whose almost-naked upper torso she was lustfully devouring with her crimson orbs, was a different story. The raven haired young director ignored her twice in a row for that day alone. Not to mention that that said raven haired young director seemed to look at anywhere but her. Never was a Shizuru Viola been ignored before. For whatever reason, she felt challenged by the raven haired young director's indifference to her existence and that said raven haired young director's resistance to her enchanting spell.
"My, my. What tantalizing eyes you have there, Director." The tawny haired superstar thought as she found herself lost in those emerald orbs. Her crimson orbs looked down and her eyes twinkled mischievously when she was presented with well toned abdominal muscles with blue piercing on the raven haired young director's navel. "My, my. Director has some interesting accessory. Piercing? Sexy. I wonder whether she has that somewhere else. Perhaps below or up there?" The tawny haired superstar thought as she looked down towards the raven haired young director's denim jeans before her crimson orbs travelled upward once crimson orbs shamelessly stared at the raven haired young director's chest which was few sizes smaller than hers but perfectly matched her lithe and slender body. "My, my. Someone's not gifted in that area. But still hot." The tawny haired superstar once again surprised herself. Never did she admire anyone's body before. Neither was she aroused by someone who was just barely naked. Unfortunately, the raven haired young director was still fully clothed down and still had her bra on.
"My, my. Does Director Kruger see something she likes?" The tawny haired superstar resumed sauntering towards the raven haired young director who seemed to be broken out of her stupor. Hips swaying seductively as her robe's flaps flowed behind her, revealing more of her creamy flesh underneath
"Hell yes." The raven haired young director admitted in her thoughts then, realizing something. "How did you even get inside my unit? Useless security system!" She thought but she will never admit that nor was she going to ask the very cliché question that people usually blurted out when an unexpected guest managed to get inside their quarter without permission. Lest she will be an entertainment to the tawny haired superstar again and that she refused to be.
"Last time I checked, I am inside my assigned unit." The raven haired young director stated matter-of-factly, still not moving from her spot as her slim eyebrow rose. Ignoring the tawny haired woman's insinuation.
"My, my. I am just giving Director Kruger a warm welcome. I am her friendly floor mate after all. We don't want to give Director Kruger the impression that her neighbor is rude, ignoring her presence, do we now Director Kruger?" The tawny haired superstar stressed some words, still not happy about the fact that the raven haired young director ignored her twice that day.
"Too late for that woman. Shizuru Viola will always be equal to Rude Viola in my vocabulary. Filed. Saved. Ready to be retrieved whenever I'll see your face again." The raven haired young director replied in her thought. But instead of blurting it out loud, she decided to close her eyes like that act will make the tawny haired woman in front of her vanish into thin air for good. She was seriously in no mood for word battle.
To say that the tawny haired superstar was unhappy about the raven haired young director's reaction was an utter understatement. She felt denied of the sight of those bewitching emerald orbs that she found enchanting just recently. She wished those emerald orbs to look at her and only her alone. Why was she so desperate for the raven haired young director's attention? Even she did not know the answer to that. All she knew was that as of the moment, she was willing to do anything just to see those emerald orbs again. Her body was craving and her mind was screaming for it.
Giving in to her unusual impulsiveness, she started weaving her way towards the raven haired young director. When she was a step away, she held the raven haired young director's delicate and smooth face in her hands as she slowly caressed her cheeks. The raven haired young director stiffened with the unexpected gesture but later on relaxed to the touch.
"Look at me." The tawny haired superstar whispered, looking up at the slightly-taller-than-her raven haired young director.
To hell with her planned seduction scheme and to hell with her image as the one being pursued. When the raven haired young director did not budge, she pressed her forehead to hers. Their faces inch apart as they can feel each other's warm breath.
"Look at me, please." The tawny haired superstar begged albeit desperately this time in her almost-inaudible melodic voice.
Again, the raven haired young director did not move a muscle. Eyes still held shut, denying her of her most wanted emerald orbs. Desperation getting the better of her judgment and logical reasoning, the tawny haired superstar once again surprised herself by her next action.
"I said look at me!" the tawny haired superstar blurted out, agitated. She released the raven haired director's face from her hold as she threw her arms to her sides.
Never did Shizuru Viola lose her cool. But again, she had never been this desperate in her twenty years of existence in her shining shimmering and glittering world. It seemed like meeting a certain raven haired young director brought a lot of first times to her almost perfect and luxurious life.
