Real Love Ch. 11

"Honestly, no idea. I get the feeling they're going to keep us traveling for the next few months, but we have no plans for an itinerary just yet. To top it off, I'm still trying to get caught up with the business."

"Well, I know you have several businesses in town, so give me a call when you do," she says. "And my friends call me Charlie, not Charlize."

"Okay," he nods, picking up his phone.

He opens the address book, types in a new contact called 'Charlie Theron' and then hands her the phone.

"Punch your number in please."

She does and hands it back a few moments later, her number entered. "That's my personal phone, okay?"

Brad nods, then smiles. "So, is this 'give me a call' thing... personal or business?"

The actress laughs.

"That's direct. Let's just say it's a bit of both. I assume you're okay with that?"

"I think so," Brad says, smiling.

"You should take a picture to go with that number on your cell, just so you don't forget who I am," she tells him, a smile twitching at her lips.

"Yeah, I probably should because my phone is full of Oscar-winning HOTTIES," Brad jokes.

He picks up his phone and it takes a couple minutes of fiddling before he has the camera working. He gets a good shot of her posing and adds it to the contact.

"Ring me," she says moments later.

"Now?"

"Well, I don't have your number, do I?" she points out.

"Good point."

He gives her a quick call and then she insists on taking his picture.

"So, no idea when you're coming into town?"

"Honestly, not yet," he admits. "We haven't figured that part of it out yet."

"Well, feel free to message me in the meantime."

"Sorry to interrupt," Debi says, appearing at the table. "There's an important call for you, Mr Weber."

"Okay," he nods, wondering who it is. "Got to go for now. See you at breakfast?"

"Sure," Charlie replies, giving his hand a squeeze as he grabs his phone.

Brad nods and follows Debi back to the stairs and up to his balcony.

"Who's the call from?"

"No-one," Debi admits. "I was just talking to Nikki and..."

"There's no call?" Brad interrupts.

He was enjoying the conversation with Charlie and it has been innocent enough, but he's a little pissed that it's been interrupted.

"Brad," Debi says sharply, her voice low, putting her hand on his arm. "Listen to me. I was just talking to Nikki. She tells me Stacy is having problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"I'm not sure. Nikki's a bit of a cold fish sometimes and she's not great with the emotional stuff, but she let slip that Stacy has been crying in her bed for the last couple of nights. I think she's lonely."

Brad frowns.

"You think she's lonely?"

Debi nods.

"I watched her yesterday and she's quite withdrawn. She would chat with people for a while, but then she'd make some excuse and slip away. Has she mentioned anything to you?" Debi asks.

Brad straightens up as he realizes he really hasn't spent much time talking with her over the last couple of days. He has his late night chats with Peggy, but not with Stacy.

"Oh shit," Brad says. "I haven't spent any time chatting with her beyond meals and meetings," he admits.

Now that she'd brought the subject up, Brad realizes he hasn't really seen Peggy and Stacy hanging out much either.

"I'll go see her now," he says firmly.

Debi holds out a hand, stopping him.

"What about bringing some of her friends out for a visit?"

Brad shrugs.

"I don't have a problem with that. Want me to talk to her about it?"

"Yes, please," she replies. "If I'm wrong, no harm done. If I'm right then she'll have people she can talk to. Also, it wouldn't do any harm if you spend a little more time together, the three of you."

"Yeah. And when we do it's all work. See if you can work that into the schedule sometime today if possible. Let's try for 9pm every night and go from there."

"I'll change the schedules today and get a bit more fun stuff in there if you like?"

Brad nods firmly.

"That'll be really great. The last few days have been pretty heavy, know what I mean? Let Kelly know as well. She was still in my bath when I left."

Debi nods.

"Thanks, Brad."

"Is Stacy in her suite?"

"Yes, I believe she is."

"Okay. Thanks Debi," he says, giving her a hi-five.

Brad walks around her balcony, enters the lounge area and pads to her bedroom.

He taps the intercom button and asks, "Stacy? You in there?"

"I'm here," she calls. "Come on in."

Brad opens her bedroom door and finds her sitting on the bed with a large laptop, a pen and tablet device plugged in the side.

"How you doing?" he asks.

"Good. Come and see," she says, nodding to the bed.

Brad walks around the bed and sits down beside her, seeing she's working on the images she shot last night at the party. She flicks open a gallery full of thumbnails, then opens the first one full screen.

