Noah's on his way...

I looked at myself in the mirror of the salon and swallowed hard. In that instant, I hated Mandy. Hated her because, damn,I looked about fifteen.

I’d always had a baby face and that was the main reason I sported my facial hair – to try to make me look at least my age. Clean-shaven and with my hair stripped back to my natural red, which as far as I knew hadn’t been seen in public since I was around thirteen when I started having it dyed dark brown to match my eyebrows and eyelashes, I looked ridiculous. Staring at myself in horror, it dawned on me that I looked like a flaming cherub. I’d always been more pretty than handsome. I scowled at my reflection, “What’s this?” I asked, “Are you trying to get me picked on? Who doesn’t pick on a ginge?”

David grinned, “No one picks on people with ginger hair anymore.” He said, “You can thank Rupert Grint for that when you next bump into him. He’s totally made being ginger cool – and so has Ed Sheeran, Damian Lewis, Prince Harry...” He trailed off, running out of red-haired celebrities to prove me wrong with but even I had to admit, all of those guys were totally hot.

I caught the eye of my stylist, Mandy. “I look like a kid.” I grumbled.

She smiled back at me, “Actually, I thought you looked really handsome.” She said, “Handsome and wholesome and young and full of ambition.”

I resisted the urge to look back in the mirror and rolled my eyes at her instead, “Yeah, whatever.” I grouched. Wholesome? Was she having a laugh? I was about as far removed from ‘wholesome’ as it was possible to be. Man-whore was a closer description – hence the punishment...

She chuckled, “I prefer you like this than the swarthy prima donna that walked in here.”

I shrugged, slightly hurt at her choice of description, “Yeah, well...” 

My Uncle David appeared at my side and looked at me through the mirror, “That’s a whole lot better.” He said, beaming at me.

I scowled up at him, “I look like a kid.” I grumbled.

He shook his head, “No.” He said, “You look like a fine young man that’s about to find out what a real day’s work is like.”

I pulled another face. David shook his head, “This will be good for you, Tobias.” He said firmly, “Your dad and I know what hard work is all about. We had nothing when we started this business and we worked our arses off to get where we are today. All you’ve ever done is piss it up the wall.”

I frowned. Seriously? He was making me out to be some sort of loser... I wasn’ta loser. It wasn’t my fault that I’d grown up wanting for nothing... I knew there were people in the world worse off than I was... I’d just never really thought about it because it had never affected me before.

David grinned at my discomfort, “Welcome to the real world, Tobias. You’re going to be rubbing shoulders with real people.”

I raised an eyebrow, “I’ve rubbed far more than just shoulders with real people before, you know – some of the ‘real’ guys you’re talking about go to posh nightclubs too and they like to have a bit of TV royalty rubbing them up the wrong way – or the right way as it were.” I grinned and winked.

David gave me one of his looks. He hated it when I got lewd. “There’s really no need for you to talk about your sex life to me. I don’t share intimate details with you about mine – I’d prefer it you could extend me the same courtesy.”

Prudish bastard. I shrugged, looking at myself in the mirror again. Jesus. I couldn’t get over my naturally carrot-red hair? But why red? Why couldn’t he have made me a blonde? Dad was just being cruel now... “Yeah, whatever.” I said.

David smiled at me, “Oh, and Tobias – you have an apartment that’s reasonably close to the restaurant. You have one month’s allowance to allow you to get by until you get your first week’s wages and then you’re expected to get by on the same as all of your colleagues.”

My jaw dropped, “You have got to be kidding me.”

He shook his head, “Your dad wants you to understand a little of what he went through at your age.”

“But that’s so pointless.” I whined.

He shrugged, “He’s the boss.” Was all he said and then he was gone.

The Band series continues... When Noah met Tobias... Coming Soon...