A/N: So sorry for the late update! I was working on this story, but I was adding new material and completely forgot to go back and edit this chapter to upload.
Like always, thanks so much for your kind reviews, they really motivate to keep writing, I've officially reached over 100 pages in this story, which is the longest story I've written, ever! (I'm usually a one-shot writer.)
Also, I still can't believe that you readers are still adding this to your alerts and favourites, it really means so much.
[iluvbtr166]: You are absolutely right, this story does need more Jatie action, and I'm sorry it's taking so long to get around to it; honestly didn't think that trying to incorporate a couple of sub-plots would get in the way. I hope what happens in this chapter will satisfy you a little!
Disclaimer: I don't own BTR and its characters
Carlos went into his second audition with a happy smile as he didn't see Marka there to assist him running the lines. The director's apparent goal was to gauge Carlos' ability to be appealing to the audience. Katie knew that Carlos would pass this audition with flying colours, his charismatic and child-like energy could make anybody warm up to him easily.
Katie sat in the waiting room while Carlos auditioned. Her phone rang, "Hello? Hey Mags. That's great, okay, thanks for calling." Magdalene had just informed Katie that she was able to book an appointment with Ali Khan, the prospective agent for Carlos for that afternoon. Katie glanced at her watch and bit her lip. She made a call to Camille to push back their proposed shopping trip a few hours, thankfully Camille was free that evening as she shot her scenes in the morning; she would hang around on set that afternoon in case they wanted to do retakes.
Carlos came out of the auditioning room a half hour later, looking rather pleased. Katie shot him a questioning look which he returned with two thumbs up. Katie grinned. She noticed that the director came out of the room with him, she got up out of her seat.
"Kevin, this is my manager K−"
"Kate Knight, I know," Kevin Park interrupted. He eyed Katie, "Aren't you Marka's manager?"
Katie gave her best professional, good-natured smile. "Yes, I am."
Kevin looked over at her, amused, "You usually have your clients act in the same movie?"
Katie chuckled, "Of course not, Mr. Park. I just happen to know that my clients are perfect for your roles."
Kevin smirked happily at Katie's bold comment. He clapped a hand on Carlos' back. "Ms. Knight, I do believe you're right. I can see Carlos playing Peter in my film," the three exchanged smiles at the news. "Of course, nothing is finalized yet, I do have to confer with my producer and casting director, and of course do a few screen tests, but I think we're looking at Hollywood's newest actor."
Carlos gave a toothy grin, he reached out and grabbed Kevin's hand to shake, "Thanks so much, Kevin."
Kevin laughed at Carlos' excitement, "Okay, well, I'm sure I'll be seeing you guys soon," Katie and Carlos watched as the slight Asian man made his way back into the auditioning room.
Katie let out a rare squeal as Carlos pulled her into a hug, "Carlos, I'm so happy for you."
Carlos let go of her to tweak her nose, "All thanks to you, Katie-cakes."
They made their way to Katie's loaned car and decided to get a bite to eat before heading over to meeting with Ali.
When they reached Ali's agency, which comprised of himself and another novice agent, Katie and Carlos began discussing the intricacies of what was to come with this new career. Katie explained to Carlos that he still needed to sign legal documentation that stated the professional relationship with the two, and like James, Katie was entitled to ten percent of Carlos' earnings. She also told him that as an actor, he had an obligation to her, his agent and the studio that is going to produce any of his projects. Katie was well aware that Carlos was listening to her through one ear, his puppy-like excitement for new things distracted him from paying complete attention. She watched as he absentmindedly nodded to what she was saying, but kept flickering his eyes around the waiting room.
"Kate?" A deep voice called out from one of the office doors. Katie swivelled her head to the speaker. She placed a genuine smile on her face as she got up and shook the man's hand.
"Ali, how are you? It's been too long."
"Indeed," Ali smiled, he peered over Katie's shoulder to look at her companion. "This must be Mr. Garcia?" He held out his hand.
"Call me Carlos," Carlos said as he shook Ali's hand.
The agent stepped aside and gestured for his guests to enter his office. Katie and Carlos took a seat. Ali joined them after closing the door and sat across them from behind his desk.
"What can I help you with today?" Ali flashed a sparkling white smile that contrasted with his mocha skin.
Katie got right down to business, "Carlos is need of an agent. He's in the process of being offered a role in an upcoming film, but as you know, he can't make any agreement unless he has a lawyer or an agent to represent him. As Carlos intends to be in the acting industry for a long while, we think," Katie flicked her finger between herself and Carlos, "that it is beneficial for him to have someone who will do their best to support his career, and we think that someone could be you. You're just the guy we need; I know that you always find the most amazing scripts and you have the tenacity to take Carlos' career into the stratosphere." Katie flashed him a winning smile of her own as she crossed her legs.
Ali laughed, "Kate, you're always the charmer, but I must admit, I am intrigued. Though, I have to ask, why me? Let's face it, there are plenty of agents out there, and I bet that more than a dozen of them would be dying for a chance to represent a member of BTR," Ali smirked slightly at their astonished faces.
