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In The Heat of Los Angeles

One More Night (Maroon 5)

We climbed in to my Range Rover and I started driving through the city towards Harry’s house. It was nice enough that we had the windows down and the sunroof open. It made me wish I had one of the other cars so that I could have a top down. I should take the roof off of my Jeep before we head to Malibu for the weekend. Or if it’s just me driving up on my own, an open road and the R8 might be a good idea.

“So are you nervous?” Kammi asked.

“A little. I don’t really know how to handle all of this. It’s new territory for me. I don’t really know what to think about any of this either. Like do I worry that I’m going to mess up my career? Or do I just think about how this man that I’m insanely attracted to seems to crazily enough be attracted to me? I don’t know how to handle myself around him. I feel like an idiot.”

“It’s been a while since you tried dating so it’s obviously unnerving for you.”

“I haven’t tried the whole chase portion of dating in seven years. And most of that was Drew. I mean it’s hard for me to not think about all of that. He made it so easy. Our relationship was comfortable. We loved each other and knew it. This is just…the most odd and uncomfortable thing I’ve ever been part of. During my staff meeting today I felt like they were all staring at me.”

“Well, technically you lead the staff meetings. It does usually involve them staring at you. And I’m sure that for the most part you were imagining that they were staring at you. You aren’t the first person to come in wearing last night’s clothing. And at least you can change. Do you remember when that intern came in wearing the same dress that she wore the day before and tried to act like it was normal?”

“She then wore it every day for two weeks claiming she was testing out creating herself a uniform. That was fucking hilarious.”

“That was funny. But really, don’t worry about it. I mean I get why you don’t want to repeat what happened with him because you just signed him as a client today and work is important to you. But you do need to start focusing on something other than work for a while.”

“I know.” We went back to driving and about five minutes out from Harry’s I felt my watch buzz and looked down. The green text bubble this time said Harry underneath it.

The code is 54893.

I didn’t want to try and respond I figured I would just tell him thank you when we got to his house. The roads in his neighborhood winded up to his house. I pulled in to the end of his driveway, leaned out the window and punched in the code. I watched the gray gate slide open before pulling in the rest of the way.

“He gave you the code?”

“Yeah, he text it to me while we were on our way here. Easier than waiting and trying to get his attention to open it, especially if he’s cooking.” As I got to the top I saw Nick’s car so I parked next to it and got my purse out of the back. I had switched in to a larger purse today so the clothes I’d thrown in here were slightly hidden from Kammi. We got to the door and rather than knock I just opened the door and let myself in. “Knock! Knock!” I called. It didn’t take long to find Nick and Harry outside on his deck. I put my purse on the couch in the living room and walked out to them.

“Hello ladies,” Harry said. I handed him both bottles of wine as he hugged me and kissed my cheek. “You look lovely.” I had opted to change into the black maxi dress. It had thin straps and slits up to the middle of my thighs. It was perfect for weather like this. I had a black silk kimono with a floral pattern on over it.

“Thank you, I thought I should maybe spend a little more than the 20 minutes it took me to get ready for my day to get ready for tonight.”

“I hear you had a big day today, E,” Nick said as I went over to hug him and kiss his cheek.

“It was an eventful day to say the least.” Everyone laughed. Kammi hugged Harry quickly before going over to give Nick a kiss and sit next to him. “Anyone want wine?”

“Yes, please. I saw the bottle of white you brought,” Kammi said.

“I’ll take a glass of the red,” Nick replied.

“Let me help you get them opened and get glasses.” Harry closed the lid on his grill and we went in to the house. He handed me the bottle opener and I started to open it as he grabbed glasses. “I’m glad you came tonight.”

“Based on the way the food smells so far I’m going to guess I’ll be glad I came here too.” He handed me the glasses and I poured one of each. “Want a glass for yourself?”

“Sure. Which do you recommend?”

“I love them both.” I poured one more of each so he could taste them and decide. “Whichever you don’t want I’ll drink.” He took a sip of each.

“I’ll take the red. If you change your mind we can share,” he said smiling at me. Kammi and Nick did this a lot when we were hanging out. They couldn’t decide on a drink so they shared. We cannot be that couple. We aren’t even a fucking couple. I handed him the red before grabbing the remaining glasses. “Do you need help?”

“Nope. I have practice balancing wine glasses. I have three roommates. We go through at least a bottle of this most nights, if not two.”

“Sounds like fun.” Before I knew it he bent down to kiss me because of course with my hands full of wine I couldn’t avoid the kiss. It was short and sweet. Sort of the kiss I normally saw Nick give Kammi when she got home from work. “Sorry I’ve wanted to do that since you walked in the door.”

“You aren't supposed to be doing that.”

“Sorry, I know but I really wanted to.”

