Michael's point of view

Neverland Valley Ranch, Los Olivos, CA.
September 16th, 1990

The day of June's family's departure arrived faster than expected, and I had to admit that, even though I really loved their company, I was kind of relieved that I would finally be able to have some alone time with June. When you look at it, ever since I signed the divorce papers, we didn't have the chance to be with each other, because June's family surprised her - and me - by their presence four days ago.

The both of us had some things to take care of, like the preparation of this public statement I agreed to give so that horrible person can stop blackmailing us. I had still my doubts about who that person was, and even if I didn't tell June, this question was omnipresent in my mind. A few names popped in my head, like Frank's, which I highly doubted because he was supposed to be in jail for domestic violence; Anna's and Matt's, of course, after their last betrayal; Jessica's, but I couldn't wrap my mind around the reason why she'd do it because I already gave her everything she wanted and the person clearly didn't know about our fake marriage; and finally, the most obvious to me was Alex's. The guy clearly said that whatever there was between him and June wasn't over, and after what June told me about him, it totally seemed like something he'd do.

I wanted to be over with all of this, and I knew we couldn't do anything with June's family around because she didn't want to tell them yet. I understood why she didn't want to tell them, but I convinced her that she should tell her mother before we rush headlong into this and do the interview without telling her. I understood Michelle's point when June and her argued about the fact that her daughter wasn't telling her about what was happening in her life. The thing is, June was again hiding it from her, but she swore to me that she just wanted to wait until the date of the statement was settled to tell her.

When I woke up on that morning, I was in a complete different position than when I fell asleep the night prior. This time, I was hugging June from behind with my arms tightly wrapped around her waist. Because of the little visitor we welcomed during the night, I had to sleep alone on my side of the bed this time. June had another person in her arms: Tim. As Jeremy, David and Josh decided the night prior to go out in a club of L.A, June and I gladly volunteered to keep an eye on Tim while his father was gone, so we let him sleep in the main house with us. Josh, being the overprotective father he is, didn't want to go with them at first, while we perfectly knew that he'd love to, just to take a break from his role as a father. We convinced him, and he finally accepted.

June, Tim and I spent a part of the night with Damon and Michelle, and we all played a few board games, and watched The Lion King to please little Timmy...

Okay, and to please me as well.

Disney movies are life.

When Damon and Michelle left us to head to bed around eleven o' clock, little Timmy was exhausted, so June tucked him in bed in the guest room that was the closest from the master bedroom, where she and I would sleep. We both kissed him good night, and went to sleep as well.

Nevertheless, a huge thunderstorm happened during the night, and just like his godmother, the little boy was frightened by the loud noises of the thunder and the lightning that passed through the closed shutters. When both June and I heard the quick knocks on the bedroom's door, she instantly switched on the lamp that stood on the nightstand, quickly put my red shirt (that actually looked like a dress on her) over her almost naked body while I put my t-shirt back on, and went to the door where she welcomed her crying godson.

"I know buddy, it frightens me too," she sincerely said, rocking him back and forth while hugging him tightly. "It's okay to be scared."

Another loud noise happened, and I noticed that both of them jumped a little in surprise, which made me quietly chuckle, because their expressions looked quite alike.

"Can I stay here until the thunder stops?" he shyly asked her, his sobs still present in his voice.

"Of course, buddy. Come on, let's go back to bed," she gently said, taking his shaky hand in hers.

"Is it okay with you, Uncle Michael?" he, once again, shyly asked. "I know you two are in love, so I don't want to bother you."

I slightly laughed at this, "It's okay, bud, you're not bothering us."

June scooted closer next to me, while Tim took place next to his godmother, snuggling close to her. His head was rested on her shoulder, and she was soothing him by rubbing his hair back and whispering him sweet little words. His sobbing stopped a few minutes later, and he drifted back to sleep another few minutes after that. To avoid waking him up, June and I agreed on him spending the night with us.

Apparently, this was not the first time this was happening, June explained to me in a whisper, careful not to wake the little angel that was sleeping in her arms. She explained that, when she babysitted him back in New York when Josh was working late, he would crawl in bed with her, they would watch a movie together, and he would end up sleeping besides her.

