Persona (The 'Professional' series)

by Ceri Bladen

  She looked at him, he looked annoyed with her. She had to sort herself out. She realised with a start that she had started off sharply as she had been jealous of the kiss. Jeff had never kissed her like that!

  She calmed herself, there was no reason to feel jealous about Daniel kissing the vision in lilac and she felt foolish to think she had. She had nothing to do with his private life, only report on it. She wasn’t his girlfriend, for goodness sake!

  She took another steadying breath, switched on the recorder and preceded with the interview. The planned one.

  ~~~~

  After a couple of hours of questions, sandwiches and drinks, courtesy of Eric; Daniel sat back in the seat, put his head back and relaxed. After that first slightly awkward question, the rest had been straight forward, the usual about childhood, family, career, future. He had actually enjoyed telling Ella about the things Eric and himself had got up to as kids. They had all laughed when telling their tales, Eric butting in now and again to elaborate.

  Daniel winced slightly. There was only one point that had become slightly uncomfortable. Ella had obviously got warmer and had taken her suit jacket off to put over the back of the chair. When she had twisted around, the opening on her blouse had gapped apart slightly. Daniel had ended up feeling like a pimpled faced teenager, trying to check out what was underneath that cool white blouse. She turned and caught him staring at her breasts! She had made a little o with her mouth and looked down to see if her buttons had opened. He felt really foolish, for goodness sake, he was an adult! He knew exactly what was contained inside a bra. But for some reason, the slight glimpse of the white lace under her blouse had got him having to rearrange his sitting position, so neither of them became too embarrassed.

  Daniel lifted his head and yawned. “Sorry, late night.” He watched her blanch. It immediately came to him what she would be thinking - that he was referring to Cassandra. He truly wasn’t, so he tried to change the subject. “So, I guess that you are going to be following me around for a while? Alice, my agent, says that you need to stay here most nights too?”

  He looked at her, eyes narrowing slightly, for any indication whether she was comfortable with this arrangement or not. She seemed to be fine, so a devilish impulse came over him. He wanted to ruffle her again, see her blush. “Great, I have a couple of bedrooms.” He had four, but he wasn’t going to tell her that yet. “Eric stays in one…” He drew it out for affect. “So I guess… you can share mine.” He put on his most charming smile.

  Ella choked on the coffee she had been sipping. She felt Eric tap her on the back and looked at Daniel’s huge wolfish grin. “Well, that could be a big problem. I mean… if there is no room… I could get a hotel somewhere I suppose?” Ella was thinking on her feet. She caught Eric raising his eyebrows at Daniel. “That was some kind of joke, I presume?” she countered.

  “Doesn’t need to be a joke, El. I wouldn’t mind you sharing my bed.” The wolfish grin was still splitting his face.

  “Well, I don’t think my boyfriend would approve.” Crumbs, what made her say that? Using Jeff as some sort of shield to wield when she became uncomfortable with the banter? She was used to batting around sexual innuendoes and banter in work, so why did his make her feel so uncomfortable?

  Daniel felt his joyful mood drop suddenly to his toes. She had a boyfriend. Lover, no doubt, they were not school children anymore. He should have figured she would have. She must be around twenty five, beautiful and had a lovely curvy figure. Of course she would have a lover, why wouldn’t she? So why did that piece of information about her, suddenly make him feel annoyed?

  All of a sudden Daniel felt claustrophobic and needed to get out. “Right, Eric.” He stood up and stretched his arms, trying to look unaffected by her boyfriend comment. “Could you show Miss Hender to the spare bedroom?”

  Eric noticed that Daniel had gone from calling her El to Miss Hender. Interesting, but he wisely did not comment while he picked up her bags.

  Daniel continued as he waited for her to look at him. “The guest bedroom has been made up for you. You should find everything you need there.” He turned to Eric who was standing ready to show Ella to her room. “Eric, I forgot to tell you that I have to go out this evening. You will have the pleasure of dining alone with Miss Hender tonight.”

  Eric stared straight at his friend trying to work out what was going on. Daniel never forgot to tell him about his plans. Actually, he was the one that usually arranged them for him. He raised his eyebrows slightly and cocked his head in quiet questioning behind Ella’s back. He would have to find out later what on earth was going on.

  Ella felt slightly disappointed that Daniel would not be there for dinner tonight. How silly to feel disappointed, she reprimanded herself. She had enjoyed Eric’s inputs today and she was sure she would enjoy his company. It would be good to get a different perspective of Daniel too. Eric seemed a very funny, loyal and genuine man. Someone, no doubt, that was the opposite of Daniel.

  She would settle herself into her room, hang up her clothes, before they became too wrinkled and then, enjoy her evening.

