*Trisha*

So apparently, I'm on babysitting duty for not one but two people. Nate has assigned me to get everything done for the upcoming Awards Gala not only for him but for Julia as well. I can barely keep my head above water, and the stupid ass adds on this?! He owes me. Big time!! I can't let Nate see I'm having a hard time getting everything done. This is my job, and I need to prove I can handle it. 

Today was the final dress alteration day with Wardrobe, so everything would be ready in time. Then, I had to bring her to pick out the accessories and tie up any loose ends. Nate pretty much nominated me to be Julia's personal assistant now... He's so lucky I get paid well.

"Trish, I can't thank you enough for today. Really." Julia says while we sit in the café. There's a Starbucks right across the street, but Nate knows the old people who own this place, so we give them our business instead. 

I haven't really spent any one-on-one time with Julia, but she's fun to be around. I can be myself with her. I can drop F'bombs, talk smack about Nate, and joke around with Julia, and she can take it.

My phone has been going off constantly with Nate's team texting me, so I answer in between conversations. Julia doesn't seem to mind that I'm constantly glued to my phone. It comes with the job. I have to be on top of things and ahead of the game.

"Oh, sweetie. It was my pleasure! We accomplished a lot today. You kept up with my pace amazingly!" I take a sip of my coffee and relax a little.

"Yeah, like to get things done right away. I can't sit still until I know whatever task needs to be done in crossed off."

"We have the same personality! Now don't go gunning for my job, you hear?" We both laugh at that.

"God, I would never! Nate is too fricken high maintenance, that much I know..." Julia takes a sip of her coffee, but I can tell she doesn't like it and wishes we were across the street at Starbucks.

"Tell me about it. But he's a good one. And fucking pays me well. Plus, he knows how many times I've had to save the little fucker's sorry ass."  God, SO many times!!!

"Oh? I don't even want to know, do I?" Julia laughed." Anyways. I didn't think personal assistants did that sort of stuff?" 

"I'm not just ANY Personal Assistant. I'm Nate Hollan's Personal Assistant. I have to keep that boy out of trouble. Plus, he holds special place in my heart, that kid. I've been working with him since he was a teenager."

"For some reason, I assumed you guys were the same age." 

"Actually I'm 33. When the band first took off, I was 19 and in cosmetology school. I started as the band's hair and makeup gal! Then one of the higher ups noticed how I seemed to be the only one to reel the boys in and make them listen when it was time to get things done. They fired a few girls who didn't have the patience for teenage boys and hired my good friend Holly to take over and put me on fucking babysitting duty. There were 4 boys, and each had their own personal assistant. I was assigned to Nate." I roll my eyes while rambling on.

"At first, I just had to make sure Nate was where he needed to be and on time. I'd manage the day-to-day tasks, and anything that would pop up in between. Nate calls me the Gatekeeper. I work with everyone that's involved in his life. From his agents, managers, publicists, body guard."

"Nate has a bodyguard???" Julia asks, almost shocked hearing this

"At that age? Oh yeah. Teen girls are fucking insane. They'd rip those boys to shreds just to get a lock of hair. Paul headed that department, and he also helped me keep Nate in check, haha!"

"So, he was a handful then..." 

I ramble on for a little while longer, talking about Nate and what a flirt he can be to anyone with a pulse but can tell Julia is off in her own world now so reel it in.

"Anyways, I'm sure Playboy has been all over you as well." I say right as my phone rings. Shit. It's Elliott.

"Hold on, Sweetie. I need to take this." I quickly exit the café to take the call. This can't good. Nate had an interview with the one and only Susan Hardy. I can't stand that witch. No one can. She makes our lives a living hell.

"What's up Elliott?" 

"The interview with Susan Hardy didn't go well." Elliott wastes no time with hello or any bullshit. He gets right to the point.

"What do you mean, it didn't go well? What happened??"

Elliott tells me all about the interview.  Apparently, Susan found a way to dig up stuff on Julia and caught Nate off guard. To the point he froze in the middle of the interview. That's not like Nate. He's media trained and trained well. What the hell? Whatever it was with Julia threw him for a loop.  I stop my pacing and stand still for a moment and looked at Julia from the window before quickly looking down again.

"What kind of mess am I gonna have to clean up now, Elliott?" I ask nervously.

"Unsure, let's just see what happens ok, I just wanted to warn you ahead of time. Just check on Nate at some point, ok? He was in rare form when we left."

Shit.

I head back into the café trying to hide everything I'm feeling and get out of this as quickly as possible now.

"Sorry Julia, we have to cut this short. I need to go tie up some loose ends. But the driver is parked right there whenever you are ready to go back to the hotel." I point to the black SUV waiting. before rushing out of the café.