She elucidated to me that Tim never had the chance to meet his mother, because she just ran away and abandoned him and Josh to go and live with another guy in Seattle, and that was the reason why she had such a strong connection with her godson. During his stay here, Tim got to tell me all of this from his point of view, and he clearly said that he considered June as his own mother, and apparently, she considered him more like her son than her godson as well.

She was fantastic with him, and I was delighted to see the motherly instinct she already had while she, or should I say we, didn't have kids yet. She succeeded in reassuring Tim in a few minutes while the little boy was scared to death and was sobbing hysterically. Not to mention that, when he knocked on the door, it barely took her a split second to jump out of bed and go open the door.

She knew it was him, because she knew how scared he was of thunderstorms.

I looked at the clock on my nightstand, and noticed it was eight in the morning. My eyes widened a bit because I knew I would be late if I didn't get out of bed at the second. I took my arms off of June's body, careful not to wake her up already, and smiled at the sight before my eyes. June had her right arm around Tim's little frame, the same one that Tim was hugging tightly against his chest.

I hopped out of bed, and tip toed to the closet to pick some black pants, a plain white V-neck t-shirt, a blue shirt and boxers of mine, along with June's yoga pants and a white tank top out of it. I tip toed back to the bed, and laid the clothes I picked up for her on my pillow. Then, I took a pen and a notepad that were on my nightstand, and scribbled a note that said:

"Good morning beautiful,

Put these on, and meet me downstairs as soon as you're awake. I have a kind of surprise for you. Love, Mikey"

I placed it on the clothes I chose for her, and finally made it out of the bedroom, my clothes in my hands. I decided to go in a guest bedroom to get dress and do my morning hygiene routine. In a matter of barely fifteen minutes, I was finished, and headed downstairs where Kai, my personal chef, prepared breakfast for me. As usual, she prepared some fresh orange juice, some french toasts and an apple for me to eat. I kindly thanked her, and she returned in the back of the kitchen to do her thing.

Few minutes passed until I saw a black Volkswagen pull up in Neverland's driveway. I threw my apple core away, and headed outside to meet my guest, who turned out to be June's surprise as well. Actually, I don't know if you could qualify him as a surprise. He can be a real pain in the ass at time, trust me on that one.

"Hey Mike, how are you doin' man?" LaVelle Smith Jr, my friend and choreographer greeted me with a friendly side hug.

"Hey man, I'm great and yourself?" I answered with a smile, breaking our embrace.

"Amazing! So full of energy!" he exclaimed joyfully.

"Go easy on me, I had a short night," I complained with a giggle.

"Man, I told you not to have sex when you know I come the next day," he stopped walking, putting his hands on his hips, giving me a disappointed glare. "Can't you restrain yourself?"

"This is not what I meant, but I'm sorry," I shrugged, smirking. "You'll understand why I can't restrain myself in due time though," I chuckled, patting his shoulder gently before walking past him into the house.

"Wait, when you called me yesterday, you said that you were in the middle of divorce proceedings... So that means there is someone new? Already?" he asked, confused, while following me into the house.

"Um, kind of," I said, twisting my mouth. "It's complicated."

"Well you better explain, because you got me curious!"

"You'll understand soon enough," I giggled.

LaVelle was really confused at that point. It's true I told him the day prior that I was getting a divorce, but I didn't get into details, and he didn't know that I was back with June. To be quite honest I didn't tell a lot of people because I didn't know who I could trust; I didn't even told my family, but I knew my sisters and perhaps my mother knew about us.

Only Quincy and Carson knew. Not even I had told my best friend, Liz, or other of my closest friends. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to scream on top of the roofs that I love June Wellington, but you know just as well as I do that things are not that easy.

Never.

June's point of view

"Morning is here, Auntie June! Wake up, sleepyhead!" I heard Tim's voice saying joyfully while I could feel him jumping on the bed besides me.

"Urghhh, what time is it?" I groaned, putting the pillow over my head.

