-1AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS IS A AU AS THEY COME. LIKE REALLY THE ONLY THINGS THAT ISN'T AU IS THE FACT THAT STELLA STILL GREW UP WITH THE BOYS IN THIS STORY. OTHER THAN THAT I'VE SORT OF COMPLETELY REWRITTEN EVERYTHING. I HOPE YOU LIKE MY VERSION THOUGH. ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, CONCERNS SHOULD BE DELIVERED VIA REVIEW AFTER YOU'RE DONE READING. ALSO MAKE SURE YOU READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END BECAUSE I'VE INCLUDED SOME PRETTY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS/INFORMATION. THANKS.
RATING: PG-13 (I SWORE A FEW TIMES)
DISCLAIMER: NOPE, NO WAY, NOW HOW.
- N - & - M -
"I'm pretty sure I left you sitting in that exact same spot when I left yesterday," Keller pointed out when she walked into Nick's studio and found him sitting at his piano with his headphones hanging around his neck. There was sheet music scattered in so many different places you might have thought a tornado had blown through the room. Keller silently groaned because she knew that all signs pointed to him being blocked which was really not good because a blocked Nick Lucas was an anti-social and moody Nick Lucas and he couldn't afford to be either one of those things when his brother was getting married in less than 72 hours. Oh and his penthouse apartment was serving as wedding headquarters. "You have moved right? You haven't like stored away enough food and supplies to avoid leaving the room for until like 10 minutes before the dress rehearsal, have you?"
Nick sighed and looked up at Keller. He knew just by the look on her face that he looked like hell. "I've moved. Just only when I knew the coast was clear." He'd waited until the penthouse was eerily quiet and then he'd make his escape. "Remind me again why I agreed to let them make my apartment wedding headquarters."
"Because Stella gave you puppy dog eyes and I was in the other room so it wasn't like I could come up with a good excuse for you like I normally would have. And because you're Nick Lucas and even if you were the serious member of JONAS you are also the biggest sucker when it comes to helping your brothers."
When Keller answered the advertisement to be a personal assistant she was sure that she'd be working for some crazed New Yorker who worked 80+ hours a week at their high-powered law firm and needed someone who could help them do things like remember their anniversary and not get caught cheating on their significant other like one of her friends Lana did. So imagine her surprise when she realized that not only was this person not a crazed New Yorker but that it was Nick Lucas. And okay so yeah over time she would find out that he was kind of crazed and did work 80+ hours a week but he could care less if she wore anything other than jeans an Converse. And working for Nick Lucas meant getting to travel to countries and places that she'd never dreamed. And the best part is that she now knew all of these awesome people who her friends were forced to read about in magazines. Like while all of her friends were going to be reading about Stella and Joe's regal New York wedding she was actually going to be in attendance. And so if you can't tell she loved her job even though it was the reason that she couldn't manage to get a boyfriend to save her life because it was hard to explain to your boyfriend that you'd be gone for at least three months with your rockstar employer or that you wouldn't be able to do dinner until at least three weeks because the media blitz for the new album was starting soon.
"So what you're saying is it's your fault?" He joked, flashing her one of the rare smiles that sent girl into frenzy when they laid eyes on it.
"In your dreams," she shot back. And so yeah this is another perk of the job because how many bosses allow you to basically treat them like the irritating brother that you feel like they kind of are.
"Believe me I'm definitely dreaming of anything that has to do with this wedding in my dreams."
"You really may want to work on at least pretending to be excited for the big nuptials that it seems every media outlet on the planet is talking about," Keller suggested because honestly if she didn't know better she'd think Nick was in love with Stella.
"I am excited."
"And I'm really a man."
"Really? The hormones you took really did wonders."
Keller rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"I just want to finish this song and finish this album. And even though I was blocked before Stella and her posse took over my den I can't help but think that they're not helping my creative process either."
When Keller first started working for Nick she would say things like what can I do to help? She wanted to figure out how to unblock him. Now she just let things run their course because honestly her trying to help him did nothing but make him even more on edge.
"You know sooner or later Stella is going to come in here, right?"
"I know."
"Have you worked on your best man speech?"
Nick sighed deeply.
"You do realize the rehearsal dinner is tomorrow night, right?"
"I'll get it done."
"You better because we all know that Kevin will come up with some sort of ridiculously charming speech that no one will be sure where it came from. And you won't want to look like the dud especially when you're supposed to be the one whose good with words."
Nick couldn't help but smile because Keller was right. Kevin was like a savant when it came to moments like that. Normally he was all smiles and jokes but the second the situation called for this touching declaration about the beauty of love you could count on Kevin to be your man.
"So work on the speech and pretend you're not a moody musician until after Joe and Stella have left for their honeymoon." Keller told him as she stood to leave.
This was one of those moments when Nick couldn't help but feel like maybe he worked for Keller. She was bossy kind of like Stella but unlike Stella she didn't talk in exclamation points. When she walked into the room he just knew she was the right girl to be his assistant. And yeah they clashed heads in a way that he was pretty sure they weren't supposed to be because he was the boss. And okay she was quick to call him on his shit but he appreciated that because few people did. And anyway she was right his attitude was going to do nothing but earn him a lot of grief from his family.