Nevertheless, this brought her the desired effect for the raven haired young director finally relented and opened her eyelids, revealing her emerald orbs from its concealment and allowing the tawny haired superstar the view of it.
She looked straight at those crimson orbs, stoically. She stepped closer to the tawny haired superstar who seemed rooted on her spot. Her right arm encircling the tawny haired superstar's half naked waist. Her left hand reached for the tawny haired superstar's right cheek as she inched her face closer to hers. The tawny haired superstar's lips parted and her breathed heaved in anticipation for the coming kiss. The raven haired young director dove closer, her lips almost grazing the tawny haired superstar's soft ones. Seconds passed by agonizingly slow as time seemed to freeze. A heart was beating with dangerously fast rhythm that it almost seemed like that essential organ was wishing release from its confinement. The moment dragged on for like forever waiting for their lips to finally touch each other. Unfortunately, the much anticipated kiss never came as the raven haired young director abruptly changed her head's course and instead went on placing it beside the disappointed tawny haired superstar's head. Her mouth inched near the tawny haired superstar's left ear.
"YOU. REPEL. ME." The raven haired young director drawled the phrase as she whispered them to the tawny haired superstar's left ear huskily. Emphasizing each word as if meaning them to be forever engraved in the tawny haired superstar's memory.
The raven haired young director abruptly released the tawny haired superstar from her hold, distancing herself.
"I'm sure you know your way out." The raven haired young director spoke stoically as she strode past the stunned tawny haired superstar towards the bathroom and closing its door in a not so gentle way. A loud thud echoing through the room was heard.
To say that the tawny haired superstar was shocked with the raven haired young director's reaction was an utter understatement. She was flabbergasted as she stood there with dilated crimson orbs and stiffed body. Mouth left slightly ajar. Her crimson orbs glistening with held tears. The word hurt will never suffice to describe what she felt at that moment. She was point blank rejected not to mention her already injured ego was once again bruised. To add insult to the injury, the raven haired young director insensitively told her how disgusting she was, shattering her heart in the process.
After a few seconds of spiraling down the pit of rejection which seemed like forever to her, she finally weaved her way back and emerged to the present. She closed her eyes as she breathed in a lungful of air before releasing it to calm her now furious heart. Her crimson orbs peeped again as her eyes squinted with anger before her expression changed into a serene one. Too serene for her own good. She calmly secured her robe around her perfectly carved body before striding out of the bedroom gracefully and eventually out of the raven haired young director's living quarter.
The raven haired young director found herself beneath the shower spray as cold water came rushing from above her. She allowed the water to graze her naked body in an attempt to calm her nerves and the burning desire within her. Human as she was, her body reacted to the tawny haired superstar's little seduction scheme just fine although she effectively concealed it from being noticed by said tawny haired superstar.
"Throwing yourself to a stranger just like that. For what? For a little spot in Hollywood and to take your acting career to the next level? Trying to reach the top the easy way by sleeping with strangers huh. So, that's how it works for you. How low." The raven haired young director thought disgustingly as she looked up and let the water rushed to her delicate and smooth face instead. "Why am I even surprised? You're no different from those Hollywood bitches." She released a sigh as she went on with her shower.
Room 12 26th Floor Building A, SFV Entertainment Company Residences
The orange haired manager sat on her dining area. A laptop flashing the information about a certain actress was laid in front of her. To her right was a cold cup of tea that was long forgotten the moment she started scanning the files before her. Her eyes were flickering from right to left as she read what was written therein.
"Started appearing on kids' television shows at the tender age of four. Did some cameo roles for her superstar mother's movies appearing as the latter's younger version. Won her first best child star award at the age of six. Attended the Julliard School of Arts and Music and finished it with good citation. Series of awards won. Best supporting actress. Best actress. Became the United Nation's Ambassadress for women at the age of nineteen. Support's wild life preservation…." The orange haired manager paused reading some random information. She continued reading after a short break. The next classified information piqued her interest. "Involved in a plane crash accident one year ago. Private plane crashed down near the South China Sea. Both parents died. Survived such accident but started developing fear for confined spaces and body of water. Diagnosed for having mild case of claustrophobia and a chronic case of aquaphobia resulting from the plane crash accident. Still currently on scheduled psychological therapy. Took five months off the camera. No news until later months. Left by her lover for career in Hollywood. Never been involved in any serious relationship since then but spotted with different celebrities in night clubs. Name started appearing on celebrity scandals. Known for her title as 'Bewitching Smile Amethyst of Japan' …" she continued scrolling down and she was presented with series of pictures captured by paparazzi. Majority of them were taken inside different bars. Bodies flushed together as they danced wildly.
