Hollywood Stardust Supporting Roles - Wilson and Giselle

by Kim Carmichael

  “My brother’s drink shouldn’t be a secret. His drink needs to be public to draw people into the bar.” Wilson took her hand and kissed the back.

  At Wilson’s odd comment, she turned to him. “Is he going to help with publicity?”

  “He doesn’t want to. He wants to stay behind the scenes, but it’s his duty.” Wilson sat up. “What else is on the list?”

  Something didn’t set right. “Why is it his duty?”

  “I gave up a lot to make sure he got to stay with me after our mother died, and I made sure he got to act and be in Hollywood Stardust.” As he talked, Wilson played with her fingers. “After all that movie gave and took, it’s time for some payback. I spent a lot of time being a parent.”

  “You know parents aren’t supposed to ask for payback from their kids.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she turned away. This wasn’t her deal, she didn’t get involved in things this deep, these types of conversations only dug holes that wanted to take roots.

  He looked at her and pressed his palm to the side of her face. “So, what’s next on the agenda?”

  “Well, I thought I would start by organizing a few things and get started on the soft opening. Unless you needed me to do something else. Let me know if there are any forms I need to fill out for payroll, or if that’s something I need to start.” She straightened out her papers.

  “Payroll?” The word left his mouth right as his phone rang.

  “Yes, silly, I took you up on your offer to hire me, but I have a question. Am I allowed to kiss you at work?” She leaned into him.

  “I need to get this.” He lifted his phone and put it to his ear. “But you are allowed to kiss me at work.”

  She kissed him.

  “Hello.” Once more, he took her hand. “No, Nick, you are not allowed to kiss me at work. That is reserved for the woman I’m seeing. She just accepted a job here. I really need her help, and she has some great ideas.”

  Woman he is seeing. At the end of the day, she knew they were seeing each other, but that’s as far as it went. Seeing each other and working together. That was all.

  “Why don’t you bring over the information on the premium brands? Giselle and I will have a meeting with you.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I also need to start hiring a crew now that I have my main person.”

  His main person. She inhaled and exhaled. It was all good.

  Wilson hung up. “Well, we have a meeting later and then tonight our date.”

  “I can help you hire people, I’ve been a waitress more times than I can remember.” She glanced up at him.

  “You can completely be in charge.” He gave her a kiss on the tip of her nose.

  Her phone vibrated, and she glanced down to see Ivy’s mother texted her the information on the Palm Springs trip, with another reminder not to say a word to Ivy. “So, I guess you are the guy I am seeing.”

  “Yes, I will wear that title with pride.” He grabbed her list of drinks and read it once more.

  “I have to go to Palm Springs next weekend. Will you go with me?” Yes, she just asked him. “I’m supposed to bring the guy I’m seeing.”

  “Then I guess I have no choice but to say yes.” He winked.

  She guessed she had no choice but to give him a title. Damn, she didn’t want anyone to have a title. With a title came anxiety and responsibility. “I need to figure out how to hire people for the next big Hollywood hot spot.” She slipped out of the booth.

  * * * *

  THE LINE OF PEOPLE in front of his not yet open bar was Wilson’s first clue something strange was going on. The second clue was there was not one parking space in the back, except for the one designated for the owner. He parked his car, grabbed his file folders, and entered the bar through the back, where he received his third and final clue something was amiss at Wilson’s in the form of Logan greeting him with a scowl and crossed arms.

  “Hey bro, what’s cooking?” Wilson put his folders down and waited.

  “Not me.” Logan crossed the room and stared him down. “Would you like to know why?”

  “If you feel it will be cathartic for you.” With Logan, one had to act like things weren’t a big deal.

  “I cannot cook because your girl Friday, or girlfriend, or friend with benefits or whatever she is, has my spoon.” His baby brother pointed behind him.

  Oh Lord, not Logan’s spoon. “Let me see what’s going on.” As the older brother and the one in charge of the blonde with several titles, he pushed Logan aside and went to the door, opening it only a crack to get the lay of the land, a key strategic move when dealing with Giselle, as he was quickly discovering in the week since he hired her, or she hired him. He wasn’t quite sure.

  The scene on the other side of the door made him glad he decided to only peek at the goings on in his own bar.

  Lined up throughout the space were the people he assumed were coiled around the building. Each person stood perfectly straight holding a paper as Giselle walked down the line, stopping in front of each one and taking a peek at the paper.

  “You’re eliminated.” She handed the paper back to one of the men.

  The man took the paper, hung his head down low and exited the bar.

  Wilson furrowed his brow and waited.

  Giselle repeated this ritual a couple more times and finally stopped in front of a woman. She took the paper, tilted her head from side to side as she read it and then nodded. “You will move forward to the next round.”

  The woman beamed at her and went to what seemed to be a designated area by the back booth for those who were moving forward.

  Staring, Wilson leaned against the doorjamb and continued to watch what was strangely entertaining. Even Logan came over and spied on the show.

  Only then did Wilson notice there were more players to the game. There was also a bartender in full 1920s dress and some people in period costumes at the different tables and booths and at the bar.

