Trouble in Paradise

Hello again readers. This story follows on from The Caretaker of Paradise - you don't necessarily have to read that story first, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to do so (and you might even enjoy it!).

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'What the fuck is she doing here?'

Thankfully, I knew that this might be a problem. It wasn't often that I had direct contact with 'Robin', but on this particular occasion, he had called me in person. Believe it or not, he even asked me to help out with this situation as a personal favour to him. I tried not to laugh, because I figured that he was actually already doing me a pretty big favour just by letting me be here in this tropical paradise. The fact that he also paid me handsomely to run an island resort that pretty much took care of itself was just a sweetener as far as I was concerned.

Anyway, as a world-famous billionaire (No, I'm still not telling you who he is), 'Robin' had diversified into a number of different areas, one of which included a movie studio. Because of that, two major Hollywood stars were now standing with me on the helipad as the ride that had brought one of them to the island was taking off on its way back to Malé. You'll know them both, although for the sake of confidentiality (not to mention the massive fuck-off NDA I'd signed when I first took the job), I've changed the names and a few biographical details. Usually this would be done to "protect the innocent", but in this case, I hardly think that would apply.

Jasmine had arrived the day before. I'm sure that she'd been a child model or something before turning her hand to acting, and despite only being in her mid-thirties, she was considered to be something of an old hand in Hollywood. She almost invariably played smart, independent, beautiful brunettes, although since she was a smart, independent, beautiful brunette, she probably didn't get the credit that her performances deserved. As far as I'm concerned, the word "sultry" might have been created specifically with her mind. OK, full disclosure -- I'm a fan. She had dipped her toe into the world of sci-fi blockbusters a few years back; it hadn't exactly been a roaring success, but I entirely blame that on the appalling script. There was a fairly steamy (albeit annoyingly discrete) solo shower scene in the movie and at that point she had fully made it onto my radar; since then I'd watched pretty much everything she'd done. Right now, she was standing beside me, having also arrived by helicopter some two hours ago. She was wearing a loose-fitting light blue summer dress worn over the top of a one-piece navy swimsuit; the dress was thin enough that when the sun shone from behind her, I was treated to a magnificent view of the outline of her slender body. I was trying not to notice that, or even think about it, in an attempt to focus my thoughts on defusing the ticking time-bomb of the meeting of Jasmine and the young blonde woman who might now be wishing she hadn't climbed out of the helicopter.

If Tess had been around in the 70s, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that her name would have always been preceded in the media of the time by the words 'sex bomb'. In direct contrast with Jasmine's slim, almost athletic figure, Tess seemed to be almost entirely made of curves; her full hips, tiny waist, and more-than generous chest came together to present the paradigm of the hourglass figure. With rosy cheeks, sparkling blue eyes and a mane of golden curls, it was as if she had been plucked from tending the cattle on a Swiss farm in the 1940s. Imagine truckfulls of victorious American GIs wolf-whistling at a blushing milkmaid as they race through an Alpine pass; she's that girl. And at that moment, she was absolutely fucking furious.

'I said, what the actual fuck is she doing here?'

I offered my best approximation of a professional smile. 'Tess, it's an absolute pleasure to welcome you to the island. My name's Joe and if there is anything you need while you are here, please do not hesitate to let me know.'

The fact is, she had no choice on that score; one of the rules for guests visiting Robin's island is that they are not to bring any of their entourage with them. For one thing, there's probably not enough bedrooms, and for another, they'd surely just be an absolute pain in the arse to everyone else staying here, not to mention yours truly.

'You could start with an explanation,' she huffed, her eyes not leaving Jasmine for a second.

'Why don't we go indoors out of this sun and get ourselves a nice drink, hmm?' I suggested. I waved both women ahead of me down the path towards the main building; when their backs were turned I gave a "fuck my life" kind of shrug to the two stewards hovering to collect the bags of our latest arrival.

'Bungalow 5, please, fellas.'

-----

You probably want to know a little of the origin of Tess's aggression towards Jasmine. That's fair enough.

