Chapter Two
Lila
As soon as Lila had felt slightly calmer, she’d stood up and resumed her search for the right crate for the powder compacts. Outside she heard hurried footsteps, clanging on the metal spiral staircase, but she carried on working. The footsteps were far too swift to be Sibyl, she was sure.
But as she tiptoed up on the top of the small steps to look at the top shelf, she saw the gap in the doorway fill with a tall figure. A tall, male figure. The glow from the phone in his hand just enough to illuminate the bottom of his face. Just enough for her to find him familiar, that jawline…but even if he was familiar, he wasn’t a makeup artist. And if he wasn’t a makeup artist, what would he be doing coming in here?
Lila barely had time to think on it any further, when he appeared to stumble, and the door began to swing shut behind him.
Self-preservation outweighed her habitual shyness and she called out: ‘No! Don’t let the door—’ His head swung in her direction at the sound of her voice and then snapped back to the swinging door, but not fast enough for him to react.
Bang.
The door closed, extinguishing all the light. ‘Shut.’ She finished the sentence quietly.
There was silence. Lila’s heart beat loudly in her ears and she blinked in the darkness.
‘Err…sorry, I didn’t realise anyone was in here.’ His deep voice reached out and ran its fingers over her scalp and the question of his identity was answered.
Rowan Walker. The lead of this film they would be shooting in Sicily and one of the stars of the blockbuster Helios movies. His hypnotic voice was one of his trademarks. Low and smooth but coupled with a rough-around-the-edges London accent. Lila found herself simultaneously aroused and terrified. Attractive people always made her even more self-conscious than normal.Famousattractive people were like her kryptonite – another reason she must be insane to be trying her hand at this career path – but that wasn’t the only reason she was suddenly anxious. Rowan Walker was a well-known ladies’ man and now she was trapped in a pitch-black room with him.
Show business was a cesspit of sexual harassment these days, wasn’t it? It always had been apparently but now everyoneknewfor definite the problems rife within the system. It wasn’t that she imagined Rowan Walker would be attracted to a wallflower like her, but sexual assault wasn’t about attraction, was it? What else was he doing down here in the makeup department’s storeroom? Running an errand for Sibyl? Ha. No way.
Should she scream? He hadn’t done anything yet, but did she want to waste precious moments when she could be hailing someone to come rescue her? Where was the hairspray? She could use it like pepper-spray she supposed and then tie him up with…with some hair extensions.
‘Are you okay?’ His voice didn’t sound any closer. ‘Look, sorry I barged in and gave you a shock. I’m just going to go.’ She heard him scrabble around near the door. ‘Is there…is there no door handle on the inside?’
‘No,’ Lila murmured. Was this part of the act? She groped her hand along the shelf, searching for possible weapons. She had a better chance of defending herself while her night vision was more adjusted to the light in there than his was.
‘No?’
‘No. There isn’t.’ Lila tried to force some strength into her voice, but it came out wobbly. Frightened little rabbit was hardly the impression she wanted to give off. And so much for yelling for help. God, she didn’t even have her phone on her to call someone. ‘That’s why the door was propped open.’
‘Right. I see. Of course.’ The light from his phone glowed again as he unlocked the screen, and he swore under his breath. ‘Fantastic. No bloody signal in here anyway. What a waste of time.’ A huff of air carried across to her. ‘Is someone coming down here anytime soon?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t think so,’ Lila answered the abrupt question automatically and then could’ve cursed herself. If he had come in here for a less than innocent reason, now he knew he potentially had all the time in the world, and she had no means of getting out. ‘I mean. Probably. Sibyl should be down soon to lock up – or check on me to see why I haven’t gone back up.’
‘Oh. Good. We just have to wait then?’ There was a soft thump that sounded like him leaning against the door and then the silence stretched out. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked after a while, his voice softer. ‘You’re very quiet considering the circumstances. What’s your name?’
‘…Lila.’
‘Well, I’m sorry I got you stuck in here, Lila. I hope you’re not gonna miss your bus home or anything. No big plans for the evening that I’ve ruined?’
Lila gave a little laugh that skated the edge of hysterical. ‘No. No big plans.’ Maybe she should have just gone to the pub. This was putting things into perspective, wasn’t it? Would having a drink with a group of people she didn’t really know truly have been worse than the prospect of being assaulted?
‘I’m Rowan by the way. From the cast. Been here doing wardrobe fittings today.’
What was she supposed to say to that?Hi, ornice to meet you, orof course I know who you are, your face was on the bus I took this morning? In the end she ended up blurting out ‘Okay.’ She cringed but at least the benefit of being in the dark meant she didn’t have to look at the bemused expression on his face.
‘Areyou okay, though? Cause you sound really freaked out. Are you frightened of the dark or something…oh, oh shit. Honestly, I was just looking for somewhere to make a phone call. You’ve got nothing to worry about from me. I’ll stay right over here. I swear I’ve got no ulterior motive for trapping you in this room. I was just being a distracted moron.’
‘You came into a dark storeroom to make a phone call?’ She forced herself to voice some scepticism.
‘I was in a hurry and needed some privacy and I wasn’t thinking. And now I’m stuck and there’s no bloody signal anyway.’ He paused. ‘Do you really think someone is coming down soon, or were you just saying that because you wanted me to think there was no time to attack you?’
Lila flinched and didn’t know how to answer that. It didn’t matter anyway because he carried on talking. Filling the silence, the way people did a lot when her tongue froze.
‘Sorry, sorry.’ He swore again. ‘I am crap with words and I’m really antsy. That was no way to reassure you, was it? God, I’vegotto get more sleep.’ The last bit he muttered mostly to himself, with a sigh, before raising his voice again. ‘I’ll tell you the truth, Lila. My sister’s gone into labour, and I needed to call and find out whether everything is going okay, so being stuck in here – and it being all my own bloody fault – is driving me nuts. Just tell me, should I hammer on the door and start yelling?’