  Finally, Giselle made her way through all the, dare he say, participants. Once the last person left, she closed the front door and went to her selected few. She lifted Logan’s prized metal spoon off the table and held it up like a microphone.

  “There it is.” Logan hit him on the shoulder. “Go save it.”

  “Hold on.” Captivated, he really needed to see what would transpire.

  “If it gets hurt…” Logan growled.

  “I’m sure it will be spared, just wait.” He held up his hand to shut up his brother once Giselle began to talk.

  “Okay, we’re going to do a mock service, and I’ll choose who will go to the final elimination.” She corralled her people and continued to talk into her spoon. “You need to take the orders, bring them to the bar, serve the patrons and of course clean up and ring them out.”

  Everyone took their respective positions, and Giselle lifted a stopwatch. “All right, on your mark, get set…”

  The group seemed to hold their collective breath.

  “Go!” With her yell, Giselle jumped, her boobs giving a little bounce.

  Neither he nor Logan moved as the group began roaming around the bar taking orders.

  A whistle screeched through the space. “Freeze!” Giselle screamed into the spoon.

  Every person in the room stopped.

  She pointed, stomped over to one of the tables and patted one of the waitresses on the shoulder. “You’re out, you did not ask for an ID.”

  The woman stared at her.

  “You cannot ever assume anyone’s age, especially in Hollywood. I want to make sure all IDs are checked.” Giselle held the spoon out to the woman. “Do you have any parting words?”

  “Is this being filmed?” Logan whispered.

  “I have no idea.” Wilson put his finger over his lips. No way could he miss a moment.

  “Thank you for this opportunity.” The woman actually bowed and then left by way of the others before her.

  “All right, back with it.” Giselle wrangled the whistle from a
round her neck and blew it again.

  Once more, the crew got to work.

  Giselle walked among the would-be waiters and waitresses. By now, a few had their orders and were bringing them back to the customers.

  Out of nowhere, Giselle blew her whistle again.

  One of the waiters jumped and his glasses fell over, spilling their liquid all over the floor.

  Again, everyone froze.

  She stalked over to the waiter with the dripping tray. “Please return your tools to the bar and head toward the exit.”

  “Why did you blow the whistle?” The man shook his head. “Didn’t someone else make a mistake?”

  “I needed to see who is easily distracted and startled. For today’s round, I’m using plastic dishware, but when the bar opens we have expensive glasses and top of the line alcohol, none of which I want wasted.” Giselle sighed.

  “That was a good twist.” Logan elbowed him.

  “This has it all, suspense, intrigue, competition.” Wilson couldn’t take his eyes off the show or his girl.

  As Giselle explained her reasoning, a woman scurried over and mopped up the spilled drinks.

  Foregoing any more discussion, the man handed the woman his tray and walked out.

  “Hey you.” Giselle pointed to the cleaning woman.

  The woman stopped, held her tray up high and turned toward her.

  “You’re in the final round, go stand by the bar.” Giselle used the spoon to show her the way.

  With a grin, the woman nodded. Before taking her position, she put her tray and glasses behind the bar.

  “Nice touch.” Again, Giselle blew her whistle. “Game on!”

  “Maybe we need to shop this show around.” Logan leaned in further.

  “I’m not sure I want anyone to know our secret.” If Wilson couldn’t look away from her, the world wouldn’t be able to either.

  With the first person in the final round, the rest of the prospective winners seemed to up their game.

  One male went through the bar and refilled the nuts and in return was given a pass to the final round, one woman checked a credit card for fraud, and yet another one helped the bartender organize some glasses.

  By the time Giselle was through, she had six people left.

  “This is incredible. I’m actually anxious for the end.” Logan shook his head. “What did you tell her to do?”

  “I just told her to find some wait staff.” His own voice dripped shock and awe.

  “Well, she not only did that, she gave you a whole reality show.” Logan let out a chuckle. “What’s she going to make them do for the finale?”

  Before Wilson could answer, he got his answer.

  “All right, contestants.” Spoon in hand Giselle paced in front of her selections. “You are the cream of the crop. Are you ready for the last round?”

  Her minions nodded.

  “What could the last round be?” Logan shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

  “I can’t imagine.” With Giselle, everything was a fun mystery. When he told her to help him hire people, he never expected a full-fledged ready for prime time show to play out in his unopened bar.

  With no warning, she spun around to them.

  Both he and Logan tried to back up, but only succeeded in tripping over each other while the door hit him in the face.

  “There you are!” Without even noticing their flub, Giselle skipped over to them. “I need the star of the show to pick the final winners.”

  His jaw clenched and on automatic he pushed Logan forward. Now Logan would walk out into his bar and make everyone all starstruck.

  “Hi Logan.” Giselle shoved Logan aside and reached for him.

  “If I’m not needed, I’m going to reclaim this.” Logan plucked the spoon away from Giselle and replaced it with a baster. “Here you go, it’s wireless so it should work fine.”

  “Oh, this is even more authentic.” She held the bulb of the baster up to her mouth. “Wilson Alexander, we have narrowed down our selections. Now we need the man whose name is on the door to make the final call. What do you say?” Now she held the baster out to him.

