A Very Personal Assistant

Hello,

This is my first fanfic and it's rather a long one, took me ages to write it and I think it's a bit waffley to begin with, but please have a read and let me know what you think good or bad.


Chapter One

It was a cloudy, grey miserable Manchester day in the middle of June. Kat looked out of her window and tutted to herself, 'looks like it's going to be another rainy day' she thought, 'so much for summer'. She snuggled back down in her bed pulling the duvet
over her head, thinking it might be best to just stay in bed today.

Just as she was drifting back off to sleep she heard a muffled ringing. It took a few moments for her sleepy head to work out that what she was hearing was her phone ringing one floor down. Pulling herself out of bed she stumbled downstairs hoping she'd make it to the phone before it rang off, but she was too late and the ringing stopped just as she reached for the receiver.
"Damn it!" she cried. Just as she was about to pick up the receiver and dial 1471 the phone started ringing again. She picked up and groggily said "Hello?"
"Didn't get you out of bed did I?" asked a familiar voice on the other end. It was Kelly, Kat's best friend since the first year of high school.
"If it was you calling just a minute ago, then yes" she answered snappily.
"Oops sorry hun," Kelly apologised "but it is 9 o'clock, time you were up anyway"
"OK well I'm up now so what is it?"
"Come over to mine for a coffee I've seen a job advertised that you'd be really interested in."
"But I'm happy working at the call centre; well I am now that I'm on emails instead of calls." Kat protested.
"Trust me you'll be really interested in applying for this new job, come over and I'll explain over coffee."
Kat could tell she wasn't going to get any sense out of Kelly over the phone so replied "make it a cup of tea and I'll be there in an hour".
"Sure" Kelly answered "Seeya soon hun".

By the time she'd had a shower, got dressed and made her way to Kelly's house, Kat was feeling much more awake and in a better mood than when her friend had called her. She let herself in as usual and shouted "Hello".
"In the kitchen" came the reply.
So Kat made her way to the kitchen, finding Kelly sat at the table with a fresh cup of tea waiting for her. Plonking herself down in the chair opposite, she took a sip of her tea and asked "So what's this amazing job you've seen advertised then?"
Kelly tossed a folded newspaper in front of her. As she unfolded the newspaper Kat instantly recognised the symbol that made up the background of a full page ad and she smiled, "Take That!" she chuckled as she began reading the job description -

WANTED - A NEW P.A. FOR TAKE THAT
LIVING TV Are producing a new TV series to find a new personal assistant for the number one UK man band Take That

Initial interviews/auditions are to be held at the Midland Hotel in Manchester on Saturday 28 June
No experience necessary

Successful applicants will appear in a new TV series as they compete to become Take That’s new personal assistant.

The band would like only genuine fans to apply for the position, as they are looking to hire someone who has their best interests at heart.

To apply, please complete the below application form and bring it along with a current CV to the Midland Hotel Manchester on Saturday 28 June. Interviews will commence at 9am.


Kat looked up from the paper "You're having a laugh, right?" she asked her friend, but Kelly wasn't laughing. "I've never been anyone’s PA, besides the interviews start tomorrow morning, it'll be packed! Do you remember what it was like queuing all night for tickets to their last show? The place will be heaving with fans queuing overnight for a shot at this job!"
Kelly smiled and pulled two sleeping bags from under the table. Kat shook her head "I guess we'd better make up some flasks then." she laughed.

Neatly folding her best interview suit and carefully packing it into her rucksack, Kat smiled to herself and shook her head. 'I must be mad' she thought. Just then she heard her front door go and Kelly's voice calling her. "Aren't you ready yet?" she shouted from downstairs.
"Just packing my suit, I'll be down in a minute." Kat replied.

After making her way downstairs, Kat found her friend in the kitchen making up a flask of hot chocolate. "Thanks hun" Kat said gratefully.
"All set?" Kelly asked.
"Yep, I think so. CV, Interview suit, toiletries, make-up, sleeping bag, folding chair, snacks and one flask of hot chocolate, can you think of anything else I need?" Kat replied.
"What about smelling salts, in case you faint when you see the boys?" Kelly joked.
"I think I'll manage without, I'm not 15 anymore. Besides they're not going to be there tomorrow are they." Kat laughed.

Kat and Kelly set off on the short walk to the metro-link station. They had decided it would be much easier and probably cheaper to take the tram rather than drive to Manchester, struggle to find a parking space, and then pay for parking overnight.

Once they'd paid their fair and got their tickets, Kat and Kelly were pleased to find the tram already waiting at the platform. They quickly found a seat and the tram set off right away. As the tram trundled along, the two friends reminisced about their teenage years following Take That and the weekends when they would get the bus into Oldham to wait outside Mark Owen's house, hoping that he'd come outside to meet them. Time flew by and before they knew it they'd reached their stop. Gathering their camping equipment and backpacks, Kat and Kelly stepped off the tram and began making their way to the Midland Hotel.

As they neared the hotel they found signposts directing them round to the side of the hotel where a queue had been formed. "Good lord!" Kat exclaimed as they turned the corner to find at least 200 fans already queuing. The hotel had kindly set up marquees to keep the queuers sheltered overnight. Making their way down the line, it seemed to go on forever. As they finally took their places at the back of the queue Kat looked at Kelly and sighed. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."
"Don't worry hun, it was like this when we were queuing for tickets to see their last concert, and we still ended up with killer seats." Kelly reminded her unfolding her chair. The pair shuffled themselves into their sleeping bags and settled in their chairs ready for a long night of waiting.

Kelly poured two cups of hot chocolate from her flask and passed one to Kat.
"Cheers" said Kat wearily; still wondering if this was going to be a long wait for nothing. Kat leaned forward looking up the queue again; hoping it had somehow miraculously shrank since they sat down. Of course it hadn't. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't even see the TV producer approach her and was startled when he spoke to her.
"Have a little patience." he joked, having seen Kat gazing down the long line of fans.
"Oh!" exclaimed Kat before she smiled politely taking in the cheesy joke.
"Sorry, I've been dying to say that to someone all night and now I've heard myself say it out loud it sounds a bit rubbish." apologised the producer. "I just need some details from you, then I can give you your audition number." he explained.
"Sure." replied Kat winking at Kelly, who instantly got the joke and giggled. Another cheesy Take That song gag, that seemed to go right over the producer's head.

After taking all Kat's personal details and a copy of her CV, the producer gave her a sticky label with the number 1979 printed on it.
"Don't worry, that's not how many are in the queue." the producer assured her and turned to Kelly to ask her for her details.
"Oh, no" said Kelly "I'm not auditioning, I'm just here for moral support."
Kat looked at her friend in amazement. "You mean you're not applying for the job?"
"No" replied Kelly "I thought about it, but I don't fancy being on telly I'd make a fool of myself."
"But you're quite happy to make me do it and watch me make a fool of myself?" asked Kat, shocked.
"Yep." Kelly replied with a cheeky grin on her face and with that she took the sticky label and pressed it firmly on Kat's chest.

Once they'd finished their hot chocolates, the pair soon drifted off to sleep listening to Take That’s Beautiful World album playing in the distance further down the queue.

Chapter Two

Morning soon came around and Kat and Kelly awoke to hear Shine playing on a nearby radio. 'What a lovely way to wake up' thought Kat. Rubbing her eyes she turned to Kelly and yawned "I'm getting far too used to sleeping outside with a bunch of strangers. I actually slept quite well last night."
"Me too." Kelly replied stretching her arms above her head.
"Ohhh nooooo!" moaned Kat as she spotted a familiar figure walking down the length of the queue. It was the same TV presenter from GMTV that had pretended to camp out when they were queuing for concert tickets. This meant another round of cheering and smiling for early morning telly, when all you really want is a nice cuppa and a bacon sarnie to wake you up after a night in the cold. Kelly rolled her eyes and started digging around in her backpack.
"They could at least give us chance to grab a cuppa, brush our hair and make ourselves look presentable." she protested finally finding her hairbrush and mirror.

Luckily the TV cameras were focused at the front of the queue for now, where the presenter was talking to the early birds who'd been waiting the longest. Kat took the mirror from Kelly and was pleased to find that she actually looked a lot better than she felt. After brushing her hair and applying some lip-gloss she pulled a packet of polos from her pocket, took one and offered them to Kelly. "Here, this should get rid of that morning mouth taste till we can get to a bathroom."
"Mmmm good thinking, batman." Kelly replied taking a few mints. Just then the presenter started addressing the queue with the aid of a loud speaker. "OK everyone, we're going to be on GMTV in 15 minutes time. So I want a nice loud cheer from you all. Let’s practice a couple of times before we go live."
Kat looked at Kelly and rolled her eyes. "I don't need practice . . . why don't they just get the guys to come here and stand in front of everyone, then you'd get a cheer." Kelly smiled "You can tell you haven't had your caffeine yet, you happy bunny." she joked. "Just do as the nice man says and do it with a smile on your face . . . like you enjoy sleeping all night in the freezing cold." Kat put on her best fake smile to Kelly winked and started cheering and waving with the rest of the queue.

Finally all the shouting and cheering for GMTV was over and the queue began slowly moving inside the hotel. As Kat and Kelly entered they were directed over to a large dining hall along with the rest of the queue, and were delighted to find a row of hot plates filled with various breakfast items. Of course the hotel was charging over the odds, but right then the two friends didn't care, it was just what they needed to feel human again.

As they tucked in to their breakfast and sorely needed cups of tea, a loud cheer rose up from the back of the dining hall. For a second the girls imagined that the band must have walked in, but as the cheers died down they heard a voice they recognised being relayed through a microphone, it was Dermot O'Leary. Kelly was hitting Kat wildly on the arm in excitement "It's Dermot!!!" she cried.
"Sshh, I'm trying to hear what he's saying." Kat said urging her friend to calm down.
"Hello everyone. I'm pleased to see so many people have turned up and thank you all for your patience. . . My Name's Dermot O'Leary and I'll be presenting the TV show. . . you'll all be given time to use the gym changing rooms if you need them. . .then you'll move into a holding area where you'll be called in one at a time for your interview in front of a small panel of judges." he explained.
"Oh my god, a panel of judges!" Kat said in a panic.
"What were you expecting?" asked Kelly "don't worry, I'm sure it won't be Simon Cowell and it isn't going to be Take That, you said yourself they won't be here today. . . C'mon finish your breakfast and we'll make our way to the gym - we'll need all the time we can get if we're gonna make you look presentable!" she joked, trying to ease Kat's nerves.

As soon as they'd finished their breakfast, Kelly and Kat followed the signs to the gym, where they joined another queue. Luckily they didn't have to wait too long before entering the rather small, but very posh gym changing room. Kat quickly showered and changed into her interview suit, a pair of tailored light grey trousers, pink pinstripe blouse and light grey fitted waist-coat.
“Very Sex in the City” remarked Kelly.
”Thanks, that's the look I was going for.' Kat replied sitting herself down in front of a mirror. As she started applying her make-up, Kelly got to work on her hair, blow drying and straightening it to perfection.

Kat stood up and checked her appearance in the mirror.
“Wow, you should come round and do my hair every morning Kell; you've made a really good job of it!”
“Well if you get this job I will hun, especially if you're touring with the guys.” Kelly replied with a day dreamy smile on her face. “Come on we'd better get you to the waiting area.” Suddenly Kat felt rather ill, remembering the panel of judges she'd have to face.

A large conference suite was being used as the waiting area with chairs set out and a table with tea coffee and juice to one side.
“Drink?” asked Kelly pointing to the table as Kat set their back packs down on two empty chairs.
“Isn't there anything stronger?” Kat replied hoping that a couple of shots of vodka might calm her nerves.
“No!” Kelly answered “I'm not having you slurring your words on telly and certainly not in front of Dermot. . .You can have a nice cup of tea” and with that she headed for the drinks table.

Before Kelly had returned with their drinks, the TV producer had appeared on a stage to the back of the hall.
“Good Morning everyone, thank you all for coming today. We'll be starting the interviews shortly, so if you could all start taking your seats while we wait for the last people to join us.”
Kat sat down and Kelly soon joined her with almost spilling the drinks as she tripped on her back pack.
“Whoa, watch the suit!” warned Kat.
As the last few interviewees entered the hall and took their seats the room grew quiet in anticipation.

“OK now that everyone’s here we can get started.” Announced the TV producer. “Before your interview we’d like you to complete a short test that we’ve set up on the computers in the next room. So if all the applicants in the front row could make their way into the next room first, when they’re finished we’ll take the next row in and so on.” Kat wondered whether to be glad she wasn’t on the front row, or wishing she was to get it over with.
Half an hour later the row she was sitting on were ushered into the computer room. Kelly was made to wait outside as only applicants were allowed in to prevent any cheating. As she took a seat in front of her computer Kat’s stomach was churning over and over. She followed the instructions entering her applicant number and name and began the test. It had been designed to catch out any applicants that weren’t really fans, testing everyone’s knowledge of the band. There were questions about song lyrics, concerts, dance moves and the band members. Some where obvious, but others were more obscure, like song lyrics of B-side tracks and names of the bands family members. Kat was in her element and soon forgot that she was being tested for a job.
On completing the test, Kat left the computer room with a smile on her face and returned to the waiting area taking a seat next to Kelly. She began telling Kelly all about the test and the questions, but was soon interrupted by someone tapping her on the shoulder. They both looked up to see the smiling face of Dermot O’Leary beaming down at them.
“Excuse me ladies, could I have a few minutes of your time? I’m just going to ask you a few questions on camera about why you’re applying for the job, how long you had to queue up etcetera.”
“Sure” replied Kat. Kelly just smiled in stunned silence, unusual for her.

Dermot was very easy to talk to and both Kat and Kelly were soon getting along famously with him, chatting about how long they’d been queuing, how long they’d been Take That fans, the times they’d sat outside Mark Owens house when they were teenagers, hardly aware the camera was on them. Finally Dermot asked Kat who her favourite band member was, she smiled thinking how awkward it would be if she got the job and Gary knew that she fancied the pants of him.
“Not tellin’” she replied with a cheeky grin. Dermot looked puzzled. So Kat explained that she couldn’t say who just in case she got the job and it made things awkward.
“OK fair enough” replied Dermot “Thanks for your time and good luck with your interview.” He said leaving them.
“Quick thinking hun.” Remarked Kelly.
“I thought so” replied Kat smugly. “Up here for thinking, down there for dancing.”
“How weird would it be trying to work with him if he knew you were checking his arse out every time he turned round.” She said and they both burst out laughing.
“I’ll go and fetch us another cuppa.” Kat said. On her way to the drinks table she passed Dermot who stopped her.
“Go on tell me who it is, I won’t tell anyone.” He grinned.
“No!” replied Kat smiling.
“just whisper it to me.”
“No! I’m not telling!” she replied and stuck her tongue out.

Once everyone had finished their tests the TV producer returned to the stage with a piece of paper in his hand.
“I have in my hand your test results.” He announced. “There were some really high scores, but unfortunately not everyone passed. So the applicant numbers I’m going read out haven’t made it through to the interview stage and will have to leave.”
A hushed murmur went through the hall. “Numbers 1198, 1235, 1488, 1456. 1854, 2023 and 1972. I’m sorry you haven’t passed; please make your way to the exit.” The unsuccessful applicants began making their way out of the hall. “We’re going to begin the interviews with our panel of judges now, starting with number 1974.” A blonde woman stood up, looking really nervous, she was ushered into the interview room just off the waiting area. Kat routed in her backpack for her mirror and hairbrush.
”Calm down.” said Kelly. “You look fine.”
“OK” said Kat “I’ll just squirt a bit of perfume and reapply my lippy.”
No sooner had she finished, then the producer called her number. “1979, you’re next.”
Kelly squeezed Kat’s hand. “Good luck hun, you’ll be fine.”

Nervously Kat turned the handle and pushed open the door to the interview room. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she looked over towards the judge’s desk and spotted four famous faces looking back at her. She smiled and a wave of relief washed over her to see that it wasn't the four members of Take That. Although she had been dismissing it since she'd arrived, the idea that the judges might actually be the band themselves had been niggling at her all day and she was relieved that it wasn't them as she was nervous enough.


After the initial relief had worn off, Kat realised that they were all still very famous faces that she recognised on the panel. There was Lu Lu, looking absolutely fabulous with her firey red hair, yet also very kind and friendly as she smiled back at Kat. Next to her was Davina McCall, also looking very glam. Then Louis Walsh with his cheeky little Irish grin and finally Peter Jones from Dragon’s Den looking very smart but with that smile you can't quite trust. 'Well at least it isn't Simon Cowell' thought Kat.

"Is it Kat Hamer?" asked Lu Lu looking at the paper work in front of her.
"Yes, that's right" Kat answered
"Please, take a seat." said Peter, motioning towards a chair positioned a few feet in front of the judging desk. Kat took a seat and tried to look as relaxed and confident as she could, but didn't feel it at all.
"We've had a brief look through your CV and its quite impressive." commented Davina. "Nine GCSE's . . . you've worked since you were 18 and you've been in your current job for over seven years now, is that right?" she asked.
"Yes" replied Kat "I've worked in customer service for Mobilecom since 2001."
"Ah, mobile phones. I might get you to take a look at mine later, see if you can block Simon Cowell's number for me" joked Louis. Kat smiled.
"Customer service is an important part of any company, and I suppose PR actually plays quite a big role in your current job." remarked Peter.
"That's very true." Kat replied "They call us front line staff. We're the main contact that customers have, so it's important that we're professional and polite to maintain the public perception of the company." 'Ah that company training is paying off.' Kat thought to herself. 'I'm even starting to believe it myself'.
"So what do you actually do?" asked Louis "Is it answering calls or . . .”
"I work in the email team now, have done for nearly two years. I used to work on the phones when I started, then I worked on the number porting and hardware team, dealing with escalations for number transfers and handset orders. Now I reply to customers emails and call customers back if necessary, to help them." Kat answered.
Peter looked impressed "So good telephone manner, keyboard skills and technical skills. This is all sounding very good so far." he commented.

"So how long have you been a Take That fan?" asked Lu Lu
"Since the beginning really." answered Kat "I remember them being on Northwest Tonight and the presenter saying they were the next New Kids on the Block." Kat smiled "I was a fan of New Kids at the time and thought No way are they gonna take their place. But they won me round some how and here I am years later, still a massive fan."
"And who's you're favourite?" asked Davina.
Kat grinned "I'm not saying. . . Dermot asked me the same thing earlier . . . I told him that if I do get the job, it would be too weird working with someone who knows you fancy the pants off him."
Peter raised his eyebrow "Smart thinking."

"Well I think it's time we put it to the vote." announced Louis and he looked over at Lu Lu. Kat's heart began pounding in her chest again.
"It’s a yes from me." she smiled
"me too" agreed Davina
"You're a definite yes for me" added Peter
"Well that’s four yes's, you're through." confirmed Louis.

"Yesssssssssssss" Kat screamed. "Thank you sooooo much." and she burst through the doors and hugged Kelly. Then she felt another pair of arms wrap around them, it was Dermot.
"Well done!" he said letting them go. "I don't suppose you're gonna tell me who your favourite is now then?" he asked cheekily.
"Nope" Kat answered smiling, feeling on top of the world.
The TV producer came over to Kat and Kelly.
"Right, now you're through I need you to fill in this form." he said passing a clipboard and pen to Kat. She sat down and filled it out, answering all the questions about her current job and what hours she worked, whether she could drive and if she had any points on her licence and a bunch of standard medical questions. Once she'd finished she handed it back to the TV producer who smiled and took a Polaroid photo before ushering her back into the conference room, where Kat and Kelly took a seat and waited with all the other successful applicants.

Chapter Three


Half an hour later, all the applicants had been interviewed and only 10 had made it passed the judges. As soon as the last girl had took her seat a familiar song began to play. It was Rule The World and the whole room got to there feet, dancing and singing along. Just as they'd sang the chorus, the music stopped and the lights went out. There were a couple of shocked screams, then murmuring as everyone wondered what was going on. Then the lights came back on and on stage were Gary, Mark, Howard and Jason, all with beaming smiles on their faces. Everyone screamed and the noise was deafening, even though there were only 10 successful girls and about five of their friends. Kat could felt her stomach flip over as Gary glanced in her direction and she squeezed Kelly's arm.

"Alright ladies, I see the judges got rid of all the mingers." said Howard with a cheeky grin. Gary rolled his eyes at him.
"I told you to behave, you'll put them off workin for us." scolded Mark.
"Just ignore him; you'll learn to put up with him if you get the job." assured Jason.
"Right then everyone. You've all made it through to the interview, so you'll all have a chance of working for the four of us as our PA." announced Gary. "For the next stage of the competition, you'll all be living together in a lovely apartment here in
Manchester."
"It is lovely too, I've seen it." said Mark reassuringly.
"You'll all need to pack a suitcase ready to be picked up this evening." advised Jason.
"Then you'll be picked up sometime next week to be taken to the apartment, where you'll stay until you either get the job, or get booted out." said Howard.
"Thank you all for applying, it’s been nice meeting you all and we'll see you again soon." said Gary. With that the band waved goodbye and made their way off stage.