"It's nine, come on Auntie June, wake up! Uncle Michael left a note for you," Tim exclaimed, keeping on jumping on the bed. "You're so lazy," he giggled.

"What?" I asked, taking the pillow off of my face to look up and down at my godson. "I'm not lazy, but I know someone who's ticklish!" I said playfully, gently tackling Tim on the bed before attacking him with tickles on his belly and neck.

"Ah, n-n-noooo! S-St-Stop Auntie, I'm g-gonna pee on m-myself aaah," he laughed hysterically, trying to push my hands away from him.

"Now who's lazy?"

"No one's lazy, certainly not you!"

"Good boy," I smiled. "Now give me my morning hug."

He didn't waste a second to literally jump in my arms, wrapping his little arms around my neck.

"So where's that note Michael left for me?" I asked, breaking our embrace.

"Here it is," he pointed to Michael's pillow. "Can I go to the bathroom? I have to pee," Tim declared, which caused me to chuckle.

"Of course buddy, you don't have to ask for this. It's right there," I said, pointing to the bathroom's door.

"Thank you!"

Tim ran to the bathroom, as I finally discovered Michael's note. I smiled at it, but at the same time, I was curious what he meant by "a kind of surprise". I mean, whether it is a surprise, or it isn't, there's no in-between, right?

"What do you have in store for me, Jackson?" I asked in a low voice, examining the clothes Michael picked up for me.

I finally got out of bed, and opened the curtains, and noticed the sun was hidden between big, ugly clouds that didn't disappear from the previous night. I stretched a little, and rubbed the tiredness from my eyes when I heard the bathroom door open.

"Did you wash your hands?" I asked Tim who was making his way toward me.

"Auntie, I'm a big boy, of course I washed my hands," he giggled, and I smile at his cuteness. "Can I go see daddy now?"

"Of course, sweetie pie," I cooed, pinching his cheek. "Here, turn on the TV, and wait for me while I get prepared," I instructed, handing him the remote.

He nodded, and did as he was told, as the sweet little boy he is. He sat on the bed with his back resting on the headboard, and began to flip over the channels until he found cartoons to watch.

I took the clothes Michael picked up for me along with some fresh underwears, and went into the bathroom where I brushed my hair and teeth, and got dressed. I decided to let my straight hair down, put didn't forget to put an elastic band around my wrist just in case it bothered me while doing whatever Michael planned for us. I washed my face and put some grapefruit cream on it, and then put a little bit of eyeliner on my eyes and that was all.

I came out of the bathroom barely twenty minutes after, and figured that I should put my sneakers on, considering the outfit Michael chose for me.

"Okay, let's go buddy," I smiled, putting a thin black cardigan over my shoulders. "You don't have your clothes here, right?"

"No, I was already in my pajamas when I got here, don't you remember?" he giggled, following me to the door. "Are you getting old and your memory starts to suck?"

"Me? Old? Never! I was just checking, just to be sure," I winked at him with a smile

"Where's Uncle Michael?" Timmy curiously asked me when we made it to the empty kitchen.

"I have no idea," I admitted. "He must be down in the studio, waiting for me to wake up. He knows I am such a heavy sleeper at times, when I'm not awoken by little monsters."

"I'm not a monster!" he argued back, his mouth open in shock.

"You're not just some little monster, you're my little monster. It makes a huge difference," I whispered to him, and he smiled at my words. "Now come with, I need to find someone to take you to the guest house to your daddy."

"I can go on my own, auntie, I know where it is, you know."

"What if you fall on your way there? Uh-uh, no way you're going there alone."

"Then come with me?"

"I can't buddy, I have to look for Uncle Michael, and it's already late. He is an early bird, so he's probably been waiting on me for a while now," I chuckled a bit. "Oh, look! Here's Pit!" I exclaimed happily, spotting my friend by the window.

"Pitty-Pit!" Tim called once we were outside, which caused me to laugh because of how my godson named Pit.

"Hey, did Jeremy tell you to call me this?" Pit chuckled, leaning down at Tim's height.

