*Pandora’s POV*

It’s been a few days since I’ve talked to any of my friends or even my buddies at work. I’ve been so busy these past few days that I pretty much lacked the sleep needed for any normal human being to function. Red Bull and coffee was doing their job as I waited outside of Mr. Grainge’s office in California. Honestly, I’ve never been to this state before, but the moment I got off that plane, I barely had enough time to make myself presentable as I jumped into a taxi and get here to Sony Studios for my scheduled meeting.

I heard someone call my name and I jumped up, a smiling attendant leading me down a hall and opening the door to an office for me. “Mr. Grainge, Miss Lee is here to see you.”

I heard a man speak. “Yes, yes, let her in.”

The attendant smiled as she let me in. I saw the man and smiled. He offered a hand and I quickly took it. His palm was slightly sweaty, but I decided to ignore it. “Pandora Lee. The name itself sounds like a hit.”

I couldn’t help but laugh some. “Please, don’t flatter me.”

Robert told me Mr. Grainge was a pretty easy-going man, so it was okay to loosen up a bit around him. The man laughed at my comment. “Please, take a seat, I’d like to talk to you about a few things…”

I sat down on one of the leather seats and he took a seat behind his desk. He basically started asking questions about myself. About my family, hometown, hobbies, and such. It was basically an interview, only it was all about me and myself instead of how I would benefit this man. He was smiling throughout my whole story. Most of his questions were about my music ethic and how I got interested into that. It was a long story, so I basically told him it was my grandmother that got me into music.

“It was classical music at first, since she taught me how to play the piano.” I said. “After she passed away, I soon picked up the guitar and went from there.”

“I heard your song you auditioned for. You are quite the composer and your songs have meaning.”

I nodded. “I’m not really good when it comes to writing songs, but I tend to write about simple moments in my life and I basically write out my feelings.”

His smile never faltered. “I like you. Your music is what America has been lacking for quite some time now and we need you in this industry. A new face will never hurt society and as sweet as a girl you are, everyone will like you, if you choose to keep that reputation up. You want to be a star, that audition proved me that much. You have the talent, and I want you in my company.” His eyes stayed on me as he picked up a paper and held it toward me. “This is a two year contract, basically the first six months you will be working on your first album, the next six months judging sells and a few concerts and if your album sells enough, we will plan a tour for you, be it just the country or world.”

I stared at the paper, quickly scanning it over. “Not to mention…” He said, making me look up at him. “You’ll be making fifty percent of company profits since most of the work will be done by you and we’ll just supply you the necessities required.”

He held out a pen and I took it, staring at the contract. I wasn’t stupid, I knew the scams that were possible here. I read over the contract. It was pretty straightforward and to the point. It held everything that Mr. Grainge said, along with the fact that they would be in charge of my scheduling also. I smiled before placing the paper down and quickly giving it my chicken scratch.

We both stood up and he reached out once again and we shook hands. “We’re glad to have you at Sony Studios, Pandora. I know this will take a lot of work, so we’ll be sure to give you the help you need and put you to work right away.”

“What should I do?” I asked him. “Should I find a place to stay or do I continue to stay in the hotel you provided?”

He smiled. “Don’t worry. We’re getting housing settlements ready for you. You should only have to stay in the hotel for a week at the most. We’re going to get you a place to stay as close to the recording studio as possible so you won’t have much trouble getting back and forth from there.”

I nodded, smiling gratefully. “Thank you so much.”

“Oh, you have no idea how thankful I am of you. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. I’ll look forward to hearing your first album.”

I had to contain my squealment as I left the office and was shown out of the building. The excitement and shock that filled my body was just too much. I literally had to sit down and press my face into my hands. I screamed into my hands, already feeling the tears welling up in my eyes.

I probably got a few stares but I didn’t care. I felt my phone buzzing. I quickly answered, already knowing who it was. “Oh, my God, Niall!” I practically screeched in excitement.

“Check the name again, love.” I froze, not expecting to hear Harry’s voice.

“Harry?” I asked.

“Ah, did you forget me already?” He pouted some.

“No, it’s just that Niall tends to call at the right time… whatever, anyways, guess what!?” I said excitedly.

“What, love?” He asked, a smile in his voice hearing my excitement.

“I just signed a contract with Sony Entertainment. I’m going to be a star!” I squealed, my excitement starting to take its toll.

“That’s great news!” I heard Harry say. “Is that what you’ve been busy with these past few days?”

“Yeah. I had to fly over to Cali to meet the CEO.”

“Oh…” His voice faded some.

“Why? Is everything okay?” I asked. “Wait, is Hazel alright?”

“Yeah, yeah! She’s perfectly fine. It’s just that we’re leaving today to finish out the rest of the tour in America for the next month. Liam’s having a hard time about that. Not only that, but Niall…”

“What’s going on with him?” I asked, a little worried.

“I told him he was just being paranoid, but he hasn’t spoken to you the past couple of days and he’s worried that you’re either mad or ignoring him. Seeing how you’ve been busy getting yourself sought up for Sony, I see why you haven’t been getting to your phone.”

“Niall was worried?” I asked, curious.

“He was concerned. I… I think you should call him. Let him know what’s going on. From there he’ll tell everyone what’s going on.”

“Why don’t you just tell him?”

I heard a soft chuckle. “If only you knew, love. If only you knew. Well, we have to get on a plane here in about three hours so if you’re going to tell him, I suggest you do it soon. Hey, if you’re staying in California, we’ll be seeing you toward the end of our American tour. We can catch up from there.”

The bastard hung up on me right there. I shook my head, confused a little. I was going to take up his advice about calling Niall, for whatever reason, but I wanted something to eat first. Plus, in was in California, what better thing to do than travel around and get a look at the city?

I would call Niall soon, very soon, but first, my hungry side was taking up.