I walk home since it's only a few blocks away before texting Nate. If this was a bad interview with Susan Hardy I know where he will be, the bar. Once home I sit in the living room, ready to give Nate the attention he needs to talk.

[Elliot reached out to let me know your interview didn't go too fucking hot, Hollan. I don't know what happened but if you need anything let me know.]

[Thanks. Appreciate it.]

[And if you happen to be drinking away your sorrows at Sully's, don't be an ass. Call me and I will get you when you're done.]

I know what he's doing. He's getting plastered. I throw my phone on the couch and throw my head back.

Nate Hollan, you are seriously going to be the death of me!!

*****

*James*

Instead of seeing Julia while working the front desk, I get the gift of seeing Nate walk through the lobby. He's drunk. I can tell.  There's really nothing I can do about it either. He's going to the 4th floor, so I know no one will see him but also wonder if Julia knows he's coming up to see her drunk. I take note of the time he came through to see how long he stays there.  No twenty minutes go by before he comes back down and storms through the lobby to leave. He's pissed. I wonder what happened?

Part of me wants to call Julia's hotel room. Part of me knows she's on the 4th floor and that's kinda off limits. And part of me wonders why I give two shits since she's been ignoring me since our kiss. Or my kiss. Whatever the hell you want to call it.

I take a deep breath and sit back in my chair, deciding to ride it out. If Julia wants to talk, I'm here. I'll always be here for her. Until then, I probably should think of something better to occupy my time. 

I can't really be taking calls on my personal phone at work so decide to text my sisters in the group message to keep me entertained tonight.

[ Someone entertain me]

I text, seeing both Kendall, Katie and Ash are all online. Jennie is probably busy with mom and who knows where Gwen is. She's always off in her own world that one.

[Here's some entertainment for you... Mom decided to try and go grocery shopping today] Kendall replies.

Shit. 

[What?!? Mom can't be behind a wheel!!  What happened??]

[Nothing she just got mad when I took the keys telling me she's a grown adult and doesn't need Jennie babysitting her anymore. That she can go grocery shopping herself.]

[Ken, you're leaving out the best part!] Ashley chimes in.

[Wait. I haven't heard this story. I had to work today. Mom tried to drive?] Katie now joins the conversation and both Ashley and Kendal respond 'yep'

[What's the best part?] I ask but I'm afraid to know. There's a moment of silence where none of the girls respond before I see the dots that someone's typing appear.

[She decided to go out to the car and drive in her bathing suit] Ashley answers.

[NO], I take a deep breath.

[We don't even own a fucking pool. What the hell is that woman thinking?]  I can almost hear Katie laughing while typing this.

[Obv she's not.]

Someone comes off the elevator, so I quickly put my phone down. 

Paul. 

I take another deep breath and prepare myself for a long night.

****

*Trisha*

Nate never called me needing a ride which is a good sign because hopefully that means he didn't get wasted and doesn't have a hangover today. Good thing, too, because today is a busy one. He's got a rehearsal with the band first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, I get the joy of picking up his dry cleaning.

Once in his apartment, I hear the water running. He should be at rehearsal by now. He's running late. There is nothing I can do about that. I head to his bedroom with his clothes.

"Hey, Nate! I have your dry-cleaning." I yell out so he doesn't walk out of the bathroom naked. Wouldn't be the first time he's done that.

"I didn't think you'd be home, but..." I look at Nate's bed. Not only is it made perfectly like a woman did it but there's clothes on his bed. It is also perfectly folded. A green sweater. It looks familiar, but I can't pinpoint from where. Nate's not in the bathroom. A woman is! He brought a woman home with him last night!

"Oh sorry" I say loudly to whoever the hell Nate picked up last night. "I'll just hang these up and be out of your hair." I quickly hang up his clothes in his closet and hightail it out of his apartment. I rush to my car and slam the door.

This is so Nate. Picking up random women at Sullivan's. Usually they are just as famous as he is, in the same industry with the same money. Your average middle-class girl can't afford a drink a Sullivan's Tap. Mac makes it nearly impossible for that and for good reason. His clientele is mainly L.A.'s finest. Taylor Swift, James Corden, Shawn Mendes, A Kardashian/ Jenner or two or three for all I know. And of course, Nate Hollan. Who the hell did he bring home this time??

I text him real quick before moving on with my errands. Just to bust his balls a little. But before I do, I decide to give him a little payback and mess with the agenda a little for him. Serves you right, pal. Next time warn me when you bring someone home on laundry day!

[So... I dropped off your dry-cleaning this morning...]

I hope he's twitching.

