Miles Apart - Sam Kiszka x OC fanfic

CHAPTER 23: THE INTERVIEW

the ending yalllllll aahhhhh good luck
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It had been a crazy week after Lilli told Sam about her secret wedding. The band had to up and leave for a week because one of the front liners for Coachella bailed last minute, so they were taking their place. They asked Lilli and me to house sit, and after an hour of convincing them to let me bring my cat, Peppermint, we agreed. The boys were scheduled to come back in two days, but I wished they come home now. It had been a week and Lilli still hadn't talked to me about the wedding, and the tension was killing me. I had hoped and hoped that she would say something because I knew how guilty we were both feeling about the situation, but she didn't budge.  Plus, her mood swings were all over the place; one minute we could be watching a comedy and laughing, and the next she's sobbing. It's horrible. If Sam were here, he'd knock some sense into her and then make sure she was okay immediately after. God, I missed Sam.

I had finally decided on interviewing for the tour job Sam had so hesitantly offered me, meaning that I now found myself sitting in front of Greta Van Fleets manager; Arthur Switzer trying to lay on the charm.

"Miss Ashford, I presume?" A tall, bald man asked as he reached his hand out to shake mine. I stood up from my chair and smiled at him, grabbing his hand and shaking it like Lilli had taught me to when I got the job at NPR.

"That's me. You're Arthur, right?"

"In the flesh," he beamed, leading me into his office, "Sam's told me a lot about you."

"Only good things, I hope," I chuckled, sitting down across from him.

"Oh, trust me, he raves on and on about you. One of his little 'Bella rants,' as we call them, is how we found out about your background in photography, actually."

I chuckled and covered my mouth, trying to hide the blush spreading across my cheeks.

"To start the formal interview, could you tell me a bit about your media background and get a bit into depth about this photography background Sam has told us so much about?" He asked, hiding a smile once he realized I was blushing.

"Yeah, for sure. I was super interested in photography all throughout high school, so when I met Josh in grade 10, it was like a dream come true. He was actually the first person to let me hold a real camera, and from there I ended up co-directing a bunch of the movies he used to make."

"You were friends with Josh in high school?" Arthur asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, I was friends with all of them actually, and I still am. I met Josh and he sort of introduced me to everyone. They're all family to me," I explained, slightly worried that our personal relations would affect whether or not I got the job. "Thanks to Josh, I ended up minoring in film and majoring in journalism, and from there went on to do some shoots and columns for Vogue and Allure, and I'm still an on-call photographer for Vogue if they ever need me at the New York branch."

"That's incredible, Miss. Ashford. You're- what; 22? And you've already shot and written for Vogue. Inspiring," Arthur beamed as he looked over my resume.

"I'm 20, actually," I corrected, hoping again that my age wouldn't affect his decision.

"I thought you graduated with Sam?"

"I did, but I skipped a year in high school and I have a late birthday. I'll be 21 in December," I assured.

"Ah, I see. I was worried for a minute there, seeing as we'll need you as our photographer when the boys go into bars and such, we need someone who's of drinking age," He chuckled, his worried expression dissipating.

"Oh, I fully understand, but the tour doesn't start until January, right?"

"Right," he confirmed, putting my resume back in its folder. I took a deep breath, assuming I'd somehow messed up. "Arabella, I'm going to be honest with you; this interview is just a formality so that corporate doesn't get on me for nepotism. You had the job the second you sat down and proved to me that you really are as amazing as Sam says you are."

"Oh my god. Thank you so much, Arthur. This genuinely means the world to me," I smiled, trying my hardest to remain calm.

"Of course, Miss. Ashford. We have a lot of preparing to do before tour kicks up, so when can you start?"

"As soon as you want me to," I said, my heart racing at a million miles an hour.

"Perfect, the boys should be back in town Sunday, so whenever they get back is when you'll start. Is that okay with you?" He asked. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to remain as neutral as I could.

"I thought they were coming home Friday?" I said, suddenly longing for Sam even more.

"Yeah, they were supposed to, but they're going to do a pop-up show at The Troubador Saturday night."

I chuckled, shaking my head at my idiot friend's ability to communicate.

"Is everything okay?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, sorry. My best friend, Lilli, and I are house-sitting for them, so sometimes their lack of communication skills gets on my nerves," I joked. Arthur laughed and nodded like he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"I haven't got the chance to congratulate Jake and her on their wedding yet, but tell her I'm sending a bottle of champagne for after the babies are born."

"Will do," I said, offering a tight lipped smile. It felt like she was leading a double life that I didn't know about. I mean, come on, the band's manager knew before I did. As her best friend, I was becoming more and more pissed off with each passing day she kept the wedding from me.

"It was incredible to meet you, Arabella. We'll see you Sunday?" Arthur said as he stood up, shaking my hand again.

"You too, and yeah, Sunday sounds good. What time do you want me here for?" I asked as I gathered my coat and bag.

"Head over whenever the boys say they're leaving. You'll beat them by about an hour," he chuckled, making fun of their tardiness.

"Sounds good," I laughed, "Thank you again, Arthur."

"It was a pleasure. We'll see you Sunday. Give a shout if you need anything, okay?"

I nodded and waved him goodbye, practically beaming as I left his office. I made my way out of the record office and to my car, more and more anger building inside me per second. I couldn't figure out why I was so mad at Lilli, as I understood why she did what she did, but it felt like everybody in the world knew except me; it felt personal. I drove home as slow as I could, not wanting to return to Lilli and the hidden tension whilst also trying to keep myself as calm as I could.

I decided I couldn't keep pretending I didn't know; I was terrible at keeping secrets and this one, in particular, was eating me alive. I pulled out my phone at a stoplight and rung Sam, wanting to run it past him before I said anything to Lilli. I called him twice but he didn't pick up either time, which was weird considering it was 2:00 in the afternoon and they didn't perform until much later. I tossed my phone down and sighed, continuing my short drive home.

I pulled into the driveway about ten minutes later, parking next to a car I hadn't seen in a week. Through my confusion, anger, and partial excitement towards my new job, I made my way inside, hesitantly creaking the door open in fear of who I may find on the other side.

"Lilli? Why is Ja-"

"Hey, Bel. Sit down," Lilli said, looking up at me from her spot next to Jake who, for the record, wasn't supposed to be home for another three days. 

"What's going on, guys?" I awkwardly laughed, confused at the heightened tension in the room.

"Arabella, please. Just sit down," Jake sighed, avoiding eye contact like the plague.

That's when it hit me.

They were fucking interrogating me.