All That Matters

She closed her eyes as she tapped the toe of her heal in time with the elevator music that was playing. The files in her arms were heavy, as were her eyelids from her lack of sleep.

Joe had left.

She wasn’t extremely upset but upset enough that her sleep had been fitful and what little sleep she did have was filled with dreams about him. He haunted her days and her nights. Not that she was complaining.

She walked into the busy office for the first time in what seemed like years, and they weren’t going to be to happy when she told that that she was taking another week off soon. Oh well, they could deal with it and things weren’t going to explode.

She entered her office and immediately opened up the electric blinds to see the most spectacular view of the city. Plopping down in her chair she set her cell out on her desk and started to look through her files. Before she could even open the second one up Charlotte glided into the office.

“Your back,” the older woman said in a welcoming tone.

“Im back and Im ready to die...I’m tired, I’m sad, and I’m hating this right now.” she said as she placed her head in her hands as she stared at the cell phone. The one that wasn’t ringing. That had only rang once since he left.

“Well begin to hate it more...you father wishes to speak to you.”

Sophie groaned out loud.

“Tell him to pick up the phone Charlotte.”

“He said for you to come to his office when you got here,” she told Sophie.

“Fine, ok I’ll go. Any ideas what this is about? Do I need to take the files on the Cardinals deal?” Charlotte’s face dropped a little and she sat down in the luxurious arm chair that was in front of Sophie’s large desk.

“Your father saw the paper this weekend.” Charlotte stated cautiously, unaware as to how Sophie was going to react.

“Great JUST great! Another critic...thats all I need,” she said as she picked up her phone, frustrated at its lack of ringing activity, then threw it harshly against her desk.

“Don’t you go in there with the attitude Sophia,” she scolded her, calling her by her formal name.

“I know, cool, calm, keep a level head. I mean it’s not like Joe is a bad guy and a drug addict. He’s a great role model, comes from a good family, has money...he isn’t using me....” she said giving Charlotte a weak look of confidence. Charlotte smiled and looked down at the floor.

“I KNOW! I know ok, this is going to blow.”

Sophie walked out of her office, prepared to make the long walk to her fathers on the opposite side of the building. She checked her self out in the mirrors that adorned the back of her door before she took off down the hall. Her black editor pants hugged her in all the right places, her bright red pumps peaking out from beneath her cuffs. The black silk shirt she had on was brilliant and made her hair stand out. She laughed thinking she looked like the devil standing there wearing all black, with the red of her shoes and the red of her hair... ‘ya the devil wears prada,’ she joked to herself, trying to lighten the situation.

She opened her door as Charlotte gave her a look of reassurance before she started walking. Moments later she walked past the employee lounge, not interested in anything that was going on in there. It was a glorified break room, but she refused to call it that. That made it sound like something that was on the back dock of a wal-mart. She wasn’t to far past it before she realized someone was walking very closely behind her.

“What do you want?” she said, not even bothering to look behind her and see who it was.

“Well, well, well what a fine mood you are in this morning Miss. Evans. Looking fine as well...” Sophie rolled her eyes as she continued to walk.

“I do not have time for this Phil, was there something you needed?”

“Oh no, stop walking for a second Sophie,” he said as he gently grabbed her upper arm and turned her around, “I called you a few days ago.” Sophie turned around and faced Phil. He had been chasing her since he had started working in the office. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him per say, but he seemed kinda of...greasy, to her. Maybe sleezy was a better word? Whatever he was in advertising.

“I had just gotten back from the island, and I had work to catch up on. Your call, didn’t seem to be work related.”

Phil had a smug bastard look on his face.

“Was the Jonas boy work related?”

Dick, he had crossed the line now. She could handle the little touch here or there, or the remark about her looks. But not what he had just said.

“Don’t you ever, mention something to me that you know nothing about,” she spat at him, fire in her eyes.

“Just a question Sophie, no harm intended.” Phil said as he leaned against the wall, that damn smirk still on his face.

“All you need to know Phil, is that I am the boss. I sign your paychecks. You can try all you want to see if you can fuck me in the copy room like you do your other sluts,” she said pausing as the look on his face changed drastically, “ But don’t you dare think you can disrespect me and the people I love. I control the future of this company and your place at it, keep that in mind.”