  After showing her the way, Eric placed her suitcase onto a stool. “The towels are in the cupboard in the en-suite. New toothbrushes are there too, just in case you have forgotten yours.” He smiled at her. He had the same megawatt smile as Daniel, it just didn’t affect her in the same way.

  Toothbrushes? I bet those come in handy whenever Daniel chooses to bring his lady friends home Ella thought. Wow, since when had she become catty? She smiled at Eric trying to cover any guilt her thoughts had caused her.

  “I’ll leave you to it for an hour or so. Have a relax. I’ll book us a table in a little Italian just around the corner, if that is okay? For about 8 o’clock? I’m afraid my cooking isn’t up too much and as Daniel usually cooks, a restaurant it is. If that is acceptable with you?” Eric was standing by the door ready to retreat into the living room.

  “Yes, of course, that would be wonderful. I could do with a bath first. The drive here was long and I have been sitting in that chair most of the day. See you at about quarter to eight then.”

  Eric smiled and exited, closing her bedroom door behind him.

  Chapter 7

  Ella sat on the bed and slipped off her shoes. She rubbed them to get feeling back into them. Why on earth hadn’t she taken them off earlier? It wasn’t as if they had been anywhere. She reached under her skirt to start rolling down her lace topped stockings. It felt glorious to put her naked feet in the thick pile of the smoky grey carpet. The pile poked through her toes as she wiggled out the stiffness that being stuck in shoes most of the day had caused.

  She lay back on the bed. It was time to ring Jeff to say that she had arrived safely. She wondered if he was worried about her travelling all that way. Ella silently chastised herself. Of course he wouldn’t be as he knew what a competent driver she was.

  She dialled his number and waited for him to pick up. No answer. Surely he was home from work by now? Perhaps he had gone out for a meal instead of cooking for himself? She left a message saying that she would ring him back after her meal out.

  Ella dragged herself off the comfortable bed. She would be sleeping if she did not move herself. As she laid her stockings on the back of a deep purple chair, she took time to look around the room. What a feminine looking room - a little strange for what was essentially, a bachelor pad. Beautiful grey curtains with white roses hung from the windows, matching the throw over the double, or was it a queen sized bed? Purple cushions matched the chair, flowers and canvases that adorned the walls. There was a large white dressing table, mirror and chair against one wall, French looking. The room was lovely.

  She continued getting undressed and folding her clothes on one of the chairs. She slipped on her dressing gown, picked up her toiletries and went to inspect the en-suite.

  Ella gasped. This wasn’t every ones idea of an en-suite. It was huge, bigger than her main bathroom in her house. A massive
bronze bath stood proud in the middle of the tiled floor. Its taps started from the floor, all the way up and over the bath. As she walked over, she noticed the warmth seeping to her feet, under floor heating, nice.

  Along one wall were two basins, side by side. She had to touch. What were they made out of? She wasn’t an expert, but the round bowls looked like some sort of onyx. A large mirror covered the wall above the sinks. The mirrored cabinets were full of toiletries; she opened a door. There were men’s and women’s toiletries. Ella found herself blush when she spotted a box of condoms sitting on one of the shelves. She closed the door quickly. Obviously, that was Daniel’s cupboard!

  Reflected in the mirror, she noticed a very large shower cubicle behind her. Crumbs, you could have a party in that, it was so large. However, Ella decided she fancied a bath. She turned the taps on and added some of the raspberry bubble bath she had picked up in the supermarket before she had come. She did not want to use the expensive looking ones that sat in the glass cabinets.

  Looking around for somewhere to hang her dressing gown, she noticed a door. She tested the handle. It opened, so she snuck a peek inside as she thought it was a store cupboard. No, it was a masculine looking bedroom. She smelled a familiar scent; one that she had spent most of the day with. This was Daniel’s bedroom!

  She shut the door quickly, embarrassed just in case she got caught. Ella cursed silently, for goodness sake, Daniel had already left. She was a journalist too, they liked sneaking around, finding out things they could use to paint a good picture of their subject. She persuaded herself to have another look. Daniel had gone out for the evening, he would never know, would he?

  She felt surprisingly guilty poking around. She tried not to look at the massive bed which dominated the room. Dark blue sheets adorned the bed, which to her surprise, was made. No evidence of his activity this morning then!

  She quietly opened the large wardrobe, hoping it wouldn’t squeak and alert Eric to her activities. Just as she thought, full of designer clothes. Well, Daniel Spittle believed in looking good. Although, to be honest, with a face and body like Daniel, he would look good in anything he wore.

  A strong wave of guilt ran through her, so she decided that that was enough. She didn’t feel comfortable poking around, reporter or not. As she turned she noticed his en-suite. Oh good, she thought, he did not need access to the bathroom she would be using. That made her feel more comfortable.

