His shoulders sag. “No, no issue really. You see, I hired you to be the personal assistant of Kacen Warren. Does that name ring a bell to you?” he asks me.
“No, sir,” I reply.
Again, he releases a heavy sigh. “Kacen is the lead singer for the rock band Soul Serenade. These knuckle heads”—he points over his shoulder—“are his bandmates. Kacen has gone through several female personal assistants in the last few months, and he demanded that the next one be male,” he explains.
The look on my face must say it all, as he hurries to explain. “Kacen is great to work for. It’s these three who keep running them off. They can’t seem to keep it in their pants, and when they dump her, she quits, leaving Kacen and the band without a personal assistant.”
“So, am I working for Kacen or the band?” I ask, confused. I’ve heard of them, my little brother is a fan. However, I don’t know much about them.
“Come sit.” He reaches for my arm and pulls me into the room. He motions for me to take the chair that sits opposite of the one he was in when we arrived. “Technically, you work for Kacen, but he started the band. There are a lot of things that he prefers to take care of personally, and he uses his personal assistant to do that.”
“So Kacen is going to be angry that I’m female? Do I even still have the job?” I ask him.
“Yes, the job is yours. I’ll talk to him. This was an honest misunderstanding. The three of you,”—he points around the room—“she’s off-limits, do you hear me?”
They all nod their agreement with grins on their faces. “So where is he?” I ask, wondering when I will get to meet my new boss.
Mr. Jones looks up at his assistant. “His flight lands late this afternoon. I’ve scheduled a car to pick him up,” Cassidy reports.
“We just finished touring and each took some time off. Kacen has a recording studio here in his basement. We’re going to start on the next album,” one of the guys offers.
“Logan, allow me to introduce you to Soul Serenade. This is Tristan. He plays the drums. That guy there is Gavin. He plays bass guitar. And here we have Cole, who plays lead guitar. Kacen also plays bass and is the lead singer.” Mr. Jones introduces us.
Raising my hand to wave at them, I say, “Nice to meet you.” In return, I get a wink and a few crude comments. I can tell these guys are going to be a handful, but harmless nonetheless.
“So, what can I do?” I look toward Mr. Jones for direction.
“I’ll show you what you can do,” one of the guys says. I think it was Cole.
“Cut it out!” Mr. Jones snaps. “Logan, Cassidy will show you to your office here at the house. She will also get you set up with your computer, iPad, phone, etc. It already has all the guys’ information, as well as others’ that you ‘ll need.” He turns to Cassidy. “Please show her the ropes today.”
Cassidy loops her arms through mine. “Trust me, I’ll make sure she knows all about each and every one of you.” She laughs, pulling me down the hallway, and stopping in front of a door just off the living area. “This is your office.” My eyes widen. I have an office here? “The majority of your time will be spent here. The band records in Kacen’s basement, and essentially you are assisting the band as well as Kacen; the two go hand in hand,” she explains.
“So, Kacen started the band?” I need as much intel as I can get.
“Yes, they all grew up together, formed the band in high school. I don’t know all the specifics, just that they are a tight-knit group,” Cassidy explains.
“And Kacen, he wanted a male assistant?” I repeat the words that Mr. Jones told me just minutes ago. My head is still spinning from all of this. I thought I was going to be a personal assistant for a record label, not a famous rock star and his band.
“Yeah, the guys like to . . . play the field, if you will. The last three assistants we’ve hired have gotten involved with at least one of them, and when they realize that it was just a hook-up, they get ticked off and quit. Kacen is tired of going through the process and advised he wanted a male. This is not information I was privileged to until today when you arrived. When I called you, if I would have known, I would have been able to stop the process. Personally, you don’t look like their usual assistants,” she rambles on.
“What exactly were you expecting?” I ask. It comes out a little harsher than I meant for it to.
“I didn’t mean that in a negative manner. What I mean is that you don’t look like a ‘groupie’ for lack of a better term. You strike me as someone who will not fall to their charms, put them in their place. That is exactly what they need.”
“What about Kacen? He’s never run off an assistant with . . . extracurricular activities?”
My question causes Cassidy to throw her head back and laugh. “That’s a great way to put it. No, Kacen is different. His extracurricular activities, as you put it, are more defined. He doesn’t play games, and he doesn’t let anyone in. Again, I don’t know the specifics, but you hear things being around this bunch. It appears he avoids any emotional attachment other than his bandmates and his parents, who are amazing.”
I let her words sink in and can’t help but wonder what I have gotten myself into. “There”—Cassidy points to the desk in the center of the room—“is your MacBook Air, your iPad, and your iPhone. All provided by the label for the band’s assistant. I also ordered you a credit card, but it has yet to arrive. The guys go into the zone when recording, so you will often have to pick up takeout to keep them nourished.”
“Sounds easy enough.” I smile at her even though my insides are a mess. I’m nervous about this, about being responsible for their schedule, catering to their needs. I want this job and I don’t want to screw it up. Cassidy spends the next hour going over what she knows of the band’s routine and what is expected and what I may be asked to do. The list that she rattles off gives an entirely new meaning to ‘miscellaneous duties as assigned.’
“All right, well I need to get back to the office for a delivery that I couldn’t get changed. I should be back in an hour or so.”
“What should I do in the meantime?” I ask her.
She waves her hand in the air as if to dismiss my question. “Nothing today. Just hang out here with the band. Kacen’s flight lands late this afternoon. I have a car scheduled to pick him up, so he’ll be here later. You don’t really have set hours, and since you’re on salary, there will be some longs days. Today will be one of them. Mr. Jones asked that you stick around until Kacen arrives so we can get the introduction out of the way. Then you can leave and he can stew overnight on the fact that you are, indeed, female.”
“Lovely.” There’s sarcasm in my voice.
“Logan, I have a feeling you are just what these boys need.”
“Boys,” I scoff.
“Yes, boys. Trust me, once you spend some time with them, you’ll understand.” She motions for me to follow her back to the living area. “All right, I have to head back to the office for a delivery. I’ll be back.” She waves to the three band members who are sprawled out in the living room and then disappears.