Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
Suddenly, her eyes popped open and she saw the time. She was an hour late!! She looked like a mad woman racing to the bathroom as she brushed her teeth and combed her unbelievably messy hair. That must have been some sleep. There was no time for a shower as she sprayed her body full of fragrant mists called Freesia. Amy quickly changed as she stumbled to put on her black slacks and collared blue shirt on at the same time. She looked around for her purse which had her keys and everything important to her inside.
‘Maybe I dropped it outside.’ She thought to herself as she rushed out towards the living, instead she tripped over her bag on the ground. Her hands broke her fall but her right wrist was throbbing in pain at the contact with the floor. She pushed herself up and grabbed her purse and flew out the door.
When she got to the station, the guard looked at the out of breath girl with suspicion. “Do you have an appointment?”
Amy grasped her chest as it heeved up and down “I…I’m…here to…my..first….day.” she eventually leaned on her knees to catch her breath. She held up a hand for a pause, she took in one deep breath and stood up straight to explain when she heard the familiar voice.
“She’s my new assistant. But I might think twice about keeping her for long.” Philip’s voice was threatening, but his eyes had a twinkle that she did not recognize as teasing.
The guard let her through but warned her “Get a tag at the main office and this won’t happen again.”
“I will!” Amy waved happily despite her boss’s sour mood. She turned to Philip who had his hands on his hips. “I’m sorry!” she said in her defense “I was so tired yesterday that I forgot to turn on my alarm. I promise it won’t happen again.”
Philip shook his head at her “Punctual, my butt!” he laughed and walked down the hall towards the main office to get her a tag. She smiled as she skipped along behind him. When he got to the counter, he leaned on it playfully as he threw a charming smile at the receptionist “Hey, Angie can you get my assistant a tag?”
The girl smiled shyly in return “Sure.” She quickly made one for Amy and handed it to Philip.
He smiled sweetly at her as he grazed her hand purposely while grabbing on the name tag. “Thanks.” He purred. Amy noted that he was definitely a big flirt, she wondered why Liz did not mention that to her. He turned around and took the metal chain as he pulled it over Amy’s head. “There, now don’t lose it or it’ll cost you $1000.”
Amy widened her eyes “Really?”
He shook his head “No, I just like to say that to scare my assistants. It works, no one has lost one yet.” He waved for her to follow him. They walked down the halls, which were constantly full of people. She spotted a few stars but none that she cared to know.
“So, what do I do this morning?” Amy asked, ready to take on any job he had for her. She pushed the black frames into the bridge of her nose because it was slipping.
“I have a conference with the press for an hour. We’re starting production on a new movie I’ll be doing. I’m playing a doctor role, so it should be interesting.” He smiled at the thought.
Amy nodded in reply “Is that all?”
He stopped in his steps and looked at her “That’s not busy enough for you?”
She smiled “It’s not that, Liz made it seem like you were constantly running around doing new things.”
Philip shrugged as he continued down the long hall “Maybe. Well, what else did she tell you?”
“She told me everything that you liked and disliked. Things about you that I should know in front of the press.” She saw a yellow sign that red ‘wet floors’ ahead as she quickly pulled at his arm and shifted him to her right. He looked at her strangely but she pointed to the yellow sign and he nodded.
“I’m curious, what did she tell you?” Amy shrugged not knowing where to start. Instead he decided to ask specifically “What’s my favorite color?”
“Blue.” Amy answered quickly like she was taking a quiz.
“Gray.” He spoke clearly and Amy frowned in confusion, she swore that Liz told her it was Blue. “What is my favorite kind of food?”
“Sushi?” Amy answered in a question form because she was unsure now.
Philip shook his head as he opened another door leading down yet another long hallway, he let her through before answering “I can’t eat raw meat, I like good old Chinese food.” He paused before asking another question “What’s my favorite drink?”
“Beer…” she was no longer confident.
He shook his head “Red wine.”
“But she told me….” She faded away unsurely.
Philip smiled “Do you think she sabotaged you on purpose?”
Amy shook her head “No, she seemed very sincere when she was telling me. Did you do something to her that would make her lie to me?”
He laughed “Why do you assume that the problem is on my end on not hers? Can’t you think that maybe, she had fallen madly in love with me but I did not return her love so she got upset and moved to Canada abruptly, leaving me with no assistant and when I found one, she would pull this prank?”
“You’ve got some imagination, Philip.” She snickered.
“So you would believe her than your own boss?” he asked in amusement.
Amy seemed to pondering an answer “Well, I don’t see why she would lie to me and why you should either. But at least she didn’t play that horrible trick on me. I would stand on her side.” She nodded firmly.
They reached the conference room and before he opened it, he smiled “Good analyzing skills, she’s right. Everything she told you was right. Just another test.” He said casually and opened the door to let her through.
Amy smiled “I’m beginning to see a pattern.” But the minute she walked through the door, the cameras flashed from all directions blinding her. She quickly covered her eyes but the flashes appeared in everywhere. Her smile turned to fear as she turned to face Philip.
He was calm as can be as he waved for the reporters to quiet down “Hey, don’t scare her away, it’s her first day on the job.” He joked causing a ruffle of laughter ripple through the crowded room. He pointed to the front stage where a long table with microphones spread out ready to used. “Shall we start?”
Amy followed close behind and ended up standing behind him while he took the center seat. Next to him were other well dressed men that looked very important. They were probably producers and directors. She glanced down the way and spotted John at the end seat. He gave her a quick smile and nod as she returned it.