Now, I've never been to Hollywood. In fact, apart from waiting for connecting flights at LAX on my way to and from a stag-do in Vegas, I've never even been to California. Fortunately, to the delight of the media, the cause of the apparent animosity between Jasmine and Tess was played out entirely in public, and was mostly of the media's doing. About a year or two back, they'd both competed for the same role -- one that would have taken them both from stars to megastars. It was a superhero film, naturally, and eventually it went to neither of them. The gossip columns reported that Jasmine had missed out because she was considered to be too cerebral, and Tess because she wasn't cerebral enough. The part had gone to a cute young actress who had, up until then, featured in a few supporting roles; this film had turned her into Hollywood's hottest property.

A couple of months after casting had been completed, Jasmine had been asked during an interview about her and Tess missing out on the role. In what was clearly an attempt to be insouciant about a fairly major missed opportunity, she had replied along the lines that neither she nor Tess would have been able to carry off the lycra-heavy costume. The interview was edited to make it look like she was just being critical of Tess's figure, who subsequently made a thoroughly ill-advised comment on a chat show along the lines of "lycra would have worked just fine for my figure -- at least I have one". At that point, I'm sure the agents, publicists and god-knows who else got involved to calm things down, but the damage was done. Hollywood loves a feud almost as much as it loves a fall from grace, and details of the latest alleged incidents involving Jasmine and Tess were used to fill out quotas on every slow-news day from then onwards.

Months passed and, inevitably, both actresses were rumoured to be heavily in the running for the two lead roles in new big-budget action-comedy blockbuster. It was suggested that each would play their roles against type -- Jasmine would be glamourised to play the bimbo and Tess would be given a pair of glasses and told to play it smart. The pre-existing tension between them was a publicist's dream, if played right. Of course, this all relied on the two of them being able to be not only in the same room, but side by side for weeks on end during filming, and then again for the resulting press tours. Ideally without killing each other, although the potential benefits of that eventuality had probably been discussed behind closed doors by the studio. Here's where I came in, as I explained to them both in the bar.

'I've been asked by my employer, who I gather has a stake in this new movie, to help the two of you spend some time together, work out any differences that you might have, and see if you can conjure some of the on- and off-screen chemistry that the studio needs from you.'

'And how do you propose to do that, Joe?' Jasmine drained the last of her mint-infused sparkling water and looked at me with the kind of cool intelligence for which she was famous. She was close enough for me to see the flecks of gold in her deep brown eyes, and smell what I presumed was the perfume she had recently been reported as being paid a fortune to promote. I recalled that a few months ago she had broken up with her boyfriend, some actor she'd met while filming. I didn't know if she had been seeing anyone else since them and had a horrible feeling that I was going to make a fool of myself over this woman during the coming days.

'Well, we can just take it easy for a couple of days to start with; see how it goes. A little time by the pool, movie nights on the beach, that sort of thing.'

Tess shifted in her chair, giving me the kind of view down her tied-off blouse that half the men in the world would have offered up one of their limbs for. I could just make out the delicate red lace supporting the creamy skin of her wondrous breasts. 'And if that doesn't work?' she asked.

I coughed uncomfortably. 'Then we take it up a notch. We've got a nice campsite set up on the other side of the island. Lovely views, great for sunbathing. We remove any distractions and just leave the two of you alone for a bit.'

'And if that doesn't work?' asked Jasmine.

'Then we come back, and I lock you both in a room with a shatterproof bottle of tequila. If you both make it through the night intact, we call it a victory and you get to go home.'

I'd hoped to make that sound like a joke and imagined that for the briefest fraction of a moment I could see the shadows of smiles on both their faces. Like I say, I might have imagined that, because thirty seconds later the room was still completely silent.

This would be a long week, I told myself.

-----

At my suggestion, Jasmine and Tess ate dinner together that evening. As I watched them across the dining room, there was something about them that reminded me of an old married couple. Perhaps it was the complete silence in which they ate their food. Occasionally they would cast brief glances in each other's direction, but other than that, neither of them gave any indication that they knew of the other's presence. Once they had finished eating, I invited them both to join me for a drink, but Tess cried off on grounds of jetlag and I thought it would be unwise to force the issue. Both women left for their bungalows and I called it a night.