"Wow," Brad murmurs, seeing a shot of Sting and Neil Finn and the sunset behind them as they played.

"Cool, huh?" she replies, clicking to turn the slide show on.

Brad sits there, amazed at the photos she captured and is editing. Some of the changes are subtle and some undetectable to his eye, but as the evening wears on, there is more shadows in the shots, and then he's looking at black and white pictures, everything blurred out, but the closeup of the person in the picture.

"Stacy, these are fucking amazing," he tells her. "You must have been up all night."

"I had a couple of hours sleep, but editing photos is like an addiction for me."

She shrugs.

"I've been like that for years."

"It shows, they're really great shots... but listen, I know we haven't had much of a chance to talk over the last few days, so I wanted to see how you're doing, now that we have some breathing room."

Her expression changes, becoming a little flat, unimpressed.

"You're coming to check up on me now, Brad?"

"Not at all. Just want to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine... That was a great speech you gave yesterday Brad. Very emotional and touching to many."

"Thanks Stacy... You sure you're fine?"

"Why are you asking?" she asks, a hint of anger in her tone.

She stops her editing and puts the laptop on the bed and faces him.

"You've barely spoken to me since you were in here a few nights ago. You held me in your arms until I drifted off to sleep, and you've barely spoken to me since."

He frowns.

"I know. We've been really busy, and I haven't had much time to chat."

"You seem to find plenty of time for your assistant. And Peggy too," she adds.

"Hey, you can come see me anytime you like, but you didn't," he tells her. "This isn't all on me."

"It's not easy to just walk in to see you with Kelly hanging around all the time like some possessive jealous frickin wife," Stacy says, shaking her head. "And how come you've never included me in your late night balcony talks with Peggy either?"

He shrugs.

"Because they're not planned. I sit out there at night and have a smoke and Peggy shows up. She even smokes with me. If you knew they were happening, why didn't you join us? You know you're welcome anytime. You don't need an invitation."

"Why haven't you come to see me again, Brad?" she says bluntly. "Why?"

He spread his hands helplessly.

"For the same reason you haven't come to see me I guess. What do you want me to say here, Stacy? You said we shouldn't speak of what happened. You said it could never happen again."

"And you agreed," she says quickly.

"I did. So what was supposed to happen? Am I meant to come and cuddle you to sleep every night, because that's not fucked up at all, is it?"

"Don't be sarcastic," she snaps. "That's the last thing I need."

"I'm sorry, Stacy. So what do you need? What can I do for you?"

She went into a slump.

"I don't know," she says a moment later, beginning to tear up. "Peggy doesn't really talk to me at all. You've barely say two words outside the meetings, and I'm bored with it. You were this guy, this figure of fantasy in my head for so long. I was hoping... and now the reality isn't matching the memory. Now I feel completely alone and I just want to go home."

He frowns, thinking, trying to consider what she's saying. He knows he should have made more of an effort over the last few days to spend time with his sisters. The bad news is, he's been so caught up in everything that's happening, and his attraction with Kelly is definitely a part of that too, that he didn't fill the vital needs of his sisters.

Brad gets off the bed and stands up.

"Stacy, I have a lot to do to change some wrongs into rights and it starts now. Stand up please. I should have done this shortly after you got here, with both of you."

Stacy hesitates, but curiosity gets the best of her. She crawls off the bed and stands in front of him with a pouting face.

Brad moves in as close as he can, wraps his arms around his sister and pulls her tight to him. She melts into him without hesitation, wrapping her arms around his torso and squeezes him tight as the tears come on strong. They stay motionless for a while, just staying in the moment.

"I'm sorry for not giving you the attention you need. I feel so close to you and Peggy in so many ways. I hope you can forgive me."

"I forgive you," she says with a happy smile as he brushes away some of her tears.

He kisses her on the forehead.

"Good. Debi also has this idea and wants to talk to you about it, but I guess she hasn't yet because she asked me to ask you," he says, choosing his words carefully. "How do you feel about bringing some friends out to the Island?"

"I thought it was meant to be just the three of us for the week?"

"And I'm thinking we can do with some people we know to keep us grounded, or remind us who we are. Know what I mean?"

"I know who I am," Stacy says bluntly. "I don't know who you are though. You're not the same guy you were three years ago."

