by TM Watkins
El offered to search through the staff that they had, maybe they could do a bit of shuffling and find someone to watch over the boys. In the meantime, he'd have to take what was on offer, and Jerry wasn't impressed.
He wasn't a sexist man, but he didn't think it was wise to bring in someone young and female around five rock gods who lived and breathed all things sex. Jerry hoped that she was gay, that would be the only thing that could save her from these five.
Soon he’d be talking to her in a video conference. If she passed the initial interview with him, El would book a flight and send her to him.
Jerry would have to have yet another talk to the boys about behaving themselves and what is construed as harassment. He couldn't fob off their antics with excuses that they were rock stars. They were employers, and they had to behave themselves.
His call to the flight employment agency was met with a lot of heated words, after a few threatening words were passed, they agreed that male staff was the way ahead.
Jerry stood from his seat and walked over to Jaxon's, dumping the phone onto his lap.
“This is yours to answer, smart ass. Every time it rings with someone wanting a hookup, you are to tell them they have the wrong number. No being funny, no directing them elsewhere. Just tell them that they've got it wrong and end the call. Do you understand me?”
Jaxon looked up at one angry man and nodded quietly. As Jerry thumped his way up the aisle of the bus, Jaxon looked at Fraser. They both grinned but did not laugh or snigger.
Jerry moved to the bathroom, raiding the first aid kit in search of some pills. Something that would kill the headache. After having several boxes of condoms fall onto him as he opened the cabinet, he cleaned up what could only be described as an avalanche of condoms off the floor.
“Should have bought shares in this company.” He grumbled. “I'd be richer than the queen.”
Once he'd popped the pills and searched out a bottle of water, Jerry looked for the remaining band members. They were at the rear of the bus. Austin and Evan were playing on the gaming console, Curtis was asleep on the lounge. Or passed out.
“You've got interviews this afternoon, is he going to be with it?”
Austin shrugged, his eyes pinned to the television. He scoffed a few swear words as Evan hooted with delight.
They both turned and watched as Jerry tried to wake Curtis. He poked and prodded, even checked for a pulse.
“Well, he's alive. That's a bonus, right?”
“Unless you take his phone away and cut all contact from those dead shits, you are never going to kill the demons.”
Jerry nodded as he sat on the seat next to Austin. He could see the offending phone in the back pocket of Curtis's pants, the thing was flicking with the message received light. No doubt one of his acidic family members has sent him a message.
“How is it that he can emancipate from them at seventeen and still be in contact with them at twenty?”
Austin shrugged. He had no answer for that one. His parents loved and adored him, as he did for them. He didn't have any siblings and didn't know what it was like to stand in someone's shadow.
Jerry sighed as the bus slowed by the hotel in Glasgow, this would be the first of many hotels. This was his life, and he loved it, but there were times when he wished to be at home, doing nothing at all. Retirement sounded fun, but Jerry knew that he would become bored pretty quickly. So, for a few more years, he'd live this life.
For the afternoon, the band was being interviewed by a television company from another country. Jerry knew there was an email about it somewhere, he didn't know where though.
He missed Sam already.
After checking into the hotel and into their rooms, Jerry began the arduous task of getting the boys ready. He wondered how Sam ever coped. They were late, Jaxon moved at the pace of a snail, and Curtis was leaning against a wall, looking like death warmed up.
“You know what, you go back to bed. Jack can stay with you.”
Curtis nodded and slid along the wall to his door. Jerry held his hand out to stop Jack for a moment, waiting for Curtis to shut the door.
“He is not to have a single drop of alcohol today. If there is a minibar, then call the front desk and have them remove it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jack entered the room, and Jerry turned to the remaining four.
“Right, off we go, and on the way there we can have a chat about Curtis and his alcoholism.”
They all looked at each other, wondering what else there was to say. Everyone agreed he had a problem, but until Curtis actually admitted it, nothing they did was ever going to help him.
They'd hidden it from him, he found his own. They took it off him, he'd get angry and start throwing punches.
But they knew that it was becoming a problem. He'd been ordered out of an interview; the world would be watching and would want to know why Curtis wasn't there.
The interviewer’s assistant looked at the four band members and then frowned at her notes.
“I was told, five members.”
“Yes, one has been detained. Four will be sufficient for you.” Jerry said.
“Sure.”
She gestured to the chairs that were lined up in a row in front of the camera. One chair was moved away, and the other rearranged to make it look like they were expecting four members and not five.
“Take a seat, I'll let Max know you're here.”
The band members made their way to the chairs, Jerry lingered in the background as he read over the predetermined questions. As the young woman returned with a man, he put the questions back on the chair and waited off to the side.
Jaxon looked over at the woman, offering a sly grin as she caught his gaze. Instantly she returned it, feeling the flush of heat caused by his attention. The interview continued for ten minutes. When it was done three of the band members remained to talk to the fellow off camera while they waited for the next interviewer to arrive.
“Hi.”
The young woman gasped, clutching at the material of her dress on her sternum.