"Yes," he answered, chuckling. "It's a funny nickname."

"And what's your nickname?"

"Timmy," he smiled at my friend. "It's not as funny as yours."

"No, but it fits you very well," Pit smiled, straightening up. "Now, what can I do for you, Ms Wellington?"

"Would you please take my godson to the guest house? I don't want him to go there alone."

"Are we being overprotective, princess?"

"Don't laugh at me. Anything could happen to him on his way there, he could broke his ankle, or fall, or... I don't know! Just take him there, please?" I asked, pouting.

"You know I will, don't do that face," he rolled his eyes playfully at me. "Come on little guy, let's go find your daddy!" Pit cheered, lifting Tim from the ground and placing him on his shoulders.

"Whoa! This is so cool!" Tim said, resting his hands on top of Pit's head.

"Oh my God, don't move so much! Are you sure this is a good idea, Pit? I mean, he could fall from your shoulders and - "

"Say goodbye to your auntie, Tim," Pit said, walking away with my godson on his shoulders.

"Bye Auntie June!" he said happily, waiving at me. "Love you!"

"Don't take your hands off of Pit's head!" I scolded him. "Don't play the fool up there! Please be safe!"

"Stop worrying, he's fine!" Pit called in the distance.

"Crazy pants," I muttered under my breath before coming back in the house.

I stopped by the kitchen and drank a glass of fresh orange juice, and grabbed a banana, before looking for one of Michael's maid that could help me find my boyfriend.

"Oh Tiana, hi! Do you know where Michael is?" I asked her, once I swallowed the piece of banana I had in my mouth.

"Ms Wellington," she greeted, smiling. "He is in the dance studio."

"Okay, thank you!"

As I made my way down there, the music got louder at every step I was taking. To my surprise, it wasn't Janet's music that was playing for once, but it was Michael's, and it was an instrumental that everyone could recognize since the very first note.

Billie Jean.

As I entered the studio expecting to see only Michael in there, I noticed another man's presence as well, and swallow the remaining of my banana with wide eyes.

I squinted my eyes to try and have a better look of the person, and when he turned around, I recognized LaVelle Smith Jr.

LaVelle was one of Michael's dancer during his Bad Tour, and apparently, they kept in touch after the tour and kept on working together.

I remember when I was on tour with them, LaVelle was always the first one to invite us over to his room to have a couple drinks and play some games just to relax. Then, there were nights where I longed for Michael to come back in the suite for hours while they were rehearsing some new moves for the show along with the other dancers. I would wake up the next morning and ran into him in the hotel's hallways, and he would tease me about the fact that he kept Michael for himself all night long.

It this supposed to be a part of the surprise? Or should I run and hide? I asked myself.

"Ah! Here she is!" Michael cheered, stopping the music with the remote once he spotted me.

"Oh man, June? Is that you?" LaVelle asked, making his way up to me, squinting his eyes.

"Oh um, LaVelle, hi!" I said, giving him an exaggerated forced smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Um I - um, I'm Mike's choreographer now, so he invited me over to work... Damn girl! How have you been? I'd give you a hug if I wasn't all sweaty."

I exhaled loudly, relieved that Michael invited him over, and that everything was actually planned. However, I was a little bit disappointed he didn't tell me he was planning on telling LaVelle about us. I mean, we had to be careful about what we said to people, after the notes we received. We knew someone was after us, and we perfectly knew that we couldn't trust anybody, and I was afraid Michael had been too naïve again.

"I've been great, thank you! What about you? It's been quite a while."

"Yeah, I've been good! Wow, it's crazy," LaVelle said quite in disbelief.

"Well, sweaty or not, you're getting a hug," Michael smirked, and lifted me up from the ground, pulling me against his sweaty, sexy body. "Good morning babe," he whispered in my ear while putting me down.

"Ew, you're gross!" I scolded him, hitting his arm playfully with a smirk.

"So she's the one?" Michael's friend asked him, and he nodded with a smile in response. "You didn't find someone new, actually, but someone... Old."

"Come on! It's the second time I'm being called old in a matter of barely ten minutes."

