The blank white screen gazed right back at her. Elizabeth dropped her head onto the desk. She was sitting in her study, which was one the second largest room in her chamber. With her bedroom as the largest, the bathroom the smallest and her personal private study as the middle room.
Two weeks. Laurent has been here for two weeks now. And she hasn't been able to write something, anything that worth not using the backspace. She sighed. For the past two weeks she has been avoiding George because of her writer's block. She looked up and her gaze fell on Laurent, who was at the moment reading Phantom, that book she had bought at that second hand bookstore in London. She couldn't honestly believe that he was still here in Sweet Valley. He really wasn't kidding when he said that he was going to stay here until she agreed to...
Concentrate! She told herself sternly returning to the screen. Still, it feels just like they were married. A quiet moment in the private study with her working on her next work of heart and Laurent reading.
A quiet moment between husband and wife.
"Are you alright love?" She gazed up at his voice.
"I can't seem to get down a single word worth keeping." She told him honestly. There was no reason to keep the truth from him, he was too shrewd not to see behind the lie.
"Why do you think that?"
"Because it's the truth."
"Does it have anything with me here?"
"I honestly don't know even if you weren't here I would probably still be looking at a blank screen."
"How long are you going to be here, I'm sure Catherine, Nicolas, Peirre, Manon and Claudine miss you like crazy."
"Well I miss them too, but I have been around them for the past eight years, you I have not. I have enjoyed our time together with out anything or anyone getting in our way." She smiled and closed out her writing program, she didn't have to worry about saving anything. She stood and stretched. "If George knew I have been avoiding my writing he would never let me hear the end of it. He also would also have a heartattack knowing that I was shacked up here with you."
"Shacked up?"
"Closed off to the world. Kinda like what you did at your cottage."
"Ah, I still don't quite understand the American Slang."
"That's surprising knowing how many hours you watch Mtv."
"But yes and now I can name every member of the Backstreet Boys."
"That's not a good thing for a 26 year old prince to know."
"Claudine would be happy to know I can do that."
"Is she into the Backstreet Boys?"
"She's 13. What do you expect?"
She smiled. "You got me there."
"I love you."
"I love you too." She laid her head on his chest and he kissed her head. In the past two weeks Elizabeth was able to come to an understanding with her self about her feelings for him. After she had a heart to heart with herself, Jessica, her mom and Laurent, she was finally able to get over self and now she was simply enjoying the feeling of his arms around her and his lips in her hair. She finally stopped fighting and decided to let the celestial forces of the universe lead her. And this is apperantly where THEY lead her. And she wasn't complaining. Not at all.
"Elizabeth,"
"Yes?"
"If I asked would you say yes?"
"I don't know."
The blessed phone started to ring. Elizabeth tried to get out of the embrace to answer it.
"Leave it."
The machine picked up. "Elizabeth, I need to talk to you. As soon as possible." George's annoyed voice came through. Elizabeth was able to get through Laurent and picked up the reciever.
"George what's the matter?"
"Where have you been?"
"Home."
"With whom?"
"Why do you think I'm with someone?"
"Because you have been seen around Sweet Valley with a dark haired PRINCE!" He shouted the last word.
"What's your point? It's my life." Very aware of the subject being able to hear the conversation she wanted to move somewhere more private, but the subject wasn't having it.
Following her down to the first floor, Laurent was going to hear at least her side of the conversation.
"Are you forgetting something George? iyou/i work for ime./i If I want to take a break I will."
"Fine. I'll come into L.A." Elizabeth pressed the talk button and sat the phone on a table in the hall.
"What's the matter?"
"I need to go to L.A today and talk with George." She kissed him. "I have no clue why I let him boss me around like that. Even if I talk the smallest break off he throws a fit and tries to have a heart attack. I know it's wrong but sometimes I imagine him becoming sick, just so he will give me a few minutes rest."
"Will you come homw tonight?"
"Yes I will, good because I have something special planned."
"You always have something planned."
"Tonight it's a special occasion."
**George Hatter Agent and Management**
Elizabeth opened the door to George's air conditioned office and walked up to the secertary. "Hello Miss Wakefield. George is quite ancious to talk to you."
"I'm sure he has quite a few words for me Alice." Elizabeth said dryly. Walking past the desk and down the hall to his office. Taking a deep breath she prepared for the battle that was going down.
"George?" Elizabeth opened the door and George looked up from what he was doing.
"Elizabeth. How nice of you to come here."
"You asked me here."
"And you know why I wanted you here."
"It's about Laurent isn't it?"
"Elizabeth. have a seat."He sighed and pointed at the seat. Elizabeth took the seat and stared at George. "Look, I would normally support the choices you make concerning your love life, but I must insist that you break off all ties to the Prince."
"Don't call him that. Call him by his name, Laurent."
"Elizabeth," George rubbed his eyes and purched himself on the desk infront of Elizabeth. "I have your best interests at heart. The best interests of your career. And the best thing is for you to stay completely way from anyone who could add to your name."