Kat was so excited that she was talking non stop to Kelly on the tram home. Luckily Kelly was just as excited and even offered to help Kat pack her suitcase. After packing and re-packing a few times, Kat decided she had all she needed and put her suitcase in the hallway, ready to be collected. She'd just entered the kitchen and put the kettle on when the doorbell went. There was a black van with the Take That logo on the side in silver waiting outside. Before Kat could get to the door Kelly had answered it, hoping that the band had come in person to collect Kat's suitcase. Of course they hadn't and it was simply one of the show's production staff.
"I've come for Kat Hamer's bag?" he asked. Kat pulled her suitcase from behind the door.
"Here." she said passing it to the man. "I don't suppose you know when I'll be picked
up next week?" she asked.
"No luv, sorry I don't I'm just collecting the bags." he replied and walked off with Kat's suitcase. Once they'd watched him put the case in the back of his van and pull away, Kelly and Kat closed the front door and returned to the kitchen.
"I wonder when they'll come to pick me up?" pondered Kat out loud.
"Does it matter?" asked Kelly "You're through; they've got your things, so you'll just have to wait now."
"You're right." said Kat "It's just that I'll have to be looking my best every day now in case they come, there's bound to be TV cameras to see us arriving at the apartment."

Chapter Four

At work the next day, the first thing Kat did was speak with her manager, Emma. She insisted on speaking with her in private in one of the rooms downstairs, knowing that Emma is also a big Take That fan and that she tends to squeal at any exciting Take That related news, Kat thought it was best she talked to her in private, so that the whole department didn't have to know, at least not yet. As predicted Emma squealed at the news, but luckily no-one downstairs could make out what they were talking about.

Back upstairs Kat got on with her work as usual, keeping her head down and trying to concentrate instead of daydreaming about what it would be like to work for Take That.

Suddenly there was a commotion coming from the building's reception area, everyone on the mezzanine level where Kat worked started standing up to try and see what was going on. Straining to see what was happening; Kat saw a tall well built man walking up the stairs. He looked vaguely familiar, just as it hit her that it was Paul, Take That's bodyguard, she saw that right behind him were Take That. Kat froze and felt herself blushing, panicking she ducked down behind her monitor. Then she heard Gary's voice.
"We're looking for Kat Hamer, anyone seen her?" he asked. Kat spotted Emma rushing towards her desk. 'Oh my god!' was the only thing going through Kat's mind.
"Here she is!" Emma squealed excitedly. Mark spotted her and walked over to Kat's desk.
"Over here guys." he shouted, while pulling Kat to her feet. The other three soon joined him.
"Don't mind if we take her do you?" asked Jason.
"Errr . . . no" replied Emma.
"Good! Off we go then." said Howard and with that he picked Kat up and put her over his shoulder. Kat squealed.
"Don't worry, he does it to me all the time." Mark reassured her walking behind as Howard carried her off. Kat was glad when Howard set her down before tackling the stairs.
"Ladies first." Gary insisted. So Kat made her way downstairs, closely followed by Take That. When she got to reception she spotted a stretch limo out the front. Mark took her hand and raced out to the car with her, the others close at their heals. Kat climbed in to find five of the other contestants already waiting. They all smiled and introduced themselves and Kat had to laugh when Take That, who'd got in after her introduced themselves too. Everyone got on really well and Kat found talking to the guys easy, as they were all so down to earth. She was relieved that she was over the star struck state that had taken over when they'd arrived to pick her up. One thing she hadn't got over though was Gary; he was even better-looking close up. She had to try so hard not to stare at him, while not making it seem obvious that that was what she was doing. They'd soon picked up the remaining contestants and were on their way to the apartment in Manchester.

The limo pulled up in front of a large swanky apartment block. Outside, the TV producer was waiting for them. The guys got out first followed by ten very excited contestants. As Kat had predicted there was a TV crew filming their arrival. The doorman let them all in, then the guys announced they were leaving now to give everyone a chance to settle in, and that they'd see them tomorrow morning. Kat was sorry to see them go, just as everyone was getting on so well. Once the guys had gone, everyone piled into the lifts as the TV producer instructed and soon found themselves on the top floor. The whole top floor was one massive apartment with floor to ceiling windows, open plan kitchen, dining area and lounge, two large bathrooms and five bedrooms each with two beds in them. The girls all burst out laughing when they saw that each bed had Take That bed covers on.

After unpacking their cases, the girls soon settled in and they all pitched in to make dinner. Once they'd ate and washed up everyone slobbed out in the lounge, telling stories about the old days of Take That and the daft things they'd done when they were teenagers. Soon Kat was feeling drowsy and headed off to bed along with her room mate, a girl called Becky. She was the same age as Kat and they had a lot in common, except Becky was head over heels for Mark. Kat was glad that Becky had decided to go to bed too, she didn't feel quite as unsociable being the first to turn in.

Kat woke early the next morning, 6.00am. Becky was still asleep, so she made her way to the bathroom and got in the shower. 'Probably a good job I'm first up' thought Kat 'Two bathrooms and ten girls, it would be a nightmare trying to get a shower later.' Wrapping herself in a dressing gown, Kat crept back into her room to find that Becky had woken up.
"Morning." said Kat quietly. "I didn't wake you did I?"
"No." replied Becky sleepily. "I was just wondering where you'd gone."
"Thought I'd bag a shower before the whole house wakes up." Kat explained.
"That's a bloody good idea." said Becky pulling herself out of bed. "I think I'll do the same." As Becky went off to have a shower, Kat got herself dressed, dried her hair and applied her make-up.

It was 7.15am now and still the rest of the girls were sleeping. Kat boiled the kettle, made a pot of tea and popped some bread in the toaster. Then there was a knock at the door. Kat peeked through the spy hole, her heart skipped a beat and she giggled as she unlocked the door.
"Morning." she said cheerily as in walked Gary, Mark, Howard and Jason.
"Mornin'." they replied together. Just then the toast popped up.
"Ah . . . we've arrived just in time.” said Mark cheekily, making his way to the kitchen.
Hearing his voice, Becky appeared from their bedroom, now dressed.
"I was just about to ask if you were the only one up." said Gary to Kat.
"We thought you'd all still be in bed actually." admitted Jason.
"Well we're the only two up so far." replied Becky. Kat noticed Mark and Howard
were helping himself to the toast she'd just made.
"Tea anyone?" she asked pointing to the pot on the counter.
"Please." replied Mark, soon followed by an "Aye go on then." from Howard. Kat began pouring when Jason asked "Any juice?"
"Yeah sure, in the fridge, help yourself." Kat replied.
Mark took a sip of his tea."Mmmmm that's a really good cuppa!"
"So she meets your criteria for a PA then?" smiled Gary.
"Definitely!" replied Mark enjoying his cuppa.
"When we started planning this competition, Mark said all he wanted was a good-looking woman that could make a decent cup of tea." explained Gary. "and as it's got Marks approval, I'll have a cuppa too if you don't mind?"
"Not at all." Kat replied pouring him a cup.

Soon Becky, Kat and the guys were all sat in the lounge chatting and eating breakfast. Kat had almost forgotten about her other housemates when she heard one of the bedroom doors open. It was Sandra, still half asleep in her pjs, her hair a mess.
"Mornin'" she said sleepily to Becky and Kat. Then she realised that Take That were also in the lounge, squealed and rushed back to her room. The guys fell about laughing. Sandra's squeal seemed to have woke the rest of the girls as they all peeked round their bedroom doors before darting back in to get ready.
"C'mon fellas." said Gary. "I think we'd better leave these ladies to get dressed." "There'll be a car to pick you all up at 9.00am." he called so the rest of the girls could hear him.
"Thanks for breakfast!" Howard said stuffing another piece of toast in his mouth as he walked towards the door.
"Yeah, and the lovely tea." called Mark on his way out.
After a whole lot of panicking and rushing around, the rest of the girls were ready. Three cars had been sent to pick them up along with a TV crew for the competition and everyone piled in. No Take That though, to everyone's disappointment. They'd only been travelling about 15 minutes, when the car pulled up outside a clothing factory. The girls all climbed out and where looking at each other wondering what they could possibly be doing there, when out walked Dermot. Everyone squealed with delight to see him.
"Morning ladies, I hope you're all doing well. Today is going to be your first task and we're going to test your creative skills. Everyone follow me." he said walking into the building. They entered a large factory hall, where ten white T-Shits were laid out on tables along with a variety of fabric pens, lace, sequins and ribbons. "OK ladies, you've got one hour to come up with a design for a Take That T-Shirt. You can use whatever materials you find here. The only rule is that it must include a slogan related to one of Take That's songs. Old or new from a single or album it doesn't matter as long as it relates to a Take That song! . . .Off you go!"

Everyone got straight to work. Kat knew exactly what she was going to design as she'd had it in her head to make a T-Shirt for the next tour. She quickly picked up some red and black fabric pens and set about carefully writing a slogan on her T-Shirt.
'BEWARE: Beautiful Trouble!'
Becky, who was standing next to her giggled. "You should come with a warning, yeah you should be wearing a sign . . ." she sang. "I love that song, Ain't no sense in love, right?"
"Yeah!" replied Kat.
"I like the idea too, very clever."
"Thanks." smiled Kat. Becky began writing on her T-Shirt too, 'Fly, Fly away . . .' "My sweet butterfly." sang Kat.
"That's going on the back" Becky explained. "Not sure about drawing the butterflies though, I'm not much of an artist." she admitted.
"I'll have a go if you like.” offered Kat. "I promise I won't mess up your design." she added seeing the uncertain look in Becky's eyes. She couldn't blame her after all they'd only just met and they were in competition. "How about I do a small one at the bottom and if you don't like it just say and I'll leave you to it."
"OK" replied Becky, "I'll just finish the writing first."
"Sure." said Kat getting on with the back of her T-Shirt which read 'Aint No Sense' at the Top a Take That symbol in the middle then 'In Love' at the bottom. Once she'd finished, Becky was ready for her to draw a butterfly on her T-Shirt. Carefully Kat drew a tiny butterfly on the back of Becky's T-Shirt, right at the bottom, so it wouldn't be noticed if Becky didn't like it.
"Wow! . . . I love it!" exclaimed Becky, "Can you do some more for me? Bigger ones." she asked.
"Sure, but it's a bit tricky to draw them with the fabric sliding about." said Kat. "Could you wear it while I draw on it?" she asked Becky.
"Yes, good idea." said Becky pulling the T-Shirt on. Kat began drawing the butterflies and soon they had an audience as the girls who'd finished gathered round.
"Ever thought of tattooing?" asked Sandra jokingly as Kat finished the last one.
"Well maybe I'll take it up if I don't get this job." laughed Kat. "I wonder if Ami James from Miami Ink needs an assistant."
Becky took off the T-Shirt and Dermot walked back in. "Wow you girls have done a great job!" he remarked. "Now if you'd all like to move into the next room while the judges come and decided who's won the task."

Everyone made their way into an adjoining room where they found two extra large sofas and a TV. As the last girl sat down the door was locked behind them, and the TV was switched on. They saw a view of the room they'd just been in on the screen, then four familiar figures walked into shot. Take That were judging their T-Shirts! They commented on each T-Shirt and though they agreed Kat's use of the song lyrics was very witty, they plumped for Becky's design. Becky hugged Kat. "Thank you so much!" she said. "It should be you who won that really."
"That's alright." replied Kat "It's only the first task . . . I might think twice about helping you again though." she joked.

The TV turned off and the door opened back into the factory hall. It was like a stampede as the girls rushed to see their idols. Gary was holding up Becky's T-Shirt.
"Come on then, own up who designed the winning T-Shirt?" he asked. Becky nervously stuck her hand up, so Kat gave her a friendly shove forwards. "Well done! Your T-Shirt design will go into production ready to be sold on our next tour!" he announced.
"Wow! Thanks, that's amazing!" replied Becky. "I can't take all the credit though, Kat did all the butterflies." she admitted. Kat smiled and blushed slightly.
"Really?" asked Mark.
"Well it was Becky's design, I just helped her out." Kat replied.
"They're beaudiful." commented Gary looking at the T-Shirt, then back at Kat. As their eyes met Kat could feel her heart flutter. 'God he's gorgeous' she thought hoping that what she was thinking didn't show on her face.

All too soon the guys were saying there goodbyes again and being whisked away from them. Dermot gathered everyone round as he read out their next task.
"I hope you've all brought your dancing shoes, 'cos tomorrows task is to learn a dance routine!" The girl's all cheered, although one or two looked a little unsure. Kat was looking forward to it.
"It'll be just like back in high school!" she said cheerily to Becky. "I used to make up routines to Take That songs all the time with my friends back then. . . just hope I've still got the moves." she giggled.

Chapter Five

Next morning Kat and Becky were first up again and were soon ready to go, dressed in joggers and T-Shirts with their hair carefully tied back. Only a couple of the other girls wore the same, the rest were in jeans or trousers and high heels. 'Not very practical for dancing' Kat thought to herself. Once everyone was ready, they went downstairs and climbed into the cars that had come to collect them, again joined by the film crew. They were taken to a dance studio and as they walked in they all instantly recognised the set and staircase from the Shine video. Kim Gavin, Take That's choreographer, was stood at the top of the staircase and as soon as everyone was in, he asked them to line up in order of height. Kat laughed as she took her place at the short end of the line.
"What? . . . I'm Kylie height!" she protested jokingly to the rest of the girls. Kim smiled.
"I think you're also Mark height" he replied making his way down the stairs to get a better look. "Yes, I think I've finally found someone that won't dwarf him!" he laughed.
"Hey! Are you taking the micky out of me again?" came a familiar voice from the back of the room. Everyone turn round to find Mark walking in. Kim took Kat by the hand and walked towards him.
"Yes! Absolutely perfect." remarked Kim as he stood Kat next to Mark. Kat looked worried.
"Nice one! You're my new dance partner then. It's mainly for the first bit when I walk down the stairs." he explained.
"Oh OK." Kat replied, hoping she was up to the job.

After about an hour of learning and practicing, they took a break for lunch and Mark left them. Some of the girls were now complaining about sore feet and finding it difficult to dance in what they were wearing. Kat just looked at Becky and rolled her eyes. She was loving every minute of this task and couldn't wait to perform it with the guys. That was until she returned from lunch to find they'd all been given costumes for the performance. They were made up of black high heels, shiny tights, black hot pants, a corset - each in a different colour (Kat's was blue), a top-hat in matching colour and black cane. As she got changed, Kat couldn't help wonder if the guys hadn't had some input into these costumes. Once dressed everyone had their hair and make up done professionally and Kat took a look at herself in the long mirror by the door and was actually quite pleased with what she saw. Becky caught her looking.
"Wow! You scrub up alright." she teased.
"Thanks, not so bad yourself." Kat replied. "You know if it were black trousers rather than hot-pants I might wear this out . . . minus the Top-Hat and cane of course." she giggled.
Dermot appeared at the doorway.
"Right ladies . . . errr . . . if you'd all like to make your way to the . . . err . . . studio .we’re ready for a dress rehearsal." he stammered.
"What's wrong Dermot? You seem all hot and bothered." teased Kat with a wink, knowing the affect seeing all the girls in hot pants was obviously having on him..
"Nothing .nothing . . . I’m great." he replied fanning himself with his cue cards.

The dress rehearsal went really well and Kat was amazed at how quickly they'd managed to learn the routine. She was really looking forward to performing for real, although she was a little nervous about the part where she had to sit next to Gary on his piano stool. It wasn't a difficult move or anything, but she just had this nervous feeling that something would go wrong, she'd get the timing wrong or he'd put her off by smiling at her or something. Well it was too late now, everyone took their places on stage and Kat was soon joined by Mark, which actually calmed her nerves as they'd been getting on so well. Kat saw Gary take is seat at the piano and he turned to look up at Mark and Kat.
"I see what you mean Markie, she is just the right height for you." he smiled.
"Told you." replied Mark "Even with her heels on."
This was it everyone was in position and the TV producer started counting them down
"Three, Two, One, Action!"


(It will probably help if you listen to Shine when reading this next bit.)

The music started and Mark held Kat's hand as he sang to her and they made their way down the stairs. They kept perfect time and as Mark sang the line "Tryin' to figure it out, out, out." they were at the bottom of the stairs. Much to Kat's relief, she hadn't tripped and she joined the other girls dancing. She followed the routine exactly and hardly had to think about it, like it was instinct. Kat was really enjoying herself. Then came the part she was dreading during the second chorus, as they sang the line "your time is coming . . ." Kat sat next to Gary on his piano stool. Her timing was right she was doing great, then he looked at her 'keep it together' she was thinking to herself as they sang "don't be late." but it was Gary who was put off and his fingers stumbled over the keys as he played the little plinky plonky piano bit at the end of the line. Kat looked at him worried, but like the true professional he is, he soon picked it up again and a smirk came over his face, like a naughty little school boy. Kat got up and carried on dancing as the song continued. During the next chorus another girl was sat next to Gary, but Kat was close enough to see him and he looked up and smiled at her as he played his bit perfectly. Kat couldn't help smile back at him. 'Did I put him off?' Kat wondered to herself as the song came to an end.

Kim and the film crew all applauded them.
"Brilliant, just brilliant. If I'm ever short of dancers I know where to come." Kim called.
"Shame Gary fluffed it in the middle there." teased Howard "what happened mate?"
"Dunno mate . . . me finger must have slipped or somethin'" he said with that same school boy grin on his face.
"Yeah, I can see how that could happen." Howard replied looking at Kat. She felt herself blushing and was glad when Dermot started speaking to change the conversation.
"OK ladies, you all did a brilliant job, but we need a winner and I can think of no better judge than Kim Gavin." he announced
"This is a really tough job, you all performed excellently. . .but my winner has to be . . . . . Kat, not just for her performance with Mark, but she danced perfectly throughout, even managing to keep her timing with the little hic-up we had in the middle there." Kim explained. Kat was speechless as everyone applauded her.
"Congratulations Kat. you're prize is a meal out with Gary, Mark, Howard and Jason, tonight." Dermot said applauding her. Kat didn't know what to say, so just smiled and said thank you. She was torn between excitement to have the chance to chat to the guys again, and anxiety of them teasing her about putting Gary off in case they realised she fancies him. As they all said their goodbyes Kat tried not to look at Gary. They were going to pick her up at 7.30pm, which only gave her two hours to get ready when she got back to the apartment and she didn't know what she was going to wear!

The guys waved to some fans that had been waiting outside before climbing into their waiting car.
"So . . . falling for a dancer eh? That's not like you at all Gazza." teased Howard sarcastically. Gary shook his head and smiled.
"She's not a dancer . . . she's possibly our new PA . . . and I'm not falling for her, she just distracted me a little." he protested.
"Well she's definitely my cup of tea . . . I mean she definitely makes a good cup of tea." chuckled Mark.
"She is a good dancer though." admitted Jason thoughtfully. "Wasn't she the one who wouldn't tell Dermot who her favourite was?"
"Yeah that's right, in case it made things awkward if she got the job." replied Mark.
"This could make for an interesting evening then." said Howard "I wonder if we can work it out over dinner?"
"No teasing though, I don't want you making her feel awkward." warned Gary.
"Yeah Gary's right, we don't want to put her off the idea of working for us." agreed Jason.

Back at the apartment, Kat was flinging clothes out of her suitcase, desperately trying to find the perfect outfit. Which was made doubly hard not knowing where they were going for a meal. She didn't want to wear a posh frock, only to find they were eating at a quiet little bar in town, while at the same time she didn't want to wear jeans and find herself in a posh restaurant. In the end she settled for black trousers and her favourite mid blue butterfly patterned satin top with kimono sleeves.
"I see where you got your inspiration from." smiled Becky noting the butterfly pattern as Kat pulled on her top. "Want some help with your hair?" she offered.
"Yes, that would be much appreciated." replied Kat pulling her straighteners out of her case. Becky got to work as Kat applied her make-up.

Kat had just put on her necklace when the phone rang. Sandra answered.
"Hello? . . ." Kat could tell by the smile on her face and giggle in her voice that Mark was on the other end of the line, like Becky, Sandra was head over heels for Mark. "Yes I think she's ready." Sandra said looking at Kat. "OK I'll let her know . . . . . . . Bye." she put down the receiver. "They're waiting downstairs for you." Sandra told Kat excitedly, before running to the window to try and catch a glimpse of her beloved Mark. Kat sprayed her favourite perfume and headed for the door, then stopped.
"Shoes!!!" she shouted and ran back to her room. "I can't believe I nearly went out without any on . . . just shows how nervous I am." Kat said to Becky as she quickly pulled on her black open toe heels.
"You'll be fine, just relax and enjoy yourself." smiled Becky.
"Thanks" said Kat as she made her way out of the apartment. In the lift Kat's heart was pounding and all she could think about was Gary's fingers tripping over the keys when she'd sat next to him. 'It was just a little slip up, nothing to do with me.' she told herself as the lift stopped.

