Chapter 4
After the conversation with both Reed and Blue, I'd decided to not surprise drop the music video for Birthstone Baby. Which meant I was slightly delaying the official announcement for tour, but I was more focused on finding a halfway decent bodyguard.
I hadn't had an incident with a fan being too much, but I wasn't going to wait for it to happen.
Priyanka had woken me up the next morning, telling me that interviews were happening down at the studio within the hour.
So after rushing my shower and feeding my cats, I was catching a Lyft down to the studio.
The first couple interviews didn't go so well. It was, unfortunately, clear that they were massive fans and only there to see me. Which was a nice sentiment, but this was business. I loved meeting with fans but this wasn't the place for that.
Priyanka and I were sitting in the two chairs in front of the mixing board in one of the recording rooms, staring out in front of us at the couch that had been serving as the interviewee’s place of residence.
At this point, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find a security guard before I even announced tour.
“This is feeling hopeless,” I said, leaning back in my chair while the fourth applicant's presence lingered in the room. “Were there any real applications, Pri?”
She scoffed at my comment, rapidly scrolling through her phone. “I promise not all of these are fans. They can’t be, right?”
I sighed. “Maybe this is a sign that I don’t need security. Maybe I don’t need someone tailing me all the time.”
“Alistair, you do need security.” Priyanka countered. “You’re gaining followers like crazy, your name is constantly on socials, you need security. Hopefully this fifth interview will be more legitimate.”
Granted, I hadn’t tested the theory in person.
For all I knew, my newfound fame could’ve been a collective hallucination that everyone around me was sharing and I wouldn’t be swarmed by fans.
I should have probably walked around Nashville to test it.
People living in Nashville were used to people in the music industry living here, so maybe it wouldn’t have been a big deal.
But with the way people were these days with music artists, I didn’t want to wait to be another headline in the news in a negative light.
“Alright,” Priyanka’s high pitched voice tore me from my reverie.
“Holly just texted, the next interview is here.” Referencing the amazing secretary that manned the front desk, I nodded.
I was seconds away from crossing my fingers that this interview wouldn’t be like the previous four. “I told her to send him back.”
I looked over my phone while we momentarily waited.
Smiling, I saw that fans were eager to hear about tour.
I needed to work out what the best strategy was for announcing the tour dates with Priyanka, once we finished with the bodyguard interviews, of course.
Assuming we even had more than one applicant to choose from.
There was a light knock on the door, jolting both of us to attention. The door opened and my head swam to make sense of the beauty before me. A tall, dark, and handsome man walked into the studio, giving both of us a shy smile as he made his way over to us.
He was a fucking god.
The man had broad shoulders that told me he either worked out regularly or was blessed with adonis level genes.
He had to be about six foot six or something, because he was definitely taller than me and I was six foot even.
Skin the color of iced coffee with a decent amount of creamer greeted us as Priyanka welcomed him and asked him to have a seat on the couch.
When he did, his toned body stretched behind the fabric of his well-worn black suit that made him look the part he was applying for.
His dark hair was kept short and tidy, only a few steps above a buzzcut.
And he had the perfect layer of scruff decorating his handsome face, more dark hair that obscured the skin underneath.
He looked absolutely handsome in a way that devastated my senses. He even wore black nail polish on every fingernail, giving him a mystique that I hadn’t been expecting by the way he was dressed.
I couldn’t manage to speak because he was so fucking breathtaking. I tried to tear my gaze away from him, but I couldn’t. Every feature was an obvious delight. But it was his eyes that stole the show.
They were purple.
Not the kind of purple you would normally see.
They were a deep purple, so deep that I might have thought they were a deep blue if the fluorescent lights in the studio weren’t so accurate at casting light around the room.
There was something about them that seemed a little off, like there was something just beyond the field of normal vision that was desperate to be seen by someone worthy enough to find it.
Clearing my throat, I tried my best to regulate my demeanor so I didn’t completely freak the guy out.
“Thank you so much for coming in.” Priyanka said, appropriately starting the interview while I continued to put on a brave face and acted like an ethereal being hadn’t just graced us with his presence. “I’m Priyanka, and this is Alistair Finn.”
My name sparked me to go into my usual routine of formally introducing myself. I stood up and placed my hand out in front of me. He looked down at the hand as I said, “Hi, I’m Alistair. It’s nice to meet you.”
He mirrored me, standing up and grasping my hand. We shared a firm handshake, doing my best to ignore the soft caress of his palm along mine as we came out of the greeting. “Thank you. My name is Van Argent.”
Van. Maybe it was because of the negative attention I’d just gone through over the phone with Reed, but meeting a man like Van at this exact moment in my life made me feel like the luckiest guy in the world.
I wanted to know more about him. And I certainly wouldn’t have minded getting to know him behind the closed door of my bedroom.
He took his seat back on the couch and I quickly sat back down in my chair, mentally chastising myself.
This was your potential bodyguard, Alistair.
Lusting after him would only complicate the very professional relationship that could happen between the two of you.
I closed my eyes momentarily and breathed out before opening them.
I needed to act like he was any run of the mill man I’d ever laid my eyes on to get through this interview.
Then I could take care of the plumping erection that was starting to strain my pants when I got home.
“Have you ever worked private security before? I see on your resume you have corporate security experience, but was curious about anything else.” Priyanka pried, getting right down to business.
