Real Love Ch. 10

Behind him, Kelly leans forward over his shoulder and whispers, "You did good, Brad. Very good."

Brad nods stiffly, not sure what to say and is genuinely surprised at the reaction he caused. Kelly knows Brad just blew everybody out of the water with the speech. She's favorably impressed, and so are the CEO's and Danny's close friends.

That's soon forgotten as Pink makes her way to the stage with one of her band members and sings a beautiful rendition of 'Glitter In The Air', accompanied on piano.

When she's done singing, she tells them a story about the time she visited the Island and sang that song with Danny, sitting with their feet dangling in the pool as the sun sets. She tells everyone this is how she will always remember him.

Charles then gets up to close the ceremony. Several members of staff move forward and lifts the covered table that Danny Packard's body lays on, revealing a grave, wide and deep and lined with stones and flowers behind it. A ramp has been dug out leading down to it from the north side.

Moving carefully, they wrapped his body in the white cloth that draped the table, and then lift his body on their shoulders to the head of the ramp, and they lay him to rest on the flowers. They gently place stones and more flowers over the corpse until he's completely covered.

Charles thanks them for coming as they wipe away any tears. The staff is the first to drift away with nearly all of them working. Then Charles bids them to return to the main house and around the pool for refreshments. Then he adds the invite to do as Brad suggests and share their memories, both good and bad, of the man Danny Packard was. As the funeral service comes to a close, Charles wanders in the direction of the pool with Mr Alden, both giving their condolences to the triplets.

Stacy and Peggy stand up, but Brad remain on his seat, wanting to stay and witness his father's burial. His sisters remind him they have lots of guests as they fix their makeup before moving on.

He nods as Kelly sits by his side, takes his hand in hers and lays her head on his shoulder. She needs to grieve and it's her turn to say goodbye. The twins went off in a saddened mood, with their assistants holding their hands, and begin mingling.

Brad remains with Kelly, continuing to lend his shoulder for her to rest her head on with tears running down her cheeks. There's no-one else to support her as she grieves. He's there for her, not for himself. Kelly retrieves her tissues and clears the tears from her face, then fixes her makeup.

It's her time to grieve and Brad stays with her, not wanting her to be alone. He feels it's his duty to do that for her because she spent five years working for his father.

* * * * *

As the burial concludes in his mind, Brad stands up, expecting Kelly to follow. She does stand up, but instead, wraps her arms around him, her head on his shoulder, seeking comfort from him. Brad embraces her. They stay like that for minutes.

On the walk toward the reception, Kelly laces her fingers in his for support and as they approach the gathering of friends, they are greeted with a slow standing ovation as people notice their arrival. Both Brad and Kelly are surprised.

For a while longer, Kelly holds his hand. Brad received many compliments on his speech, of the courage it took to get up there, and of how he reminds them of Danny himself in the way it was delivered. The last part comes as a surprise to Brad.

The next half hour of mingling is a repeat of previous conversations. Really great speech, emotional, reminded me of Danny, but it passed quickly and it's time to walk many of the guests back to the boat or the helicopter that are waiting to take them back to the real world. During that time, Kelly gets separated from Brad, though not intentionally. Even though Brad notices she's not beside him, he doesn't look for her either. She needs the distraction, he assumes.

By the time they bade them farewell and get back to the house, Brad is feeling pretty drained and excuses himself for a few minutes. Returning to his bedroom, he hangs up his jacket and sits quietly on the balcony for a minute having a cigarette.

Kelly appears several minutes later, looking for him to return his phone.

"You okay?" he asks as he spots her approaching, taking her hand and kissing it.

He didn't have a chance to talk to her since before the ceremony as they have been moving from guest to guest, shaking hands, making small talk and dealing with those who are leaving.

She hands him his phone from behind.

"I will be. Thank you for being there for me. I did need to grieve. You were right. I was doing okay until you made your speech," Kelly replies. "You did exceptionally well with it," she adds, leaning over the chair from behind him and giving him a hug and a peck on his cheek. "It was an awesome speech. It came from your heart. I can tell. So can everyone else. You blew the CEO's away."

"Just clicked what I wanted to say as I was chatting with Shiro. The core of it is what you wrote though."

She softly swats his shoulder.

"You changed everything, so don't go crediting me for your own work."

Brad chuckles.

"So who's still here?" he asks.

