Author's note: Hey, everyone! Thanks for all your reviews and comments. I'm glad so many people seemed to enjoy this story, so far! Sorry for the took-forever-and-a-minute update! I had so many options of what direction I could take this story from the first chapter that I got confused. And then, I had writer's block. I just couldn't make the decision of whether or not I would have Nathan and Haley meet in this chapter. I like to draw things out because I'm weird and because I have a save-the-best-for-last attitude. Yeah, weird.
So, hope you guys will like this chapter and the direction that I've taken. Who's ready for SEASON FIVE? I so am. Oh, and by the way, can you tell that I love italics for emphasis? Haha. Hope you guys had a Happy Halloween (I'm so late, I know) and have an even Happier Thanksgiving (in case I don't update before then)! (Disclaimer: All ideas, characters, plots, etc. related to the television series, One Tree Hill, are rightful property to its owners, producers, and writers.)
Enjoy,
SJ
CHAPTER 2
First Day on the Job
Pressing my hand to my forehead, I shielded my squinted eyes from the sunbeams that bounced off the impressively chromed out Range Rover. As my eyes adjusted, I smiled quirkily, noticing a slowly revolving rim on the spare. Who did that? Basketball players who spend money to spend money, I guess. Taking my index finger, I gave it a light push and couldn't help but to smile as it spun smoothly. I slowly walked past it, admiring every bit of the shiny SUV, as well as taking in the ornate fountain centered in the circular driveway. What is this guy? Basketball royalty? I scoffed inwardly. And then, I nearly choked on my own spit to see a stretch Hummer, a sports convertible (I don't even know what it is), and a slinky looking Lexus all lined up neatly in a huge open garage.
Looking past the garage, I stared open-mouthed at a red-brick mansion. I'd never seen anything like it—in fact, I wouldn't doubt that it was custom built. The front door was painted a bleached white with matching shutters, which flowed with the edges of brand new windows. A wooden front porch stretched all across the front, encasing a stunning sunroom it looked like, to the right of the main entrance. And this was all just the front of the house. The home, itself, looked freshly made and hardly lived in. The grass looked exactly half an inch thick and perfectly green. It almost made me want to vomit.
Still standing on the driveway, I glanced over my shoulder at my 1990 Honda Accord—the only piece of property under my name. I think I just felt my self worth drop a little. I mean, if this guy played basketball for a living, he really couldn't be that much older than me. And if this was the case, how could he own that much more than me? I pouted, only a little, inwardly telling myself to get over it.
Looking around carefully, I crept towards the garage, to get a better look at that Lexus—my dream car. It didn't matter what kind, really… as long as it was a Lexus. The sedan's pearly white color gleamed brightly against its gold trim. Peeking through the tinted windows, I sighed wistfully at the creamy leather interior and imagined myself melting into the driver's seat. Suddenly, a Cheshire cat grin appeared on my face as I recalled a certain NBA player's brother's very words…
"… You'll be given a company car and since travel will be necessary, that will be covered as well,"
I squealed obnoxiously, realizing that not only did I get to live in this huge luxury home, but I got a luxury car to go with it. Okay, maybe that was too much of an assumption, but—
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" A voice boomed in the confines of the rather cavernous garage.
I gasped loudly, as fluorescent lights flickered on.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY!"
Again, my eyes worked quickly to adjust to the bright artificial light and I freaked to see the apparent homeowner with a bat. So, what did I do? I ran. But, of course, being the idiot that I am, I ran with no sense of direction and looking over my shoulder, making sure he wasn't gaining on me. Before I could turn around to see where I was going...
SMACK!
I moaned, nursing the birthing of a bump on my forehead, and rubbed my ass that had landed not so delicately on the concrete.
"MY CAR!"
I heard the soft footsteps of sock-covered feet and looked up to see the angry owner come out of the garage.
I was armed and ready with an explanation and if necessary, pepper spray on my keychain. Surprisingly enough, the jerk actually breezed past and was inspecting the side of his SUV, so closely that he could kiss it. What a psycho. I was shocked. What kind of ass… hole… wait! Wait a second… if he was the homeowner, which I totally assumed… that… must… mean…
"What the hell are you doing on my property?!"
So much for first impressions.
