Celebrity Liaison Ch. 08

Author's Note- The first half of this story takes place concurrently with the events of Celebrity Liaison Chapter 7. This time it's from Natalie Portman's point of view and would best be read after reading Chapter 7. It's an experimental chapter so bear with me.

I'm Natalie Portman. As every knows, I'm an actress who likes to keep her private life nice, simple and discreet. So far, it has been discreet but as for simple... That all changed when I got into a relationship with Jason Connors, a journalist from the Daily News. We've had a messy relationship but now things are stable. Thanks to me, he's a celebrity interviewer.

Well, things have been good. Jason and I are in a good stable relationship finally. We've had some hard times and even though I won't tell him, I have been suspicious of Jason. I thought he may have been cheating on me with Reese Witherspoon of all people but Keira Knightley, my dear friend convinced me otherwise. I have to admit I have been stressing out lately because Jason has a tendency to interview a lot of sexy actresses as part of his job. And sometimes after he has an interview with one of them, I can see this look on his face, and I know that something happened. But now that we have both agreed to be in a proper relationship, I think that's changed.

Once again things fall back to Reese Witherspoon. I'm acting like such a jealous school girl. Jason interviewed her and now he claims they're friends. Who does that? I've never befriended any of my interviewers. The worse I've done is mentally undress them but I thinks it's safe to assume that a lot of people do that. But after a lot of thinking, I'm about 75% sure nothing is going on. My only real evidence to say that he is cheating on me with her is when I her heard leave a message on his answering machine and even then that wasn't anything incriminating. I seriously have to stop thinking about it.

At this very moment it was 10 o'clock in the morning and I was in Jason's apartment. I didn't sleep well, not because I was partying or anything but because I had one too many café lattes. Jason just got an espresso machine. I climbed out of his bed and looked at myself in the mirror. I was a mess. I went over to the window and just in case any peeping Tom was watching and snapping photos, I closed the curtain. Somewhat of a habit I've developed since my climb to fame. Jason walked into the room fully clothed and sat down and started putting on his shoes.

'Where are you going?' I asked drearily.

I walked over to the wardrobe to find something decent to put on considering I was only wearing a shirt and panties. I hadn't realized Jason was going anywhere today which is strange since he always tells me. But I decided not to say anything.

'Just heading out for a bit. Work first and than I'm meeting up with some people. I probably won't be back until late in the afternoon,' Jason said without looking up.

I looked behind me to see his briefcase still lying in the corner and decided to say.

'That's ok, I'm meeting my parents for lunch today.'

It was a complete lie. I actually don't know why I said it. I continued to trawl through my clothes. I barely had anything here as it was his apartment. I grabbed a few things and threw them onto the bed. Jason finished tying his laces (which took a surprisingly long time) and said.

'Are you going to stay at your place tonight or are you coming back here?'

'I don't know, I'll take it as it goes.' I said and continued to trawl through the wardrobe. 'Do you have any bras here?'

Jason laughed and said. 'How the hell should I know, I don't wear them. I keep telling you to fill up that drawer I left for you.'

'Yeah I know, I keep forgetting. Ah, found one.'

He stood up and approached me and said. 'I find it disturbing that I have so much women's lingerie lying around my place.'

He gave me a soft kiss on the lips before moving out of the room and out the front door.

'If you're not coming back here tonight than call me,' he called out.

'Ok. Love you, bye.'

I watched him leave and casually walked over to his brief case. It had a combination lock but I cracked it easily. It was 9- 7- 9- 8, Jason uses the same password for everything. The briefcase was full and had all of his papers, he obviously needed it if he was going to work.

What is going on I thought? I was about to close the case when I saw his personal planner. I grabbed it and was about to open it when I suddenly realized what I was doing. I put it down beside me and took a deep breath. I am not that jealous I thought. Why do I find it so hard to trust him? I decided to respect his privacy and when to eat breakfast and tried not to think too much about what Jason was and wasn't doing but I still brought his planner to the kitchen table.

I didn't look at it but I kept the option open. I stared at it for the whole time I ate. I grabbed for it several times but put it down straight away. I was acting like a little girl who didn't want to get caught with her hand in the cookie jar. I finished my breakfast and was planning to head out the door when the speed dial on the phone caught my eye. One of the names was Olivia, who was Jason's assistant. I stood there for a moment before I called. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, I didn't even know why I was doing this. She picked up after 3 rings.