As the lift doors opened Kat was relieved to find it was Jason, not Gary who was waiting for her.
"Wow . . . you look amazing!" he told her.
"Thanks, it took me ages to decide what to wear." Kat replied with a smile.
"C'mon, the car's outside." he said taking her hand. As the doorman opened the door for them Kat saw the other three guys waiting outside the car with the door open for her. 'Proper gentlemen, I didn't think they still existed' Kat thought to herself. They were all looking so smart in their suits and Kat was relieved she hadn't gone for wearing her jeans.
"You look like you've all just come from the M&S ad." Kat giggled. "Very smart though . . . I guess we're not going to Burger King then?"
"No, but I might have to get one on the way home now you've mentioned it." Howard replied. Kat climbed in to the car followed by Gary who sat next to her, giving her that cheeky schoolboy smile again. 'God, does he have any idea what that smile does to me' she thought as she smiled back. Next was Mark, Howard, then finally Jason.
"So . . . where are we going?" asked Kat.
"Oh, it's just this new place in town." Gary replied.
"You won't have heard of it, it's only just opened." Mark giggled. Kat didn't understand what was so funny until they pulled up outside.

Gordon Ramsay was opening his new restaurant. Kat had read about it in the papers, but had totally forgotten about it until now. There was a red carpet for all the celebs and the press and fans were lined up to take photos. The guys got out to a huge cheer from the crowd. Gary held the door for Kat as she climbed out of the car. Camera flash lights were going off in every direction and Kat hung back as the guys posed for the press and fans, but Gary grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close, including her in the group. 'God, those strong arms of his, someone's been working out' Kat thought to herself, hoping she'd put on enough foundation to cover her blushes. On their way in the guys stopped to sign a few autographs, then made their way through to the restaurant, Gary keeping hold of Kat's hand until they were all inside.

The matradee showed them to their table and Jason held a chair out for Kat to sit down. Then he sat next to her and Gary took the seat to her other side, with Howard and Mark sat opposite.
"I don't know if any of the other lads have already told you, but you look stunning tonight." Gary told Kat.
"Thanks." Kat replied smiling.
"I said she looked amazing, when I saw her come out of the lift." said Jason.
"Yeah you do look lovely." added Howard.
"Dougie's just disappointed that you're not wearing your hot pants" laughed Mark. “You do look gorgeous, that top really suits you."
"Thanks, it's my favourite" giggled Kat "I think I'd have caused a bit of a stir in the papers tomorrow if I'd wore my hot pants to come out tonight."
"It certainly would." agreed Howard "and not just in the papers." he mumbled under his breath. Gary shot him a look warning him to behave, and Kat pretended not to notice. Just then the waiters appeared with their starters and everyone started eating. The food was delicious, as you'd imagine coming from Gordon Ramsay's kitchen.
"So . . . you've been a fan since the beginning?" asked Jason.
"Yeah. You were all plastered over my walls, door and ceiling when I was a
teenager." Kat admitted giggling.
"We're you one of them that used to stand outside our houses?" Howard asked. Kat blushed and grinned in embarrassment.
"Yes I was . . . I admit it. . . .I only went to Mark's though and only a few times." she confessed. Mark burst out laughing. "I need you to tell your mum I'm really sorry for that Mark. . . Every time I came back from standing outside your house my mum would say 'His poor mother!' . . . and I realise now that it was rather intrusive."
"I'll make sure I tell her next time I see her." Mark said grinning.
"I never wrote on your back gate or your wall though . . . just on the bus stop at the end of your street." Kat added as they all fell about laughing. "What? I was only 15." Kat protested jokingly.
"Aww don't say things like that, you make us feel really old." moaned Howard.
"So Markie's your favourite then." Gary remarked.
"I didn't say that." replied Kat. "He was my favourite when I was 15. . . Is that what all these questions are about? You're trying to find out who my favourite is?"
"Well you're the only girl that wouldn't say in the interviews." answered Jason. Kat laughed.
"Then you also know why I won't tell . . . and I think it's a valid reason . . . . Besides I might have changed my mind since, it is a woman's prerogative after all." she added smiling mischievously.

As the night went on everyone was having a great time and Kat felt that she known the guys for years. In a way she had known them since she was 13, but this felt different, like they'd been friends for years. No-one had said a word about what had happened during the dancing task that day and she wondered what she'd been so nervous about. They'd just finished their main course when Gordon, who'd been making his way round the restaurant talking to all his celebrity diners, made his way over to their table.
"Hello guys, how are you all? Enjoying the meal?" he asked.
"It's beaudiful mate, just beaudiful." replied Gary and the guys and Kat all agreed.
"So . . . you must be Kat then?" asked Gordon putting his hand out to Kat.
"Yes." Kat replied taking his hand, a little surprised that he knew her name. Gordon kissed the back of her hand.
"Lovely to meet you. . . Of course I don't watch any of that reality show crap, but my wife says you're in with a good chance of winning."
"Yeah right you don't watch it, I bet you've got it series linked on your sky box!" Howard teased.
"Well I might have seen it once or twice." Gordon admitted laughing. "Not much of a prize though is it? Being their skivvy."
"You're right." said Kat thoughtfully "Going on tour with them, going to video shoots in exotic locations, being the first to hear their new music. . .it's going to be hell if I win." she joked.
"I hadn't thought of it like that . . . well good luck, and enjoy the rest of your meal." he said as he left their table.
Kat excused herself and went to the ladies. After touching up her make-up and spraying a little perfume, she returned to their table, and got the feeling that they'd all been talking about her while she was away.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing, nothing." they all replied.
"Stop trying to guess who it is, I've already told you I'm not telling." Kat warned them.
"No we weren't, honest." Jason protested. The waiters came round with desert for them all, warm chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice-cream. Kat could feel all eyes on her as she picked up her spoon. So she took a spoonful of butter-icing and seductively licked it off her spoon, then laughed as she caught all four guys staring at her, mouths open.
"Well if you're going to stare. . . " Kat giggled.
"Sorry ... we were all just wondering if you were one of those girls that never eats desert." apologised Gary smirking.
"Chocolate fudge cake's my favourite." admitted Kat smiling back at him.
"Well I don't think I can watch you eat the rest of it . . . not unless Gordon's got a cold shower out the back." Howard joked. Everyone was laughing so much they found it hard to eat, but some how they managed.

When they'd all finished their meals and were getting ready to go, Gordon popped back to see them out.
"So who get's to take her home?" he teased.
"We have to get her back to the apartment unfortunately." replied Gary.
"Yeah, if I'm not back by midnight my clothes turn to rags, these four turn into white mice, I'll lose one of my shoes, you know the whole Cinderella thing." joked Kat.
"Good night fellas, Good night darlin'" Gordon said and kissed Kat on the cheek.
“Good luck with the rest of the competition."
"Right then, Cinders . . . we’d better get you back." said Mark opening the car door for her. Kat climbed in, again followed by Gary, then Howard, Jason and Mark. As they reached the apartment Kat thanked them for a fantastic night.
"You can come in for a coffee if you like." Kat said with a wink. "Or a tea . . . I’m sure the girls won't mind." Gary was about to say something, when Jason butted in.
"No we can't darlin' we've got an early start tomorrow." he said apologetically.
"OK fellas, good night then, and thanks again." Kat said getting out of the car.
"Wait, I'll see you to the lift." said Gary getting out behind her. They entered the building and Gary called the lift. He seemed a little awkward as they waited for the lift to come, looking down at the floor and shuffling his feet. When it arrived he said goodnight, hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. A little bewildered, Kat reciprocated and got in the lift, waving as the doors closed. Had that little kiss on the cheek lasted a little too long to just be a friendly kiss, or was it Kat's imagination. Admittedly time did always seem to slow down when ever he even looked in her direction.

Gary returned to the car to find his three friends giving him disapproving looks.
"What? . . . I just walked her to the lift." he protested.
"Yeah . . . and it's not like you're falling for her or anything." said Howard.
"Alright I admit it I find her attractive . . . that doesn't mean I'm falling in love with her." Gary replied.
"Well you realise you can't act on any feelings you might have for her right now, don't you?" asked Jason. "In case you've forgotten she's in a competition to be our new PA . . . there are nine other girls up there . . . you can't show any favouritism."
"You're right." sighed Gary "I just got carried away."


By the time she got to the top floor, Kat had convinced herself that it was nothing more than a friendly peck on the cheek. As soon as she walked through the door, the other girls where begging her to tell them how her night with the guys had gone. She sat down in the lounge with the girls huddled round her and told them all about the meal, Gordon Ramsay, them trying to work out who her favourite was, everything . . . except Gary kissing her goodnight.

It was getting really late, so Kat got ready for bed. She turned out the light, wished Becky good night and climbed into bed.
"So who is your favourite." asked Becky. "I just realised you haven't told me who it is either."
"Good night, Becky." Kat replied and turned over. Becky realised she wasn't going to get an answer, smiled to herself and went to sleep.

Chapter Six

The next morning Kat woke unusually late. Becky was already up and had left their bedroom. Kat yawned, stretched and got out of bed. She brushed her tangled mess of hair, picked up some clean clothes and a towel ready to go take a shower. Just before she opened the bedroom door she stopped, she could hear voices coming from the lounge and it wasn't just her fellow contestants, the guys had come round early again. 'Damn, I'm gonna have to walk past them like this to get to the shower.' she thought to herself... 'Oh well, it has to be done, I can't stay in here all day.' Kat opened the door and walked into the lounge.
"Mornin' Sleeping Beauty." smiled Gary.
"I thought it was Cinderella." giggled Mark.
"Mornin' . . . how on earth did you all manage to get here so early after last night?" Kat asked.
"Don't ask me." said Howard with a yawn. "If it weren't for Jay waking me up I'd still be in bed myself."
"Cute nightie!" giggled Jason. Kat looked down at her Winnie the Pooh nightie and laughed.
"I'd better go and get dressed." she said walking into the bathroom.

Once she was ready, Kat walked back into the lounge and was surprised to find the guys still there. Mark came in from the kitchen with a cup of tea and two slices of toast.
"Here you go." he said handing them to Kat.
"Awww thanks hun." she replied. 'How thoughtful' she thought as she set them down on the coffee table and sat down. Looking round the room it was obvious who everyone's favourite was, each member of the band had at least two girls sitting with them, hanging off their every word as they chatted. She took a slice of toast then caught Howard nicking the other and smiled at him. She got the feeling everyone was waiting for her to finish and she wasn't that hungry anyway. On finishing her tea,
she thanked Mark again.
"You make a pretty good brew, yourself." she remarked.
"Yeah he does . . . you're privileged though, he doesn't make them that often." teased Gary. Mark just smiled. "Right if everyone could go and pack an overnight bag, we'll be leaving in 20 minutes."
The girls all rushed into their bedrooms throwing clothes about as they hurriedly packed their bags, wondering where they were going.

With their bags packed everyone made there way downstairs, where they found a coach and Dermot waiting for them.
"OK ladies, on you get . . . we’re all going to London." announced Dermot. The girls all cheered and boarded the bus. As she was about to get on, Dermot stopped Kat. "So who did you say your favourite was?" he asked faking a puzzled look. Kat smiled at him. "Nice try." she said and got on the bus.

Although long and tiring, the bus journey actually turned out to be a lot of fun. Everyone singing Take That songs, playing name that tune and don't forget the lyrics. When they finally reached there destination, the girls were delighted to find they'd been booked into a very stylish 5 star hotel for the night. Not that they had any time to really check out their rooms, as they were only given 20 minutes to put their bags away before being whisked away to the next task.

The bus took them out of town to a race track. A black car with tinted windows screeched to a halt right where the girls were standing. Dermot got out of the passenger side.
"Right ladies . . . in an emergency, as Take That's PA, you might be required to help whisk the guys away in a hurry. So today, you're going to learn how to drive a getaway car . . . and we have a brilliant teacher for you . . . it is none other than Top Gear's finest . . . The Stig." he announced. Then out of the drivers side came the legendary Top Gear racing driver, known only as The Stig. Kat was really excited she'd often watched Top Gear on TV and wondered what it would be like to drive around the Top Gear track, now it looked as though she was about to find out.

The whole afternoon was spent in training with The Stig. Each of them taking turns to do practice laps. Kat wasn't the fastest, but she was encouraged by The Stig, who told her that she had really good control of the car and gave her a few pointers on how to improve on her times while remaining in control. There were a few laps where some of the girls spun off the track, but on the whole everyone was doing well and improving on every practice lap. At around 5pm, practice ended for the day and the girls were told their actual lap for the task would be recorded tomorrow morning. Everyone piled back in the bus and chatted excitedly about the task as they made their way back to the hotel.

After dinner, the girls were asked to meet in the hotel bar. Kat was near the back of the group of girls as they made their way to the bar, but knew from the screams of those first through the door that Take That were there. She quietly smiled to herself, she'd missed them all that day, as they'd travelled down in separate cars and she wasn't sure they'd be staying in the same hotel.
"Alright everyone . . . as Gary was the last one to get ready tonight, he's buying the drinks!" announced Mark with a cheeky grin on his face.
"What took you so long anyway Gaz? Trying to impress someone?" teased Howard.
"Just don't want to take your place as the scruffy one, mate." replied Gary, ignoring Howard's insinuation.

Gary grabbed a pen and paper from the bar and began taking everyone's order. Being one of the last in to the bar, Kat was sitting furthest away from the band on the extra large corner group sofa that they'd commandeered. So Gary reached her last." What can I get you darlin'?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye and that cheeky grin.
"Oh just a coke for me hun." Kat replied trying to remain calm, while fighting off the urge to stare into those beautiful blue eyes of his. 'Damn it! he's got to stop smiling at me like that.' she thought to herself.
"You sure, just a coke?" he asked.
"Yeah I'm gonna need a clear head for that driving task tomorrow." she explained.
"Of course, good thinkin' . . . Couldn't come and give me a lift with these drinks could you luv?"
"Sure." she replied getting to her feet. Once they were at the bar Gary reamed off the drinks order, then set the list down on the bar, so the bar staff could refer back to it. Jason appeared at the bar and stood next to Kat.
"What you doin' sat right the way over there hun?" he asked her.
"Yeah, have you fallen out with us or somethin'?" added Gary.
"No, nothing like that, I was just last in . . . a bit like Gary." she laughed. "Don't make me get the next round though, I don't think I could afford it!"
"Well when you've helped us hand these drinks out, come and sit with us, we'll make room for you . . . or you could sit on Howard's knee." Jason suggested laughing.
"Thanks, I'm not gonna sit on anyone's knee though . . . unless Father Christmas turns up" she joked.
The drinks had all been placed on trays and were ready to go. So Kat started handing them out along with Gary and Jason. Sure enough when she'd finished, she found the guys had made for her to sit next to them and she plonked herself down next to Howard.
"Alright luv?" he asked.
"Yeah I'm good ta, you?" she asked. Soon they were chatting away just like the night before, except the other girls were joining in too tonight. Kat couldn't help herself from glancing over at Gary, and each time she did he seemed to catch her and smile at her. 'Stop it Kat' she told herself, he'll definately sus that you fancy him if you carry on like this' she told herself and tried her best not to look in his direction. Everyone was talking excitedly about the task and what their practice runs had been like that day. Before she knew it, it was midnight and Kat knew she'd have to get to bed to be ready to take on tomorrow's task.
"Night fellas, night girls." she called as she made her way to the lift.
"Night." everyone called back, Gary winked at her as he said it, which made her feel all warm inside, remembering the goodnight kiss she'd had off him the night before.

The next morning Kat woke to her phone alarm at 7am. She was determined not to be late again and smiled as she heard the tune she'd set for her alarm 'Why Can't I Wake Up With You.' She got out of bed and shook Becky to wake her. Once washed and dressed, the pair made their way down for breakfast. Kat was half hoping that the guys would be down there too, but they weren't. It seemed some of the girls had stayed up rather late chatting to them last night, which became very apparent when they got on the bus. About half the girls were still half asleep and a little hung over as they made their way to the track.

When they got there, Kat was called up first to do her lap. She was a little nervous, but really excited as she got in the driver's seat. A few last words of advice and encouragement from The Stig and she was ready. Pushing hard on the accelerator, she got off to a great start. Through all the various corners Kat tried her best to follow the advice The Stig had given her, and at the end she felt like it had been her best lap so far. She opened the car door to find Dermot congratulating her.
"Well done, that looked like a really good lap!" he said. "If you want to wait through there, till the other girls have finished." pointing towards a small building behind them. Kat opened the door and found the guys waiting for her.
"Mornin'" they all called as she stepped inside.
"Hi." she replied.
"How did you do?" asked Mark excitedly.
"OK I think . . . it was definitely my best lap." she answered hopefully. Spotting four empty cups on the table and a kettle on the side "Anyone want a brew?" she asked.
"Please." they replied in chorus.
"Thought you'd never ask." added Mark cheekily as he passed her their cups.
Kat made herself and the guys a brew and soon they were all laughing and joking again. One by one, as each girl finished their lap they came in to the small office building, chatting about how they thought they'd done, some where clearly very pleased with their lap and others were obviously disappointed, but none of them knew their lap times. Once everyone had finished, Dermot entered.
"Well done ladies . . . now I'm sure you're all wondering how you did . . . the prize for the fastest round the track is a brand new car. . . but you'll have to wait until this evening to find out, when you'll all be in the audience of Top Gear!" he announced. Everyone cheered and clapped. "We'll also be losing five of you tonight . . . only five will go through to the final week of 'Take That's PA'" The mood turned sombre, as no-one wanted to leave the competition; they were all having so much fun.

Back at the hotel everyone was getting ready and a mix of excitement and anxiety filled the air. When they arrived at the studio the guys were in hair and make-up, so the girls all took their places with the rest of the audience. It had been kept secret that the band would be doing this programme so there weren't any other fans that had come to see the show. With the studio being such an informal setting, everyone got to meet the presenters briefly before the show started. The programme began and of course they were saving the Take That interview till last. After a lot of car talk and watching the presenters’ latest films about testing some flashy sports car, Jeremy drew attention to the fact there was an unusually high number of women in the audience tonight.
"You may be wondering why we have so many women in tonight . . . well despite what he thinks, they aren't Hammonds fan club." said Jeremy
"Awww . . . are you sure?" complained Richard.
"No, sorry Hammond . . . these are The Stig's latest protégés and they've been in training as part of a task to become . . .Take That's new PA . . . isn't that right guys?" he asked as the band took their seats for the interview.
"Yep, that's right." replied Gary.
"Now I have to say, they're not a bad looking group of women guys, was that part of the criteria?" asked Jeremy taking his seat opposite the band.
"Absolutely not, its all about how good they'll be at the job." replied Mark trying to sound sincere.
"All our fans are good looking anyway." said Jason smiling.
"Well they've all been practicing with The Stig and today they drove their official lap on our track. The prize for the fastest time is a brand new Suzuki swift sport." As Jeremy announced the prize, the car was unveiled on the other side of the studio and everyone cheered. "Let’s take a look at the lap that won then." the video of one of the girl’s laps played on a TV screen next to Jeremy. Kat knew it wasn't hers, but with the crash helmet on she wasn't sure who it was. She looked round her at the other girls and spotted Sandra blushing and grinning. "Well done Sandra, you completed your lap in 1 minute . . . 49 seconds, you're our winner" Jeremy announced gesturing for her to join them. She took a seat with the guys.
"Thank you!" she said shocked that she'd won.
"I have to tell you though guys, The Stig was pretty impressed with Kat's performance too. Which one's Kat?" he asked. Kat stepped forward and smiled. "He said you took everything he told you on board and you had good control of the car . . . and that if he had to pick a getaway driver, he'd pick Kat." Kat blushed and smiled. The guys all applauded her. Then they got on with the interview, talking about the show and their new album. Soon it was over and the girls were ushered into another studio in the same building. This would be where they found out who would be leaving the show.

Chapter Seven

The girls nervously lined up in front of rather familiar judging desk, it was the same one that was used for their interviews, except now there were four extra seats. Dermot stood in front of the judging desk and reminded the girls that five of them would be leaving the competition tonight. Kat felt sick with nerves. One by one Dermot introduced the panel of judges, LuLu, Davina, Louis Walsh and Peter Jones. The girls politely applauded each one as they took their seats.
"Well there’s no prize for guessing who the other four seats are for . . . . it's your potential new bosses, Gary, Mark, Howard and Jason!" Dermot announced. The guys took their seats on the judging panel, as the girls all cheered. Kat's stomach churned, she was hoping they wouldn't be there. 'This is all Kelly's fault for getting me into this competition.' she thought to herself 'I could be at home watching it on telly, instead of standing here worrying that I might be sent home.'

