Hello everyone, thanks for stopping to read this. This is only edited by me, forgive my mistakes if you find any. Theres only so many times i can re-read something before it all blends to mush.
It a new idea I thought was interesting, I hope everyone enjoys it. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All the recognized characters belong to Pretty Little liars. All other characters I've made up just to add depth. I dont get any kind of money from this.
Emily couldn't sleep. She should probably be used to this, or at least expect it after 8 years of experience. Each night she would trick herself into believing she would have a perfectly healthy 8 hours of sleep.
She was perfectly healthy and happy. She should be able to have something so simple. But she couldn't.
It wasn't every night this happened, but far too many nights Emily spent tossing, turning, getting up to read, trying everything to fall asleep.
Even with these sleepless nights, Emily counted herself lucky. Insomnia could get annoying, but it was manageable. Some of her friends suffered from some serious PTSD. She'd seen attacks happen and wouldn't wish it on anyone. So if all she got was insomnia? She'd take it.
On the plus side, Emily could say she's seen more sunrises than most. Coffee while watching the sun slowly rise up was frequently a part of her morning routine. This Friday morning sunrise just happened to be a really nice one too.
Once the sun us up she started her morning activities; light breakfast, shower, dress, check schedule, and house lock up. Usually, she'd then head over to her agency for her job detail, but she was one of the few who got assigned to long term assignments, such as her current job - 3 month security detail for Ms. DiLaurentis.
That was, Ms. Alison DiLaurentis, the extremely popular and famous actress. She was attending various award ceremonies, press meetings, and conventions in the next couple of months and would need an extra bit of security. If you asked anyone on the team they'd tell you Ms. DiLaurentis did her own security and all they did was stand around and watch.
She could be charming, if you went for that sarcastic wit, but the whole team agreed she could be downright terrifying. Icy looks and cold attitude usually don't help people's opinions about a person, but this prima-donna knew how to give some vicious backhanded insults if pressed.
Already three weeks into working this contract and Emily was pretty sure hadn't spoken more than a handful of times to someone on the team. "Yes," and "No." included.
Not only that, but she had an unapproachable air about her. If someone can even have their own kind of air.
Combine all that and you've got your own built in defense system! Emily could appreciate it, lord knows she'd wished some of the people she'd escorted before had a fraction of the off putting personality this girl had.
"I can never figure out why she's so popular though," cooking a quick breakfast – just an omelet, "people either don't know what she's really like or I just don't understand people," Shaking her head she plated her meal and dug in.
It was only 7:10am, she had plenty of time before she needed to arrive at the designated location by, 8:30am. 8 years out of the military and Emily still couldn't shake how quickly she got ready for the day. It wasn't a bad thing (not in Emily's mind), but sometimes she had to force herself to slow down.
She'd stay in the shower longer than 2 minutes, spruce up her hair, add make up, and put on the outfit she'd laid out the night before. Still it only took her, at max 15 minutes to get ready. She'd need to work on pushing that to at least 20.
Part of being post-military training was getting yourself fit for regular society again, right? "Too bad it takes so long" Emily rolled her eyes, finished her breakfast, and started on being presentable to the world.
Once finished, all that was left was to check the daily schedule. It was conveniently sent to her email a day in advance, but Emily always double checked.
"Hmm, a press conference with a meet-and-greet after? Not too bad," Emily put her phone away, grabbed her keys, and go into her car. "Worst case scenario, someone gets too handys," Emily scoffed, "Like Ms. DiLaurentis would let someone, a fan even, that close."
If someone did happen to get touchy, she'd stop it before it happened. She didn't get to be one of the best by half-ass measures.
As Emily drove to meet the team, her thoughts drifted to her boss and how she boasted the same thing.
Emily didn't like to brag, but she was one of the best her agency had to offer. Hence why she was on this current assignment, Alison DiLaurentis wasn't just any client. Her boss would tell you that quicker than lightning. Emily had heard her say something like, "You can't go wrong with Emily Fields! She's our triple threat; Intelligent, experienced, and personable!" Emily thought it made her sound a little too much like a Sunday morning cartoon character. She couldn't break Viviys heart by saying that though.
Emily chuckled; Viviy Neilson was definitely a character. She looked the younger version of Meryl streep in Devil Wears Prada, acted like her too, just without all the sarcasm. There wasn't a truly mean bone in Viviys body.
Sure, she'd kid around, try to crack a sarcastic joke once in a while, but she'd end up mothering everyone by the end of the day.
She did have a wicked sense of humor though. It could be rather embarrassing at times – for whoever was on the receiving end.
"She's one of the best though," Emily would always be grateful for Viviy, she was probably a huge factor to how Emily moved up in the company so fast. By Em's 3rd year she was doing jobs reserved for the senior team members.
It didn't hurt that Viviy had a soft spot for Emily. There weren't many females working at their company (or in the industry), so for the 5 who were, Viviy became like a second mom. Emily would swear even if you hated your own mother, you'd love Viviy.
"Maybe Ms. DiLaurentis and Viviy should get together and swap tips," Emily laughed, "Oh god! I'd love to see that! They'd either somehow get along great or kill each other."