"Not many actually," she says, frowning. "Sting and Neil Finn are still here. They're already talking about doing a few tunes later. Johnny Depp is staying overnight, as are Charlize Theron and Christy Turlington, but everyone else has left or will be in the next couple of hours. There's a ton of phone calls to return too."

"I never got the chance to talk to Mike Myers. I was going to ask him for tips on how to be cool too," he says, getting a laugh from Kelly.

"You're doing just fine, Brad."

"Who's the phone calls from?" Brad asks.

"Oh, there's a list. Lots of friends and acquaintances of Mr Packard, the usual politicians taking the opportunity to secure campaign donations, media fishing for interviews, stuff like that. Debi will be culling the list of calls you can return in the next couple of days tomorrow."

"Don't have a desire, right now, to talk to politicians. When are you guys going to take a break from work?" Brad asks.

Kelly rolls her eyes.

"Are we going to have that conversation again already?"

"No, I guess not," he replies, stubbing out his cigarette.

He stands up and turns to face her.

"How do I look then?"

"Tall, dark, handsome," she smirks a little and tilts her head. "You should get Stacy to photograph you today. You look really awesome."

He frowns.

"Don't know if I like the idea of being photographed, even if it's Stacy doing it."

"Get a few drinks in you. You'll be fine."

"I thought I'm not supposed to be drinking, with all the training."

Kelly shrugs.

"It's a special occasion. And besides, your last workout has been canceled for today. I probably should have canceled them yesterday, but didn't think to do it."

"Not to worry Kelly. You had a lot on your mind today and yesterday so don't worry about it," Brad says, hoping she will relax somewhat.

Brad nods towards the stairs, indicating that they should return to the party, but as she gets close to him, she stops him and wipes the lipstick off his cheek. The close proximity of her as she stands before him causes her head to tilt up and her lips part, her hand on his face. It's one of those moments where things happen or they don't, but before Brad can kiss her, she takes a step backward.

"Yeah, that was a moment," Brad mutters, getting a grin from Kelly as she leads him back down to the party, her hand laced in his.

Neil Finn and Sting sing together with their musicians for nearly two hours, putting on an impromptu concert that Brad feels privileged to listen to and relax. Stacy has pressed Johnny Depp to teach her the Captain Jack swagger, and has fallen over twice while attempting it, but Peggy nailed it. Connor Grant has drunk Mr Alden under the table, then disappeared with Christy Turlington a couple hours ago and hasn't been seen since. Neither has she actually. Stacy has been bobbing around with her camera for hours, and is desperate to return to her suite to get the shots on the computer and edit them, but there always seems to be something else to photograph.

Brad enjoys long conversations with everyone, not just stories of Danny Packard, but lots of general conversation too. He engaged in a long chat with Debi and Jack, getting to know them a little. Debi is slow to open up, but she has a very sharp sense of humor and is very intelligent. Jack is the typical geek, right down to the glasses, with the exception that he looks like a male model, something which he seemed blissfully unaware of.

He also tells Brad about the gaming network they have on the Island and challenges him to a game of Call of Duty tomorrow night. Debi assures Brad, who considers himself to be pretty good, that he'll get thrashed, that Jack is a freak when it comes to gaming.

In a conversation with Charlize Theron about LA, she put her hand on Brad's leg and tells him she'll be happy to show him the sights when he comes to town. He didn't know if she's just being friendly, or if he's being propositioned, but when Kelly nearly chokes on her drink he knew the answer.

Peggy is a concern though. She remains a little withdrawn throughout the whole evening. Brad and Stacy both try to draw her into engaging a little more with people, but failed until Johnny Depp slumps down on a seat next to her and talks to her for three straight hours.

Seeing everyone has relaxed, Brad orders up a round of cocktails for Kelly, Nikki and Rick, and a soft drink for Debi and Jack. They all sit themself down at a table, together. He keeps an eye on them as the evening progresses, making sure they have a good time as they deserve a night off.

* * * * *

As midnight comes and goes, the guests start to drift off to bed. Brad is yawning and apologizing for it, but it's been a fantastic evening and a long day. Eventually, Brad sees the opportunity and bids them all a goodnight and heads upstairs, dropping into his seat on the balcony for a smoke.

He smiles as Peggy appears.

"I thought I was never gonna get rid of him," she says wearily as she sits down and reaches for his cigarettes.