“You are going to be the death of me.”

“Probably not. Unless a person can die by orgasm.”

“Oh just stop! You did this while I couldn’t hit you because my hands are full.” I turned around to walk outside putting the glasses down and then picking mine up and taking a drink. "I'm going to wish I had two bottles of the white tonight.”

“Why?” Kammi asked laughing.

“He kissed me already.”

“You know you wanted me to,” Harry replied as he sat down next to me.

“Wait? I’ve clearly missed out on stuff,” Nick said.

“Everlee and Harry slept together last night,” Kammi announced matter of factly before taking a sip of her wine.

“I don’t know what to say. I mean, nice job Everlee Mae. You needed to relax a little bit I’m sure that it helped.”

“Fuck off, Nick.”

“But beyond that, are you slightly crazy? You work for him now.”

“Fully aware.”

“She’s fine. I don’t think of her any different of her. And if I am judging by the difference in her size of bag that is sitting inside I’m assuming she brought clothes and is planning on staying again.” I didn’t even look at him but just reached to my left hitting him. “Ouch! Jesus. You didn’t need to hit me.”

“You didn’t need to announce that either.”

“Well, did you pack clothes?” He raised an eyebrow as I finally turned to look at him.

“I might’ve. These two will judge me a whole lot less about sleeping with you than my entire office will if I show up to work in this.”

“I figured she was staying here tonight,” Kammi said. “She has no willpower if she wants something. I mean look at the bag she brought everything here in. It’s a like $2,500 Christian Louboutin bag. She didn’t need it. She wanted it. She hadn’t even seen it in person. She called a rep from the brand and ordered it in three colors. She hates the cheetah print on the side but still ordered three. She has the black in two sizes. At our condo she has the biggest room because her closet is basically all handbags and she has a portion of them at the office.”

“I’m a bag whore. And I don’t have willpower. If I want something I get it. And I’ll have you know that I have my laptop in that bag, along with clothes to wear to the office tomorrow, and some of my makeup and my hair product. I love that bag.”

“She has no willpower.”

“That’s true,” Nick said. Harry put his hand on my thigh where the slit on my dress exposed the skin. I just rolled my eyes at him and didn’t even bother to try and move his hand. It was worthless to resist at this point. When I’d left the office I knew what I was going to do. I’m a weak woman coming off of a period of life being a sexual desert. After last night, I realize that I need a night of this where I don’t wake up feeling embarrassed. And then tomorrow, it’s done. Just one more night won’t hurt. “So let me be the first one here tonight to welcome you to this crazy family. You’ll figure it out soon. But SME truly is a giant family. So welcome.”

“Thank you. I’m glad I made this decision.” We all clinked glasses.

“I did actually bring a bottle of champagne to celebrate,” Nick said. “But I considering Everlee Mae gets out of hand if we give her champagne, it’s probably not a good idea.”

“We’ll have that with dessert then,” Harry replied. I just shook my head looking at him. Nick and Kammi laughed at me. They both knew me too well to hide anything. The guys began to talk work while Harry finished up dinner. As we sat down to eat the conversation was getting good. “So did she go on tour with your? Or like hang out in the studio?”

“Studio yes. I did most of the recording for this next album here in LA. She often times looks for an excuse to not be sitting behind her desk. So that meant she was in the studio with me and could answer her emails but also weigh in on if a song sounded better with an added piece or by being a little more subtle. Having her there was immensely helpful. As for tours, she’s not usually around.”

“Really?”

“No, she travels too much for work as it is. She’ll come in for a night in or two. Usually in Chicago or around there.”

“Because you still have family in Chicago?” Harry asked me.

“Yeah, my Mother and step-father live in Chicago still with my three little brothers.” I know that yesterday Pops mentioned Mom being from Chicago but I hadn’t said anything about growing up there and this was his second mention of Chicago.

“Do you get back there often?”

“Yeah, I’ll actually be back there in the next week and a half. Jonathan, the oldest of the boys, turns 16. So I’m taking them to a Cubs game.”

“You’re a big Cubs fan?”

“The giant replica of the sign at Wrigley Field and the giant mural of the outfield wall weren’t a sign?” Kammi asked.

“I thought it might be.”

“Yeah, it is. My Pops and I would go every time he came home and then we would go to the games in Los Angeles together.”

"Did you get to go much when you were at Northwestern?” I didn’t even know how to answer that. I knew I hadn’t mentioned Northwestern.

“As much as possible. I used to skip classes to catch the train in to the city and spend the afternoon in the bleachers for a day game. Two of my brothers have birthdays during baseball season so I take them to a game to celebrate. It was a right they earned at 5 because by the time Jonathan was 5 I was 14 and thought it was a great idea. Mom was terrified because I was determined I was old enough to take him on his own.”

