Disclaimer: I don't own Orlando Bloom or any living person depicted in the story. They deserve my utmost respect.
------------------ CHAPTER ELEVEN ------------------
Verena looked outside the window of her study and saw Orlando and Zoë together in the garden.
First she thought of joining them, but the mountain of paper on her desk, the long list of appointments to be revised on her agenda and the dozen of E-mails in her inbox chained her to the spot.
She was caught up in managing Orlando's agenda, preparing the trip to London for the filming of The Calcium Kid, and making contacts for Fiona for new contracts for Orlando. That meant meetings, interviews and arranging auditions and readings. Office work, basically, which Verena loathed.
Fiona and Orlando agreed that they needed to take the most advantage possible of his name getting to be known in the business and film as many movies as possible. Verena did not agree. She saw the enormous potential of a talented actor behind the looks and a hard working man behind the hot shot . Orlando should slow down and try to find himself at ease with the whirlwind of attention and offers he was getting, and then move on. But she was only his public relations agent, so she kept her opinions to herself.
At the moment, it was enough for her that her relationship with Orlando was friendly and comfortable, with both of them putting every possible effort into liking each other. And they had succeeded so far. Until the morning after the club incident.
************
Although both he and Verena had gone to sleep shortly after dawn, she had lain down an hour, showered, and got up again, on time to drive Zoë to school.
Orlando slept until noon.
Atti was also awake early, and he joined Verena at breakfast. Bored and not wanting to disturb Orli's sleep, Atti went along with Verena when she drove Zoë to school.
On their way back, André approached the Orlando subject.
"Verena, you know you can't keep Orlando locked up somewhere until the premiere of the Towers, right? And that whole bit with the girl really wasn't something we could have avoided last night. You know this can't work," he said.
Verena looked at André. He was direct. And honest. And he was Orlando's friend. She liked him.
"I know, André. I had to ensure that there wouldn't be no dire consequences, but there was no way you could have handled the situation better than you did," she replied. After a couple of minutes, she asked him. "Is he THAT unhappy about the whole arrangement? Please tell me."
Atti looked at the woman driving the car and sighed. He could not tell her that what mainly was upsetting OB lately was the fact that he felt overmatched by Verena. And that Orlando was hopelessly hooked on her.
In the long time he'd known him, André had never seen him so absolutely fascinated as Orlando was with Verena and Zoë. When his friend had told him about his new PR-Person and assigned chaperone, André had heard Orlando's discomfort and wariness of Verena, and he had come to LA ready to meet the Wicked Witch of the East.
But he had seen Orlando's affection for the woman and the child from day one he was in Verena's house. The little girl could charm a stone into smiling and Zoë had Orlando firmly wrapped around her finger, while she worshipped the ground he walked upon.
And the tension between Verena and Orlando … they were both like magnets trying to stop the attraction. Opposite poles fighting against a universal law of physics.
"I think it isn't easy for him to be forced to submit to anybody, and the whole babysitter idea was definitely not his favorite. I am sorry, V."
Verena sighed out loud. "Yeah, I know. Anyway, no use crying about that now. It wasn't what anyone of us was expecting. Not at all … So what are your plans for today, Atti?"
André smiled. "Stay out of OB's apartment until he wakes up? He really isn't a morning person .."
"He could have fooled me. He gets up and takes Zoë to school very often. Voluntarily, I might add," said V, frowning.
'I bet he does. He probably does a lot of unusual stuff since he met you,' Atti thought. Aloud he said, "Well, I think he is really fond of you and Zoë." He paused there. If he had ever understated something, there it was. "And amazing Rita and her cooking as well. But Orli is not used to being baby-sat."
"I gather that he is not. But both Orlando and you forget that he is, at this stage of his career, a financial asset that has to be taken care of. And that's my job. Not for much longer though. I think he will do okay on his own," explained Verena as they pulled into her garage. Again, as she thought of Orlando going away, there was the rare feeling of regret and emptiness. She would miss him. It was normal, after living and working closely with someone for 6 months. Wasn't it? Verena preferred not to discuss it, least of all with Atti. She changed the subject. "You can stay downstairs if you want. I will work out a bit."