Peter Jones stood up.
"Right ladies, you all know why you're here. Before we make our final decisions, we're going to look through your performance in the tasks."
A photo of each girls T-shirt design was displayed on a large TV screen and they were each asked to give a short description of how it fitted in to the design brief. Becky was good enough to mention how Kat had helped her with hers, and Kat explained the song lyrics that were the inspiration behind her design. Then each girl's Top Gear Lap was shown, which made a few of the girls cringe at their performance. Finally the video of their dance performance to Shine was shown. As it came to the part where Kat sat next to Gary and his fingers slipped, Kat felt herself blushing, from the corner of her eye she could tell Gary was looking in her direction and as much as she tried not to, she couldn't help but glance over to find him grinning that school boy grin and blushing slightly himself. Kat quickly looked away again, cross with herself for looking because now she was blushing even more.
"Well done girls, you've all done incredibly well . . . it's going to be a hard job deciding who the five finalists will be." remarked LuLu as the video ended.
"If you could all wait outside now while we make our decision, we'll call you back in shortly." explained Louis.

The girls waited outside. Kat was glad of the chance to get some fresh air and cool down a bit. No-one was talking because they all knew they were thinking the same thing, wondering if they'd done enough, if they could have done better, if something they'd said or done had let them down. An hour and a half passed and Kat, who hadn't smoked in years, was starting to crave a cigarette. A few of the girls did smoke and as she was contemplating asking them to lend her a cig, the doors of the studio opened and Davina was asking them to come back in.
"Thank you all for waiting, it's been a hard decision." she said as she took her seat back on the judging panel.
"Ladies, it's been a real pleasure getting to know you all, but we do have to lose five of you tonight. Peter is going to call some of your names now, so if your name's called please step forward." explained Gary.
"OK . . . Carly . . . Isabelle . . . Jane .. . . Debra . . . Yvonne." Peter called and in turn, the girls stepped forward. Kat could feel a knot in her stomach and tears welling behind her eyes. There was a long pause. "I'm sorry; you haven't made it through to the final." Peter explained to the girls that had stepped forward. A couple of the girls were in tears as they hugged the guys and thanked them for giving them the opportunity. Kat was in shock, her mind racing, did that mean she was in the final? Dermot escorted the girls who hadn't made it to the exit.
"Congratulations to the rest of you, you're still in the running to become our new PA." Gary announced grinning. Kat and her fellow finalists screamed and cheered, before rushing up to the judges desk hugging and kissing the judges and Take That, all equally astonished to be in the final five.

Dermot re-entered the room and congratulated the five finalists. Once everyone had calmed down, he announced the next task.
"For the next week you'll be working very closely with the band, getting to know exactly what the job of PA to Take That entails."
"And hopefully it won't put you off." added Mark laughing.
"You'll join the guys as they work in the studio and later in the week they'll be filming a new advert for Marks and Spencer . . . you'll be expected to look after the guys, deal with the press, fans and the record company and make sure that the band is on time for any meetings or interviews they have." explained Dermot in a serious tone. "The winner will be announced at the end of the week, so remember this is your last chance to impress the guys and the judges. . . Good Luck ladies!"

Right then Kat was too excited to be nervous. She was so happy to be in the final. The girls were taken back to their hotel and all decided to have a drink to celebrate being in the final five. In the bar they chatted away excitedly about the final task, it seemed a shame that only one of them would get the job in the end, as they were all getting on so well.

Becky had just got back from the bar with a round of drinks, when the DJ started playing Relight My Fire. Without saying a word the five girls immediately put down their drinks and made their way to the dance floor. Everyone was dancing and singing along, then Kat spotted Gary watching them from the edge of the dance floor, the others soon joined him. Kat reached out her hand to Gary gesturing for him to join them. 'God the drink must be going to my head already to be this brave' she thought, and was shocked when he took her hand and joined them. It was like hearing the song in stereo as he sang along to it too. At the side of the dance floor the rest of the guys looked on.
"Never thought I'd see Gary on the dance floor.well not before he's even had a drink." remarked Howard to Jason and Mark. Gary looked over and gestured for the guys to join them and soon they were all dancing and singing together. It was amazing to be there dancing and singing with Take That, every fan's dream, and all the girls were sad to hear the song come to an end.

Everyone made their way back to where the girls had been sitting and the guys pulled up extra chairs.
"I think champagne is in order!" announced Gary as he got up to go to the bar.
"Wow I think that's the first time I've seen Gary volunteer to go to the bar." Joked Mark.
"Ay. . . I heard that!" said Gary looking back smirking. After ordering he made his way back to join them followed by a bar man with an ice bucket and a large bottle of Bollinger. Everyone cheered as the bar man opened it. Everyone was laughing and joking, eagerly chatting about the week ahead. Time passed so fast and soon they had to say their goodbye's and get some sleep, after all the girls had a busy day ahead of them.

Chapter Eight

The next morning Kat woke bright and early. Despite all the excitement she'd slept well that night, probably helped by the champagne that had kept flowing all night. Getting out of bed she was pleasantly surprised to find she didn't have a hang-over, probably because she was so excited at the prospect of working with the band that day.

Kat showered and got herself ready, making sure she looked at her best. After checking herself once more in the mirror, Kat left her hotel room and made her way to the lift. She pressed the button and waited, after a few seconds the doors opened to reveal Gary and Howard standing inside.
"Morning." they said cheerily with cheeky smiles on their faces. Desperately fighting off the urge to scream or faint Kat managed a "Hi" as she blushed and got in the lift with them.
"I told you she'd be first up!" remarked Gary to Howard. Kat smiled "Am I?" she asked.
"Yep." replied Howard "That means it’s your turn to look after us first. We decided to try out a new girl everyday this week so we get a better idea at who makes the best job of it."
Kat giggled. "Sounds like something you've done before Dougie."
"Ay, don't encourage him!" Gary laughed.
"I'm not sure if going first is a prize or a punishment." Kat puzzled.
"Don't worry I'm sure you'll do just fine . . . " reassured Gary. "Besides it means you get the rest of the week off, until we do the M&S ad on Saturday."
"Something tells me I'll need the rest after spending the day with you lot." Kat sniggered.
"What does she mean?" asked Howard in faked puzzlement before grinning mischievously.

The lift reached the ground floor the three stepped out to find Mark and Jason waiting for them.
"Nice one!" exclaimed Mark "At least I know I'll be getting decent brews today!" he smiled at Kat.
"Well then . . . what’s first on the agenda?" Kat asked.
"Blimey you're keen" laughed Jason.
"Breakfast first." replied Gary rubbing his stomach. Everyone headed towards the dining room. Once they'd all sat down and ordered breakfast, Kat started routing around in her handbag.
"Right then . . . what's the plan for today?" she asked pulling out a pen and note book.
"Well aren't you little miss prepared for anything?" joked Howard.
"I was in the girl guides." winked Kat. "and before you ask, no I don't still have my uniform." she giggled. They guys all laughed. Gary ran through their schedule for the day, with Mark chipping in with things he'd forgotten and Kat jotted it all down in her note pad.
"OK . . . well I can't believe I'm asking this, but I really think its something I need from you all . . . can I have your mobile numbers?" Kat said blushing. 'Oh my god I've actually just asked Take That for their numbers!!!' she thought to herself.
"Sure." replied Gary "its 077 . . . err 562."
"No that was your old one." said Mark
"God I can't remember it . . . tell you what I'll call you and you can get it that way, What's your number?" he asked. Kat recited her mobile number as Gary entered it into the phone book on his mobile. She reached her phone out of her bag as Gary hit the call button. A second later Kat's phone started to ring and Kat suddenly remembered the ring tone she had set -Take That Rule the World. She desperately fumbled for the call cancel button hoping she'd cut it off before the guys realised what tune it was, but it was too late and they all fell about laughing.
"You've gotta change that!" laughed Gary.
"Yeah, we hear enough of him already." joked Mark. Then breakfast arrived and everyone chatted about the day ahead as they ate.

As Kat and the guys stood up to leave, they saw the other girls and the show's producer enter the dining hall. Everyone said their good mornings and the guys stopped to talk to the producer, confirming in what order they'd be working with the rest of the girls.
"Good luck!" said Becky giving Kat a hug.
"I'm so nervous." admitted Kat. "Why did I have to be the first up this morning?" "You'll be fine, Kat." replied Becky reassuringly.
"Yeah just as long as you keep them cups of tea coming." interrupted Mark with a grin.
"Come on then." said Howard putting Kat over his shoulder. She squealed and waved goodbye to the other girls as he carried her out of the room.
"Put the poor girl down." said Jason as they got in to the lobby.
"Yeah, I don't want to be the reason you miss half of the next tour ‘cos you've put your back out picking me up!" agreed Kat. Howard set her down.

Looking out of the tinted glass of the hotel lobby, Kat could see a swarm of fans waiting outside. Paul, the bands' body guard was waiting for them at the front doors. "You'd better go to the car first, so you don't get crushed." Paul advised Kat. So she made her way out the front doors to the waiting car. Once inside she watched as the guys came out to cheers and screams. She looked on as they were mobbed by girls wanting autographs and pictures, when they'd signed and posed as much as they had time for, the guys joined Kat in the car and it sped them off towards their first meeting. Kat smiled to herself, remembering all the times she'd been one of the swarm of fans.

Soon the car pulled into the driveway of an enormous mansion. Kat look puzzled.
"I thought you were working on the new album in the studio this morning?" she asked.
”Yes . . . we are." replied Gary.
"He didn't tell you we're going to be working in his studio, did he?" asked Jason. Kat looked over at Gary, who was grinning that schoolboy grin again.
"No, he didn't." she replied smiling right back at Gary.
"Welcome to my home!" announced Gary as the car came to a stop...
"It's massive!" exclaimed Kat as she took in the impressive view of Gary's mansion. I know where you live now though, aren't you worried I might start stalking you if I don't win?" she asked with a wicked grin.
"Nah, I'd invite you in for a cuppa, luv." Gary replied.

They all entered the house and Gary began giving Kat a brief tour of the ground floor. Kat was struggling to take it all in; she was actually stood in Gary's house! The tour led towards the back of the house and the studio, with the kitchen close by. "Shall I make a brew?" asked Kat as the guys sat around Gary's keyboard.
"Err . . . yeah that'd be great, shall I show you where everything is?" offered Gary.
"That's alright I'm sure I'll find everything . . . that is if you don't mind me rooting in your kitchen cupboards."
"No not at all . . .errr just don't look in the one next to the washer." he replied.
"Yeah, that's where he keeps his dirty laundry." laughed Howard. Gary blushed. "Don't worry I won't look. . . " reassured Kat "although I bet I'd get a good price on eBay . . . kidding . . . really I promise I won't even open that cupboard."

Kat found her way round Gary's kitchen and soon had a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits ready for them. She stood outside the studio for a moment listening to them singing a new song they'd been writing, not wanting to disturb them. When it came to an end, she walked in with the tea tray.
"That sounded great." she commented as she set the tray down.
"Oooh bickies!" exclaimed Mark helping himself.
"Yeah, well I figured it's going to be a late lunch with you having a dance rehearsal 12 till 2pm, so I thought these would keep you going. . . It’s 11am now so we need to be setting off in half an hour."
"God that's flown by!" exclaimed Howard looking at his watch. "You might as well have a seat, cos we won't get anything else done in half an hour." Kat took a seat and poured herself a cup of tea, she loved just sitting and chatting with them all like this.

Soon they were all in the car again on their way to the dance studio for a rehearsal with Kim.
“Ah . . . fantastic, you've brought my star pupil with you." said Kim smiling at Kat as they entered the studio. Kat blushed.
"I thought I was your star pupil." protested Mark jokingly.

The guys went off to get changed while Kat got on her mobile and ordered lunch, so that it would be ready for them when they'd finished rehearsal. In no time at all the guys had changed into jogging pants and T-shirts, ready to rehearse. Kat sat quietly in a corner and watched on as they practiced. She felt really privileged to see them performing their new routines.

The music changed to a song she recognised, but in a different style. Kat couldn't help but smile; it was a tango version of 'Patience'. She'd loved the tango version of 'it only takes a minute' they'd performed in a previous tour and was thrilled to learn they were doing something similar again. Thrilled, that was, until Kim asked her to join them.
"Could you help us out with this one, Kat?" he asked.
"Err . . . yes . . . I'll try." replied Kat blushing as she got to her feet.
"Guys, take a break while I run through the steps with Kat." Kat could feel her heart pounding as Kim walked her through the steps, she felt like the guys were watching every move, although it was probably all in her head she didn't dare glance back at them for fear it would put her off.

The dance steps were quite simple and Kat soon got the hang of it.
"OK, come on Guys . . . let's take it from the top." Kim called as he re-set the track on the CD player. The guys got to their feet and joined Kat. The music started and Kat recreated the dance steps she'd just learned perfectly, dancing first with Howard, then Jason, followed by Mark and finally Gary. Kat was so nervous, but managed to hold it together. He was looking at her so intensely; it made her heart pound hard in her chest. She knew this was all part of the act for this dance routine, but couldn't help that feeling that it was just for her. The music came to an end with Gary leaning her backwards in his strong arms.

"Excellent!" remarked Kim, clapping his hands in approval. Kat giggled uncontrollably as Gary pulled her back up.
"What?" Gary asked grinning in puzzlement.
"You. . ." she laughed "Just the way you were looking at me so intense then . . .I thought you were going to snog me at one point!" she giggled.
"Oh . . . so you find the idea of me snogging you hilarious do you? . . . Thanks!" he said pretending to be hurt.
"No . . .I didn't mean it like that." replied Kat rubbing Gary's back apologetically. "I just wasn't expecting you to look at me like that . . . it will look really effective for the live shows though."
"Yes . . . you performed that routine exceptionally well today Gaz, you must have been practicing . . . if you look that convincing with Kika we've got it made."

Just then Kat's mobile started ringing; it was the delivery guy letting her know that he was waiting at the front door with their food. Kat went to collect it, grateful to leave the room and cool down a bit, as she felt she must have gone bright red after dancing so close with Gary. It was 1.45pm and the guys were ready to finish and have some lunch. They all cheered as she came back in to the room with the freshly made sandwiches she'd ordered.
"Wow, you're efficient!" remarked Jason. "I didn't even know you'd ordered anything for lunch."
Kat set the sandwiches down on the table. "Right, I'll go and make us all a brew." she said and disappeared in to the next room where there was a small kitchen.

"Well, she's definitely my favourite for the job." said Mark taking a bite out of his sandwich.
"Me too." agreed Howard
"Hang on lads, we have to give the other girls a fair chance." said Jason.
Gary remained quiet as he ate his sandwich, trying to figure out Kat's earlier reaction to him.

Kat re-entered the room with a tray of drinks for everyone. As she began handing them out her mobile started ringing on the table. Gary picked it up glanced at the name on the screen, 'Platty', and passed it to her as she gave him his drink. Kat answered the call, it was her friend Kelly.
"Hiya Hun!" she exclaimed, delighted to hear from her best friend. She turned away from the guys so they wouldn't have to listen to her conversation. Although he was trying not to, Gary couldn't help but listen in, wondering just who this 'Platty' was, even though he could only hear Kat's half of the conversation.
"Awww I've missed you loads too." Kat replied to her friend.
"Listen I can't chat, cos I'm working as their PA for the day today, it won't look good if I'm on the phone to you for ages when I should be working will it?"
"Aww thanks hun. I don't know what time I'll be finished tonight, so I'll call you tomorrow OK?"
"Love you too hunni, bye".
Kat ended the call and turned back towards the guys.
"I'm really sorry about that, I promise I won't be on the phone taking private calls all day if I get the job." she said.
"That's OK we're all on lunch now anyway, aren't we." said Mark.

Once everyone had finished lunch, the guys went off to get changed, while Kat cleared up the rubbish from lunch and washed up.
"You got a bit carried away with your dancing there didn't you Gaz mate? . . . I thought you were supposed to be leaving well alone while this competition's on?" asked Howard.
"Yeah I know." agreed Gary solemnly as he got changed. "Well you don't have to worry anymore mate, from the sounds of that phone call she got, she's off limits anyway."
"Why's that?" asked Mark
"Didn't you hear her? . . . 'I miss you' and 'I love you too' . . . it must have been her boyfriend on the phone." he replied.
"Not necessarily . . . it could have been her mum." suggested Howard.
"No, it said 'Platty' on the display when I passed her phone to her." Gary explained.
"Awww, sorry mate." said Jason.
"It's alright." said Gary. "At least I know I'll be completely impartial when we're making our final decision now."

The rest of the day was spent at a photo shoot for Marks and Spencer’s. The guys all looked so good in their suits. Kat really enjoyed watching them all posing for the camera. When they took a break, Kat could help feel that Gary was being a little distant with her, still polite, but definitely not as chatty as he had been. Maybe it was in her head, but she couldn't help wondering why? Was it because she'd taken that call instead of cancelling it while she was working, or maybe because she'd giggled after dancing with him, perhaps he hadn't like the lunch she'd bought him. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind, hoping that whatever it was hadn't ruined her chances of getting the job.

Chapter Nine

The next few days were like torture for Kat. She hardly saw the guys, just a quick 'hello' in the mornings before they set off with another of the girls. She tried to keep herself occupied, making the most of the hotel's spa facilities.

On Thursday, when Kat was on her way back from a relaxing massage, she ran into the TV producer. He dropped a pile of papers at her feet as he was answering his mobile. Kat bent down and helped him pick up everything he'd dropped.
"Which way are you headed?" asked Kat as the producer ended his brief phone call.
"Err down the hall to one of the conference rooms." he replied.
"I'll give you a hand with this lot then." Kat offered sorting out the papers she'd picked up into a manageable pile.
"Oh . . . thanks." he said gratefully. When they reached the conference room, Kat set the papers she'd been carrying down on the table.
"Thanks again." said the producer. “I think I could do with a PA myself." he laughed.
"Anytime." replied Kat "Let me know if you need help with anything else, coos I'm just killing time till the next task on Saturday."
"I think I'm OK now, but thanks for offering." he smiled.

Kat thought nothing more of the encounter, until Friday evening when she was called into a conference room with the rest of the girls. They all sat down in front of a projection screen and were soon joined by the guys who sat behind them. The lights were turned off and a video began playing on the screen. It looked like the footage had been taken both from one of the hotel's security cameras and from a hidden camera inside someone's bag. Kat instantly recognised the figure of Becky walking down the hallway, then saw the TV producer bump into her, dropping all his papers in the same manner as he had with her the day before. Becky picked them up and passed them back to the producer before going on her way. It had all been a set up, to see how the girls would react to the situation. The girls all giggled nervously realising the same, each cringing as they saw their image appear on screen. Kat noticed Penny looking down at her feet when the video of her was projected on the screen, she only picked up a couple of the papers that had landed at her feet and could be heard telling the producer to watch where he was walking, before she walked off leaving him to pick up the rest himself. Each of the girls had helped pick up the papers, but only Kat and Sandra had helped the producer carry them to the conference room.

The video came to an end and Dermot entered the room.
"A bit sneaky of us that wasn't it?" Dermot commented. "Well I'm sorry to spring this on you, but one of you will be leaving the competition and going home this evening. . . our judges have made their decision. . .(there was a long pause) . . . Penny, I'm afraid you'll be leaving us tonight."
Penny was in tears as first the other girls, then the guys hugged her and said their goodbyes. Then she left the room to pack her things.
"OK . . . best of luck to the rest of you . . . the final decision will be made tomorrow evening when we'll find out who will get the job of Take That's PA." announced Dermot.

"Just before you all leave the room. . ." the TV producer called.”We'll be having an after show party on Saturday night, here at the hotel. . . you can each invite one guest to join us and we'll arrange for their transport and room overnight, so if you can let me know names an addresses as soon as possible so I can make the arrangements."

Everyone left the room buzzing with excitement. Kat got straight on the phone to Kelly to tell her the good news. She was thrilled and began packing that evening. Kat didn't even notice Gary watching her as she hung up the phone and made her way back to the room. Howard had noticed him watching though.
"You alright mate?" he asked Gary.
"Yeah." Gary sighed in reply. “No prizes for guessing who she's inviting to the after show party."
"Platty? . . . well there's not a lot you can do about it if she's already got a fella, mate." Howard replied.
"Yeah, I know . . . I'm just finding it hard to get her off my mind." Gary answered.

Chapter Ten

The next morning Kat woke early in a mixture of nerves and excitement. She showered, dressed and made her way down to the dining hall for breakfast. On entering the dining hall she found the guys were already there waiting. They called her over to their table, so she took a seat next to Howard.
"First up again!" commented Howard as she sat down. Kat blushed and smiled as she realised that he was right, none of the other girls had come down yet.

Everyone started chatting about the M&S ad and how the competition was coming to an end. Soon Becky joined them, then Sandra and Gemma came soon after. They all ate breakfast together before setting off for the studio where they were filming the M&S ad.

