Being a Star (Isn't Easy)
Chapter Five
"Hey, guys," said a feminine voice.
"Hey, ladies," replied a smiling Ezra.
"Who are these four handsome men?" asked a second feminine voice as the two
women walked into the studio.
With a mock scowl, Ezra asked, "So, J.D., Josiah, and myself aren't handsome?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nathan scowl and roll his eyes. 'I
really wonder what that man's problem is,' Ezra silently thought. He had been
lenient, but he wasn't going to accept much more disrespect in his own house!
The dark-haired woman laughed, "Of course y'all are, Sugar. But, these men are
new meat!"
Ezra laughed and shook his head, "Stop it, Inez. You're gonna scare them off!
Let me introduce ya. Inez Recillos and Casey Wells meet Buck Wilmington, Chris
Larabee, Vin Tanner, and Nathan Jackson. They're my new bodyguards."
"Well, they can guard my body any time!" chimed in a smiling Casey.
"Are you two always like this?" asked a half-amused and half-worried Chris.
"Because," he added, "if you are, I'd better send Buck back home. He'll take you
up on your offer and never get his work done!"
Everyone but Nathan laughed. "You don't have to do that, we'll be good," said
Inez, with a wink.
"Why don't I believe that?" Vin teased in his Texan drawl.
"Alright, enough joking around. Time to rehearse," said Ezra.
He turned to the four new bodyguards and said, "J.D. can show you to your rooms,
and give you a copy of this week's schedule. We'll be fine down here, Josiah
will stay with us."
After a moment, Chris nodded. "Alright. But, after rehearsal, we're all going to
sit down and go over the rules."
Ezra raised an eyebrow at that, but just nodded.
*****
An hour later; Chris, Buck, Vin, and Nathan were in Chris's room. J.D. had given
them a list of the schedule, then had gone to make a few phone calls. "Can you
believe how big this place is?! I mean, we each even got our own rooms,"
exclaimed Buck.
"Uh oh, I think Buck's gettin' attached to the place," smirked Vin.
"Hell yeah! J.D. told me that he has an indoor pool, hot tub, a game room with a
pool table and everything. I'm a happy man!"
Chris laughed and shook his head, "Remember, Buck, we're here to work."
Buck nodded his head, a serious look on his face. "I know, Chris." Then, he
smirked, and said, "But, we can't be all work and no play!"
"What makes you think that he'd let you play with any of his little
'toys'?"
questioned Nathan.
"What are you talking about? He seems like a nice guy, I'm sure he'd let us take
a swim or something," Vin said, defending Ezra. He didn't know what it was, but
the man had already gotten under his skin. And, he hadn't even had an actual
conversation with him!
Nathan snorted, "Yeah, right! Did you see how he was acting down there? I mean,
is he dating all three of those women or what? And, his ego's so big that he
couldn't stand for them to even think that we're handsome!"
"Nathan, he was joking! You do remember what that is, right?" asked a sarcastic
Buck.
His voice serious, Chris spoke. "Nathan, I don't know what your problem is with
that man, but you'd better deal with it. And, fast! We are here to do a job, if
you don't think that you can do it in a professional manner, then, let me know
now. And, I'll get you a airplane ticket back home."
Nathan saw the look on Chris's face and decided to keep the sharp reply he had
inside. "I can do this job, Chris. You don't have to worry."
After a pause, Chris nodded, "Good. We'll see. Now, how about we all go and
check out the security this house has. Buck and Nathan, you two take the
perimeter. Vin and I will take the inside."
"Come on, Nate, let's go," Buck said when he saw that Nathan wasn't moving. He
really hoped that Nathan was able to quit acting like a jackass and start acting
like a professional. Or, friendship, or no friendship, Chris was liable to fire
him.
Chris watched the two men leave, and sighed. "Come on, Vin. Let's get going."