Chapter One

DreamInColour © 2004

 

Orlando rolled over and smiled at the woman who was sleeping next to him. She really was breathtakingly beautiful. His mates back home were constantly teasing him about his ability to find the perfect woman. Each girlfriend in his life had suited his life at that time. Of course they’d never been able to adapt when life changed, maybe this time it’d be different. They were both actors and they both had aspirations to stay in the business, maybe they could be the next…now which actor/actress relationship did he know of that actually worked?

She opened her eyes and jarred him out of his thought process; perfectly white teeth complimented her smile, “Good morning.”

He moved a strand of hair away from her face and smiled back, “Morning. When did you get in? I don’t remember hearing you at all.”

“You were out cold. I had to roll you under the blankets and you didn’t move a muscle.” She chuckled lightly, “I even undressed you and you didn’t budge. I thought I’d lost my touch.”

He grinned as he realized he was wearing nothing but his boxers. He pulled her towards him so she had her head on his chest, “I’m just really exhausted lately. I don’t think I’ve had a decent night’s sleep in weeks.”

“Maybe once you finish shooting this one we can take a few weeks off.” She suggested.

He smiled down at the top of her head before kissing it lightly, “Maybe.”

“It’d have to be a secluded island for us to actually find some relaxation though.” She said with a laugh.

He didn’t say anything. Was that woman last night a dream? The irony of Kate’s statement was not lost on him. He could almost hear the mysterious woman’s voice in his head ‘There’s an island reserved for your actual problem.’

Kate didn’t notice that he was hardly paying attention. She looked at the clock on the table beside them and groaned. “I have to go…” She sat up, “…Teen People is doing an article on me and I have to meet them in an hour.”

When she moved it threw him back into reality. He sat up with a yawn and stretched a bit, “What’s the feature?”

“Some ‘up and coming’ or ‘new to the business’ article. You know the same type you did a couple years back.”

“Ah yes riveting article that.”

“Definitely.” She agreed then leaned down to kiss him quickly, “I’m going to take a shower would you order me some breakfast and coffee?”

“Sure thing love.” He said with a smile.

He didn’t even have the energy to appreciate her retreating form. As soon as the door shut behind her he was up looking through the pockets of the jacket he’d worn the night before. Sure enough in the right front pocket there it was…

‘Hart Island. 1-800-To-Peace.’

It couldn’t have been a more obscure card. He really should throw it out, but her words would not leave his head. ‘You didn’t think it was going to be this hard did you?’ He ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed. Placing the card back into the pocket he went back to the bed and picked up the hotel phone. He didn’t have time for peace now.

 

It was three months before the phone rang.

Anya had all but given up hope that he would ever call. She was feeling rather down about the whole thing as she helped dish out food at a soup kitchen in Brooklyn. Then it happened the phone in her pocket rang. It wasn’t her normal cell phone either it was the cell phone she’d got for one purpose only. It was there only for one call from one person.

“Maria can you take my place for a minute?” She called rather breathlessly.

“Sure thing hunny.”

At the fifth ring when she was in a back office she answered, “Anya Hart.”

There was silence for almost a full minute. She would have hung up if she didn’t hear him breathing, “You said there was a place…” He started, “I mean…I…”

“You’ve lost your last reserve of peace.” She said quietly.

He sighed loudly, “I can’t remember the last time I had it.”

“When would you like to meet Mr. Bloom?”

“Where are you?”

“New York but I can meet you anywhere in the world.”

“Don’t bother. I’m already here, how about lunch tomorrow?”

“Just name the time and place and I’ll be there.”

“Restaurant at the Bel Air hotel, noon.”

“See you then.”

“Right. Cheers.”

They both hung up and stared at their respective phones. He couldn’t believe he’d actually called and neither could she.

Maybe it was because he was in between projects and couldn’t decide what he wanted to do next. Or maybe it was because Kate had taken a job that had her shooting in Louisiana and he couldn’t bring himself to relocate there. While she was everything he thought he needed he knew she couldn’t help him with what he craved. He’d tried going home to his own country but everywhere he went he was swamped. He visited a couple of friends in Italy but found after the second day he couldn’t leave their home without being photographed. Upon his return to America he had been followed consistently. The day he had called her he’d woken up in the morning and realized he couldn’t take it anymore. If he hadn’t tried all of the sex, drugs and booze in his youth he would have found a bottle to crawl into, but he knew that wouldn’t help him. Then he remembered that card, the one he’d put into his wallet, the card he hadn’t been able to throw out. He’d stared at that card for a full thirty minutes before he’d called the number.

It was that card, that number and his insatiable need for peace that brought him down to the Bel Air restaurant the following day. He had just barely sat down when she came in looking exactly as he’d remembered her. She was dressed like someone who knew fashion and was all right in designer clothes. The thing is she wasn’t overly done up and still looked comfortable in what she wore. She smiled when he stood, “A pleasure to see you again Mr. Bloom.”

He sat down only after the waiter had pulled out her chair for her. For some reason he felt the need to be overly polite with this woman. She was apparently around his age but seemed to have the air of an old soul. “Please call me Orlando Miss. Hart.”

“Only if you call me Anya.” She said with a smile.

“All right.” He returned the smile with a tired one of his own. “I really don’t know what to do now.”