As they entered the studio, Dermot was there to greet them.
"Good Morning everyone!" he announced "Well ladies, today is the last day of the competition and I have one more surprise to spring on you . . . you're all going to be in the Marks and Spencer advert today!"
The girls gasped in shock and were shown the way to their dressing room where make up artists, hairdressers and a stylist were all waiting to get them ready for filming.

Once they were all ready the girls emerged from the changing room and were briefed by the director. The theme of the shoot was a party at big country house. It all seemed a little staged and awkward to begin with, but soon everyone was chatting and dancing as though the cameras weren't even there. Howard did his usual trick of putting Kat over his shoulder, which Kat was getting quite used to by now and she waved to everyone laughing as he carried her out of shot.

When the filming was over a photographer arrived to take stills for the M&S poster campaign. Each girl was paired up with a member of the band; Becky was paired up with Mark, Sandra with Howard and Gemma with Jason, leaving Kat with Gary. They were all asked to pose as though they were dancing together, but it just wasn't working, it seemed so difficult to pose like they were dancing with no music.
"Hang on." said Mark as he went to where he'd left his jacket. He pulled out a CD and put it in the CD player that had been used during the filming. Kat knew before he pressed play what song it would be and sure enough she was right, it was the new Tango version of Patience. Mark returned and put one hand round Becky's waist and held her other as they began to dance. Howard and Jason did the same with their partners. Kat looked at Gary, he smiled awkwardly back at her before taking her in his arms and starting to dance. Kat could tell from his face that he was concentrating hard on the steps and felt like she could almost hear him counting in his head. 'This would not look good in a photo.' she thought to herself and she purposefully gazed deep into his eyes, trying to take his mind off the dance steps. It worked; he held her gaze and the music took over. Kat instantly recognised that intensely sexy and passionate stare and felt herself melting inside as the dance continued; barely aware they were still in the studio and hardly noticing the camera flashes.

Kat could hear the song was coming to the end and soon she found herself leaning back in Gary's arms again. As the photographer took his last shot Kat noticed the corners of Gary's mouth turning up as he was obviously trying to fight off a grin. Kat couldn't help but crack into a smile herself and that was it, they both burst out laughing. Gary lost his balance and fell forward on to Kat. Still laughing uncontrollably the pair lay on the floor. Kat couldn't help thinking how good he looked from that angle. Gary got to his feet and pulled Kat to hers.
"You started it that time, Barlow!" Kat protested.
"I know I couldn't help it, babe." He laughed. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah I'm fine . . . might have a bruise on my arse though." she replied smiling. Howard opened his mouth about to pass comment, but Kat stopped him in his tracks as she shot him a mock glare and said "Not one word Dougie!" At that moment Dermot walked in.
"OK ladies, it's that time I'm afraid. . . .If you can all make your way outside the cars are waiting to take you back to the hotel . . . the guys will have a final discussion and decide who will get the job. . . . We’ll be meeting in the large conference room at 7.30pm to let you all know the result."
The girls said their goodbyes and set off back to the hotel while the guys stayed behind to make their decision.

The guys pulled their chairs round in a circle to decide who they wanted to get the job as their new PA.
"This is gonna be really hard . . . they'd all make great PAs." said Jason.
"Yeah . . . you're right." admitted Howard. "But we have to make a decision."
"Personally I think it’s between Kat and Becky." suggested Mark. "Gemma is great but I don't think she's very assertive, so might not handle the press so well."
"and Sandra seems a bit too hung up on Markie." added Howard laughing. Mark grinned in embarrassment. Sandra hadn't left him alone when she'd been acting as their PA.
"OK so who's it going to be? Kat or Becky?" asked Jason. "You're being a bit quiet, Gaz mate . . . what do you think?"
"I think either of them would make great PAs." he replied.
"Yeah, but how would you feel if Kat got the job? . . ." asked Howard ". . . in my mind she's the best girl for the job, but if it would be a problem for you then . . ."
"It wouldn't be a problem, mate. . . I agree I think she's the best girl for the job . . . if she were single then having her as our PA might pose a problem . . . and I'd probably be trying to talk you out of choosing her so I could ask her out. . ." he grinned. "I don't like dating staff . . . not after what happened last time." he added shaking his head solemnly. He was referring to Susan, a dancer from the last tour that he had dated, until he found that she'd been cheating on him. It had made the last few weeks of the tour really awkward for them all.
"But cos she isn't single, you'd be OK with having her as our PA?" asked Mark
"Yeah . . . what about you guys?"
"Well I'm happy with Kat, I think she did really well on Monday and we all get on well with her." answered Jason.
"Great! She makes the best cup of tea ever!" grinned Mark happy with everyone's choice.

The girls were back at the hotel, nervously waiting in a conference room, where a stage had been set up with that all too familiar judging desk. The time seemed to drag on forever. Then finally the guys entered and passed a gold envelope to Dermot before taking their seats at the judging desk. Dermot said his piece to camera, introducing the girls, reminding the audience of the prize and building the tension before opening the gold envelope.
" . . .and the winner is . . . . . . . " Dermot's dramatic pause seemed to go on forever. ". . . Kat Hamer!"
For a few seconds Kat was in stunned silence. 'Was it really my name he's just called?' she thought. Then as the other contestants were hugging her, she realised it was and she screamed laughing.
"Congratulations Kat" said Dermot passing her a bouquet of flowers. The guys left the stage to join her, applauding and hugging her. Then they all posed for the press as they took photos.

When everything had calmed down Kat and the other girls went to the lobby to wait for their invited guests to arrive for the after-show party. The guys entered soon after and sat waiting with them. One by one the guests arrived and met the band before making their way into the bar for the party. Kat was beginning to wonder where her friend was, then she saw her appear at the door of the hotel and rushed to greet her as she entered. Kelly dropped her bags on the floor as she saw Kat running towards her. They met with girly screams and a great big hug. he guys looked at each other confused, they were all certain that Kat's guest would be a guy, her boyfriend to be precise.
"God I've missed you soooo much!" she told her friend.
"Yeah right!" said Kelly sarcastically. "When you've had Take That to keep you company instead!"
"Oh yeah, c'mon let me introduce you." said Kat pulling her friend over to where the band was sitting. "OK guys, this is Kelly Platt, my best friend in the whole world! . . . Kelly, I think you know who's who!" she smiled.
The guys all said their hellos.
"Kelly Platt? As in Platty?" asked Gary
"Errr . . . yeah . . . on my mobile phonebook." Kat replied in puzzlement.
"So this is who phoned you the other day?" Howard asked.
"Yes." Kat replied blushing.
“So why’s her number stored as ‘Platty’ instead of Kelly?” asked Mark
“Ask her.” Kat said pointing to Kelly. “She put it in my phone . . . We were both rather drunk at the time and she said something about me not having anyone stored under ‘P’ . . . “
“It made perfect sense at the time.” Kelly protested giggling.
"Oh right, I thought it was your fella you were on the phone to the other day." laughed Gary.
"Noooo . . . my fella's probably curled up on Kelly's bed right now." Kat smiled.
"More than likely." Kelly agreed nodding. The guys all looked totally confused.
"The only fella in my life at the moment, is a big ginger cat called Ted." she explained. "Kelly's been taking care of him for me." The guys chuckled.
"Well are we going to this party or what?" asked Mark. "I'm gasping for a drink!" With that they all made their way into the bar.

Gary ordered the drinks in and Kat introduced Kelly to the other girls. Everyone was getting on great and soon Becky was pulling Kat up to dance. Kat tried to get Kelly up too, but she was too busy chatting with the guys. 'Can't blame her.' Kat thought to herself, '. . . you wouldn't be able to drag me away a few weeks ago.’ She followed Becky on to the dance floor while Kelly remained behind still chatting away.
"So, now Kat's out of the way are you gonna tell us who her favourite is?" asked Howard as soon as Kat was out of ear shot. Kelly nearly spilled her drink laughing.
"Nooooooo, she'd kill me!" Kelly replied.
"Awww please, we won't let on that you've told us." pleaded Mark cheekily.
"Nope!" Kelly refused " . . . me and Kat have been best friends for 18 years, so there's no way I'm telling you her secrets . . .she knows far too many of mine."
"Leave it guys." added Gary. "Kat's entitled to keep it a secret." Kelly carried on with the conversation she'd been having with Mark and Jason about the last tour. Howard turned to Gary. "Don't you want to know?" he asked in a voice low enough that Kelly wouldn't hear.
"No mate . . . there's no point." he replied
"But what if it's you? You could be missing out on a good thing there." pressed Howard.
"No. . . . I don't date staff, you remember what happened last time . . . and what if it isn't me, I'd just feel jealous of who ever is her favourite then." Gary explained.
"Fair enough mate." accepted Howard just as Kat was making her way back to her seat.

The party went on till the small hours and everyone had a great time, drinking and dancing the night away. Kat said good night to everyone and went up to her room, but found it hard to sleep thinking about her exciting new job. She decided to get some air and on her way downstairs she bumped into Mark, who was on his way out for a smoke before he turned in. The two of them walked out to a private garden at the back of the hotel and sat on a bench chatting about the show, and what the guys were going to be doing in the coming months.

Up in his hotel room Gary couldn't sleep either; he poured himself a drink and sat by the window looking out on to the garden. Seeing Kat and Mark sitting together he felt a faint twinge of jealousy, but brushed it off telling himself it was stupid he and Kat could only be friends while she was working for them, he'd promised himself never to date staff again.

Chapter Eleven

The next morning everyone met for breakfast. Kat sat down and as she was looking at the menu, she and Mark yawned in unison. They both laughed.
"That's your fault for keeping me up last night." complained Mark.
"Oh Aye!" grinned Howard.
"It wasn't like that, Howard - you've got such a smutty mind, we were just sitting in the garden chatting cos I couldn't sleep!" Kat giggled "And it isn't my fault, you were going out for a smoke anyway!" she protested.
Kelly rolled her eyes. "Now children, stop arguing!" she said.
"OK mum" Kat replied smiling.

Everyone settled down and ate breakfast, Kat smiled to herself as she watched Kelly chatting away to the guys, telling them all about how it was her idea for Kat to apply, and how they'd camped out over night. It was gradually sinking in to her that she was actually going to be working for Take That.
"So . . . what happens next?" Kat asked Gary, who was sat next to her.
"Well the producer has spoke to your employers and they've agreed not to make you work your notice, but they need you to hand in a letter of resignation, so you'll be going back home to sort that out today."
"OK . . . and then I take it I'll need to come back to London? Where will I be staying?"
"Yeah that's right. . . . Well we're going to be working on the new album in my studio for the next couple of months, so you and the guys will all be staying at mine . . . I've got plenty of room" he replied smiling. 'Oh my god! I'm actually going to be staying at Gary's house!' thought Kat; she smiled back, hoping that she wasn't blushing really badly.
"Oh . . . Great!" she replied, her mind still spinning at the thought of living at Gary's. Everyone finished breakfast and Kat and Kelly said they're goodbyes before getting into a cab for the airport.

After sorting out her letter of resignation and handing it in at work, Kat went shopping with Kelly, who insisted Kat bought some new nightwear for staying at Gary's.
"You're not taking your 'Winnie the Pooh' nightie and that’s final." Kelly argued.
"But it’s comfy!" protested Kat "it's not like I'm going to spend my time parading about in my night gear anyway."
"Well . . . just in case. . . .Here buy this." she replied handing Kat a pair of light blue satin pyjamas. Kat looked at them and looked at Kelly, she wasn't going to take no for an answer and they were pretty tame compared to the sexy nighties she'd picked out so far. So Kat took the pyjamas to the till and paid for them.

Kelly helped Kat pack her case and went with her to the airport. They hugged goodbye and Kat promised to keep in touch and call Kelly at least once a week, as well as promising to try and get her front row seats to the next tour. Soon Kat was on the plane watching the world go by out of the window. Before she knew it the plane was landing in London and Kat was about to start her new career.

After collecting her bags, Kat was met by the friendly face of Paul, the band's bodyguard. He took her bags and led her to the car. Kat got in, a little disappointed that the band weren't there to meet her, but realised that it would have been a major security issue if they had.
"Blimey! Are you sure you've packed enough?" asked Paul sarcastically as he heaved her bags into the boot.
Kat smiled "Well I wanted to be prepared for anything!" she replied.
"With those guys, that's probably the best attitude to have." Paul remarked with a wink.

The rest of the journey Paul and Kat chatted away as they made their way through London traffic. Then they pulled up at Gary's house, Paul leaned out of the car window and pressed the buzzer on the gates. Kat instantly recognised the voice on the intercom as Gary's.
"Alright mate . . . you took your time."
Suddenly Kat felt nervous, all those butterflies that she'd had when she first met the guys came back and she felt like she might throw up.
"Sorry Gaz mate, we got stuck in traffic." Paul replied speaking into the intercom.
"In ya come then." came the reply as the gates swung open. Paul drove though them and parked up in front of the house.

Before Kat could get out of the car, Gary's front door opened and all four band members rushed out to greet her. Jason opened the car door to let Kat get out and Mark gave her a big hug as soon as she did.
"Alright luv" said Gary as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"C'mon then . . . let's get you inside." said Howard flinging her over his shoulder and making his way into the house.
Kat could see the other guys getting her bags from the car. 'Proper gentlemen.' she thought to herself and as Howard set her down, she realised all her nervousness had disappeared. They were all so welcoming to her.

"Wow what a welcome!" exclaimed Kat. As the rest of the guys joined them in the hallway.
"Well it's just cos we're all gagging for a decent brew." said Mark cheekily.
"Come on I'll show you your room and you can get settled in." said Gary, leading the way upstairs.

The upstairs of the house was every bit as luxurious as downstairs. Kat's room was huge, beautifully decorated with a king size bed and had its own en-suite. The guys had followed up behind with Kat's bags and put them on the floor by the wardrobe for her.
"Right, well I'm right next door. . . “Gary said pointing to the bedroom next to Kat's " . . . and Markies next door to me . . . then there's Jason and finally Howard at the end there." he added gesturing further up the corridor.
"Well I hope I don't wake you with my snoring." Kat told Gary.
"You're kidding aren't you? . . . He sleeps like the dead!" Howard teased.
"C'mon lets leave her to settle herself in." said Jason kindly leading the guys back downstairs.

Kat set about putting her clothes away, before having a quick wash and changing her clothes as she felt a little grubby from the flight. she had to pinch herself to make sure this wasn't all a dream, it wasn't and she smiled to herself as she made her way downstairs. She found the guys in the living room watching daytime TV. Gary jumped to his feet as she entered.
"Can I get you a brew?" he asked her.
Kat smiled. "That's OK I'll make it . . . I need to get used to where everything is . . . anyone else want one?"
Mark's eyes instantly lit up. "Yes Please!" he replied eagerly.
"Aye, go on then." added Howard.
"I'll have a coffee if you don't mind." said Gary.
"I'm Ok ta." replied Jason.

Kat strolled into the kitchen and set about making teas and coffees. Looking through Gary's cupboards Kat was surprised at how empty they were. Then as she threw the used tea bags in the bin she found a number of takeaway cartons and pizza boxes. 'Hmmm, I don't suppose they've had much time to cook recently.' Kat thought to herself. She took the brews into the front room, put them down on the coffee table, then dug out a pen and note pad from her bag.
"Right . . . I think my first job will be a trip to Tesco's, so does anyone have any special requests?" Kat asked. The guys started eagerly chipping in with their requests and Kat soon had a long shopping list.
"Here . . . you'll need this." Gary said throwing her a set of car keys. "Your new company car . . . oh and the keyfob operates the front gate too." he explained.
"Thanks!" Kat replied a little stunned.
"We'll probably be out when you get back; we've got a meeting with the record company this afternoon." Mark explained.
"OK . . . but you'll all be back home for tea won't you?" Kat asked.
"Why? Are you cooking?" Gary asked excitedly.
"Well yeah I was gonna . . . don't get too excited though I was just thinking shepherds pie or something." Kat replied smiling.
"That sounds amazing!" Howard said "We could all do with a proper home cooked meal."
"OK then guys, I'll see you all later then." Kat said leaving the house and getting into her brand new company car.

Kat floated her way around Tesco's still feeling so excited about her new job. After paying for the shopping and loading up the car she drove back to Gary's house and used her Key fob to get through the front gates. On letting herself into the house she called out "Hello?" to see if anyone was at home, but there was no reply. 'I guess they're all still at the record company.' she thought to herself. It felt so weird to be in Gary's house all by herself, so she plugged her iPod into the speaker dock in the kitchen, and was soon listening to her favourite Take That tracks as she began putting the shopping away, singing along as she did.

Kat jumped up onto the worktop and perched her self precariously as she put the last of the shopping away into a cupboard too high for her to reach from the floor. One of Kat's favourite tracks started playing on the iPod 'Ain't no sense in love' and she started singing along.
"I'm afraid of the morning . . . I'm afraid of the light . . . You should come with a warning . . . yeah you should be wearing a sign . . ." then on the next line Gary's vocals seemed to become a lot louder. " . . .oooh that says you're beautiful trouble . . . so you'd better beware . . ." Kat's head spun to look at her iPod, as it did she caught sight of Gary in the corner of her eye. He was singing along with a cheeky grin on his face. Kat felt herself slipping off the worktop in shock, but Gary rushed over in time to catch her.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Kat protested laughing as Gary put her on her feet.
"Sorry." he replied still grinning.
Howard entered the room next, closely followed by Jason and Mark "God turn that racket off will ya?" he complained, "I'm not surprised you didn't hear us come in with that on!"
Kat smiled as she unplugged her iPod. "Well you did advertise for a fan . . . what do you expect me to have on my iPod? Boyzone?"
Jason sniggered. "She's got a point mate."
"Anyway. . . the sooner you get this new album finished, the sooner I'll have something new to listen to." Kat added.
"Well you could be waiting a while yet." said Mark.
"Yeah, we're putting the album on hold for now . . .that's what the meeting was about, we're going to concentrate on preparing for the tour for now . . . then have us all a nice holiday to relax after the tour and come back refreshed and ready to write some really good tracks . . . well that's the plan." explained Gary.
"Oh OK" Kat responded thoughtfully. "I'll sort out new schedules for you all this evening . . ." she added rolling her eyes ". . . after tea though, which I'm gonna make a start on now, so shoo the lot of ya . . . I'll let you know when it's ready." she added ushering the guys out of the kitchen.

Everyone enjoyed the shepherd’s pie Kat made for tea, and she got a little embarrassed with all the compliments the guys paid her for it. As they relaxed in the lounge, Kat took the details of everyone's training and rehearsal schedules, before disappearing into the next room where she'd set up her new lap-top and dutifully entered in all the schedule details. The first dance rehearsal was booked in to start at 8am the next morning, so Kat decided on an early night, well after a long soak in the gorgeous roll-top bath in her en-suite.

Chapter Twelve

Despite the incredibly comfortable bed she was in, it took Kat a long time to get to sleep that night. Her head swam with thoughts of her amazing new job, and of Gary lying in a bed only feet away from her in the next room. When she did drop off she had a wonderful night's sleep, and woke early at 6.15am to the sound of her mobile playing her alarm call. She quickly switched it off to avoid waking anyone else, before slipping into the shower.

Washed and dressed, Kat made her way quietly downstairs and into the kitchen. Glad to find she was the first person up, she set about making drinks for everyone, a grapefruit juice for Jason, Tea of course for Mark and a coffee each for Howard and Gary. Finding a tray in one of the cupboards, Kat carried the drinks upstairs. She visited Jason's room first and as she was about to knock on the door, Jason opened it, almost causing Kat to drop her tray. He was already dressed and about to make his way downstairs.
"Grapefruit juice?" Kat offered.
"Oh thanks hun." he replied smiling and taking the glass of grapefruit juice before making his way downstairs. Next Kat stopped at Mark's door, she could hear him moving around inside, so he was obviously also awake. She knocked on the door and soon heard a muffled reply, which sounded like "come in." Kat slowly opened the door to find Mark topless, but in his jeans brushing his teeth.
"Morning." he garbled cheerily, still with his toothbrush in his mouth.
"Morning." replied Kat setting Mark's cup of tea down on his bedside cabinet.
"Oh, thanks love." he said wiping the toothpaste froth from his mouth. "Are those for Howard and Gary?" he enquired noting the two remaining cups on her tray.
"Yeah." Kat replied.
"Well I'll give you a hand waking Howard, he's always sleeping in." Mark offered as he walked to Howard's door and banged loudly on it. A groan came from inside. "Wake up Dougie! Kat's made you a brew." Mark shouted through the door. There was a thud followed by the sound of feet dragging their way towards the door, it opened and a very sleepy looking Howard popped his head round.
"Oh . . . thanks babe." he yawned taking the coffee cup from Kat's tray. "I'll be down in a bit." with that he disappeared back into his room.
"You'll probably need to shout him again in about half and hour." smiled Mark as he headed downstairs. Lastly Kat stopped outside Gary's door, she took a deep breath and knocked gently on his door.
"Come in." came the rather sleepy reply. Kat opened the door to find Gary in his dressing gown with his back to her looking in his wardrobe.
"Morning . . . I've brought you a coffee." Kat said cheerily.
"Oh!" said Gary as he span round, obviously not expecting to see Kat. "thanks." he added as Kat set his coffee down on the bedside cabinet.
Just then Howard walked in, now dressed, with coffee in his hand. "Not bad this is it mate? Coffee in bed!" he asked Gary as he sat down on his bed.
"Yep I could definitely get used to it." replied Gary smiling at Kat.
"Right, well I'm gonna go down and make some breakfast . . . anything you fancy?" Howard nearly choked on his coffee as he tried not to laugh. Knowing exactly what Howard had found funny, Gary shot him look of warning briefly before replying to Kat. "Just a bit of toast for me, please."
"Err yeah I'll have some toast too, please." added Howard. Kat nodded and made her way downstairs.
"Sorry mate. . Couldn’t help it." Apologised Howard. "Anything you fancy?" he chuckled. Gary just shook his head and continued getting ready.

