Mallory's Melody

Chapter 30

William was speaking to Diana Gilbert when Michael burst into the room. He was seated on his plush chair in the cool comfort of his office. busy explaining the ins and outs of a Star's life to Diana, and breaking down the complex schedule she had to assiduously follow. But the cool-headedness William exhibited as he did so belied the unrest whirring inside him, the dissatisfaction he had with the way things had turned out to be. He hadn't and would have never thought that the person who would be sitting right in front of him now would be Diana Gilbert, he'd felt assured that it would be Mallory Trent. But life was full of surprises.

One of those surprises was Michael and the way in which he'd pushed himself into the room, with an aggression that was enough to disjoin the door from its hinges. He had it fixed twice this week. People had a knack for taking the anger out on his door when they were dissatisfied with his services, and he'd never really bothered about his unhinged door because it had become something so habitual, it was too trivial to fret over. But now, the unhinged door got his undivided attention, that it was Michael—the man who had never shown any sign of impulsivity for the twenty years William had known him — who unhinged it. His face was a mask of sweat, his eyes two round, dilated irises that almost obscured all the whites. And with the raggedness of his breathing and the foul scent of perspiration that pervaded the air, William knew that he'd been running. But the question was... from what?

"Is everything all right?" William asked, standing up from his desk to approach Michael. He rose his hand to stop William from coming, then turned to Diana, who had bewilderment beaming on her face. She looked away the moment Michael turned to her.

"I'm sorry, Miss," Michael apologised. He started to head for the exit. "I'll give you your time with—"

"No, no," William stopped him. He had to know what was wrong with Michael. "You could come in now, Mike. I'm sure, Diana here wouldn't mind."

Her aghast expression did show that she minded the incredulous raise of her eyebrows. If there was one thing he knew about Diana Gilbert, it was that she prided herself on her new title as Starlight star. All the workers always complained about her. The bodyguard ranted about how she always treated him more like a maid than the job he assigned to do. The make-up artist told him about how Diana hauled a string of insults at her for every strand of her hair that came off the comb. And now, William too could attest to that aggressive pride she carried. She didn't want to stand for Michael because she was too proud to do so, give her seat up for somebody that she thought as lesser than her.

"Leave," William said through gritted teeth. "Now, Diana."

She shot him a scornful look at first, but then got up and scurry out. Michael looked at her on her way out. He headed for the seat, still looking through the way she had left. "Is that—"

"Diana Gilbert," William completed, cracking his strained knuckles. "She's this year's Starlight star."

Michael frowned at William at that. "You screwed up then, I suppose."

"Life screwed it up," William responded. "Not me, okay. Everything was working perfectly—"

Michael cut in. "I saw her, William. I saw Mallory. She turned seventeen today."

"Who invited you to her second birthday?"

Michael sighed. "Susan. Susan Wells—and what in Hades do you mean by 'second birthday'"

William rose to stretch his limbs. His back pains had been brutal on him as of recent—the curse of seating too long. Plus, he'd hardly had the time to listen to his own thoughts, much less exercise. He spun his torso to the left and right, the crack-crack of his spine sending shivers of relief through his back. "I thought the Susan babe was dead." William laughed.

"She's hitting it with Cole," Michael said matter-of-factly. "And she's now, as I gathered from the party, Mallory's step-mother."

"That unloyal brat!" William laughed. "I'd always known she had an eye for everything Jane had. The best of friends are sometimes the worst of enemies."

"True that," Michael said, "Speaking of enemies...I thought you handled this a long time ago, William. I thought Mallory, not—" he looked out of the doorway—"not she was meant to be Starlight star."

"Something went wrong along the way."

"Then fix it." Michael slapped the table. He looked behind him to see if he'd unsettled anyone by doing that but then turned back to William again, his eyes full of panic. "Do you know what it would cost us if Mallory discovered—"

"She won't," William cut in. He didn't want to think about it. "She wouldn't discover anything. I've got it all under control."

"No, no you haven't, Will. If you had, Mallory would be right here, right now." Michael leaned in to whisper something to William. "You have to acknowledge that at times things are not what you want them to be. You can't assume everything is perfect when it's not. The first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging it!"

"It's not a problem!" William yelled. "I've got a plan."

Michael rose his brows challengingly. "Which is?"

William looked to his left and right, as though there were invisible people he wanted to withhold a piece of information from. Even though the hallways were clear of people, William still felt the urge to shut his office door, place a double-protection on what he was about to tell Michael. He leaned into Michael and whispered gently into his ears, in a tone so soft, what he said was inaudible.

"That's a stupid idea, Will!" Michael whispered back. 'We could go to jail!"

William shrugged. "It's the only thing that would work."

"Why are we still whispering?" Michael asked in a whisper, amused.

"I honestly don't know," William chuckled. "it's addictive I guess. As I was saying... all we need to do is—"

"Wait!" Michael yelled, then stretched for a piece of device clipped to the edge of his table. It looked like a wireless microphone—

"Someone's been listening to our conversation, Will," Michael said, grimly. "Great."

Panicking slightly, William sorted through his mind for the person who could've put that there. And then it struck him. "Diana, you can come out of where you're hiding now!" He said in a monotone voice. The girl was so predictable.

She meekly pushed the door open and stepped in, a nervous grin on her face. "Um..."

"How much did you hear?" Michael asked, nearing her. "Talk! How much!"

William pulled Michael back when he made as if to hit her. That was an irresponsible way of punishing her. He had a better idea.

William looked at Diana again and saw her not as the beautiful, overly confident girl he'd always thought her to be. He saw her as the gateway to heaven. His heaven.

He grinned.

Yes, he had a way better idea...