“Did she let you?”

“Sort of,” I replied laughing. “Mason was only two so my grandmother watched him. Mom and Marco took us on the L to the stadium and told us that they would pick us up. It was maybe the third inning when I realized that they were five rows behind us wearing disguises. I was 17 with Mason so Mom was okay with me taking them both at that point. And then when we finally got the baby, Christopher, in to the birthday club his older brothers were trying to pretend that they didn’t care about going.”

“Do they still act like that?”

“Not at all,” I said. It was kind of nice that he was asking me about my family. When Drew and I first broke up Kammi and Nick tried to force me to date. I went on a few dates but every person just wanted to know if I could get them auditions or tickets to some event. No one cared about my little brothers or my love of the Cubs. “I’m not home as often anymore so it’s a chance for me to have brother time. Jonathan has a birthday at the beginning of the season. Mason’s is at the end when it’s normally playoff time and well, 108 years. Christopher’s is in the winter. So we all go every year for Jonathan’s birthday but celebrate them all. They all look forward to it but Jonathan is the biggest fan out of all of them. He’s the athlete of the boys. Mason loves food, he takes private lessons with the chefs at Marco’s restaurants in addition to any sort of class he can get through school. Then Christopher takes as many art classes as possible, he’s going to be amazing some day.”

“Mason cooked a dinner for all of us when we were in town last,” Kammi said. “It was incredible. I told him that he should just move in to our condo and feed us, Grace didn’t like that idea.”

“No, Grace wishes all of her children were still in Chicago. Unfortunately for her, I’m 100% my father’s daughter. I wasn’t going to be able to stay in Chicago forever. Maybe I’ll be back someday but I doubt it.”

“You should see her when she’s in Chicago,” Nick said. “She is super in charge in Los Angeles. She knows her way around this city like she owns it but Chicago is just different. She’s just a special kind of E in Chicago.”

“Sort of like Kammi in New York. I’ve never seen someone cover most of Manhattan in a 4” heel. Kammi I’ve seen do it,” I said laughing. She really was superhuman sometimes.

“How often are you in New York?”

“Fairly often,” Kammi said. “With the offices there and my family still in New York, along with Kevin and Danielle having a family, Nick and I try to make it back as often as possible.”

“I go when I can or when work requires it. Dad and I share a place in Tribeca. It’s very close to our recording studio there so if I’ve got a lot of artists in the studio it’s nice to make a trip. I used to go more frequently.”

“Because of Drew?” Harry asked. Ok. What the actual fuck? I knew that I hadn’t mentioned Drew.

“How do you know about Drew?” Nick and Kammi asked simultaneously.

“Umm, your bio on the SME website?”

“Wrong, Drew and I have basically been split for a year because we took a two month ‘break’ before we broke up ten months ago. There is absolutely nothing in my bio about him.”

“Okay, I lied. But I was google searching you because of our meeting and thought you were cute and happened upon an article that was about a special art fundraiser for your Mom. There was a picture of you and Drew. I got curious.”

“You got curious and online stalked me?” I had started laughing pretty hard at this point.

“I wouldn’t call it stalking.”

“Then what would you call it.” Kammi and Nick were just stunned and knew it was best to leave me on my own to do this.

“Research?”

“So should I pull my phone out and do some research on the women in your life?”

“I’d prefer that you not do that. Though I can’t imagine you don’t know most of them. Some of them are signed by your agency.”

“Well, then the deal is if you have a question you ask. Don’t google me. Fuckin’ nutjob.”

“I won’t google you. But should I admit to the other things I discovered by google?”

“Yes!” Kammi and Nick answered together. I rolled my eyes at them.

“Okay, so I may have found your Facebook page, can’t see much on it.”

“Privacy settings obviously doing their job,” I replied.

“Your profile photo?” I had to think for a second. And then I started laughing.

“Yeah, that’s from my birthday. I don't know that I can explain anything about it other than, it was my birthday.”

“Your Instagram,” he started.

“Yes?”

“There are a few pictures I have questions about.”

“Do you need to pull up my Instagram to ask about the specific pictures?”

“That makes me look like a freak.”

“You already look like a freak.”

“You sort of do,” Kammi said.

“I want to know what pictures they are,” Nick added. He was laughing so hard watching Harry and I that I was sure he was going to cry. Harry picked up his phone and went into his Instagram account.

