Hired (A Tom Felton Fanfic)

Chapter 2

                I run.  I'm not sure where I'm going, or why I'm even running, but I just do.  I have always been paranoid that I have been listed as a missing person ever since my family rejected me.  As I take off, I hear one of them yell, "Wait!  Please!  Miss!  Wait!"  I don't even look back to see which of the two spoke.  

                I dodge people on cell phones, people with screaming babies, people who are all oblivious to the panic seeping through me like ice.  My shoes have little traction, and on my way out the airport door, I slip, just managing to catch myself, but it proves to be a costly mistake.  I hear quick footsteps behind me, and a second later the cute guy from the lobby and his gaurd are at my sides, the famous one breathing heavily.

                Once he has his breath under control he holds out a hand and says, "I'm Tom Felton.  Sorry to have scared you back there.  I was just hoping to talk with you for a moment about a job offer."

                I grasp his hand firmly and meet his eyes, shaking his hand, I realize, the way my mother taught me.  "What type of job?"  I want to know.

                He looks around nervously.  People are starting to point and stare again, so he says quietly, "Let's go somewhere we can talk privately."  We walk out onto the sidewalk where he effortlessly flags a taxi.  Once inside, he shuts the partition and begins right away, "So about three months ago, my girlfriend, Jade Olivia broke up with me.  At first, I couldn't keep the press away from the story, but recently, I've been getting less and less attention.  I know it may seem like the paparazzi is a bad thing, but when you are trying to forge a path as an actor, as I am, it helps to get your name out there.  And if I can do so by using the press, I'm damn well going to.  This lack of attention has started to impede my job ability."

                I interrupt because I'm getting tired of his storytelling, "So, exactly what does this have to do with me?"

                "Good question."  He says, a bit condescendingly.  "I want to hire you to pose as my girlfriend so the press will start paying attention to me and my acting again."

                "I... think I understand.  But there's no..."  I blush at the thought, but force myself to continue, "no... funny business, fight?"

                He almost laughs.  "I said pose as my girlfriend, not become a prostitute.  And I will double your annual income.  I only need your services for a year or so anyhow."

                "Annual... Income?"  He doesn't know.  He doesn't know that I clean up in McDonald's bathrooms and sleep in alleyways.

                He looks at me a moment then seems to understand.  "You're unemployed, is that it?"

                Grateful for him not calling me homeless, I say "Yeah."

                "Well, that's okay.  We can arrange a salary.  That is, of course, if you accept...?"

                He wants an answer, I can tell.  I bite my lip, and try to make a quick decision.

                And so, in the back of a smelly taxi cab, I have my first job in over a year.