  For the first time, he was the star, at least in Giselle’s eyes. In fact, except for the first time being introduced to Logan, she never really paid much attention to his baby brother, except for a passing hello or to move him out of the way. “I say this.” He grabbed her by the waist, pulled her in and kissed her. Now his staff would know they were together. It went against every rule in the book, but he didn’t care.

  She opened her mouth, gave him a little suck on his lower lip and then leaned back, letting out a little chuckle. “Well, I’m not sure that’s what your prospective employees want to hear, but I’ll take more in a little bit.”

  Did this woman really not see Logan or anyone else but him? Again, he found himself simply gazing at her, which seemed to be the theme for the afternoon.

  “Come on. You need to make the final choice. They’re all waiting.” With a bit of ownership that only came from couples being together for more than a few dates, she took his hand and dragged him out to greet the public.

  Too bad he really just wanted to get Giselle into a private setting. Still, she went through a lot of work to set this all up, and she did an amazing job. He had to give her project and his business his full attention.

  “Everyone, this is Wilson Alexander and he will make the final choice.” She stood by his side and hooked her arm in his.

  He glanced between the hopefuls and bent down to Giselle’s ear, breathing in the scent of her shampoo, clean, fresh and fun. “You chose six people.”

  “Yes, that’s how many you said you needed.” She shot him a huge smile. “Now they each need to show you a talent that showcase their individuality.”

  After all she had done, he didn’t have the heart to ask how he was supposed to eliminate someone if she chose all the people he needed. Though normally he would cut to the chase, he didn’t want to ruin the climax of the show, well reality, well quasi reality, everything felt unreal. “All right, I’m ready.”

  With the baster as her mic, she went to the first person. “All right show us all you have.”

  The first man took a bowl of nuts, juggled some and as a finale, he caught them all in his mouth.

  Both he and Giselle clapped when he bowed.

  “You’re more talented with nuts.” Giselle elbowed him.

  One of the women took a tray full of glassware and did a little ballet dance all while balancing the drinks.

  “That was good,” Giselle whispered in his ear, giving him some welcome shivers.

  They jumped when one of the women burst out into song, and Giselle held on to him when one of the men demonstrated his ability to lift an entire table of drinks without spilling a drop.

  As a grand finale, the last woman ran a credit card through the machine using only her cleavage and the last man did an impromptu rap about the bar.

  My name is Clive, I’m glad to be alive,

  Wilson’s is where I want to work,

  Being here with these peeps is the ultimate perk.

  Choose me, pick me, I’m at your beck and call,

  With me as your waiter, I’ll never let you fall.

  “Wow, boobs and a song.” Giselle took him by the shoulders. “Tell me who is your final selection?”

  “You.” He winked.

  Her cheeks reddened. “What about the staff?”

  “Well, I don’t know how I can ever chose from all the amazing candidates. Why don’t we take them all?” Since they needed six people, it really was a no-brainer, though he didn’t know how he would select among them.

  “Oh, that would mean we would have all the positions filled!” She turned to him and flung her arms around his neck. “Tell them they all win.”

  “You are all selected.” Wilson glanced at his new staff and then turned his attention back to her.

  The crowd went into a round of applause.

&
nbsp; “Everyone won.” She pressed her body to his and gave him another kiss.

  His body took off. Yes, everyone won and he certainty didn’t want to be eliminated. In fact, with the way things were going, he might want to make it to the final round.

  Chapter Four

  “SO, DID YOU EVER FIND out why we are going to Palm Springs?” Wilson drove down Highway 111, the main road through Palm Springs littered with little shops and cafes.

  “No, I only know that Ivy is coming for some surprise and they won’t tell me because of my sordid past.” She motioned for Wilson to turn.

  “So you never cracked and told her you were coming down?” He chuckled and followed her direction and they made their way into the residential area that housed some of the most amazing mid-century modern homes.

  “Well, between Wilson’s and Wilson, I really didn’t get the chance to tell her.” After indicating another turn, she sank down in the seat. Going to the Vermont’s was not unlike going to her mother’s in the fact she would be questioned or interrogated, or basically put on the witness stand. “Third house on the left.”

  “Wow.” Wilson stopped the car and stared at the home, the same reaction everyone had the first time they saw this little get-away.

  “I have something to tell you.” Thus far, she’d tried to keep talk of this trip to a minimum, not only because she basically admitted this is the man she was seeing and with more than her eyeballs, but also because they would be staying overnight for the first time together like a real couple.

  “Uh, oh.” Wilson put the car in park and faced her. “What is it?”

  She stared at him. What would it be like if they were a real couple? She never even allowed herself the thought before, but being in this situation, she really had no choice but to try on the shoe. “This is Curtis Raleigh’s home. Ivy’s mom is Curtis Raleigh’s daughter.”

  “Curtis Raleigh, the real Curtis Raleigh as in the superstar actor Curtis Raleigh?” He leaned down and took in the home.

  “Well, if it was any other Curtis Raleigh it would be stupid to tell you except to mention its not the right Curtis Raleigh.” Ivy’s grandfather famously died of an overdose.