"You know what I meant," LaVelle chuckled. "I'm happy for you guys. I knew you belonged together."

As Michael probably knew he would, LaVelle didn't make a huge fuss about the fact that we were back together while people didn't know he was getting a divorce yet, and I was relieved about this.

Michael smiled at his friend and thanked him before hugging my waist from behind.

"Go away, you're sweaty as hell!" I whined, taking a step forwards to escape Michael's hold.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. I'm sure you don't mind him sweating when he's performing in the bedroom," LaVelle wiggled his eyebrows at us, and I laughed out loud. "And from now on, don't keep him up all night when I'm coming over the next day. He's slow as hell since I got here."

"This is not my fault. I got him addicted," I chuckled and winked at him.

"Yeah, I understand now when you said it was... hard for you to restrain yourself," he said, nudging Michael with a smirk. "Oh, no pun intended. Of course."

The three of us laughed, and I turned around to Michael, "Now, Jackson, what's the surprise?"

"He is," he said, pointing at LaVelle. "You said you missed dancing, and after you kicked your teacher out, I figured you could practice with the both of us."

"Really?"

"Really?" LaVelle repeated after me, which caused me to chuckle again. "You really kicked your dance teacher out?"

"She was annoying," I shrugged, and the three of us laughed. "I swear she was a tyrant."

"I can be one as well. Right Mike?"

"Oh yeah," Michael sighed over-dramatically. "But he's really good at what he does. So, what do you both think about this?"

"Yeah of course, I'd love to work with the both of you! But I'm surprised, you never mentioned you were a dancer, June."

"Yeah, this wasn't something I mentioned back in the days. But I really want to keep on dancing. Even though I'm not half as good as you guys, I'd like to give it a try."

"Don't listen to her. She's gifted," Michael said to his friend, and I rolled my eyes playfully. "She wants to dance for fun, so I figured that she could do the same routines as us without taking it seriously."

"Yeah, of course. Alright then! Let's go back to work! We'll catch up later," he rubbed his hands together. "We've got some things to do!" LaVelle said, turning back to the spot he was before I interrupted them.

As I was about to follow him, Michael grabbed my hand and pulled me flush against his body.

"Wait a sec, man!" Michael called after his friend. "You're not going anywhere before I got my morning kiss," he whispered to me, rubbing my cheek with his thumb.

I smiled at his words and wrapped my arms around his neck before giving him a sweet, loving, morning kiss.

Some morning sex would have been greatly appreciated to warm up a bit, I thought.

"Good morning, sexy," I seductively said, and bit my lower lip, rubbing my nose against his.

"Do you like your little surprise?" he gently asked me, rubbing my lower back with his strong hands.

"Yes. Thank you, you're the best," I sincerely said, smiling. "So you didn't sleep well?" I pouted, pushing a curl from his face.

"I didn't say that. Let's say it wasn't my best night," he shrugged, rubbing his nose against mine again.

"Awww, Mikey was jealous because I had another guy in my arms?" I playfully said before placing a little peck on his lips.

"Not jealous, but it was weird not to fall alseep with you in my arms."

"But I sneaked out from Timmy's hold to get in your arms in the middle of the night, though," I smiled, and pecked his lips once more.

"Mmm," he hummed. "I noticed that," he smirked, and offered me another long, loving kiss.

"Okay, lovebirds, enough of that!" LaVelle called, chuckling.

"I think we gotta go," I mumured against Michael's lips. "Show me how to work those hips, Mr Jackson."

"You already know how they work," he seductively answered back, and I shook my head at him, joining LaVelle in front of the glass wall.

***

Michael's point of view

We were walking in silence through the Ranch, heading to Neverland's driveway where the limo was waiting for June's family to take them to the airport. Jeremy and David weren't there, because they were signing the last administrative papers for their new place in Santa Barbara. When Damon and Michelle had to say goodbye to the couple, it was already hard for them, because as Michelle said herself, it's like they were her own sons, having them home whenever June came back from Paris.

June had her arm looped with her mother's and had a tight grip on her godson's hand, and I was behind them with Josh and Damon by my sides as we finally reached the car.