“This one,” he said handing me his phone. It was a video from Mexico last year. I turned the sound on to figure out which one it was. We always did a family karaoke night in Mexico as a way to goof off. Typically it was what we called, Karaoke Roulette. Someone would hit random on iTunes and you had to sing it or, if you were an adult, take a shot. I knew the words to pretty much every song that came up, it helped that it was my iTunes, but there were songs that I just refused to sing because I didn’t like them, or wanted to take the shot. This particular video was me singing ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’. Oh the irony of this song now that I watch my terrible performance on his phone. Taylor Swift, Harry’s ex, wrote this about him. Maybe I should’ve listened to her lyrics a little more closely instead of constantly asking if I could just take the shot instead of singing it. In the end, I was forced to take the shot because I was drunk enough that I rewrote the lyrics and sang it as ‘everyone knows you wrote an album about him’. I screeched as much as possible on the repetitive lyrics. Taylor was not an artist of mine which meant that I could goof off and not worry about someone firing me.

“Karaoke Roulette in Mexico. My Mom and I created this game. We take my iTunes and hit random. You either sing or do a shot. I always win but also always ask if I can do a shot instead. This one they would not allow me to not sing. I sort of re-wrote the song.”

“Sort of?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Nothing I said was false.”

“You sang the lyrics as ‘oh oh Taylor’s trouble trouble,” Nick said. “She sometimes forgets that both Ed and I are friends with her.”

“I don’t forget it. I choose to ignore that fact and just focus on how you love me more than her. Hashtag Team Joe.” I made a hashtag with my fingers the way Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake did in their viral video.

“Hey! I’m the President of Team Joe, but they were kids.”

“Whatever,” I said holding my hand up to Nick. We frequently had arguments about who was more Team Joe, usually Joe voted for Kammi. “Any other questionable videos or photos you need to ask about?”

“I saw the other videos from Mexico. You did a wonderful rendition of ‘Perfect’ from what I could see. I disagree with your judge’s commentary to it.” Nick had been who taped the ‘performances’ and our judge. My mother in all her infinite wisdom decided, after a second bottle of wine, that he wasn’t allowed to compete because he’d kick our asses. So he was the person who decided if the performance required a shot. During the video of ‘Perfect’ he decided he didn’t like my imitation of Harry’s moves from the music video. I was a bit embarrassed by the fact that he had watched it because it showed that I had seen the video more than a few times. “But there is a gentleman with you more than a few pictures.”

“Drew?” I asked. We had dated for so long that he was in a lot of my photos, too many to be the bitter girl that went back and deleted all of them when we broke up. I refused to be that girl, he was a large part of my life and always would be.

“No, not Drew. These were after the pictures of Drew stopped appearing.” He had clearly gone back quite a ways in my Instagram account to find where the pictures of Drew stopped. We had a huge fight over a year ago, that’s when he declared we should take a break. It wasn’t long after that when we broke up officially. He hadn’t appeared in a picture since my surprise visit for Valentine’s Day. He wasn’t really able to travel to visit me so I did a lot of traveling to visit him. He hated surprises, I should’ve know that trip was a bad idea before I even planned it. But who would be in the pictures after Drew…shit.

“Okay?” I asked hesitantly.

“Who is this?” He handed me his phone again. It was a picture from last year’s Bricks and Ivy Ball, which was an annual event held by Cubs Charities that raised money for kids in Chicago. I had gone to it every year, initially with Dad and eventually I was attending on my own. Last year, I had gone with a date, who wasn’t Drew. Last year, I went with someone from the organization as my date.

“Umm, my date to the Annual Bricks and Ivy Ball last year.” Nick and Kammi both froze for a second.

“And who is this young man?”

“Funny that you call him young. He’s older than you. That’s Anthony Rizzo, he plays first base for the Chicago Cubs.”

“I gathered that as he is tagged in the photo. What I was unsure of is,” he paused for a second contemplating his question. “What base he achieved with you?” Nick and Kammi both started laughing so hard. They knew that his joke would go over well with me and make him questioning my love life not something I wanted to punch him for.

“Well, in baseball, one doesn’t achieve a base. But nice attempting at making an American sports reference. It’s cute. And Anthony, well he perhaps achieved a very good base a time or two.” I knew he didn’t know enough to have to explain it more than that. If I’d said Anthony hit a grand slam or hit for the cycle he wouldn’t get it. Though I really wanted to use a better reference.

“What is the great base? I can understand a bit about baseball.”

“He hit for the cycle, more than once.” Again, my two friends on the other side of the table were in hysterics. I’m sure I had turned red with embarrassment at this point.