-----

The next morning was filled with the general administration of running an exclusive resort; checking on the other guests, ensuring that transport arrangements were in place for those arriving or leaving that day, and getting updates from the different departments within the household. The only thing out of place was a report from the husband of one of the chefs, who conducted very limited security checks around the guest quarters. The resort was far enough away from any tourist resorts that unexpected visitors were extremely rare, and it was unlikely that anyone in the region was aware that we had two Hollywood stars amongst us. However, the report indicated that the guard thought he had seen someone moving around in the shadows near the guest bungalows just after 1am; on closer inspection he had found no-one in the vicinity. For all I knew, it was a star-struck member of the housekeeping staff trying to catch a glimpse of their heroines, so I mentally filed the information away, with the intention of increasing the staff presence during the hours of darkness should any further unexpected sightings be reported. I guessed that it also might not hurt to remind the staff of the need to act professionally, whoever our guests might be at any given time.

After lunch, I found our two VIPs poolside. As I approached from the far side of the pool, it appeared to me that they were exchanging words, but by the time I arrived beside their loungers (stopping en roue to make nice with some arsehole businessman who was unhappy with the range of Scotch available in the bar), they had relapsed into silence. Tess was fully reclined, topless and wearing only sunglasses and a tiny pair of black bikini bottoms which tied at the sides. From behind my shades, I admired her large rose-pink nipples and the way her breasts retained her shape despite the fact that Tess was completely flat on her back. I turned away to avoid being caught taking a good look and found myself looking directly into the eyes of the brunette lovely on the next lounger. Jasmine's mouth was curled into a wry smile, and I found myself blushing. Busted!

'Would you mind applying some sunscreen to my back, Joe?' Jasmine asked. She took a bottle from the table beside her and held it out to me; not immediately knowing what else to do, I took it from her. Jasmine rolled over onto her front, then reached behind her back and unclipped the fastener of her bikini bra. For the briefest moment, I considered the opportunity being presented to me; here was a major movie star, a woman I had lusted over in dozens of movies and magazine spreads, presenting her naked back for me to rub lotion into her perfect skin. I looked down at the small white bikini bottoms, barely hiding the beautiful curves of her untanned backside; an imagine of clutching those cheeks as I fucked Jasmine from behind flashed through my brain, but at that moment she turned her head back towards me and from behind her sunglasses raised an eyebrow.

'Ah,' I said. 'Here's a thought; why don't we let Tess help you with that? That's what gal pals do for each other, right?'

I put the lotion bottle on the table beside Tess and beat a hasty retreat without waiting for either of them to say anything further. I was mildly proud of myself; partly for resisting every urge in my body, but also for finding a way to get the two women to interact, even if only briefly. As I reached the safety of the other side of the pool again, I turned back to see Tess pouring the oily white liquid into the palm of her hand, before rubbing both hands together and applying them to Jasmine's back. I carried on watching for a minute -- or maybe three -- before taking myself away for a cold shower.

-----

I saw Tess sitting alone in the bar that evening; her head was propped up on one hand while the tips of the fingers of her other hand idly brushed up and down the front of her neck. The pink and yellow flower-patterned dress she was wearing revealed the slightest touch of sunburn; probably not enough to hurt, I thought, but enough to draw my attention to her skin, as if that were needed. It occurred to me that she might be missing home; she was rumoured to be off men since a relationship with a cameraman had fallen apart the previous year, but I guessed that she must have someone waiting at home for her, didn't she?

'Where's Jasmine?' I asked.

Tess dropped her hand from her cheek onto the bar with a mild display of petulance. 'Christ, Joe, surely we don't have to be together twenty-four seven, do we?'

'No no, not at all,' I replied. 'At least, I'm certainly not expecting the two of you to sleep together.'

Tess looked at me with a look of mock horror on her face; I replayed my words in my head and suddenly realised my terrible faux pas.

'Woah, sorry, that came out completely differently to the way I meant it!' I protested.