"So you want me to completely cut all the bonds I have with the man that I love for what?"
"For your career. You are alienating your male readers."
"Why would it matter that I have a boyfriend or not?"
"It's not good for appearence to be seen with royalty."
"Why not? I thought most people would use the title of ibprince/i/b to futher their career."
"Yes, but Elizabeth the majority of readers of your book are 18 through 30 year old males."
So, the truth finally comes out." Elizabeth said bitterly. "That's why you wanted to know everything about my past with Laurent so that you find a way to keep us apart so I can keep up my isingle/i appearence." Elizabeth drew herself up to full height, all the pieces together in a perverse puzzle. "You are saying the only reason that my book was bought was because of my looks isn't?"
When George didn't deny it she continued with more emotion than she thought possible.
"So in order to make sure my male audience stays interested in my body, not my writing, you want to keep me from being with my soulmate. So that you will get more money."
Goerge pailed at that. Yet he didn't deny anything.
"That's what it's all about isn't? Money. You want to sacerfice my happiness for lousy money. That's also why you sent me on that hell tour for several months. I know that you get paid for every appearence I do."
"If it wasn't for me, Miss Wakefield you wouldn't be an author. For as long as you remember you wanted success with writing. Well I got it for you. Without me YOU wouldn't be here. And yes, I want to keep you and the prince apart ever since I saw him being dragged by Jessica across the bookstore floor. He would have caused the down fall of my career. Miss Wakefield this has never been about you. It has always been about me and my career as a manager, I needed a pretty young thing with talent to "discover" so that I can redeem my self in the face of the agent world. It didn't matter if you could write or count only to ten with your fingers. All I need was your precious looks to flaunt to the media."
Elizabeth was seeing red. She couldn't believe it. The George she trusted with her only dream, was using her looks for his purposes only. The back of her eyelids started burning as gazed with pure hatred at him.
"YOU GODDAMN BASTARD." She screamed and slapped him hard on his fat cheek. "You forgetting that I hired you. You make your money from me. You are fired from being my manager."
"You can't fire me. We have a contract. You belong to me."
"Not anymore." She whispered taking the contract off the desk and through it into the fireplace. She smiled hard as the flamed licked at the tasty morsel. She turned back to him.
"You burnt that copy of the contract but they are other copies, the original is safe. You still belong to me."
Elizabeth didn't want to do this but when the choice came down to it, she knew what she wanted.
"In our contract there is a clause that I can use, when you pushed harder than what I wanted to do, you broke the contract." Elizabeth turned and walked to the door, but not without slapping George hard on the face.
"I quit writing, find yourself another tooddie." Elizabeth slammed the door on the way out.
Two weeks. Laurent has been here for two weeks now. And she hasn't been able to write something, anything that worth not using the backspace. She sighed. For the past two weeks she has been avoiding George because of her writer's block. She looked up and her gaze fell on Laurent, who was at the moment reading Phantom, that book she had bought at that second hand bookstore in London. She couldn't honestly believe that he was still here in Sweet Valley. He really wasn't kidding when he said that he was going to stay here until she agreed to...
Concentrate! She told herself sternly returning to the screen. Still, it feels just like they were married. A quiet moment in the private study with her working on her next work of heart and Laurent reading.
A quiet moment between husband and wife.
"Are you alright love?" She gazed up at his voice.
"I can't seem to get down a single word worth keeping." She told him honestly. There was no reason to keep the truth from him, he was too shrewd not to see behind the lie.
"Why do you think that?"
"Because it's the truth."
"Does it have anything with me here?"
"I honestly don't know even if you weren't here I would probably still be looking at a blank screen."
"How long are you going to be here, I'm sure Catherine, Nicolas, Peirre, Manon and Claudine miss you like crazy."
"Well I miss them too, but I have been around them for the past eight years, you I have not. I have enjoyed our time together with out anything or anyone getting in our way." She smiled and closed out her writing program, she didn't have to worry about saving anything. She stood and stretched. "If George knew I have been avoiding my writing he would never let me hear the end of it. He also would also have a heartattack knowing that I was shacked up here with you."
"Shacked up?"
"Closed off to the world. Kinda like what you did at your cottage."
"Ah, I still don't quite understand the American Slang."
"That's surprising knowing how many hours you watch Mtv."
"But yes and now I can name every member of the Backstreet Boys."
"That's not a good thing for a 26 year old prince to know."
"Claudine would be happy to know I can do that."
"Is she into the Backstreet Boys?"
"She's 13. What do you expect?"
She smiled. "You got me there."
"I love you."
"I love you too." She laid her head on his chest and he kissed her head. In the past two weeks Elizabeth was able to come to an understanding with her self about her feelings for him. After she had a heart to heart with herself, Jessica, her mom and Laurent, she was finally able to get over self and now she was simply enjoying the feeling of his arms around her and his lips in her hair. She finally stopped fighting and decided to let the celestial forces of the universe lead her. And this is apperantly where THEY lead her. And she wasn't complaining. Not at all.
"Elizabeth,"
"Yes?"