After breakfast everyone made their way across town to the dance studio. Kim was already waiting for them along with Kika, the Tango dancer. Kat sat on the floor at the back of the studio and got on with sorting through some emails on her laptop. An hour or so passed and Kim decided the guys should practice the Tango routine for Patience. Kat was dying to watch as this was her favourite, but she didn't want to put the guys off. Half way through the song, Kim stopped the music.
"Gary, stop counting in your head! I can see it in your face . . . this is supposed to be a dance of passion." he complained.
Kat felt embarrassed for him and tried to pretend that she was too involved in her work to notice, but then Kim called her up.
"Kat . . . could you join me for a minute?" he asked her.
"Err . . . yes, sure." Kat replied getting to her feet.
Kim took her hand and put his arm round her waist in the starting position for the dance.
"Kika, Gary . . . starting positions please." he said, then signalled for Mark to start the music. Kat danced with Kim as Gary danced with Kika, trying to mimic their moves. The music came to an end and Kim thanked Kat.
"You've almost got it Gary, I think you just need some extra practice . . . why not schedule some time in to practice with Kat, she knows all the steps?" Kim suggested ". . . You wouldn't mind that would you Kat?"
"Err . . . no it's fine with me." Kat stammered.
"OK can you schedule some practice time in before tomorrows dance rehearsal?" Gary asked. Kat had a quick look at their schedules.
"Yes . . . how about one hour before?" she asked. Gary nodded.

After lunch there was a meeting with the set and costume designers for the new tour. The meeting lasted all afternoon, but Kat loved finding out all about the details of the show. Everything looked amazing, as Kat had expected and she was impressed by just how much input and involvement the guys had in creating the show.

Kat couldn't believe how quickly her first day had gone. After dinner everyone was relaxing and chatting in Gary's front room. Kat loved the way everyone got on so well, and was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was 11.45pm.
"God, I'd better get to bed . . . or I won't be able to get up for our date tomorrow morning." Kat said winking at Gary.
"Oh yeah, you're right!" replied Gary looking at his watch.". . .it's gonna be an early one isn't it?"
Kat made her way upstairs to bed and soon heard Gary's footsteps as he turned in for the night too.

Chapter Thirteen

Next morning Kat woke early, got herself washed and dressed, then knocked on Gary's door. She was pleasantly surprised to find he was also up and dressed and eager to get going.

Soon they arrived at the dance studio, Kat had butterflies in her stomach, but Gary looked rather nervous too, which made her feel a little better. The pair entered the reversal room and Kat set up the CD player. After some stretches and a brief warm up, they were ready to start.
"OK . . . I think we should start by doing the full routine start to finish . . . don't worry about any mistakes just carry on till the end of the song." Kat instructed before starting the music. They took up their starting positions, Gary looked so serious it made Kat want to giggle. The two started to dance the steps that Kim had taught them, Kat couldn't keep the grin from her face.
"What?" asked Gary sniggering as they continued dancing.
"Sorry, you just look so serious." replied Kat apologetically, still grinning.
"We're supposed to be taking this seriously." Gary complained, with that school boy grin on his face.
"I'm trying to." argued Kat "It's you making me laugh."
They continued arguing about who was making who laugh until the music ended and they stood giggling together.
"On a serious note. . . " Kat said once they'd stopped laughing. ". . . you danced perfectly then . . . and you were so busy arguing that it didn't look like you were counting the steps in your head."
"You're right." replied Gary surprised.
"OK lets try again, no giggling this time . . . could you sing it as we dance?" Kat asked. Gary raised his eyebrow. "I just think that it would take your mind off counting steps . . ." she explained. " . . you'll be singing it on tour anyway."
"Alright." Gary agreed.
Kat started the music and took her starting position with Gary again, she looked into his eyes, determined not to grin or giggle this time. They started to dance and Gary sang Patience as though he was singing it directly to Kat. It felt so intense to be dancing with Gary as he sang to her. Although Kat had heard the song so many times before, she wasn't expecting it to make her feel this way. Sure Kat had fancied Gary for years, but her feelings had never felt this strong before.

Again they danced perfectly together, Kat felt mesmerized by Gary's gaze. As the music came to an end he leaned in closer to her, his lips met hers, automatically Kat closed her eyes as she accepted his kiss. His lips were so soft as he gently kissed her. Such a long meaningful kiss, this certainly couldn't be mistaken for a quick friendly kiss like that time he’d said goodbye at the lift that night after the meal at Gordon Ramsey’s. As much as Kat wanted to just enjoy the moment, her mind was working overtime. 'What does this mean? Is this really happening? What the hell are we doing?' Then Gary pulled away, Kat could see that same question written all over his face 'What the hell are we doing?'. This just wasn't right, not knowing what to do or say, Kat picked up her bag and made her way to the door.
"I'd best get back and sort lunch out." said Kat leaving without looking back.
"Kat . . . I . . . err. . " stammered Gary after her.

Kat could feel tears welling in her eyes as she made her way to the front of the building. She saw the other guys making their way in for their dance rehearsal and put her head down as she went passed, not wanting them to see her upset.
"Hey . . . I'll see you all later." she managed to say as she rushed passed them and out of the front door.

As she made her way to the car the heavens opened and a heavy shower drenched Kat in seconds. But she was glad of it as her tears started to fall down her cheeks. At least no one would notice her tears on the way back.

Back at the studio the guys had joined Gary in the rehearsal room.
"Blimey, she was in a bit of a hurry . . . have you trod on her foot while you were dancing or somethin?" joked Howard as he walked into the room. Then he saw Gary sat with his head in his hands. "What is it mate?" he asked.
"I'm a bloody idiot!" replied Gary standing up and kicking the chair next to him.
"Why, what have you done?" asked Jason concerned.
"I kissed her." Gary admitted.
"What you mean you kissed her, kissed her? asked Mark shocked.
"Yes Mark, I kissed her, kissed her." he replied.
" . . . and?" asked Howard.
" . . . and I don't know what I was thinking . . . so I pulled away." Gary answered. "I promised I wouldn't get involved with anyone who worked for us again." he reminded them.
"You're right . . . you are an idiot!" said Howard.
"No wonder she looked upset." said Jason.
"I should go after her." said Gary heading for the door.
"No . . . Kim will be here any minute and we can't afford to miss any rehearsals so close to the tour." said Howard.
"Dougie’s right . . . she looked like she could do with a bit of space to calm down anyway." agreed Mark. Jason nodded in agreement too.
"OK" sighed Gary.
Back at Gary's house, Kat parked he car and let herself in. She ran straight up to her room, took off her wet clothes and got in the shower. Finally she was able to think clearly about what had happened.
'He can't have gone to kiss me as a joke, that's just not like him.' she thought. 'Obviously he didn't mean to do it, that was all too clear from the expression on his face. . . Maybe he was thinking about his ex? Or maybe he just got carried away with the music and the dance . . . it was pretty intense . . . yes, that's got to be it.' she told herself. ' . . . Why did I run off like that? God I'm such an idiot! . . . This is going to make things so awkward between us. . . maybe I can just pretend it never happened . . .maybe he won't mention it'

Chapter Fourteen

Kat got out of the shower, changed and made her way downstairs. Looking at the clock, she realised that it wouldn't be long before the guys returned from their dance rehearsal. She began putting together a chicken salad for their lunch. She heard the front door open as the guys arrived home. The kitchen door opened and Gary entered. Without looking up from her chopping board Kat knew it was him and suddenly felt a wave of cold awkwardness wash over her, although she tried not to show it.
"Hi." she said briefly glancing up at him, before continuing with what she was doing.
"Hi." he replied "I . . . err think we need to talk . . . about what happened before?"
Kat fought hard to control her emotions.
"It's alright. . . I understand " she said in matter of fact sort of way.
"You do?" asked Gary puzzled
"Yes, you just got caught up in the music . . . I guess I did too . . . I realise you didn't mean anything by it." Kat replied, surprising herself with how calm and controlled she sounded.
"Err . . . yeah . . . that’s right" stammered Gary.
"Don't worry hun, I'm not going to act all weird around you . . . lets just pretend it didn't happen." she continued.
". . . err yes . . . OK . . . I'm glad we sorted this out." he replied making his way towards the kitchen door.
"Lunch will be ready soon." Kat called after him.
"Right, thanks hun." he replied as he walked back into the lounge and shut the door behind him. Kat breathed a sigh of relief, glad that that was over. Of course she knew things would still be a little awkward for a while, but hopefully it would all blow over soon enough.

On returning to the lounge, the rest of the guys, who'd been straining to hear what was going on at the kitchen door, started quizzing Gary.
"Well?" asked Mark.
"Where are you going to take her for a date? Added Howard.
"I'm not." replied Gary soberly.
"What?! Why not?!" Howard asked, shocked.
"We agreed it wasn't meant to happen and to pretend it didn't happen." he replied.
"Why? I thought we'd talked you out of all that rubbish about not dating staff, back at the dance studio." said Howard.
"Yeah, I thought you were all fired up ready to ask her out when we came home." Jason added.
"Look, it’s just not going to happen and that's that . . . it was a stupid idea so close to the tour anyway." Gary replied, with that don't push me on this look on his face, that the guys knew so well. A few minutes later Kat came in with lunch and no-one mentioned it again.

For a few days after, Kat felt a little awkward around Gary, and she sensed he felt the same, but neither said any more about it, and soon enough things went back to normal.

The guys had a busy week with lots TV and radio interviews about their upcoming tour. Inevitably Kat and the recent TV show came up in conversation on these interviews. Chris Moyles made a few jokey innuendoes about Kat living with the guys, which Kat took light-heartedly, but found a little embarrassing. She just wasn't used to all this attention, although she realised that she should have expected it after such an unusual interview and selection process, and the huge popularity of the TV show. Next the guys appeared on This Morning and again the conversation turned to Kat, and how she was doing in her new job. Watching from behind the cameras, Kat felt herself going red as the guys all complimented her, and said how they couldn't do without her now. Mark beckoned for her to join them on the couch, but she didn't budge, so he got up and took her hand leading her onto the set, the guys moved up to make room for her. Reluctantly she sat with them, and found herself being interviewed by Philip Schofield about what the job entailed, and how she was finding it. She answered all his questions, but was glad when he went back to interviewing the guys about the upcoming tour, and even more relieved when the interview ended.

When they returned to Gary's house, there were a number of faxes on the machine, so Kat picked them up and began sorting through them. There were some from the reccord company, a few from people connected with the tour, but several were addressed to Kat, which was very unusual. Kat sat down with the ones addressed to her began reading through them. She couldn't quite believe what she was reading.

Kat,

I'm writing to offer you the position of PA to Mr Robbie Williams.

Mr Williams is very interested in having you work for him, and is prepared to pay you a salary that would double what your current employers are paying.

There will be no interview process; this would be a guaranteed position for at least one year.

Please contact us on Tel. 0123456789 or at mark.stubbs@sony.co.uk

Mark Stubs

There were a few duplicates of this fax and two that claimed to be from Robbie directly. Kat shook her head in disbelief.
"What's up hun?" asked Gary.
"Oh, err nothing." Kat replied. "Just get sick of sifting through this junk mail." she lied putting them through the shredder.

Later that day it was still playing on her mind. 'Were those faxes really from Robbie and his record company?' While nobody was around, Kat went to her desk and found two more faxes waiting for her, with similar messages. She dialled the number on the fax, knowing that Gary's landline wouldn't be displayed as it was a withheld number. After a few rings a receptionist answered.
"Good Afternoon, Sony UK, Mark Stubbs office, how can I help?"
Shocked, Kat hung up immediately without speaking. 'So they were genuine.'

Kat had no intentions of taking up the offer, no matter how much money was on the table, so straight away she composed a polite but firm letter thanking them for the offer but that she would have to decline. She faxed the letter off and figured that would be an end to it.

The next day when she awoke Kat found a further three faxes waiting for her, offering even more money for her to be Robbie's PA. She replied by fax again making it quite clear that she wasn't interested, but this time kept the faxes and hid them away in her drawer along with copies of her replies.

By evening there were five more faxes, Kat decided to ignore them and hid them away in her drawer. Hopefully they would get bored of sending them when they didn't get a response.

Kat set about making dinner, not realising that another fax from Robbie was printing out in the next room.

As the fax machine finished printing, Gary picked up the fax, seeing it was addressed to Kat he was about to put it on her desk, when Robbie's name caught his eye. He couldn't help but read the short but worrying letter, inviting Kat to quit her job with Take That and become his PA instead. A chill ran through his spine, he'd thought that his past squabbles with Robbie were over, that they'd patched things up, so why was he doing this. Gary sat down, the shock clearly showing on his face.
"What's up mate?" asked Howard concerned. Gary simply handed him the fax. Mark and Jason crowded round Howard as they all read the fax in disbelief.

"I can't believe it!" said Howard on reading the fax.
"What are we going to do?" asked Mark.
"We'll have to tell Kat about it . . . it's addressed to her and it's her choice to make at the end of the day." replied Jason.
"But what if she wants to take the job? . . ." started Gary, when Kat's voice shouted from the kitchen.
"Tea's ready guys." she called as she dished out the meal she'd just cooked. Gary quickly folded up the fax and put in his pocket, while giving the others a 'we'll discuss this later' look.

The guys went through to the next room and took there usual seats round the dinner table. They all tried to act normally, but Kat could sense that something just wasn't right.
"OK . . . tell me what's wrong." she said looking round the table. The guys looked at one another, then to Gary. Picking up on this Kat turned to Gary. "Well?" she asked him directly. He sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out the folded fax. After unfolding it he passed it to Kat. She read the first line and knew immediately what it was. Without saying a word, she got up from the table and walked into the other room to her desk, opened her desk drawer and pulled out the pile of faxes from Robbie and his record company, then took them back into the dining room. The guys were looking at her puzzled.
"Just thought I'd add it to my collection." she said putting the fax on the top of the pile.
"You've received faxes like this one before?" asked Gary, even more shocked.
"Yes" Kat replied thumbing through the pile. "I didn't tell you 'cos I didn't want you to worry. I've already replied several times telling them I'm not interested. Now I'm ignoring them . . . and if it goes on for much longer I'll get a solicitor involved and charge them with harassment, which is why I'm keeping all the faxes and my replies. . . don't worry, I can take care of this myself. . . you guys just need to concentrate on the tour." There was still a look of concern on Gary's face. "Honestly, don't worry about it." Kat reassured him. Kat put all the faxes back in the drawer and they all got on with dinner now that the atmosphere in the room had lifted.

Chapter Fifteen

The next day the guys all had a dress rehearsal at a top secret location and they all set off early in the morning. Kat had a few admin jobs to do in the morning, so she set off to the rehearsal location later on.

When she arrived she made her way to the main stage where the guys were sat around talking.
"On a break already?" Kat asked jokingly. Then she noticed Kika, the tango dancer, sat with the guys, her leg covered toe to thigh in a plaster cast. "Oh god what happened?" she asked Kika in shock.
"Fell down the stairs Top to Bottom in my apartment yesterday." Kika replied. "I have to keep the cast on for six weeks, then a course of physiotherapy, before I'll be able to dance again" she sighed. "So I'm afraid I'm going to miss the tour."
"Oh dear, well don't worry about it, just concentrate on getting better . . . we'll need to sort out a replacement for the Patience sequence." Kat said looking through her note book for the tour, checking through the dancers and understudies.
"There isn't any dancer to replace Kika." Kim, the chorographer, interrupted as he made his way towards them. "I've already checked as soon as I found out what had happened to Kika." he explained.
"What are you going to do then? Cut it from the show?" Kat asked concerned.
"Well we were just talking about it before you came in . . . and there is one other option . . .there's someone else who knows the routine and could take Kika's place . . ." Kim began to explain. Kat could feel all eyes on her and could guess what was coming next.
"Oh no . . . no . . . no . . . I'm not a dancer." Kat protested. "Can't you teach one of the other dancers the routine?"
"There isn't enough time." answered Kim. Kat shook her head and walked off stage towards the kitchen area, her head spinning at the thought. 'I can't dance in front of an arena full of Take That fans. . . especially with what happened with Gary . . . things have just started getting back to normal . . .no I can't do it.' She heard footsteps behind her, she turned round expecting to see Kim and found Gary stood there instead, with a pleading look on his face.
"Please Kat . . . we need you." he begged sincerely. "I know it’s a big ask . . . but we'll have to cut it from the show otherwise . . ." Kat could feel herself giving in, how could she say no to him? "Promise I won't try and snog you again!" he added with that cheeky grin. Well that did it, there was no way she could say no now. She couldn't help grinning at his last comment.
"Yes OK I'll do it . . . I must be completely mad!" she replied. With that Gary gave her a big hug, with those strong arms of his.

'Damn it!' Kat thought to herself 'What the hell have I let myself in for.' as she walked back to the stage with Gary.
"Kat's kindly agreed to stand in for Kika." Gary announced happily, the guys cheered and Kat blushed with embarrassment.
"Great! . . . Get yourself to wardrobe so they can start on your costume." Kim replied gesturing towards a team of seamstresses who were busy making adjustments to costumes. Kat hadn't thought about that, Kika's costume was pretty revealing. 'Why couldn't I just say no?' she thought, then looked over at Gary who smiled back at her, 'that's why' she remembered. Reluctantly she made her way over to the wardrobe team. Kat snuck into a makeshift dressing area made up of three clothes rails full of costumers and stripped down to her underwear as instructed, while they took every conceivable measurement of her body. Just as she was getting her jeans back on when she heard Gary's voice.
"How are we getting on then" he asked poking his head round the corner. "Oh . . . sorry! . . . didn't realise you were getting dressed" he said quickly turning his back to Kat.
"Don't worry, hun. .." Kat replied ". . . looking at the costume, you're likely to see a lot more of me on stage." she giggled pulling her top on. Gary turned back round with that oh so familiar school boy grin on his face.
"I've just been talking with the guys, and we're really grateful for you helping out like this. . . we were planning on having a holiday together after the tour and hoped you'd join us . . .as a thank you." he suggested
"Oh . . . err yes I'd love to . . . where are you going to?" Kat replied.
"Well I thought I'd leave that for you to decide . . . it'll save us arguing over where we each want to go . . . just make it somewhere quiet, where we won't be bothered by the press." he answered.
"OK . . . I'll surprise you." Kat said with a wink. She knew exactly where she wanted to go, an island in the Maldives called Sun Island. She'd been there with Kelly a few tears ago after they'd won £3000 on the lottery. It had been the best holiday ever and Kat had been trying to save up to go again some day.

Rehearsals continued all that day. Kat was amazed when one of the wardrobe team came to tell her that her costume was ready.
"Wow! You work quickly!" Kat exclaimed as she was lead back to the changing area.
"We do our best" replied Steph from wardrobe as she handed a gorgeous, if rather short, red dress to Kat.
"Keep an eye out for me." Kat asked as she started to get changed.
"Will do." Steph replied with a grin.
Slipping into the costume, Kat was amazed both at how well it fit and on looking in the mirror, how flattering it was.
"This is stunning!" Kat remarked to Steph. "Just need hair and make-up to complete the look." Kat joked.
"Well it is a full dress rehearsal." replied Steph summoning the hair and make-up team over. Before she knew what was happening Kat was having her hair expertly teased into shape and make-up applied.
"Perfect." Steph remarked when they'd finished.
Looking in the mirror Kat had to agree. "It's like extreme make-over without the surgery." she joked.
"Kat?" Kim called looking for her.
"Yes?" she replied from the changing area.
"Are you ready to rehearse the 'Patience' sequence?" he asked.
"Yes . . . I'll be there in a minute." she replied making her way backstage, nodding to Kim as she passed him, but unseen by the band. As the music started, Kat made her entrance. The guys looked at her in amazement, their jaws dropped to the floor and they just stood there frozen to the spot. Kim cut the music.
"What's the matter?" Kat asked smiling "Do I look OK?" she asked.
"You look stunning!" Howard replied.
"err . . . yeah . . . stunning!" Gary stammered in agreement.
"So we can go through the routine now?" Kim asked in mock impatience. The guys laughed, nodding in agreement. Kim started the music again and they all completed the routine flawlessly, even the ending with Kat being held in Gary's arms, which felt a little awkward, but more in the fighting not to giggle kind of way, but they both managed to contain themselves. "Perfect . . . just perform like that every night of the tour and I'll be happy." Kim said applauding them.