My first impression?—He was tall, dark, and really really scary looking. Clad in only a pair of basketball shorts and wife beater, I could see his biceps flex uncontrollably; probably because he was pissed and wanted to kill me in a chokehold. And his eyes… his eyes were piercingly blue. Dark haired guys with blue eyes had always been my dream type. I think they're just about any girls' 'dream type'. But, dark haired guys with blue eyes who want to kill me and might be my boss? Not so much.
"Hello? I asked you a question. What are you doing on private property? You know I can have you arrested, right?"
I awoke from my reverie of first impressions.
"I'm sorry, sir! I'm really sorry,"
I stood up, a little too quickly, for dizziness came over me. He seemed to notice and grabbed my arm firmly, but not too roughly to steady me.
"Thank you. I'm uh… I'm Haley James. I was hired by Lucas… I mean… Mr. Scott… er, he told me to call him Lucas… uh… sir,"
He removed his hand from my arm and was curiously observing me now.
"I thought my brother said he had hired a guy,"
"Oh… well, um… I'm a girl," I dumbly replied, unsure of what to say.
"Obviously. Can you show me some I.D. or proof or something? I tend to get a lot unwelcome visitors, if you know what I mean,"
"Oh, uh… yes, sir,"
I walked as quickly as I could to my car, without tipping over again, like an idiot. I pulled my driver's license from my wallet and my official STAR offer letter from my bag. By now, I was feeling like an imbecile. Although, he did seem to be a little rude, I probably creeped him out by sneaking into his garage. Oh my God! He must think I'm some fan girl groupie or something.
I returned to him, praying to the Heavens that my face wouldn't redden anymore than it already had. I waited quietly as he skimmed through the letter and scrutinized my I.D.
"All the way from D.C., huh? You sure you're not a stalker or something?"
"Uh…"
Prayer failed. My cheeks heated up instantaneously.
He smirked at my response. Prick. Prick with a cute smirk, though.
He walked past me and towards the garage, still holding my letter and I.D. I stayed planted in my spot unaware of what I was supposed to do.
"You coming?" He asked nonchalantly without turning around.
You coming? I mimicked to myself silently, as I followed him a good few feet from behind. What a great way to start your first day, James. But, so far, he wasn't as bad as Lucas had made him out to be.
"Knock, knock," A charming voice drifted into the quiet office.
Lucas looked up from the paperwork on his desk, surprised to hear someone else other than himself at work on a Saturday morning.
"Brooke? What are you doing here..." Glancing at his wristwatch, he added, "… at 9:30AM on a Saturday?"
The brunette slid in, dressed casually but still professionally in a pair of jeans, a khaki blazer, and a pair of slingbacks.
"Well, you know, there are a lot of Homecoming issues coming up for Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and a couple others, so I just wanted to prepare some books for some of our models,"
He admired her obvious endeavor by the pencil behind her left ear, glasses propped neatly on her head and photo printouts in her left hand.
"You're really doing a great job with the PR department. And I know you guys a little short-staffed over there…"
"We're managing, but with the growth of our clientele… we could use some assistance… hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink,"
He smiled, understanding well her implication of switching Peyton to PR. But, that wouldn't be possible until he found even a half-decent replacement.
Deciding to change the topic, he asked, "Do you mind if I take a look?" looking pointedly at the photographs in her hands.
"Of course not. These were taken a week ago," she mentioned as she handed him the photographs.
"Hmm… I really like how Natalia came out in this set. I'm not too sure about… what's her name? She's new, isn't she?"
"That's Beth, from Georgia, I think. There's a lot of work to be done, but she's got such a versatile profile. And, that blonde hair is gorgeous and natural! We can definitely snag her a hair ad or two… maybe even a commercial,"
Focusing on the pictures, he sheepishly admitted, "Ugh… I don't know. I've always preferred brunettes to blondes, so don't mind me,"
Seeing the wide-eyed, yet amused look on Brooke's face, he realized what he had willing admitted.
"Really? 'Cause I've always preferred blondes,"
He observed the expression in her face has softened into a sultry smile. His mouth opened slightly, taken aback by her candor.
His mind raced with his option of responses from ignoring her comment completely and retracting his own statement or scolding her for her unprofessional behavior by taking her on the desk and…
His thoughts were squashed as his cell phone began to ring. Seeing an obnoxious picture of his brother blaring on the screen, he uneasily shifted his eyes to Brooke.
"I'm going to need to take this,"
"I need to get back to work, anyway. See you later, bossman,"
She winked at him and let herself out of the office.
