*James*

The hotel lobby is quiet now. I swivel in my chair and text back and forth in a group chat with my sisters. That's when I see the SUV pull in.

Nate Hollan is coming into the hotel. Without bodyguards or photographers. Just him as a regular person.

I quickly put my phone in my back pocket and stand up as he walks to the front desk.

"Welcome to the Marriott. How can I help you?" I recite, in my head wondering why the heck Nate Hollan would be here other than to see Julia. He spends most of his days with her. Why would he want to see Julia tonight? It's probably the same reason I want to.

"Hi, mate. Julia Moretti. She's on the 4th floor. I'm here to see her." His British accent takes me aback a little. I had forgotten he was from London. I don't talk to him much, I don't follow him on social media, and I rarely watch TV unless it's sports. 

Why would Nate Hollan want to see Julia this late at night? He spends all week with her. There's only one answer, and my stomach drops to the floor.

"Would you like me to call her room and let her know you are here, sir?" I barely get the words out.

"No, you're good. I can just go up. It's the 4th floor. I'm not worried." And just like that, Nate walks towards the elevator.

The 4th floor. Of course. THAT's why he set Julia up on the 4th floor. The celebrity floor that me and bodyguard Paul maintain.

Nate can go up and see her whenever he wants and not be bothered by fans or end up on TMZ. The 4th floor is prohibited to regular people like me and Julia. Only the people with money or a past they need to hide from stay there.

I swallow hard, watching Nate go into the elevator...to see Julia.

*****

*Trisha*

I hung out with Nate for a while tonight before starting to get tired. And there's no way I'm sleeping here. Those days are over. For good. 

I lay in my bed and scroll through my phone for a little while. I still have Dave on my social media. I don't know why. We're done. We're SO done. But I can't seem to delete him from my Instagram. I'm a fucking mess. 

I don't know what happened. Dave was my friend. Nate's too. We met at Sullivan's a long time ago, when Nate found his apartment. His home is in London, but most of the time, Nate is in L.A. So it was just easier for him to find a place here. This works out well for me because this is my home, and London was just supposed to be an internship. An internship that led me straight to Nate.

I actually started off straight out of beauty school and landed an internship at one of the most famous salons in London. It was a huge move for me since my home is here. I left my mom and everything. I was so young. Barely 19. Little did I know what I signed up for was through a company managing this European boy band I'd never heard of. They were a bunch of teenagers who couldn't be controlled. Nate being the worst! Sneaking out of hotel rooms, hooking up with fans left and right. He gave his bodyguard, Paul, a run for his money.

I was originally only hired to be hair and make-up. But the boys were hard to handle for the managers. They just wanted to live life, not realizing they would become one of the world's largest boy bands since The Beatles. They became huge fast, and I got to go for the ride. 

Eventually, the group needed individual personal assistants to keep track of their lives. But they were horny teenage boys who didn't listen, driving personal assistants away within weeks. For some reason, though...they listened to me. Maybe because I was the only one close in age and could relate to them. They respected me and would do what was told. Especially Nate. I'd put him in his place. Because this job means everything to me, and hell if some teenager messes it up. The team noticed me, and I was pulled out of my internship and hired as Nate's personal assistant. I had no idea how it would change my life.

When you're Nate Hollan's personal assistant, you don't have a life of your own. Boyfriends? No time. Marriage? No time. Kids? Yeah, right. But when I met Dave... something changed. Everything changed.

*****

*James*

Hollan never came back down. I watched the elevator all night. Every time it binged, my eyes darted in that direction. I'm obsessing over this. Are they together? They have to be. There's no other explanation as to why he hasn't come down. It's been hours.

I try to keep myself busy doing stupid stuff so I won't think of them, but it's all I can think of. If Julia falls in love with Nate, I don't have a chance in hell. And that friggen hurts because I've fallen for her. Hard. I mean, we spend almost every night together down here. We talk all night long. She's now my best friend. We tell each other everything. In such a short time, we've become so close that I can't imagine life WITHOUT Julia being my best friend.

Sure, I have Lindsay. I have all my exes. We always ended things on good terms. I don't attract negativity in my life. I've had enough of that growing. I surround myself with positive people, and if a relationship ends, it's not because of some huge fallout. It's just because it wasn't meant to be. That's how it was with me and Linds. To the point we agreed on sharing time with Maggie, our dog. Maggie, who has helped me overcome so much. That golden retriever is my little therapy dog, whether she realizes it or not. She truly is a man's best friend.

