FicWad

July...

“Oh, wait, who did you say was going to do the interview for Good Charlotte today?” I asked Kristy.

“Oh, Stephanie was assigned to do it, why?” Kristy asked.

“Change of plans,” I said, grabbing my notebook, tape recorder, pen, and purse.

“What?” she asked, clearly confused. I ignored her.

“See ya later, I don’t know when I’ll be back,” I said. Then I left the office. I grabbed a bottle of peach papaya juice on the way to the front and caught Stephanie just in time. “Hey, Steph, change of plans,” I said. “I’m doing the interview today.”

“What?” she asked.

“I’m doing this one,” I repeated. “I traded you. You’re doing the Devon Sawa interview tomorrow.” Her eyes lit up, but she still looked confused.

“Why?” she asked.

“Well, obviously it’s what you want, right?” I said. “Come on, I saw that excitement. You want Devon Sawa, oooo.”

She blushed. “Well, okay, if you’re sure…” she said.

“You go get Devon,” I said, lightly punching her in the shoulder. Then I headed out the door. What I hadn’t told any of the staff or Kristy was that I was planning to seduce one of the Good Charlotte band members. No, not Paul. BENJI. He was yummy. ‘Course I’d only really hung out with him once…sober. But he was hot stuff. And when I’d found out we’d landed an interview with his band, I had to be the one to take it. And Stephanie had seemed happy enough to comply with the Devon Sawa trade. Kristy, however…Kristy didn’t even know I knew anyone from Good Charlotte. Heh. It was only a month ago that I even met them…oh, ballocks.

I walked through the huge double doors of the studio they were supposed to meet Stephanie in. Lame. Studios were so damn uncomfortable. I usually have people meet me in the common rooms of fancy hotels. They’re quiet, comfortable, and if the interviewee’s hot, the beds are right upstairs. I made my way to studio 128, and there they all were, talking amongst themselves. No one even noticed me. I leaned on the doorframe. Finally, Joel turned and looked at me. He looked puzzled.

“Roxy?” he asked. “What are you doing here?...what a weird surprise.”

“You’re supposed to meet Stephanie?” I asked.

“Yeah…” they all said in confusion. I looked at Benji. He looked confused, too, but pleased.

“Couldn’t make it,” I said. “She got hit by a truck yesterday.” Every eyeball in the room now stared at me, wide in shock.

“Is she okay?” Paul asked.

“She’s fine,” I said. “Really minor damage, really. She’ll be out by tomorrow. Lucky girl.”

“How do you know this?” Joel asked. I almost laughed.

“She works for me,” I said in a light, matter-of-fact tone.

“What?” Benji said, speaking up for the first time. I smiled at each of them.

“I co-own Jade Magazine,” I said. “If you turn to channel three at four o’clock on Monday afternoons, you can watch our news report on TV.”

They all gawked at me.

“But…you’re fresh out of school,” said Joel.

“The business has been up and running for a little over two years now,” I said. “That’s why I was able to graduate with a bachelor’s after two years.”

“Weird!” said Paul.

“Who’s the other owner?” Aaron asked.

“Kristy Adams,” I said. They all sat silently, taking in the information.

“So does this mean we don’t have to be interviewed today?” Paul asked hopefully.

I laughed maniacally. “Nice try,” I said. I walked in, sat down, and yanked my tape recorder out of my purse. I swung my leg over the other in an effort to look professional, but since I was wearing an ultra-miniskirt and lace up thigh-high stilettos, it probably just looked slutty. Oh well, I had Benji right where I wanted him – trying to catch a glimpse up my skirt. And so was Aaron, which was a little weird, but oh well.

I asked them the general questions, about where they grew up, what kinds of music influenced them, etc. Benji and Joel would answer, and then Joel and Billy would take turns elaborating, while Aaron pretty much just sat there and Paul provided the comic relief. I listened intently to what they had to say. I was actually interested in them. A lot of the time I just pretend to listen to the people I’m interviewing while letting my tape recorder do it’s job, and then I’d try to put it into an article through that later. I was actually very engrossed in this one. My next question wasn’t as productive.

“Is it true that Benji’s dating somebody right now?” I asked, eyeing Benji. He smiled and shook his head.

“That is not true,” he said. “And that means he is SINGLE,” he added, eyeing me back. I moved my eyebrow at him in an attempt to be seductive.

I asked them a few more questions and then set them all free. However, just as I’d hoped, Benji stayed behind.

“Did Stephanie really get hit by a truck?” he asked.

“Well, look at you, Mr. Arrogant,” I said. “What, do you think I made that up to cover up the fact that I think you’re a fox? Psh. Yeah, that’s pretty much what went down.” He snickered.

“I thought so,” he said.

“So what do you wanna do about it?” I asked. He looked around.

“Not much TO do about it here,” he said. “If only we were in the common rooms of a fancy hotel instead. Quiet, comfortable, and if you find the interviewer sexy, the beds are right upstairs.” I stared at him. Hadn’t I pretty much put it the exact same way? “What?” he asked.

“Nothing, it’s just…when it’s up to me, I meet up in hotels for those exact reasons,” I said. He stared at me for a while. Then he kicked the studio door shut and lunged at me. His tongue was in my mouth before I even knew what was going on. I quickly got a handle on the situation and tangled my fingers in his pink and black hair. His hands lingered on my hips for a while before pulling me closer. I sucked his lip ring and a slight shudder went through him. Hm, guess he liked that. We dropped to the floor, and his hands ran all over my midsection and chest as I lay back and he followed me down.

He pulled his lips away from me and began trailing them down my body, pulling up my halter top to look at my naval ring. He smiled in approval when he saw it. I’d forgotten what it was, so I lifted my head to look. Aw, yes. It was just the word “naked”, dangling from my bellybutton.

“I think we should do what it says,” he growled. I swallowed and nodded, and then I yanked his mouth back to mine.

“Benji!” a voice that sounded like Paul’s shouted. “Benji, come on! Where are you?”

“Dammit,” Benji mumbled. “I’m just going over a few more things with Roxy!” he said to Paul. “I’ll be there in a few! Why don’t you guys go get some lunch or something?”

“We can’t, we have a photo shoot in New York, remember? The jet’s leaving in a little under ten minutes!”

“Fuck,” Benji whispered. “Wanna just make it quick?”

“Sure,” I said. He kissed me again, but 20 seconds later my frickin' phone rang. “Damn!” I said. I took it out of my purse and looked at it. Kristy. I pressed the answer button. “Yeah,” I said.

“Roxy! We need you back here right now. The magazine’s due in four hours, and six printers have jammed. Jared’s here about those skirts Mimi wants, and I don’t know where the fuck you put them. I NEED you over here.” I sighed heavily. It was looking like sex with Benji wouldn’t be happening right now.

“Alright, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I said. Seeming to understand from my tone, Benji slid off of me.

“No?” he asked. I shook my head.

“It’s catastrophe city over at the headquarters,” I said. “I’ve gotta go help Kristy. She’s overreacting major. But that’s what makes us such a good team. She overreacts, I underreact. Somehow they cancel out to form a medium that does wonders for the business. It was nice talking to you and making out with you. Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime and we can go all the way.”

“I’d like that,” he said, amused. I picked up my stuff and waved as I exited the studio.

“See you guys,” I said to the rest of his band as I walked by them. They all waved back.

Damn. Foiled again! I was going to have my way with that man if it was the last thing I ever did.