"Mind if I join you?" Atti asked.
"Not at all" she smiled back at him.
Orlando rolled over in his bed again. He knew it was late, and he had gotten quite used to rising early. He couldn't sleep anymore, even though he had just gotten to bed a couple of hours ago.
He pulled on some sweats and sneakers and headed downstairs towards the kitchen to find something for breakfast.
When he reached the first floor, he heard Verena's rich laugh coming from the basement. Intrigued, he took the next flight of stairs heading down.
Verena was laughing hard. André was incredibly funny.
While she took her workout seriously, André was clowning around, making an awful impersonation of Jackie Chan. She tried to ignore him and failed miserably, especially when he approached her, and making a Jiu jitsu move on her, took her down to the ground. She managed to tickle Atti's sides and get him laughing as well. Both wound up on the ground, Atti straddling Verena's hips while he tried to fend off her tickle attack.
When Orlando got to the bottom of the basement stairs, he saw V and Atti, and he stopped dead in his tracks.
They hadn't noticed him, and André, light as he was, managed to pin Verena's hands to her sides. She was laughing too hard to put up much of a fight.
Strange, Orlando couldn't remember ever seeing her laugh so hard. But the sight of her under Atti, at his mercy and enjoying it as well, triggered his jealousy.
André looked up to his friend but the look he got from Orlando's dark eyes was like a bucket of ice water. He saw Orlando turn around and leave the room as quietly as he had entered.
Verena sensed Atti's change of mood. "André? Is everything fine?"
André smiled sadly. "Orlando. He saw us together. He seems pretty upset. I'll talk to him."
Verena sighed. "No you won't. I'll talk to him. You are his friend. Let me handle this."
She took the stairs two at a time and reached Orlando's apartment, breathing a little heavily after the workout and climb. She knocked briefly and entered, without waiting for an answer.
Orlando was in the kitchen of his apartment. He had to calm down. He was making a lot out of nothing. So what if Verena was having fun with Atti? He answered himself. 'I am stupidly, insanely jealous, that's all'.
He breathed deeply and prepared to face the very source of his torment that was storming through his door.
"What's your problem?" said Verena, and was already charging on with a tirade as she looked into his eyes. She stopped in the middle of her breath.
He was calm, cold, out of her reach. And she suddenly had the feeling like she was the one getting a free lecture. Someone had reversed their roles without telling her.
Orlando said calmly : "It's really interesting how comfortable you are physically when it doesn't matter. You can wrestle with Atti, you can dance with Viggo, but I bet if I kissed you right now, you wouldn't be able to handle it."
"Now, Orlando, you just can't …." she started saying, while she watched like hypnotized as he crossed the space between them with a few long purposeful strides and pinned her against the refrigerator. He was watching her intently as he slowly approached his lips to hers and kissed her.
It was a hard kiss, a statement of property, but sweet nevertheless taking her breath away and sending her thoughts spinning.
He broke the kiss abruptly , and it took Verena a couple of seconds to react. Her breathing was hard and rapid, and she gathered her wits to give him a scalding lecture about their professional relationship, as Orlando smiled sadly, arched an eyebrow and stated: "Yes, just like I thought."
Then he walked out of the room.
Verena leaned against the refrigerator catching her breath. Her blood was coursing in a rush through her veins, and her body was still tingling.
How the hell did he manage to make her feel like that?
Orlando apologized to André. Together, the friends organized a small party to be held in Orlando's upstairs rooms. Verena declined the invitation very politely, saying that that was the night she had a dinner invitation with the editor of the Enquirer. She also stayed out of the organization phase, despite Orlando's several attempts to involve her. Verena was avoiding him as much as their work made it possible.
**
André and Orlando stood at the airport. They had a short while before Atti had to enter the boarding lounge. André looked searchingly into his friend's face. He had seen a change in Orlando during his short visit, and though he could guess at the causes, he was completely certain of the result: This was not a happy man.