Pulling into the parking lot of the Wyndom reserve hotel, Emily got out and made her way to the lobby to wait for the rest of the team to show.
This place was an A-list hotel with strict security; she had to flash her id just to be checked off so she could get in. They did have really comfy lobby chairs, so that made up for something.
She'd been the first to arrive – nothing out of the ordinary there. Next would probably be Jackson, a 46 year old who'd been in the industry too long to count. He was always great to work with, easy-going, friendly, and so much experience. If you bought him a couple beers off the clock he had some really great stories he could tell too.
After that would probably be Quin, He'd bring bagels and coffee. He was one of those secret-softies; he has that menacing look, full beard (well taken care of), and tattoos (usually covered by his suit, but he looked like he'd have them either way).
Once he opened his mouth though, he ruins that tough guy image. Good thing this job doesn't require much communication. He was a giant sweetheart, if not a little bit of a flirt. He had a great sense of humor and was easy to banter with. Quin was usually paired with Emily on jobs; they'd worked well together through the years.
The last member of the group to arrive was usually the newbie, newbie-ish anyways.
Cameron was newer to the agency. He was only with them for about a year now. On first glance he had an intimidating statue, he'd definitely fit the description of a typical, juice head; Bulging muscles, tall, and cropped hair.
His looks were usually enough deterrent for most that got too close. He could pick up non-verbal cues almost instantly too, it was a great skill to have. Cam was definitely in the right industry; he'd go really far if he wanted. His only downfall was that he had a problem with taking direction from women.
You'd think that'd be a common occurrence in security, surprisingly though it wasn't. Most had the attitude of, "you know your limits, show me what you can do, respect me, I'll respect you," if you lasted more than a year and did your job well, you'd have basically zero problems with anyone's attitude.
Cam was under the impression that women could only really do two things; household duties and finances. "I'll never understand where the finances part comes from," household sexism was nothing new, but finances?
He wouldn't trust a woman's instructions or opinions, but he'd let a lady mess with his money. It didn't make any sense. Jackson had said he asked once; Cams answer didn't really clear anything up "Woman have better brains for it."
His interactions with Emily were a little better than most, only for the sole reason that he found out she's an ex-marine. He still was touchy if she asked him to do something.
Emily sighed, shook her head, and sunk into a lobby chair. It'd probably take about 15 to 20 minutes for everyone to get here. She decided to check her messages; no doubt there'd be something from a certain someone.
"Of course," she chuckled, "Nothing like Hanna text spam to start a day."
There was 4 messages in total, all time stamped around the time Emily would have been driving.
The first read, "Hey sex-muffin, we're still good for tonight, right?" the next text wasn't even a minute later, "you better respond before work starts" The third was marked 10 minutes later, "I have your schedule!"
Emily was slightly confused as to how Hanna would have that when she only just got it yesterday. Hanna knew her best friend too well because the next text just read, "I bet you forgot! I had my friend Caleb hack your email and set up a forward, remember? I told you I would if you ignored me!"
Emily just rolled her eyes; of course Hanna would do that! She was a little crazy sometimes. Just as Em was thinking that, she felt her phone vibrate. Looking down there was another text, from Hanna again, "Don't ignore me! I know you're reading this! Come on Em, just a yes or no!"
Em knew if she didn't answer Hanna would end up calling and at that point, Emily wouldn't have an option out of tonight. So she sent a quick text, "Sure Han, were still good, did you invite Viviy to go too? She's had a long week, totally needs it."
She only had to wait about 2 minutes for a reply, "Of course I did! What girls' night is complete without our Viviy? You better be ready to get wild tonight."
'Get wild?' Emily thought, 'if it's Hanna, that's more like out of control' Emily asked what they were celebrating.
"I got a new contract with a good designer, a really really famous designer. You know that deal I was talking about the other night? Yeah, it went through and it's for Mona Vanderwaal."
"I'm going to take a guess and say Mona Vanderwaals a big deal! We'll have a good time tonight, promise." She sent a smiley emoji with it.
Emily wasn't really on top of the fashion name brand scene. She was fashionable for sure, even if she didn't want to be, Hanna would never let her live it down. She still fell short with whose name was the hottest topic though.
"It's not just a big deal! It's like, astronomical! Mona Vanderwaal has been queen of the fashion world for the last 5 seasons! You know that girl you're assigned to, Alison? Most of her outfits are Vanderwaal! I'm going to be raking in so much dough now!"
Hanna was clearly excited if she was calling money dough. When she got excited her inner 14 year old came out. Still, Emily thought it was great for her long-time best friend. Hanna owned a couple different clothes shops around the city, they were all pretty popular, but there wasn't too many large name brands in the boutiques yet.
Han was always looking for new marketing opportunities and Em could only guess how she got this one. She probably weaseled her way into some kind of fashion show and made contacts. Or knowing Hanna, she probably ran into the woman.
