Still Here

Chapter One

Aubrey straightened the stack of papers on his desk and put a stray pen in the nearby desk organizer. His Rolex watch read 3:43. The potential assistant had two minutes to walk into his office before he got suspicious. Aubrey's previous assistant was fired due to disorderly conduct which he would never put up with. It's been a week since an assistant was around to help out with his busy schedule and it was time to hire someone.

"Mr. Graham, I have someone in the lobby who says he has an appointment with you," the receptionist stated over the intercom.

Aubrey grinned. "Bring him right up."

He took one last look at his desk and waited for the recruit to walk through the door.

There was a knock.

Aubrey put on his serious face and turned around in his swivel chair to face the door. "Come in."

A young man with a big smile entered the room and quietly closed the door behind him. Aubrey nodded at him and told him to sit down.

"What's your name?" Aubrey asked, shifting in his chair.

"Donovan. Donovan James," he replied, settling down in his seat.

"Where you from, Donovan James?" Aubrey opened one of his many file cabinets and searched for a manila folder with specific forms.

"I'm from the projects actually," Donovan said. He sounded quite proud.

Aubrey found what he was looking for and slowly closed the file cabinet. He suddenly felt bad for asking after hearing the answer.

"Oh, I-"

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault," Donovan assured him.

"You don't sound like you grew up in the projects," Aubrey said, handing him the manila folder. "Fill that out please."

"Yeah, everyone says that," Donovan laughed.

Aubrey found it odd that Donovan was laughing about his situation. He just nodded and handed him a pen.

"It actually wasn't as bad as people say it is," Donovan declared, beginning to fill out the forms. "I had a lot of friends."

"So you've lived in Brooklyn all your life?" Aubrey inquired.

"Yep."

"Nice."

"And your music means the world to me, man," Donovan blurted out. "I was trying to keep that in but you're so iconic so...yeah."

Aubrey smiled. "Thanks."

"You definitely lifted my spirits and made me wanna rap."

"You rap?" Aubrey was definitely hiring him.

"I mean, I wanted to be a rapper like you, but it never happened. Life got in the way, you know?"

Aubrey nodded and spun in his chair a couple times to think. Life has got in the way of Aubrey's plans many times. One of the curveballs life threw at him had been blowing up his phone with messages for the past 10 minutes.

"Where are you from?"

Donovan threw Aubrey's question back at him and totally caught him off guard. Aubrey sat up in his chair and cleared his throat.

"I'm from Toronto," he responded, nodding toward the Canadian flag on the wall.

"Oh, that's right. I remember now. The six, right?"

"Yeah." Aubrey smiled at the mention of his city.

"Runnin' through the six with my woes!" Donovan chanted. "That's a good song."

He was definitely hired.

"Why'd you move?" Donovan asked, signing his name at the bottom of the page.

"Reasons." Aubrey wasn't ready to tell him everything yet.

"I understand. I miss your music though, man. You just fell off the face of the earth after Views," Donovan said, handing the completed form to Aubrey. "I mean you did say something about retiring at 35, but you're not even 35 yet."

Aubrey sighed and skimmed over the form, not even caring about the information on the paper. "I know, but my life took a turn. I was ready to move out of the spotlight, you know? I like being behind the scenes better than being on the frontlines."

"True. It's easier. I still listen to your music though."

"I appreciate that, man. Thank you." He figured he'd better get back to talking about business. "You're hired by the way."

Donovan's eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. You're special. Don't even bother filling out the other papers. I trust you. Here's some information about the job and important phone numbers you should probably put on your phone. Do you have a work phone or-"

"Yeah, I bought one the other day...in case I got the job," Donovan said.

"Well you definitely got the job. Can't wait to work with you," Aubrey said standing.

"Yeah, for sure. This is a dream come true, man, thank you," Donovan gushed. "Do I call you Drake or Aubrey or...?"

"I'm not Drake anymore," Aubrey laughed. "You can call me Aubrey but I'm Mr. Graham professionally, you know?"

"Yeah. This is exciting. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Thank you."

"Thank you!"

Donovan smiled one last time and walked out of the office. A victory cheer could be heard down the hall, making Aubrey laugh.

He filed the form Donovan filled out with other important papers and got back to work. Aubrey felt a connection with Donovan for some reason and knew he wouldn't be letting go of him anytime soon.
                              ♤♤♤
After a long day of working, Aubrey arrived at his penthouse at 6:30 PM. The couch never seemed so soft. The lights were dimmed and the sun was setting, enhancing the moment. He closed his eyes and relaxed for just a moment.

Then the doorbell rang. Aubrey made some indistinct grumbling noises and dragged himself to the door.

"Who is it?" he yawned.

"Me and Shiloh!"

Aubrey leaned his head on the door and drew in a deep breath. This was the wrong time for this.

"Okay!" He tried to put some happiness in his voice for Shiloh.

He opened the door and forced a smile. Even though he wasn't really happy to see them.

A/N: Keep scrollin fam, I wouldn't do that to you lol...are you crying yet, Isabelita???