Stay: The sequel to Lost

Part 10

Penny had a terrific time shopping, even stopping for lunch before heading back to Liam's car with all of her bags. She had gotten everything she'd ever dreamed of and couldn't wait to show off for Liam.

She pulled out the keys to the convertible and unlocked the door, pushed her thing in and then looked at the windshield. She had a ticket. Crap. She grabbed in and read that she had run out of time on the meter. A hundred dollar fine. A hundred! For not putting money in the meter. Liam was not going to be thrilled about that.

She drove home, took the bags and ticket up to their room and started taking tags off of clothes, deciding what she needed to wash and what she needed to take the cleaners. She was nearly done when Liam came in the room, calling her name. "Pen! Where are you?" He looked around, spotting her sitting on the floor, inside the walk in closet. "There you are! Listen, pack! We are leaving tomorrow!"

"What?" Penny said, looking at the all pretty new clothes she bought. They were for warm weather and England was cold. "Why? We just got here!" She stood up and walked over to Liam. He grabbed her, kissing her hard. "Yuck!" she said. "Have you been smoking?"

"What? Ya, sorry. But listen! I love the song. Ed loves the song. It's the song. The song that will make me famous! We need to get home. Record it with Ed. Get a video. The works. This is it!"

Penny sighed. "You are already famous. And why are you smoking again? You haven't smoked for over a year?"

"Aren't you listening? I found the perfect song. I want to be famous as Liam Payne, not as that guy from 1D. I want to be my own person. Come on! Pack. Then we are going out to celebrate. The plane leaves early."

"Okay, I get it." Pen looked into his eyes. She could see the excitement. The songs he had released before hadn't really hit, and he said he wasn't upset, they had done their job and gotten her back to him, but, secretly, she thought he was disappointed. And now it was clear that he had been. "I'll pack. Should I take this stuff?" She motioned around her.

Liam nodded. "Sure. I'm going to shower. Did you get a haircut? You look different."

"Ya. And I got a ticket." She held out the paper.

He laughed. "Great. What for?"

"Parking."

"Well, that's what Jamie is for. Give it to her." He nodded and then walked into the bathroom.

Well, she thought, at least he wasn't upset with her. She walked out of the room, heading down the hall, trying to figure out where Jamie was. She could hear voiced from the room across the hall. Someone had a person on speaker. From the phone she heard laughing. Then she heard Jamie. "Yep. Home already. Too bad she's coming. You know, up close she's not even pretty."

Penny made her steps loud and then knocked on the door. She heard Jamie hang up and come to answer the door. Penny stuck out the ticket. "Liam said this is your job." She wanted to say more but she didn't. So what if this girl didn't like her. She was Liam's assistant, not hers. Liam liked her just fine.

Jamie snorted. "You got a ticket? Jesus. You weren't even gone that long. What did you hit? Do I need to get the car fixed?"

Penny took a deep breath. "It's a parking ticket, Jamie. I was shopping on Rodeo Drive. You know, Chanel? Jimmy Choo? So, pay it. That's your job."

Jamie glared at her. "No, my job is to take care of Liam and his needs. I don't work for you."

"No. I take care of Liam's needs. You take care of his appointments. Don't forget that, because he listens to what I think. Pay the ticket." Penny turned on her heal and walked away. She didn't want Jamie to see that she'd upset her. She could hear her snort and Pen really wanted to turn and slug her, but instead she went back in the bedroom. Liam was in the shower and if she was going to go out, she'd like a quick rinse herself. Forgot about Jamie, she told herself. You are the one going to shower with Liam. You are the one he is going to marry. Marry. He told her that they could go to Vegas and get married if she'd wanted. They were headed home, instead.

She walked into the bathroom, pulling off her clothes. "Hey, Lee, I'm coming in!" she called.

"YES!" Liam called. "Get in here!"

She laughed, forgetting her worries for the moment. He loved her and only her. He'd proved it time and again. She'd deal with Jamie some other time. Right now? She was going to enjoy Liam.