365 Days with the Celebrity

Chapter 30 - Japan

The blazing sun rays from the airplane windows awoke Ariel. She stretched out her hands with a yawn and stopped when she realised Vinny was hovering over her, one hand resting on her hip and the other on her armrest.

"Morning, what's up?" Ariel greeted with an uncomfortable smile, unsure exactly why she was giving her a look of displeasure.

"Morning, I noticed you're not at your seat," Vinny raised a brow and pointed with her thumb to an empty seat further down where Ariel would usually sit.

"Hmm?" Ariel gave a cursory glance. She felt the blanket on her which she did not remember putting on herself, and she recalled what happened last night. She turned her head to the seat next to her and noticed that Leon was not there. She squeezed her eyes shut at the punishing thought of how on earth she succumbed to sleep and failed to return to her seat, feeling embarrassed that she was the last to wake up when she noticed everyone else awake.

"Erm...I need coffee," she flipped the blanket over and excused herself to the kitchen.

As Ariel slid the cup into the coffee machine and pressed to dispense, she inhaled deeply as she massaged her face, trying to wake herself up. She pondered on Leon's strange behaviour last night. Was he possibly bipolar? If he was, he really needed to seek medical treatment soonest because his unpredictable behaviour was getting out-of-hand.

Shuddering at the remembrance of Angel and Anna's suggestion that he may be falling for her, Ariel flashed an expression of disgust with her tongue stuck out.

Leon Waltz? Eew, eew, EEW!!! No way in a gazillion years!

If his fans knew the kind of person he really was behind his glamour facade, they would run far, far away for their dear lives, no doubt about that. Who cares if he was handsome, rich and famous? He would never make it to her list, NEVER! His playboy and alcoholic antics were distasteful, his unpredictable mood swings made her hairs stand up and his wild partying lifestyle felt like a choking hazard. Even the celeb crowd he hung out with were shallow and not to her taste, with the exception of Martin who seemed rather okay. Risking her heart for another Darryl Krews would be suicide.

Besides, she was not voluptuously curvy, sexy or drop-dead gorgeous like the many women he brought home. The possibility that he would even fall for her was zero to nil. He was her boss, period! It would be completely inappropriate and irrational to start any kind of romantic relationship with the boss, which would be a breach of contract.

Slowly stirring the aromatic coffee that was bought from Italy, Ariel headed back to her own seat which she did not sleep in last night. In between sips, she observed from afar at Leon discussing with Arnold, Vinny, Ryan and the rest of his entourage on their plans for Japan. He did not once glance in her direction. Meanwhile, Andy remained glued to the video game on the small screen TV in front of him, comfortably sitting back on his seat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be landing shortly at Kansai Airport. Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts, thank you," the pilot announced.

Everyone headed back to their seats.

Ariel sucked in her breath when Leon walked past, but he made no eye contact nor greeted her. Even though he was not demanding again that she sat next to him at this moment, she could not help feeling a bit hurt that he ignored her, as if she was invisible.

Okay, whatever, at least he's back to normal, so hurray!

Andy grabbed her hand, as usual, every time they took off or landed. "It's not fair, I did not finish the game," he groaned.

"No worries. You'll get to play it again when we return home," Ariel comforted.

She looked out of the window at the land below her, feeling excited about the next new place on the list and forgetting her earlier troubles.