"Mr. Smith, you got into the water today. Drink some ginger tea. It'll help you avoid getting a cold."
Alexander didn't react.
His assistant stayed silent, carefully leaving the ginger tea on the table.
Even though his assistant's actions were soft, the porcelain cup still made a sound when it touched the table.
Alexander turned his head at it. He raised his hand, bringing the cigarette to his mouth to take a long puff, and stared out through the full-length window. He extinguished his cigarette before turning to his desk. He raised the cup with a single hand and took a gulp. The spicy sensation stayed in his mouth for a long time until he seemed to have recalled something. Quietly, he looked at his assistant who was already at the door.
"Anymore?"
His assistant stopped, realizing after a moment that Alexander was referring to the ginger tea. Assuming that he wanted to drink some, he immediately nodded. "I'll go pour more."
Alexander said a light "yes" before lowering his head to blow at his tea and sipping some more. In a barely audible tone, he said, "Bring some to room 5231 as well."
His assistant paused momentarily. 'Who stays in room 5231?' he wondered.
Seeing that his assistant was still in a daze, Alexander lifted his head to sweep a cold glance across him. "Say it's an arrangement from the crew."
The assistant understood Alexander's meaning instantly, replying with a "ah" before exiting the room.
It took him about five minutes to return after delivering the ginger tea.
~*~
Alexander sat in his chair, the cup of ginger tea in his hand still emitting heat. As soon as he heard the door open, he looked at his assistant nonchalantly, asking lightly, "Have you delivered it?"
"Yes." His assistant hesitated before explaining the situation. "But Miss Davis was not in her room, her assistant Miss Camila took it for her."
Alexander frowned slightly before lowering his head to take a slow sip of his ginger tea. Before he could swallow it, he heard his assistant continue.
"Miss Camila mentioned that producer Johnson wanted to discuss a new role with her so she is playing cards with him downstairs."
Alexander's actions suddenly stopped and he clenched his cup of tea tightly. He stared into the cup coldly and, after about two seconds, he forced down the ginger tea as though nothing had happened. He nodded his head slightly.
"I understand." Alexander paused for a bit, then continued, "You can go back for today."
A long time after his assistant left the room, Alexander placed the porcelain cup back on the desk. He looked out the window with a cold expression for a time before taking out his phone. His fingers flew across the screen, sending a text out.
Alexander waited for the text to successfully deliver, then chucked his phone to the side.
Isabelle was on a roll, being the sole winner out of the four people. Every single time she won, it was when she sat directly in front of producer Johnson, the other two players were just there to make up the numbers.
In order to suck up to producer Johnson, the other two actors kept letting him win. They would deliberately let either the director or producer Johnson win when they played together, so that they would be in a good mood, awarding them with a new role. Hence, now that Isabelle had won several rounds, winning a huge sum from producer Johnson, she didn't know if she should continue playing.
Producer Johnson didn't force her to continue playing, instead looking at his watch to check the time. He remarked, "After playing for so long, aren't you guys tired? Anyone wants supper?"
Before Isabelle could reply, the other two female actresses enthusiastically replied, "Me!"
"I know a seafood stall nearby that is quite good, let's go there," Producer Johnson decided, calling for his assistant.
In the time producer Johnson used to call his assistant, Isabelle tried to think of an excuse. Just then, her phone vibrated. Picking it up, she saw a message from Alexander: "Come up with your script."
Even though she didn't understand what Alexander wanted, she was still grateful for the text. She waited for producer Johnson to hang up before she used an apologetic voice to excuse herself.
"Mr Johnson, I'm really sorry but I can't go for supper. Mr. Smith wants me to come with my script now. He probably wants to discuss the scenes of tomorrow."
Even though producer Johnson said he wanted to treat everyone; his main motive was to treat Isabelle. From the first day he met her, he was mesmerized. He had been paying her special attention so that he could make her his. Who knew Global entertainment would accept a cosmetic endorsement for her before he could provide one? So now he wanted to use a new role to entice her during supper then get her some alcohol so he could seal the deal. But Alexander disrupted his plans.
This was the second time his plans were fouled by Alexander. Even though producer Johnson was infuriated, he didn't want to offend Alexander so he forced a smile, acting as though it was alright. He caressed Isabelle's hand, saying, "Isabelle, if you have something on, we can have supper another time."
Since the marriage till now, Alexander had never made the first move with Isabelle.
This was the first time.
A woman's intuition told Isabelle that Alexander didn't call her to talk about the script at all. Yet, she couldn't figure out why he'd ask for her.