"Captain Jack?" Brad asks, surprised.

"Yeah," she says as she lights up.

"You mean to tell me you were trying to escape from the guy who's a figure of fantasy to millions of women around the world?" he says grinning. "How fucking mad is that?"

Peggy smiles.

"I know. Who knew sexy actors can be so boring? He's a little tipsy though. How awesome was the music tonight?"

"I wish I recorded it," Brad says immediately. Between Sting, Neil Finn and their musicians, they have done an impromptu that covers everything from Frank Sinatra to Nirvana, their own music, and Sting's version of Rihanna's S&M blended seamlessly into Roxanne is something he will never forget.

"The speech you gave today was absolutely awesome Brad. I wish I had your talent and could have said those words myself. I agree with everything you said..."

"Thank you Peggy. I appreciate that. There's no doubt that one day you will. It just takes practice and determination."

"Thanks... Hey, have you seen Stacy's pictures?" Peggy asks quickly, kicking her black heels off and putting her feet up on the table.

Brad shakes his head.

"I haven't, but she's barely had that camera out of her hands for hours now. Any good ones?"

"Yes. She showed me a few on the back of her camera. That girl has talent. I bet she's up all night editing them."

Brad smiles.

"Good to see someone with passion for what they do, isn't it?"

Peggy nods.

"Definitely. She even took a picture of me that I liked. The ones of you are superb. She's a freak of nature when it comes to photography... So, what's the story with you and Kelly then?"

"What story?"

"This morning you were all angst and angry. Now she's hanging all over you again."

"She's grieving about Danny, but refusing to face it. She was his assistant for five years, you know. Other than that, we're just... close," he shrugs. "I don't really know, Peggy. I just don't know."

"Have you two..." she winks with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, drawing a laugh from Brad.

"No, haven't even kissed," he admits.

"You two bicker like an old married couple," she says a moment later. "It's kind of freaky to watch, or hear, considering you've only known her what -- three or four days?"

"Yeah, something like that. How are you getting along with Rick?"

"Well, he's a lot of fun, lots of sharp one-liners and he's helping me with the briefings, translating what it all means into words I understand. He really does think he's God's gift to men though," she says, smiling.

"I don't know if I can trust him, but I like him as a person, if nothing else."

"He seems like a nice guy," Brad agrees.

He pauses as he hears a whistle and Peggy frowns, looking over the balcony.

"I think Debi is trying to get your attention, Brad."

He stands up and looks down at the pool area, where Debi is trying to stop a drunk Kelly from going for a swim.

"She's totally wasted," Peggy mutters, shaking her head.

"Fucking hell," Brad says, laughing as his assistant nearly falls over.

Debi waves again for Brad to come and give her a hand and he nods.

"Better go help her," he says, stubbing out his cigarette.

"Have fun," Peggy tells him.

* * * * *

Brad nips down the stairs then out to the pool where Debi now has a hold of one of Kelly's arms and is trying to hold her back, telling her, "It's not a good idea to go swimming when you're drunk and never when you're wearing Prada."

"Hey, Kelly," Brad says, stepping in front of her to divert her attention.

"Wooo!" she says, rolling her head as she tries to stand up straight. "Here he is."

"You're hammered," he says, grinning.

She lifts one arm as if to salute him, but smacks herself in the head and staggers to the side.

"Boss's orders."

Her voice is slurred and Brad looks at Debi, trying not to laugh as she rolls her eyes at him.

"She needs to call it a night, Mr Weber," Debi says. "Can you help me get her upstairs?"

"Sure, but call me Brad please," Brad says and nods.

He looks at Kelly wobbling on her feet and opts for the simple expediency of just scooping her up in his arms and carrying her.

She lets loose a "Wooo" when he scoops her into his arms, but then leans her head on his shoulder as he carries her over to the stairs, her arms flailing.

"Good Brad. You alright carrying her like that?" Debi asks, seeming no worse for wear after an evening of drinking sodas.

"I'm fine," Brad nods. "Go on."

He follows her up the wide wooden staircase, past a grinning Peggy and then into his suite, where he takes her straight into her en-suite and sits her on her bed.

Debi bends down to take her shoes off as Brad stands back, smirking as Kelly keeps moving her legs away from Debi's hands.

"Maybe I should stay in here tonight and keep an eye on her," Debi suggests.

"Do you think it's necessary?"

