Image of You (2 page)

I drank in the air around me like it was a life saving elixir. Closing my eyes I let the shafts of sunlight drift over me until I was satisfied I had my self control back. Without it I was nothing. I had built a wall around myself ever since that faithful afternoon. And Matt Henley was the first person to shake that wall in nearly five whole years.

But I was only shaken. He hadn't gotten through. I didn't dare think what might have happened had the moment continued in the kitchen... Would I have crumbled? It felt as though I might, and it wasn't something I could allow. Ever.

Taking one last deep breath into my much calmer body I turned and made my way back to the front door. I gripped the handle for a second studying my reflection in the glass. I was a different person now. Changed. Not the meek geek I had been back then. No I was in charge of the person I was. And I wasn't going to let some hot rock star knock me off my game.

Chapter Two

The atmosphere in the office was charged when I finally headed back in. Matt was sitting on the edge of my desk. One foot propped carelessly across the pile of papers I had scattered on the surface.

He was smiling and chatting with Stephanie, who every few seconds couldn't resist touching his arm. Or his knee I noted as she playfully slapped him.

The door banged shut behind me, rattling in the frame as I picked my way carefully back through the desks to my own seat. Glaring at Matt I folded my arms and waited for him to move.

Instead of moving, or standing, or even apologising he turned his one hundred watt smile on me.

"Glad you could come back. I need to sign something or other." His voice sounded almost bored, and my hand itched to slap the smile clean off his handsome face. And he was handsome. Every time he smiled at me one small dimple appeared on his left cheek. Almost daring me to not find him attractive.

"Then you should go back and speak to Brody. He'll have everything you need."

"I wouldn't count on that. He doesn't have everything I need..." The words hung in the air between us. But they only served to enrage me further. How dare he saunter back into my life. Threaten to turn everything upside down. And expect me to flirt with him while he did it. I wasn't even his type. His type was standing beside him, shooting me daggers from beneath her perfect blonde fringe.

"Isn't he just perfect?" Stephanie practically drooled as she ran her hand along Matt's arm.

He stood abruptly, his arm falling out of her reach as he towered over us both. I watched the interaction with some interest. Stephanie pretended to act flustered and Matt proceeded to ignore her. His brown eyes trained on my face instead.

"You need to come with me to see Brody." He offered, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. "Perhaps after that I can finally get you to myself?"

Opening my mouth to answer I clamped it shut as Brody appeared once more in the door to his office.

"Kat, get your ass over here. And bring that fine young man with you. He's our newest star. Rock star extraordinaire and he's agreed to sign with us."

I hurried to Brody's office, following him inside as he continued to spout off about the benefits of Matt signing with our talent agency. Of course it had made the most sense. Brody's firm was the biggest and the best, but we didn't have too many rock stars on the books. In fact the more I thought about the more I realised Matt would be our first and only rock star. Actors were more our speed. We knew how to deal with them. But not rock stars and all the trappings that went with it. Where we would even begin on the media carnage Matt had recently created I had no idea.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I whispered following Brody around to his side of the desk, and standing with my back to the door, and Matt.

"What do you mean, of course it is." Brody's voice was far harsher than I had expected and I pulled away from him. Turning back to Matt I tried to plaster a smile across my face. One that would let him know that nothing he could say or do would affect me.

"So I want Kat here to be my personal assistant. I want her to handle everything to do with me..." Matt's voice had changed. He had dropped the silky smooth tone and instead seemed to be all business.

"Kat doesn't normally deal in that way with the clients..." Brody tried to interject but Matt simply lifted his hand, effectively silencing the other man.

"It's either her. Or I walk out of here taking that multi-million dollar contract to someone who will give me exactly what I want." His voice was cold and hard. But I knew Brody. He was a tough negotiator and he wouldn't be bullied by his clients.

"Fine."

My knees buckled beneath me as the word met my ears. He couldn't be serious. That wasn't my job. And it certainly couldn't be my job where Matt was concerned.

"Brody, are you mad?" I whispered furiously. Why I was whispering was beyond me. The room was far too small and I knew that every word I said to Brody, Matt heard.

The smirk on his face was maddening, I wanted to wipe it from his lips. Shake him until he never ever wanted anything to do with me again.

"It's time you started dealing with the clients and now is as good as any." Brody didn't sound convinced. The smile on his face was strained. At least I could take comfort in knowing that he was just as uncomfortable about all of this as I was.

I gave him one last dirty look before letting out a deep breath. "Fine."

I turned and smiled and Matt. It was my biggest, fakest smile. I wanted him to know that I wasn't happy about any of this. And that anything I could do to get out of it, I would.

"Good, glad we got that out of the way." Matt stood and made his way to the door. "I think I have a show tonight. You should probably be there."

I swallowed hard. "Of course. I'll arrange everything, if you can send me your list of requirements."

"I just need two things."

Grabbing a pen and pad from Brody's desk, I waited for Matt to share his artistic demands with me. Normally the artists we worked with were very temperamental. Their demands sometimes nearly impossible to meet. The fact that Matt only had two had already piqued my interest.

"My guitar, and you." He winked as he turned and made his way out the door.

"Wait where is your guitar, if you don't have it?" I called after him but he simply waved back at me.

I let out a frustrated groan and turned my anger on Brody.

"What the hell were you thinking? You've never allowed a client to bully you before?"

"He wasn't bullying me."