She returned to the hotel room confused, grabbed the script, and walked into the elevator. As she saw the red numbers turn, she remembered that time she had went to Alexander's room to give him the script. She remembered that destructive scene where he tossed her around and couldn't help but shiver. It made her feel even more nervous.
When the elevator doors opened, Isabelle walked out, passing through the empty, quiet corridors.
She stopped for a moment and gripped hard the script as she headed for Alexander's door.
Standing before the room 1001, Isabelle took a deep breath and pushed the doorbell with a trembling finger.
~*~
When Alexander heard the door bell, he didn't get up to open the door but walked over to the desk. He picked up his own script and walked into the bathroom. Then, without a hint of hesitation, he ripped up two to three pages and flushed them down the toilet.
He waited for the pages to flush completely before leaving the bathroom and opening the door for Isabelle.
~*~
After the door bell had rung for quite some time with no one opening the door, Isabelle assumed that Alexander wasn't in. Suddenly, just as she was about let out a sigh of relief, the door opened.
Isabelle's body stiffened. She held her breath, then raised her eyes to find Alexander standing in front of her. Before she could clearly see his face, she lowered her head, and quietly said, "Mr. Smith, you asked me to come over with my script. Is there something you need?"
Alexander didn't bother with Isabelle's words but shifted his body aside to make way for her. He said in a cold voice, "Come in."
When Isabelle walked past Alexander, he softly closed the door and Isabelle's body couldn't resist trembling. Her footsteps stopped, her mind conflicted for a moment, then she turned around. She faced Alexander and repeated her question, "Mr. Smith, is there something you need?"
Like before, Alexander didn't answer her. In fact, this time, he didn't say a word.
His silence made Isabelle feel extremely pressured. She could sense his annoyance.
Right then, Isabelle was scared stiff. She thought he was going to go off once again.
Half a minute went by and Alexander suddenly spoke in a calm voice, "I can't find my script, so give me yours. I'll make a copy."
Whilst shooting 'Alluring Times', they practically had all their scenes together, and so their scripts were basically the same.
Alexander had asked so nicely... and Isabelle felt a little astonished. She raised her head and looked at him. She realized there wasn't a trace of anger on his face. The raw nerves calmed slightly. Then, she immediately pulled up the wrinkled script that she had gripped tightly in her hands. She thought about it for a moment, then said, "I'll leave the script here with you. I'll leave first. Once you've made a copy, let me know and I'll come pick it up."
Alexander's eyes grew slightly cold as he glared at Isabelle, who had her head lowered. He took the script from her hands and, turning to the living room, pointing at the sofa.
"You'll wait here."
He took the script with him into the room, not allowing Isabelle to object.
Isabelle carefully sat down on the sofa. Through the open door, she saw Alexander standing in from of the desk, shuffling through the script. He then put some pages into the hotel's miniature photocopier, and she heard the swiping noises from the photocopier at work.
The photocopier was automatic, so Alexander's part was done. He turned back and headed for the living room.
Startled, Isabelle immediately diverted her eyes from him.
Alexander stepped into the room. First, he looked at Isabelle who sat stiff on the sofa. Then, he made his way to the bar where he poured a cup of water and brought it over to Isabelle.
Stunned, she hurriedly put both hands out to take the cup of water and said in a low voice, "Thank you".
Alexander casually sat in silence beside Isabelle on the sofa. He grabbed the remote control from the table and turned on the TV—a variety show was on.
It was Isabelle's favorite show, but at this moment, she was growing increasingly more nervous. Sitting beside Alexander, she could smell his sweet body odor with her every breath, causing her heart to race like crazy. She was in no mood to watch TV right now. In the end, all she could do to relax was to drink the water non-stop.
Seeing that her cup was empty, Alexander calmly asked, "Do you want more?"
Shocked by Alexander's voice, she frantically shook her head and put her cup on the table.
Soon, she realized that her palms were drenched in sweat. She was able to hide her nerves earlier with the cup of water but now she was empty-handed. She could only sit there beside Alexander, motionless.
The longer she sat, the stiffer she felt. By the end, she felt like she would transform into a rock.
Although Alexander seemed composed watching the TV, his attention was actually on Isabelle, who sat beside him. He could clearly sense her weariness and unease. When she had the cup in her hands at first, she seemed fine. But when she finished her water, it was like someone had pressed her pressure points. Even her breathing seemed conscientious.
