Take Care Of Me (Charlie Barber X Reader)

Chapter 1: Got You Covered

Winter in New York this year had come about two weeks early. You stood in front of your door methodically wrapping your black scarf around your neck as you took deep, purposeful breaths to steady your mind.

"It's just an assistant job. No sweat." You repeated to yourself in your head in an attempt to calm your nerves.

It had been only a month since you graduated from NYU and this was the first job interview you were about to go for. While it wasn't exactly your dream job, you knew you had to find something to fill the time (and pay the bills) while you searched for your 'actual' job and truly begin your career as a writer of any sort.

Or at least that was the plan.

About a week ago, you had come across a listing for a personal assistant job to a theatre director while scrolling on one of those part-time job sites. The working hours were flexible enough for your current schedule and the pay... the pay was even more than other listings you found so far. So you reached out to 'Charlie Barber' as stated in the post and to your surprise, you received a response almost immediately. It was a red flag for sure – but there was no harm in trying.

–

You hopped off the subway and made your way up to the street only to be rudely greeted by a freezing cold gust of wind. The time on your phone read '11:42', giving you more than enough time to walk the few blocks to the theatre where you were supposed to meet said Charlie Barber.

After a good few minutes of bracing the nipping air, you found your way to a decently tall brick building. The facade of the building was plain and unassuming. You walked into the main hall, as instructed by Charlie Barber in his text, and were met with the sounds of voices ringing through the hall followed by the shuffling of feet.

"Be back by one guys, and we'll pick up where we left off!" A velvety, mellow voice called out as the emptiness of the hall amplified it. You watched as the people on stage made their way backstage, leaving the space unnervingly quiet.

You walked down the aisle to where a tall, dark figure stood in front of a long, metal table. As he was gathering a few loose papers and files, you took the time to soak in his frame.

He was (for a lack of better word) large. He stood proudly at six foot something. Your eyes trailed down his straight, broad shoulders that were capped with a muscular build – you could make this out even through his loose navy sweater. He wore his hair on the longer side with voluminous raven locks casually draped in a centre part. And his stance – wide and commanding, telling of his confidence.

This must be Charlie Barber.

Just as you parted your lips to speak, he turned and caught your eye.

"Oh hello, can I help you?" He asked. His dark brows furrowed as you took a moment to register his features. You were taken aback. You had never seen anyone that looked as uniquely charming and handsome as him. He had a prominent nose that was ever so crooked, adding an immense interest to him. His eyes were deeply set eyes and intense, contrasting his soft porcelain skin that was speckled with moles and freckles.

You eyed his sweetly pink lips that were now positioned into a slight frown, snapping you out of your rather embarrassing haze. "I'm here to see Charlie Barber? It's for the personal assistant role."

"Fuck," he quipped. "I'm sorry, we just broke for lunch and I forgot I had even set this up." He took a pause to look at the watch that he had strapped over his wrist. "Do you mind if we do this over lunch?"

You instinctively narrowed your eyes, confused over how someone could 'forget' about a job interview. "Would that be alright? I truly am sorry. I guess you can see why I even looked for someone's help in the first place," Charlie spoke a little slower now as his expression shifted into one that looked a little sad, almost as if he was pleading with you.