Page 19 of Kissing Games
‘Do you mind if I sit here?’ he asked.
Shauna looked up, surprised, and quickly swallowed her mouthful. ‘Oh no, of course not. Please, be my guest.’
He sat. ‘Are you in a hurry?’
Shauna nodded as she chewed, then gulped from a glass of water. ‘I have a very small window while Kirsten and His Holiness eat, then I have to get back.’ She glanced at her phone, as if the very act of talking was a crime against her employer.
‘You’re Kirsten’s personal assistant?’
Shauna nodded, chewing faster.
‘What do you do for her?’
She swallowed. ‘Everything. Answering emails, shopping, liaising with her agent, giving orders to the rest of her staff, booking travel, doing laundry. Anything she needs.’
‘Have you been working for her a long time?’
‘Nearly six months. I’ve lasted the longest,’ she said proudly.
Charlie didn’t know how to reply. ‘So, where are Kirsten and Vlad eating, then?’
Shauna dropped her fork with a crash and looked around guiltily. ‘Shh!’ she whispered. ‘You’ve got to refer to him as “His Holiness”.’
Charlie leaned in. ‘That’s never going to happen,’ he whispered back. He grinned at her shocked face.
She furtively glanced around again. ‘Brad’s chef cooks food for them separately. They eat an organic, raw, whole foods, plant-based diet and His Holiness blesses everything.’ She scraped the last of her food into her mouth.
‘No cookies in the middle of the night when they get hungry, then?’
Shauna bit her lip as if stopping herself from talking further. She put her cutlery together on the plate and stood. ‘I’m sorry to appear rude, but I have to go.’ She blushed. ‘Thank you for earlier, you were very kind.’
Charlie shook his head. ‘It was nothing.’ He took her plate out of her hands. ‘Leave it. I’ll take it back when I’m done. You do what you have to do.’
Shauna mouthed a ‘thank you’ at him and scuttled off.
Charlie finished eating quickly. The food was good, but unless he was sharing it with someone, it was merely fuel. He took their plates back to the catering truck, then went to find Barbara, Rory’s mum.
She lived in a modern flat in the west wing of the castle, built for her when she got married. As he walked down one of the long corridors towards the entrance to the flat, a small woman in chef’s whites was ahead of him, pushing a trolley. She reached the door to the flat just before Charlie and rang the bell.
Barbara opened the door with a smile, then looked at Charlie, her face falling. She recovered quickly and turned to the woman. ‘Just go on through and set up, he’s waiting inside.’ She let the woman pass, then pulled the door so she was standing in the corridor. ‘Charles, what a pleasant surprise, I was looking forward to seeing you,’ she said, coming in for an air kiss.
‘I can come back tomorrow if it’s not convenient?’
Barbara lowered her voice. ‘If you wouldn’t mind, that would be most appreciated. Mr Bauer insisted I dine with him, and experience the talents of his personal chef. I didn’t want to appear rude by declining.’
‘No problem, I’ll leave you to it.’
Barbara placed her hand on his arm. ‘Charles, I don’t want to put you in an awkward position, but this is something Rory really doesn’t need to know about. My son is awfully touchy about Bra-Mr Bauer, and we could all do without any more unnecessary scenes. Do you understand?’
He nodded. ‘I know how he can be. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Barbara squeezed his arm. ‘Thank you, dear,’ she said and slipped back inside the flat.
Walking back to his room,Charlie passed Valentina’s door and slowed to a stop. He could hear her inside, chatting and laughing in Spanish, presumably on another call with her family. A yearning pain filled his chest. Valentina’s life was filled with love. In comparison, his was filled with empty failure.
In his room he flopped on the bed and looked at his phone. Should he ring his mum? Even though there were no new notifications, he opened his message app, the way he and Caroline communicated, and stared blankly at the screen. The ball of lead was back in his stomach, making him feel sick. He turned the phone over, looking at Valentina’s name scrawled on the back and felt a little lighter remembering how he had made her laugh in the airport. Had he ever made silly jokes with Caroline? Made her laugh like that? Felt comfortable enough to be truly himself? He put the phone down.Just go to sleep.
The next morningCharlie ate breakfast in the dining room, taking his time with the food, hoping Valentina would appear. As he waited, he went through the filming schedule. Valentina wasn’t in many scenes, so, on paper at least, had a lot of free time. He thought about her suitcase. Could he fix it? Maybe make some new wheels in Rory’s workshop? He rubbed his face. Why was all her stuff so knackered? Most toddlers in London were better kitted out. She was a rich movie star, for fuck’s sake. It wasn’t like she couldn’t afford it.