"Okay, here we go," June sighed loudly, and kneeled in front of Tim. "Did you have a good time here, baby boy?" she cooed, rubbing her godson's shoulders.

"I had the best time of my life. I wish I could stay here forever, but I have to go to school."

"Of course, school is really important. If you're good at school and with daddy, I'll make sure to spend Halloween with you."

"Really?" he asked, hopeful.

"Yes, buddy. I don't want to miss you in whatever costume you'll chose," she chuckled slightly. She was becoming emotional, I could tell.

Tim literally fell in his godmother's arms, and started to cry a little. He was quietly sobbing, holding June tightly like he never wanted to let go of her. It broke my heart a little, because I knew Tim missed a feminine figure in his life, and with June being on the other end of the country wouldn't help him filling this hole in his life.

"I love you so much," he whispered in her hair while June was rubbing his back gently. "Please come to New York as soon as you can with Uncle Michael."

"We will," she smiled, and a single tear escaped her eye. "I love you more than anything, sweetie pie."

Tim pulled away from June, and laid a wet little kiss on her cheek and made his way up to me.

"I'm going to miss you too, Uncle Michael."

"Me too, bud. Me too," I sincerely said, hugging Tim as well.

"I love you," he said to me, and my heart warmed up at his words.

"I love you more," I answered in a whisper before pulling away form him.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you to the airport?" June asked her mother for the hundredth time.

"Sweetie, I'm positive," Michelle chuckled slightly, hugging her daughter tightly. "I'll see you soon."

"I'll come to New York as soon as the interviews are over. I promise."

"Okay," she smiled, and broke their embrace. "Will you take good care of her, Michael?"

"You know I will," I sincerely said, pulling her in a warm embrace. "She has me here, and she has Jeremy, David and Pit as well."

"I know," she smiled weakly, and I could say that she was beginning to tear up. "And thank you for this wonderful stay. We had a blast here."

"My home is your home. Come whenever you feel like it."

"Thank you, Michael," she sincerely said, her voice cracking a little. "Ok! We should go, before I end up crying."

"We should," Damon verified, and hugged June and I, telling us to take care of each other.

As Damon and Michelle were talking to June, Josh came to me, and gave me a friendly hug.

"Tell me if anything happens with that girl she works with, okay?" he told me in a low voice so that I was the only one that could hear him. "Well, if anything happens, period."

"I will," I agreed, patting his back gently. "Don't worry, she'll be fine. She's a warrior."

"I know," he chuckled. "And thank you for everything. You're a great guy, and I know you're good for my cousin. Welcome back to the family."

"Thank you man, it means a lot to me," I truthfully admitted, and Josh nodded with a smile.

"Come here, crackpot!" he exclaimed, pulling June is a bear hug. "I hate to admit it, but I'm gonna miss your crazy ass."

"Me too, weirdo. But I promise I'll see you guys soon. Take care of yourself in the meanwhile, and take care of my godson."

"You take care of yourself too. 'Dontcha go out there and play da fool!," Josh exclaimed again, mimicking someone's voice.

"If Julian heard this aweful impression of yours trying to mimick his voice, I'm sure he's laughing is ass off right now," June laughed through her tears.

"He sure is. That was horrible," her cousin laughed along with her.

When their laughter died down, June opened the limo's door, and they all hopped in, waving at us through the open windows.

I looked at the gates carefully, trying to spot any trace of paparazzi waiting there for me, and saw no one there, and wrapped one of my arm around June's waist, and pulled her close to my side. I kissed her forehead tenderly, and she rested her head on my shoulder as we both were watching the limo driving away from us.

***

June's point of view

One week later, September 23rd, 1990
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA.

I was sitting behind the desk next to Paulina, waiting for the very last candidate to show up for his interview, tapping my pencil on the wooden surface.

The past week was super lively for me. I was running everywhere, taking care of a lot of things at the same time: my foundation, and all the administrative steps that go with it had to be done; the phonecalls and the interviews which included to bear with Paulina throughout all of this; the long conversations with Michael about whether or not she should set up an interview to establish the truth, for the person who tried to blackmail us didn't do anything a week after we received the first note.

