A Day In The Life ||The Beatles

Chapter 4

Being Jean Shrimpton's assistant wasn't an easy task. And no, it wasn't because she treated Fleur poorly or snapped at her or gave her too many odd commands. It was none of the above. Fleur even considered herself to be Jean's friend. Fleur had grown accustomed to Jean and was able to tell when she wasn't feeling a hundred percent well.

Today was one of those days. Chrissie, the younger Shrimpton sister, was in Jean's studio, glued to the phone. And from where Fleur stood, she could hear Chrissie fighting and Jean listening on, telling her sister she deserved better. Fleur thought about it sometimes. Yes, Chrissie's boyfriend happened to Mick Jagger but while he was in a relationship, he was probably shagging someone on the side. To think she used to daydream about dating the rockstars. Ha.

The sight of a hysterical Chrissie was far different than the glamorous life Fleur had imagined. And the life they showed the public for that matter. But working for Jean helped her. It helped for her silly dreams to come to an end because they were just that, silly dreams. And it helped see things as they truly were for those that were in the media.

While Fleur was quite grateful for the eye opening, it was a bit of an inconvenience. Shuffling in place nervously, she wondered how it would be best to get Jean's attention. The model was so attentive to her heartbroken sister, but Fleur needed to do her job. And there was a meeting Jean needed to get to in half an hour.

Chrissie sniffled into her handkerchief, phone pressed to her ear and shooting a glare in Fleur's direction. Fleur cringed at the sight make up stained sight. Just as Jean finally glanced at Fleur, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the room. Fleur was ready to rip her hair out by the roots but plastered a smile on her face.

She did what was expected of her and hurried to the front door of the flat. She was preparing a speech that would send away the unwanted visitor when she opened the door. All thoughts vanished when she looked at the man in front of her.

Paul. Paul McCartney stood there with hands in his pockets and a kind smile on his face. And all Fleur could do was stare. It was ridiculous; absolutely so ridiculous. She was the assistant of a supermodel, she had plenty of experience working with celebrities. But the worst part was that this wasn't even the first time she met Paul. Far from it.

"Oh, hi, Fleur," he said warmly. "I was wondering if Mick was around?"

"He's out actually," she weakly replied, finally finding her voice. She bit the inside of her cheek and forced herself to look Paul in the eye. Think of anything else, she thought. Think of Chrissie, crying over her stupid rockstar boyfriend.

She was at a loss of what to say to Paul's furrowed eyebrows when Jean spoke up from behind her. "What do you want with Mick?" Fleur turned to see Jean standing up, cold expression on her face and crossed arms. With her angry mood and tall stature, she could be very intimidating.

"It's fine, Jean," Chrissie said from her spot on the couch. Her watery gaze turned to Paul, who was now looking very uncomfortable in his place right outside the doorway." I don't know when Mick will be back, Paul. Come have a word with him on the phone." She stretched her arm out, offering to hand over the phone in her hand.

Paul hesitated, both hands coming up as if to shake away the offer. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, I'm glad you did," Chrissie replied, her voice shaking. Tossing the phone away from her, it bounced a couple of times on the couch cushions before landing still.

Paul turned towards Fleur and spoke in a low voice. "Are they going at it again?"

"When aren't they?" Fleur replied. Paul snorted at her remark and went inside of the flat. Fleur stood frozen for a moment before closing the front door. She hadn't wanted to make him smile, or anything like it. Far from it, she wanted to ignore him.

But his almost smile made a light ignite inside of Fleur. They entered the living room and Fleur was happy to see that Chrissie was no longer talking on the phone. Instead, she seemed lost in conversation with Jean. Fleur tried not to overhear the conversation but heard snippets here and there. They were of course, talking about Mick.

Paul made his way to the phone, already forgotten on couch beside Chrissie. His eyebrows knitted together before he cleared his of it. He looked at Fleur as she watched her watch. She was trying to appear patient, but was failing miserably.

"Do you want anything to drink, Paul?" Chrissie asked.

"No, I need to get going in a bit," he replied. Finally, he brought the phone up to his ear only to hear the repeated tone. Letting out a sigh, he placed the phone back on the receiver. He looked uncertain before speaking. "Will you all be attending Mick's party? I hope you can make it," to Fleur he turned. "You too, Fleur."

"Who is throwing the party?" Jean asked, eyes widening to comical size.

Paul seemed to immediately realized he said the wrong thing; luckily Fleur stepped in. "We have to get to a meeting," she interrupted. Jean looked away from Paul and then to Fleur, before standing up.

Paul managed a sigh, mouthing a thank you. Fleur helped Jane gather her things before getting her out of the door, already five minutes late to the meeting they would have to get to. This was Fleur's life. It wasn't pretty, but sometimes, there were good moments. But leaving Paul behind wasn't one of them.