The others stared at him in surprise.

"You know her, Nicky?"

"She- she's the one I saw at the club! The one that's stalking me!" he managed to say, unable to tear his eyes from the figure leaning on the doorway, her arms crossed. Her face remained passive even as she heard the accusation.

"You sure?" Mike asked sceptically.

" Positive- she was watching me all the way through."

"It seems like I have to explain a few things out here," the woman noted. Her voice was strangely rough, almost boyish. Lifting herself off from the leaning position, she walked towards him. Nick fought an urge to back away.

She gave him a disgusted look. "Oh, don't do that, Mr Carter. I don't bite."

Yeah, right. And pigs will fly. He swallowed. "Who... who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked shakily.

Rachael groaned inwardly. This guy was even more strung up then she'd ever imagined. Going for her best I- won't-hurt-you look (which wasn't easy), she held out her wallet with the ID in it. "My name's Rachael Harrison. I'm to be your body guard, Mr Carter."

The look he gave her was almost comical. It was something like stunned, horror and disbelief rolled into one. Here we go again, she thought wryly.

"My what?" he said slowly, staring at her.

"Your prospective bodyguard," she corrected. "I've been asked to take on the job of guarding your person- as well as to figure out-"

"By whom?" he squawked.

" Mr Julian Whitestone, I believe." Was the cool reply.

For several long minutes Nick could only gape at her. Was she kidding? A woman? Protecting him? (Author's note- ouch; Sorry to all you feminists out there.)It would be hilarious if he wasn't the victim of the joke.

He whirled around to find a sea of innocent faces grinning back at him. Brian looked ready to burst.

"This isn't funny!" he exclaimed at last, glaring at his manager.

"Who said I was joking?" Julian said calmly.

Nick struggled to gain some self-control, but lost. "This is going too far!" he exploded, and saw the grins wiped off the faces. "No way- you've got to be out of your minds. I AM NOT GETTING A BODYGUARD AND THAT'S THE END OF IT! Especially not when I'm gonna be protected by a-" he checked himself before he said the fatal word.

"You were saying?" the redhead enquired politely, her tone icy.

"JESUS! I don't believe this!" Nick stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard that it rocked on its hinges. Everyone winced, all except for the redhead, who didn't flinch at all.

"He didn't like it," Brian said shortly after a moment of silence.

"Well, duh," AJ retorted.

Jane smiled apologetically. "Nick's not been in the best of moods lately," she said to Rachael. "I'll try to talk him around."

"I wish you all the luck in the world." Julian said sourly. Then he looked at Rachael thoughtfully. "Would you like to follow me, Miss Harrison? I'd like a word with you."

"Of course," she replied politely and followed him out, determined to tell him that she wasn't interested in the job.

Nick paced around the stage, furious and outraged. God, how humiliating! Of coarse that was why there was all that hush-hush and I-know-something-you-don't-knows, the grins. And all the while that idiot of a manager was doing deals at his back. I knew I couldn't trust him, he thought grimly. He felt betrayed- how could they do this to him! And his own mother!

"Nick."

He whirled around and found his mother standing not far away. He gritted his teeth.

"You knew about this too, mom? Great! That makes the lot of you, doesn't it?" he ground out.

"Stop that," she said sharply. "Nick, just listen to me for a moment." She searched his face. What she saw there didn't give her much hope. "I think you're over-reacting to all this." She said at last.

"Over-reacting?" he nearly screeched. "Mom, I have every right to over react. That Whitestone was deliberately humiliating me. As well as everyone else. And you. Did you guys ever think what I thought was important?"

Jane sighed. "I see I can't reason with you. Not now. Go ahead and sulk. I'll talk to you later."

She turned and walked away, leaving him staring after her.

Rachael soon discovered that Julian Whitestone didn't take no for an answer. For all his aristocratic manners, the man had the instincts of a street fighter. Tall, dark-haired and impeccable in a grey Armani suit, he sat back in his chair, crossed his arms and cut right to the bottom line.

"I'll double your retainer fee."

Rachael regarded her would-be employer thoughtfully. She had some idea from Cassie that show business didn't allow much stretch in budget, and that Julian Whitestone would double his initial offer without wincing told her that there was more to this particular job then the man had admitted.

There always was, she thought. Aloud, she said, "It isn't a matter of money- my specialty is extraction under hostile conditions, not baby-sitting."

Both turned at the sound of a small laugh. It was the blonde woman that apologised to her several minutes ago.

"That's what my son's afraid of, Miss Harrison. Being baby-sited at the age of 20." She said lightly. Rachael said nothing.

Annoyance flicked across Julian Whitstone's face before it became expressionless again. "Maybe in this case you're right, Jane. Come in- maybe you'll be more successful then I've been in convicting Miss Harrison to provide Nick protection."