That night Kat called Kelly and told her all about her day and that what she'd got herself into.
"Oh my GOD!!!" Kelly exclaimed "What will you do if he goes to kiss you at the end?" she asked, having heard all about what had happened previously from Kat.
"He won't." replied Kat "He promised." she giggled, then paused thinking about it "Anyway don't put thoughts like that in my head, don't you think I'll be nervous enough?"
"You'll be fine . . ." Kelly said reassuringly ". . .you're in safe hands" she added giggling.
"Stop it." Kat scorned. "I'll see you backstage; you have got your pass haven't you."
"Of course . . . I put it away safe" Kelly replied thoughtfully, trying to remember where she'd put it.
"Behind the photo on the mantle-piece." Kat said, knowing this is where Kelly would have put it.
"Oh yeah . . . I knew that." Kelly replied spotting it. "Can't wait . . . this time next week." she giggled. Kat suddenly felt sick at the thought of performing in front of so many people.
"Yeah, I'll see you there." she replied, thinking about how nervous she was going to be.

Chapter Sixteen

The week flew by and it was opening night. Everyone was nervous, not least Kat, who trying to keep herself busy organising everyone else to take her mind off that night's performance.
"Don't worry. . . " reassured Jason noticing how nervous she was. “. . . you'll be great."
"Thanks." Kat replied smiling.

They arrived at the venue early afternoon for the sound check. A few fans had already arrived, hoping for a glimpse of the guys as they arrived. Kat giggled to herself as she heard them screaming for the guys.
"What?" asked Gary
"Just fighting the urge to join in." she laughed. Gary rolled his eyes.
Once the sound check was done and they'd had something to eat everyone sat around chatting waiting for the show to start. Patience was one of the first numbers in the show, which Kat was glad of, she just wanted to get it over with. She quickly got changed into her costume and sat patiently as her hair and make-up was done. Nervously she waited in the wings watching the guys perform. The show was going really well and everyone, including the guys were enjoying themselves. Then the intro music for Patience started, Kat suddenly felt like she had a hundred butterflies in her stomach. She made her entrance and began dancing, solely focusing on her dance steps and trying not to look nervous. The routine went perfectly, and Kat was so glad when the crowd applauded and the lights went down on stage signalling the end of that number. She smiled in relief at Gary who was still holding her in his arms.
"You were amazing." he whispered congratulating her before setting her back on her feet. Kat dashed off the stage to find Kelly waiting in the wings. She flung her arms round her friend and hugged her tightly, before pulling her into the dressing room.
"Thank god that's over with." Kat exclaimed plonking herself on the sofa.
"You were fantastic." Kelly said enthusiastically. "Nice costume too."
"Thanks." Kat replied "I was so nervous . . . god I have to do that another 14 times too." she said rolling her eyes thinking of all the tour dates ahead.
"I can't believe you're complaining about getting to dance with Gary." Kelly replied laughing.
"I know." giggled Kat "I'd just rather it was somewhere more private." she grinned.
"I'll bet" Kelly teased. "So you can have a quiet little snog."
"Hey, he kissed me!" Kat retorted. "Anyway, shh, all that has settled down now I don't need you stirring it up again."
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Kat answered it and found Paul with a big bouquet of flowers.
"These have just been delivered for you." he said passing the Flowers to Kat.
"Oh . . . thanks." Kat replied taking the flowers. Paul left and Kat set the flowers down on her dressing table, they looked and smelled gorgeous. "Are these from you?" she asked Kelly as she opened the card that came with them. Kelly shook her head.
"No chick . . . maybe they're from Gary." she suggested with a smile. Kat looked at the card, there was no message, just the name of the sender - 'Rob'.
Kelly saw the change in Kat's expression.
"What's wrong hun?" she asked. Kat just shook her head and passed Kelly the card. She'd already told Kelly all about the faxes she'd received. "OK this is getting kinda stalker-ish" she said "You need to get this sorted out once and for all."
"I thought I had." Kat replied with a sigh.” Well I'll be on tour for the next few weeks, so if it hasn't stopped when I get back I'll get on to a solicitor about it then . . . not a word to the guys about this though OK? If anyone asks, you bought me the flowers" she said ripping up the card and throwing it in the bin.
"OK." replied Kelly.

The rest of the show went down a storm. Kat loved joining in with everyone as they sang Never Forget. As soon as they got off stage, everyone, including Kelly, piled into the waiting cars and sped off back to Gary's house where they had an after show party. Kat remained relatively sober, making sure everyone else was having a good time and organising taxis to make sure people got back safely. Kelly on the other hand had quite a few drinks and was flirting a lot with Jason, who didn't seem to mind this in the slightest. When everyone else had left, the guys, Kat and Kelly sat around chatting. Kat was finding it hard to keep her eyes open and got up to go to bed.
"Night everyone, I'm going to snuggle up in my bed now." she said standing up and stretching her arms above her head.
"Yeah me too." yawned Gary getting to his feet. “. . . that is I'm going to snuggle up in my own bed." he corrected himself smiling. Kat just rolled her eyes at him and smiled. As she started up the stairs she remembered the flowers she'd received that evening, looking back she saw Kelly sat next to Jason chatting away and wondered if Kelly might inadvertently say something about it now she'd had a few drinks.
"Oh Kelly . . . don't forget what I told you earlier." she called.
"If I can't be good, be careful?" Kelly replied with a cheeky tipsy grin on her face. The guys laughed, Kat just smiled, hoping that Kelly had realised what she meant, and went up to bed.

Chapter Seventeen

Next morning Kat was up first. Still in her pjs she snuck downstairs, made everyone a brew and brought them up on a tray. Eager to find out how her friend was and what had happened between her and Jason last night, Kat set the tray down on a side table and gently knocked on the guest room door. There was no answer, she was just wondering if Kelly had maybe spent the night in another room when she herd a stirring from inside the room, she knocked again a little louder this time, then opened the door and peeked her head round. Kelly was sat up in bed, on her own yawning.
"Morning." she yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Morning hun." replied Kat entering the room and passing her friend a hot cup of coffee. "Did you have a good night?"
"Yes." Kelly grinned.
"Oh really?" Kat replied eager to hear some gossip about what had happened between her friend and Jason.
"Yes . . . but not like that." Kelly replied. "He said he didn't want to take advantage while I was drunk . . . why does he have to be such a gentleman? . . . we did kiss though." she grinned. "I just hope I didn't make a fool of myself . . . I think I flirted an awful lot."
"Don't worry." Kat reassured her "It looked like he was doing a lot of flirting back from what I saw."
"Oh shit." Kelly said.
"What?" Kat asked.
"I think I kinda told him about the flowers you got off Robbie." she explained reluctantly. "I'm really sorry hun, it just came out . . . I told him not to tell anyone else though." she apologised. Kat rolled her eyes.
"Oh well, I guess I'll have to take his brew in next and have a word with him . . . see you in a bit hun." she said leaving her friend to get ready.

Taking a deep breath Kat took Jason's cup and knocked on his door.
"Come in." came the reply. Kat entered Jason's room to find him slipping his shirt on. "Morning luv." he said cheerily.
"Morning" Kat replied "You and Kelly seemed to be getting on well last night." Jason smiled and there was a little twinkle in his eye.
"Yes we got on very well." he replied. "She's really nice . . . really nice." he winked with a cheeky grin on his face.
"Listen, did Kelly mention anything last night about . . ." Kat began
"About the flowers you received from Robbie." Jason interrupted. Suddenly he had a serious look on his face. "Yes she did . . . don't worry she made me promise not to say anything to anyone else . . . but she's worried about you . . . and so am I . . ."
"Well I've told Kelly if he doesn't stop the pestering by the time the tour is over then I'll get a solicitor involved and it will be taken care of while we're all on holiday, I promise . . . I’m sure it will all have blown over before then anyway." Kat replied.
"OK . . . you're probably right.” he agreed.

Kat was having a great time on tour with the guys; it was like one big family. The only thing getting her down was the emails she was still receiving from Robbie and his record company, though she didn't mention it to the guys. This was definitely something that she'd have to put a stop to once and for all when the tour ended and before she went on holiday.

Putting on the final show Kat felt sad, not only because she knew she'd miss touring, and the dancers and crew she'd become friends with, but also because she knew she'd have to think of a way to put an end to the all the emails and faxes from Robbie and his record company, but what could she do?

Although she attended the end of tour party, Kat didn't stay late; she wasn't in the mood for partying. So after a couple of drinks made her way round the dancers and crew members saying her goodbyes and thanking them for their work on the tour, then went back to her hotel room. She opened her lap top, accessed her email account to find just as she'd expected yet another email from Robbie, this time asking her to meet up with him to discuss the job offer and see if they can come to an agreement. Kat screamed to herself in frustration, then heard a knock at the door. She answered it to find Gary stood in font of her with a look of concern on his face.
"Are you OK?" he asked stepping in to her room.
"Yeah." Kat replied, realising she had left her Lap-Top open with Robbie's email on the screen she quickly closed it. "Just my lap-top playing me up." she explained.
"Do you want me to have a look at it?" Gary offered.
"No, no . . I'll sort it out, just needs re-booting I think." Kat replied slipping it into its carry-case.
"You left the party rather early, are you sure you're OK?" asked Gary concerned.
"Yeah, just a bit tired I guess and feeling a bit down about the tour coming to an end, I guess I actually enjoyed doing it in the end, dancing in front of thousands and all" Kat smiled rolling her eyes.
Gary smiled back. "Well we couldn't have done it without you hun . . . and I really mean that, you've worked really hard over the past few weeks, probably more than any of us. I think we've all really earned this holiday." he gave Kat a hug and as usual she melted into those strong arms of his, wishing she could stay there forever. But pulled away as she caught herself thinking that, it really wasn't professional behaviour, and she remembered that look on his face after they'd kissed in rehearsal, it was quite clear he didn't feel the same way about her.
"Yes . . . well I'd better get some sleep. . . " Kat told Gary opening the door for him.
"OK . . . see you tomorrow, good night." he replied leaving her room.
As soon as he'd gone Kat opened her lap-top again and began to write a reply to Robbie's email. She had decided to get this problem sorted out once and for all, she would meet up with Robbie and tell him straight to his face she wasn't interested in the job and would get a solicitor involved if he didn't stop harassing her. And she was going to do it before the holiday, so she could finally relax and enjoy herself.

The next day was spent travelling from Manchester back to Gary's house in London. Kat was very quiet, her mind filled with concerns about her impending meeting with Robbie. Luckily the guys didn't really notice as they were recovering from the previous night's party.

On arriving back at Gary's they ordered take out and after eating soon everyone drifted off to bed, tired from the travel and exhaustion of the tour. But as tired as she was Kat found it hard to sleep, she'd arranged to meet Robbie in a restaurant in town for lunch the next day. She just wanted it to be over and done with so she could go on holiday and relax with the guys.

Chapter Eighteen

After a night if tossing and turning, morning finally came. Kat got washed and dressed and made her way down stairs. As she was making breakfast Mark appeared, and was soon followed by Jason and Gary. They all sat round eating breakfast together, leaving Howard to lie in. Kat quickly finished her breakfast, pouring half her brew away. She wanted to get out of the house early and in to town so she didn't arouse suspicion with the guys.
"You off out?" asked Mark as Kat reached her jacket down from the peg.
"Yeah, just bobbing into town for a bit of last minute holiday shopping." she replied casually." Anything you want me to pick up for you?" she added speaking to all three guys.
"No ta." came the replies from Mark and Jason.
"Hang on a minute and I'll come with you if you like." suggested Gary.
"No . . . that's OK it'll mainly be clothes shoppin' and you'll get bored." Kat replied as she headed out the door, not giving Gary a chance to argue.

It was almost 10.30am when Kat got into town and parked up. She decided to kill some time with some clothes shopping, which helped take her mind off meeting Robbie. As the time ticked on, Kat began to feel sick with nerves; she hated confrontation, but just kept telling herself it had to be done.

Finally it was 12.30pm and Kat was walking down the road to the restaurant. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were tables outside, as she got closer Kat spotted Robbie sitting alone at one of the tables, dark shades on but still fairly recognisable. Kat felt her stomach flip and she stopped a moment, taking a deep breath to calm herself, before continuing towards the restaurant.

Unknown to Kat, further behind on the same road, trying to catch up with her was Gary. He'd popped into town and spotted her walking towards the restaurant, figuring she was stopping for lunch he thought he'd catch up with Kat and join her.

Kat walked to Robbie's table and he stood up to greet her. Gary stopped in his tracks as he realised who Kat was meeting for lunch. Kat held out her hand to greet Robbie, but as he took her hand he pulled her close and kissed her, as if they were lovers, taking Kat completely by surprise. Gary turned away feeling a great anger rising inside him. He marched back to his car and sped off home reeling from what he'd just witnessed, his head spinning with the idea that Kat had betrayed them, that she was going to leave and work for Robbie, how long had this been going on he wondered, how many lies had she told, and underneath it all how hurt and jealous he felt. Shocked, Kat pulled away and slapped Robbie hard across his face.
"I came here to tell you to your face that you can stick you job offer. I'm not bloody interested . . . and if you send me one more email, fax or letter about it I'll be passing it to my solicitor as a harassment case." Kat shouted at Robbie.
This obviously wasn't the response Robbie was expecting. The whole restaurant was watching as Kat stormed out, but she didn't care she was so mad that he'd assumed he could just kiss her like that. When she reached her car, Kat got in and took a moment before she drove home as a few tears of relief rolled down her cheeks. 'Thank god that's over with.' she thought.

It was a wonder that Gary hadn't caused an accident with the reckless way he'd driven home. He stormed into the house slamming the door hard behind him. Marching into the kitchen, Gary poured himself a large glass of vodka and continued through to his studio slamming that door as well, ignoring the guys who were sat around the kitchen table.
The guys looked at one another blankly.
"What's the matter with him?" asked Howard.
"Dunno, he was fine when he went out earlier." replied Mark.
"I'll go and see if he's OK." added Jason getting up and walking towards the studio door. Peering through the window, Jason could see Gary slumped in his chair staring at his glass, having already consumed over half of its contents. He knocked on the door, Gary didn't respond, he didn't even look up to see who it was. Jason let himself in and walked over to where Gary was sat, still he didn't move.
"What's the matter Gary?" Jason asked softly. Gary finally looked up at Jason.
"I've just found out Kat's been lying to us." he replied, with anger in his voice. Jason looked confused.
"What do you mean?" he asked. Gary retold what he'd seen in town earlier, as Jason listened in disbelief, remembering what Kelly had told him about the flowers Kat had received after that first night on tour. This just didn't add up. "Are you sure mate? Maybe you were mistaken . . . it just doesn't sound like her." he responded when Gary had finished.
"I know what I saw." Gary replied. "I bet she takes this nice little free holiday, then leaves us to work for him . . . I've a good mind to cancel her ticket."
"Wait . . . let's not be too hasty." Jason urged. "Even if that is what she plans, she's earned this holiday as much as any of us with all the work she's done on the tour . . . let me have a word with her, find out what's going on."
"No, don't you say a word to her . . . I don't want to hear her making up excuses and delaying this, if she's going then I want her gone as soon as possible." Gary replied anger still bubbling in his voice. Jason sighed, he knew this couldn't be right, Kelly had been so concerned for her friend after Robbie's stalker-ish behaviour, she couldn't have suddenly become his lover - especially not during the tour, but he'd promised not to tell anyone about that.

About 20 minutes later, Kat arrived home and went straight to her room to sort her make-up out. The tears had smudged her eyeliner and she didn't want any questions about whether she'd been crying and what for. Once she'd sorted herself out Kat made her way back downstairs. Jason had already explained what Gary had told him to Mark and Howard, neither of them could believe it and had agreed not to say anything about it, hoping that the truth would come out soon, what ever that was.
Kat could sense there was an atmosphere, even though Jason, Mark and Howard were talking to her as normal, they just seemed somehow distant and Gary was in his studio. He was still in his studio when Kat was making tea. She knocked on the studio door and popped her head round to let him know it was ready.
"I'm not hungry." came the sharp reply. Gary didn't even look in her direction. Kat noticed the half empty bottle of Vodka on his desk.
"Well I'll leave your plate in the microwave in case you want it later . . . you know we're flying early tomorrow morning . . . maybe you should ease off on the Vodka a little." Kat replied politely. Gary looked up at her and the image of her kiss with Robbie instantly replayed in his mind.
"Just leave me alone." he snapped turning away. Shocked, Kat closed the door and returned to the kitchen. She called the other guys in for their tea and everyone, apart from Gary, came sat at the table.
"OK . . . tell me what's wrong with Gary." she said. "He's not come out of that studio since I've been home, he won't eat, he's sat in there drinking vodka straight and he's just been really snappy with me."
The guys looked at each other trying to think of an excuse.
"Sorry . . . he's been like that all day, he gets a bit down after a tour ends." lied Howard.
"And he doesn't much like long flights." added Mark.
"Yeah . . . I'm sure he'll be fine in a few days time." said Jason. Kat wasn't convinced, there was something they weren't telling her, but they obviously weren't going to tell her either.

Gary still hadn't emerged from his studio when Kat went to bed that night. She felt sure that what ever had upset him was to do with her, but tried to convince herself she was being paranoid. Maybe the guys were right, maybe his mood was just because of the tour coming to an end. It kept playing on her mind as she tried to get to sleep, but she must have drifted off at some point, as she woke to her alarm at 5.30am. Gary hadn't been able to sleep either that night, despite the amount of Vodka he'd consumed. When Kat made her way downstairs, she found him sitting in the kitchen drinking black coffee, but as soon as she entered he walked out and sat in the front room, obviously not wanting to speak to her.

As Kat was putting the kettle on Mark entered the kitchen.
"What is his problem?" Kat asked. Mark just shook his head. "Well I'm going to find out!" she said and went to open the door into the front room. Mark grabbed her arm.
"Don't." he said pulling her back. "Look, I do know what's wrong with him but I can't tell you . . . please, just give us some time to sort it out." he pleaded.
Kat nodded "OK, but please sort it out soon . . . I don't like seeing him like this and I don't understand what I've done wrong." Mark gave her a hug and a tear rolled down Kat's face.

Once everyone was up and dressed, they made their way out to the car. Paul was driving them to the airport and he'd already loaded the suit cases into the car. Gary climbed in the front wearing dark shades and looking moody, so Kat and the guys jumped in the back. Hardly a word was spoken all the way to the airport. Kat was glad when they got on the plane; she was sat next to Mark at the opposite end of the row to Gary. Soon after take off she put her seat right back and made herself comfortable so that she could try and get some sleep.
"Oh damn it!" said Mark suddenly; Kat looked at him wondering what the matter was. "I packed my iPod in my case." he explained. "Don't suppose I could borrow yours?" he asked. Kat pulled her iPod from her bag and passed it to Mark.
"There's a lot of Take That on there I'm afraid." she giggled. "Don't worry though, there's quite a few compilations too, and some Madonna and Jamiroqui and a few others."
"Thanks hun." Mark replied putting the earphones in. Kat turned over and snuggled down under her complimentary blanket and drifted off to sleep.

While browsing through Kat's iPod, Mark stumbled onto the pictures option and found five photos stored. One was a group photo of the band, three of them were solo shots of Gary from photo shoots he'd done in the past and the last one was a photo of her and Gary dancing from the recent tour. Mark smiled to himself, then checked through the artists listed on her iPod and found the only solo albums from when Take That had split were Gary's. Mark's own albums weren't listed, none of Howard's dance tracks and more importantly not a single track from Robbie Williams. Looking down the row of seats Mark could see that Gary was also asleep, but Jason and Howard were awake watching the in-flight film. Quietly Mark got their attention, passed them Kat's iPod and told them what he'd found.
"There's no way she's going to work for Robbie it just doesn't add up." he told them.
"No, you're right, but Gary won't believe us based on this, he's certain of what he saw and he'd probably say she's just deleted the Robbie tracks to cover herself." replied Howard.
"I can't see her going to that much trouble, besides I asked to borrow her iPod . . . how could she predict that?" answered Mark.
"Yes I agree, but you know what Gary's like, we need some way of proving that she's not seeing Robbie. . . or planning to work for him." replied Jason. "I just don't know how."