When Kammi realized that I wasn’t going to use Joe as my rebound she started bringing in assistance. She and Kris Bryant had been the masterminds of this. Kris had signed with us when he was drafted by the Cubs. We flew in for his first few games in Chicago to support him and help him get settled. He had known Anthony from spring training and they thought it was a great idea. Anthony and I went to the Bricks and Ivy Ball together as a second date, talk about awkward. Our first date had been drinks after a game that week. We were never serious and realized quickly that we made better friends than anything else. He still frequently appeared in my photos as I saw him when I went back to Chicago and caught every game they would play in California that I could. I also had done my best to make it to every event The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation held, he was doing a wonderful thing by raising money for kids with cancer, something he had dealt with personally. He was someone I cared about a lot, but, I was never going to be a girl who could be a baseball player’s wife or girlfriend and the two months that I even attempted it told me that. My career was far too important to me and I was never going to be someone who sacrificed that for a relationship, which I’d learned with Drew. Anthony had recently started dating a great girl who I adored.

“Hit for the cycle,” he said. It was cute he was trying to act like he knew what the reference meant.

“That means that he hit a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game,” Nick said. He obviously felt bad for the little British kid who didn’t get baseball. “She’ll teach you about the game.”

“So would you say I hit for the cycle?” Harry asked looking at me.

“Based on what she’s told me you did not hit for the cycle,” Kammi said. “You hit a grand slam every time.” I kicked her under the table. “OUCH! Bitch!”

“That isn’t shit you’re supposed to share.”

“I quite like that she shared it,” Harry said. “Thanks for that, Kammi.”

“Do you have any more questions you need to ask me about what you found out during your stalking? Sorry, your research.”

“How often do you make it home to Chicago?”

“I try to never go more than six weeks without going home. I don’t often go much more than that, but it happens. Sometimes I can’t control what I need to do for work, luckily my Mom grew used to that when I was a kid.”

“How often was your father able to get home?”

“He tried for the same rule when I was young. If it was going to be more than 6 weeks I was put on a plane and sent to Los Angeles for a weekend to see him. He was an awesome father despite being half way across the country from me.”

“You idolize him so I’d say he did a good job,” Harry said.

“He did,” I replied. “Speaking of good jobs, you did an amazing job making dinner.” I wanted to change this from an awkward game of 20 questions with me. This was the kind of shit that didn’t even get asked on a first date and wasn’t made any less weird having two of my best friends sitting across the table from me.

“She’s right. This is amazing. You are a wonderful cook. We were both concerned about it for a while,” Kammi said.

“You doubted my skills?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“This particular skill…yes. Do you want help cleaning up the dishes?” Everyone was done eating.

“Sure,” he said. We both stood and started to clear the table while Kammi and Nick stayed seated. We grabbed the bottles of wine and brought them out to refill everyone’s glass. “Would you all like a tour of the house now?”

“Yes!” Kammi practically yelled. A house in the hills was sort of the epitome of a Hollywood dream. I’d looked at a few before settling on my condo. The condo had been a graduation present from my parents. Mom had flown out here with me over my final spring break. She, Dad and I saw more houses than I could’ve ever imagined seeing. They both felt more comfortable having me in a condo because it meant I didn’t have to worry about any maintenance. I sometimes wondered if I should’ve gotten a house but being as close as I was to work was convenient.

“Alright, well you’ve seen the living room and kitchen as you came out here.” We stood to follow Harry around the house to see everything. There was a theater, three bedrooms, six bathrooms, a ton of gorgeous outdoor space near the pool and views of the city that made my heart beat faster. This was the kind of house that I wanted when I originally looked at houses. Much like my father, I loved a sleek design. My Mother’s taste was vastly different, she lived in a historic home in Lincoln Park that was built in the 1890s. How my parents were ever in love sometimes blows my mind because of how vastly different they are.

“This house is amazing,” I said as we returned back to the living room and out on to the deck again.

“Thank you,” Harry replied.

“The view is awesome,” Nick said. “I like the Hills a lot.”

“Yet you live in Sherman Oaks,” I replied rolling my eyes.

“Hey, you like my house,” Nick defended.

“I love your house,” Kammi comforted him. She had liked the house Nick and Joe had purchased together. It was a modern farmhouse look. Having grown up between a sprawling estate in the Hamptons and a turn of the century townhouse a half block from Central Park meant that Kammi’s tastes were much different than mine. She enjoyed living in my condo but when Nick bought the house I could tell that she was looking at it imagining a day when Joe and Nick weren’t the brothers who still lived together and the house was filled with kids and not Joe’s bandmates.

“Sherman Oaks is nice,” Harry said. He was scolding me.

“It’s nice but it’s not the Hollywood Hills or the heart of the city.”

“It’s 10 minutes from her Dad’s house.” Nick rolled his eyes at me this time.

“All the reason to not live in Sherman Oaks.”

“You are such a pain in my ass.” Nick glared at me.

“It’s my job.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “I almost bought in the Hills instead of LA Live but my parents wanted me in a building where if the lawn needed mowed I didn’t have to figure out how to do it. I told them I might enjoy it. Mom told me to not try it. So Mom won and I have a condo.”