  ~~~~

  She lay back with the bubbles up to her neck. She checked again that the lock, between the bathroom and Daniel’s bedroom, was firmly locked. She did not want Daniel to be able to walk straight into her bathroom. He had access to a toilet, so she reasoned that he did not need access to this one.

  Ella closed her eyes and tried to relax. Perhaps this assignment was not going to be so easy after all. She was far too aware of Daniel’s presence for her to feel entirely comfortable. She shouldn’t be feeling like this. She had a boyfriend at home and Daniel had obviously gone out tonight with someone.

  She sat up splashing bubbles everywhere. Oh my goodness! What happens if he brought a woman home tonight? His bedroom was next door. Would she hear anything? She lay back and submerged herself under the cooling water and depleting bubbles. Hopefully, those cushions on her bed were soundproof. She sure hoped they were!

  ~~~~

  The meal with Eric had been wonderful. The restaurant, which was within easy walking distance, was charming. The smells of Italian food had hit her when they entered the cosy interior. She smiled to herself when the waitress led them to an out of the way cosy table with a polite, Your usual table, Sir? Ella briefly wondered if it was Eric’s or Daniel’s usual table, out of the way of prying eyes.

  Eric, as she had expected, had been charming throughout the whole evening. One of life’s true gentlemen; pulling out her chair, helping her with her coat, opening doors. She briefly wondered if Daniel had the same manners. She would soon find out.

  Ella felt full now as she relaxed on the chair, her feet tucked under her. The thin crust and ‘all the toppings’ pizza was sitting slightly heavy on her stomach. When would she learn not to stuff herself? Did it really matter? She loved food. She enjoyed it too much to worry about dieting.

  Eric walked in from the kitchen carrying two nightcaps in crystal glasses. Ella smiled at him when she took it, feeling very relaxed. After she finished, she told him that she was going to call it a night. She had a feeling she might not have a good night sleep with Daniel and his ‘friend’ in the next bedroom.

  She got into bed. It was really comfortable, better than the hard mattress that Jeff preferred. Her train of thoughts reminded her that she had promised to ring Jeff. She felt a little guilty, she hadn’t really thought about him until then.

  She used the phone that was next to her bed. Still no answer from the house phone and Jeff’s mobile was going straight to answer phone. She left Jeff the number to ring Daniel’s house. There was a phone by the bed and she could not be bothered to get up to find the charger for her mobile. Contented Ella picked up her Kindle and was fast asleep in ten minutes.