"You know who I am?" Carlos asked.
"Well, besides the fact that I did look over your portfolio, by the way, you really need to update your headshot, I was a huge fan of your music."
Katie shot Carlos an apologetic look. Unprofessionally, she had included the only decent but old photo of Carlos she had, in his portfolio.
Carlos considered Ali, "You wanna know why I chose you? It's because you remind me of me and Katie. We're all so new at this, that I think that it would be an awesome adventure if we all learned things together." Katie's lips turned up at Carlos' optimism. Carlos continued speaking, "One of my best memories of Big Time Rush was how the guys and I would do things together, and it was always so much fun. I would love to have that experience with you guys." Katie reached across and held Carlos' hand, his confession of missing the gang made her realize that all of them had difficulties adjusting to their new lives.
Ali nodded, "Please, Carlos, tell me some of your aspirations, what do you feel you can achieve?"
"Well, I don't know, I mean, I've literally just stepped foot into this business a couple of days ago, but, I guess it would be amazing to win an Oscar or a Golden Globe one day. I never expected to win a Grammy, but, BTR managed to win three of them," Carlos grinned, remembering one of the band's greatest moments.
"Yes, I remember that," Ali said. "I like your attitude, Carlos," Ali studied Katie and Carlos intently, as he contemplated his decision. "I have to be honest, I would like very much to agree to this partnership, but, I do need more time to go over the details of this arrangement, I'd also have to discuss this with my associate," he paused before looking pointedly at Carlos. "Tell me, are you free for dinner anytime soon? I'd like to get to know you a bit more."
Carlos looked over at Katie with an air of bewilderment. Katie gave him a reassuring smile, before turning to speak with Ali. "Dinner would be perfect. How about some time early next week? Tuesday night?"
Ali smiled, "Sounds good."
Katie stood up and stuck out her hand. "Alright then, I'll have my assistant contact your office with more details."
Ali stood up as well, shaking hands with his guests, "I look forward to it."
They made their way to the door when Katie turned around and smiled at Ali, "Please send my regards to Vida. How is she?" Katie asked about his wife, after the meeting was over.
Ali broke out into a huge grin, "She's doing wonderfully. In fact, we are expecting our first child in March."
Katie gasped and returned the grin, "Congratulations! I'm so happy for the both of you."
"Thank you," they had reached the entrance to the agency. "It's been wonderful seeing you again, Kate, and Carlos, a pleasure to have met you."
Carlos smiled, "Ditto, and congrats by the way." Katie shot him a look, trying to remind him to remain professional. Luckily, Ali found him charming and laughed before waving them off.
Katie laughed and shook her head in amazement, when they stepped into the elevator. Carlos gave her a curious look.
"What?"
"You have got to be one lucky bastard. You're not only in talks to play a lead in a major motion picture, but you're also getting yourself an agent within," Katie dramatically looked at her watch, "less than twenty-four hours and you've accomplished this in less than a week since you've gotten here."
Carlos playfully rubbed her head, "Ah, well, I'm lucky to have known you. I really wouldn't be in this position if you hadn't persuaded me into reading that script."
Katie grinned and jokingly replied, "Just doing it for business." She laughed at his expression. "I'm kidding. Come on, I wanna try getting you some headshots done before I meet up with Camille."
Carlos grumbled, "I hate doing headshots, I'm never good at it."
Katie tilted her head, it was true, Carlos did have trouble in the past with taking solo pictures. For the most part, he had difficulty letting go of Helmet to actually sit still. Thankfully, Helmet was now carefully tucked away at his parents' house. Mrs. Garcia managed to persuade her son to part with his prized possession by telling him that he risked breaking the helmet completely if he kept destroying it the way he did. Carlos reluctantly agreed after a year of persuasion.
"Why don't we go back to James' and you can take a look at what he does for his headshots? I'm sure he's accumulated more than enough to give you some pointers."
"Great idea. I think I want to change into something else as well. I mean, we will be distributing these pictures to various studios. I don't want to look awful."
Katie only laughed at Carlos' worry.
They arrived, fairly quickly, back to the mansion. Henry greeted them at the door. Carlos zoomed by him, yelling out a quick hello to the help. Katie rolled her eyes and smiled at Henry. "Hi Henry, still hanging, I see," Katie said, referring to the shenanigans that he had to put up with.
"You have no idea, Ms. Knight," Henry stated in his English accent. Katie giggled. "Tea?"
"Yes, please. Is James around?" Katie asked.
"He's out jogging and should be back any moment."
"Hmm," Katie hummed, "'Kay, I'm going to go to his office and look through his portfolios."
Katie saw Henry's eyes widen and was about to protest, "Don't worry, you can tell him it was all me." Katie fluttered her eyes. Henry sighed and made a motion to shoo Katie in the direction of the office. Katie grinned, "Thanks, Henry."
