Miles from Home - Max and Harvey Mills FanFiction

Miles from Home - CH 2

CHAPTER TWO

My fingers nervously trace the grains of the umber wooden armrest of the non-upholstered chair beneath me as I readjust myself to sit up as tall and upright—and as formal—as possible. Before me is a rectangular desk of matching umber wood the size of a refrigerator—the Big Desk. Behind the Big Desk is a figure so large, the brown leather backing of the swivel chair he sits on remains mostly unseen—Mr. Ashford, my boss's boss's boss's boss, only vaguely exists within my mind as a name I've never met before this present moment. The double windsor knot of his crimson paisley tie hangs loosely below the collar of his dress shirt, which matches the hue of freshly-spilt blood. An unbuttoned black blazer envelopes the roundness of his mass—the likes of which, I doubt can ever be fully buttoned to enclose him. Behind him, a framed—and, possibly, autographed—photo of the Beatles hangs as the sole decoration upon any of the lifeless gray walls of his office. The chair beneath him groans and creaks as he pulls himself forwards, leaning in towards me and slightly over the Big Desk. The glare of the fluorescent lights from the ceiling above shines across the front face of his thick glasses, obscuring his eyes. A faint hint of cigar smoke hangs in the smokeless air between us.

"Do you like your job, Avery?" The gold of his wedding ring glints as he reaches for a small wooden box atop the desk. He flicks open the hinged lid and removes a long, fat cigar as he leans back into his chair.

"Yes, sir. I've enjoyed it very much, sir," I answer promptly, attempting to keep any sign of the jitters out of my voice. His expressionless mouth and shielded eyes leave him completely unreadable. The sweat in my palms pools beneath my hands and squeaks against the armrests as I move to wipe them discreetly upon the legs of my black dress pants—I feel like one of those academically-challenged misanthropes called to the school principal's office—the fear of being fired creeps ever deeper into my thoughts. I shiver in the humid summer air of the barely air-conditioned room.

"Amongst all the production assistants, you've been the top performer we've had all year round," he says with a flat, monotone voice as he rolls his cigar back and forth between his thumb and finger. The words give me a small breath of relief, but I brace myself for what might come next—I'm still not sure of what this is all about. 'But, I'm sorry, you're position has been made redundant,' his voice says, but only within the space between my ears.

"Thank you, sir." My stomach is doing barrel rolls and somersaults, the acid threatening to make its way up my esophagus.

"How would you feel about taking on a little more responsibility?" His words are robotic—I suppose that's what happens when people in his position have asked these kinds of questions hundreds of times before.

"I am ready, willing, happy, and eager to take on more responsibilities, sir." I hope I didn't oversell that. Although, I wonder what he means and exactly what it might entail—I can't show any hesitation or doubt. I try to tell my body to stop trembling, since it no longer appears as if I'm going to be punished, but the uncertainty still rules my nerves—with any luck, perhaps I'll be given a backhanded promotion and be reassigned to an office in the cold silence of Siberia—that is, if we have an office there.

"Good," he says as he slides open an unseen drawer beneath the tabletop and within the desk. He hands me a thick manila folder as he continues, "this dossier explains your new project—should you accept. In summary, you will be assigned under a team, but you will be mostly independent whilst working directly with the talent. It's a hybrid assignment to meet the unique challenges of social media: part production assistant, part personal assistant—therefore, in addition to you're full-time work, you'll also be standing-by, on-call, 24/7. Although, he's part of a duo, you are to be contractually attached to him primarily, since the other member of the duo will have their own P.A. Do you have any questions?"