Austin watches as Angel sits on a makeup chair, her team fussing with her hair and makeup. She has a radio interview so he has no idea why they are bothering to doll her up so much. His phone rings so he steps into the hallway but still has a clear view of Angel. She was stiff and nervous when they came back into the lounge but has relaxed somewhat. The appearance of her stalker must have truly rattled her. It's good to an extent - makes it a little more real for her so perhaps she will take this shit a little more seriously.
"Hello."
"Hey, Austin. You wanted me to phone you?"
His sister's voice gives him a headache. She is always way too happy.
"Yes. I want you to pack me a bag. I will text you the address. It's a radio station."
"Ok. Hey, you want to do dinner sometime?"
"No."
"Oh, please."
"I am working, Phoebe."
"Well, what about when you are not working?"
"No."
"But, you have to eat sometime. Please, I miss you."
Austin sighs. He hates having dinner with her, she talks too much. But, he does love her. She is his sister after all.
"Not now. I will let you know."
"Ok! Great! Text me the address and I will bring your bag. The house feels empty without you."
"I have been gone nine hours."
"I know! I miss you!"
"I have to go."
He cuts the call and puts his phone in his pocket then walks back into the room. Angel is just getting up from the chair and is handed an outfit to change into. He has to snap his head away when she promptly pulls off the sweats she had on and changes into her new outfit. The woman has no shame, but he knows that already given the pictures he had seen of her during his research, pictures of her black-out drunk or half naked at a photo shoot or on stage. "Ok, let me just say goodbye to Charlie then we can go," she says rushing out of the lounge. "Next time she changes you will all divert your eyes or I will divert them myself - permanently," he says. Everyone freezes and then nods quickly.
She takes forever and Austin checks his watch, they will be late if they don't leave now so he walks into the kitchen.
"Shit! Fuck!"
"I know, Charlie, I will miss you too," she says cuddling her awful bird. "Shit! Fuck!" it screeches again. "We are going to be late," Austin says. "It's ok, I am late for everything," Angel says as she continues to cuddle her bird. "Well, I am not so put that bird down and move your ass," he says, his annoyance with her rising by the second. "His name is Charlie and you scare him, he goes quiet when you are around," she says, still fucking cuddling it. "Good. Let's go, Miss Knite," he says. "Fine," she sighs and places Charlie back in his cage. "Do you think he will be safe while we are gone? Do you think the stalker would come in here and hurt him while we are gone?" she asks following him out of the kitchen and to her car.
"That bird's safety is not my concern," he says opening the back door for her. "Oh, please! If something ever had to happen to him I would freak the fuck out," she says standing by the car door and looking at him those big eyes. Yesterday she had yellow eyes, today they are purple. "I don't know enough to rule it out so the answer is yes. He may very well hurt your bird," Austin says pushing the door forward slightly in an attempt to herd her into the car. Her brow creases in worry and her hands go to her mouth. She should have known her stalker would lash out eventually at the things she loves. But, he does feel slightly bad for scaring her. "Your house is more secure now than it has ever been and for now your stalker is fixated on you. As time goes on and he can't get to you only then will you need to worry about that bird. Get in the car now," he says.
"Will you look after him too? Please..." Angel asks, worry streaking her face. Austin has no intention of putting any effort into that bird. He wants to kill it himself, but telling Angel that will make her whine endlessly at him so he will pacify her with a lie. "Yes," he says. Angel catches him off guard when she suddenly flings herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly, he keeps his hands away from her. "Thank you, Austin," she mumbles into his chest. "Get off me and get into the car, Miss Knite," he says sternly. "You are built like a brick house. A steel-caged brick house," she says squeezing him tighter. "Get off me or I will wring that bird's neck myself," he warns her. She lets go and grins up at him. "You would not...your heart is too kind," she says softly then climbs into the car. Austin slams her door shut and checks his suit for creases then climbs into the front passenger seat. He has been described by many words - kind, has never been one of them.
"Give me your number," he says as the car takes off. "I don't know my number, just put your number in my phone," she says leaning over and dropping her phone in his lap. He looks down at the phone and wants to kill her. There are dirty fingerprints all over the screen, it's smashed in the corner and there looks to be remnants of her dinner splashed up the sides. Filthy. He takes his handkerchief out of his pocket and picks it up then wipes it clean. "The code is 12345," Lia says from next to Angel. Of course it is. He punches in the code and puts in his number, ringing his phone so he has her number then he goes to her settings and changes the code. He wipes it down again and passes it back to her then throws his handkerchief on the floor and wipes his hands with hand sanitizer that he keeps in his pocket.