It's almost two in the morning, and I've given up on Nate coming down. They obviously slept together. He's spending the night, and I feel sick to my stomach. I lost my chance with Julia. There's no way I can live up to Nate Hollan standards. It's just not possible for an average guy like me. Our worlds are completely opposite.

In a way, I'm surprised Julia would be interested in him. She doesn't seem like the type to care about money or social status. I guess I was wrong.  I don't know why I would think that. This is America's heartthrob we're talking about. Of course, Julia would fall for him. She'd be stupid not to.

****

It's after 3 am. I decided to take apart the printer and fix it to keep my mind off this awful night. I head to the storage closet near the elevator when I hear the familiar bing. Hoping it's Nate leaving or Julia coming to see me, I rush out of the storage closet with a pack of printer paper.

It's Julia.

"Hey," I say, keeping my eyes forward, unable to look at her right now with all the thoughts running through my head. She swivels to see me, and I lean in a little.

"What are you doing down here? You're not sleepwalking, are you? The kitchen's closed, Ma'am." I joke and straighten my back while walking to the front desk.

I can sense Julia following, and a wave of relief washes over me. I make my way behind the front desk to load the paper into the printer. I can't make this awkward, but I also can't look at Julia.

"So, what brings you down here anyway? You get bored with your boyfriend already?" Shit. That really came out of my mouth. I take a deep breath in and straighten my back, staring at the wall.

"What? He's not -"

"Don't even deny it, I saw Hollan walk in. He gave me a wave before heading straight to the elevator." I pause. "There's no other reason for him to be here." I can't believe I'm doing this right now. But she's my best friend. I'm gonna be honest with her. "And.......He hasn't come back down yet."

"It's none of my business anyway... I'm just -" I finally get the courage to turn around, and my face drops instantaneously. Julia's been crying. Her eyes are red and swollen, along with her lips. It's obvious something happened between them. I will seriously do physical harm to that man if he hurt her.

"Are you ok?! Did something happen?" My voice rises two octaves higher.

"No! God no... Nothing happened. Seriously. I just had a bad dream and wanted to come down here to read." Julia sets her book and key down on the counter. I don't believe her, though. You don't cry if nothing happened.

"A bad dream. Right." I sit and swivel my chair now, making it clear by my facial expression that I don't believe her.

"Yes, I'm dead serious, James, nothing happened."

"So why do you look like you've had a rough night, and why is Hollan still up there and you down here with me?" I scoff. "Hmmm? You know what, actually, don't tell me. I don't want to know the details. So long as you're being honest and you really are ok, that's all I care about, Julia. What you do with your time is not for me to know." I pick up my phone and scroll through it, trying to ignore her.

"James...Can I sit down here with you?" Julia looks over to the vacant chair next to me behind the desk and then looks at me, waiting for an answer.

"Be my guest, but you're not getting paid..." I reply, still looking down at my phone.

"I won't get you in trouble, though?"

She's trying to be normal, and I'm giving her the cold shoulder. I can't do that to her. I give in and sigh, putting my phone down as Julia walks around the counter and sits next to me.

"No, no one will be here for a few more hours. Besides, I've been here forever, and no one else wants this shitty shift. I can do whatever."

"So why DO you work the overnight shift? Sometimes you're here by 6 pm, relieving other staff early."

I shrug and swivel my chair a little. I like simplicity. But she likes Nate.

"Listen, James, we should talk about earlier."

She has my attention now, and that twinge in my stomach comes back. I smirk and wheel my chair closer for our conversation.

"Hmm, yeah, we probably should..."

"Did you mean to -" She starts, but I don't give her time to finish her sentence. If this is gonna happen, it needs to happen right now. I lean in close and put my hand on the side of her face. Everything happens fast, but I feel like we're moving in slow motion.

She closes her eyes, and I don't waste another second. I need to feel her lips on mine. I lean over and kiss her. Her lips are soft, and I can't get enough of them. I continue to kiss her, and right when I think she is going to give in and kiss me back, she pulls away abruptly.

She sees Nate. Standing in the hall by the elevator. Eyes wide and dark. Staring right at us. His eyes dart back and forth between us.

"NICE." is all I hear him say sarcastically before turning away and pressing the elevator button a few times in a row, waiting to go back in the elevator he just got out of. He watches the numbers impatiently, waiting for the elevators to reach the lobby level.

Fuck.

"Nate, wait!" Julia jumps out of the chair and practically runs to him, disregarding me completely.

I watch her chase after him and look away the minute they enter the elevator and the doors close. My heart is still pounding. But I kissed her. And I sure as hell didn't imagine her feeling what I felt. Nate Hollan may have stirred her a little, but there's no denying I've gotten her attention.

*****