'Hello, Olivia speaking. Jason Connor's isn't in today.'

I froze at what she said. He wasn't in? He just said he was going to work. Where is he?

'Um...Olivia, this is Natalie, Jason's friend.'

'Friend? Sure,' she laughed. 'How can I help you Miss Portman? I mean Natalie. Sorry, it slipped. Jason told me you don't like being called that. Anyway, I'll shut up. How can I help?'

'So...Jason isn't coming in today?'

'Not to my knowledge. He has the day off.'

'Oh, ok.'

'Oh crap,' Olivia muttered. She said it so quiet I could barely hear. Somehow I didn't think she wanted me to hear it. 'Is that all Natalie?'

'Yeah. Have a nice day.'

She hung up and I stood still for several moments. He wouldn't cheat on me I thought. We're in a good relationship now. Then it occurred to me, Jason interviewed Reese Witherspoon before we kissed and made up. Maybe he got into a relationship with her before that and he was actually cheating on her and with me and not the other way around. I thought about this and it made sense. But then again I'm over looking the most obvious aspect of the whole thing. Reese Witherspoon lives in LA, so he can't be meeting up with her.

Enough was enough, I went over to the table and opened his daily planner and flicked to today's page. Jason filled this planner extensively and had everything from work, to birthdays and even what movies were out in cinemas. But today was strangely blank. There was just an address. I was pretty sure that it was an apartment building downtown.

I grabbed the keys and wrote down the address. I'm going to try my hand at detective work. Not as glamorous as acting but it seems like more fun. I was barely out of the building when I received a call on my phone. It was Olivia.

'Hello, Olivia?'

'Yes. I feel a bit weird calling but Jason just came in. He didn't say anything but just went into the editor's office. I think they're having a meeting or something. I'll get him to call you when he gets out. Is that ok?'

'Um... yeah, sure. Thanks'

'Ok. Seeya.'

'Bye.'

Why would she call me just to say that? Wouldn't it have been easier to just have Jason call me when he got out? I started driving towards the address but New York traffic was hell. I had been driving and not making much progress when I received yet another phone call, this time from Jason.

'Hey Nat, it's me. Olivia said you called.'

'Yeah, where were you?' I asked.

'In a meeting with the editor. So what's going on?'

'Well you said you were going to work but you left your briefcase at home.'

Jason paused and didn't say anything and as a result, I swear that I could hear Elmo from Playschool in the background.

'What the hell is that I hear in the background. Is that Playschool?'

'Shit,' I heard Jason mutter.

Then I heard something being knocked over and something that sounded like someone jumping around. Then Elmo went silent and 2 young kids cried out in protest. Cheating with some other girl was one thing but babysitting was just plain weird.

'What are you doing? Babysitting,' I asked confused.

'No, well yes but...listen I kinda in a rush so if there's anything you need,' he stammered.

'Nope, I was just asking if you needed your briefcase, because I could deliver it to you.'

'No, I'm just doing a few things at work before I catch up with friends,' he said unconvincingly.

'Oh, ok. You sure you're ok? You seem nervous.'

'I'm fine. Love you.'

He hung up quickly and I sat there in the car silently thinking. I decided to called Olivia again. This was going to be the 3rd time in less than an hour I was talking to her.

'Hi Olivia. It's Natalie again.'

'It's not often I get so many calls from Hollywood superstars. What can I do for you now?'

'This might sound weird so bear with me. What's Jason doing right now?'

Olivia was obviously confused and said. 'He's in his office working. Why?'

'Long story. Thanks Olivia.'

'No probs.'

I hung up. Jason doesn't have a TV in his office. And even if he did, why would there be little kids there. I kept driving and eventually reached the apartment at quarter past 12. I sat in the car nervously. Should I go up there? I decided to go outside and look at the names listed on the doorbells in the building's lobby. I wore a baseball cap as not to attract attention. The apartment Jason had listed was 11F. I looked at the list and it read, "Julie Bell". So I think that takes Reese Witherspoon out of the equation. Maybe Julie Bell was just a work colleague or even a friend of Jason's. I nervously decided to press the button despite having no idea what to say but no one answered.

