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"Noah, where is my coffee? It’s been ten minutes!” Chris yelled down the hallway. Seconds later, Noah turned the corner, coming into Chris’s view. He held the aforementioned drink, a scowl on his face.
“The interns got it wrong the first time.” Noah handed him the cup. After a moment, Chris nodded, seeming satisfied with this explanation. Noah held back a sigh of relief.
The life of a personal assistant to Chris McLean was far from a glorious one. While Noah was paid generously, he was put to work at every waking hour and at risk of getting fired if he performed any less than perfectly. On top of that, Chris had no regard for his desires, limits, or even basic needs such as rest. If he hadn’t needed the money for college, he never would’ve considered taking the job. But money was money, and he could deal with the mistreatment until he got a spot on another reality TV show or found some other high-paying job.
Once Chris no longer seemed a breath away from yelling at him, Noah turned to leave. “Not so fast.” Of course. Noah should’ve known there was no escape. “I’m going to be working with the new cast for Total Drama Dirtbags later. I want you on standby in case I need you for something. We’ll be in the room across the hall in thirty minutes. Don’t be late.”
Noah sighed. Not only was it more work, but he would have to interact with a cast he already hated for the mere fact that they were taking his place as one of Chris’s “reality stars.” It didn’t matter to him that he’d only been on the show for three episodes—it was still his show. “Yeah. I’ll be there.” Before Chris could request anything else, Noah rushed out the door to return to his room. He still had some paperwork to complete before he met with Chris again, but if he worked fast, maybe he could take a short break beforehand. Half an hour wasn’t much time, but he could probably spare a few minutes to read a couple pages in his new book or take a nap. It was astounding to him how wonderful both of those ideas sounded despite them being condensed into five minute breaks. He never had time to rest or relax; he was lucky if he even got to eat his meals in peace. Wasn’t forcing someone to wait on you all day without any proper breaks illegal? Maybe he should file a lawsuit, get Courtney to help with the logistics. It would certainly get him the money he was looking for.
As Noah rounded the corner, a gasp pulled him out of his thoughts. Another body suddenly collided with his, nearly knocking him to the ground. An arm wrapped around his waist caught and righted him just in time. Noah narrowed his eyes, ready to offer a snarky comment, when the man now standing in front of him spoke first. “My apologies, amigo. Are you okay?”
Noah scanned the man. He was tall, muscular, and handsome, probably about his age, and painfully charming. The man’s slight smirk and the arm around Noah’s waist told him everything he needed to know, though. He was bold, flirtatious, full of himself. Everything Noah hated in a person.
He batted the man’s arm away and stepped past him. “About as good as I was before you ran into me, thanks.” Technically, it had been both of their faults, but Noah couldn’t have cared less. He was a busy man, and he didn’t have the energy to expend on some random person he just met in the hall. As he reached his room, he turned back to see the man glaring at him, seemingly frustrated at the way Noah had brushed him off. Good. He deserved it for being the person that he was.
Twenty minutes of paperwork and an eight minute nap later, Noah found himself back in Chris’s office. The moment he’d arrived, Chris had given him a stack of unedited scripts to “keep him entertained” while he waited outside. He’d been forbidden from coming into the meeting unless called upon, with the host claiming that his newest show needed to be kept confidential until air, meaning no one, including Noah, could hear any of his discussions with the cast. Noah wasn’t sure what was so important about it, but he didn’t care enough to push it, either.
At Chris’s desk, Noah soon fell into a rhythm of editing scripts. He combed through each one easily, circling and underlining errors along the way. He rather enjoyed correcting any grammar mistakes or misinformation, especially when it wasn’t putting his job on the line. Some of the writing was truly horrific, and if nothing else, Noah was at least saving the viewers from having to hear terrible jokes and nonsense sentences. If this were all his job was, he might even like being Chris’s assistant.
Of course, nothing could be that easy. “Noah!” Chris called from the meeting room, crushing any bit of happiness Noah might’ve been feeling. “Can you help me clean this place up? And get some drinks or something for the contestants while you’re at it!” Was the meeting over already? Noah rose to his feet, now noticing the aches in his bones. Time flies when you’re having fun.
Noah returned with a cart of drinks and opened the door to the meeting room. Chairs and papers were scattered around, courtesy of Chris’s wonderful organization skills, while the contestants stood on the edges of the room conversing with one another. From his seat at the front of the room, Chris smiled and motioned for Noah to come over. “Would you mind picking up those papers and putting the chairs back where they belong? Oh, and make sure to take care of any garbage you find. The owners of this place are gonna get real mad at me if I leave it a mess.” Noah decided not to comment on the fact that he was doing exactly that and leaving Noah to pick up after him. Instead, he walked over to the closest table to begin his task.
By now, most of the contestants had gravitated towards the drink cart. As he gathered the loose papers on the table, Noah studied the cast. It seemed Chris had chosen some interesting contestants for this show. A bear, the murder from Total Drama Island, a—wait, wasn’t that the hot Spanish guy from earlier? Noah looked him over, and the man flashed him a smile. Definitely the same guy.
For some reason, this only made Noah more upset with him. First he’d walked into him, and now he was trying to replace him and his friends on Chris’s new show. It really shouldn’t have bothered him so much. The show was horrible, and its host wasn’t any better, but for some reason, the whole situation made Noah’s blood boil. He forced himself to look away and continue his work. Hopefully the man would be subjected to the same torture as everyone on the first season.
“Alright everybody, let’s wrap it up!” Chris stood and clapped his hands together. “Remember, same time next week! Don’t be late, or I might have to replace you!”
Even just listening to Chris talk was irritating. Fortunately, Noah only had a few more papers to gather and chairs to push back into place before he could return to his room to work on something else. He walked to the opposite side of the room to adjust the chairs at the final table. Just as he pushed in the last one, a figure approached, looming over his shoulder. “Noah, is it?”
Noah spun around to see the man he’d met in the hallway. He frowned. “What do you want?”
Not seeming to understand, or perhaps simply not caring about, Noah’s disinterest, the man pouted. “Come now, don’t be so harsh. I merely wish to introduce myself.” He extended his arm towards Noah. “My name is Alejandro Burromuerto. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Noah blinked a few times. Who did this Alejandro guy think he was? If this was who he would’ve had to compete against in the new show, Noah was glad he wasn’t recasted. He took Alejandro’s hand and gave it a flimsy shake just to get him off his back. “Cool. Door’s that way, by the way.”
The man’s smile faltered, but he was unwilling to give up. “I understand that you’re hard at work, but I couldn’t help but come to speak with you. You’ve been on my mind ever since we ran into each other in the hallway—quite literally, may I add. I also wanted to apologize again for that. I really hope I didn’t inconvenience you too much.”
“Wow, I’m flattered,” Noah replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’ve been thinking of me this whole time? I should accept your apology just for that. In fact, I hope I stay in your daydreams for years to come. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He was definitely laying it on a bit thick, but Alejandro deserved it. He’d been the one to approach him first.
Alejandro let out a sharp sigh as his face fell, which gave Noah an immense amount of satisfaction. Soon, his expression turned into a glare. If Noah had to guess, Alejandro probably wasn’t used to his charms not working on everyone he spoke to. After another moment, Alejandro crossed his arms and turned away. “Well, I’m sure they won’t be just dreams for long.”
Noah raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, but it seemed Alejandro had finally decided to leave. He reached the doorway before speaking again.
“Goodbye for now, Noah,” he said in place of a proper answer. “I have a feeling this won’t be the last time we see each other.”