Walking into his kitchen was like walking into a dream. The garage door connected to a hall that led us directly into the granite and marble clad kitchen. A stove-top island that also served as a breakfast bar sparkled brightly as if yet to be used. Stainless steel appliances caught my eye as did a mini-bar nook embedded in the corner of kitchen. Despite the crafted aesthetics of the room, there's clutter everywhere and boxes and boxes of Gatorade. I guess… he's moving in… still. I watched Mr. Scott (I don't know if I'm allowed to call him Nathan since he doesn't seem as friendly as Lucas) as he continued to examine my documents while calling someone from his cell phone.
Since, I had a natural tendency to be nosy, I walked around, picking up trash every so often and absorbing my mind anywhere else, but his phone conversation.
"Hey, JACKASS, I thought you said my new assistant was a guy,"
I froze in my tracks, still clutching bits of trash—stunned by his crude language. I mean, it's not like I didn't curse… and 'jackass' was far from the worst ones I've used, but there was usually a waiting period with people that I'd met for the first time before I let my mouth run off. I peeked over my shoulder, to see that he'd turned his back on me. Ew. You're the jackass.
"Yeah, well, I called to make sure that it's the right girl. Luke, you know how those stalkers can be... and this one's a little... you know," He whispered the last bit.
My jaw dropped open and repulsion distorted my face. Who the hell did he think she was? Some Nathan Scott-worshipping fanatical stalker? I didn't even know who he was until his brother had to explain. Sigh. His brother is way nicer and definitely not so damn cocky.
"Haley Marie James,"
(Author's note: I chose Marie because it's pretty popular. I know, uncreative. I couldn't find any resources that gave the character's actual middle name.)
I turned around fully, assuming he'd been addressing me. But, he was just reading my I.D. back to his brother.
"Okay, okay, okay. Okay!" he yelled, obviously irritated by the numerous requests/commands/questions directed his way. "Haley,"
I looked up to meet his eyes.
"Lucas wants to talk to you," he said, a hint of an unidentified emotion changed the tone of his voice. Maybe it was jealousy being that his brother wanted to talk to me.
I took the cell phone warily from his hands, considering that so far, this guy was completely unpredictable.
"Hello? Hi, Mr. Scott… I mean, Luke,"
"Haha. How're you holding up?"
"Me? Oh, I'm fine," I avoided all eye contact with Nathan. I even turned my back to him—not to get back at him, but because I was scared that he'd know what we're discussing.
"He hasn't chewed off your head, yet?"
"Not exactly," I tittered nervously.
"Well, that sounds like good news already! Anyway, Haley, I know that this is just your first day, so we want you to get settled in and everything. But, just to give you a heads up: in three weeks, Nathan is holding a small charity banquet in his house,"
When Lucas said this, I couldn't help but to sneak a look at his alter-ego brother. He was eyeing me just as curiously, so I immediately turned away again.
"He didn't want to, but with the move and all… he hasn't had the right kind of exposure, if you know what I mean. He knows he needs the publicity,"
Wow. AND THE JACKASS-OF-THE-UNIVERSE AWARD GOES TO… NATHANNNNN SCOTT!
"Tomorrow, you guys have an appointment at a local dealership so we can get you a car; unless he relents and agrees to letting you drive one of his cars. Stubborn son-of-a… anyway! I'll be stopping by with Peyton tomorrow. She'll be going over a lot of the coordination with you. If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask either of us, okay?"
"Yes, sir," I answered somewhat enthusiastically. I was excited for the car, but so not excited to get off the phone and to be left alone again… with Nathan Scott.
After talking to his brother again, Nathan hung up the phone and we stood there in silence for a few seconds.
"Eager to start working?" – His attempt at friendly conversation, I thought.
"Huh?"
He pointed out the collected trash bundled in my hands.
"Oh… uh… it's a habit. A little obsessive compulsive, but a good one, none the less," I answered in a serious manner.
He had an amused look on his face that I purposefully chose to ignore.
"Could I have that back?" I asked a little more coldly than intended, looking pointedly at the documents in his hands. In my defense, he told Lucas that I was a little... "you know", whatever that meant.
The expression on his face vanished and he stiffly held it out forward for me to take.
"A little uptight there, aren't we?" He challenged. Folding his arms across the front of his chest, he smirked at me. He continued, "For someone wound so tight, how does it feel to move in with your first guy? I'm surprised you didn't wait for marriage,"
Ooh. Now, I knew what his brother had been talking about. But, two could play at that game.
"Who said you're my first guy?"