"Not really. Once she's in bed, she'll be out for the night, pretty much."

"Okay then, you stay with her until she goes to sleep," Brad says. "I'll keep an eye on her after that. Be nice to look after her for a change."

"I'm gonna put her to bed then," Debi says.

"If you need a hand, just ask," Brad says as he moves toward the door.

"Probably not," Debi grins. "But thanks anyway."

"I'll be out on the balcony," Brad tells her.

"Brad!" Kelly yells, her eyes struggling to focus on him.

Her hand pats the bed beside her.

"You shleep wight here."

Her words were all slurred and Debi begins to quietly laugh.

"Kelly," Brad says, stepping forward and peering at her. "You go to sleep."

She thumps the bed again.

"Here."

Brad looks at Debi, who is trying not to laugh and he winks at her.

"Kelly. You go to sleep and later, I'll sneak in and wake you up. Okay? It'll be our little secret. How's that sound?"

She grins and gives him a thumbs up.

"Shecret?"

"Yeah."

"Coool," she says, then rolls onto her side as if to go straight to sleep.

"Fucking hell," Brad mutters, looking at Debi. "She's totally hammered."

"Yeah, she certainly is," Debi grins. "And what was that all about?"

Brad shrugs.

"I'm guessing she just wants someone to cuddle to. She was grieving before, during and after the ceremony. I'm sure Danny got the best of her for a while."

Debi chuckles.

"And if you really thought that, you wouldn't be as smart as I think you are."

"As much as the idea of Kelly and me hooking up is appealing, it will never happen like this," he tells her. "I'm not that kind of guy. Never have been, never will be."

Debi looks at him.

"I know. If I had any doubts, I'd be sleeping in here with her tonight. Besides, I don't think it's you we'll have trouble with tonight, is it?"

Brad smiles.

"Good point. Can I leave you to it? You'll get her into bed?"

Debi nods.

"I can handle it. I believe I have a masters degree in putting her to bed. I'll be out in a few minutes."

When Brad arrives on his balcony, he sees Peggy has gone, so he nips back in and gets his phone, then returns and sits on the balcony and checks his emails.

"Holy fuck," he whispers, seeing he has three hundred and ninety-one new emails in his personal account inbox. People he hasn't heard from in years, guys and girls he went to school or college with and lots of people he doesn't know at all have emailed his personal account. He's guessing Kelly is right... again. He scans down, seeking emails from his folks, Casey or Ed, and discovered one from Ed.

[Richie McRichfuck!

That Caroline chick keeps sexting me and sending hot fucking pics, but no face shots. If she's a fucking butterface, I'll tell the press you're a scat-loving him-she hermaphrodite bitch and you fist yourself every morning at work.

Ed, clunge-magnet extraordinaire!]

Brad chuckles and closes the message, glad to see that Ed is still a dick, and the same dick he always has before.

The rest of the emails are from more people he knew but didn't want to talk to, or people he didn't know at all, and Brad couldn't be bothered wading through them all, so he shut it down and folded the screen back to the smaller version.

"Okay, that's her in bed," Debi says as he gets up. "She's down for the count."

"You think she will be okay all through the night?"

"Yup. She'll be fine."

"What if she throws up? Brad asks, standing and facing her.

"Kelly holds her liquor well. I've never seen her throw up. She should be okay."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

"I'm concerned for her, Debi."

"I know you are Brad. She'll be okay. Trust me."

He lets out a sigh in relief, hoping Debi is right.

"Okay. Thanks for that," Brad says, nodding. "I'm going for a shower and I'll check on her after that."

"Brad, she's gonna have a monster hangover in the morning," Debi warns, unable to hide the slight grin on her face.

"I bet she will, but I'll go easy on her," Brad promises.

"Anything you need, just let me know, okay?" she says as Brad nods.

Debi, thanks for the help. I appreciate everything you've done for her tonight," Brad explains.

"You're welcome Brad," she replies as she departs for the crowd.

Brad goes inside, hangs his trousers and waistcoat up, takes a quick shower and as he approaches the bed, he finds Kelly curled up under his sheets. There's no sign of the black football top she usually appears in, and he wonders if she's naked under the sheets.

"That's all I need. Trying to get her back in her own bed while she's butt naked and sleeping will be a major challenge and you can bet, at that point, someone will walk in," he mutters to no-one in particular.