[About that, Trish, Listen... I can explain everything...]

[I'm not sure who the lucky winner was last night but she knows how to make a bed perfectly and is using all your hot water.]

[Yeah, it was a last-minute fling. I got a little wasted. Sorry bout that] 

Wasted. You're always wasted. I roll my eyes at his text and continue on. One of these days he's gonna have to grow up and act like a fucking adult.

[Next time fucking warn me. You know on Wednesdays I pick up your clothes!]

[Yes mom]

Here comes the retaliation...

[BTW look at your calendar Loverboy. Your 3pm had to switch to 12:30 today due to horseback riding lessons. I don't know, but you now have another full day of teaching famous little brats . Hope you enjoyed your adult time last night. Haha!]

Nate doesn't respond which makes me laugh. I lean back in the driver's seat of my car and smile. He'll learn.

*****

*James*

Paul makes my life more stressful some days. First, he comes to me needing me to switch celebrities' rooms on the 4th floor because one person isn't happy with their room, then he decides to schedule a meeting right before my overnight shift starts to go over who is staying in which room and for how long. Things that we need to be in a private room for so no one can hear us. Good thing he pays me well for this because I'm so tired and needed more sleep.

As I walk through the hotel lobby, the doors open.

Julia.

I haven't seen her in awhile. She looks good. Not sick at all.

"Julia! You're feeling better!"

"Hey, yeah I am." We stand a little awkwardly in the middle of the lobby, as people walk through.

"I was going to check on you in a little while. I saw your rental out back so I assumed you were still cooped up in that room sick."

"Oh, yeah. Hollan's driver picked me up earlier for a dress fitting. That Gala is coming up soon. Why are you here so early?" I watch Julia fidget with her hands while talking. She has a habit of doing that.

"Oh, um. I have a staff meeting in a little bit, so I had to come in early." I can't really talk openly about my side job with the security guard. Even though Julia is on the 4th floor, I don't think she knows what that entails.

"Listen, James. I'm really sorry about Nate being rude to you when you brought up the food. He was being an ass."

"That's ok. Most celebrities are asses to us.. regular people. I'm used to it. I was just caught off guard because he usually seems like a nice guy."

"He is, He was just on edge because we were supposed to practice, and I messed up everyone's schedule by getting sick."

I step in close. Maybe too close, look down at Julia and rest my hand on her shoulder.

"I'm just glad you are feeling better. I know you are stuck in that room as your 'home' for awhile. If you ever need anything, you know I'm around. Anything at all." I never want Julia to feel uncomfortable here. I want her to know if she has any problems with Nate, or if anything is going on, she can come to me. Always.

The minute I put my hand on her shoulder her cheeks blush, making me smile down at her. God, I'm infatuated with this woman.

"Thanks. I appreciate that. You're a good friend." Friend zone. Ok, Julia, Sure. I know it is more than that. I go along with it, smile and give her shoulder a little squeeze before needing to leave so I'm not late for my meeting with Paul.

"I'm gonna be late. Sorry, I gotta jet." I smile and quickly head down the hall. My stomach is back to being tied in a knot from her and she didn't even do anything. Just being near her gets me all hot and bothered. God, I need to reel it in. This is gonna be harder than I thought.

*****

*Trisha*

I finally find a minute to myself for a quick run. I throw my hair up in a ponytail and find my pink workout tank, black shorts and running shoes. Once I'm dressed and ready for my run my phone rings.

Nate.

Now why is he calling me?

"Ahh Triiiissshhh. You know you want to do me a huge favor right love?" Nate slurrs. He's been drinking. I can't take this. He knows how I feel about it.

"Nate, are you fucking drunk? It's mid afternoon." I sigh, knowing very well he's drunk.

"I ammm. How'd you guess. Listen. Can you be a doll and give me a ride to the studio so I can sober up before my next appointment?"

" For chrissakes Hollan, give me ten minutes." Why does Nate keep doing this to me. He KNOWS what I went through with Dave. Is he TRYING to piss me off?

I forget my chance to workout and rush out of my apartment to go pick up my "Boss."

I walk into Sullivan's and Mac gives me a sympathetic look. Mainly because this is happening more and more lately. I don't know what to do about it. It's starting to become a problem. I glace over to Nate's booth in the back and see him and Harrison. Both plastered. Great. I get to babysit TWO-multimillion-dollar celebrities now. Nate looks like he's about to pass out from intoxication.

I stand in front of "sleeping beauty" and his drunk sidekick and put my hands on my hips, disgusted.

"Pssst. Hey, Nate. Your mother is here to pick you up." Harrison whispers....loudly.....