"Oooh, you cleaned it too! Thank you," she says. "I have changed the passcode. Do not share it with anyone including your assistant," Austin says then clenches his jaw when he feels Angel push her head between the door frame and his headrest, resting her chin on his shoulder. "What is my new code, big boy?" she whispers in his ear. She has no respect for any boundaries. "Charlie," he whispers back. "Clever, I will never forget that," she whispers back, still in his ear. "That was the point. Now get away," he says placing the tips of his fingers on her forehead and pushing her back gently. She goes without any resistance. Then he sees her phone snake around his head and she holds it up to his face. "Look what I saved your name as!" she says happily with a little giggle.
Mr. BDE 🥵🍆
"That is not my name."
"But you do give off Big Dick Energy! What did you save my name as?"
"Angel Knite."
"Did you at least put a cute little emoji next to it? Oooh! A drive-thru! Stop for coffee!"
She has a limited attention span. Austin checks his watch and then gives the driver a tight nod as he looks at him with shifty eyes. "Hey! Did you just approve my coffee stop? Nate! I am the boss here, even if he said no you would still have to stop if I say," Angel says pushing herself between the front seats. "Sorry, Angel, but after the interrogation I went through this morning - Austin will be who I listen to from now on," he says. "Oh really? Even if it means losing your job?" she asks. "I would rather lose my job than die," he mumbles. "Fair enough," Angel says turning to Austin. "You are scaring everyone," she accuses him. "Sit back and put your seatbelt on, Miss Knite," he warns.
"Mhmmm. No! I shall not be doing that," she says in a bratty voice. "Pull the car over, Nate," Austin says. Nate pulls the car over and Austin climbs out. "If you quit now don't think I care. I can look after myself!" she shouts after him, her voice still bratty. Austin yanks her door open then grabs her arm, pulling her back into her seat then places his hand on her chest, and slams her back into her backrest, not too hard but hard enough to make sure she knows he is not playing her game. He grabs her seatbelt and wraps it around her, clicking it into place then points his finger in her face. "Get out of your chair again..." he warns her then steps back and slams her door on her shocked little face. He dusts his suit off, scans the area then climbs back into the car. "Radio station, no time for coffee now," he says to Nate.
Nate pulls the car back onto the road and for the rest of the trip, the car is silent. Angel does not say a word or even move. Good. That's the way he likes it. When they turn into the radio street Austin can see a swarm of people gathered around the entranceway. Photographers and her fans, all giddy with excitement. The radio station has placed barricades out as well as a ton of security personnel so it looks pretty safe for Angel. Austin scans the windows in the surrounding buildings and then scans the crowd. He maps out her route from the car to the radio entrance in his head. "Park there," he says to Nate. No doubt she will want to stop and greet her fans - he will allow it given the security and barricades, but he will stay close to her. When Nate stops the car Austin hops out and opens Angel's door. She looks at him with a defiant face and for a second he thinks she is going to refuse to get out but instead, she unclips her seatbelt and climbs out.
"I will be two steps away, watching the whole time," he says. She gives him a little nod and takes a deep breath then steps out from behind the car. The crowd goes insane and Austin watches as Angel turns into the carefree, over-the-top rockstar she portrays in the media. She has a large grin on her face as she waves and blows kisses as she walks closer to the barricade. Her fans reach out to her as she leans in for them to take photos or she takes the items they want to be signed and chats happily with them as she signs them. Austin watches every hand that reaches out to her, he also constantly scans the crowd and buildings - his eyes searching for the hooded man that had left her uneasy. He gives her a few minutes then checks his watch and steps forward, taking her elbow softly. The crowd steps back slightly at the sight of him. She lets him lead her away gently as she smiles and waves, promising to stop again on her way back out.
There are a lot of people in the radio station and because Austin had fired her team of idiot bodyguards he had not had a chance to send anyone out here to check the lay of the land so he chooses to keep hold of her elbow as they walk through the radio station. She does not try and yank it away from him when she stops to greet the radio presenter and his manager. She is learning.
When they get to the radio booth she will be having her interview Austin pops his head in and scans the room before he lets her walk in and then stands in the corner of the booth behind her. The radio presenter looks a little weary of him but says nothing. Austin is new to this world, he does not know what questions they will ask her but he is sure subjects such as security and the likes are off-limits. He does not want to give her stalker any more information than he already has to make it easier for him to get closer to her.