Pieces

"Where are those orders from last weekend's sale?" I asked Zack as I walked into his office. He didn't answer, his eyes transfixed on his computer screen. I rolled my eyes and walked over to peer over his shoulder, only to see that he was flipping through every single Instagram post that Amber had tagged him in.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I groaned and shut the laptop in front of him, almost slamming his fingers with it.

"Hey!" He protested and he turned to me.

"Where are the orders from last weekend's sale?" I repeated and he sighed before opening his drawer and pulling out a file folder full of orders before handing them to me, "Good. Now there's spaghetti on the stove," I stated.

"Not hungry," He mumbled, going to open his laptop again. I placed a hand on it, blocking him from opening up the screen again.

"Get your ass up and make yourself a plate. You haven't eaten since Tuesday morning," I reminded him and he sighed, getting up out of the chair and following me out of his dark office.

Zack's house was always dark when Amber wasn't around. I hated it. I hated the dark with a passion. It was one of the few things I disliked about my job. The fact that Zack was usually submerged in the darkness because of a break up with Amber, and the guys liked to record with minimal lighting. I would never understand why they did it that way, they just liked it.

In the kitchen I opened up the curtains that stared out to the ocean, earning a collective hiss from him, "Oh, pipe down, Dracula," I snapped and he huffed, grabbing a plate from the cupboard and loading the thick pasta onto his plate. I knew he was hungry. He had to be. Zack was a hefty guy who liked to eat, and he was always grumpy after not eating for a while. He was like one of those notorious divas in those Snickers commercials. He gets so wrapped up in his break up that he would forget to eat and drink, unless it was Jack Daniels. It was quite pathetic, if you asked me.

"Feel better?" I asked as he leaned against the counter, hungrily scooping pasta into his mouth. He looked up, his green eyes shining a little brighter than before, and nodded, "Good," I smiled.

"You must get so sick of me," He mumbled sadly as he pushed his finished plate away. I hopped up onto the counter and handed him a napkin. I swear this man actually is a child.

"Nope," I smiled, "I quite like you like this. Gives me good blackmail," I smiled and he surprisingly let out a small laugh.

"So what else is there to do today?" He questioned.

"Orders are done. I just have to tally up the sales profits from this weekend. Tomorrow we need to go over new design options. These kids are getting bored of this last release and sales are slowing down," I informed him and he nodded.

"I've missed a lot in the past few days, huh?" He asked and I shrugged. It was only Thursday, so he really didn't. All we had was a few new orders from Europe, but that was it.

"Nope. But you need to get your energy up, Big Guy. We leave for Vegas tomorrow night," I informed him and he nodded.

"I forgot about that. Ugh, I still need to pack," He slouched against the counter, resting his head against the cool marble countertop.

"Tell you what," I hopped down from the counter and put a hand on his shoulder, "It's not that late. I'll get us two bowls of ice cream and I'll help you pack up, alright?" I asked.

"Really?" He questioned.

"Yes, silly. Now do you want Chocolate Chip or Cookies and Cream?" I asked him and he smiled.

"Can I have both?" He suggested and I rolled my eyes.

"What are you, five? Of course you can have both," I shook my head as he grinned widely, "Now go grab your suitcases and I'll be up in a minute."

"Thanks, Vi. You're the best," He smiled and quickly walked out of the kitchen and towards his staircase to head upstairs to his room.

-

"You're going to wear that with this?" I questioned and he looked at me with innocent eyes, "Plaid and camouflage don't match. Sorry, Boss," I shrugged and tossed the horrendously pattered plaid shorts aside.

He sighed, "Fine," He huffed and tossed me a pair of dark plain jeans which I gladly folded in place of the shorts, "Have you packed already?" He questioned.

"No," I answered. I tried to pack last night, but failed miserably. I just couldn't bring myself to pack, knowing I was going to Vegas. Something stopped me. I would definitely have to pack when I got home, though. Wether I liked it or not.

"Make sure you have your clubbing outfit. We're doing some promotions at the Palms," He noted and I groaned, "You are the only twenty-one year old in existence that doesn't get excited to be invited to exclusive clubs," He rolled his eyes.

"That's because clubs are dirty, filthy places with guys that slip drugs into a girl's drink. The place is looming with testosterone filled guys and girls without clothes on. I'd much rather stay in the safety of my own home," I reminded him and he shook his head.

"Oh please. Dan is already assigned to be your personal body guard. You have nothing to worry about," He huffed and I stopped folding to raise an eyebrow at him.

"What?" I questioned and he looked up before turning back to emptying his sock drawer.

"Yeah, I know how you feel about clubs and bars. So I told Dan that he's going to watch you, and only you, when we're in Vegas," He informed me.

"And what about Val?" I questioned, worrying about the petite blonde that would also be with us.

"What about Val? She has Matt. You're forgetting that she has King Kong for a husband. You don't," He looked up at me, "So Dan will just have to do."

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of him being your body guard?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Truth be told I can't live without you. So if you end up dead in Vegas, it's only a matter of weeks before I go to," He joked, "Besides, we're not on tour. We really only need Dan when we have a shitload of fans to deal with. Besides that he's kind of just there for the ride," He laughed.

"Well," I sighed, "Thanks," I said and he stopped what he was doing to look at me again, "I'm serious. I'm not a college sorority socialite, so clubs and bars make me nervous. It's nice to know you took the time to make me feel comfortable with you guys," I mentioned.

I really was grateful. I had only mentioned my dislike of clubs to Zack once. The guys and girls were all heading to a club in Hollywood. With Amber once again being on another one of her tantrums, Zack asked me to go with him so he wouldn't be alone. Not to mention he needed a designated driver. I declined and after much questioning I confessed to strongly disliking the club-scene. To my surprise he didn't judge me. He understood that it wasn't my thing, and never asked me of such a favor ever again, unless I absolutely had to go for business purposes.

"Hey," He smiled, "You're practically family now. And you're the baby of the pack. You didn't think I was going to let you go to the big bad city without some protection, right?" He asked and I smiled, "You know I got your back."

"I got your back too, Zee. Now get back to work," I scolded and he nodded, giving me a playful salute as he decided which shoes he wanted to take.