Brad gets emotional, saying, "Oohhh Stacy. You're doing the exact same thing I did when I got here. For the last four days I have given no consideration to what others are going through. It was all about me. Poor me, my future is so different. Poor Brad. Kelly and the others, who gave our father direct support, needed to grieve, even though they wouldn't admit it. I didn't even consider that until yesterday morning. I've gotten over that now and I want to be more considerate of others, which is why I'm here now. Everybody changes in three years. Even you. Anyway, that aside, what do you think? You can bring Margarita out for a few days if you want."

"Oh god. I'm so sorry Brad. I didn't even realize I was doing that," she says with more tears as she squeezes him tighter. "Never crossed my mind and you're right, I will fix that immediately. Thank you for the heads-up. And yes to the friends coming for a visit. I will enjoy that... But, what about Peggy?"

"She can bring people out too."

"Brad, she doesn't have anybody."

"No friends at all?"

"Have you ever heard her mention anyone?" Stacy asks. "There's no numbers in her phone book apart from ours and the work stuff."

"Then maybe she can make friends with our friends," Brad thinks. "I don't know. I think it's a good idea. Would you like to see Margarita here?"

She thought for a quarter of a second and nods.

"I'll ask Debi to arrange it," Brad says, nodding.

"Not Kelly?" Stacy asks quickly.

"No, she's a bit... indisposed this morning."

"Good."

"Stacy!" Brad protests, chuckling at her tone.

"What? I don't have to like her, do I?"

"Just give her a chance. She's really okay. I can't begin to explain to you the help she has given me since I learned of my new life," Brad admits.

"I'll think about it."

"And in the meantime, how about we start again?"

"As long as you're not going to be a dick any more," she says, a hint of a smile on her face.

"I can do that. And you have to be less argumentative."

"I'm not argu..."

"Gotcha," he says, cutting her off.

"Sneaky fucker," she says, laughing.

"I have my moments," he grins. "Now, it's breakfast time and we've got some guests. You coming down?"

"Five minutes."

"Bring the laptop. Those pictures are impressive and you should show them off."

"I might."

"God Stacy, you must have a great camera to get pictures like those," he adds innocently.

"Oh, Brad," Stacy says, sighing. "Complimenting a photographer's images and then saying they must have a great camera is like eating a fine meal in a fine dining restaurant, then complimenting the chef on his pots and pans."

Brad bursts out laughing.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm sorry, Stacy," he says as he hugs her very tight.

"It's okay. It happens to every photographer," she says as she embraces him, then releases him.

"You're coming down?" he asks again.

"Five minutes," she nods. "I need to smarten up. You sick of all the wardrobe changes yet?"

"Beyond sick."

Brad grins.

"This morning, I got to choose my own clothes. That's a change of pace."

"Maybe I should get Nikki drunk tonight then," Stacy smiles.

"Good luck with that," Brad replies. "See you in a few."

"Brad," she says as he begins to leave.

"Yes," he says stopping to give her his attention.

"Thanks for visiting. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome Stacy. That's what a brother is for and I promise we'll do this more often now."

He gives her a hug, then a hi-five and as he walks out the door, he wonders if his talk did her any good. She seems better, but only time will tell.

* * * * *

Brad tracks down Debi and tells her about Margarita and suggests she chats with Stacy and find out if she wants to bring anyone else out, then asks her to organize for Ed and Casey to come out too.

He retreats to his balcony, sits down in what is now his favorite chair, lights a cigarette, calls both Casey and Ed and feels immensely relieved when they jump at the chance to come and visit the Island. Ed calls him an asshole for not getting a picture of Caroline for him, and Casey point blank refuses to believe him when he said he's been hit on by Charlize Theron.

Peggy drifts by towards the end of the call with Casey so he cuts it short and carefully asks her about bringing out anyone she wants to the Island for a few days. She shrugs and said she's fine, then drifts off to breakfast as if she didn't really care. Brad frowns and makes a mental note to try and draw her into spending more time with Stacy, then heads into his suite to see how Kelly is dealing with her hangover.

He finds her sitting on his bed with a laptop, wearing only a black bra and matching panties.

"Wow. You look HOT!" he says immediately.

"Don't go getting any ideas," she replies, winking anyway.

"What you up to?" he asks, getting on the bed beside her.

"Checking out the kiss and tell story," she says, handing him the laptop. "You recognize her now?"

"Nope," he says, seeing the photo of a brunette in a blue bikini, posing next to the article. He quickly reads it and starts to laugh.