"Verena cares for you, mate. She really does. And I think she is missing the good times you had as well. So is Zoë. The child is sensing it too." began Atti.
"The woman drives me crazy. And I see the munchkin suffering, too. I just don't know what to do. V won't let me approach her again. She keeps the distance." said Orlando, sighing heavily.
André smiled. So Orlando had it figured out, at least a bit. That was good.
"Don't give up mate. She is worth it. Goodbye!" Atti said and hugged Orlando.
Orlando knew he just could not give up. And Atti was right: V was bloody well worth it.
****************
He planned carefully. He had to lure her away from her fortress, which meant getting her out of the house or the office. Out of LA entirely would be better.
So as they sat down with Zoë for breakfast the next morning, he set the plan in motion.
"Verena?" he asked.
She was absently cutting Zoë's fruit. "Yeah, Orlando?"
"I realized I need to get out of the city. I've been feeling a little, you know, boxed in. Do you think that Zoë and you would like to go camping with me for a few days?" he asked. He nearly held his breath waiting for her reply, but then Zoë cut in, for which he could have hugged her.
"OH yes!!! Oh Mamma, it's been so long since we drove out of the city! Can we? Please? And I could show Orli how to make a fire with two wooden sticks and how to make the owl call, and we could sleep in a tent and eat marshmallows at night … Can we, Mamma? Please? I promise I'll behave very good, please?" was Zoë's immediate reaction to Orlando's proposition.
Verena looked up from the bowl of fruit and met Orlando's expectant gaze. Her eyes narrowed. What was this all about?
"Zoë, you still have a couple of days of school before we have to fly to London with Orlando. I don't think we can take a vacation before that," she said.
"V, I really need to get out. And I'd love to spend a day or two out of town with Zoë and you. Is there any possible way?" he asked and crossed his fingers, hoping that she would give in.
Verena looked from Zoë's pleading eyes to Orlando's hopeful face. Finally, she thought, 'Why not?'
There were many reasons she could find to say no, but she wouldn't discuss any of them with Orlando. They involved her own troubled feelings concerning him, and she wasn't quite ready to talk about those feelings.
"Well, I guess this time you two outvote me. Is it okay if we set it up for tomorrow? It will give me time to organize a few things and prepare the trip. And request permission from Zoë's school," she said, cautiously observing Orlando.
Zoë threw herself at her mother's neck squealing in delight, and Orlando smiled broadly. It had been easier than he had expected.
*****************
"I'll make sure we find a secluded spot. Right by the water, right? Are there any mosquitoes?" asked Orlando, steering the jeep along a narrow road towards the lake.
The Big Bear Lake Park was a beautiful place. Forest, lake, mountain views reinforced the idea of being truly away from LA, Hollywood, and work.
Zoë was bouncing in her safety seat, pointing at the landscape and birds and even swearing she saw a bear behind a tree. Verena was smiling at Zoë's reaction, making a mental note to try to get her child out of town more often.
She was enjoying the outing as well. The years spent working on assignment outdoors had given her a deep love of nature.
Orlando and Verena had taken turns driving to San Bernardino, and it was still early afternoon when they began looking for the ideal camping spot. She was rather silent, not giving in to the conversation Orlando was trying to pull her into.
"There aren't that many mosquitoes this time of the year, Orlando. And I'd love to camp close to the shore but not quite by the water. I remember the guard said something about a boating pier somewhere close …" she said.
"There it is, Mamma. And there is a boat! And it is blue! Oh Mamma, you know I love blue boats! Can we go for a short ride? Please?" screamed Zoë from the back of the jeep.
Verena and Orlando looked at each other and smiled, with that understanding, conspiratorial expression that parents sometimes exchange when their kids express especially funny ideas. They did not notice the shared instant, because Zoë kept prattling on.