“Oh, you frightened me.”
“Sorry.” Jaxon offered with a smile. “I just thought I'd come and say hello.”
She smiled, as she leaned on the wall behind her, she began to twirl the end of her ponytail in her fingers. Jaxon grinned harder, thinking that this one was already in the bag.
“Maybe we could go somewhere more private to talk?”
“Sure.” She offered with a giggle.
Then she showed him out of the room and into a disused office, locking the door behind them. He helped her out of her dress and pretty pink underwear, looking upon the tight body that laid back on the desk.
“We're going to have to be quick, okay?”
She nodded, and Jaxon happily slipped on the condom and delved straight in. No warm up, no toying or building up. Time did not permit such things even if he really did want to.
After five minutes of her soft moans, Jaxon couldn't take it any longer. He let out a guttural groan as he came. Unable to find a lipstick, they settled on the pen that was sitting on the desk. Jaxon marked her stomach with the date, and he'd even put the word interview on her stomach.
“Is that so you remember me?” She asked as she held up the condom, watching as he took the photo.
“Sure thing darling.”
With a giggle and a grin, she began to re-dress again, Jaxon slipped the condom into his pocket.
“Where's the restroom?”
“Down the corridor to the left, I think. I don't really know, we're not from here.”
Jaxon nodded and once she was dressed he opened the door and searched for the restroom to dispose of the condom.
In his travels back to the interview room, he heard the ranting of a man. Jaxon peered around the corner and saw a weasel like man who was doing the yelling at some poor intern. A blonde woman came out of the nearby room and told him to keep it down and to lay off the poor kid. Then mo
re people started to pour out of the room, buzzing around the pretty blonde like flies.
“Or bees,” Jaxon whispered as he narrowed his eyes. “Buzzing like bees.”
He watched as the man did as he was told, sending the kid away with a flick of disinterest. It looked like she had been interviewed as well, Jaxon couldn't get over how many helpers she had.
“She's like the frickin' queen.” He muttered under his breath.
“Jaxon,” Evan called out. “Next guy has arrived.”
He turned from the side corridor and saw him walking closer, stopping when he finally reached the end.
“We've got to get to sound check after this guy, pick up Curtis on the way. If he's coherent, maybe we need to get a fill in for tonight.”
“Dude, we can't do that. We've never done that. It's not right.”
Evan shrugged, as he turned away, returning to the interview room. He agreed with Jaxon, but they couldn't cancel the gig if Curtis wasn't up to the job.
“You there.”
Jaxon turned back to the other corridor, seeing the weasel approaching. “Yeah?”
“I need a soy latte, pronto.”
Jaxon sneered at him.
“Do I look like your servant, rat boy?”
The man stared at him, rather shocked.
“I don't work here, I was here for an interview. So, you can take your soy latte and shove it up your ass.”
Jaxon looked over the man's shoulder to the blonde who was watching with interest, frowning at the situation.
“Better figure out how to get that soy latte, or you might just get fired.”
He turned with a smug smile, finding Evan in the room, leaning on the wall while he waited for everyone to get moving.
“Where did you go?”
“Oh, I made a little deviation.”
Jaxon pulled out his phone and showed Evan.
“You bastard,” Evan said with a laugh.
Jerry was at them looking like he was about to have a meltdown.
“Where the hell were you?”
“Just went for a walk, you know, get some fresh air.”
He narrowed his eyes as he assessed him, not believing the response for a second. But it didn't matter, he was here, and he had returned from wherever it was that he had been.
“Next time can you please take security with you?”
“Only if you get some hot chicky babe guards.”
“With short skirts,” Evan added. “And low-cut tops. Aww, hell. Just tell them to get around in a bikini.”
Jerry grimaced and ignored the comment. He really did miss Sam.
Chapter 10
Jerry looked at the young woman in front of him and wondered what had gone through El’s mind when she suggested putting this kid on the plane. Was she even eighteen? Jerry frowned, looking at her credentials that had been emailed to him. One identification card, she was barely eighteen. It made life difficult for Jerry because if they were in a country that had a drinking limit above her age, she couldn’t go into the establishment. It was bad enough trying to get the band into places like that.
There was a list somewhere, Jerry knew that it existed because he’d heard Sam mention it. The countries and their age limits for drinking. Before he decided on this candidate, he’d have to find this document.
Aside from the fact that she was possibly too young for a lot of drinking establishments, she was everything that those little leaches lusted for. Young, pretty and enamored.
This one would be on her knees or her back before the end of the day, and Jerry didn’t want that. She was an employee, and like Sam, the boys had to be respectful of them. It didn’t matter what their gender was, these five idiots had to learn the boundaries.
But there would be no maintaining of boundaries if the girl in front of him was eager to have all five of the band members between her legs. Maybe she’d be different. He couldn’t say. The interview was progressing reasonably well, but Jerry was getting subtle signs that she was a huge fan of the band. In some respects, it was good, in others, it was something that sent his internal alarm crazy.