"That's great Han! Congratulations! I'm really excited for you!" Hanna was probably dying for a response like that because her next text was, "Save that enthusiasm for tonight, girl! You're buying me so many drinks! I deserve all of them! Get here by 6pm were going to glam up. Have fun at work bestie! 3"
Hanna was definitely crazy. At least she only used one strange nickname. Emily looked up as she heard footsteps getting closer. It was Jackson shuffling his way over.
"Morning Em," Sleep was still clinging to his voice, "Have a good night?"
Emily gave a smile and shrugged, "Same as usual. You?"
He rubbed his shoulders, "was up later than usual, it was Dennys 6th birthday last night. We had trouble getting him to actually go to sleep," He laughed, "Hell, I'd still like to be asleep myself! Can't wait till Quin brings coffee."
"Sounds like a rough night. Too much sugar?" Jackson sank into the seat and leaned back, "way too much," he rubbed his eyes. "Nel made a triple chocolate four layer cake, had homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream, and too much soda."
"damn, homemade icecream? Tell Nel I'm coming for dinner and dessert soon!" Jackson laughed, "Not you too, Em! I don't want you running around my house all hyper! I know what too much sugar does to you. Nel would probably be ecstatic to have you over. She's been telling me to invite you."
"Tell me a date and time, I'm so there," Just as Emily said that they both heard, "Date and time? Emily I thought we had something going! How could you cheat on me with Jackson, hes married!"
They all shared a laugh, "How could I forget Quin, I'm sorry but Jackson is offering homemade desserts! You can't blame me."
Quin tried to make a hurt face, but he couldn't hold it for long, "Well, when you put it that way, I'm going to have to sweet talk Nel! Her cooking is ridiculous. What was the last thing she sent in with you, Jackson?"
Quin sat the bag of bagels and coffee on the center table between seats. "Some kind of Paula Dean level cookie?"
Jackson just shook his head at Quin, "Paula Dean? Man, where do you get these sayings? I'm pretty sure it was just caramel white chocolate macadamia nut cookie."
Emily grabbed her coffee from the trey while Quin was working on his second bagel, "Listen to you, 'just caramel white chocolate macadamia nut cookie' you've clearly become desensitized after years of glorious food. Anything Nel makes is some of the best fucking cooking I've ever had."
Emily lifted her coffee in agreement, "here, here" Jackson just smiled and grabbed a bagel. "Nel appreciates it."
It was 8:25am by the time Cameron arrived. Jackson stood when he saw Cameron come through the door. When he was close enough he said, "Great everyone's here, let's go up and see if Ms. DiLaurentis is ready."
Quin sighed, threw away the empty bag, "Time to start the day I guess…It's an easy day though, right Em?" Emily gave a firm nod, straightening out her suit-pants outfit as they walked, "An easy Friday sounds good to me."
They easily made it up to the correct floor, went to her room and knocked. They didn't have to wait long before the door opened to a fully fashioned Alison DiLaurentis.
She was definitely a pretty girl. Emily really should say woman, she was probably only 6 years younger or so. She definitely couldn't be over 30 like Emily; she really didn't look a day over 25. Who knows maybe she'd look it up later to sate her curiosity.
Emily needed to keep a focused mind. 'Guess looks really do help popularity with bad attitude' she couldn't stop that one little thought from straying into her active mind. To refocus her thoughts she glanced around the hall way and back, settling on Ms. DiLaurentis's dress.
Remembering what Hanna text earlier did a quick once over of the outfit. It was really well done, accented her figure and looks sophisticated, but most important, it looked expensive.
'All in all, I can kind of understand why Hanna's so excited.' Hanna would probably try to sell Em the store when she finally got the clothes in stock.
Em shook her head and came back to Jackson telling their VIP the plan for today. No doubt she already knew, Jackson just liked to give them reminders, so nothing could be confused.
Once he finished his brief rundown he asked, "Are you ready to head to the car Ms. DiLaurentis?"
She glanced over them all and gave a leisure nod of affirmation. "Right this way then," They all spread out, Jackson taking point, Cam next to him. Emily and Quin hung back to let her in the middle.
They walked to the elevator, got in the car, and set off with Jack driving. Not much was said on the way to the press conference. Quin whispered a couple jokes, but with their charge in the car it was professional time. She also seemed like she didn't know what jokes were.
When they pulled into the parking reserved parking complex Jackson turned to them all. He gave his own version of a pep talk to kick start the day, "Alright crew, I know it's a Friday and everybody's working for the weekend, but don't let that get you distracted. We've got a job to do, let's make it a smooth sailing kind of day. I want eyes sharp and ears open. Press isn't too hard but if you feel pressed or uncomfortable at any point, Ms. DiLaurentis let us know immediately. Alright people lets go."
With that everyone piled out of the van, got in formation, and made their way to the VIP entrance.
Emilys eyes suddenly got hit by reflecting light off a silver button on the back of Ms. DiLaurentis's dress. She had to tilt her head while looking down to avoid becoming blind.
This just happened to center her view on the girl's backside. All Emily could think was, 'Damn, Alison DiLaurentis has one great ass.'
Author notes:
Thats all I've got for you! If you feel like leaving a review, great! If not, thanks for reading. =)
Planning for next Chapter to be released next week.