“What did your father say?”

“That I should just live in his guest house. That would never have lasted. I did that every summer in college. If he didn’t have a new step-mom for me he had a girlfriend who thought we should be best friends. He and I are extremely close but also need our own space. His guest house was not enough space. My goal was to live in the city for like five years and then get a house and hope that by then I didn’t have three roommates.”

“You’ll probably still have two,” Nick said. “Ty and Eliza aren’t moving out until you force them out.” Nick had stopped drinking for a while, Kammi and I kept enjoying the wine while listening to Nick talk about his new album and the sound he was going for. Harry was excited to listen to someone talk about what life was like after being in a huge boyband. The Jonas Brothers were different from One Direction in that when they took their time apart they still talked to each other every day and would always be that way, they were family first and had been bandmates second. Nick and Joe were still best friends the only time anyone saw them without each other was if one was on the road or if they were out for dinner with a girlfriend, though Kammi had done her duty and gone on plenty of double dates with the women Joe dated. Harry would have a chance to completely spread his wings without his bandmates and if he didn’t talk to them for a few days he wouldn’t have his mother calling and asking him about it. Eventually Nick and Kammi decided it was time to leave.

“You look cute together,” Kammi said as I walked them out to the car.

“You do, Everlee Mae,” Nick added. “And he makes you smile. You haven’t done that this much around a guy in a really long time. It’s nice to see.”

“Well it’s going away again in the morning. I’m stupid enough to stay here tonight but I can’t keep doing this. He’s a client.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, E.” Kammi was pouting at me. “Allow yourself to have fun for a while. You know how to draw the line between personal and work, you do it with Nick.”

“I’m not sleeping with Nick, you are. It’s different.”

“Just be happy,” Nick said as he hugged me. I waved at them as they pulled out of the driveway and I went back in to the house. Harry and I had cleared the plates from dinner but not cleaned them off. He was in the kitchen getting them put in the dishwasher. I walked over to him and he leaned down to kiss me.

“Hi,” he said before smiling down at me. I was now barefoot and significantly shorter than him.

“Hi.” I started to help him with the dishes. “Thanks for making dinner tonight.”

“Thanks for relenting to my request and coming over for dinner tonight.”

“You didn’t give me much of an option. You invited two of my best friends and they said yes.”

“So you’re telling me that if I call up the office tomorrow and invite Eliza over for dinner tomorrow that you’ll be here.”

“You’re a smart ass.”

“If it means this behavior will earn me dinner, I’ll keep it up.” We put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and then he turned to me wrapping his arms around me. I yawned a little. It wasn’t all that late but I’d had a long day on not great sleep last night. “Do you want to go to bed?”

“Yes, though I feel pathetic for admitting that.”

“You shouldn’t feel pathetic for wanting to sleep with me. I want to sleep with you.”

“That’s not it, though I do feel like an idiot for that. I feel pathetic because it’s barely 10:00 and I’m exhausted and ready for bed.”

“Well then, to bed you shall go.” As we headed towards the bedroom he grabbed my bag off of the couch handing it to me. I put it down on the floor in the bedroom on the side of the bed I’d woken up on this morning. I felt an arm slide around my waist as he brushed my hair off of my shoulder and bent down to kiss my neck. “Did you bring pajamas?”

“No…someone told me not to.”

“That surprises me. You don’t appear to like to listen to me or you would’ve skipped out on work this afternoon to come over here.”

“I only listen when I want to. You’ll learn that eventually.” I took the kimono off and dropped it on the floor, normally I’d be scolding myself for this because it was expensive but it was also not sexy to fold your kimono or ask if you can borrow a hanger. I felt his lips move to my shoulder as one of the thin straps on my dress fell off of my shoulder. I allowed for it to fall at my feet. His large hand rested on the bare skin on my stomach pulling my back in to his chest. I turned to look at him. I stood on my tip toes and pulled his head down slightly to kiss him before pulling the white t-shirt he still had on from this morning over his head while he unbuttoned his belt and took off his pants. He picked me up, wrapping my legs around his waist as he kissed me and moved to lay us on the bed.

This wasn’t like what I could remember from last night or had vividly been replaying in my head all morning. Yes, we’d had quite a bit of wine tonight, but we were far from as drunk as we’d been last night. Our kisses weren’t sloppy or rushed or hungry. We were slow, intentioned. He was being gentle, knowing that I was thoroughly exhausted from last night and this morning. The way he looked at me, looked me in the eyes was so different from anything I’d ever experienced with another man. I mean it’s not like my list of past lovers was long. I’d had two boyfriends in high school, one in college and a fling with an All-Star baseball player. Sure there had been a one-night stand or two in college before I got in a serious relationship but nothing like this. The way Harry looked at me in that moment made me feel a way I’d never felt before. Most men did the normal ‘cuddle for a couple minutes and move to the other side of the bed’ routine, Harry had my head over his heart and his fingers twirling my hair.

