The next morning, Elise called me into her office as soon as I'd arrived to work. She was there particularly early, already seated at her desk with papers spread out everywhere. I usually always got here first. I was a little worried she was going to ream me for yesterdays coffee incident.
"Sit down, Stella." Elise spoke with a cheery voice, a smile upon her lips.
Was she really this excited to be able to fire me?
"Um, okay," I mumbled as I pulled out the chair and sat across from her.
"So, Stella, your internship with Smooch is ending in a few days," She started, shuffling around some papers into a neat pile. "Any ideas for what you plan on doing afterward?"
"Well, not really. Going home for the summer and then I guess I'll start a job hunt in September," I said honestly. I felt awkward though, Elise had never once taken an interest in me and now she wanted to all of a sudden know?
"And how set are you on going home this week?" She asked. "What if I said we'd extend your time here. And actually pay you, this time."
I felt myself frown a little. I had been so looking forward to getting the hell out of here, and I was sure Elise wanted me to leave too. But here she was, offering me a summer job. Offering me actual money. "What would I be doing?" I asked sketpically. There wasn't enough money in the world to make me want to continue fetching her coffee all day.
Actually, that was a total lie. I'd probably do it for next to nothing.
Elise smiled. "This may sound... a little crazy, but I want you to hear me out before you make up your mind, alright?"
"Go on."
"Well, for starters, we'd get you on contract to write a three plus page spread. You'd have your very own published article as a reference. You'd also spend the summer on contract with Paramount Pictures. While the boys of One Direction are filming their concert movie in America, Paramount will have free lancer's follow them around and film them for those three months, rather than send someone from the UK. You have a background in film studies, correct?"
I nodded, unable to say anything. My mind was stuck on two words: One Direction. What did they have to do with all of this?
"Perfect, then. So anyway, you'd be traveling all around the country with my brother in law, Phil, who is heading the project, and two other young adults who just finished school as well. A great expirence, if you ask me."
"It sounds amazing," I breathed out. "But-"
Elise cut me off with a knowing smile. "But what would you be writing about?"
"Yeah." I agreed. Would it just be a piece about my expirences? I figured it had something significant to do with the 1D boys.
"This is where you have to keep an open mind," Elise warned with a slight wince. "Well, as I told you yesterday, we the media are having an incredibly difficult time cracking the details of the break up of Elounor."
I raised my eyebrows. Who the hell was Elounor?
"Louis Tomlinson and Eleanor Calder." She clarifeid. "You met the charming Louis yesterday, and Eleanor was his long time girlfriend of a year and a half. They had a very public relationship, and now that they've broken up, well, they're saying nothing."
I listened intently, confused.
She continued. "There are many fans who ship a romantic relationship between Louis and Harry - Larry Stylinson they call them. Some fans are seriously dedicated to this belief, so much so that they believe Eleanor Calder was what they call a beard. Hired to hide Louis' sexuality to avoid a dip in record sales. It's a commonly done in this industry. One of the members of Nsync had a beard for a number of years. Many fans are now saying the reason for the break up is because Eleanor Calder's contract with Modest has run up. Now, I personally think this theory is ridiculous"
