Trouble-Maker

I headed back to work after that with a full stomach and a huge grin on my face. Jamie was at lunch when I entered the building so to my surprise, Sven was sitting behind the front desk.

"Have a good lunch?" he asked from where he sat.

I nodded my head, unable to wipe the smile from my lips. "Yeah," I said, "Thanks."

Sven asked, "Good news?" when he saw that I was still so happy.

"Uh, yeah," I replied, offering another nod as I turned to go down the hall. When he spoke again I realized that he wasn't done talking to me and didn't understand that I was heading back to my office.

"What was it?" he questioned, leaning against the desktop towards me.

I furrowed my eyebrows and turned my head to the side slightly, wondering why he was so interested. "My boyfriend had some news..." I trailed off, "He took me out to lunch to tell me."

Sven nodded his head. "Jamie and a blonde woman, Heather?" he asked her name before continuing, "They were gushing about him."

"And you were listening in?" I asked as I took a couple steps towards the blonde man.

He shrugged, "I was sitting next to them, I'm not going to plug my ears whenever they talk about someone I don't know."

I looked at him and crossed my arms. "Well what did you hear?"

Sven shrugged then. "Just something about him being famous, attractive, and sweet."

"And?" I asked when I saw the look on his face.

"Is it true?"

"What?" I asked, "Is what true?" I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

Sven sighed and rolled his eye playfully, like it was taking me forever to understand him. "Is he really famous?" he questioned, "Or was that a way for them to say that he 'gets around a lot'?"

I chuckled at the last part of his sentence and then shook my head. "He's not a whore," I told him, looking around quickly to make sure there weren't any children around, "He's in a band."

Sven was about to ask what band he was in when the door opened and Ronnie came walking through the door. Ronnie walked in and looked between Sven and I who were now separated by the desk.

"Hey, baby," I told him, looking to him with confusion.

"You forgot your phone in the car," he told me, holding up the piece of machinery.

"Thanks baby," I said as I walked over to him and took it from his grasp.

He looked down to me from Sven then nodded his head and leaned down to kiss my lips. "I'll see you later," he said when he stood back up.

"Okay." I smiled. "I'll text you."

Ronnie nodded his head, said, "Love you," and turned to walk out of the building, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he went.

When Ronnie left I turned back to Sven and smiled. "Now you know him yourself so you don't have to listen in to other people's conversations," I told him with a cheeky grin as he looked from the door to me.

"Yeah," Sven said, "He seems like an asshole."

My jaw dropped and I reached across the desk to smack his shoulder roughly. "You don't even know him," I defended, "You don't even know me!"

Sven laughed and held his hand up in defense. "I'm just saying he's not the most friendly guy."

I rolled my eyes. "He was just bringing my phone in, you were just a detail."

Sven blinked a couple times. "So he doesn't like details?"

I chuckled and shrugged. "Not minute details." I pushed my hair out of my face and backed away a couple steps, "I have to go, let me know when you decide not to call my boyfriend an asshole."

Sven gave me a smug smile as I turned to walk away. I went to my office so that I could shed the black hoodie before I headed towards my manager's office since Ronnie had asked at lunch if I was going to take time off from work since the tour was now official. Her name was Symantha William and she was the daughter of the people who owner this place.

She was a tall woman with dyed hair who became flustered easily when many things were going wrong but somehow always seemed to pull it together and get things done perfectly. I knocked on the door of her office and listened for her to call me in.

"Hello Symantha," I said as I walked in and waved.

"Atticus!" she greeted warmly, "What do you need?"

I wrung my fingers. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about taking an extended vacation."

Symantha put down the papers that she was holding and pressed her lips together. "What do you mean, Atticus?" she asked, her full attention on me, "We don't usually offer anymore time off than what is given for your vacation days."

I nodded my head. "Yes, I know but I need a little bit more time than that."

Symantha gave me a hard look as she tucked her dyed red hair behind her ear and asked, "What's wrong, Atticus? What's going on?"

I shook my head and offered a comforting smile. "It's nothing bad," I told her, "It's just my boyfriend."

"Is he hurt?"

"No," I said, wondering how to ask for time off so that I could travel with his band. "He's actually leaving for awhile and he asked me to go with him."

Symantha sat back in her chair. "You want extra vacation time so that you can go on a trip with your boyfriend?"

I nodded my head with my lip between my teeth. Symantha was a nice woman and she tried to help you when she could, but if she felt that it wasn't important enough, she usually wouldn't let you out of an agreement, like the number of vacation days you were allowed.

Symantha was a business woman and that's why her parents had hired her to be the manager of their only business. She could keep things running smoothly. But Symantha wasn't the kind to understand music or careers that didn't involve conventional types of business.

"I don't know, Atticus," she said, shaking her head lightly, "You've already used up most of your days and I feel that it would be unfair to the others if I give you more time off."

I sighed, "That was when my boyfriend and I were in an accident, Symantha. He was in the hospital and he couldn't walk. I couldn't leave him."

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Atticus. I just can't."

"Well," I said as I folded my hands in my lap, "Then I'm going to have to put in my notice."

Symantha's eyes grew wide. "You're quitting?"

"Within the next month, I'll have to."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Is this trip that important to you, Atticus?"

"It's not a trip," I replied, "Not really. My boyfriend is going on tour with his band for the first time and I have to go with him. There's no option about it."

Symantha crossed her arms under her chest. "He's not forcing you, is he?"

I chuckled and shook my head head, no. "Of course not. This is his first tour with his new band and I'm going on tour with them."

She sighed and tucked her bright hair behind her ear. "Are you sure you have to put in notice?"

I shrugged. "Are you sure you can't give me vacation time?"

"Then I'm sorry," Symantha said, "I'll give you a couple days to think it over before I make your notice official. I hope you'll change your mind once you sleep on it."

I smiled but said, "I don't think I will. This tour is really important to Ronnie and the guys and I'd be upset if I let them down."

I excused myself from her office and turned back from the door as she spoke. "I'm sorry you can't keep your regular life and enjoy the luxuries of fame, Atticus."

I looked to her face and nodded my head. "It's not much to give up," I told her, "Especially for what I get in return."