All he could do was stare at her as she stomped away from him. Ugh she was mad, she should have just fired him right then and there. Sophie wasn’t one to treat her employees bad. It was hard enough for them as it was to have someone so young as their boss and she knew a lot of them felt as if she was just there because of her daddy and that she had no real experience in business. That her father was controlling everything. That wasn’t the case. He had taught her everything that he knew once she was old enough, running the business was the only real relationship she had with him.

Her thoughts pushed aside, she smiled at her fathers receptionist who only gave her a wistful look of encouragement.

This was bad.

She opened the heavy door and saw her father put down his paper he had been reading.

“Sophie,” he said curtly.

“Father,” she said back in the same tone. He had tangled with her before and things didn’t come out too good on his end. He had raised a wild one and he knew it.

“Sit,” he said motioning to the chair. She did as she was told, crossing her legs as she rested back in the chair waiting for the impending explosion.

“Tell me about this,” she said as he held up the tabloid. It was Mrs. Jonas all over again, but this time he didn’t have Joe there next to her.

“I went out,” she said. Maybe if she played stupid with him he would drop it.

“Cut the crap Sophie.”

Okay stupid wasn’t going to work.

“His name is Joe Jonas, he’s in a VERY popular band, I met him at the industry party we hosted a while back ago.”

“He’s bad for you,” he said as he picked up his own news paper again and began reading it. Sophie rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, was this all you wanted me for?”

“This is a big deal Sophie, and I expect you to handle it in the way that it need to be handled,” he said sternly. Sophie glared at his white hair over the top of his paper as she stood and stared down at him.

“I will handle it in which ever way I please.” Her father whipped the paper closed and threw it on the desk.

“You will handle in the way that his company expects you to!” Sophie stood there defiant, with her hands on her hips.

“This company? This company or you Dad? Please tell me what I did that is so wrong.”

“You made a fool out of us! Do you have any idea what this could have done for the Cardinals take over? Luck for you it hasn’t been brought up.”

“Then it must not matter much huh?” she said as she cocked her hip out to the side, not afraid to stare down her own father.

“Don’t be a smart-ass. It’s obvious this boy is young and foolish and he’s going to drag you right down with him. You’ve never been in the papers in a negative light before, and look. You meet him, and next thing I know it’s this.”

“That paper is not a negative light!” she said as she pointed to where it was laying on his desk. “That paper means the world knows, that paper mean Joe and I can be together and I don’t have to worry about keeping it a secret! That paper means that I am free to do whatever I want to do with him in public. Don’t worry about me...” she said as she walked around to his side of the desk as he turned his chair to face her.

“I’m sorry I yelled. Joe isn’t a little boy, and he has so much going for him there is no way possible that he is using me or wants to ruin me...nothing. He’s very special to me, him and his family. We could use this relationship to open up some very new and exciting ideas for this company. Those boys are Disney golden boys, anything they do makes millions....” she told her father. He smiled inwardly. She always knew how to sweet talk him.

“I don’t want to see you in the tabloids again Sophie.”

“I’ll try my best, but with Joe I’m going to be photographed. I’ll just try to make sure his lips aren’t on mine the moment it is happening.” She placed her hand over his on his desk and patted it slightly. They didn’t hug anymore, that was childish, so he said.

“Get back to work,” he said as he smiled at her. She started to walk out the door before he spoke out and stopped her.

“I would like to meet this young man,” he told her. Sophie’s smile lit up the room. That was the most interest her father had shown in her personal life in a long time.

“Next time he’s here, I promise,” she said as she closed he door behind her, before she quickly turned around and cracked it slightly.

“Can I fire Phil?” she asked him...he laughed.

“Sophie, your the boss.”

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

“Yo Baaaaaaaby!” Joe exclaimed into the phone as Sophie picked it up. It was around lunch time and he finally called.

“Whatcha doing?” she asked her mood suddenly lightened just by hearing his voice.

“Making lunch,” he said as she hear him drop something in the background.

“You?” she asked.

