7 pm

Mark sat at the hotel bar sullenly drinking a beer and eating a burger. She had said she'd meet him at 7 pm, but it was 7:30 already and there was no sign of Emma. He was starting to feel embarrassed and wondered if he had made a mistake by asking her out. Maybe she had only agreed to be polite, and he was making a fool of himself by waiting for her.

Just as he was about to give up hope and leave, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Emma standing there, looking stunning in a black sleeveless top and a knee length pencil skirt, she wore a scarf around her neck. Her attire exuded a very glamorous Hollywood quality. She had done her hair in a simple ponytail, and her face was done up with minimal make-up. She also wore an absurdly large pair of sunglasses.

"Sorry, the photo shoot and interview ran overtime like always. I would've called, but I didn't have your number."

Mark couldn't help but stare at Emma. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered. "No worries, I'm just glad you made it," he said, trying to hide his excitement. "You look amazing," he added, nodding towards her outfit.

Emma blushed, and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Thank you," she said, taking off her sunglasses and hanging them on her bag.

"Not too late to go somewhere. Pick a place." Mark said.

She flashed me a very endearing smile and said, "Sorry, but I'm really tired, I think I'd prefer to spend the night in the hotel. And also, don't take this the wrong way, but if I'm seen leaving this place with you, TMZ will be running an article about how I have new boyfriend by dawn tomorrow."

Mark chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't want to give TMZ any ideas. I'm not sure I'm ready to be a celebrity just yet," he joked, taking a sip of his beer.

She laughed before subtly changing topics and asking, "How was your day?" Mark relaxed a bit at the change of topic, grateful for the chance to chat with Emma. "It was good. Just had a few meetings with some clients, nothing too exciting," he replied, taking another bite of his burger.

Emma nodded, sipping her water. "Yeah, I can imagine. I had a pretty busy day myself, but it's always exciting to see the final product of a shoot, you know? Especially when it turns out better than expected."

She took a few more chips off my plate which brought a smile to my face. He hadn't expected to be sharing food with Emma Watson. "I'm sorry I seem to be eating all your food but I've barely eaten a thing since breakfast. The studios been running me ragged. I'm starving."

"Don't worry. I like watching you eat." This time she visibly blushed. He sat there for a moment trying to figure out if what he just said was charming or creepy.

"That guy sitting at the end of the bar on my left." she said, sounding a bit worried.

Mark looked past her down the bar to see an ordinary guy in his 30s looking at us. Not surprisingly, he appeared very interested in Emma but seemed harmless enough.

"What about him?" he asked.

"Is he taking photos of me with his phone?"

He looked at him carefully and saw his iPhone was sitting on its side on the bar. He subtly had his finger on the camera button and appeared to be furiously taking photos stealthily.

"Well I'll be damned," Mark muttered, "should I call security?"

"No, let's just go," she sighed.

"I thought you didn't want to go out."

"I don't. We'll head up to my room. It'll give us some privacy. We'll have a few drinks."

He didn't hesitate to say "yes" and was already on his feet before she could say another word. Before they left, Emma got the bartender's attention and said, "Can I grab two of those bottles!" pointing to some champagne bottles on the top shelf.