“So, fire away.” Philip said with ease as he pointed to a raised hand.
The reporter was a girl “Any reason why you were late to this conference? You’re usually on time, Mr. Cheung.”
“Please call me Philip.” He turned and looked at Amy teasingly “It seems that I overworked my new assistant yesterday leaving her exhausted that she couldn’t even wake up this morning.”
“So you had to pick her up?” the girl asked as she jotted down notes.
Amy wondered why it would be any importance but of course it was her first day in the entertainment realm “No, but I didn’t want her to be wandering down the halls of the studio getting lost. So I waited for her in the front entrance.” Philip explained.
“What a gentleman.” The girl was touched by his sweetness.
“Thanks.” He gave her a slight wink and a crooked smile that showed off his dimple “Next question.” He pointed to a young male in the back.
“What’s your next movie about?” he called out over the crowd.
This time, Philip allowed the director on his right to answer “He will be playing a role of a brain surgeon. It will be very complex due to the difficult personality and his lack of confidence. He will overcome the fear of failing with the help of his love interest.”
“Who will play that role?” the reporter continued.
Philip smiled “We have not thought about it yet. But we are starting to film today, so I guess the casting director better get a move on it.” He joked. The distinguished man next to him smiled brightly. Indeed he already had someone in mind, but didn’t want to say too much to keep the mystery going. He pointed to a girl in the front row “Yes? You had a question?”
“There were a lot of rumors about your choice in your new personal assistant, any reason why you chose her?” the girl was straightforward with her question making Amy blush from behind him.
Philip turned around and looked at Amy “My reasons are not personal nor are they favorable. I thought Miss Chan would be a great assistant because of her quickness.” He reached over his glass of water and took a sip, he let it slip from his hand as it fell towards the ground. It was saved by Amy’s quick hand as she caught it from under him. As if she did some kind of magic, the group began to clap loudly. She looked up with a strange expression wondering what she did to deserve the applaud. Philip smiled proudly “Need I say more?”
The reporter in the front smiled as she wasn’t finished “Any particular reason why you decided to fire your last assistant? Is it because of the rumors that came along after you changed her image?”
Philip frowned “I did not fire her, she had to move to Canada to be with her family. There will always be rumors about me and any female that is by my side. Isn’t that what this industry is all about? Rumors? I’m sure you all had a hand in it.” He smiled curtly but not rudely “I never changed anyone’s image, I simply commented that she should look a bit more feminine. As for Amy here, I like the fact that she’s plain. Hopefully, your articles about her won’t be as cruel as it was for Liz. I should blame Starz Magazine for that vicious article about Liz sleeping over at my house on Christmas day last year. For all you know, it was probably that article that scared her away.”
“So are you scared that Miss Chan will leave abruptly?” someone blurted out in the crowd.
Philip motioned his index finger for Amy to bend down “Why don’t you ask her yourself?” he spoke into the microphone. He shifted his seat to give Amy room to talk.
She wrinkled her eyebrows, she didn’t know what to say, but she knew it was rude if she didn’t comment. Her face was probably as red as a tomato “I…I am quite loyal to my boss if they treat me well.” The crowd erupted with laughter at her comment “I believe Philip is a great boss!” she quickly added. She pulled away from the microphone before she did anymore damage.
“I’m a great boss. In the words of my new assistant who has just started 1 hour ago!” he pointed to her and clapped his hands causing everyone to clap with him. She hated being put on the spot and she felt like they were teasing her. She could not defend herself only smile in return and nod randomly at the crowd. “Can we move on to questions about my work? This is an open conference about me.” He had a way of turning back the spotlight and Amy silently thanked him for it.
The meeting continued on for another hour until people eventually left the room, all were being escorted to the front gate. Amy lingered behind watching Philip carefully as he spoke with the director and producers. John came up behind her as he tapped on her left shoulder. She turned in that direction but heard his voice from the right “Hey, over here.”
Amy turned to her right and smiled “Hey.”
“Did someone forget to take their happy pill this morning?” John teased.
“Yeah…something like that.” She turned to him abruptly “Is it suppose to feel this uncomfortable in front of the media? Why do they ask such personal questions?”
John laughed “They will always ask personal questions because that’s their jobs. You’ll get use to it. I see you don’t like being in the spotlight.” He saw her blush earlier and wished that he could help her, but he knew she needed to learn on her own.
Amy shook her head in reply “The last time I was put on the spot I cried and ran off the stage.”
He raised his eyebrows “Wow, was it a recital for college or something?”
She laughed “God no! I would never join any type of public speaking in college. It was a play that we did in junior high. I had to say two lines but I froze and practically jumped off stage. All I heard was laughter behind me.” She sighed as she recalled the situation.
“Well, kids can be cruel.” He said casually.
“And adults.” Amy added. They both laughed as they knew it was true.
Philip waved goodbye to the director and caught some laughter behind him. He smiled as he saw John and Amy talking. He knew John was friendly and had a way of making anyone feel at ease. He walked over to them with his hands clasped behind him “Ahem.” He cleared his throat causing the two to stop laughing “Johnny, what did I tell you about flirting with my assistants?”
“That I should do it more often if it makes them more comfortable?” he joked openly with his friend.
“Very smart.” Philip quipped. “Come on Amy, we have to go now.” He turned to John “And get working on my new album. I’ll see you in a few weeks.” They were planning a meeting soon to talk about his next album.