"If I asked would you say yes?"
"I don't know."
The blessed phone started to ring. Elizabeth tried to get out of the embrace to answer it.
"Leave it."
The machine picked up. "Elizabeth, I need to talk to you. As soon as possible." George's annoyed voice came through. Elizabeth was able to get through Laurent and picked up the reciever.
"George what's the matter?"
"Where have you been?"
"Home."
"With whom?"
"Why do you think I'm with someone?"
"Because you have been seen around Sweet Valley with a dark haired PRINCE!" He shouted the last word.
"What's your point? It's my life." Very aware of the subject being able to hear the conversation she wanted to move somewhere more private, but the subject wasn't having it.
Following her down to the first floor, Laurent was going to hear at least her side of the conversation.
"Are you forgetting something George? iyou/i work for ime./i If I want to take a break I will."
"Fine. I'll come into L.A." Elizabeth pressed the talk button and sat the phone on a table in the hall.
"What's the matter?"
"I need to go to L.A today and talk with George." She kissed him. "I have no clue why I let him boss me around like that. Even if I talk the smallest break off he throws a fit and tries to have a heart attack. I know it's wrong but sometimes I imagine him becoming sick, just so he will give me a few minutes rest."
"Will you come homw tonight?"
"Yes I will, good because I have something special planned."
"You always have something planned."
"Tonight it's a special occasion."
**George Hatter Agent and Management**
Elizabeth opened the door to George's air conditioned office and walked up to the secertary. "Hello Miss Wakefield. George is quite ancious to talk to you."
"I'm sure he has quite a few words for me Alice." Elizabeth said dryly. Walking past the desk and down the hall to his office. Taking a deep breath she prepared for the battle that was going down.
"George?" Elizabeth opened the door and George looked up from what he was doing.
"Elizabeth. How nice of you to come here."
"You asked me here."
"And you know why I wanted you here."
"It's about Laurent isn't it?"
"Elizabeth. have a seat."He sighed and pointed at the seat. Elizabeth took the seat and stared at George. "Look, I would normally support the choices you make concerning your love life, but I must insist that you break off all ties to the Prince."
"Don't call him that. Call him by his name, Laurent."
"Elizabeth," George rubbed his eyes and purched himself on the desk infront of Elizabeth. "I have your best interests at heart. The best interests of your career. And the best thing is for you to stay completely way from anyone who could add to your name."
"So you want me to completely cut all the bonds I have with the man that I love for what?"
"For your career. You are alienating your male readers."
"Why would it matter that I have a boyfriend or not?"
"It's not good for appearence to be seen with royalty."
"Why not? I thought most people would use the title of ibprince/i/b to futher their career."
"Yes, but Elizabeth the majority of readers of your book are 18 through 30 year old males."
So, the truth finally comes out." Elizabeth said bitterly. "That's why you wanted to know everything about my past with Laurent so that you find a way to keep us apart so I can keep up my isingle/i appearence." Elizabeth drew herself up to full height, all the pieces together in a perverse puzzle. "You are saying the only reason that my book was bought was because of my looks isn't?"
When George didn't deny it she continued with more emotion than she thought possible.
"So in order to make sure my male audience stays interested in my body, not my writing, you want to keep me from being with my soulmate. So that you will get more money."
Goerge pailed at that. Yet he didn't deny anything.
"That's what it's all about isn't? Money. You want to sacerfice my happiness for lousy money. That's also why you sent me on that hell tour for several months. I know that you get paid for every appearence I do."
"If it wasn't for me, Miss Wakefield you wouldn't be an author. For as long as you remember you wanted success with writing. Well I got it for you. Without me YOU wouldn't be here. And yes, I want to keep you and the prince apart ever since I saw him being dragged by Jessica across the bookstore floor. He would have caused the down fall of my career. Miss Wakefield this has never been about you. It has always been about me and my career as a manager, I needed a pretty young thing with talent to "discover" so that I can redeem my self in the face of the agent world. It didn't matter if you could write or count only to ten with your fingers. All I need was your precious looks to flaunt to the media."
Elizabeth was seeing red. She couldn't believe it. The George she trusted with her only dream, was using her looks for his purposes only. The back of her eyelids started burning as gazed with pure hatred at him.
"YOU GODDAMN BASTARD." She screamed and slapped him hard on his fat cheek. "You forgetting that I hired you. You make your money from me. You are fired from being my manager."
"You can't fire me. We have a contract. You belong to me."
"Not anymore." She whispered taking the contract off the desk and through it into the fireplace. She smiled hard as the flamed licked at the tasty morsel. She turned back to him.
"You burnt that copy of the contract but they are other copies, the original is safe. You still belong to me."
Elizabeth didn't want to do this but when the choice came down to it, she knew what she wanted.
"In our contract there is a clause that I can use, when you pushed harder than what I wanted to do, you broke the contract." Elizabeth turned and walked to the door, but not without slapping George hard on the face.
"I quit writing, find yourself another tooddie." Elizabeth slammed the door on the way out.
