-----"Mayday mayday the ship is slowly sinking, they think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling."-----
----- My Demons - Starset -----
After all of my knocks were promptly ignored I felt I had no choice but to call Nolan. It was official. I was working for Nolan Doufer.
By all the hoops I had to jump through for the last few hours to make it official you would swear I was working for the president himself. I'd been photographed, finger printed, drug tested, the works.
"Olivia Doufer." The woman who had interviewed me finally introduced herself before the long and tedious process of running everything in Nolan's life.
"Doufer?"
She nodded, almost grimly. That explains it. Why she was so mortified by Nolan's reactions, why his glare didn't faze her at all, she was Nolan's sister! I felt almost as bad for her as I did for myself for accepting the job.
Strike that, I was getting paid to put up with Nolan, she had no choice. I definitely felt worse for her.
She'd put me into the system, connected me to everything Nolan. The bank account used for business expenses, his social media, his medical records. In just a few hours I knew more about Nolan than the stoner probably knew about himself. Not that it was terribly difficult to dig up information about celebrities, but I had his passwords, all of his numbers, the numbers to every single person who worked for him, from his producer, to his makeup artist, to his preferred vet.
When all was said and finished and my head was successfully spinning around in circles I'd asked "So where is he?"
She'd laughed. "That's your job."
Essentially, I was thrown into the lions dead, smeared with fresh lamb and bacon and left to try to outrun an entire hungry pack. Lions lived in packs didn't they?
Day one. Find Nolan.
Easy enough. He was at his house, one of several I would only assume.
He finally opened the door after rejecting my call. "You have to knock so early?"
I glanced to my wrist. "It's three in the afternoon."
"It's early somewhere." He shrugged and move back to let me in. "What do you want?"
"Well, you could start with putting a shirt on?" I suggested.
He looked down. He was very much shirtless and didn't seem to be bothered by it in the least. He looked up to me, I was focusing hard on the planner, thumbing through pages and blushing even harder. "They're just nipples. Hey! I'll bet you even have a pair, maybe even a trio?"
I looked up sharply from the planner to scowl at him and then back down.
"I know, let's compare? Yes?"
My face was burning, but I continued thumbing through the schedule. "We fly out in three weeks, so I've started a check list of everything you should bring on the bus, naturally the makeup artists will have your stage clothes on site so that isn't something you'll need to worry about. I wrote up this list for you, Friday we're supposed to have a conference call around 11 with your manager and the other band members, I booked the flight, the hotel, and have already reserved us a rental car for when we arrive in Arizona though I really would suggest making a doctors trip before the tour, you're behind on, well, literally all of your vaccines so I made an appointment next Tuesday your schedule seems to be clear except I saw in your Facebook messages you seem to have made dinner arrangements with, erm, several women that night. If you plan on maintaining any of those dates kindly let me know so I can pencil them in but-"
"Carter."
I looked up, he raised both hands to be beside his nipples, kept his thumb and point out to form a gun with his hands. "Pew, pew." He pulled the thumb trigger and shot me several times. When I stared at him incredulously he lowered his hands. "Nipple lasers." He clarified for me.
I shook my head slowly turned back to the planner. "I got in touch with the sound crew and the makeup team and I'm waiting for them to email me or set up a face time chat with the wardrobe for the rest of the band so you guys can be somewhat cohesive with your outfits. I've sent an email to each stadium reminding them of the tour dates and sound check requirements and getting clearance to open up early to do some pictures and autographs for the fans I'm still waiting to hear back from a few hotels for the cities we'll be staying in overnight rather than driving out of. Oliva told me-"
"Liv." He cut in.
"I'm sorry."
"No one calls her Olivia. It's Liv, or Vivi."
"O-kay. Well, Liv said that you had some things on the schedule that they probably didn't have on file and to get together with you to see what you had on the agenda for us and if there's nothing else to go over I think I'm all caught up."
"What I have on the agenda for you you mean."
"What?"
He disappeared from the room. After a moment of standing awkwardly just in front of the door I finally decided to take my jacket off and move further into the house.
Nolan came back with a long yellow snake stretched out across his arms and around his neck. "You're going to get Fluffy's teeth cleaned and take Fluffy the second to the groomer."
