Publicist | one direction

ch2

One week later

ARI

I groan as I watch the sleek elevator doors swiftly close in my face. I can't be late for this interview. Not after Tyler pulled so many strings to set it up for me! The look on his face as he left my apartment the night before still floats through my head.

"Now listen, Arianna. You have no idea how many favors I had to ask for to get this for you. This is your last chance at one of these big record labels. The people there are extremely serious about what they do, so you can't mess it up, ok? Not this one. You may have talent, but talent can only take you so far." He pauses at the door, and half turns to me, a look of seriousness on his usually cheerful face. "Remember, 10 am tomorrow. Please don't mess this one up." He nods at the bundle of papers that sit on my coffee table, clipped together with a green paper clip. "Read up about the company; their clients. Look presentable. Whatever you do, don't be late. They won't listen to a word you say if you're even half a minute behind. Try and get some sleep. Good luck!" After giving a small wave, Tyler steps out the door and closes it softly. I sink into my leather coach, reaching for the papers, and slowly slide the off bright paper clip...

Snapping back to reality, I glance at my watch. 9:55. Crap. The interview is in five minutes, and I'm still stranded in the lobby. I scan the room, exhaling in relief when I see the the door to the stairway. I pause for a second, weighing my options. Run up 7 flights of stairs, or wait for the elevator to descend back to the lobby? I decide to go with option two, since I don't have any time to wait. I throw open the door to the stairway, stopping only to throw off my nude pumps to carry in the crook of my arm. Then, taking a quick breath, I begin to climb the stairs, two at a time.

NIALL

"Now listen, lads, we need to find someone before management finds out." Louis whispers urgently as we exit the recording studio and head down the hall. "It doesn't matter who they are, they just have to pretend to work, leaving us to do as we please." He gives a small snicker. "Besides, I bet anyone will be better than that last lady we had, Maria, was it?"

"Mary." Harry mutters, stopping in the middle of the hall.

"Excuse me?" Louis snaps, spinning on his heel to face Harry.

"Her name was Mary, not Maria, remember the whole thing about you reading her name wrong?" He blurts out, as Liam and I wince at each other. The last thing we need right now is someone setting Louis off.

"Are you quite finished?" Is all that Louis says, sickly-sweet, much to my surprise. Harry nods quickly, making sure not to escalate this into a brawl. "Now, like I was trying to say before before I was so rudely cut off," - a deathly glare was shot in Harry's direction - "we've been walking on eggshells for the past week, and management's going to find out sooner of later that dear old Mary-" another glare was pointed at Harry - "has decided to leave us so abruptly."

I roll my eyes and push past Louis, continuing down the hall. "So what're we gonna do about it, lads? All this talk and no action isn't really helping our plan here."

Louis speeds up to my pace, throwing his arm around me shoulder as we continue down the hall. "Ah, but remember? We already have our plan. Well, my plan. Plan A, of course, is as simple as they come. Convince some fan who worships us to pose as our publicist for management, insuring that those blokes never find out the truth and leaving us to do whatever the hell we please." He smirks confidently.