Andie Lopez
Gritting in utter regret, I watched the elevator door as it slowly closed right before my very own eyes ultimately covering the scenic view of Draik Redford.
'Fuck' I cursed with such crisp under my breath. How did I not recognize him at first glance? With that perfect nose and that diamond shaped face and that irresistible bow-shaped lips, why did I thought he was someone else that's just being entitled and rude?
To be quite fair, he's wearing a black hat and a pair of dark shades which kind of made him unrecognizable at the very first glance. Or maybe I'm just making an excuse for the fact that I did not recognize him even with that kind of casual wear? For someone who claims they are that person's biggest fan, there shouldn't be any further excuse and I should be able to immediately discern Draik with such ease even if he's sporting an obvious disguise. And that was not even close to a full on disguise, it was just a lazy disguise usually used by many celebrities in order to evade their fans. I'm so fucking dumb for not recognizing him right away. Out of all the places that I would see him, of course, this was obviously the first place that I should be seeing him. If I'm claiming all the rights to be Draik Redford's number one fan, then I should be keen with my observations.
"That's Draik Redford!" I mumbled right after the metal doors had closed. I felt like I'm out of breath and I'm still trying to let the reality sink in. I just saw Draik and he even walked right past me. That's was so freaking surreal and I feel like I'm about pass out.
"Yes, that's him." The receptionist replied in her usual calm tone. I guess she heard me mumbling the name and we're the only person inside the elevator. "You're the new personal assistant, am I right?" She asked.
"Y…yes, I am." I nodded and the receptionist gave me a nervous smile.
"Good luck on your job," She spat.
"Thanks? I guess."
I wasn't so sure if the receptionist was trying to give me some kind of warning or if she's just trying to be supportive of me getting a job that every single Sunset Flava fan wants and would absolutely kill for. Maybe she's a fan of the band herself and she's just jealous because I got the job. However, the nervous smile on her bright face seemed to insinuate a different meaning that I don't even want to know.
"And congratulations for securing the job." She added eventually losing that nervous smile.
"Thank you."
"Is this your first job? Are you like a fresh graduate?" She asked further.
"Uhm, no. I'm still in college." I admitted not thinking about the fact that I'm not the female Andie. I'm the Andie inside a man's body.
"Ooh, are you sure?"
"Is there something wrong with…"
"Maybe Miss Williams just changed the qualifications for this job. Being a personal assistant for Sunset Flava sure do need a lot of skills." The receptionist uttered, she was blatant about it and it immediately made me think I'm not qualified for this job. "Do you know that you're the first ever male that they've hired?" The receptionist continued and it became clear to me that she has some important information that I would want to know.
"The first male?" If she only knew that I used to be a girl and that I just happened to stumble upon this genie bottle and that this is just a wish that was granted by a freaking blue genie named Ezidem.
"They usually hire female assistants because they're much better at taking notes and remembering important stuff but now it seems that they have changed their qualifications." She elaborated which made sense. I ended up wondering why did they decided to hire a male assistant now.
"Oh, I didn't know about that."
The elevator went up towards the 24th floor and when it dinged, I had to quickly recompose myself. I know I'm already trapped inside a man's body now so I have to move accordingly with how a man would move, that sounded very sexist but it's not. No more crossing my legs while standing or sitting, I guess? No more flipping my hair because apparently there's not enough length of hair to flip anymore. No more of those little gestures. I have to mind my own mannerisms because I don't want them thinking that I'm not qualified enough for the job or else I'm going to put the wish to waste. Whether I'm in a woman's body, this is still the job that I want and quite literally, I would kill for it.
The receptionist was kind enough to show me the way towards Lucinda's office which wasn't that far from the elevator. I immediately knew the office because Lucinda Williams' name was printed on the door and it was printed in bigger and bold letters which anybody could read from afar. The receptionist knocked three times before eventually opening the door made of glass that was purposely blurred in the mid-section to have some sort of mystery. She spoke out loud to let the person inside know about my arrival and I started feel jitters up my spine. I know I wanted this because I wished for it, it was almost too good to be true but I don't know why I'm getting nervous all of a sudden. To be fair, I get nervous a lot so it's pretty normal, I guess.
"This way please," She muttered with her hands giving me a nice gesture for me to step inside the office.
"Thanks." I smiled nervously. I held my bag tight as I stepped inside the office dragging some of my other stuff that I was instructed to bring.
Is this really happening? I asked myself. I know this is too good to be true but I already pinched myself more than I could ever count ever since I woke up in this body and everything's actually happening.
By the time I was inside, the receptionist left without even saying goodbye. We had a decent conversation inside the elevator and I may have to thank her for at least giving me some useful information that I should know about.
"Andie Lopez!!!!!!" Lucinda squealed welcoming my eventual arrival with a wide smile hanging on her face that I was inclined to think that she was at least excited to see the new personal assistant of Sunset Flava. She was standing tall behind her desk which was just occupied by a computer and a little cactus with a single orange flower.
