[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.]
---
CROSSROADS
Aidan is standing on the corner in a new shirt. He's shaved and run some styling product through his hair. He's made an effort. Mara has told him where to be and when, but she's overdue. Aidan gets his phone out to call her when a horn honks.
He looks up from his phone. Coming down the street is a black stretch limousine. It draws to a halt across the road from him and a door opens. Aidan checks for traffic and crosses over, ducking into the shaded interior. There is a woman in the back that he doesn't recognise. She's in her forties with tightly curled black hair and olive skin, wearing a dark blue dress.
"This is Gabriella Suarez. You've heard me on the phone with her, mostly swearing, but never at her."
Aidan turns, looking for the owner of the voice. Pressed into the very back of the limo, Mara is reclining in her white silk evening dress. She extends her hands.
"How do I look?"
She is stunningly beautiful. Her hair and makeup are immaculate, transforming the face that he has grown very used to in the last few weeks into a woman he barely recognises.
"A little different in the full battle armour, hey," she murmurs, reaching across to a little shelf to pick up a champagne flute.
"Could you be a dear and close the door? We need to get going."
Aidan lurches into motion, closing the door behind him and settling down into one of the plush leather seats, midway between the two women.
"So this is Aidan," Gabriella says, "I've heard plenty about you."
"All good," Mara interjects, "I've only said good things about you."
The limo begins to move and he finds himself looking out through a tinted window at tourists and locals in the main street.
"Uh, thanks for picking me up," Aidan mumbles, "You didn't need to."
"We're going the same direction, and you were on the way. Champagne?"
"Yeah, sure."
Mara fills a flute and passes it to him.
"Gabriella, top up?"
"Not for me. Some of us gotta work tonight," the older woman replies.
"We're all working tonight. I need to hit all the briefing notes on the red carpet."
"You learned your lines?"
"Yeah, I learned my lines. Smile, wave, talk about the character...."
"Fend off questions about your new boyfriend."
Aidan has been sitting quietly up until this point. "What?" he interjects, "Who?"
"Andrew has called three times," Gabriella continues, ignoring Aidan's questions, "He's asked for your address to send flowers."
"Did you give it to him?" Mara asks.
"No, certainly not."
"Good. He'd send flowers alright. He'd be at the door to deliver them personally."
Aidan wants to ask who Andrew is, but the conversation shifts again before he has a chance.
"You're the boyfriend," Mara says, "You should really look at the feeds."
Aidan has a sinking feeling.
"I've denied everything. Gabriella's put out a statement that you're my personal trainer and I'm preparing for a role that I can't discuss right now. Given the nature of the beast, this should all blow over in a day or two."
"Blow over?" Aidan stammers, "What's going on?"
Mara nods to Gabriella, who hands her phone to Aidan for him to read for himself. There is a picture of him walking on the beach with Mara. He recognises it as the point where Mara had decided to finish the run and head up the beach. The background is blurred, indicating a telephoto lens. It's clearly not been taken on a phone by a passer-by.
"It's a good shot," Gabriella comments, taking the phone back, "Shows you both very well."
"Who took it?" Aidan asks.
"Local guy, all I could shake up in a limited timeframe. I didn't have a lot of notice that they were shooting the scenes down on the beach that day."
The realisation dawns on him, and he turns to look at Mara. "So, the cameo, that was all a set-up?"
"Kinda," Mara nods, "The pap was a set-up. You need to make sure they're in position. The cameo was just a bit of fun, a happy addition."
"Genius," Gabriella comments, "The way that someone on the crew posted it and it got picked up, I'd have had to lay down some serious resources to get that to happen otherwise. Tony and the boys got a good look at it, I made sure of all that. They know who they should be calling now."
"Yeah, fucking Tony," says Mara, "Get his pen out his ass and sign the contract."
Aidan is quiet, piecing it together, working through the implications. To Mara, it's just business, the endless need to crank the handle on the publicity machine, but Aidan can't help but feel blindsided.
"Aidan, what's on your mind?" Mara asks.
"Nothing. I'm just not used to riding in a limo with...."
"Me. It's still just me. When that door opens, it's gonna be Mara Fey, film star, but right now this is still just me."
She brushes a hand over her legs. "Somewhere under all this," she mutters.
Mara leans forward to clink her glass against Aidan's.
"I know you're not used to this," she says, "But trust me, it can also be a whole helluva lotta fun too."
Aidan sips his champagne as the two women discuss details, zoning out and watching the streets go past through the tinted window. It's like they're in a bubble, isolated from the world outside. Beyond the glass, he can see women pushing babies, men queuing for buses, kids running down the street. Inside, they're talking about who they need to make contact with, scattering names at a bewildering pace, detailing the business of being famous, and more importantly, staying famous.
The limo pulls onto the onramp to the Harbour Bridge and Mara leans forward again.
"Aidan, where are we dropping you?"
Aidan rouses himself from his thoughts and turns to Mara.
"Your hot date with Kay. Uh, Kat. Where are you meeting her?"
Her bright blue eyes are locked on his.
"Or have you decided to come with us after all and see a movie?"
Mara's expression is unreadable, but somewhere behind the makeup there's a concealed edge to her tone. She had been offering to bring him along to the premiere, and had kept digging into his reason for refusal until Aidan had finally yielded and confessed that Kat was flying in the same day. Mara had blinked once, then announced brightly that she would be more than happy to provide the transport so he could arrive at his date in style. She hadn't mentioned it again.
"Topaz," he mumbles, "It's a restaurant in the city."
Gabriella nods once and turns to open the privacy screen to notify the driver. Mara smiles at him.
"Well, I hope you have a nice time with her. Think of the rest of us, slogging through the night. I don't blame you for ducking this. Wish I could."
Her tone is light and conversational, her face betraying no hint of her emotions. Aidan can only nod his thanks.
The limo pulls off the bridge and weaves its way through the city streets, finally slowing to a halt in front of a bustling restaurant. Mara touches Aidan's arm.
"Now, get out like you own the limo," she tells him, "People will think you're a rockstar."