She weaved her way around James' mansion, vaguely remembering where his office was, from the tour that he gave the gang when he first moved in. She found the right door and let herself in. She smirked as she looked around at the pompous décor. She rolled her eyes when she saw the classic armchair in the corner, she could picture James sitting in it wearing a silk robe, a cigar in mouth with a glass of brandy in his hand. Katie went over to his shelf of black albums behind his desk. She recognized the oldest one as the one that she had given him when she acted as his modelling agent when the boys first needed jobs back at the Palm Woods. She pulled as many as she could off the shelf and placed them on his desk to leaf through. Curiosity got the better of her when she saw a blue album sticking out of the many black ones. She grabbed the album and made herself comfortable at the desk. Katie let out a gasp as she opened the album.
In the album were pictures of Katie, all of them from her modelling days. It seemed that James had collected a photo from every shoot. She ran her hand across the plastic covering. What surprised Katie was that none of the pictures depicted her provocatively. She knew that there were a couple where she posed in a more risqué setting, but every one of the photos that James kept were rather classy.
"I meant to give that to you."
Katie quickly looked up at James, perspiring in the doorway. Katie opened and shut her mouth, unable to say anything. James walked into the room and slid the album towards him.
"I called up every photographer in the city to get these. At first, no one would agree to let me have them, but after they recognized my name, and some remembered the occasional appearances you would make with the band, they agreed. Some just gave them to me when they realized that I was collecting them for you," He glanced up at Katie's stunned face. "I really did mean to give this to you, it was meant for your twenty-first birthday."
Katie finally found her voice and got over her temporary paralysis. She thought back to her twenty-first birthday, "You got me a necklace," she subconsciously reached up to play with the one she was wearing. She was suddenly aware that her favourite necklace, the one she wore everyday, a small heart pendant encrusted with diamonds, happened to be the one that he gave her.
"Yes, but my original gift was this," James said, smiling gently.
Katie wanted to ask him why he kept it when Henry and Carlos knocked on the door.
"Your tea, Ms. Knight."
Katie cleared her throat, "Thanks, Henry." She closed the album quickly, but subtlety.
Carlos beamed at his friends, "What are you guys doing?"
"Looking at headshots," Katie replied quickly. She didn't know why she felt she had to hide the fact that James kept a photo album of her from Carlos; she only felt that this was a private matter between them. Normally, if she found out that a guy had been keeping a photo album of her, she would be freaked out, but she couldn't help but think it was a sweet gesture on James' part. Katie grabbed one of the black albums and opened it to a random page. This album seemed to consist of James' more recent photos. She gave him a quizzical look when she spotted a couple of 'in-character' shots, like a secret agent and a teacher.
He shrugged in response.
"Awesome," Carlos cried, as he leapt onto James' desk. He laughed loudly, flipping through an album that consisted of nothing but 'in-character' photos. James smacked the back of Carlos' head.
"Hey, I look good."
"Dude, don't you have any normal pictures?"
"You just can't appreciate real art!"
Katie bit her lip to keep from laughing. She cleared her throat again, "Here, Carlos, why don't you take a look at these ones? They're probably more similar to the ones that you want to take," Katie placed the album she had been looking at in his hands. While Carlos was looking through the photos, she turned to speak to James. "So, tomorrow, I'll come by and pick you up? We'll head over to the studio, and on the way back, we can pick up my car. I'm hoping it'll be ready by then, I haven't heard anything from the garage all day," Katie frowned, pulling her phone out of her pocket, trying to will it to ring.
Carlos' head perked up, "What studio? I thought we were going to Malibu?"
James answered for Katie, "We are, it's just that Katie and I have to go to the photography studio first, to look at the 'Cuda prints for the cologne and perfume campaign. We'll definitely get down to Malibu before midday." Carlos nodded, refocussing his attention to the album.
"Hey, James, you're free right now, right?" Katie asked suddenly, before sipping her tea.
"Yeah, why?"
"I have to meet Camille soon, but Carlos still needs to get these headshots done. Since you're such an expert, would you mind taking Carlos?" Katie asked, enlarging her eyes.
"Don't use your eyes on me!" James shielded his eyes dramatically. Katie threw on a pout for emphasis, knowing that James would peek through his fingers. "Ugh, fine!" He shouted, once he caught a glimpse of her face. "You're lucky I still fall for that face. But, you have to promise to do everything I tell you," he pointed a finger at Carlos.
Carlos scrunched up his face, "Okay, but no stupid costumes."
"Everything or no deal."
Carlos looked over at Katie, pleadingly. She only shrugged, he turned back to James and stuck out his hand and said in defeat, "Deal."
James clasped his outstretched hand, "Good," he looked down at himself, "just let me shower, first," he dashed out of the room.
Carlos squinted his eyes at Katie, "You better hope there aren't any costumes, Katie-cakes."
Katie beamed, "Love you too, Carlos," and headed out, ready to meet Camille.
A/N: I think when I wrote this chapter a while back, I remembered thinking, 'how was it that I've gone this far into the story without bringing up Helmet?' And well, it just wouldn't be a BTR story without bringing in Carlos' love for his headgear ;)
I hope you readers liked this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think!
-D