Brian threw a cushion at Nick’s head, undoing the work put in to making his hair perfect.
“Brian!” Nick whined, picking up the cushion and throwing it back.
“What?” Brian laughed, using the same tone. Nick shot him a look. “So, what happened with Sophie?” Nick looked up in confusement. “I mean, she left to look for you. You come back absolutely fine, not saying anything about it… but the next time I see her she has a gash on her forehead. What’s the deal?”
“Well… to be honest… I can’t tell.” Nick had no idea as to why he couldn’t tell, he just felt it would be wrong.
“Why? Did you attack her or something?” Brian joked.
“No!” Nick stood up.
“Nick! I was kidding!” Brian said, surprised by his friend’s abrupt response. He sighed and stood up, “Come on, we better get going. I don’t reckon being late would make a great impression.” Nick nodded, following Brian out of the room.
“Oh, hey guys,” I said, coming down the hallway towards their room. “Ellen wanted me to give these to you. For tomorrow night – I think she said.” I held out the piles of clothes, one for Nick and one for Brian. Brian took his.
“Thanks.” He examined the trousers. “Do you know if she lengthened them?” I nodded,
“Yep.” I grinned, “Actually I did them – I’m so proud!” He laughed,
“Well, thank you.” He ran back to the room, putting the clothes down on the bed.
“Here ya go Nick. Ellen said if you have a problem with the trouser length, then go and see her.” I looked up at him, “And she told me to tell you off for not going to the fitting in the first place – so, if she asks, I really laid into you.” He smiled, taking the clothes from me.
“Right… thanks.” There was an awkward silence for a moment.
“Nick! Hurry up, or we’ll be in serious trouble,” Brian called from their room, a second later appearing and walking towards us.
“So, where are you going tonight?” I asked Brian as he waited for Nick.
“We’re meeting the possible director of our next video – we’re supposed to make a good impression, so that he wants to work for us. Though Nick thinks that it should be him trying to make the good impression.”
“Too right,” I smiled, “The video will reflect on you.” Brian nodded,
“I guess. But still, we wouldn’t want to be known for being late.”
“Yeah… well, I should go. I have some calls to make.” I smiled, “Good luck, or whatever, with the director.”
“Actually,” Brian touched my arm to stop me leaving, “I had something I wanted to ask you…”
“Yeah?” I replied, knowing it would have something to do with Nick.
“The other night… what –”
“Okay Bri, I’m ready,” Nick said, half jumping on his friend as he ran up the hallway. I smiled to them both,
“I’ll talk to you later… have fun.” I walked away, unnerved at how easy I found it to get along with Brian. He seemed to bring out the chattiness in me. But Nick. He scared me. Not scared me by how he acted, or seemed. But scared me because his life was in my hands. I was supposed to save him from whatever it was that was acting as a threat to him. Lying in bed, having spoken to Jonathan about that days events, I concluded that while it would be okay to befriend Brian, I could not become remotely close to Nick. Personal feelings have no place when it comes to business.
I carefully hung up the costumes in the order needed for performances. My mind was wandering on to what I could be doing if I hadn’t been forced into this position when my mobile started ringing. I took it from it’s safe place in my pocket and answered.
“Hello Sophie, it’s Mr. Fox.” This was the first time he had called since first meeting him.
“Hi… what can I do you for?” I heard him clear his throat before speaking,
“Bit of a problem. Not too serious, but should be dealt with nonetheless. An old girlfriend’s back on the scene. Nick has pretty much taken her back – but unfortunately I doubt her intentions are to have a simple, loving relationship. I need you to dispose of her.” He must have heard my sharp intake of breath upon his words and quickly continued. “We just need her out of his life. Not completely disposed of – I’m sorry if I startled you with my careless wording.”
“Oh,” I didn’t hide my relief. “How exactly do you propose I ‘dispose’ of her?”