I disappointedly went back to my car. I'm a shit detective I thought. Everyone is entitled to their secrets I thought. And Jason isn't the type to cheat. Even as I thought that, I knew that I didn't have anything to back that up with. I love Jason but yet I still can't completely trust him. Maybe it's just my nature. I started driving again; I might actually end up meeting my parents after all. I was driving for about 5 minutes when something unexpected happened.

As I turned a corner, an SVU rammed into me. The car spun out of control and skidded down the street almost hitting a street light. The crash itself was at a slow speed so I luckily wasn't hurt seriously. There was a small scar on my forehead from where I hit my head but it wasn't bad. I was more confused than anything as I stumbled outside of my car. I surveyed the damage, it wasn't bad but the back of the car was quite dented and none of the windows were broken. The person in the SVU exited his car. He was a big burly guy, bald and had quite a gut on him. He would've been about 40 years old. He approached me and shouted.

'What the fuck was that?!'

I held my head in my hands and shouted back. 'Me?! That was your fault!'

'Hey, you're that actress chick!' he said. 'You think because you're some big star you can drive where ever you want?!'

I rolled my eyes. 'Go to hell!'

It was a rare moment for me but must admit, I did feel tough went I shouted it.

'You better pay for this!'

'It was your fault!'

'Go fuck up another Star Wars movie you whore!'

I swear I was about to lunge at him but luckily some woman stopped me and held me back. And thank God she did, I could just imagine what the tabloids would be like when they hear Natalie Portman attacked someone after a traffic accident. The woman was about 30 with long dark hair. She said to me.

'Easy honey. Don't let the redneck get to you,' she then turned to the man and shouted. 'Hey! Just stay in your car and shut up!'

'Fuck both of you!'

I already heard police sirens in the background. The woman sat me down in the car and tilted my head back.

'It's just a graze, nothing bad. Name's Janelle.'

I paused before saying. 'Um... my name's Amber.'

'Please, I'm not a moron. And I won't go to the press either. I've had my dealings with famous people.'

'Right,' I said sarcastically.

'No seriously. You're not the most famous person I've seen, no offense,' she said as she cleaned the graze on my forehead with a handkerchief.

The police arrive and immediately the man went over to them and told his side of the story. In other words, he told a lie. Suddenly a young girl about 6 years old came over and tugged at Janelle's shirt.

'Janelle. Deacon spilt his juice.'

'Ava...um... I'll be there in a second.'

Ava looked around curiously and looked at me for several moments. Suddenly a large smile spread across her face and she said.

'Hey, you're Queen Amidala!'

I laughed before turning to Janelle and saying. 'That's who I'm always going to be known as from now on.'

'I think she thinks Star Wars is real.'

'Then her mistaking me for my character really doesn't make sense then considering my Padme died.'

Janelle shrugged. 'She hasn't seen Episode III.'

A police officer came over and said. 'Everyone ok?'

'Fine,' I said.

'Wanna tell me what happened?' he said obviously hiding the fact that he was so exited to meet me in person.

'Well I was turning the corner and that guy over there wasn't looking and side swiped me.'

Janelle turned to the cop and said. 'It's true, I saw the whole thing and can verify it,' she pointed behind me and said. 'I think most of them will agree with her too.'

I looked behind me and became aware of a crowd massing and taking pictures of me on their phones. The cop approached the crowd and asked them a question. He came back and approached his partner and said.

'Frank. All those people agree with her. It was this guys fault.'

The man stood up. 'That's bullshit. The only reason they agree with her is because she's Natalie Portman,' he protested.

'Sir, you're going to have to pay for her dam-'

I ran over to them and interrupted him and said. 'Don't worry. I'll pay for my own repairs. I can afford it, trust me.'

We sorted over a few trivial things such as insurance, licenses and of course an autograph and photo before the tow trucks came. When they had my car attached to the back, the driver asked me, need a lift to the DMV or something?'

Janelle who was surprisingly still here came over and said. 'Don't worry, I'll take her.'

'Thanks.'

We walked over to her car and I hopped in the front seat. I told her the address to Jason's apartment and we started driving. In the back, the kids were bickering back and forth. Janelle looked back and said.

'Ava, Deacon, can you be quiet back there? We'll just help Natalie here to her home and then we'll get going again.'

'Not Natalie, Padme,' replied Ava.

I looked back at them and smiled. 'I love kids. Must be hard raising two young ones.'

