Tumbling off the Cliff Ch. 01

"Well thanks for nothing. Got me fired. Happy you prick?" Picking up Mitch's half drunk glass of wine she tipped in up and poured it over his head.

Standing up to his full six foot one, the wine dripping down his face and onto the shoulder of his expensive designer suit jacket, he tried to diffuse the situation, "Look lady, calm down....."

It was then that Lisa, her inhibitions completely gone due to Tequila, her self righteous indignation, and his condescending attitude lifted up her right foot and gave him a wobbly kick between his thighs, kicking him in the balls.

"Shit.........!"

Camera's captured the moment, and Lisa's friends managed to drag the angry woman away from the bent over man holding his groin, as the agitated waiters asked them to leave, hustling her out of the door and away before the police could be called.

*

Mitch sat in his jeans, rubbing his bare chest as he sat at the breakfast table in his apartment, the view of the Thames and the London skyline visible in the early morning sun through the wall to ceiling window.

"Well at least I'm not looking too bad in this one." Throwing the paper down on the table, "In the Sun the photo has me grimacing so hard I look like Lon Chaney in the Phantom of the Opera, but without any mask."

Ellie and his PR man sat at the table, heads hidden behind their own papers.

"What the hell did you have to get her fired for Ellie? It was a vindictive thing to do."

"Vindictive is kicking you in the balls Mitch. The cow could have done you some real damage."

"Only to my pride. The kick looked harder than it was."

"Well she's caused some bad publicity."

"Don't be silly, it's not so bad. You know what they say, today's news, tomorrow's fish and chip wrapping."

Mitch looked at Ellie, who sat there as usual dressed perfectly, the look on her face as if she had sucked a sour lemon. "Ellie, I want you to find this woman and get her here for me to meet. Do it on the quiet, no publicity. I want to apologise."

The look on her face went from sucking a lemon to eating it. "What have you got to apologise for Mitch? She's the one that kicked you in the goolies in front of a restaurant full of people."

"But I'm ultimately responsible for her being out of work. Find her and get her here as soon as you can," and getting up he walked across the white soapstone tiled floor and into his bedroom calling out behind him, "and make sure she's unarmed when she gets here, just in case. I'm not taking any chances!"

*

Looking up at the fashionable converted warehouse sitting on the edge of the Thames, Lisa took a deep breath. The female at the agency on the end of the phone had asked her to come over for a possible job interview as a personal assistant in this imposing and very fashionable section of London.

Dressed as conservatively as she could, considering the selection of clothes in her wardrobe, she wore black tights, black skirt and vest under a short swaggered jacket of bright blue, her big hoop earrings swinging each side of her long elegant neck the only jewellery she wore as they were the most conservative jewellery she owned. Stepping forward she looked through the main glass entrance to the reception inside the converted apartment block, and waved at the security man sitting reading his paper behind the desk.

"Come on you idiot, I'm already late." she seethed, looking around her for a bell to ring and finding only a speaker and button which she pushed.

Watching the man put down the paper and look up she waved him towards her, then pointed at the door, gesturing for him to open it. Hearing a buzz she pushed it open and walked through.

"Can I help you Miss?"

"Yes I have an appointment with Ms Ellie Bloxham, Penthouse apartment."

"Lift over there, press the button with P on it. When you get out turn right, the door is at the end of the corridor."

"Cheers." Walking to the lift and stepping in Lisa ran her hand through her spiky blond hair, and tried to settle herself down ready for the interview. She badly needed this job. Her art pieces were not getting her enough money and she knew she couldn't live off Shivvy like she had been these last six months since she had split up and moved out of living with her ex boyfriend Oliver. This was her last chance at being solvent and getting back on her feet. It had taken her this long to get over finding the man she thought was the love of her life in bed with not one, but two woman that afternoon she came home early to pick up her folder of samples that she had forgotten, and if she got this job she knew she would be turning another corner of the road to getting her life back on track.

At least her kind of track, a slightly off the normal to everyone else's kind of track.

Standing in front of the big wooden door at the end of the corridor, she knocked, taking a deep breath, and waited. After a few minutes the door opened and a slim, elegant middle aged woman stood opposite her, a slightly haughty look on her face as she said, "Lisa Preston? I'm Ellie Bloxham, please come in."

Stepping into the open plan hall area that was behind the large door she held out her hand to shake as the woman turned and walked away, totally ignoring it. Feeling a fool and at a disadvantage she lowered her hand and followed, her very high heeled shoes clicking on the white tiles as she moved to follow the retreating person.

"Please sit here, Mr Lawson will be out soon."