"Where you are going?"
"I told Grey I would help him pick up the tuxedos and all of that jazz since it's not like I'd be doing anything here but busting your balls about not writing your speech yet."
"But who is going to keep Stella from busting in here with a request any minute?"
Keller couldn't help but grin even though she knew it was totally cruel. "You're a Grammy award winning musician and a grown man. I'm sure you can handle Stella."
"King Kong couldn't handle Stella," Nick stated in a tone that was so serious it was almost comical.
Keller laughed. "I'm on my cell phone so you can call me if you need anything. Remember speech first, song second."
And then Keller was gone and Nick was left just waiting for Stella to bust into the room all smiles saying things like Nick, thanks so much for letting us use the penthouse before saying I kind of need a big favor because Stella Malone always needed a favor.
- N - & - M -
"Zack have you seen my Ferragamo peep toes?" Macy asked as she searched her closet for the coveted shoes that she'd bought especially for Stella's rehearsal dinner. She knew the blonde stylist would be impressed when she laid eyes on them.
"You know before I started working for you I didn't have a clue as to what the difference was between a peep toe and a pump." Zack replied dryly as he walked into the room.
Macy chuckled softly. "I'm sorry working for me has bruised your manhood."
"Yeah the grin on your face says you feel really bad," Zack said as he grabbed the box off of the top shelf where he'd been forced to put them because her shoe rack was already full. "I thought you said you were packed."
"I was packed, well sort of."
Zack glanced at her open suitcase and gave her a look that said it didn't look that way.
"I just didn't feel like I had packed enough."
"We're only going to be there for three days. And literally one of your outfits is already picked out for you." Zack sighed as he straightened her belongings up.
"There are going to be a lot of important people there and I don't want them to look at me and think oh there's that poor little girl whose fiancé cheated on her with a TV weathergirl," she added as she grabbed a pair of jeans as well as three nice blouses that she knew Stella would like, she'd been the one to pick them out for Macy, and gave them to Zack to pack for her.
"Grab the orange BCBG one shoulder dress for the rehearsal dinner and the silk ruffled one for the bachelorette party," Zack was so happy that there wasn't anyone here to hear him giving Macy fashion advice. "And honestly Macy no one feels bad for you. You won the Australian Open. You're probably going to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. So stop thinking people are going to feel sorry for you." He knew it sounded harsh but that Macy understood he meant it out of love.
"I was on Maxim's Hot 100 list." She'd been number seven. At the photo shoot she'd been almost positive that Zack had died and gone to heaven.
"Okay Ron Burgundy now you're just sounding egoistical," Zack joked. "The car that's taking us to the airport is going to be outside in literally like two minutes."
"I'm basically packed," Macy declared as she shoved a couple of handbags into her suitcase.
Zack shot her yet another unconvinced look.
"Okay I'll be packed. Call and let remind Stella what time our flight is getting in."
- N - & - M -
Stella grinned when she got the text from Zack saying that he and Macy were headed to the airport. Of all the clients that Stella had invited to the wedding Macy was the only one who earned the honor of actually being in the wedding. That was because Macy was also one of the only ones who didn't act like she knew more about fashion and style than Stella. Plus maybe Stella had a plan up her sleeve. So maybe kind of sort was planning on attempting to hook Macy and Nick up.
She knew that if they got to know each other that they would be totally perfect together. They were opposites in all the right ways. She knew that Nick was passionate enough to make Macy weak in the knees and she knew that Macy was bubbly enough to make Nick stop taking the world so damn seriously. And for the first time since knowing both of them and wanting to hook them up they were both single.
"What are you planning?" Danielle asked her soon-to-be sister-in-law. It was obvious by the mischievous look on her face that Stella was up to something.
"Nothing."
"Stella I've known you for four years," Danielle reminded her. "What do you have up your sleeve?"
"Well you know my friend/client Macy?"
"The tennis champion. Yeah I'm pretty sure I'd have to live under a rock to not know who she was."
"Okay well I'm going to try and hook her up with Nick."
Danielle wished she was one of those women who was above meddling. If she had been she would have told Stella not to interfere and to let Nick sort out his own relationship troubles. Instead she said, "Thank God." Because she'd already been wondering if there was going to be someone at the wedding that they could set him up with. She knew from Kevin that he needed a girl to help him break out of songwriting funk. "What's the plan?"
Stella grinned before telling Danielle what she had come up with.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS. I DID. I INTRODUCED TWO NEW CHARACTERS THAT I HOPE YOU LIKE. THEY'RE GOING TO BE KIND OF MAIN FOCUSES IN THIS STORY BECAUSE I HAVE A TENDENCY TO FEATURE CHARACTERS THAT I MAKE UP BUT WHO I THINK COULD TOTALLY WORK IN THE FANDOM I'M WRITING FOR. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE ACTOR I HAD IN MIND FOR ZACK AND THE ONE I HAD IN MIND FOR KELLER LET ME KNOW. ALSO I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF WHAT I HAVE SO FAR SO IF YOU REVIEW THEN YOU'LL BE REWARDED WITH A SNEAK PEEK OF CHAPTER TWO. THANKS SO MUCH FOR TUNING IN. - KRISTINE.