"Do you think we can sail to the other side of the lake, Orli? Is it very far? Do you think there might be a dinosaur or monster in this lake? Like the one they said lived somewhere in a lake? If there was, I'd like to meet him. Would you go with me meet the dinosaur, Orli?" she asked.
"I'd go to the end of the world with you, princess," he said to Zoë, watching her and giving the child a huge smile in the rearview mirror.
Verena smiled too, but hers was a sad smile; she was thinking of how hard it would be for Zoë to endure Orlando's departure. And, come to think of it, how hard it would be for her as well. Again. Damn.
They found a nice spot not far away from the pier and began unloading the equipment from the jeep. As soon as Verena unbuckled Zoë from her seat, the child was up and running around them like a bumblebee. Orlando had never seen Zoë so excited. 'In moments like these, she could be my child,' he thought and grinned at the image. A most pleasant idea.
He heard Verena's firm voice say to her child, "Chip, settle down for a minute, will you? I promise that as soon as we have the camp set we will go for a walk and you may explore as much as you want. Deal?"
"I won't go far away, Mamma, just a little ways …" Zoë said.
"No, Zoë. And I mean it. Stay where either Orlando or I can see you, Chip."
"Yes Mamma," the little girl said, staying close to the car.
Fifteen minutes later, the igloo-tent was standing and Orlando was starting a fire. Verena looked around and did not see Zoë anywhere. She felt her heart lurch.
"Orlando, have you seen Zoë?" she asked, walking to the car.
"Sure, she was inspecting some mushrooms over there …. Wait, she isn't there anymore?" he answered, instantly alert as well.
They heard the sound of water splashing and ran in a frenzy to the pier.
Zoë sat in the boat, alone, and it was rapidly being led away by the current of the lake. The splashing sound, had been one oar falling into the water. The child was trying to get a hold of the other oar to stop it from slipping away as well. She wasn't having much luck.
Verena started to untie her hiking boots and prepared to jump into the water, but Orlando was faster. He had taken off his jacket and boots and was already running on the pier to jump into the lake. She ran with him and stayed on the pier, shouting out to Zoë to calm the panicking child.
"Don't move, Chip. Orlando is coming for you. Sit still, Zoë, don't move, you may tip over the boat, hun ... Zoë!!!" she screamed as the child got a hold of the oar and its weight pulled the little girl overboard, into the cold water.
"Mamma!" Zoë cried out, as her bead bobbed for a moment above the water line, then plunged below.
Verena stood on the pier, trying to stay calm and figure out what she should do instead of following her first impulse and jump into the lake. But she saw Orlando's head reaching the boat, and then he was diving below the surface.
Orlando's dark head emerged of the water, to dive again. Verena felt her heart stop beating. This wasn't happening. The few minutes it took for Orlando to resurface with Zoë seemed like years. But once he was holding the child out of the water and Zoë was coughing and spitting, Verena felt alive again after an eternity. Orlando swam to the pier with Zoë holding on to him, and Verena ran to the camp to bring a blanket, some towels, and a sleeping bag back to the pier.
Once they were both out of the water, Orlando handed Zoë to her mother and stood there, watching Verena take care of Zoë. He was still in shock, afraid the child was seriously hurt.
V held Zoë close to her, almost crushing her daughter, her panic slowly receding.
Zoë was crying softly into her mother's neck. "I am sorry Mamma, I was so scared ... I will never do it again ..."
Verena let go slowly, and rational thinking took over. "We have to get you out of those wet clothes, Chip. You could catch pneumonia. And that includes you too, Orlando," she said, looking at him for the first time since he had handed her the child over. She saw the worry in his eyes and the warm feeling she felt for him at that moment could not be denied. She was head over heels in love.
"Take off those wet clothes and wrap yourself up in the blanket," she told him.
Orlando was not very comfortable with the thought of stripping in front of her. And Zoë.
"We will turn around, if that is what is bothering you. But do it, NOW," she said. She turned away, gathering the blanket and a towel, and throwing the sleeping bag and the other towel towards Orlando.