Deep down, Alexander felt a strong sense of defeat. He stared at the TV in a trance for a while. Suddenly, he stood up and said without any hint of emotion, "I'll go check to see if it's finished copying."
Then he marched off.
When Alexander left the room, it felt like a giant mountain was lifted from Isabelle's shoulders. She could finally breathe normally. Raising her hand, she patted her chest and took a few long breaths. Her whole body relaxed and went limp on the sofa and she started watching the TV.
Just then, the TV presenter made a joke. Although Isabelle didn't dare laugh out loud, she couldn't help pursing her lips.
Sitting behind the desk, Alexander was taking in Isabelle's every movement. He was slightly startled for a split second. Swiftly, he composed himself and diverted his eyes to the photocopier.
~*~
Isabelle was afraid that when Alexander came back, it would be awkward, so she thought she may as well close her eyes and pretend to sleep.
The room was quiet. Besides the sound of the photocopier, nothing else could be heard.
Isabelle closed her eyes. Her mind was racing with wild thoughts, but in the end, she fell asleep in a daze.
Once the copy was finished, Alexander reassembled Isabelle's script. He walked back into the room with it to find her lying crooked on the sofa, already asleep.
Alexander's steps came to a stop. He stood there for a while, then returned to the room and grabbed a blanket, which he gently pulled over her.
Isabelle was deep asleep. She didn't feel a thing.
Alexander stared at her beautiful sleeping face for quite some time. His hand reached out to gently touch her face. Just as he was inches away from touching her skin, he stopped in his tracks. His fingers hung in the air for a while. After much consideration, his hand softly and gently stroked her temple, before he quickly pulled away. He stood up and returned to his room.
Since Isabelle was sleeping in an uncomfortable position on the sofa, she woke up after over an hour. When she opened her eyes, she looked around the room in a daze. The memory of where she was rushed back, and in that instant, she became truly awake.
She slowly got up from the sofa.
The blanket draped over Isabelle fell to the ground when she got up.
The room was silent. The TV that was on earlier had been turned off. The sounds from the photocopier had stopped. Perhaps the script had already finished copying.
Isabelle took a few steps forward towards the bedroom when she noticed that she stepped on something. She looked down to find a thin blanket. She dazed out for a moment before bending down to pick it up. She clutched the blanket with a stunned look on her face.
Did Alexander cover her when she fell asleep?
Knowing full well that there wasn't anything behind his actions, deep down inside, Isabelle still felt a sliver of happiness. The corner of her lips couldn't help but gently arch upwards. She tightly hugged the blanket and briskly stepped towards the bedroom.
The bedroom door was open, its lights illuminating the room. Isabelle didn't rush head first in but stood at the door.
At first, from the living room, Isabelle couldn't smell the cigarettes, but once she stood at the door, the smell rushed up her nostrils. She discreetly creased her eyebrows. She peered into the room to find Alexander sprawled on the table, lying motionless.
Out of courtesy, Isabelle reached out to knock on the door. Seeing that Alexander didn't respond, she knocked again and called out, "Mr. Smith."
He still didn't respond. It looked like he'd fallen deep asleep, spread out on the table.
Isabelle hesitated for a moment before tiptoeing into the room. She went over to the window and opened it.
The gentle night breeze wafted in. Isabelle saw that Alexander wore short sleeves, and after thinking about it for a moment, carefully went to his side and put the thin blanket over him.
Alexander's face was completely covered by his arms, so she couldn't see his face. As Isabelle was covering Alexander, she stared at his head for a while. Without making a single sound, she reached over, hoping to pick up the script and leave.
But as her hand reached for the script, Alexander suddenly lifted his head. Stunned, Isabelle hurriedly pulled her hand back and explained, "I knocked but you didn't respond, so I came in."
Alexander didn't say a word. He turned to look at the open window and back at the blanket draped over him.
Isabelle noticed his actions and grew a little nervous. She quickly explained, "There was a lot of smoke in the room, so I opened the window. It was cold and I was afraid you'd catch a cold."
Alexander still didn't say a word, but he pulled the blanket that was draped over him and held it gently in his hands. The impervious cold glare he wore slightly softened. After a while, he gave Isabelle a gentle murmur of "mmm" in response to what she had said earlier. Then he picked up the script on the table and gave it her.
"Your script."
Isabelle secretly lifted her eyes to see that Alexander's expression was quite calm. He didn't mind that she had walked into his room without permission or opened his window on her own accord. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.
When she reached out to take the script, Alexander suddenly said, "Thank you."