Slowly the look of Tess's face turned to amusement. 'That's fine, don't worry about it. I've seen the underbelly of the internet; you wouldn't be the first guy to picture the two of us together. I'll put your comments down to your...' I could see a look of slight panic creep across her features while she searched for the word.

'Subconscious, sweetie,' volunteered Jasmine from behind me. 'The word you're looking for is subconscious.'

I turned to face the brunette as she crossed the bar to join us, her eyes fixed on Tess. I could see that Jasmine too had caught a little sun, and a slight red glow on her upper chest peeped out from the yellow strapped vest she was wearing above loose-fitting white trousers. Her hair was tied in a single plait which draped over her shoulder and onto her chest, further drawing attention -- as if it were needed -- to her perfect cleavage. As I stepped back to allow Jasmine to pass, something struck me as not quite right. I couldn't quite place it, but there was definitely something...

'Are you joining us for dinner, Joe, or does the warden have the evening off?'

I looked at Tess, my train of thought interrupted. 'Um, no. I have other duties, other guests to attend to. I hope you both have a pleasant evening, and I have no doubt I will see you in the morning.'

Once more it felt like I was beating a retreat, a decision which came to haunt me a couple of hours later when I received reports from the restaurant that Jasmine and Tess had just had a blazing row in front of a number of staff and other guests.

-----

I found Jasmine on the beach, barely visible in the darkness. A light breeze was whipping the loose material of her trousers around her legs, and she was holding her arms around herself. She jumped as I stepped up behind her and placed my jacket around her shoulders.

'Thank you,' she murmured, without turning around.

'Are you alright?' I asked.

Jasmine nodded. A few loose strands of her long dark hair had escaped from the plait and were being tossed about in the cool tropical wind. She gave a slight shiver and I battled to resist the temptation to wrap my arms around her slender frame and hold her close to me.

Suddenly she turned around, and I found myself staring down into her dark eyes.

'I don't know if I can do this, Joe. Make a movie with her. I can't. We're too different, and I don't think that a little time by the pool will change that.'

'I know it's difficult,' I conceded.

'Difficult - it's downright impossible. And I need this movie, Joe. I'm a Hollywood actress well into her thirties; it won't be long before opportunities like this become few and far between.'

I stayed silent for a moment, considering whether it was time to attempt the second part of my grand scheme. 'OK then,' I finally concluded, 'We'll try something a little bit more drastic. Tomorrow we move over to the campsite and the two of you just hang out. No pool, no movies, no restaurant. Just time together with no distractions. Trust me, if there's any chance that you can find some common ground, this will help you do it.'

Jasmine nodded again and pulled my jacket closer around her. 'Very well,' she said, and I watched her slowly walk back towards the guest bungalows.

'Goodnight, Joe,' she called back over her shoulder, then she was swallowed by the darkness. Her scent lingered with me for a moment before being whipped away by the warm evening breeze, and I was left in the sand with the gently-sighing waves behind me.

-----

There was no rush to leave the main resort the next morning; the hike to the other side of the island would only take a couple of hours if we went straight to the campsite, although I planned to take the scenic route. I'd sent a couple of the stewards ahead of us with supplies, and to make sure the campsite was in good order. I knew that there would be a surprise in store for the two actresses when we arrived, and in truth I wasn't sure how I was going to deal with that when it eventually happened. When it came down to it, I was questioning the wisdom of this plan; there was definitely something not quite right about the situation, and I was concerned that when this unseen issue finally revealed itself, I wouldn't be in a position to address it safely. But when Robin asks for a personal favour, it's not for the likes of me to deny him, whatever my misgivings.

The three of us set off just before noon and stopped for a bite to eat about an hour later. Neither of the women said much while we walked, although it seemed to me that this was mainly because they were intent on reaching the campsite as soon as possible; at times, we were only just avoiding breaking into a jog, and despite being in pretty good shape, I was almost struggling to keep up with the two women ahead of me. At least they'd both dressed fairly sensibly, I told myself, admiring the tailored shorts and shirts they'd both opted to wear. We kept a stash of hiking boots in various sizes back at the resort, for the rare occasions when guests decided to explore the island, and it was a good job too; the path at times was hard work.