“So am I going to be able to persuade you to have dinner with me tomorrow night?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’m probably going to be stuck working late.”

“I could bring it to you or take you out for a late bite to eat.”

“You don’t give up do you?”

“Not easily if I really want something. And I’d like a meal…alone…with you.”

“You know we can’t do this again. Tonight has to be the last night. The press release went out at the end of the day announcing that I was your new representation. I’ve worked hard for most of my life for this career and I’m not going to give it up for sex. You will be praised for it, bedding the blonde who runs your career. I will be called a blonde bimbo who is sleeping with clients to earn them. I can’t have that be my reputation.”

“I would never allow for that.”

“Have you met the media? Fans? You don’t get to decide what happens. They do. I’ve seriously worked too long and too hard to blow this.”

“I know you have. I did read your bio in my research. Did you really start at 14?”

“I did. I answered the phones. I worked in the mail room. I sat in the bullpens with the interns. I worked BS red carpet lines at Award Shows and premieres. I worked as an assistant for people when they were on sets. If it was a shitty job, I did it. Dad and Cameron didn’t want Kammi and I to graduate and start this job at the level we are at and have people question if we deserved it. I know that in particular I wanted to prove it. Kammi didn’t work during the school year because she was in Kentucky. I agreed with my parents that I’d live on campus in Evanston the first two years. My junior and senior year I lived in the city and just went to campus for classes because I was working. My Mom wasn’t as happy about it because it meant I was either in the car for over an hour a day or on the train for almost three hours. So that meant I was driving because I couldn’t waste that much time taking the train.”

“It’s nice to meet someone who is as determined as you are to make something of themselves that isn’t trying to be fake about anything. You don’t need anything about me to make your career successful.”

“I mean, no I don’t. But also it’s quite the feather in my cap professionally to only be 25 and be the person who you chose to lead you down the path to a successful solo career. My competition in this city are people my Dad has been going up against since he was my age. Kicking their ass felt pretty fucking good.” He laughed at me before using his finger to tip my head towards him. He kissed me lightly.

“Are you ready for sleep now?”

“Yeah,” I said. He shut the lights off in his room and it wasn’t long before I could tell he’d fallen asleep. My mind was still racing from my day. There was no way I would be able to fall asleep. I slowly moved away from his arms and reached for my bag. I pulled my laptop out and quickly dimmed the screen a bit as it lit up. I opened my email and watched the tally grow. Not quite the 455 I had this morning but considering the release went out at 5:00 it was a lot of emails. I scanned through to see if there was anything important and saw one from my father.

From: James Scarcello
To: Everlee Scarcello
Subject: A Father’s Pride

Evie,

Today was an amazing day, kiddo. You truly impress me every day.

The pride I felt watching you close the deal with Harry is something that I won’t soon forget. You have really come into your own in your role. Being your business partner is something that I am grateful for, I’d hate to be your competition. But the pride I felt as your father, that’s something I can’t even explain to you. No longer are you the little girl running around my office in blonde pigtails asking when we get to leave and go to the beach or a ballgame. You’re now the woman walking in to my office and showing me how things are done.

Keep up the good work.

Love, Pops

I felt a tear slide down my cheek. My Dad told me he was proud of me a lot, but it was the things like this that got to me. He wasn’t just saying he was proud of me the way a Dad is for a daughter but also the way a mentor is to the person who they’ve helped along the way. And that he is proud to be my business partner. I loved my Dad so much, I’d idolized him since I was little and wanted to grow up to be just like him. And I was getting to the point where he truly believed I was on his level. I saw one more email that was important for me to read, it was Mom. It wasn’t normal for her to email me, she normally called. She was one of the few people I knew who still loved talking on the phone.

From: Grace Ferrera
To: Everlee Scarcello
Subject: SME Signs Harry Styles

Everlee Mae,

Why didn’t you tell me about this? Eliza forwarded me the email and told me that you had been too busy to call me this week because of this. While I never like hearing from Eliza that you’re too busy, I do understand. And this…THIS IS HUGE. My little Evie Mae, I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing this is. You are taking the world and your industry by storm. While I wish you were still here in Chicago to have the occasional Saturday morning breakfast or Wednesday glass of wine with me, I am so proud of the work you are doing.

Your father must be beside himself right now. Most Dads wish for a son to carry on their legacy. Someone to teach how to throw a ball and carry on the family name. While you always hate throwing the ball, you always loved to be the girl on his arm at Wrigley on a warm summer day. And you are carrying on the Scarcello legacy at SME. Every time we talk these days he is basically gushing about you. If you weren’t also my kid I’d probably hate him for the way he brags about you.