"He threatened to walk if you didn't do exactly as he said."

Brody smiled and shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. It wasn't really a threat as such. It wasn't something I could have bargained him out of. If I didn't give him you, he would have walked. And there would have been no coming back from it."

"Brody, you know I'm not ready to do this. You know it's not why I signed up to work with you."

He nodded. "I know why you signed up with me, Kat, let's not lie here. You were desperate and I was willing to over look a certain few indiscretions that no one else would."

I smiled sheepishly. "I know and if you hadn't I would be on the street. But still... You know this isn't what I'm good at. I'm not good with people."

"And yet from what I can see you're perfect with him."

I didn't answer him. There was no point. Brody had decided that what had happened was for the best. It never ceased to amaze me how easily he could right things in his head. And in the end it was nearly always his idea. Or at least that's what he told everyone else.

***

I made my way for the door. My mind desperately mulling over where I could find Matt's guitar, without any help from him. Why he couldn't have just told me? I didn't know. It seemed a little childish.

Once out in the main office Stephanie watched my progress back to my desk. Sitting back in behind the computer I started to look at the tabloid articles about Matt. Lots of pictures of him snapped with different girls every night. In each picture he looked moody and as though he had the weight of the world sitting on his shoulders. There was even an article about how he had attacked a member of the paparazzi that had waited for him outside the toilets at a festival.

"So, who has Brody assigned to Matt. I'd imagine it has to be one of the more senior members of staff." Stephanie was a senior member of staff and after the way she had flirted with Matt earlier, I could only imagine the disappointment she would feel when she found out the truth.

"Why are you researching. Brody would never chose you." She started to laugh as she examined her perfectly manicured nails.

"Actually, Matt requested me."

Stephanie slipped from the edge of my desk in surprise. She caught herself before she actually fell, but the look on her face was one of pure venom.

"That's not possible! You're not qualified to take care of Matt's needs... You don't even look like someone who does this type of job. Brody's not stupid. The image of the company is so important. There's no way he's handed our biggest asset to you."

I smiled sweetly and returned my attention back to the computer screen. "I guess you'll just have to speak to Brody yourself."

She glared at me before storming to Brody's office. The glass rattled in the door as she flung it open and stomped inside. The sound of a frustrated tantrum scream moments later was the only sign to let me know that Brody had told her.

She tottered from the office as fast as her stiletto heels would allow and grabbed her purse from the desk across from mine.

"You'll regret this job, Kate. I'm going to make sure you regret it."

All I could do was grin as she left the office. It was the only thing that made me happy about having this job. Knowing I had pissed Stephanie off was almost worth all the hassle of Matt Henley. Almost.

Chapter Three

"You're very dressed up?" Maggie's voice pulled me out of my reverie. I glanced down at the black satin blouse I wore and the skin tight black jeans. Looped through the waistband was a silver studded belt. A pair of suede boots with studded straps completed the ensemble. I was dressed up. Far more than I normally managed. Normally my wardrobe consisted of wallflower attire. But tonight if I wanted to blend in then I needed to make an effort.

"Yeah, it sucks."

I yawned and smacked my hands across my red lips. It was the fourth time in the last five minutes that the yawns had gotten to me. I was exhausted, and the very last thing I wanted, or even needed to be doing was heading to Matt's gig. The guitar was propped in the corner of the room, having taken me the best part of the day to track down.

I'd finally found it in some dingy hotel room. The type of hotel room that Matt didn't need to stay in. He was rich, the number one artist in the country. talent, good lucks and a voice that practically melted the clothes off women had gotten him where he was. But why he insisted on staying in the cheapest, dingiest hotels he could find was beyond me. But then where Matt was concerned a lot of what he did was beyond me.

"Where are you off to? Has Brody got you shadowing Stephanie?" Maggie sounded more excited about the prospect of hanging out with Stephanie than I ever could. But then she thought she was glamorous and cool. Maggie had started to live her social life through the stories I came home with about the clients we worked with, and the antics they got up to.

"Nope. I have my own client."

"Who? Who is it? Anyone I know?"

I smiled at Maggie. "Matt Henley."

The smile disappeared from her face. A look of shock leaving her mouth hanging open. "The Matt Henley?"

"The one and only."

"Brody let you manage Matt Henley?"

I smiled and nodded. Part of me had become a little more excited as the day had worn on. I couldn't help it. I didn't want to be excited about seeing him again. Or spending time with him. I had no doubt that he would treat me more as a glorified skivvy than an actual personal assistant. But I was still a little excited.

"Yup."

"But I thought you weren't going to be working with anyone famous. That it wasn't your job?" Maggie plopped down on the sofa and watched me with big brown eyes. We were a lot alike. Neither of us like the limelight. We preferred to let others have all the glory. When we went out we tried to be as invisible as possible.

"I know. I didn't think so either. But I guess things change..."

She studied me, one eyebrow raised in a sceptical manner. "I suppose so..."

"I need to get going. Matt is playing the Monkey House tonight. Brody wasn't too thrilled when he heard that one. Something about the venue being too small for someone like Matt. But Matt chose it himself, so," I shrugged, "no choice."

Maggie nodded and grabbed the remote control from the edge of the couch. "You're going to miss the midweek movie..."

I smiled at her again and picked the guitar up. "Work calls. As much as I'd prefer  to be here at home, I have to go. I'll fill you in on all the goss tomorrow."