  ~~~~

  Daniel slowly opened the front door. Good, quiet, everyone was in bed. He smiled when he noticed that Eric had left a light on for him. His friend was so thoughtful. He wondered how thoughtful Eric had been with Ella tonight. What was it with the twist in his gut when he thought of Ella with someone else? He had known her, what, a couple of hours? She wasn’t even his type for goodness sake! She was short, dark brown hair, grey eyes and a curvy figure. His usual type was tall, blonde, blue eyes and a slender figure – wasn’t it? He shook the thoughts out of his head. It did not seem to matter, his body definitely had a reaction when she was around him. He would have to use his brain to override his physical reactions instead. She was with already taken and one thing Daniel never did, was poach someone else’s property.

  A loud ringing of the phone broke the silence. Daniel cursed as he caught his shin on the chair, trying to reach for the phone. He did not want the ringing to wake anyone up. “Hello,” he whispered down the phone.

  “Oh, hello. This is Jeff Davies. I am ringing to speak to Ella Hender.”

  Daniels hand tightened on the phone, his knuckles becoming white.

  “Sorry, I am afraid it looks like she has already gone to bed. I will tell her you called in the morning. Unless…. you would like me to go into her bedroom to wake her up?” The idea made Daniel smile to himself, wicked thoughts immerging in his brain.

  “No, no, that’s fine. Leave her sleep. Tell her I will ring tomorrow. Thanks. Goodnight.” The phone line went dead.

  Daniel sat back on the chair as he put the phone down. He closed his eyes to get his thoughts straight. Would he like it if he phoned his partner and didn’t speak to her? No, he knew he wouldn’t. Perhaps she was still awake? If she was, she could ring her boyfriend back. He huffed to himself, he knew it was the right thing to do. He had never meddled in a relationship before. He wasn’t going to start now.

  He silently pushed the door open a crack to see if there was any light on. He mentally made a note to get the carpenter back to shave a little off the bottom of the door; it was rubbing on the thick pile of the new carpet he had put in the room. He had recently had it decorated for when his mum and sisters came to stay.

  All was quiet, just the light from the open curtains casting shadows in the room. As he turned to leave, he noticed that Ella’s Kindle was on her bed. Should he leave it and hope she didn’t roll on it, or should he move it for her? He pushed his fingers through his thick, black hair and sighed. For goodness sake, he was only going to remove the Kindle, not get into bed with her! Although, that thought sounded quite appealing!

  He quietly made his way across the room, hoping that she was tidy as he didn’t want to trip over anything she might had left on the floor. He didn’t fancy explaining that he was sneaking into her room to remove her Kindle. Although, the devil in him would love to see how she would rea
ct to him being there.

  Daniel picked up the Kindle and turned to put it onto the side table. The movement must have disturbed her as Ella turned onto her side, the covers falling away from her back. Daniel groaned. She wasn’t wearing anything in bed. All his blood moved south, he had to get out of there fast.

  Chapter 8

  Ella woke to the smell of coffee. She stretched her arms out above her head. She felt so relaxed and comfortable. She couldn’t believe she had dropped off to sleep so easily. It usually took her ages after she finished reading. She was usually left listening to Jeff’s quiet snoring. Oh, Jeff! She didn’t speak to him yesterday, she would have to remember to ring him today.

  Both Eric and Daniel turned to look and say Good Morning to Ella when she entered the kitchen. However, the accompanying slow look from her head to toes that Daniel gave her made her shiver. She self-consciously looked down to check that her dressing gown was tied tightly shut.

  “Sleep well? You weren’t too cold I hope?” Daniel asked politely with a smug smile, remembering her naked form in her bed last night. He thought she looked beautiful this morning, slightly dishevelled, with no makeup and as Daniel had correctly thought, no clothes on under that dressing gown. How many of the women he had been with in the last few years had felt confident enough in their own beauty to be quite comfortable with no makeup? Some even slapped it on before he was awake! He must stop comparing them, it wouldn’t do him any good.

  Something warned her, in his tone, that he meant more than the outwardly polite enquiry. She suddenly felt self-conscious, she hadn’t even brushed her hair, and she must look a mess. She decided to act as though Daniel wasn’t affecting her. “Yes, thank you. Hope you enjoyed your evening out with your … friend? You missed a lovely Italian, didn’t he Eric?” She looked towards Eric for support and comfort. She really did not need Daniel to affect her so much, she had a job to get done.