have it all (l.h)

"highly unprofessional"

"Uh—sorry." I came back to reality and made eye contact with Emma. "I'm not that upset with them... I know they were just excited. Things like that happen and it's not like I don't trust Howie or Danny... I guess I just wanted to figure things out myself and tell them when I was ready to."

"Of course, I totally understand that," Emma said, nodding her head. "You don't think Luke's told anyone?"

"I mean... we're keeping it from the others in the band. Even if they're not the only people in his life, I don't know who else he'd tell just for fun?" As I was speaking, I realized I really had no place to talk because I had no clue who Luke confided in. I knew nothing about him.

A soft knock sounded on our door and my eyes furrowed as I looked past Emma, to the door. She turned at the same time and I was surprised to see Calum peeking his head in.

"Oh, Calum." I smiled at him and he sent me a smile back. "I wasn't expecting you to drop in."

"I thought I would come by to say something, just to annoy you a little." Calum continued to smile and I felt my cheeks heat up for an unknown reason. "Sorry—I'm Calum." Calum apologized for not introducing himself to Emma and I looked at Emma to see a shocked look on her face.

"I'm Emma," she said before reaching out and shaking Calum's hand, that he had offered. "We're really excited to have you guys here."

"We're really excited to be here," Calum responded with genuine enthusiasm. Emma began to turn toward me and Calum followed her to my desk. While he couldn't see her, Emma sent me an excited look. I took the coffee mug that Emma had returned to me and looked up at Calum. "Anything fun happening in here?"

"Oh... you know, really riveting stuff going on. We've been typing our hearts out all morning, trying to save the reputation of our brand." I made my job seem more important than it really was and Calum laughed.

"Two heroes," he said, winking at me. Emma walked to her desk and leaned against the side of it.

"Emma's the one interviewing you all next week for the written article," I told Calum, wanting him to know of Emma's importance.

"So you're the Emma that skips out on our meetings?" Calum began to joke and I saw Emma become embarrassed as her cheeks began to turn a shade of pink. "We've heard only good things, I assure you."

"I promise I'll be at them next week," Emma told him, sending him a small smile. "Did you have the pleasure of meeting Pat today?"

"Yeah," Calum said, nodding his head slowly as he brought his hand up to the back of his neck. "Am I supposed to like him?"

"You're not a fan?" Emma asked, seeming hopeful. Calum's shoulders shrugged and he glanced over at me, as if to seek guidance. "This office is a strict Pat Free Zone."

"You think I could come hide out in here, then?" I let out a laugh at Calum's clear distaste for Pat and I could tell Emma was loving every second.

I wasn't huge on Pat, but I didn't mind talking to him whenever I had to. He was nice to me, but I would never go out of my way to help him out or please him.

"Michael and Luke seemed to like him alright," Calum told me, giving me an update on the rest of the band. "Ashton and I just wanted him to shut up most of the time. I don't think Michael and Luke were thrilled about his presence, but they didn't say anything specific to make me think they disliked him. That guy really likes to talk about himself."

"Isn't it aggravating?" Emma asked, feasting on Calum's dislike for Pat.

"Every time he looked like he was about to say something, Ash would start on a tangent just to stop it from happening."