Save Me

Chapter 15

As Jared was answering the last few questions, out of the corner of my eye I happened to catch Emma pop back in the room. Things were winding down and I knew everyone would be moving on to take their pictures so I assumed that's why she was here. When she saw us, she gave a little wave then began to make her way around the room to us which caught me a bit by surprise.

"Hey Vivie." Emma said quietly looking around the room, "How's the meet and greet going?"

"Hi." I smiled, crossing my arms in front of me, "Good. I think it's just about over."

It was obvious she didn't want to draw any attention to herself or to us but coming over to chat did that anyway. There was almost an immediate reaction when one of the girls from yesterday saw her standing with us talking. Like dominos, the little whispers and glances in our direction started again. I know Emma had to have noticed too, those girls were being so obvious but she ignored them as well. No matter who you are, I can imagine it would be hard to be in her shoes. She was close to Jared as most assistants are and on top of that, young and cute. I'm sure she's experienced her fair share of hate because of it.

It's all so strange to me. As an outsider seeing this behavior play out in front of me, I realized that anyone who is particularly close to Jared in any way is watched like a hawk and their actions, however mundane were analyzed for meaning too. Even if you didn't want to fed into the gossip, in many ways there was nothing you could do. It was going to happen anyway.

"It was such a beautiful day, did you guys get to enjoy any of it?" I asked, making polite conversation.

"Not really." she shrugged, "There won't be a break for awhile but that's okay."

Our conversation was just small talk but I appreciated that she took the time to chat especially since I'm sure she had more important things to do. She genuinely seemed to want to get to know me a little and it made me feel better. I didn't know what was really going on between Jared and I, if there was anything at all besides the obvious but I was hopeful her effort was a sign I wasn't being viewed as just some random hook up.

"Are the girls looking forward to the show?" she asked.

"Oh God, yes." I laughed, "They're especially excited because they know they aren't supposed to be here."

This wasn't an all ages show so everyone was over eighteen. It's funny how the forbidden, no matter what it is, is so appealing even when you're very young.

"I bet!" she said as she watched for Jared because I'm sure when he's ready she has to be ready too, "How much longer are you guys in Chicago?"

"My brother is picking the girls up tomorrow afternoon then I'll be leaving on Monday for Africa."

"Oh wow, that cool." she seemed surprised, "Africa is amazing."

Changing the subject away from me, "You must be equally exhausted and excited with all your travel for the tour. You guys are going to be all over the world!"

"Oh yeah, it's insane but I love it."

Emma went on to talk a bit about tour life and what she does for Jared. She also told me about the flukey way she fell into the job as his assistant in the first place. Sometimes things really do boil down to right time, right place. The more she spoke, the more it seemed like they were friends as well as employer/employee and I thought that was great. In many ways, I felt that way about Kelli too so I completely understood. It's rare that you can work for someone in such an intimate way, every single day and actually enjoy yourself.