Strictly Business (Conor Maynard)

Chapter 4

Guess who woke up late on her first day? Yep, you guessed it: me.

I was positive I had set my alarm for half past eight, but I didn't notice that I typed in PM instead of AM. Crap, I was so sure my alarm was correct! I even quadruple-checked that it was!

It was a good thing I showered last night, so I quickly pulled my hair up in a side ponytail. I made sure all the hair was away from my face before applying mascara and blush on; I didn't really want to bother with the make-up today.

Once I was finished with all that, I put on a blue tank top and black jeans, pairing the outfit with navy blue high tops. I grabbed my key necklace from my jewelry box on the nightstand and the charm bracelet my grandmother had given me for my sixteenth birthday.

Glancing at the mirror one last time, I grabbed all my necessities and walked out of my room downstairs. I wasn't even going to bother eating breakfast today; Lowell would probably have a fit if I'm even more late to the internship.

I stepped into Alan's Honda Civic and turned on the ignition. It was a good thing the tank was full so I wouldn't have to stop for gas along the way. Once the engine was hot and ready, I put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway and onto the road.

Since it was already past regular traffic time, I sped quickly through the streets. Well, the first few.

It turns out my idiot of a brother didn't fill the tank, but rather didn't bother to tell me that the car doesn't correctly mark how much gas it has. So, I was stuck, without gas, fifteen blocks away from the place I was supposed to be at over an hour ago.

Just before getting out of the car, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and answered, immediately getting pissed off at Alan. "What the hell is wrong with you? I had to be at an internship ages ago, but you change my alarm and lie to me about the car? Some word of advice: sleep with one eye open or sleep forever!" I hung up before he could speak.

I had no other choice but to take the bus, which conveniently had just stopped by near me. It only took another twenty minutes, but I finally got to the JW Marriott, the hotel Conor was staying at for a few days before settling himself into a summer house a few blocks away.

When I stepped into the lobby, I received dirty looks, which were probably because I didn't look like the type to be at a hotel this fancy. I ignored the looks and went straight to the check-in desk. "Hi, can you tell me what room Conor Maynard in staying in?"

"I'm sorry sweetie, but Conor isn't staying at this hotel," the lady at the desk said. "Can you tell the other fans when you go outside? They've been trying to get in since this morning." She pointed out the door at a group of girls, no older than seventeen, with posters of Conor and all that mumbo jumbo. "Sorry hun, but you'll have to meet your idol another time."

"Actually Miss, I'm his assistant. Trust me, I would never be a fan of his."

"You're gonna have to do much better than that, sweetie pie. Now, off you go." She shooed me with her hand, turning back to the computer.

"I really am his assistant. Here, I have documents to prove it." I quickly took the folder Lowell had given me out from my bag and gave it to her to see. "It's a requirement for my major at UCLA. Can you please tell me where he is now?"

She let out a sigh and handed me back the folder. "Room 1348. The elevators are down this hall, to the left." I quickly thanked her and made my way.

After the slow elevator ride, I jogged to the room Conor was staying at. I knocked and stepped back a bit, but nobody was answering. I knocked again, but still nothing. The last time, a tired-looking Conor opened the door.

"You're Conor Maynard," I said, failing at making it sound like a question.

"And you're late," he quickly replied. Me-ow, this was a cranky one.

"It's a long story. See, my brother-"

"I don't care. Just come in and sit over there while I tell you what you need to do today," he ordered.

"Excuse me? You don't just interrupt me when I'm speaking, and you definitely, definitely, don't speak to me in that tone. I don't know why your knickers are in a twist, but you better not take out your anger or crankiness on me."

That seemed to get the message out to him, because he looked very shocked. "Do you know who I am?"

"Unfortunately."

"I don't like your attitude."

"And I don't like you at all, so the feeling's mutual."

He let out a long sigh. "Why did Lowell have to choose you to be my assistant? I would've picked Shannon, but no, he just had to pick you out of everyone!"

"Shannon? That bitch was in line for this internship, too?"

He nodded. "She had a better attitude than you, though. I prefer having her around."

"You do? Okay." I opened the door and walked out. "Have fun with Shannon!"

I left the hotel and was about to call my dad to pick me up when my brother called me. "What the hell do you want, Alan?"

"Damn, Zo, is it your time of the month? Did a guy cancel a date? Why so cranky?"

"You wanna know why I'm angry? You changed my alarm and didn't tell me the car didn't have a full tank before I left!" All I could hear through the other line was laughter. "You won't be laughing when I get you back for this, little bro. Sleep with one eye open tonight, or stay asleep forever." I hung up and proceeded to calling my dad.

I was gonna be in big trouble with Lowell...

A/N: Hey guys! Can't believe this story's just two votes away from thirty total! And I reached 900 total votes the other day! Thanks so much!

I decided that the lovely Emma Roberts will be playing Zoe Baker in the story. I watched Wild Child the other day and just loved her in that movie! Oh, and Alex Pettyfer, too ;)

Enjoy R U Crazy (The Swing Version) on the side there! Dedication to Mayniacs4Lyfe! Go check out her story 'Falling for Him'! Love you! :)