‘Hey, Chris! You’re on next.’ The high-pitched voice assaulted my ears while I was brushing the hair of the movie star, Chris Steward. I looked up and saw the PA of the TV show. I’d forgotten her name, but I remembered her from other events; her short red hair and that signature cat eyeliner were certainly recognisable. The pushed-up cleavage under the tight T-shirt was not something I would forget either. The only difference was probably that the spotty face was looking flawless and glowing. I wondered if she had laser facial treatments.
‘You’re up in two minutes.’ She lifted the corners of her lips and threw a seductive smile to Chris as if I did not exist.
Chris nodded and returned a smile. ‘Sure, Kim,’ he said.
She gaped but relaxed to a smile after a few seconds. I guessed she was surprised Chris had remembered her name.
In this industry, you get to work with many people, and it was difficult to memorise every person’s name from the film crew. But this never happened to Chris; he literally imprinted everyone’s name. His acting was superb, no argument. But it was not his acting skills that had led him to where he was; his people skills were what gave him the crown.
I finished my job and gave Chris a gentle pat on his arm. This was my cue for letting him know I was done.
He turned to me as he said, ‘Thanks, see you later.’
I nodded but glued my eyes on my make-up equipment; I did not want to look at him right now. Without further response, I started packing up my stuff.
‘Anna?’ Chris said.
Hearing him call my name forced me to look up but I didn’t stop packing.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked with a sceptical look on his face.
‘Sure! Why?’
‘You seem…’ He paused and glanced at the PA who was next to him as if figuring out whether to continue the conversation.
‘Just go, you’re late,’ I said.
He kept his stare on me and clearly wanted to stay longer but that foxy PA grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the changing room.
I watched Chris, my boyfriend, leave my sight, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Can you imagine dating a celebrity? What would it be like? Exciting? Luxurious?
In reality, you have a complimentary closet to hide in and an unlimited chance to watch flirty scenes of him with other women, and the best part is the vast opportunity to act like a puppet going wherever the master wants you to go. Sounds great?
Didn’t people say ‘All you need is love’? Love is so powerful that it could overcome any barrier.
It’s easy to say, but it’s hard if you’re the one in the game.
Chris and I had been dating for a year, in secret. He was a Hollywood movie star. That God-made face and well-built body got him onto the list of the top ten hottest actors in Hollywood. Every girl, woman or even man adored him and would kill to be part of his life. His girlfriend – me – was just an average girl, ordinary and capable of nothing but make-up and styling. Obviously, he was too good for me. So why did he pick me? I wondered.
When I joined the company, I was assigned as his temporary stylist. Apparently, he had fired dozens of stylists before me, so I was hired to see if I could fit in with him.
‘I like your work.’ My manager, Jane, gave me compliments as she flipped through my portfolio. ‘I see you have over ten years of experience…’ She smiled but seemed hesitant as if she was concerned about my work. ‘Maybe you can handle Chris,’ she mumbled.
Did she mean for me to hear that? I can handle Chris.
What type of person needed to be ‘handled’? Annoying, a troubled customer, and yes, Chris was that troubled customer she was referring to.
***
Two years ago
I knocked on the door.
A husky voice came from inside. ‘Come in.’
Anxiety immediately took over my body. I didn’t know whether it was because I would be meeting Chris Steward, the most popular movie star of the year, or that the low-pitched masculine voice had scrambled my mind.
‘Come on, Anna,’ I whispered to myself, ‘don’t be a pussy.’ I took a quick, deep breath and walked into the room.
A man with short, dishevelled blond hair was sitting in front of the dressing table reading an inch-thick script. He was dressed casually in a white polo shirt and blue shorts. I walked closer to him, and his smooth skin caught my attention. He was not wearing any concealer or foundation, but his skin was as perfect as if it had been photoshopped. The glow on his cheeks was natural and stunning; I was dying to run my finger over his skin and feel that silky softness.
‘Hi, I’m Anna, your new stylist.’
The man slowly looked up, and when our gazes locked, my breathing stopped. His green eyes sparkled like diamonds. Those full lips were soft, shut tight. His angular jawline was strong and masculine and every part of his face was symmetrical, perfect as if made by God.
‘Hi.’ He stood up as he spoke.
His wide shoulders slowly rose above my head. He was so tall that I barely reached his shoulders. That well-trained body wasn’t hidden by his shirt. His arm muscles were almost tearing off his sleeves. His face, his features, and every part of his body were made for a Hollywood movie star.
‘I’m Chris,’ he said with a formal smile and reached for a handshake. As my fingertips touched his skin, a mild electric current passed through me. I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from squawking. I took a glimpse at him, but I saw no expression on his face.
His zero response had confused me. Was it a delusion or did that tickling spark really happen and he was just pretending to feel nothing?
‘So should we start?’ I looked away to stop myself from drilling into this incident.
‘Sure.’ He returned to his seat. ‘But don’t overdo my make-up or hair,’ he said in a flat tone without hesitation, without compassion. Each word was spoken like an order.
Great, I see why he needs to be ‘handled’.
‘Okay, I’ll just give you a gentle touch-up.’
I usually start with make-up and leave hair until last, but as soon as my foundation brush touched his cheek, the hostile comments began.
‘Please don’t put anything too tan or too thick on me.’
‘Don’t worry, Chris. Just trust me.’ I looked in the mirror and it reflected his face which was full of caution.