“Why did you ask it like that?” he said, his pout evident over the phone.

“I just heard through the grapevine, that you sir jonas, weren’t the best in the kitchen.”

“I’m ALWAYS the best in the kitchen,” he told her. She laughed, she could imagine him wiggling his eyebrows up and down at her.

“Seriously though, what’s up?” she said as she slipped her shoes off from under her desk.

“Im making a sandwich, we have sound check in just minute and then something to go to tonight after the concert. Sleep on the bus and do it all over again until you get here!”

“Sounds exciting!” she said with a laugh, she knew they were tired of being on tour as much as they enjoyed it, but it was time for it to be over. “So I had a talk with my father today,” she said as she continued.

“Oh,” he said somewhat nervously.

“It wasn’t to good at first, but when I reminded him of the business opportunities it may open up he was better...I told him I would try to stop kissing you with camera’s around but we know how much that is. So he will just have to suck it up.”

Their conversation ended on a light note, Sophie letting Joe go so he could eat. He was making her flight arrangements that night, and wrote down her address so he knew where to send the car to pick her up from. The rest of the day had gone by quickly and he had promised to call her before he went to sleep. Which means he was going to call at 3 in the morning her time. She packed up her things and started to head out of the office, she had a long night of looking over the Cardinals information.

“Sophie!” a voice yelled. This was fucking perfect.

“Yes Phil?” she asked as she turned around.

“Look about earlier...I just wanted to say I’m sorry, let me take you out to dinner to show you how truly sorry I am,” he said as he placed a hand on fore arm. She tried to turned out of his grasp.

“Phil, I....” she said, contemplating what she was about to do. He looked at her expectedly as his thumb slowly started to move on her arm. She smiled a sinister smiles as she turned her body, jerking it out of his reach,

“Phil, I’m sorry to tell you, your fired. Pack your shit, and get the hell out of my office.”

He was still standing there staring at the doors as she turned her back and walked through it...

XxxxxxxxxxxX

“Hey, you’ve reached Emily, leave me a message,”

Kevin click his phone shut, he had been getting her voice mail all day and she wasn’t calling him back. He slipped his phone into his pocket as he began to wonder what the hell he was doing.

She was like a little sister to them, to all of them. It wasn’t until she hit about 15 that they started to view her differently. She wasn’t a sister to them at all, and her body was constantly reminding him that they weren’t truly blood related. The vibrating in his pants shook him out of his shock as he slipped his phone back out of his pocket.

“I’ve been calling you,” he said when he saw it was indeed Emily.

“I had my phone off, I’m sorry...” she said with a pause, “ was there something you needed?”

“I just wanted to make sure that you were doing ok, and remembered what I had told you.”

“I remember,” she said sheepishly.

“Ok, well...” Kevin said, an awkward silence between them.

“I heard your interview today,” she mentioned.

“Oh ya? how?” he asked.

“I streamed it from the internet,” she told him.

“That cool! I didn’t know you could do that,” he told her. She laughed on the other end of the phone. Kevin liked computers but he didn’t know all that much about them.

“Of course, I do it for all your interviews,” she admitted before she could stop her self. He was kind of surprised. Emily had never really shown much interest in them as a band, and always make it more then aware that she like them at home, with her.

“Really?” he asked her in all seriousness.

“Sometimes...” she said as she began to choke up a little bit, “Sometimes it’s the only way I would get to hear ya’ll for days. Joe wouldn’t call and I wasn’t that close with you and Nick anymore....I guess listening to that would kinda of be like a little Jonas fix.”

“I never knew you cared about the band,” Kevin admitted to her.

“Of course I care about the band....But I care about my friends more.” Kevin could almost see her smile through the phone, she was having a good day today.

“Thats the attitude I like to hear from you...” He told her, “ Ok I have to go, I just wanted to make sure that you were doing ok and that you didn’t need anything from me.”

“Nope I’m just dandy” she said as she sat in front of her computer.

“Good, see you soon Em,” She smiled.

“You to Kevin, bye,”

She stared at their picture for a moment before her eyes switched back and forth from Kevin to Joe to Nick...she shook her head and closed the picture.

They would be home soon enough.