My mouth came open. A snake. He had a snake.
"Here." He took a step towards me and I damn near fell backwards. "I'm, I'm, uh, I'm not a reptile person."
"Oh it'll be fine. I've had him for weeks and he's only bitten like four, five times max."
"In weeks huh." I muttered and moved backwards until I was against the door.
Nolan laughed and sat down on the couch. I vaguely listened to him speak as I watched the snake slither off of him and onto the couch. "Fluffy the second is my Yorkie. Girl I was romping bought him for me. Jolly little fuzzy rip, banging body too, the girl not the dog. Feminists, you know how they are about shaving and whatever. Anyway. Last I tried to get ole Fluff back she had a shotgun. The girl not the dog."
"I figured." I bit out as Fluffy nearly reached the floor Nolan picked him up against and set him back on the couch. I let out a sigh of relief.
"Anyway, she's usually pretty on edge, I think bipolar or something. I don't know. But she promised to squish my boys like peanuts and blow the head off of anyone who came back for the dog."
My mouth came open. "So you want me to do it?"
"Well you are here to assist me aren't you?"
"Oh Nolan." I sighed. Either this girl was very crazy, or Nolan had very much wronged her during their relationship.
He stood up with the snake again and took a step towards me, I immediately moved backwards. "Relax babe, you don't need to worry about the snake. If anything you should be more concerned with the tarantula crawling up your leg right now."
I screamed, nearly at the top of my lungs, flew backwards against the door, the planner went sailing across the room, notes and business cards flying out at every direction. Nolan collapsed on the couch again practically wheezing in hysterical laughter. He tried, uselessly, to force his words out. Between hysterics he tried to assure me he didn't have a tarantula, between hysterics he also cursed, professing that he was going to piss himself.
"Nolan James Doufer that was a dirty trick!" I shrieked.
He rolled off the couch, the snake slithered off of him easily and I did the only thing any rational girl would do. I ran like a little bitch, doing massive high knees all the way into the kitchen and soared through the air diving on top of the island counter.
Nolan was, at the point, sobbing with laughter. Tears, everywhere, coughing as he tried to breathe, rolling all over the ground slapping the floor.
"This is not funny!" I yelled. He didn't let up. "Nolan! This is so not funny!" Oh my God, I hated him. I had never hated someone so quickly into meeting them before in my life. But I hated this man! "Will you please put the snake away!"
He finally sat back up, giggling slightly for several more moments before crawling across the floor after the snake who was naturally following me into the kitchen. He grabbed Fluffy by the tail and pulled him back towards him. Fluffy, being a pissed off snake who was trying to eat me and was furious at its master for not letting it, twisted around and snapped at Nolan who didn't bat an eye but merely picked him up completely and took him out of the room.
What on Earth had I gotten myself into?
Nolan came back, pulling a plain grey T-shirt on over his head and still snickering to himself.
"You wear graphics." I bit out with burning cheeks.
"Huh?"
"Nolan Doufer always wears graphic tees. Band shirts, inappropriate shirts, shirts with liquor logos on them or reindeer banging for Christmas, whatever, you always wear graphics."
"Ah so you are a fan." He chuckled and pulled a black beanie onto his head.
I rolled my eyes. "As if."
"Just a stalker then?"
"That's you remember."
"You going to get down?" He asked stepping into a pair of sneakers. "I mean, it's not like I mind. You wouldn't be the first girl I've had on my counter either. Typically they're naked and I'm behind them ramming my-"
I plugged my ears. "La, la, la! I can't hear you!"
Hechuckled to himself and offered me his hand. After scowling for several secondsI unplugged my ears and accepted it. He yanked me off the counter hard and Inearly landed on my face. "I'll write the address down for the dog. Do me asolid and take a selfie with Fluffy at his cleaning, want to make sure you'regetting it done yourself and all. Welcome to the team dollface."/
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Welcome to the team.
Eek.
Carter came in pretty impressive getting so much done in such a short time for Nolan and his trip and, well, he kinda didn't really give two shits. Gotta love the guy. (:
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Another shout out and dedication to @Typestereo for another cover!