‘I’m not sure if you can be trusted yet.’ His voice was cold – so cold that I started to wonder if Jane hated me. The stern look on his face could petrify a bear.
I calmed myself and put on a smile. ‘No problem – you’ll be sure after this brush shows its magic.’ I held up the brush and waved it like a wand.
I guessed trying to act cute was useless because he gave no response at all.
He kept quiet, which was good because I like to work undisturbed. But the silence ended too soon. When I moved on to his eyebrows, he was back to giving orders.
‘Not too thick. I don’t want to look like Ted.’ There was that cold voice again. But it was not the cold voice that caught my attention.
‘Ted?’ I asked.
‘You’ve never watched that movie? Ted, the bear.’
Then I remembered the teddy bear in the movie with bushy eyebrows.
The image of Chris having those bushy eyebrows was hilarious, and it was very hard to stop myself from giggling.
‘I don’t find it funny.’ Chris frowned.
I forced myself not to laugh but I couldn’t hide my smile. ‘Relax,’ I said.
‘No, I don’t relax when I am working.’
‘You’re not working now, I am,’ I said as I smoothed powder onto his brow.
He smirked. ‘Glad that you know.’
My hands froze in the air for a second, but I pretended I hadn’t heard and focused back on his face.
The next few minutes were peaceful until I started brushing his hair.
‘About the hair,’ he said.
Here we go again.
‘I don’t want any hair hanging on my forehead or my cheeks.’
‘Okay, I’ll brush it all back.’ I faked a smile.
‘Don’t put on too much hair gel, it’s hard to wash out.’
‘Okay, not too much hair gel.’
‘Hairspray too, and don’t spray it on my face.’
‘Okay, not too much spray and not on your face.’ I looked into the mirror again and saw his glare.
‘I hope you know what you’re doing.’ He seemed irritated by my response.
I gave him a sweet angelic smile. But I wanted to bark at him like an angry dog.
Of course, I know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing it for over ten years, and professionally. If you want to look good in front of the camera, shut the hell up or otherwise do it yourself, you arrogant pig!
Barking out all the hateful thoughts in my mind gave peace to my heart. And the best thing was, Chris didn’t say anything further.
For the next thirty minutes, the room was silent. No more nasty words or evil stares as if he had read my mind.
After I finished all the make-up and styling, Chris looked in the mirror, turning his head to different angles to check the details. I waited, prepared for his insults.
‘Good,’ he said, ‘you did what I asked.’
Can you imagine my surprise? I thought he was going to insult my work, my attitude, and be unpleasant to me. But ‘Good’? Wow!
‘Oh…’ I felt embarrassed for thinking he was an arrogant pig. ‘That’s good. I’m glad you like my work.’
‘Thank you,’ he added. But unlike before, his voice was sincere.
***
My completion of his little challenge opened up the fast lane to our partnership. No nasty words or concerns from him in the following weeks; I guessed I had passed his test.
‘So, what’s your hobby?’ Chris asked while he was driving. He likes to drive his own car to work to save time, and he was generous enough to let me come along free of charge.
That day I was his passenger again; we’d just finished a modelling job and were heading to a media interview.
‘Nothing much. Sometimes I read.’ I made something up to avoid giving too much detail.
I always felt as if I lived in a different world compared with the people I worked with, so I opted to keep my distance.
‘What do you read?’ he asked.
‘Um…’ I muttered, trying to think of something in three seconds.
It couldn’t be books because I didn’t even remember the last time I read a book. The only thing I read was those cheesy magazines.
Oh well.
‘I like to read magazines,’ I said, hoping this boring answer would stop him from questioning further.
‘What kind?’
‘Gossip,’ I said.
‘Interesting choice.’ He smirked. ‘Anything about me?’
‘I guess so.’ I gave a random answer, praying he would stop asking questions.
Chris narrowed his brow. ‘You guess? I thought you’d been reading them?’
Damn. The truth was I never read the gossip column.
‘Um…’ I muttered again, trying to figure out a better answer.
Maybe tell him I check out the styling of celebrities, just don’t mention…
‘The sex column.’ I said the last thing that had flashed through my mind, also the one that I shouldn’t have said.
The sex column, the sex column, the sex column…
Those three words echoed in my ears like the morning alarm.
I did not say that out loud, did I?
Yes, you did, Anna. Yes, you did!
The air turned thin and my body temperature rose; my heart stopped, and my whole body froze. It appeared to me that I had just made a fool of myself.
Maybe he didn’t hear that.
My eyes slowly slid to the side to peek at Chris. But he was unreadable, focusing only on driving.
For the next ten minutes, both of us were silent.
The car passed by one building after another until I saw the logo ‘F/A’ a couple of metres away. I knew we were almost there.
‘Was it good?’ Chris’s deep smooth voice broke the silence.
I wasn’t sure if I was fantasising, but the pitch of his husky voice sounded lower than usual, and the vibration created in the air travelled through my veins, short-circuited my brain and deprived me of my ability to think.
‘What?’ I could barely form a sentence, not to mention remember what I had said before.
He took a glance at me and returned his focus to the traffic. Slowly, he stopped at a traffic light and turned to me. His diamond-like eyes were glowing again, and an evil smile spread faintly across his face.
I looked at him and my heart jumped like a deer; the shortness of breath made me feel light-headed.
I think I need to call an ambulance right now.
‘The sex column…’ His eyes sparkled as he spoke. ‘Was it good?’ He grinned like a beautiful devil.