“I have.” Van nodded promptly, weaving his fingers through each other so that he held his hands together in a fleshy knot. God, why was everything he did so goddamn sexy?
Get it together, Alistair. You need to chill the fuck out.
Van continued his explanation, thankfully not catching wind of my complete failure to keep it together. “I’ve worked security for a hospital for eight years, and then for the last five years, I’ve been working private security.”
“Oh, that’s great.” Priyanka beamed, tapping across the virtual keyboard on her phone as she took notes. “Anyone of note that you can speak on?”
“I’m still under an NDA, though I’m no longer employed with the individual. I can get you verification, though, if that’s an issue.”
The fact that he had knowledge on nondisclosure agreements would work well in his favor, especially with Priyanka. None of the previous applicants had any such experience, so this was already the best interview of the day.
“Wonderful. And you have experience in signing NDAs, which would be the case here, if you went through the rest of the process, of course.”
Van unveiled his perfectly blinding white teeth as he graced us with his smile. “Totally understandable.”
“I’ll definitely need that verification, when you get the chance.” Priyanka typed away at her phone, still taking copious notes on the answers Van delivered. Once she looked back up from her phone, she added, “Are you familiar with Alistair’s work at all?”
My eyes flicked from my publicist to the tall hunk of man before us, watching as what appeared to be guilt scroll across his beautiful face.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not that familiar with you in the slightest.” Van gave me a light shrug and an apologetic gaze.
“I’m sorry. I don’t even know what part of the entertainment industry you’re even a part of, if I’m being totally honest.”
“That’s totally fine.” I admitted with a grin. “I’m a musician, for the record.”
“Awesome.” Van beamed. “I’ll have to look up some of your music.”
“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”
I stirred uncomfortably in my chair. Just this dude’s voice was making me harder and I needed for this interview to come to a complete stop before my jeans starting tearing at the seams. Why my body was having such an adverse affect to the simple timbre of this gorgeous, polite, kind, handsome stranger wasn’t for me to know, but at this point, I feared only a cold shower would calm me down.
Priyanka came up for air from her phone, glancing over at me with a glare in her eyes. I thought she might have been on to me, considering I wasn’t wedging my willpower to cover up my reaction to Van, but she just added, “Do you have anything you want to ask?”
Taking a beat, I thought on it and only opened my mouth when I felt something strike me as important. “How do you feel about constant travel?”
“Ooh, great question.” Priyanka agreed, typing away at her phone again.
Van cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, tearing his eyes away from me when I happened to look over at him.
Could he have been…checking me out? I had to restrain myself from shaking my head physically instead of just mentally.
The chances of Van being into me weren’t very high.
Why the fuck was I losing grip on my calm?
“I love traveling,” Van answered, nodding in my direction. “I’m more than open to being on a more mobile schedule.”
“That’s good to hear, because Alistair is about to go on tour.”
“Oh, really? That’s awesome.” Van’s pearly whites greeted me again and I felt my stomach double over with white hot want. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” I simpered shyly, tucking a rogue strand of blond hair behind my ear. “If considered for the position, would you be okay with being on-call? I have a pretty vigorous schedule right now, but there may be times that pop up that I might need the extra security, if that makes sense.”
“Alistair hasn’t had any problems with the public, but we’re trying to be proactive.” Priyanka explained with a sharp nod.
“Of course. I’m fine with all of that.” Van gave me a gaze full of steel, which was apt because that’s exactly how my pants were currently feeling. “No one’s going to mess with you if I’m around.”
God damn, did he have to talk like that?
How the fuck was I supposed to not melt at that?
This handsome ass hunk of a man already hypothetically threatening those who toyed with my safety and taking a valiant stance against it?
I’d swoon if I hadn’t been completely glued to my chair and fearful of my erection being noticeable if I stood up.
I willed it to listen to me and stop listening to him so that I didn’t have a very unprofessional incident soon.
Covering up the reaction his words were doing to me, I flicked my lips upward. “Awesome, that’s all the questions I have, I think.”
“Same.” Priyanka stood up, holding out her hand to Van. He ascended from his spot on the couch to grip her hand in farewell. “Thank you so much for coming by, Van. I’ll be in touch after we finish a couple more interviews.”
“Sounds great.” Van’s half-smile was a sight to behold, and when he flashed it to me, I knew I had to stand. Thankfully, my dick had decided to settle down. Van presented his outstretched hand out to me once more. “It was great meeting you, Alistair.”
“You as well, Van.”
We finished shaking hands, and Priyanka thanked him one final time before walking him to the door. I blew out a sigh of relief, running a hand through my hair to toss it over my shoulder as she closed the door and made her way back over to our chairs.
“Well, that was great. Finally.” She chuckled, plopping down in her chair again.
“He was by far the best candidate.” I confessed. “He’s got the job as far as I’m concerned. How many more interviews are there?”
“Just two, but I agree. If they don’t measure up to Van, he’s definitely the one.”
With a wicked smirk, I stayed silent. I had a feeling it would be hard to measure up to Van, in more ways than one. I’d suffer through the last couple interviews and hope that Van was the most qualified to be my security guy.
Although if hired, that presented a whole new set of potential issues. But that was Future Alistair’s problem. For now, he was fair game for jack off material, and I had an appointment to make that happen as soon as I left the studio.
Crossing my legs, I gave Priyanka a curt nod. “Alright, who’s next?”