“That’s down to you my dear. Speak to Jonathan. He’ll have the details you need… this may not seem life threatening, but her presence could prove as a serious distraction, leading to more serious matters coming to a head.”
“Okay,” I replied, trying to finish hanging the clothes in place. “I’ll call Jonathan A.S.A.P.”
“Good. Sophie, I forgot to mention it before, but seeing as I am supposed to be your uncle maybe you should call me that. My forename is Andrew. So Uncle, or Andrew or even Uncle Andrew will be fine… and much more safe in the long run.”
“Okay Uncle,” I said, a smile on my face at this man’s seriousness.
“I’ll call again if anything more develops.” Without a goodbye the line went dead.
“Charming!” I said sarcastically, slipping the phone back into my pocket. I hurried to finish my job so that I could contact Jonathan. Finally hanging up the final costume, I sat down at one of the benches, which was along side a table, that ran adjacent to the wall of the venue’s backstage area. I pulled out a pen and a pad of paper from my bag – which I carried with me at all times (for emergencies such as this) – then dialled Jonathan’s number.
“Hello Sophie, you ready?” Knowing not to question how he knew it was me, or how he knew what it was I wanted, I quickly replied and began scrawling the details down on a piece of paper. Nick’s on/off girlfriend was called Lana. She was 18, from Orlando – apparently the daughter of a very rich business man. Jonathan, being his kind and thoughtful self, had left it up to me to decide on the method of getting the girl out of Nick’s life – seeing as he was my ‘project’.
“Whatcha up to Soph?” I almost screamed as the voice completely startled me out of my serious and concentrated trail of thought.
“Jesus Nick! You scared me!” I exclaimed, trying to quickly conceal what was written on my paper.
“Sorry,” He laughed. “What’s that?” he asked, trying to get a look at what I had written. I snatched it away, panicking. He held up his hands. “Okay…” I quickly put it into my bag, then faced Nick,
“I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s a private letter. And I’d prefer it if no one saw it… you know, except the person that it’s for.” Nick nodded,
“It’s okay… I mean, I shouldn’t have been so nosy. Is it for your ex-boyfriend?” I frowned – my ex-boyfriend? “I… sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. It must be a bit of a sore subject for you…” Nick said quickly. “But I want you to know, that if you ever need someone to talk to, I’d be willing to listen.” I was still really confused, but nodded,
“Thanks… how did you know?” I had to figure out what he was babbling about somehow.
“Oh,” he seemed a little flushed, and sat down at the table, gesturing for me to do the same. I did and he smiled, “We were all told not to say anything. But your Uncle, I mean Mr. Fox, told Ellen about what happened with your last boyfriend, and she thought we should know…”
“What did she tell you happened?” I asked, intrigued to find out what specifics they had been told. Jonathan had just said problems in my personal life – nothing descriptive. Nick seemed a little uncomfortable, and I could see why I had been employed to look out for him. Although he was tall, and appeared muscular (not that I noticed or anything), he appeared quite self conscious and uncomfortable with confrontation.
“Well… what I heard was, and I don’t know if it was right – you know how people change information?” I nodded. “I heard that your last boyfriend used to hit you…” he looked me over carefully, his self consciousness fading, “but from what I’ve seen you can look out for yourself, so I doubt that that’s true.” I smiled, despite the fact that I had decided to keep my distance from him, well as far as my job could possibly allow.
“Well Nick,” I said after a moment, “I’m gonna tell you something that, I expect you have said – or at least thought – quite a few times in your career, that I wish my private life to stay private.” I went to leave, but Nick held on to my arm,
“I don’t understand you… but I’m gonna figure you out. There’s something about you…” I shook his hand off of me,
“You do that Nick – but you’ll never come close!” I hadn’t meant to even give that much away, and his face showed the surprise. “See ya around,” I said before walking away, pulling out my phone to call Jonathan. He’d know what to do - he always knows what to do.
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The Protector
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