Lisa sat on the big thick oatmeal sofa, sinking back, her long legs crossed at the knee. "Lawson. Did you say Mr Lawson?" she asked the disappearing back of the woman.

"Yes Mr Lawson."

"But I was told the interview was with you. What has Mr Lawson got to do with this?"

But there was no answer as the woman disappeared through a door, and she sat there confused in the obviously Interior Decorated airy room done in calming tones of white, oatmeal and blond. Broken up with bright multicoloured modern paintings and artfully placed brown and black handmade pots, modern pieces of art, and sitting on the table in a corner two Bafta Awards, their shiny faces with the open mouth grimace reflecting how Lisa felt at finding herself sitting in such a false and sterile place.

Eventually she heard someone in another room and looking towards the door as it opened gasping in surprise and anger as she recognised the man walking through it towards her. "You....."

"Yes me Miss Preston."

Struggling off the big soft sofa she stood up, her hackles rising as she watched Mitch walk towards her, clad in jeans and a tee shirt his feet bare, a smile on his face.

"You.... You big shit. I've just spent the last of my money coming here for what I thought was a bloody interview for a job, and what do I find but Mr 'I like to get people sacked for nothing' bloody Lawson. Looking to have me arrested for kicking you, are you?"

Looking around for any sign of Police, she threw her bag down on the coffee table, knocking over the vase of flowers that sat there, the water dripping down the pale wooden surface to drip onto the expensive tiled floor below. Not even noticing what she had done, and in full swing she stepped towards him, as he stepped back, his hands raised up in supplication, "Whoa there Miss Preston....."

"Don't bloody Whoa me Mr fucking big movie star...."

"The name is Mitch......"

"Mitch, Smitch, I don't care. Who do you think you are bringing me up here on false pretext? Isn't it enough that you took the bread out of my mouth by getting me fired?"

"Miss Preston, I assure you I haven't brought you up here on a false pretext, and I didn't get you fired."

"What do you mean? I'm out of a bloody job aren't I?"

"Well yes....."

"and it's because of you isn't it?"

"Well technically, yes.... but I can assure you I never asked them to sack you."

"What do you mean? The bottom line is I was sacked. On my first day, because of you!"

Mitch stood staring at her, he liked her spunky attitude and her bright blue eyes, even thought they were glaring daggers at him right now. They were as beautiful as he remembered from that moment when he woke up on the couch in the Green Room, her face close to his as she told him in no uncertain terms to wake up.

"Look Miss Preston can we start again? Please sit down so I can explain."

Taking the chair opposite the couch, Mitch sat waiting for her to do the same, the mess of the fallen flowers sitting between them, ignored by both of them for the moment. Once she was settled, her long slim shapely legs crossed at the knee and standing out in their black nylon stockings against the oatmeal material of the seat, he cleared his throat and started to outline his apology and offer.

"Miss Preston, I want to apologise for what happened at the studio last week. The whole episode was totally avoidable, and should never have happened. Firstly I was jet lagged after doing a five week tour around the world marketing the movie, and I was very tired. My assistant Ellie over stepped her mark and was a little too protective of me mentioning to the producer there that I had gone out the front door into the crowd of fans and not the back as is the norm for security reasons, and that I should have been shown the way out........"

Putting his hand up to shush her as she started to argue he continued, "I know it shouldn't have been a reason to let you go, but the studio also over reacted and I feel bad about it all. I wanted to apologise and offer you a position on my staff as an assistant to my assistant. So you see this is really an interview and I have not brought you here on a false pretext."

"You're offering me a job?"

"Yes."

"After that thing I did in the restaurant?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

"Because I like your spunky nature, and I think Miss Preston you need a job and I need someone who won't be scared to run avoidance between me and those people I don't want to have to deal with. Anyone who isn't frightened of kicking a world famous actor in the balls must have balls herself. So what do you say? I'll pay you thirty five thousand a year. You get to shout at me when ever you want, and I'll take off any money I feel reasonable payment for any injuries or damage you do to me, my home or body." he laughed pointing at the mess of tangled flowers and water laying on the coffee table in front of him. "We'll forget this one and the incident in the restaurant, and start afresh, is it a deal?"

Lisa stared across at him, suspicion obvious in her voice, "Thirty five grand, what else would I have to do for that?"

Smiling at her across the space, taking in her lovely long legs, her beautiful eyes, her slim figure, her lovely long neck Mitch lent forward, "Not what ever is going through that dirty mind of yours Miss Preston." But he was lying. The thought of seeing those lovely blue eyes looking up at him as he made love to her started to take hold in his mind, and he started to get hard.

Jumping up and walking towards the door he had come through he said over his shoulder. "I'll take that as a yes you'll take the job. See you here at eight in the morning. You can see your way out."