He started shedding his clothes while V was undressing Zoë and wrapping her up in the blanket. Then Verena picked up Zoë, carried the child to the camp, and started the fire.
Orlando walked barefoot to the camp and sat down by the fire. He was freezing. But it wasn't only the feeling of the cool breeze and still the cold water. But the thought that he could have lost Zoë in the lake.
The moments it had taken him to get to the child and bring her back up to the surface had seemed the longest in his life. And as he had seen Zoë in her mother's arms, safe and sound, he had been hit by the haunted, desperate look in Verena's eyes, Orlando felt his heart wrench. He would give anything to keep them both from any pain or suffering. Hell, he would give anything to be there for them, period. He was so totally in love with Verena and her daughter that he didn't think it possible. Verena interrupted his musings.
"I'll gather the wet clothes and bring you some dry stuff. Can you watch the water and tell me when it boils?" asked Verena. Orlando nodded and walked around the fire to where Zoë was sitting, huddled in the blanket. He smiled at her and she smiled back, and when he sat down, she crawled over to him and settled against his side. He pulled her close and they shared body warmth.
Verena took care of the wet clothes and fetched fresh clothing for Zoë and Orlando.
When she approached the fire she saw her small daughter ensconced in the hollow of Orlando's arms. And they looked so good together that she felt like crying. She had been so close to losing Zoë ....
V swallowed her tears and smiled at them. "Okay, enough games for today. Get dressed while I fix you some warm soup and tea. Come on."
She dressed Zoë while Orlando changed into some dry things, and then Zoë went back into Orlando's arms again. Verena gave them both soup and tea and sat down watching them from across the fire.
Zoë fell asleep quickly, worn out by her terrifying adventure. Orlando stood up and carried her to the tent. Verena wrapped her up in her sleeping bag, while Orlando went back to the fire.
He did not expect Verena to approach him from behind and pull the sleeping bag closer around his shoulders, touching his face to feel if he was cold.
"Are you okay, Orlando?" she asked, sitting to his right.
"Yes, don't worry, V. Is the munchkin fine?" he replied.
"She is sound asleep. And seems to be fine," Verena said.
They sat in awkward silence for a couple of minutes.
"Orlando, I .... was never so scared in my life. I thought we had lost her. I … thank you, Orlando. You saved her and my life. I'll be forever grateful," she said softly. Verena did not say anything else. She started feeding the campfire and did not want him to see the tears falling down her cheeks.
But he reached for her and pulled her close, wrapping his right arm around her shoulders and covering her with the sleeping bag around his shoulders as well.
He saw the tears and wiped them away with his thumb. "I was petrified too, V. I didn't think, just threw myself into the lake. I don't want to ever feel that way again."
"Neither do I," she replied with a small voice he had never heard her use before.
He hugged her closer and she laid her head on his shoulder. They consciously reveled in the sensation of closeness. Verena sat up again, but she did not move away. She felt lost and lonely, the very thought of what could have been chilling her. But there was his warmth, his concern and his sweet caring. For once she did not think about anything else but what she longed to do. She caressed Orlando's cheek, leaned into him and kissed him.
It was a sweet tender kiss at the beginning, that turned desperate as she clung to him and he responded . Orlando didn't dare to move, afraid she would pull away. But she didn't. Her hands went to his the hair on the nape of his neck, caressing him.
But this wasn't the real Verena. This was a panicked woman turning to him in desperation and sorrow.
Orlando forced himself to break the kiss.
"We should turn in, Verena, it has been a long day," he said gently.
The hurt in her eyes told him she felt rejected. He could almost see how she was trying to steel herself and turn away and he caressed her cheek.
"Verena, I want you. But not like this. You are upset and still affected. I care too much." he said.
"Forgive me, Orlando ...I got carried away .. I shouldn't have ......" she started saying.
"No regrets. And this kiss did definitely happen, " he replied.
She stood up and turned to the tent, walking away without turning back.
|
Return to top |
|
Next Chapter |
|
Send feedback |