Mark returned to his seat for the rest of the flight and when Kat woke up he returned her iPod, not able to prevent the grin on his face.
"What?" Kat asked "I did warn you there was a lot of Take That on there."
"Nice pictures." he replied with a beaming smile. Kat went red instantly, realising the pictures he was referring to.
"Please tell me you haven't told Gary." she asked.
"No don't worry, your secret's safe with me . . . and Howard . . . and Jason." Mark answered. Kat suddenly felt rather ill, the secret she'd kept from them for so long was out, the only comfort was that Gary didn't know, and she trusted the guys not to tell him, but really hoped they wouldn't make an issue out of this and tease her, or he'd be sure to find out.
"I wish I hadn't lent it to you now." Kat admitted. Kat kept very quiet for the rest of the journey and just hoped this would be forgotten about, she had enough to worry about with wondering what she'd done to upset Gary.

Chapter Nineteen

The plane landed and as they got off they were each offered a complimentary British newspaper, only Jason accepted one. As the stewardess handed it to him the free Celeb mag fell out onto the floor. He picked it up and was astonished at the photo on the front page, it was of Robbie and Kat kissing, just as Gary had described and the caption read 'Robbie's new PA? . . ." Quickly Jason pushed it back inside the paper and made his way off the plane.

In the VIP area, while everyone waited for their bags to be unloaded, Jason found a quiet spot and read the article about Robbie and Kat in the Celeb mag. It started off taking about Kat and how she'd won the competition to become Take That's new PA, then talked about how well Take That were doing and the recent tour, before describing how Kat had met Robbie in the restaurant at lunchtime and exactly what had happened including photo's of Kat slapping Robbie. Jason smiled to himself, this was just the proof they'd need to convince Gary he was wrong. Discretely he beckoned Howard over and told him what he'd found.
"Perfect!" Howard exclaimed looking at the article. "Let's go tell him."
"No, wait. . ." Jason replied. "Leave it to me; he'd be really embarrassed if we showed him this in front of Kat after being in such a strop about it. . . I think we need to tell him when he's alone, so he can decide what to do next."
"OK . . . you’re right, but he'd better do some serious apologising after the way he's been acting." Howard replied. Howard discretely let Mark know what they'd found and he also agreed that Gary should be told privately.


Kat didn't even notice the improved atmosphere of the guys on the way to the resort; she was too busy worrying about Gary. The hotel was beautiful, but Kat couldn't wait to get to her bungalow and shut herself away for a while.
As soon as she was shown to her bungalow, Kat closed the door and got straight on the phone to Kelly, both to let her know she'd arrived safely and to tell her all about what had happened with her meeting with Robbie, how Gary seemed to be in a mood with her but no-one would explain why and how the guys had found out about her feelings for Gary. Kelly was amazed at how much had gone on in such a short space of time.
"Well at least you've sorted Robbie out . . . good and proper by the sounds of it too!" she assured Kat light-heartedly.
"I know its just Gary I'm bothered about now . . .seriously if he carries on like this much longer I think I'm going to have to quit." Kat replied.
"It's that bad?" Kelly asked.
"Yes he's driving me crazy, and not in a good way." Kat confirmed.
"Well if Mark said they'd sort it . . . you'll just have to give them a few days to sort it . . . from what you told me they obviously know what's wrong with him. . . and remember you're in the Maldives for god sake, just try and ignore Gary and enjoy the holiday!"
"OK . . . you're right, I'll try my best." Kat told her friend. With that she said goodbye and started getting ready for bed.
Having finished eating, Kat thanked Gary for breakfast and got up to leave.
"That's the least I could do after being such an idiot . . . I'm really sorry." Gary told her, sincerely.
"I forgive you." smiled Kat as she removed her bath robe. Still stood on the next balcony, Howard choked on his coffee.
"You not going back the front way?" asked Gary as Kat picked up her mask and snorkel and started down the steps to the sea.
"My front door's locked." she replied ". . . no pockets for a key." she explained gesturing at the bikini she was wearing.
"Oh yeah . . . didn’t think of that." Gary laughed. "Seeya later."
Kat waved at him and swam off towards her bungalow.

Once Kat was out of ear shot Howard beckoned to Gary.
"I thought you and Kat had got it together last night then . . . they way you were cosying up eating breakfast together this morning." he told Gary.
"Yeah I figured that when you choked on your coffee." Gary replied with a sly grin.
"Well I didn't know what she was wearing under that robe." Howard protested with a smirk.
"After the way I've treated her recently it would take a hell of a lot of smooth talking to even get a date with her." Gary told Howard. "I think I've well and truly screwed up any chance I had there." he added sadly, shaking his head. Howard rolled his eyes and headed back inside.

Chapter Twenty

Howard made his way down to the restaurant to get his own breakfast. On enetring the room he saw Mark and Jason already sat down eating.
"Oi, you could have knocked on for me this morning." he shouted as he made his way to their table.
"We didn't think you'd be up before noon." Jason replied grinning. Howard sat down and ordered breakfast for himself.
"So have you heard anything from Gary this morning? Did he read that article?" asked Jason.
"Oh yes." replied Howard knowingly.
"And . . . ?"asked Mark, desperate to know what had happened.
". . . and he's apologised to her . . . they were having breakfast together on Gary's balcony this morning." he added.
"Oh really!" Mark exclaimed eyes wide with surprise.
"Yeah . . . but not like that." Howard laughed going on to explaining how he'd jumped to the same conclusion and how Gary thinks he's screwed up any chance he had with Kat.
"For god's sake! . . . they're hopeless the pair of them!" sighed Jason in exasperation.
"I know . . . how can they not see how they feel about each other?!" agreed Howard. "We need to do something about it."
"but what?" asked Mark. "We can't tell either of them how the other feels, cos for one we promised each of them we wouldn't, and for two neither of them would believe us!"
Jason looked thoughtful for a moment. "I've had an idea." he announced. Then explained his plan to his two friends.

Having spent the morning snorkelling happily, relieved that she and Gary had sorted out the horrible misunderstanding, Kat returned to her bungalow, showered and changed into a long floaty sun dress, ready for lunch. She left her bungalow and began to hunt for the guys, hoping they'd join her for lunch. On her way she passed the main bar, she stopped as she heard Gary's familiar voice singing a new song while playing the piano. Transfixed by the sound of his voice, Kat crept into the bar and listened quietly.
(You – The Circus)

"It's not a spark that gives me life,
it's not the days I'm up all night,
is it a story I have read?
or a picture in my head?

its not the world that pulls me through,
it wasn't a question before I knew,
its just an answer here by my side I found it out just too late.

It's youuuuuuuuuu
yeah
its youuuuuuuu
its you."

Then he stopped and scribbled on a piece of paper. This must be a new song he's writing Kat realised and she applauded him. Gary looked up in surprise; he hadn't noticed Kat enter the room.
"That was beautiful." Kat told him as she walked towards the piano where he was sat. "So sad but really beautiful." she added.
"Thank you." he smiled, blushing slightly.
"but you shouldn't be working . . . you're on holiday remember?" Kat told him.
"Yeah I know . . . sometimes I just have to write it down when I have the inspiration, you know." he explained sighing quietly to himself.
Kat smiled. "Well I'm inspired to get some lunch right now . . . want to join me?" she asked.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." replied Gary suddenly realising he was hungry.

Kat spotted Mark and Jason looking in the gift shop on their way to the dinning room and she knocked on the window to them, signalling for them to join them for lunch. Jason nodded signalling that they'd meet them there. On reaching the dinning room they found Howard, already tucking in to his lunch. He spotted the two walking in and beckoned them over to join him. Soon they were joined by Jason and Mark.
"I was wondering if you guys fancied trying the Italian restaurant for dinner tonight." suggested Jason enthusiastically as he sat down.
Gary nodded. "Yeah, I could go for that." he replied. Kat looked round the table and everyone seemed up for the idea, she was quite pleased as she liked Italian food and the Italian restaurant was in a lovely spot, right out in the ocean at the end of the pier where their water bungalows were.
"OK I'll get a table booked after lunch." Kat said; she'd gotten used to organising meals for them all.
"No, it's OK I'll book it . . . you're on holiday." insisted Jason.
"OK" Kat agreed; it would be nice for someone else to do some organising for a change she thought.

After lunch the guys spent the rest of the afternoon in the main bar, which soon turned in to a sing-along with Gary on the piano. Kat stayed well out of it, enjoying the free impromptu private concert.
"Hey, why don't you sing that new one you were writing earlier?" Kat suggested to Gary.
"Err . . . its not finished yet." Gary replied, obviously reluctant to perform it.
"What new song is this, mate?" asked Jason eagerly.
"Just something Kat caught me working on earlier . . . I've only got a verse and chorus so far." he answered.
"Aww go on Gaz, sing it for us." Mark insisted. Kat felt a bit bad for bringing it up now, but Garry began playing the intro and sang the part written song again so beautifully. The guys applauded when he finished.
"That's really nice that, Gaz." Jason commented.
"Yeah . . . I don't know where you get your inspiration from." added Howard, having a sly dig; it was obvious to everyone but Kat that the song was about her. Wanting to change the subject quickly, Gary started playing Shine. Mark took Kat's hand dancing with her as they had done on the TV show, singing as he did. The afternoon carried on this way, all of them laughing and joking, Kat was having the time of her life. This was just as she'd pictured the holiday, before Gary had become so moody. Then Kat looked her watch, it was 6pm already!
"What time did you book the table for?" she asked Jason.
"Oh . . . err 7.30" he replied.
"I best go and start getting ready then." Kat said making her way towards the bar. She hadn't realised it had gotten so late.
"Yeah we'd best make a move too." Mark agreed checking his own watch. "Seeya later."

Chapter Twenty One

Kat hurried back to her bungalow. Once inside she reached out a new long sky blue evening dress, she ran her hand along the soft fabric and smiled to herself, she'd been so looking forward to wearing this dress since trying it on in the shop weeks ago. She had a nice long shower and when she got out she sat in front of the mirror carefully applying her make-up. It was a nice change to have the time to do this, not having to rush around after the guys, ironing shirts at the last minute and making sure everyone was ready on time. Kat proceeded to dry and straighten her hair, she was surprise how much better it turned out taking her time over it instead of the rush job she'd usually make of it. Finally she slipped on her dress and checked herself in the mirror, she felt like a film star ready for the red carpet. Just the finishing touches she thought putting on a sparkly crystal bracelet and necklace, then reached for her favourite perfume. As she spritzed herself with the alluring scent she heard a knock at the door. She checked her watch, it was 7:30 exactly, then went to answer the door. Gary stood in her doorway, looking as gorgeous as ever in a crisp white short sleeved shirt and black trousers. His now sun kissed skin really complimented the white shirt he was wearing.
"Wow, you look stunning." Gary admitted taking in the sight of Kat in her new dress. Kat blushed, maybe she'd over done it a bit, after all they were all just having a meal out together.
"You're not so bad yourself." she smiled back at Gary. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, I think the others must have made there way up there already, they aren't in their bungalows." he replied gesturing towards his friends bungalows.
"Oh right, I guess we are running a little late." she added closing the door behind her. "Could you look after my key?" she asked holding out the key card to her Bungalow. "I don't have a bag to go with this dress." she explained.
Gary grinned as he took the key card from her.
"Offering your room key to me already? . . . and I haven't even bought you a drink yet." he teased as he held out his arm to escort her.
Kat rolled her eyes and grinned before taking his arm and setting off towards the restaurant. As they passed Howard, Jason and Mark's bungalows Kat looked over to check no one was home, there were no signs of life.

It was only a short walk to the Italian restaurant. When they got there Gary and Kat were expecting to see the other guys waiting at the bar, but there were just a few other holiday makers. Kat was just about to suggest Gary tried calling them on their mobiles, when the matradee approached them.
"Mr Barlow, Ms Hamer can I show you to your table?" he asked. Gary nodded and they both figured that the guys must have been shown to the table already. They followed the matradee into the restaurant. He stopped beside a table in the corner that was set for two with flowers and a candle lit flickering in the centre. He pulled out a chair and gestured for Kat to sit down.
"Err . . . I think there’s been a mistake . . . we need a table for five." Kat told the matradee.
"No mistake Madame, Mr Orange was quite clear with his instructions." he replied.
Kat looked up at Gary puzzled. 'Surely he hasn't set us up.' she thought her heart pounding nervously.
Gary smiled blushing slightly.
"I think we've been set up." he said confirming Kat's suspicion, as he nodded towards another table. Kat followed his gaze and saw three familiar men concentrating a little too hard on their menus. It was Jason, Howard and Mark, trying to hide unsuccessfully behind their menus.
Kat looked back at Gary in a mixture of anger and embarrassment at being so obviously set up.
"Come on we might as well go along with it." Gary suggested gesturing for her to sit down. Suddenly feeling rather queasy and dizzy Kat sat down. The matradee handed them both a menu and left them to decide what they wanted to eat.
"Why have they done this?" Kat muttered to herself angrily.
"I'm kinda glad they did." Gary told her sincerely. Kat looked up at him, hoping that she'd applied enough make-up to hide her blushes. "There's something I . . . I should have told you a long time ago . . . but I didn't want it to make things awkward." Gary explained, his body language showing that he felt very awkward about what ever it was he wanted to tell Kat. He kept looking at her then down at his feet. This made Kat feel nervous and she nearly jumped when the Matradee came to take their order. Neither Kat nor Gary had really looked at their menus yet, but the quickly decided and handed the menus back to the matradee. When the matradee left their table the two sat in silence for a long minute. Kat wondered if Gary had decided against telling her whatever it was he was about to tell her, then he looked up at her, it was clear from his expression that he was trying to find the right words for what he needed to say.
"Please . . . whatever it is just tell me . . . I won't judge you whatever it is and I don't want things to get awkward between us either, but this silence is killing me." Kat said as she took Gary's hand and squeezed it.
Gary sighed. "OK . . . you know what an idiot I was over the whole Robbie thing?"
Kat rolled her eyes. "Yes." she replied.
"Well, if I'm honest, it wasn't just the thought of you going to work for him that hurt me . . . that day when I saw him kissing you . . ." he continued anger bubbling in his voice as he recalled the image. "I . . . I was jealous." he admitted looking down at his feet again.
Kat tried to take in what he was saying.
"Jealous? . . . I don't understand." Kat replied.
Gary sighed and looked up at Kat. "You're not making this easy for me." he said smiling.
"Well why don't you make it a bit easier for me and just tell me what you mean instead of talking in riddles." Kat complained smiling back at him. She was sure she was jumping to the wrong conclusion with her interpretation of what he'd said. The matradee came over at that moment with their meals. Gary seemed glad of the distraction.
"Mmm this looks nice." he said trying to change the subject.
"Yes it does." Kat agreed as she began to eat. A few minutes went by when neither of them spoke. Then finally Gary broke the silence.
"OK, I'm going to spell it out for you . . . but please don't go awkward on me, I really don't want this to ruin our friendship." he pleaded.
"Promise." Agreed Kat smiling.
Gary sighed again. "I . . . I've had feelings for you for a while now . . . since doing the TV show actually . . . but I have this rule you see, I don't date staff . . . I used to be with this dancer, Susan . . . things went badly wrong and well it wasn't just me it affected and I swore I wouldn't do that again. . .The guys have known how I feel for you too, they teased me about it at first and reminded me that I couldn't show any favouritism during the competition, and I didn't, you got the job fair and square." he assured Kat sincerely. She was just looking back at him, trying to take in what he was saying. "Then after the competition I thought I would just get over it eventually, I knew the tour was coming up and that was sure to take my mind off things . . . then, then there were the dance rehearsals." He looked up at Kat again and she bit her lip, remembering the way he'd kissed her that day. "I got carried away and as soon as I'd kissed you I knew it was breaking my rule, you're staff and I'd been so determined not to . . . then you ran out . . . I wanted to run after you, but the guys convinced me not to, saying you looked like you needed some space . . . by the time I got home I had made my mind up, I was going to break that rule and ask you out . . .but when you dismissed the kiss as just getting carried away . . . I, I figured you didn't feel the same. . . and that's OK, I understand . . . I guess the guys just wanted me to tell you and get it out in the open." he finished, looking back down at his feet.
Kat giggled and Gary looked up at her, his face confused and a little hurt by her reaction.
"Oh Gary, you're right, you are an idiot." She told him smiling, he looked as though he was going to speak, but Kat cut him off. "I thought it was me they'd set up, but I guess its both of us . . ." now he looked even more confused, she knew she'd have to explain so she took a deep breath. "Gary Barlow, you are my favourite member of Take That . . . and I've fancied the pants off you since Take That reformed in 2005 . . . but more than that I've gotten to know you and . . . and I, I . . . oh for gods sake I'm just going to say it, I'm in love with you." she announced.
Gary was obviously shocked by this revelation and just sat looking at Kat for a minute. Kat was suddenly embarrassed wondering if she'd admitted too much too soon telling him she was in love with him. Then he leaned in close and Kat could feel her heart pounding faster. He reached up and took Kat's head in his hand; he was so close Kat could feel his breath on her lips.
"Just one thing" Gary whispered, "please don't slap me after this." he grinned his school boy grin.
"Promise" Kat whispered grinning back. Then she closed her eyes and felt Gary's lips on hers, so gentle just as she'd remembered. A second later Kat was aware of clapping and cheering coming from another table and she and Gary pulled apart laughing.
"About bloody time!" shouted Howard.
Soon the whole restaurant had joined in and right on cue the matradee popped open a bottle of Champagne and poured Kat and Gary a glass each. It was all very embarrassing, but wonderful at the same time. Gary told the matradee to pour a glass for each of the guys too and they held a toast in Gary and Kat's honour. Kat and Gary tried to carry on as normal finishing their meal, but it was a little uncomfortable with the whole restaurant nudging to each other and trying to listen in on their conversation. Gary called the matradee over, whispered something to him and handed him a rather large tip. The matradee nodded and went away.
"I thought you might prefer to continue our conversation somewhere a little more private." he explained to Kat as he took a sip of champagne. "So I've arranged for our dessert to be delivered to my bungalow . . . you don't mind do you?" he asked.
"Do I have a choice?" Kat asked grinning.
"No" Gary replied. "I still have you room key.” he winked back at her micheviously.
Gary stood up and took Kat's hand leading her out of the restaurant. They could hear the guys shouting after them, 'Good night, have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do.'
"Sorry . . . they can be a bit embarrassing sometimes." Gary apologised as they began strolling back to Gary's bungalow. "So they all knew how you felt about me?" he asked curiously.
"Only since the plane journey here." Kat explained "Mark kinda figured it out after he borrowed my iPod." Gary looked puzzled. "Get him to tell you, please, I've had enough embarrassment for one night." she begged not wanting to go into the details.
"OK." Gary laughed. "I think we've both been embarrassed enough for one night."

They reached Gary's door and stopped as Gary fished his key card out of his pocket.
"I hope you don't think I'm easy . . . coming back to yours on the first date and all." Kat said seriously, suddenly feeling a little worried.
Gary laughed. "You have lived with me for . . . how many months. . ." then he realised from the look on Kat's face she was being serious.”No I don't think you're easy, at all." he told her sincerely looking deep into her eyes. "if you feel things are going too fast, just tell me . . . but I think you should at least come in for dessert . . . or I'll have to eat two tiramisus to myself." he smiled.
Kat smiled back "OK." she agreed and followed him inside.
Gary shut the door behind them and took hold of Kat's hands pulling her towards him. Looking deep into her eyes he slowly leaned in gently pressing his lips against hers, Kat gladly accepted his kiss, their lips parted and their tongues met, they stayed kissing like that for a few minutes, before finally parting.
"Much better without any interruptions." Gary smiled. Taking her hand he lead her out to the balcony, where the table had been laid and their desserts waited for them along with another bottle of champagne. They sat down and began to eat, laughing and chatting away about the tour and how each of them had found it awkward dancing together every night, not knowing that the other felt the same and about the competition and the tasks and the meal out at Gordon Ramsey’s. This reminded Kat of the reaction she'd got from seductively eating her dessert that night and she decided to remind Gary by taking a spoon of tiramisu and licking it seductively while gazing deep into Gary's eyes. It certainly had an effect on him as he slammed his bowl down, got to his feet and pulled Kat towards the bedroom. Gary stopped just outside the bedroom door.
"Kat I really don't think your easy at all . . . and if you want me to take things slower I will . . . but . . . I feel like we've lost enough time together already." he told her.
"Yes I think you're right." replied Kat taking the handle and pushing open the bedroom door. Gary flicked on the light; the two of them looked over at the bed and burst out giggling. Gary's king-size bed was decorated with flower petals in the shape of a heart, in the middle the petals spelled out GARY AND KAT.
"I'm gonna bloody kill them." growled Gary as he walked towards the bed pulling Kat along with him.
"Oh it seems a shame to spoil it." said Kat teasing. Gary shot her a look as he ripped back the cover dispersing all the petals that floated like confetti to the ground. He wrapped his arms around Kats waist pulling her close again. Their lips met again and Gary gently pushed Kat onto the bed, then he suddenly stopped.
"Just wait right there for one minute." he told Kat and quickly made his way to the front door. Kat stared over at him puzzled for a moment, then realised he was putting out the 'do not disturb sign' and she chuckled. "I don't want any interruptions." he smiled as he joined her again.

The End . . . Smile