Chapter Nine
Owen
I couldn’t get over how beautiful this woman was. The outfit she was wearing was killing me. It was like something born straight out of one of those secretary fantasies. Her confidence was sexy as hell on top of her tanned, curvy figure, and I was trying desperately not to get lost in those gorgeous eyes of hers. As hard as it was to believe, she looked even more stunning in person than she had in her photos.
It had been pretty hard to concentrate on the interview questions the whole time I'd been talking to her. In fact, I wondered if she'd noticed me staring at her. I'd done my best to conceal it, trying desperately to keep my eyes locked on her face when they were really scanning her body the whole time.
Thoughts from the night before crept back, the fantasies of my own that I was having about her, and I couldn't deny that I wanted to take her home right on the spot. To hell with the next interview. But fantasies and desires aside, I simply knew I couldn’t do that.
Apart from that being highly unprofessional conduct, I really did need to find a touring assistant, and quick. So far, out of the two girls I had already interviewed, Nalia was definitely the most qualified, and on top of that, she hadn’t run out of the room crying. That was an obvious plus. Besides, I owed it to the band to give this third applicant an interview; it was only fair. But, if the third one even remotely sucked compared to Nalia, the job was going to her.
I looked her over once again as we stood in the office, shaking her hand, then started to pull the door open for her. However, halfway through doing that, I stopped. Regardless of whether she was the most qualified or not, I wanted to see her again. I had to. I knew that much, at least. Somehow, I had to make it happen.
“Nalia, I’d like to see you for a second interview,” I said, trying to sound as professional as possible. It was hard with her standing so close. I could smell her soft, sweet perfume, see how warm her eyes were. “My band is rehearsing at the record company tomorrow around two in the afternoon. I’d like the rest of them to meet you. Just to see if you’d mesh well with everyone. That is pretty important to check out, given that you may well be around us 24/7 over a period of three months.”
Nalia smiled at me and nodded. “Sure, I can make that.”
“If things go well, we could grab a bite to eat and talk more about the tour and the to-dos that we would need to get done.”
“Sounds great. I can start as soon as you need me to,” Nalia added.
So far, she was hitting everything on my list for an assistant, as well as a few things off the list.
“Perfect. I’ll have my secretary call you with the address in the morning. See you tomorrow, and thanks for coming in on such short notice.”
Nalia gave me a smile and a small wave before disappearing down the hall. I couldn’t hide my own smile as I watched her go. She really did seem to be perfect for the job. Everything I had in mind for an assistant and beautiful to boot. My heart was still racing from being so close to her, and the thoughts from last night weren’t making standing there any easier. I adjusted my jeans, trying hide my excitement as best I could before Mike brought in the last applicant.
I knew that I would need to warn Talon to stay away from Nalia. Granted, we had all made an agreement to not mess around with the new assistant, but I knew my brother all too well. He wouldn’t go back on his promise to not have sex with her, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t push the limits of it. Although, now I was thinking that if anyone was going to blur those lines or even break the pact we had about her, it was going to be me.
Mike brought the last girl in, and from her rounded eyes and the insane smile plastered across her face, I was guessing she was another fan. Great, maybe I should have skipped the last interview after all.
“Sorry for staring. I just can’t believe it’s actually you who is interviewing,” she practically squealed as Mike led her into the office. I waved off his apologetic look. I’d still give her the benefit of the doubt and interview her.
“Yes, I am the one interviewing,” I stated, keeping my tone as polite as possible. While I was always flattered when meeting a fan, a job interview wasn’t really the place for gushing. “Why don’t we get to that?”
She put her hand out, shaking mine a little too enthusiastically. “I'm Mary! It’s so amazing to meet you, Owen. Oh, um, am I allowed to call you Owen? Is that all right with you?”
“Yes, it's not a problem at all. I prefer to keep things informal,” I smiled, gritting my teeth as I took my hand back. I sat in the desk chair, watching her fidget with the sides of her dress.
“So, tell me about yourself, Mary,” I requested. Her eyes widened more.
“Um, well… I’m a big, no, a huge fan of Bleeding Heart. I've seriously followed you guys from the first album! I've got all the live DVDs, too, and um… Well, all right, I think I should talk more about my actual work experience, right?”
“Yes, please,” I replied, “I'm flattered that you're such a fan, but I really do need to hear about what you feel qualifies you for this position, if you don't mind.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “I, um… I love music. I’ve managed a few tours, um…” She bit her lip and fidgeted more. I glanced down at her resume. She actually had some legit experience with several bands, but if she was this nervous around me, how would she be around the rest of the band…or even just Talon?
“Sorry I’m so nervous. I am just a really big fan of you guys. I had no idea you would be here in person for the interview when they called me,” she apologized, a frown on her face. “I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be acting like this. It's just, it's just that... Well, wow, I never thought I'd actually be meeting you face to face.”
“Can you tell me about the tours you managed? Were they larger scale tours, local indie tours?” I asked, trying to avoid a repeat of interview number one.
“I, um…both. Uh…sorry.”
I frowned. This was not going well at all. And besides, despite her gushing, my thoughts kept returning to Nalia. She’d set the bar fairly high. So much so, it was getting rather difficult to concentrate on what this girl was actually saying. Still, I breathed in and out slowly and tried to force all of the thoughts of Nalia out of my head.
“This job would be very demanding. Three months of hard work, being stuck with us on a bus nearly 24/7. A lot is riding on this tour, so there would be a lot of pressure on you, including promotions, marketing, setting up interviews, and more. Not to mention the stress of keeping all of the band members in line and on schedule. And I'll tell you this, some of us can be a real handful, especially out there on the road. Do you think you could handle those kind of high pressure situations?”
She bit her lip, her frown deepening. I took that to be a probable no from her as she fidgeted with her dress more.
“I am crazy nervous. And, I’m doing horrible with this interview, aren’t I?” she asked, her eyes getting a little misty.
God, please no, not another crier.
“It’s not that. My concern is that if you’re this nervous around me, how will you be around the rest of the band? Working with them daily and keeping them in line, on top of all the duties that would be your responsibility. It's going to require someone who is totally unfazed by our celebrity status. Someone who is willing to look past all of that and put duty and responsibility first. Someone who is able to exercise very strict self-control.”
With that, a few tears streamed down her cheek, and she sniffled. I cursed a few choice phrases in my head and looked for Mike since the office door had been left open on this one. He was standing at the end of the hall. I shook my head and nodded for him to come get her.
“I’m sorry, Mary. I’m sure you’re good at what you do, but I think we need someone that isn’t such a huge fan to be our assistant on the road. It's just that we have so much riding on this tour, and we're going to need someone who treats us as if we're students who need to be shepherded in the right direction, not a fan who is star struck and lets us get away with anything,” I told her sympathetically and offered her a hug as she stood up to leave.
She squeezed me tight and sniffled, or was she sniffing me? Was that a thing now? When she released me, I added a little something to soften the blow because she did have decent qualifications. “Mary, why don’t you meet with one of the staffing assistants here later this week and see what positions you might qualify for at Young Records. We are always looking for bright talent in some of our departments.”
“Thank you so much,” she said, her face lighting up a little.
Mike took her away, and I felt some relief. Not just due to her absence, but at the thought of Nalia. She was my girl for the job, and of that fact I was now absolutely sure…without a shadow of a doubt.