“To be honest with you neither do I.” She said as they both ordered some drinks and a light salad for lunch.

Once the waiter had left Orlando regarded her again. He was slightly alarmed by her admission, up until this point he figured she knew exactly what was going on, “Then how can you help me?”

“I can’t. All I can do is provide you a place where you will have solitude and the freedom to completely relax.”

“You said it was on an island.” He took a sip of the drink the waiter brought and waited.

She nodded, “Yes, in the Caribbean. My father acquired that land about five years ago. He built a simple cabin on it and there’s a landing pad for a helicopter. After he died three years ago he left me instructions to find someone who really needed it and I think that someone is you.”

He was slightly taken aback by this information, “You mean you’ve been searching for someone to be on this island for three years and you’ve picked me? Don’t you think it would be better to send someone a little less fortunate than myself? I have many powerful friends who can give me Caribbean trips. Hell I worked there for a few months.” He was starting to regret his decision to call her. He didn’t feel right about this. He had worked in many tropical settings and hadn’t actually had that bad of an upbringing. He felt guilty taking something from this obviously wealthy woman, when he was making a pretty penny himself these days.

His obvious concern reiterated the choice she had made. Anya was certain that he needed this island more than anyone. “Oh this isn’t a resort Orlando. There won’t be any servants to clean up after you and the accommodations while somewhat elaborate are still quite simple. You’ll have to take care of your own cooking and cleaning. I’m offering you a place to rest, that’s all. Don’t worry about others not enjoying it a surfer that needed some place to recoup after a head injury has been living there for the last year. He’s in need of a change of scenery so I’ve relocated him to Australia so you needn’t worry about taking his home from him either.”

“Surfing?” His eyebrows raised in interest. He’d missed the surfing he’d been able to get in while shooting the ‘Rings’ movies in New Zealand. It sounded very appealing, a time of solitude, no one over his shoulder every few minutes and plenty of surfing.

She chuckled, “You like surfing do you?”

“Ever since trying it I have it’s an amazing rush.” He actually gave her the first genuine smile she’d seen from him, “How long am I being made to stay there?” He asked.

She full out laughed at that, “Oh you are free to stay as short or as long as you’d like. We have a pilot on call at a nearby island. You are not a prisoner Orlando. I am simply offering you a place away from your obviously very crowded life.”

That was the understatement of the year. His life was chaos and not in a bad way, everything seemed to be going his way lately. He’d chosen some amazing roles since Leggy and had enjoyed working on those projects. He had Kate who was perfect for his life, she looked good on his arm and she completely understood his schedule. She never complained about him being gone long and always made up for their time apart. His friends were as famous if not more than he was and they were a great reality check. As it was he should have been ecstatic with life and he wasn’t. He was exhausted with it. When you’re ‘the next best thing’ you have so many things that you ‘have’ to do. He was also apparently very well known around the world, so he had to comply with many requests to keep his profile high in many countries. Many times he’d tried to take a break but always ended up working too cutting the time short. He wondered how this trip would be any different.

As if anticipating this questions Anya continued, “If you’re worried about something catastrophic happing in your family life or with your job and you not knowing about it don’t be. We’ll have a contact number that important people in your life may receive. The only thing is it’s to my estate so my employee Bruce or myself will be the ones answering this line. We will decide if the information is important enough to interrupt you. And I’ll give you an idea ‘mother gravely ill’ helicopter being sent to pick you up without a question. ‘Agent wanting you to do a bit part’ will wait till you get back and all article requests will be put on hold.”

“Wow you’ve really thought this through.” He observed as he dove into the salad that had just been put in front of him.

“I’ve had three years to do it, plus Daddy had the preliminaries done already.” She was sort of wistful as she spoke of her father. He wondered how he’d died and where her mother was but felt it was entirely inappropriate to ask that question at this point. Having spent a bit more time with her this time he did notice that there was a sadness mixed with the peace in her eyes. For a moment he was worried about her, but he pushed those thoughts out of his head. He was going for relaxation right? He didn’t need to start worrying about yet another person in his life.

“Well Anya it sounds like too amazing of an opportunity to pass up. Let me clear my schedule with my agent and be sure of my time off. Shall I use this number to keep in contact with you?” He asked indicating the card that he had pulled out of his pocket.

She nodded, “I have that phone with me all the time so call whenever you’d like. I rarely sleep.” She took the last bite of her salad and stood up, “Feel free to stay as long as you’d like and order more it’s on my tab.”

He stood up with her and extended his hand to her, “It’s been a pleasure speaking with you Anya. I will be in touch.”

“I hope you will.” She accepted his handshake with a smile, “Until then.” She said with another nod and then she was gone.

He stood there for a few seconds before sitting back down again. He toyed with some words in his head before the perfect one came to him. Enigma. This woman was like no one he had ever met before. She was unique and in obvious control of her life, he was still curious by the sadness that had rested in her eyes when she looked at him. Curiosity had no place in his life at that point though. He was sure that any of his contact with her from that point on would be over the phone. He looked forward to the idea of solitude and decided before he left he’d make a trip to Louisiana to spend some time with Kate before he left. She was working for the next four months so if he took a couple of weeks off he figured she’d understand. The last time she’d done a movie they’d talked sporadically so he assumed she’d hardly notice he was gone.

 

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