"Hi," I said nervously that I may have spoken in such an inaudible manner.
Lucinda's office was very bright probably because of the walls made out of glass and the room was designed in a very minimalistic way which was way far different from the design of my room. My room which was designed by my own desire, love and obsession for the boyband was just filled with everything Sunset Flava. And I admit it's kind of an eyesore to look at the four walls of my room mainly because there's no cohesion with everything but I thoroughly enjoy looking at posters and other stuff that has Sunset Flava in it. And now that I'm finally here, I think I'm going to faint by the time I see all of Sunset Flava in person.
I looked around and I noticed there's not much color throughout the room except for the combination of orange, yellow and red throughout some furniture and lines. Those color basically represent the sunset which was the running theme for the group. Behind Lucinda's desk was a huge poster of the whole member of Sunset Flava and it looked much grander than what I have back at our apartment. It doesn't even look cheap as compared to the posters I bought which was printed from somewhere along the streets. I was wonderstruck by the poster and all of them seemed to be looking directly at me. They were all wearing something with a blended hue of orange and yellow paired with white and they all looked like they're from a certain planet where there's a constant sunset.
"Welcome, you came just in time." Lucinda walked straight towards me and she was taller than what I expected. Although that's because of the platform heels that she was wearing and yet still, even without those shoes she would be taller than me. "Are you excited to work for Sunset Flava?"
"I…" I'm screaming and jumping and giggling deep inside but I'm critically aware of the fact that I should control my inner fan-girling and act cool and collected. "I am. I am excited."
Lucinda was a woman of style and there's some sort of air around her that spore's intimidation even though she's speaking like we know each other from somewhere. At least that's what I know so far. Perhaps she's just trying to make me feel good so I won't turn around before I could even start this job.
"Perfect. I'm sure you've already read the contract that I emailed you, right?"
Contract? What contract?
I didn't know there was a contract attached to the email. I know I read everything twice but I'm not aware of the contract.
"Yes, I did." I spat. I guess even without reading the whole contract, I'm still going to accept this job. I've been dreaming of seeing Sunset Flava for years and now that I'm here, I'm not going to let this chance slip. Plus, I'm already trapped in a man's body and that's big risk in itself.
"Great! Follow me then so you could sign your contract." Lucinda ordered as she began walking towards this other door on the left side of her desk.
I followed her footsteps and she led me to this tiny conference room to which I think was the room where she's having her private meeting with the whole member of Sunset Flava. She had to turn on the lights because the blinds aren't pulled up and after that she grabbed a swivel chair. I saw a thick folder on the long table with a sign pen placed on top of it.
"Come over here." Lucinda asked and I was quick to grab a swivel chair and sat right next to her. "You need to sign every single page right here." She pointed the empty space where I should sign.
"Okay,"
"While you are signing the contract, I'm going to give you a short heads up about the things that you need to do as Sunset Flava's personal assistant." Lucinda began and I kept my ears open. Thankfully her voice was loud enough and it was reverberating throughout the emptiness of the room. "As Sunset Flava's new personal assistant you'll be doing everything that they ask you to do. Go buy stuff that they need, food, drink, cigarettes, basically everything they need in order to function well. I'll be giving you a credit card soon enough and you should always ask for receipt and you'll submit everything by the end of the month."
"Wait, they are smoking?" I was surprised but not that surprised. I know I've seen leaked photos of them smoking but I didn't believe any of those.
"Yes they all are and I trust you to keep that info confidential."
"I will."
"You will be living with them at the penthouse and you should know that your job is 24 hours a day, six times a week but that depends if they have concerts and shows. You already know that. You should always be there when they need you."
The thought of me living with the whole member of Sunset Flava is making me swoon like this the dream and I'm about to live that dream in a matter of hours. I wanted to scream and shout out loud right at this very moment but I know I can't scream out loud just yet. I've been trying to keep my happiness and excitement controlled this entire time.
Lucinda continued telling me all of the basic stuff that I need to know and I keep on getting surprised every time she tells me some sort of information about my job. I learned that being Sunset Flava's personal assistant require a whole lot of patience and strength and quite literally everything. She's basically retelling me the job description that was included in the contract.
"Done," I spoke once I was done signing every single page of the thick folder which took me some time. My fingers had already become numb and I had to shake and massage them just to feel the muscles once again.
"Wonderful. Now everything that you need to know as Sunset Flava's new assistant are all written in this guide book." Lucinda handed me a small book that contained everything about Sunset Flava and I'm sure I already know half of it. "And my assistant will later help you walk through everything."
"Okay," I nodded.
"The boys are all at the 26th floor recording a song for their upcoming debut album and you should be able to meet them later." Lucinda revealed and I was already floating on cloud nine.