So, Jerry decided that he needed to know and asked her straight out. Yes, she loved the band and it would be one of those life goal ticks that would make her a happy young lady. Jerry smiled and nodded, wondering if she was nervous or if she said it to get the job.
Either way, it didn’t matter. Her age was the biggest issue here. She needed to be beside the band constantly. If she couldn’t get into a venue due to her age then she was not fit for the job.
He pretended that there were issues with the internet connection and clicked on the x, closing the screen. With a heavy sigh, he stretched back in the seat, staring at the computer screen. Waiting for El to try and reconnect the call.
They’d go through the motions, and El would figure it out. This was his way of saying that he needed more time. Disconnect the video call. El would try again, but it would fail, she’d tell the girl that they’d make another attempt at a later stage. Picking up his phone, Jerry sent his beloved wife a message.
*Need more time, she might be too young.*
*Thought you’d say that. Problem is, she’s the only option we have at the moment. Why don’t you call Sam and ask him to reconsider?*
Jerry thought about it, wondering if Sam would entertain the idea. There’d be a lot of rules for the five miscreants that were making life interesting for him at the moment. They were subdued because they were trapped on the bus, life for Jerry was easy at the moment. Here, they fended for themselves. And, he didn’t have to worry about their safety, getting them to interviews or performances. Just sit back and relax. Well, not really relaxing. He still had his usual jobs to do.
Hearing sniggers, Jerry looked up from the lounge in the tiny room adjacent to the interview room. The door was open, and he could see through the wall of glass next to it. The band was occupied, he could carry on with his work for a few more minutes.
Looking at his phone, Jerry weighed up the pros and cons of calling Sam and begging him to reconsider. Pro was his return, a definite bonus. He could see that those boys needed an assistant and there weren’t enough hours in the day for him to do it. The con was that Sam might ask for more money or worse, refuse the offer. Paying Sam more money was well within the budget that was set aside for expenses, and he thought that Sam was worth every cent he was paid.
All he had to do was get Sam to agree to meet him, Jerry knew that in person he was more persuasive. Getting up from the lounge, Jerry closed the door so that the call wouldn’t interrupt the interview.
“Jerry?”
“Hello Sam, how are you?”
“Great.”
Jerry frowned momentarily, he thought that maybe Sam wasn’t telling the truth.
“And uh, how are things for you?”
“I’ll be honest with you Sam, I miss you so much.”
Sam laughed.
“That’s why I’m ringing you.”
The laughter died as Jerry took a deep breath in and sighed heavily.
“I want to meet up with you sometime really soon Sam.”
“You’re going to try and convince me to return, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” He admitted.
“Jerry,” Sam said reluctantly.
“I know. What they did was wrong. There is nothing that I can say that will make it different for you. It was humiliating, and I wouldn’t wish it upon my enemy, but I don’t have anyone else. I don’t know how you did it. I have spent one day doing your job, and I can safely say that you are amazing.”
There was silence as Sam thought about it. He’d always had a soft spot for Jerry, the man was a father figure to everyone around him. When he was given the promotion to being the assistant of Night Fire, it was Jerry that offered it to him. Wonderful things like that were made to come from those who knew a person’s true value. Like this. Jerry knew that Sam was worth every single cent he was paid, and as much as Sam didn’t like to ad
mit it, he did enjoy the job. Like all jobs, it had its good moments.
“Tell me something, Jerry. Which ones have you lost so far?”
Jerry huffed with amusement.
“Jaxon disappeared for about half an hour before the interview with the German television show. We might as well consider Curtis to be missing considering that he’s been passed out or almost passed out for most of the morning, he’s missed the interviews. I thought that Fraser had missed the bus, turns out he was sleeping in that cramped storage compartment on the bus.”
“The one at the end of the aisle?”
“Yes, thankfully there wasn’t a door on it, and I saw the foot hanging over the edge.”
Jerry had no idea how he’d gotten up there or why. It was large enough for him and thankfully supported his weight, but it was odd. Putting it down to Fraser being drunk, he moved on.
“That’s a mild morning Jerry. You haven’t suffered nearly enough.”
They laughed, enjoying the mild joke.
“Just meet with me. We’ll be in Glasgow for a couple of days.”
“I don’t have a car, Jerry.”
“I will pay for you to get here and bring your luggage with you because I intend on being very convincing.”
Sam sighed, knowing that he wanted to return. He wasn’t ready to admit that he missed being on the road. He also wasn’t ready to admit that he’d made a mistake and been a little too hasty on his decision to jump ship. Things with Greta were fine, she was still the fireball in bed. She’d rocked his world last night.
But she was the only thing holding him back. He knew that if he said something, Greta would tell him to go and to be happy with what he was doing. She’d be waiting for him, she’d be okay with him competing in the stupid competition. They'd had that conversation last night, Greta wondered what would happen if Sam won. If he beat five rock gods at their own game. Sam watched the excitement grow in her pretty face, her eyes wide with the possibility. Sam wanted to do it just to win, to throw it back in their faces. He knew that they didn't think he could.