"Oh, I know who she is now."

"Who?"

"Some girl that Ed screwed at a college party," he explains. "He was playing some drinking game and got locked in a wardrobe with these two girls. They couldn't have impressed him because he gave them my name, instead of his. He told me he did that later on."

"Your name?"

"Yeah, he use to think it was funny to give girls he deemed as fugly my name and number. Sometimes Ed can be... unusual."

"You mean an asshole?"

He shrugs.

"That too."

"Okay, I'll let the media people know the chick was so drunk she got the wrong guy and actually banged his friend. That should make that story go away," she murmured, taking the laptop back.

"You sure you're up to working?"

"Shut up, Brad," she says, rolling her eyes.

"You coming down for breakfast?"

"I'll be down in a bit," she nods.

As Brad gets near the door to leave when she calls out to him.

"Brad."

"Yeah?"

"You think I look hot in black lingerie?"

He can see she's enjoying asking him that, teasing him a little.

Brad turns and moves toward her as he removes his shirt, walking toward the bed. As he walks to the bed, Kelly gets nervous.

She quickly says, "No. Forget I asked... No... No, please," she says as she does a little scream, closes her eyes and covers her head with her arms.

He stops, leans over and gives her forehead a kiss, then straightens up.

"One of these days," he says, grinning, then turns around, puts his shirt back on and disappears.

Kelly is thinking that was a close call. Maybe she should lighten up on the teasing a bit. It will help if she understands why she's teasing him though, but she doesn't give it a second thought, and moves on.

Brad arrives at breakfast to see Peggy seated between Johnny Depp and Sting who are having an animated conversation about the song he sung for the movie 'Leaving Las Vegas'. Peggy seems to be holding her own in the discussion, which is surprising, so he takes a seat a few places down, opposite Charlie and next to Neil Finn.

They talk about the impromptu concert last night and Brad tells them how he's totally blown away by it, and how he wishes he recorded it. After Neil promises him concert tickets anytime he wants, Stacy arrives with her laptop in hand.

She takes a seat next to Charlie and begins to show her a few of the shots and suddenly, she's the center of attention, with Nikki quickly hooking the laptop up to one of the big screens on the wall and Stacy is giving an unexpected photo presentation.

By the time they finish breakfast, Johnny is making a call to a friend at GQ telling him he has to hire Stacy for an upcoming photo shoot they've booked with him, and Charlie is emailing copies of the shots to her agent to go on her website and Neil is chatting with her about shooting an album cover for him. Stacy has a massive smile on her face.

Brad excuses himself and returns to his suite to get his phone and cigarettes he left behind. Just as he's heading outside for a smoke, Kelly appears.

"Your schedule changed."

"Yeah, Debi mentioned that."

"You've got half an hour now before the guests start to leave. Want to meet with Mr Alden now?"

"Sure," Brad nods, then remembers something. "Can you get hold of Charles and ask him if he's got a minute to chat, please?"

"He's in the bar just now," she replies, so Brad nods and pads away.

"Hi, Charles."

"Good morning, Master Bradley," the old man nod. "Everything to your satisfaction?"

"Yeah, everything's excellent," he nods. "Great job with the funeral."

"Great eulogy yesterday. It was the best I've ever heard."

"Thanks. Listen, I have a question for you."

"Go ahead, Master Bradley."

Brad closes the outside door, making sure there is no-one else in the room.

"A discrete matter, I assume?"

"Yeah," Brad nods. "I want to ask. Where's my father's safe room?"

"You mean where he keeps his valuables?" the old Englishman asks, one eyebrow raised.

"No, I mean like a panic room. I assume he has one here?"

"Actually, no," Charles says, looking down. "It was something I brought up regularly with Mr Packard, however he didn't like the idea of locking himself in a box. A bone of contention, I'm afraid."

"I thought he would have one," Brad says, surprised. "Was he claustrophobic or something?"

"I don't know," Charles says and shrugs. "But I can assure you no such room exists, Master Bradley."

"Oh, okay."

"Is there anything else I can assist you with, Master Bradley?"

"No, I don't think so... Wait, Kelly said you're waiting for a part for her shower. Do you know when it will arrive?"

"I'm afraid you must be mistaken, Master Bradley," Charles replies, looking puzzled. "As far as I'm aware, there are no problems with any of the facilities in your suite."