To top it all, Karl called and asked me if I would be down for a photoshoot with Charlie, Chanel's muse, for a campaign for his new clothing line. Of course, I was confused, and I had to ask him why he picked me, while he had some other very talented models working for him. He simply answered that it could be a good publicity for the House and for Charlie to do so, but also because his new collection consisted of the fashion from the sixties with a touch of modernity à la Lagerfeld: I was the old part, while Charlie was the tip of modernity.

To be quite honest, I loved the idea, and I kind of missed to be in front of the camera. Ever since I left Chanel, I didn't do any kind of campaign, photoshoot or whatever. I just stayed focused on my new job, and my foundation.

However, as things slowly but surely began to settle down, I agreed, and Karl was delighted. He asked me to come to New York whenever I wanted, and I told him that it'd be great if I we could do that by the end of October, and surprisingly, he didn't argue and said it was perfect.

Maybe he really did change.

When I told Michael about this, he was a little bit skeptical at first, because he found this odd that my former manager wanted me to work for him again, but after I told him that it was fine and that I was happy to do what I love again, he just went with it, and became happy at the thought for me.

As I heard the door of the room open, I looked up from my résumés, and saw a tall, blonde, blue-eyed young man. I could tell he was a nervous wreck by his body language.

"Name?" Paulina rudely asked the young man.

Ever since the interviews began, she didn't speak a nice word to any of the candidates, and it made me feel so uncomfortable. Those young people need us to help them in this field, and I know we'll need to be tough at times, but how are they supposed to like and respect her if she despise them already?

"Caleb Collins," he shyly spoke, looking at Paulina only.

"Oh, the Aussie guy, right?" I chimed in with a little smile.

"Yes, that must be me," he said in a low, angelic voice , blushing hard when his stare crossed mine.

I gave him a reassuring smile, and flipped through the pages in front of me to find his résumé and study it once again.

"I really can't deal with the Aussie accent," Paulina mumbled besides me, and I kicked her under the desk. "Aouw! You b--"

"You beautiful young man!" I smiled at Paulina, and then at Caleb who tried to hide his blissful smile. "So you're from Sydney, you're twenty-two years old and you're studying Arts. Is that correct?"

Silence.

"Hello?" I asked, chuckling.

"Uh? Oh um, yeah. I'm good, thank you."

"Uh, are you fucking high or something?" Paulina asked in a harsh tone.

"What? No! Of course not, why?" the guy argued back.

"She didn't ask you how you were feeling, she asked you if the information we had on you were correct. Wake the hell up! This is some serious shit going on here, if you can't focus, then leave the fuck out of here already."

"Wow, take it easy, damnit!" I hissed to Paulina. "Can't you see he's nervous?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that... I'm kind of starstruck right now. I admire you so much, Ms Wellington. You're certainly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life."

Paulina gave me a look of disgust, "He's all yours."

I rolled my eyes at her, and turned my attention back to the young man, "Thank you, um... Caleb. It's really kind of you."

"I'm being honest, I used to have posters of you all over my room. I would steal the campaigns that were on the billboards on the street, buy every magazine you wer--"

"Okay, I think she got it. You like her, you wanna jump her bones, period. Now, take off your shirt, and walk for us."

"Please," I added, giving Paulina a stern look. "And don't be nervous, it's okay."

He nodded, and took off his grey shirt, revealing his perfect six pack abs, which obviously caught Paulina's attention.

While Caleb was getting into it, my phone buzzed on the wooden desk, letting me know someone was calling me. I looked at the ID, and noticed it was Michael calling which I found pretty odd because he knew I was working.

"I need to take this call," I muttered to Paulina. "Excuse me."

"You can't leave me! Not now!" she hissed, and I smirked.

"Watch me."

I stood up from my chair, and headed outside of the room, picking my phone up.

"Baby?" I softly said through the receiver. "Are you okay?"

"I think we've got a problem."

Of course, shit happens.