We are all excited to have you home next week. Christopher has a countdown on the chalkboard in their study room. Your old room will be ready for you when you get here, though admittedly I’ve changed it up a bit. I think you’ll like it. If Kammi decides to come just tell her that she can have her normal guest room. I figure Eliza will stay with her parents. The Richards are all coming over for dinner on Friday evening since you girls will land in the afternoon. The boys are making me take them shopping this weekend for some new Cubs gear for your game. They miss their big sister. How about we have a little girl time when you’re home? I am being overrun by boys in this house without you here to set your little brothers straight.

Evie Mae, we are all so proud of you. Call me when you’re done celebrating your huge accomplishment.
Love, Mom

Mom was always much longer winded than Dad was. The emails I got in college from Dad were usually ‘Be careful. Go to class. Wash your car.’ The emails from Mom read more like novels. She’d catch me up on what the boys were doing at home, how her work was going and the things she missed being able to tell me while I was gone. I missed my Mom and should’ve called her today. I started sifting through the rest of my emails. A lot of it was questions that were coming in from our other agents and a few congratulatory messages from friends.

“What are you doing awake, love?” I turned to see Harry’s tired face looking at me from his pillow. I realized I’d been going through my email for an hour.

“Umm…working?” He glanced at my computer screen and saw his name in the subject of the email. He reached for my computer and shut it before putting it on his nightstand.

“Not anymore,” he said. “You are to be sleeping. You didn’t sleep very well last night. It’s almost 1:00.”

“I know but there’s so much email.” I laid down and climbed back in to his arms. I kissed his lips quickly. “It’s all your fault.”

“Then I declare that you are never again allowed to work in bed with me. Whether it is for me or for someone else. No work allowed in this bed.” He kissed me before we both got comfortable. “You need sleep. You’re going to try to leave early for work tomorrow. So no working now.”

“I need to be in the office by probably 6:00.”

“No, you don’t. You can be in the office at 8:00. I’ll make you breakfast in the morning if I need to keep you here. But you need to sleep. You can take a shower and get dressed and leave for work like a normal human does. Not like your psychotic little brain thinks it needs to. Your whole day tomorrow will be devoted to my move, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Then I say you aren’t to go to work until 8:00 and that you are to have dinner with me.”

“Dinner is probably a no. We can’t do this anymore. This is the end of it.”

“Okay,” he said as his lips connected with the top of my head. “Whatever you say, love.” I finally fell asleep in his arms, both of us facing each other.


Notes

YAY Chapter Five! And it's a long one. Also the chapter title just seemed too perfect. :)

Dinner seemed to be fun between these four. Everlee and Nick's banter always makes me laugh. I enjoy writing those two friends and the relationship that E, Kammi and Nick have despite two of them dating. I think Harry will fit in well with them if Everlee ever decides to allow him to fit in. If nothing else he lives in a house that she is in love with.

Anyone else find it hilarious that Harry stalked her before hand? We all know we do it when we are interested in someone or meet someone new. Everyone is guilty of the online stalking just a little. And he probably started with the purest of intentions, researching the company he wanted to sign with and got sidetracked by her photos with Anthony Rizzo. ;) The baseball references had me laughing out loud while I wrote them. I love a good pun or innuendo and anything related to baseball (more specifically the Cubs) makes my heart happy. Every writer has a little bit of their personality that they write into a character at some point. Everlee and I would be the loudest group of girls Wrigley had ever seen.

I'm excited to start working on Chapter Six and hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Feedback is always appreciated and I do my best to respond to everyone. You can also follow me on
Tumblr or Twitter . This story is also available on Mibba and Wattpad in addition to Tumblr . Thanks so much for reading!

Comments

@En_1960
Thank you!

LOVE this.

@xXFluffy_GruXx
HEY GUESS WHAT? THE SEQUEL IS A THING. A REAL THING. LIKE I PUBLISHED THE FIRST PART OF A SEQUEL! I can't wait to hear what you think of it. Your words of encouragement through all of this have meant more than you could ever truly know.

@xXFluffy_GruXx
Hopefully it will happen sooner rather than later. I'm behind with work which is stressful. I work for myself so it's not like I can have anyone else help but the good thing is I can take care of everything I need to without worrying about punching a clock for someone else. I'm also at that point where my sleep habit is so screwed that I just honestly want to pull an all-nighter, hate my life for like a day and a half and then hope that it resets my sleep schedule. Maybe tonight is the night for that. I could write instead of sleep, haha!

@raybansncoffee
Exactly! You are also 100% correct about growing through what you go through! I'm excited and anxious to see what comes next, but I'll wait patiently this time, promise. XD