Jane Carter walked into the room. Rachael saw traces of the son in the mother's eyes and smile. She frowned slightly. The face brought back some recognition. She couldn't remember who it was.

"Please reconsider, Miss Harrison," Jane pleaded with her. "I don't know how much Julian told you about these calls my son received, but they worry me-us-greatly."

She's seen these cases before. It was usually the parents or someone related close that asked her to take on a job- the client themselves had too much pride to stoop that low. Rachael usually agreed with most of them, but this one- even with the doubled fee- she thought it was unnecessary; they had five securities already. Good ones too. Surely another one wouldn't make any difference.
Would it?

"He mentioned that a fan got hold of his unlisted number and made some highly erotic remarks." She said slowly.

Jane sniffed. "Erotic? They're obscene. The fan's a pervert." (AN- no offence to any fans reading this.)

"I agree that it's wise to provide your son with security, Mrs Carter. Until the police tracks her down, that is."

"Then why are you so reluctant? I've seen your files- you have excellent records. Julian told me that you're one of the best."

Harrison smiled slightly. It wasn't a nice smile. More- chilly. " You flatter me, Mrs Carter-"

" Please, it's Jane."

"Alright. Jane. I'm just one of the best." She said modestly, then shrugged. "I just don't think I'm the right man- woman for the job." She corrected, shooting a glance at Julian. "Besides, I don't think your son won't be very happy even if I agree."

"You're right. I definitely won't." Said a taut voice from the doorway. Rachael turned and saw the tall blonde boy standing there. Judging by his expression, he had heard the whole conversation. Then she knew whom him and his mother reminded her of- memories came flooding back and she struggled to push it out of her mind. Not now. She couldn't deal with it now.

Nick saw Julian seated behind his desk, then his mother, but his eyes were fastened on- what was her name again? Oh, that's right- Rachael Harrison.

For the first time that afternoon, he examined her closely. She sat beside Jane, her pose relaxed and easy, legs crossed. Her deep auburn hair was tied back, highlighting the broad forehead, the straight and slightly hooked nose, the hard-set jaw line. And the scar. A trail of white started from her temple getting fainter as it ran all the way down to her throat. It stood out from her lean, tanned face. Whatever it was, the injury must have been severe. But it was her gaze that unnerved him the most; he had been treated with various looks before- adoration, hysteria, respect, annoyance, and even envy. Cool dismissal and disinterest wasn't one of them. He was slightly offended, and a little intrigued.

He turned his attention back to Julian, feeling his anger returning. "Alright. I heard that this was your idea. May I ask you why I wasn't informed?" he asked with deliberate sarcasm.

Julian's features took on a hard edge. Rachael got the feeling that the two weren't fond of each other.

"You're always so adamant about preserving your privacy, Nick. I knew you might object to having someone with you 24 hours a day." He said coldly. "I thought it best not to discuss the matter with you until I ascertained Miss Harrison's availability and finalise our arrangements."(AN- my vocabulary is stretching here....)

My God, is he an aristocrat by any chance? Rachael thought wryly. He certainly sounds like one.

"You were right. I do object to Miss Harrison's presence 24 hours a day," Nick replied, his tone too sweet. "So you can un-finalize your arrangements." He crossed his arms. "I could fire you for this, Whitestone. You're skating on thin ice."

Rachael thought about setting them both straight. She hadn't agreed to any arrangements, final or otherwise. She opened her mouth to speak, but Julian got there first.

"I'd like you to think about this," he said to Nick in a more reasonable tone. "You know how important you are to-"

"Yes, I know. To the business." Came the curt reply. Rachael looked up sharply. There was a faint but recognisable bitterness in his eyes. She sat there, lost in thought.

Julian's mouth thinned. "I was going to say, how important you are to the entire group. I don't like the idea of some obsessed fan worrying you and disrupting your life."

"Or the tour," Nick added grimly, his voice soft. His eyes held his manager's for a long time. Rachael could almost feel the clash of will between the two. She began to make some quick adjustments. She had been right when she had guessed that there was more then what appeared on the surface of this job, and now her curiosity was fanned into life.

His face tight, Julian turned to Jane. "I give up. You talk to him. Evidently, I can't any more." He said resignedly, getting up from his seat.

Rachael watched as Jane got up and went towards her unrelenting son, speaking in low murmurs. She looked out the clear blue Florida sky, thinking.
Okay, she thought, I could this; I could spend two months with this guy, find out whoever's crazy enough to bothering him with whispering obscenities over the phone, and generally wait on him from dawn till night.
Assuming, of course, he agree to protection... and to playing this particular game by her rules. Something told her that it would be difficult.