The orange haired director continued reading the file. When she decided she had enough for the night, she leaned her tired knotted back on the backrest of the dining chair. Her right hand went up to massage her forehead as she can feel a headache coming. Her eyes stared at the ceiling as her mind pondered on things. "A supernova reduced to a dwarf star. Such raw inherent talent should not be put to waste." A small frown crossed her feature at the thought. "Damaged girl." Her brows furrowed as this thought crossed her mind. "Natsuki, I hope you can see pass through her. She's more than what meets the eyes." She paused as she let her arms fell limply on her sides, still looking up at the ceiling. "The mask that we are forced to wear everyday to fit in and to protect ourselves from getting hurt. Defense mechanism, is it? Not everyone is blessed to be brave enough to wear his emotions on his sleeves. People will always render judgment. That's our inherent nature…" She was brought out of her musing when her phone rang loudly.
She picked up her personalized orange-encased iPhone from the table and checked the caller ID before swiping on the screen to answer it.
"Good morning, Ms. SK." She greeted the person on the other line.
"Good evening, Ms. Tokiha. You sound tired. You should not overwork yourself. Take some rests." The person on the other line noticed the unusual lack of energy on the orange haired manager's voice.
"I am fine, Ms. SK. I went through the files that you sent me." The orange haired manager replied, straightening up and trying to be at her behest knowing the reason for the call she was receiving.
"I see." The person on the other line paused for a few seconds as if putting some consideration to her next words. Not meaning to sound imposing on her employee though she had expected her to work right away on the assignment. "What do you think of her, Ms. Tokiha?"
"Promising. She's perfect for Hollywood, Ms. SK." The orange haired manager replied, leaving some of her thoughts hanging in the air.
"I can sense a 'but' coming next to your sentence, Ms. Tokiha." The person on the other line commented, her keen ears and long years of working with the orange haired manager made it possible for her to read the orange haired manager like an open book.
"But convincing her to join us will not be easy. A good number of companies in Hollywood had tried recruiting her including our major competitors but she never showed even the slightest interest to any. At least that's what my informant said." The orange haired manager informed, her face hardened as she tried to plot some scheme on how she will carry out her task.
"But that wasn't the case the last time I talked to her more than a year ago. She seemed to be interested." The person on the other line said, her voice becoming distant as she looked back to a past memory.
"You tried inviting her to join us in Hollywood, Ms. SK?" The orange haired manager asked unsurely, not believing what she just heard. For the Big Boss to take the matter into her hand there must be something special about the actress that they were talking about right now.
"Yes, Ms. Tokiha. During one of their vacation here in Las Vegas. Her late mother was a good friend of mine." The person on the other line paused as sadness laced her voice. She resumed talking after a couple of seconds after composing herself. "I never heard anything from her after the accident, though. I did not bother her seeing she needed her time to recover from the trauma caused by the plane crash."
"I'll see what I can do, Ms. SK." The orange haired manager said, not meaning to make a promise that she might not be able to keep. The task was no ordinary one seeing she can't think of any offer that can persuade her target.
"I believe in your capabilities, Ms. Tokiha." The person on the line spoke with conviction in her voice. "Just don't put unnecessary pressure on your shoulder. I want you to enjoy your stay there. Go out with Mr. Kanzaki, is it?" The person on the other line finished with a light note, meaning to lift the conversation to a lighter mood.
"H-how d-did y-you k-know a-abo-ut t-that, Ms. SK?" The orange haired manager stuttered as blush crept to her cheeks.
The person on the other line let a low chuckle before responding. "I happened to had a little friendly chat with your mother during my visit to Italy. By the way, congratulations on your new restaurant branch in Paris, Ms. Tokiha."
"Mom and her mouth." The orange haired manager grumbled before realizing she was still on the phone. "Sorry about that, Ms. SK. Thank you." She apologized for being tactless. She was still talking to her boss after all.
"Now, now, Ms. Tokiha. Your mother is just happy for you. She sounded eager to meet this Mr. Kanzaki the last time we talked." The person on the other line commented. Then, as if some realization struck her, she continued. "I don't want to keep you awake, Ms. Tokiha. Take your rest. I'm ending the call now." The woman finished.
The line went dead and the orange haired manager started moving from her spot.
It might take some times before I can update again. Regardless, I don't plan on leaving this story unfinished. It is still a work in process, though. So, be warned. Author has deadlines to meet. This is just author's past time (hobby). Hope everyone is having a great life.