The Premiere Day

Chapter 2

The next afternoon, Joe picked Ben up at the airport and they went to Joe's house, where Ben would stay for the next days. He slept for a few hours and, after waking up, called the assistants that he had talked with previously. Their names were Natalie and Diana and they would meet the guys at a coffee shop that was close to Joe's house.

Two hours later, they arrived at the coffee shop, and didn't have to wait too much time, because the assistants got there only five minutes later. When Ben saw them entering the place, he recognized them from the pictures the agency had sent him. He waved at them, so they could see where they were seated, and the two women walked towards their table.

"Hello, girls" Ben greeted them, getting up. "Joe, this is Natalie", he said, pointing to the redheaded girl, "and that is Diana", and pointed at the blonde one. "They'll be our assistants for the next days".

"Hi!" Joe said.

"Hi, Joe," they said at the same time. "I mean, Mr. Mazzello," Diana corrected immediately.

Joe smiled. They seemed to be around his age, and he thought there was no need to call him that way, with such formality.

"You can call me Joe!" he said. "No 'mister' required".

"Okay," they said, laughing. "We call Ben Ben, because he said it was ok, but since we didn't know you, we wondered which one would be more appropriate: Joe, Joseph or Mr. Mazzello", Natalie added.

They laughed for a while, and Ben called the waiter, so they could order what they wanted. After everybody was ready and sat, he started to talk again.

"Okay, guys, let's get down to business. How can you help us, girls? Since Joe never had an assistant, it would be nice to introduce him to this great new world."

"Right", Natalie was the first to talk. "It's important to make clear that we're not Andy Sachs and we know that you're not Miranda Priestley", she said, referring to "The Devil Wears Prada" and making everyone laugh. "We won't be with you 24/7, you don't need that."

"We don't work with people who need that", Diana added. "They usually have, uhm... How can I say it..." she was trying to be polite. "Well, exquisite needs."

"You mean, bizarre", Joe corrected, looking serious but secretly trying to sound funny.

"Exactly", Diana said smiling and rolling her eyes. "That's not for us."

"Thank goodness", Joe sighed, dramatically, placing his right hand over his heart and looking relieved.

"We can recommend stylists, if you do not have one", Natalie explained.

At that moment Joe interrupted. "I have, but he must be very busy, and since I didn't know I was going to this premiere with Ben, I didn't contact him sooner".

"That's ok. We can call him, and based on what you like and knowing it'll be an afternoon event, I'm pretty sure he'll be able to send us some suggestions so we can discuss them with you".

"What if the outfit needs adjustments?" Joe asked.

"That's why we're here", Diana said smiling.

"You can do that too?" Joe seemed really surprised.

"That and a few things more..." Natalie added. "You won't need to worry about the transportation, hair or make up. We'll arrange everything."

"I usually do that all by myself", Joe commented, "but sometimes is very tiring, I must confess".

"And we won't babysit you, so you can do whatever you want after the premiere. We'll make sure the driver is available for as much time as you need", Diana spoke again.

"That sounds perfect" Ben said, already thinking about the post-premiere party.

"Is there anything else you need?" Natalie asked, while finishing making notes on her laptop.

"I don't think so, but Ben is the expert here" Joe said, looking at Ben and smiling.

"It's fine by me!" Ben answered. "If we remember something, I'll call you".

"Ok", Diana agreed. "We only need Joe's stylist contact".