365 Days with the Celebrity

Chapter 41 - The Bodyguard

Initially, Ariel thought it would be great not to have the boss around. Even though she was used to Leon's frequent absences due to his gruelling schedules, Ariel felt his absence created a crater of emptiness within her that she never expected. She remembered the quick goodbye he gave her and Andy without looking eye-to-eye at her.

Ever since Leon gave her the bouquet and money, he retreated back to his usual aloofness, no more small talks except for work-related issues. Ariel was hoping for him to open himself up as she remembered her promise that she would listen, and now that he was sober, he never did. Obviously, a drunken episode wouldn't make him remember much of what he said.

Ariel managed to find time to volunteer at the food bank where she and Andy would help cook for and feed the poor and needy. She also caught up with her former colleagues, Han and Hong who also volunteered at the food bank. They remained stuck at the Orient Treasure and still bemoaned about Bloody Mary.

"Ariel, you alright there?"

Ariel snapped from her daydreaming and turned to see Evan, the bodyguard. Dressed in his black bodyguard suit and sunglasses swiped up to the top of his head, he looked as if he jumped out from an action movie. Leon had assigned him along with two other bodyguards, to keep guard of Ariel and Andy.

"Hey Evan, I'm great," she smiled. She was glad to find a friend in Evan at work and they recently got close, enjoying conversations about random things and about life in general. Unlike those robotic bodyguards, Evan was approachable and easy to talk with. He even offered to help eat up the mountain of dishes that Leon tossed away after the photoshoots and joined her growing list of fans of her cooking.

"How's your day?

"Same as usual," Evan casually displayed playful flexes of his arms, making Ariel laugh. "I'm starving."

"Give me a moment," Ariel poured her the Fujita barbecue sauce over the grilled salmon and scooped her handmade coleslaw onto the plate.

"There you go," she decorated it with a piece of parsley on top and served it to Evan.

"Thanks! You're the best," he dived into his plate.

If only the rest of the bodyguards could be more approachable like Evan, she sighed, but each time she tried to strike a conversation with the other bodyguards, they would reply a word or two, then transform back to stone. She found it strange that Leon preferred it that way and they still never addressed him by his first name. He hardly converse with them either.

"How's your daughter, Imogen?"

"She turned five last week. My mom takes care of her for me while I'm at work," Evan swiped the photos of his beloved daughter on his phone one at a time.

"She's a darling doll," Ariel cooed at the adorable little girl in black locks, flashing her notable rosy smile. She could relate to Evan as a single parent and admired the heavy responsibility he chose to take after Imogen's mother walked out on them when Imogen was just five months old.

"I rarely see her. This job, while I love it, I've gotta be on-call at all times just to put food on the table and so I can send her to college one day, something which I was never able to do myself," Evan sighed, smiling tensely at the photos of his daughter with almost watery eyes.

Ariel patted his shoulder, "Don't worry. You're doing what you can as a father and that's great. One day, she'll grow up to thank you."

"Thanks Ariel," he nodded. He was relieved to find such an understanding friend at work who shared similar struggles. He bit a piece of salmon and remarked, "This is fantastic! I can't believe Mr Waltz would toss away good food."