[Aidan's marriage has been shattered by his wife's cheating. Unable to cope with the thing she did, he boarded a plane and put as much distance between them as possible. He finds himself in Australia, making new friends in Sydney, including a pair of mates on a road trip around their vast, empty continent. He's also met Kat, sharing her bed, the first time in many years that he's been with a woman who isn't his wife. Now, he's working for Mara Fey, the Hollywood A-Lister and one of the most famous women on the planet. Meanwhile, Rosa had cut off all contact with him, leaving Aidan more lonely than ever.
The background to Aidan's story can be found in
Oxygen Games
by oneagainst, continued here with permission.]
---
JUST BUSINESS
Even allowing an extra half hour travel time, Aidan is nearly late. The address Marley gave him is a long way up the peninsula, on the ridge with a view across the ocean. He doesn't have transport and he's trying to save money so he takes the bus and decides to walk the last part, realising too late that it's uphill and the day's already getting warmer.
The house is on the ocean side, a single-storey building architected carefully from concrete and glass, backing onto the road. It doesn't look very different to the houses around it. He checks the address again and presses the intercom on the steel gate. After a few seconds, he hears the latch click and pushes through. Before he can get to the front door, it opens.
A woman is standing there. She's a head shorter than him, wrapped in tight-fitting lycra with one hand pressed to her ear and her phone in the other.
"Tell him fuck no."
She glances up at Aidan, tapping her ear to indicate the earbud, and waves him in. Then, she turns and wanders back into the house.
"I said that. You remember? I was at the fucking table. I said that."
They're in an entrance hall, with a set of shallow steps leading down into the rest of the building. At the bottom, there is an open-plan area with a wide view of the sea. Silhouetted against it, the woman is nodding vigorously, her back turned to him.
She agitated, her hand playing absently with the blonde hair caught up in a clip behind her head. The lycra tank top reveals bare shoulders, narrowing down to a slim waist and toned legs. She's barefoot.
"Yeah, I said that. He was gonna go take care of it and I was meant to have the contract yesterday. Yeah. Assholes. Can you?"
She nods again, looking over her shoulder and holding up a finger to Aidan. He finds himself face to face with one of the most recognisable women in the world.
"Thanks, yeah. Really appreciate it. We'll get there."
She taps the phone and lets out a long breath.
"Motherfuckers," she groans.
"Uh, problems?" Aidan replies, tentatively.
The woman ignores the question. "You're Aidan."
"You're Mara Fey."
"Yeah, I know who I am. There are posters. You Aidan, yeah?"
He's looking into blue eyes, blonde hair framing a mesmerizingly beautiful face. She's wearing just a little make-up, enough to accent her soft lips and wide eyes. Mara's older than him by more than a decade, he seems to recall, but she doesn't look it. She blinks.
"Uh, Aidan, right?" she repeats.
"Yeah," Aidan stammers, "Uh, that's me. I... Marley sent me. For personal...."
"I know, I booked you."
"Uh... that's right."
Mara is watching him as he struggles, then she smiles.
"Take a breath. Let it pass."
Aidan draws a breath and nods. "I'm just... I wasn't expecting, uh, you."
Mara winks and it's adorable. "That's because I'm not here. I'm not even in the country, at least not for a few more days."
She beckons him over to a table. There's a bag. She extracts a set of papers and a pen, and holds them out to him.
"Read and sign. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be downstairs."
Wordlessly, he takes them and she turns, slinking down the stairs. He watches the way she walks, the way her hips roll in her lycra exercise tights, then forces his attention to the document in his hand.
It reads like a contract, detailing a non-disclosure agreement and then terms of service, like they are going into business together. Flustered, he scans it and signs at the bottom. When he's done, he carries it down the stairs to where Mara is standing in the open-plan kitchen area with a glass of water. There is a hint of amusement in her expression.
"You could have just left it upstairs," she says, "If it's signed, I don't need to see it."
Aidan comes to a halt in the middle of the room, clutching the paperwork and the pen, feeling foolish. Mara relents.
"Just leave it on the counter."
She puts her glass down and strolls out into the sunshine. Aidan drops the document onto the white marble surface and follows her out to a deck paved in limestone squares,with a plunge pool sunk into the middle of it, and framed glass balustradingthat doesn't obscure the breathtaking view: they are high above the water, looking directly out over the ocean. The sky is an incomparable blue; there isn't a single cloud. Mara is standing next to an exercise mat, waiting. Aidan finds his voice.
"So, where do you want to start?" he asks.
"You mean, what do I want?"
"Yes."
Her eyes glitter. "Everything," she purrs, an elegant hand resting on the clear glass balustrade.
Aidan finds himself staring, trying to work out what he's gotten himself into.
"You did read the fine print, didn't you?" she asks.
"I... kinda."
Mara's expression changes, and she breaks into a wide grin.
"Oh, dude, you would not make it five minutes. Always," she shakes her head, "Always read the contract."
Aidan is taken aback by the mercurial shift in her demeanour. He frowns.
"What if there was a clause in it? Like you now had to call me Empress? Or you were banned from going to the bathroom while you were here?"
"What?"
"Oh, stranger things, believe me. Some really fucked up things."
Aidan turns, looking back to the document, its pages ruffling in the gentle breeze sweeping in from the sea.
"Relax, dude. It's a standard non-disclosure. It means you say nothing about any of this. Or...."
Aidan watches her expression change again, hardening.
"Or I will bury you."
The blue eyes are locked on him now. Aidan tenses. Seeing this, Mara changes again, relaxing, her expression softening. Aidan is struggling to anticipate what she'll do next.
"It's a standard," she tells him, her tone now neutral and business-like, "It gives me protection that you aren't gonna go to the paps and then suddenly I'm ass-deep in telephoto lenses. Read it again, you'll see that's what it is."
Aidan shifts uncomfortably but doesn't reply. Mara surprises him.
"Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out. Dude, you okay?"
"I... yeah."
"Sure?"
