Hard to Handle (A 1D Story)

Ch. 2 - Meeting the Boys

Chapter 2 - Meet & Greet

And they were.

Just three weeks later, Pierce & Wendell called back, informing me that I had gotten the temp job – a position that ran from late June to late October, with a period of five weeks where the boys would be staying in LA to work with a collaborator/producer (name withheld to me) and talk to industry execs for the next album. My job would be to sit in on meetings, take notes, prepare PowerPoint presentations, run errands, and – what I was most intrigued by – supervising the boys while they were in LA. That included everything from driving them around to giving them tips on where to go for lunch to doing PR damage control if (when) one (more) of the boys did something wrong.

The P&W woman who called, Sophie (who was super nice), pretty much laid it out for me: I’d been hired over the other candidates because they thought I fit the particular job description. For the temp job, they had been looking for somebody who was familiar with Los Angeles to facilitate the supervising (let’s face it, the freeways alone could disorient even Carmen San Diego if she wasn’t an LA native) and somebody with both a degree and as much experience with celebrities as possible (I guess chilling with Victoria Justice one time at a Kid's Choice Awards after party put me over the Indian lady and judgmental dude).

So that’s how I ended up at the Pierce & Wendell office one Saturday afternoon, sitting in a conference room with a similar setup to my interview layout. Except there were more people facing me this time. And more important looking.

And I had on a perfectly appropriate blazer today. Still couldn’t find a better skirt though…

We had just finished an intolerably long orientation meeting for me and another P&W temp they’d hired for the One Direction job (a chubby funny woman hired for administrative tasks). It’d gone pretty well; I’d actually played a huge role in the decision making… already getting stuff done! They’d mentioned that since the boys would be staying in LA for a longer period of time than usual, they didn’t want them to stay at their usual W suite (little rich boys can’t be cooped up in a 5-star hotel for 5 weeks, can they!). Thinking on my feet, I mentioned that my friend’s mother was vice president of a real estate company with model homes in Bel-Air (Bruin connection coming in handy!). The band’s management liked the idea and planned to make arrangements to rent one of those furnished model homes for the boys to live in. So in one swoop, I’d managed to impress the management, my new employers, AND land my friend’s mom a new client. Not too shabby, Jennifer.

“So if you could just touch base with the house every few hours or so - ” one of the suits was addressing me.

“Wait,” I cut in, surprised. “So I wouldn’t have to stay at the house the whole time?”

“Well, if you could, that’d be ideal, but…”

“Not a problem. I can live there,” I shot them a professional smile, but inside I was beaming. If I had to work, I would damn sure rather work from a Bel Air mansion with a bunch of celebrities than from home. “It’ll be fun, seeing how celebrities live.”

Bespectacled Suit looked pleased. “Well, that’s great. Thank you, Miss Lei.” P&W Suit gave me a proud smile. “Now, we’ll have you break the news to the boys. Do you want to say hi?” They all stood, so in the flurry of folders closing and seats rolling out, I was momentarily confused. Say hi?

“Wait. They’re here?” I croaked, wide-eyed. I definitely was not in the right mindset (or wardrobe) to meet any billionaire superstar performer – let alone five of them. “Right now?”

“Yeah, their car pulled up a while ago. They have a meeting in Burbank in a few hours.”

I paled. Across the room, Sophie gave me a soft nod, as if to say, “You can do it.” I instantly warmed more to her, and confidence billowed in my stomach. I can do this. I got this job.