That day was my first taste of what being a part of his "real life" would be like and to say I wasn't quite ready for that was the understatement of a lifetime. After we had been unceremoniously interrupted by Tony that morning, Prince seemed dead set on placing some boundaries on his home.  He had somewhat hurried through what I knew to be his morning routine before heading off to begin tour rehearsal. I on the other hand took my time, enjoying the peace and quiet his rush had left me with. After an hour or so I headed to the kitchen with the intent of having a quick breakfast.

"Good morning!" I was completely caught off guard by the warm female voice that greeted me as I rounded the corner into the kitchen. I came face to face with a woman of average height and average build standing at the counter chopping vegetables.

"Good morning?" My voice laced with questions as I looked her over, finally taking note of the crisp white chefs jacket she wore.

"Sorry," she began with a wide smile, "I'm Alison, his personal chef." Putting her knife down and wiping her hands on a towel before offering her hand to me. We shared a quick shake as I gave her an earnest smile.

"Alexa."

"He told me you'd be down." Heading over to the sink she washed her hands. "Is there something I can make you for breakfast?"

"Oh no, no, um..." I knew there was a strange look on my face and I was trying my best to make it go away, "I'm sorry, this is odd to me that's all. I've never been around when his chef was here, it's strange." She smiled at me knowingly.

"I'm sure it is actually." Her words came with a little laugh.

"I'm just gonna grab a bowl of cereal, if that's alright." She nodded with a smile before returning to her chopping. "So what are you working on?" 

"Just some prep work for lunch. When he came through this morning he told me he wanted salads and a light vegetable pasta dish to be the lunch options for the crew."

"Hm" I nodded with a mouth full of captain crunch.

"His assistant usually calls between 11 and 2 to let me know when lunch will be. I'm expecting it to be a later time today since he was late this morning." Her words casual as she never looks away from her task at hand.

"Ah, so he was late to rehearsal this morning." Finally she looks up to me with a smile.

"Yeah, no one could find him, so Tony went looking around the complex."

"Well Tony found him alright." My laugh ringing heavy in the kitchen as I placed my empty bowl in the sink. Alison laughed quietly, making me wonder if word had already gotten around the complex, but nothing else was said about the situation. "Thanks for breakfast Alison."

A few hours later I found my way down to the large venue space they were using for rehearsal. Based on what Alison had said earlier I figured they would be fairly close to breaking for lunch, so it seemed like a natural time to stop by. Entering the large space I could hear the music running through the speakers, but I quickly took notice of the missing band and the fact that only three men were on large stage going through a dance routine. Damon, Kirk, and Tony, Ive met each of them before at different times, and right this moment they all appeared to be busting their asses. At first I didn't think Prince was even in the room since I didn't see him anywhere. As I came up to the front of the stage Tony's eyes caught mine and he gave me a friendly wave.

"Damn it Tony!" That deep voice rang over the playback causing all three men to stop and watch as Prince stalked out from the left side of the stage, "what the hell are you doing?" Even from s distance I could see that he was fuming, standing there in his black pants that extended up over his shoulder on one side over the wide neck yellow shirt. The playback had stopped and the closer I got the louder the sound of his tapping foot became as he stared down Tony. Finally he looked out to see me, smiling awkwardly as I walked up the access stairs at the front of the stage.

"Sorry," he features softened as I approached, "I thought you might be on lunch break. Where's the band?"

"Oh they're on lunch," Tony interjected, the annoyance in his words palpable as he stared at Prince before moving his eyes over to mine, "but we have to practice some more. It's almost like we're being punished for something." Opening my mouth to speak, but the stern looking man next to me was quicker.

"Why don't you stare a little harder Tony. Didn't you see enough this morning?" I could feel the shocked expression on my face as I reached for his arm.

"Hey..."

"The only thing I saw this morning P was your scrawny, naked ass which you failed to cover." Damon and Kirk smirked while the muscles in Prince's forearm tightened before I tightened my grip on him.

"Ok that's enough." Both men looked at me. "Tony did you walk into the office expecting to find us in bed?"

"No." Shaking his head vigorously.

"So this was all just an accident."

"But he should not have been walking into my space like he owns the damn place." Prince asserts as I turn to look at him.

