365 Days with the Celebrity

Chapter 33 - Let it Loose

The ladies were thrilled when Ariel passed each of them generous gifts from the overseas trips. They have not met for a few weeks since she returned. Rita went to Hawaii with her family, Camila was fully booked for weddings while Beth had begun dating one of the surgeons at her hospital.

In honour of Ariel's success in Japan, the ladies stretched out their cups of tea.

"A tea toast to our rising celebrity, Ariel Lee," Rita lifted her cup of Ariel's blueberry mint tea.

"To Ariel," all of them toasted their cups.

"How's 'Cody'?" Camila asked, taking a sip.

"Busy as usual," Ariel shrugged without revealing what happened between her and Leon in the plane and at Tokyo Tower.

Since returning home, Leon acted as if nothing happened. None of them brought up what happened in Tokyo. It was a mix of awkwardness and confusion as she felt her heart sparked a bit at the remembrance.

In truth, Leon was still wrapping his mind over how in the world did it get to that point. Crossing the line would jeopardise their boss-employee relationship, even ruin his public image. Stunning people like him should only date stunning people. The temptation that had built up for some time finally made him succumb when he secretly kissed her on the plane, but it was not enough. The taste left him longing for more. If it was not for some annoying lady staff at Tokyo Tower who startled them, he would have done it all the way.

Still, it left him paralysed in shock.

How in the world could he have any feelings towards an employee, much less a woman who was not model-material or fresh out from fashion magazines? Geez, he even refused to date the models who modelled for Stellar Azure, because it's work and he doesn't date anyone who work for or with him, except for that one costly mistake with Mia Marlene!

Ariel may be pretty in her own way, but her overall appearance wouldn't earn any attention from him - unflattering clothes on an uncomplimentary figure that lacked an ample bosom, ugly top-knot hairdo and a personality that was at times, too naive for his taste. Even his circle of celebrity friends would not bat an eyelid at her. And she was a single mum, for goodness sake! She was bound to serious life commitments while he was living wild and free without being tied down. Not that Andy was a burden. Quite the opposite actually, Leon found him to be a delightful and bubbly child. And if Ariel was expecting Leon to rescue them from her hard, single mother life, she was looking at the wrong guy for in no way would he want to stand up to the plate, no matter how much he admired her struggling life story. To allow her son and her live in an expensive penthouse was more than generous. She was going to walk away with a million dollars anyway and their lives would forever change for the better after that. So good luck and good riddance.

But Ariel possessed an allure which Leon could not pinpoint, for his mind could not stop being drawn to her again and again. Waiting for the year to end would be too long. He needed to find a way to break this cursed spell soon.

And he did when he came home one night drunk with a statuesque one-night stand in his arms after a late-night out at the nightclub with his celebrity pals. Ariel froze in her tracks as she saw the touchy couple staggering into his room. He was too drunk to care if she was watching, for he was too engrossed with the pretty, sexy lady with heavy makeup in his arms. Once they were inside, Ariel could hear the disgusting faint sounds of pleasure. It was the very thing she wanted to protect her son from ever witnessing, and she felt angered that as an adult, Leon was not giving a care that there was a young kid living in the same house! But what could she do? She had no right to tell the boss how he should behave in his own house. Her only relief was that Andy was already asleep since it was way past midnight.