Everywhere: Book 3 of the Nowhere Trilogy

12. Lucky

As the world keeps spinning round; You hold me right here right now - Jason Mraz

7:12 p.m. Friday, November 19, 2021

The panic Chele feels at the sound of her boss' voice is enough to set her heart pounding harder than a construction worker with a bag of nails. Jeffrey and Harry exchange a glance before the manager grabs Chele around the waist, hauling her with him behind a large standing mirror beyond the door.

With a silent nod at their hiding place, Harry sweeps open the door, carefully holding it so the publicist cannot enter. "Mandy! How are you, love?"

"Um, I, um, I'm good, Harry. Do you always answer the door in a towel?" Chele internally chuckles at the woman's tone. Undressed Harry is enough to cause the most professional of women to lose her cool.

"I'm just out of the shower, but your knock sounded urgent."

"I cannot find my employee anywhere. Have you seen her?" Being able to only hear the conversation creates anxiety in Chele. Jeffrey keeps his hand on her back, which is comforting, but the situation is worrisome. If Mandy finds Chele in the same room with Harry while he's wearing only a single piece of cotton around his waist, not only will she be fired, but Chele is betting she would get blacklisted everywhere. No one else would hire her for any sort of writing job.

"Who is your employee again?" Harry asks as though he has nothing else to do but chat with the raven-haired beauty.

"Chele. You met her?"

"Ah. I think I remember her. Really short blonde hair? Kind of round in the hips?" Chele rolls her eyes at his antics. He couldn't have described her opposite more clearly.

"Nooooooooo," Mandy breathes out, "Never mind, Harry. I'll just wait here in the corridor for her. She's bound to wander this way."

Holy Hiding Place! Now Chele is going to be stuck in Harry's dressing room all night. Harry gestures with his hand behind the door, but Chele has no clue what he's signaling. Jeffrey releases his arm from around her waist, grasping her hand tightly and taking a deep breath.

"Hey, Mandy? Could you help me out for a minute? I think I might have a mole on my back that wasn't there last week. Could you take a look?"

What the hell is he doing? Chele wants to rail at him. He's about to throw her under the bus completely.

"Sure, Harry," comes her breathy voice. The Harry Styles Effect. It works on everyone apparently, even the most dragon-like of bosses.

"Just come over here to the light," Harry demands, as he sweeps her into the dressing room, leaving the door wide open as he steers her towards the bright lights by the makeup mirror. As soon as Harry and Mandy are past the door, Jeffrey yanks Chele's arm, and together they scamper into the hallway. The escape seems to go without a hitch as her boss doesn't call for her as they exit.

A few doors down, Jeffrey leads her into an office that he unlocks with a key card.

"Sit," he insists, pointing to a chair in front of an elegant desk. Walking to a drink cart, he adds ice to two glasses, pouring a healthy amount of straight tequila over the cubes. Carrying both, he hands one to Chele before he sits in the chair next to her, adjusting it so that it's facing her.

Nervously, Chele gulps the liquid, coughing at the burn at the back of her throat.

"Tell me all about you," Harry's manager states.

"Excuse me?"

"Listen, if you're going to be in H's life, and it appears he's made that declaration, and if you're going to be on tour with us, I need to know what I'm dealing with. Everything. Spill."