The Plan
The house was dark except for the light in the largest bedroom in the back of the house. Rome waved goodbye to the rideshare driver who’d brought him home and went inside, wishing he’d gotten there before the sun went down, but that was just how things were going to be for a while, at least until he was done making movies.
Inside the house was quiet, but as he approached the bedroom, he could hear the soft sound of Ella typing on her laptop.
As he entered the room, she closed it, smiling at him and setting her device aside. She was so beautiful, he just stared at her for a moment, leaning against the doorway. Even with her hair a little messy, wearing an oversized T-shirt and leggings, she was the most gorgeous girl he’d ever seen.
“Hi there,” she said, patting the bed next to her. “How was your day?”
“Good. How was yours?”
“Busy.” She wore a satisfied smile on her face as she nodded. “I assume yours was, too?”
“Very busy. We got a lot filmed today, though.” He plopped down on the bed next to her, the force of him dropping onto the mattress bouncing her up into the air, which made her giggle.
“That’s awesome,” she said, settling back down. “Still on schedule to finish as planned?”
“I think so,” he said with a nod. “And I got a call from the new studio today. I forgot to ask what they’re calling it these days since I’m guessing Verona isn’t going to be part of the title anymore. I’m going to go meet with them soon and get everything outlined. The new owner is flying in from France.”
Ella’s eyebrow shot up slightly before she caught control of herself and brought them back down. “France? That’s interesting. Still no idea who it is?”
“Nope, but I’m not too worried about it. My dad made sure it wasn’t your father.”
“Right.” Ella still looked concerned, despite her response. “Well, it will be nice to have your schedule fixed.”
“Exactly. What about you? How was your trip into the city? I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk today.”
“No, it’s okay, but I do have a lot to tell you. You look tired, though, and I know you have to get up early. Maybe now’s not the time to tell you what I’ve been up to.”
Rome reached over and took her hand. “Ella, I am tired, but I always have time for you. I feel like you have some secret project going on that I haven’t heard about yet. What is it?”
A mischievous smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she turned to clasp his other hand so that she had both of them. “Okay, I’ll tell you. The other night, when you went to meet with your parents, I went up into the attic.”
“What did you go up there for?” Rome asked, cocking his head to the side.
Ella shrugged. “I don’t know. I just hadn't been up there yet. I guess part of me was probably trying to figure out if I’m still that girl--the girl who was locked up there for so long. Anyway, our attic didn’t have any prisoners in it. But it did have something else.”
That mischievous glint was back in Ella’s eyes. “What’s that?” he asked, wondering how she’d kept this information from him for so long.
Rather than answering him right away, she picked up her phone off of the nightstand and scrolled through the apps, opening something and then turning the phone around so he could see. Rome scooted back onto the pillow, lying flat on his back as he took the phone to study it, trying to figure out what he was looking at. “Is it a painting?”
“Yeah. Scroll through.”
He did as he was instructed as Ella shifted so that she was lying next to him, her head on his shoulder. Still unsure exactly what she was getting at, Rome asked, “All of these paintings are in our attic?”
“Yes. Three dozen of them. It took me a while, but I tracked down the artist. Her name is Fae Ward. She’s ninety-five and lives in an assisted living facility in the city. That’s where I went today.”
“You went to see an old woman who left a bunch of paintings in our attic? Why?”
“For a few reasons,” Ella said as she shifted. Done with her phone, Rome handed it back, and she set it on the nightstand before propping her head up on one elbow and staring down at him. “First of all, she’s very talented. I was in awe when I found them. I wanted to give them back to her. Secondly, I was curious about who used to live here. But then I did a little research and found out she was quite a big deal when she first started selling her paintings. Then, she just sort of disappeared. I wanted to know what happened.”
Rome nodded. He could see why Ella would be drawn to a woman who just seemed to disappear. “So you found her?” Her head rocked back and forth. “And you met with her today?”
“I did.”
“And… you said she’s ninety-five? Does she want her paintings back?”
“No. She said I can keep them.” That twinkle was back in her eye. “We came up with a plan. I’m going to need your help to get this business going, but… I think it’s going to be exactly what I need in order to re-enter the world.”
Knowing Ella, she already had all the details worked out, including some sort of a business plan, and he really did want to hear all about it, but Rome was on information overload, and by the look on her face, he had a feeling she wasn’t quite ready to reveal the plan in its entirety anyway. “That all sounds… fascinating.” He grinned at her, so happy she was finally getting back to her old self. She’d been so gloomy ever since he’d said he wanted to come back to LA. While he couldn’t blame her, he had been hopeful she would just snap out of it. Now, maybe she was beginning to. “When you get it all worked out, just let me know what I need to do, okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed, leaning down to kiss him. Her lips were so soft and warm, it was tempting to forget how tired he was and that he had to get up in about six hours to head back to the set.
Ella hadn’t forgotten, though. She rested her head on his chest, and Rome wrapped his arms around her, hopeful for the future. He had no doubt Ella would figure out a way to make a name for herself, even if that name wasn’t Ella Verona. He’d do whatever he could to help her make a success out of her new plan. He owed that much to her. After all, she was risking everything by coming back to LA with him, to a place where everyone thought she was dead and no one could know that she was still alive. He kissed the top of her head and then felt his eyelids grow heavy. She said something, but he didn’t quite catch it. No matter how badly he wanted to stay awake, he was exhausted. A peace settled over him as he drifted off, certain that everything was going to be okay now that Ella had herself sorted out.
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