365 Days with the Celebrity

Chapter 16 - The Other Side of Him

Ariel arrived back at the penthouse after an evening of barbecue dinner at a restaurant with her son and friends in celebration of her successful first week. Some people at the restaurant would take a good look at her from time to time, to which her friends giggled and Camila teased, "We've our own celebrity in the group."

It still felt strange in a way to return to the penthouse than to The Grand Tower. She missed Andy even more now that she returned to her new home after visiting him.

As she walked back to her room, Ariel glanced at her half-eaten cake on the dining table. Smiling to herself that he must have loved it, she placed the cake back into the fridge. She got startled when she turned to see Leon looking back at her.

"Oh, you scared me!" she placed her hand on her heart.

"Thanks for the cake," he said with a smile.

"I'm glad you like it. It's a little present from me for your birthday," said Ariel.

"I absolutely loved it!" he complimented.

She flashed her widest smile, "So, enjoyed a nice birthday with your friends and family?"

Leon's smile faded at her question, "I was all alone today."

"Oh!" Ariel blinked in surprise, feeling embarrassed that she may have hit a nerve. "I-I'm sorry I asked."

"It's okay. Just too busy," he excused with a shrug. "But I receive millions of birthday wishes from my fans, celeb pals and family. So, where did you go?"

"Visit my son and my girl friends."

"Sounds nice," Leon's lids lowered, betraying a tinge of sadness.

"Are you okay, Mr Waltz?" asked Ariel, noticing his expression.

"Yeah I'm fine," He snapped back to his usual self, "I'm just...going to watch some movies."

"Okay then. I'm gonna head off to sleep," said Ariel. Leon nodded at her and walked away.

"Oh, and Mr Waltz?"

"Yeah?" Leon turned to face her.

"Happy Birthday," she smiled at him and then made her way back to her room.

Her simple words and innocent smile touched him so hard that he tried hard not to tear up. The world did not know the real reason why he stopped celebrating his birthday. Friends he once had were replaced with celebrity friends who shared similar experiences of having so-called friends who sold them out for huge profits to the tabloids.

Leon popped open an expensive bottle of champagne from the minibar and muttered to himself, "Happy Birthday, Leon." He went upstairs and turned on the massive flat-screen television in his bedroom and began indulging in his movie while he drank directly from the bottle.

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Ariel had already prepared Leon's other favourite for his lunch - fire-grilled chicken in Fujita Hot Pepper Sauce and avocado tomato salad. She was relieved that today she did not need to make an extra batch. The lunch was packed in the thermal lunch boxes, with her own set and those of Arnold's and Vinny's as well.

Leon was to do a radio interview today with a major radio station to talk about his music and his upcoming events, as well as promote Fujita sauces. Ariel would need to come down to share what she cooked for Leon, the sauces used and share the recipe and cooking instructions. She had never done a radio interview before and was already feeling very nervous, especially since she had a habit of stammering if she was nervous. The good thing was that it was not a TV interview where her face was shown, so only their voices would be aired. Leon's publicist briefed her that she needed to treat it like talking to a friend when the radio host was to interview her and practiced with her the kind of potential questions the interviewer would ask and answers she would give.