The private lift arrives at the penthouse suite and opens directly into a huge lobby area. White marble floor, duck egg blue walls, huge gold framed mirrors and some very plump white velvet couches are the first things I notice. I make a few notes and take a photo as Jimmie leads me towards an imposing set of double oak doors and throws them open.
"Honey, I'm home!!" he shouts, followed by a very girlie giggle, then pries off his shoes and kicks them into the corner before running across the enormous room and jumping onto Parker's lap.
"Fuck J! Will you cut that out! My bollocks aren't made of iron you know, that fucking hurts!" he complains.
"Hahaha! You have to own a pair of bollocks before they can be hurt man" Jimmie teases.
"Yeah, well you'd know all about that J" Parker responds angrily, rubbing his groin and eyeballing me at the same time.
"Miaow!" Teddi says as he enters the room, now clad in only a towel, which is leaving little to the imagination. He is incredibly muscular and toned, probably due to all the martial arts and boxing he does in his free time. His smooth tanned chest glistens with tiny droplets of water, his chestnut hair standing up on end after receiving a very vigorous rub, and his manhood unmistakable through the tightly wrapped towel slung low around his hips. He is looking directly at me as he begins wiping his arms with a hand towel and I avert my eyes and fiddle with my pen, embarrassed to have been caught ogling his perfect form. He chuckles and continues through the room, disappearing into an adjoining room and closing the door. Parker is glaring at me and my pulse quickens.
"Want a drink Syd?" Jimmie shouts across the room from the bar area.
"Sure, I'd love a sprite please" I call back, grateful for the opportunity to break eye contact with Parker.
"Ah no! Only alcohol allowed. What do you want? Gin? Wine? Vodka?" he asks, holding up a bottle of Grey Goose and wagging his finger dramatically at me.
"Thanks, but I won't. I am working here you know, I wouldn't want to misquote one of you because I was half cut" I say as Yanni and a man I've not yet met enter the room from another doorway.
"Okay, Whisky it is then" he laughs and hands me a tumbler half filled with amber liquid. I decide not to argue and accept the glass with a small thanks, then immediately place it on the huge glass table in front of me. Yanni and the unknown man sit on the couch opposite me, beside Parker who is currently staring at his phone screen and still rubbing his balls! Yanni stares intently at me as the other man lifts a briefcase onto his lap and flicks it open, removing a small stack of papers and a pair of black half rimmed reading glasses that he places onto the end of his nose before setting the notes on the table between us, closing the case and placing it on the floor at his feet. Jimmie sits himself beside me and picks up the glass of Whisky he had previously handed to me, gesturing I take it and telling me "You're going to be glad of that soon".
What the hell does that mean? I want to ask but I have learned during my years of interviewing people that keeping quiet usually leads to a bigger reward. As a species we humans seem to abhor silence when we are in a group. People in the company of others are inherently uncomfortable with silences, possibly feeling that they should be entertaining the other. This often leads to disclosures that may not otherwise have been made, just to alleviate the discomfort of the aural void. Communication is a human instinct, even as unborn babies we are communicating with our mothers, albeit it non verbally, by kicking and moving inside her. As soon as we are born we attempt to articulate speech, crying being our first effort at vocalisation. Someone will speak soon.
I thank Jimmie for the drink and take it, crossing my legs and leaning forward, my elbows on my thigh, wrists crossed, one supporting the other as I swirl the liquid in my glass. I focus my attention on the unknown man and reach my empty hand out to him with a smile.
"Hi, Sydney Benfield. Pleased to meet you Mr....?"
"Ferdinand, pleased to meet you Miss Benfield" he answers with a curt nod, then turns his attention to Yanni.
"Shall we begin sir?" Mr Ferdinand asks Yanni.
"TEDDI!!! NOAH!!! Get your arses in here!" he shouts, shocking the shit out of me! I let out an involuntary squeal and grab Jimmies knee. He laughs at me from behind his whisky glass and tells me I need to get used to Yanni yelling, it's something he does frequently.
Why do I need to get used to it? I don't expect I'll ever get the opportunity to speak to them again after today. I am very curious about who Mr Ferdinand is though.
I scrutinise his appearance, around 35 years old, tall and well built, strong jaw and gorgeous emerald green eyes, crowned by a shock of the reddest hair I've ever seen, styled in a very 'un-lawyer like' trendy ruffled undercut. He is wearing a very expensive navy designer suit, silk tie with a matching pocket square and a gorgeous pair of brown men's Louboutins. He is very well put together and shrieks money. My guess is that he is a lawyer, probably here to advise the guys on which questions to answer and which to decline. Bugger! If not he is maybe an executive at their label? I guess all will soon be revealed.
Teddi and Noah enter the room, Noah sitting to my right on the couch, feet tucked up under himself, and Teddi who has thankfully put on some joggers and a sweatshirt chooses to sit on the floor opposite me, resting his back on the couch between Parker's knees. I realise that every one of them, including Mr Ferdinand, are staring right at me, and for the umpteenth time today I feel my face flame, my mouth goes dry and I begin twiddling my fingers before silently chastising myself. It's another habit I am working hard to break, I feel it makes me appear weak, and something about the shift in atmosphere here has me feeling anxious. I can't appear weak. In order to control the interview I must be confident, direct and sure of myself. I straighten my back and have a mouthful of the whisky in my hand while Jimmie nods knowingly and whispers "told you you'd need it".
Mr Ferdinand gets a nod from Yanni, clears his throat and says,
"Ok, Miss Benfield, shall we begin?"