Janelle laughed and said. 'Oh no, they're not mine. I'm just babysitting them so a friend can go out. She and the kids back there are here visiting from LA.'

I turned around and said to the kids. 'Hey guys. How are you finding the Big Apple?'

The young boy, Deacon, who was only about 3 said. 'Deacon no like apples.'

I laughed. 'No, the Big Apple is New York.'

Then the girl Ava said. 'New York isn't an apple, it's a city.'

This time both Janelle and I laughed. I turned to her and said. 'Cute kids,' I looked at her before saying. 'You seem pretty calm considering you have me in you're car.'

Janelle smiled. 'Ok, you're big. But I know bigger. Once again, no offense.'

I waved it off. 'Don't worry. So who do you know?'

Janelle smiled again and then said to the kids. 'Ava, Deacon, tell Nat-, I mean Queen Amidala here, who your mom is.'

'Mommy's famous.'

'Tell her mommy's name Ava.'

'Grandma and grandpa call her Laura but everyone else calls mommy Reese.'

It was as if I was hit by a truck. Janelle didn't notice and said.

'Their mom is Reese Witherspoon. Laura by the way is her maiden name. Didn't I tell you I know bigger?'

I sat perfectly still. I didn't even smile at the sight of the kids anymore. 'Reese Witherspoon is in New York?'

'Yep. It's summer holidays. Seemed a bit weird to me, taking a vacation in New York but what are you gonna do?'

When I didn't reply she looked at me and said. 'You ok. You look like a little flush.'

I winded down the window and breathed in the fresh air (fresh by New York standards anyway). Was Jason with Reese Witherspoon? This day just keeps on getting more interesting. Surely they're just friends. But then why wouldn't he tell me about it?

'Natalie? You ok.'

I turned to her slowly. My mouth felt dry as I spoke. 'Do you know where they are now?'

'They?'

'I mean Reese. What's she doing?'

'Well a friend came over to take her around the city. I think he's a journalist, I wouldn't know, I don't read the newspapers. I think they're just going out for lunch.'

'Where's their dad, Ryan Phillipe? Aren't they married?' I asked.

'You're really not in touch with the gossip are you? They got a divorce a year ago. It was shortly after Reese's Oscar win.'

I didn't want to face the facts. I just kept finding ways to convince myself Jason was not cheating.

'So you don't know who the journalist is? Is he there interviewing or are they friends.'

'Not quite sure. I've never met him before. He's kinda cute, normal build, short dark hair, late 20s to early 30s. Anyway, they seemed casual and I think there was a tiny it of affection there so I'd say friend, maybe even boyfriend.'

I was considerably silent for the rest of the car ride. Janelle kept on talking but I mostly ignored her. What should I do when I see Jason again? Should I pretend like nothings happened, or should I just ask or should I confront Reese. It didn't take long to go back to Jason's apartment. I thanked Janelle and signed an autograph for Ava (I signed Padme Amidala for the sake of keeping the Star Wars fantasy alive for the kids).

I stepped into Jason's apartment and immediately started going through the stuff on his desk. I don't know whether I was happy or sad when I didn't find anything incriminating. I turned on his computer and trawled through his files. I found what I was looking for, the recordings for all the celebrity interviews he's done so far. I opened up his interview with Reese Witherspoon. I don't know what was going on but Jason sounded slightly drunk and his interviewing method was pretty terrible. If this was him flirting with her then he was doing a shit job. But besides his obvious drunken slurring, the interview was professional.

Disappointed, I turned off the computer and sat down on the couch and watched the door. To anyone looking on, I must've looked mad, and maybe I was. But at this moment I was filled with jealousy and I needed answers. I sat there for sometime before falling asleep.

It was sometime later in the afternoon when I woke up. 5 o'clock to be exact. That's what I get for drinking a lot of coffee the night before I thought. It took me several moments to realize I was on the couch and this was not the morning. It took even longer for me to realize I just had an afternoon nap. I sat up and behind me I heard someone typing on the computer. I sat up and saw Jason.

'So...busy day?'

'Shut up,' I said grumpily. 'When did you get in?'

'A little more than half an hour ago. Did you even meet your parents today for lunch?'

'What?' I said slightly confused. And then I remembered my lie and said. 'Lunch, yeah, forgot about that. They took a raincheck, I was just too sleepy. How was your day?'