"Ok, have you ever told people they have to knock before going into the office?" His only answer is a quiet huff of breath before he looks away from me. "I'll take that as a no, so you're just as much to blame. I'm assuming everyone knows now to knock before going into your private space?" All four of the men on the stage nod quietly. "Good. So this is done." Another little squeeze of his forearm, "we are done with this little argument."

"Go take lunch." The guys don't question his words, they quickly head off stage towards a table that had four plates on it; each of them grabbed a plate and left the rehearsal space.

"Don't act like a petulant child, it's not a good look for you." Giving him a less than pleased glare as he sat down on the stage, his legs hanging over the edge. The large space was quiet as I walk over to the table, grabbing the last remaining salad. Taking a seat next to him and handing him the plate only to watch him set it on his other side. "You need to eat like everyone else."

"What about you?"  A small smirk on his lips as he glanced my way.

"Well sir," turning to face him and patting his thigh, "I'm meeting Alysha and Kevin for a late lunch in a while." Calloused fingers trailed over the back of my hand before slipping between my fingers.

"I'm sorry about..."

"Ok Prince," his words cut of by a shrill female voice, "you have an appointment with wardrobe upstairs in 5 minutes." The tall green eyed woman with blonde hair in a black pencil skirt and extremely low cut purple blouse finally looked up. "Hey Alexa!"

"Hello Adrienne." She's been his personal assistant for maybe a year and we'd met on a few occasions and while we'd always been cordial, I could not stand her. She quickly turned her attention back to Prince, who wasn't saying a word

"Come on P, chop chop, meeting time."

"Hey why don't you give him 10 minutes," My words pleasant, "he hasn't had a chance to eat any lunch yet."  Still not a word from the man himself and at this point I think he wants to see how this will play out.

"I understand, but unfortunately he also has a schedule to keep." Her attitude was on full display and I wondered if he lets her act this way all the time. I laughed to myself as a singular thought rolled through my mind 'this bitch thinks she's in charge of him'.

"So he has a meeting with wardrobe on the second floor, you mean the wardrobe department that is here everyday?" My tone thick with sarcasm and my annoyance with her was in full display. "The wardrobe department that he employs? He signs their pay checks?" His hand gives mine a quick squeeze. "I'm pretty sure they will be fine giving him another 10 minutes to eat." She looked to Prince while exhaling loudly, as if she was expecting him to come to her defense, or say anything for that matter. Instead he remained silent, watching this little drama.

Without a word she walks up to the front of the stage and stands on the opposite side from me. Resting her hand on his forearm she gives him a big smile that doesn't reach her eyes and talks to him as though I'm not even in the room.

"Ok 10 minutes. Also I heard you had a little incident this morning with some lady friend you had over." He cocks an eyebrow as she continues, "if you need any help getting rid of her or explaining the way things work around here let me know." A small laugh shook his chest.

"No one will be getting rid of her." His words were slow and carefully chosen. Her smile faltered slightly before falling completely as she finally noticed his hand covering mine.

"And the rules might be changing slightly, we'll keep you posted." My voice brought her eyes up to mine and I watched as her mouth said 'oh' without a sound.

"Tell wardrobe I'll be 15 minutes late since this took so long." Nodding her head, she finally took her hand off him and waltzed out the room.

"Do you really let that woman run you like that?"  He laughed again as he started eating his salad as though nothing had happened. As if he hadn't noticed the way she acted towards him.

"Sometimes I need that. Good strong direction." Looking at me with a grin.

"No she thinks she's the boss of you and that is not what a personal assistant should be doing." He nods while chewing.

"I give her the illusion of control." Shrugging his shoulders as he continues to eat.

"And she want in your pants." Cocking his head and grinning slightly as he sets his plate down on the stage.

"Now that mama," turning to give me his full attention as he took both my hands in his, "is something you need to get used to. There are a few women that want that and even some that work here."

"But they're not your personal assistant. That's someone that has very regular and sometime private access to you." The look on his face told me was thinking about my words, as though he's never thought about that before. "You're personal assistant shouldn't want to fuck you. It's a conflict of interest." His eyes squinted and lips pursed slightly at my words.

"Maybe. I'll think on that." His lips met mine for a quick kiss before he stood up. "For now though I think you did a great job of asserting yourself as the alpha female," reaching down to grab his plate, "and it was fun to watch."  He headed down the stairs from the stage and with his back to me announced, "I have to get to this meeting, but I'm taking my lunch with me." And with that he left me alone on the stage to mull over what had just happened.