"Trishaaaa.. My favorite person." Sloan stands up and gives me this awful sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Har, Do I need to take you home too?"

"Nope. I already have my driver coming, sexy. Come home with me."

"In your dreams." I roll my eyes and laugh. "Nate why didn't you call YOUR driver?"

Nate just shrugs, not having an answer.

"C'mon," I sigh. "Time to go." I watch Nate get up and sway a little. Shit. He's really drunk.

"God, Hollan you ARE plastered." I grab his arm and throw it over my shoulder to guide him out. . "I need a raise." I mutter.

Once outside, the fresh air helps him a little.

"I had to park down the road a little. Sullivan's had no spaces." We start walking down the road to her car. "I'll figure out how to get your car to the studio for you."

"I'm sorry." Nate looks down and me and I can tell he feels bad. I'm starting to worry about him.

"No, you're drunk. Apologize when you sober up."

"Cara's back in." Nate blurts out.

I stop in my tracks instantly. No. Just hearing his sister's name breaks me. She's struggling. Bad. No wonder Nate is drinking.Tjhey have both been through so much. I look up with him with sympathy now.

"I'm sorry. Shit Nate. I'm sorry...." I don't know what else to say. In shake my head and help Nate into my car. I watch him press his head against the window and try to sober up. My heart breaks for him. Having a little sister like Cara is not easy, especially when your her sole provider. Especially when you're Nate- He's like me... a caretaker.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask knowing he probably won't answer, and he doesn't.

Once stopped at a red light I look over at him. "How much did you drink??"

"Too much apparently." He closes his eyes.

"This is becoming a habit, Nate. You know that, right??"

"I do.."

Nate dozes off for the rest of the ride and I let him sleep it off. Once in the studio parking lot, I nudge him to wake him up and get out of my car. I open his door and pull him out of the car, wrapping his arm around my shoulder to balance. God if anyone sees this, he's toast.

"I'm sorry, really. Trish, thanks for picking me up." Nate looks down at me and drunkingly kisses me on the mouth, and doesn't stop. I don't kiss him back but it takes me a second longer than it should to push him off me. A second longer than it should.... shit Trisha.

"Knock it off, Nate!" I redeem myself by pushing him back and glaring at him. "Jesus, you are so wasted."

"I'm sorry, I meant to kiss your cheek, angel." He laughs. He fucking laughs.

"C'mon, Playboy. Lets get your sorry ass inside. Straighten up." I stand him up straighter and fix the collar of his shirt, forcing him to at least ATTEMPT to walk into the building without it being obvious he's drunk. I get him to his studio room and sit him down on the couch.

"I'm so shitfaced."

"Well aware.." I start making coffee for him "Do I need to cancel your session with Julia?"

"NO!" Nate yells, making me jump a mile. "No"

"Ok, ok! Jesus... " I roll my eyes and hand him a very strong cup of coffee to help sober him up. "We're gonna have to talk about this tomorrow."

"Well aware" Nate lays down on the couch after taking a sip from his mug. "P.S. You suck at coffee making. You're fired."

"Anything else?" I look back at him nonchalantly while cleaning up the counter area.

"Thanks again. This won't happen again. I promise." Nate closes his eyes and falls asleep.

I walk over to him while he's sleeping and sit on the edge of the couch, studying the sleeping drunk man-child. I gently comb my fingers through his hair and he sighs. Something needs to change for Nate. He's going downhill fast with his drinking. Adding the stress of his little sister is only making matters worse.

*****

*James*

Julia doesn't come down during my night shift. I feel like our friendship is over. I can't remember the last time we hung out and I'm bummed about it.

It's now 11pm and I'm bored out of my mind. I have a long shift ahead of me and it's dead tonight. Not one person has been through the lobby since 9. Not one phone call. Nothing.

I sit back in my chair trying to keep my eyes open when a text comes through.

[What are you wearing]

I smile when I read Lindsay's text. We might not be together but we are friends. We ended things on good terms.

[Lets see. My maroon Marriott Polo and khacki pants. How's it going Linds.]

[It's going. I'm bored.]

[You don't say] I swivel my chair a little while we text.

[Like REALLY bored.]

I read Lindsay's last text and straighten up in my seat a little. Lindsay only texts me this late at night when she wants something. I know what she wants.

[so come visit me, you know where I work]

[Be there in 5]

It's like she was texting from the parking lot of something. Lindsay comes through the door within two minutes, looking good, like always. She's a beautiful woman who, like me, takes care of her body. Her long blonde hair is thrown up in a ponytail and she's wearing a light blue sundress. She walks over to the front desk on a mission.

"Welcome to the Marriott, how can I service you." I smirk.

"I'll show you how you can service me."

******