As she had laid in his arms, listening to his light breathing, she had come to a conclusion. She wasn't going back to the tour to work, just to get her stuff and then come home to him. He had no idea that she had came to this conclusion, but it was something that she needed to do so that she could keep the man that she loved. The guys of Otown were special to her, because they had given her a chance and not pushed her away when they had found out she was dating Justin, but she needed to think of herself here. She needed to think of Justin, and she knew that she needed to be at home with him.
The door opened and Lou smiled the smile that he was known for. That smile showed that he wanted to friendly, but she knew that it was decieving. She knew that it could creat chaos in a life without the person ever knowing it was coming. "Hi, Mr. Pearlman," she said, walking into his office.
"Its good to see you again, Whitney. I hope things on the tour are fine. The rumor that was circulating has been cleared up, and now getting to the main reason why you are here..." he said, his eyes looking at her to see if she was anxious to hear what he had to say.
"Actually, I am kind of curious as to why I'm here. I know that its nothing to do with the tour, because things are going pretty good. Its either I've screwed up or you're not liking the way that things are going."
He chuckled before answering her. "Whitney, you've not screwed up...but I am worried about some things. I think your relationship with Justin is interferring with your work. He distracts you, and the week that he visited you, I could tell. You weren't careful on how you presented yourself, and presentation is everything in this business, even if you aren't an artist. You're part of a tour and you're judged almost the same as an artist."
Her eyes narrowed because she didn't see how her work had been effected by Justin. "I beg to different with you. Justin did not effect my work. I had everything done on schedule and nothing happened. No chaos or problems arose while he was there. I won't lie and say that I didn't neglect my work some because I did. But I wasn't going to concentrate fully on work when the man that I love was so close to me. Justin and I have a bond and that bond can overcome anything..I'd gladly put him before my work because he means more to me than paperwork."
"That's the wrong attitude to have, Whitney. I have know how Justin is..he's dependant on something and I know he's dependant on you. That's why I have come to a conclusion.. he will not be allowed to come visit you while the tour finishes, and you will not be allowed to leave to see him. I hate to do that..but I have other people to think about."
Whitney's mouth dropped open wide. How dare he set there and tell her that she was not to see Justin. "First off..you aren't my mother and you sure as hell aren't my father. If I want to see Justin, you will not keep me from him."
"You have no choice in the matter. Its closed and not opened for discussion," he said, his tone starting to rise in anger and frustration.
"Lou..I have a few words for you. I quit..find someone else to do that job. My personal life means more to me than any job. I love Justin and you will not push me away from him just because you are worried about some stupid rumors..and don't try and say that rumors isn't what this is about because I know damn good and well that you don't want bad publicity brought to your new little projects."
"Ms. Littleton..you're in no position to be assuming things. I don't want you to quit, but I need you to push any distraction out of your life, and that means Justin..its just temporarily."
She stood up and shook her head. "Then I'm sorry to say this, I can't work for you. Have a nice life, Lou. You've won out in the end again," she said, before walking out and slamming the door behind her. She walked to her small office and cleaned out the few things that were there before heading back home. When she walked through the door, she felt a feeling of dread. Justin was going to want to know what had happened, and she couldn't lie and tell him that it was nothing. He could read her, and she knew he'd be pissed when he found out.
"Justin?" she called out, trying to find where he was. She stopped and listened, and heard the faint sound of a piano playing. She walked down the hall and paused when she reached the music room. The door was cracked open just enough that she could see him. His eyes were closed as his fingers slipped over the keys. He was humming along with the melody he was playing. Slowly, she walked inside and sat down beside him on the piano bench. He stopped playing before breaking into a smile. "You're back awful early.."
She took a deep breath before launching into the story. Once she had finished, Justin was boiling with anger. "I hate that man with a passion..."
"Listen to me, Justin. I wasn't planning on going back to the tour. I need to be here with you..its where I want to be."
"But I know that you were happy doing your job. The guys and you built up a friendship..especially you and Ashley." At the mention of his name, guilt floated through her. But she was determined not to show that he affected her.
"I can keep in touch with them. I'm not going to push you out of my life for a while just because Lou thinks that you interfer with my job..I won't do that. I need you, Justin..and I'm hoping that you need me too."
He kissed her lips lightly and nodded his head. "You know how much I need you. But I feel bad that you're having to give up something that you enjoy for me.."
"I would give up anything for you..and you know that," she said, leaning into his touch. She groaned slightly and pulled back. "I have to go get the rest of my stuff from the tour. Atleast I can explain to the guys what happened..hopefully I get to explain before Lou. There's no telling what that man will tell them is the reason for me leaving. "
Justin tensed. "I haven't liked that man from the first day I met him. He had this look in his eyes that made me see that he was only looking out for himself. He is a greedy bastard that needs to be put in his place."
"Whoa, calm down Justin. I need your help in arranging a flight. Just get me on one to Chicago and as soon as you can. You're coming with me incase something happens."
He nodded his head. "Whitney..."
"What baby?" she asked him.
"I love you," he said, before moving to play again. She stood there and watched as he played his heart out. Justin wasn't one to just sit down and play the piano, he had to be inspired. She didn't know exactly what had inspired him, but she had some clue. She bent down and kissed his cheek before leaving him alone to him music.
She walked to the master bedroom and sat down on the bed. She was happy with her decision about leaving the tour, but she knew she was going to miss the guys and especially Ashley. She enjoyed his friendship because it was similar to the one that she had with JC..only she hadn't slept with JC. She could talk to Ashley about anything. His eyes always said that he was ready to listen no matter what she had to talk about. She knew that Justin would be that way..he'd listen to anything she had to say. But it was just odd talking to him about some subjects, but she knew that everything would work out. Maybe she needed to be away from Ashley so that she could forget what had happened.
All of her ideas were based on speculations that very easily could be false, but she was trying her hardest to justify the situation. How could she justify a situation that she was playing as time went on? She sat down on the bed and sighed as she looked around. Even though she was going to fight, she couldn't stop things from changing somewhat. She was always going to be scared that Justin would find out about what she had done with Ashley, and it was eating at her to tell him. She didn't want to keep something from him, but she couldn't stand the thought of losing him.
She sat down beside him and looked at him with sympathy. "Do you need to talk, Ash?"
His eyes adverted to her and he shook his head. "I'm fine..just thinking about somethings."
"You know it helps to talk about this type of stuff."
Ashley sighed. "How can you talk about a situation when you don't fully understand it?" he said, his attitude starting to get grumpy.
Cait scooted away from him. "First off, Ash. I know things are tough but you don't have to bite my head off just because I'm trying to help you. You knew before you slept with her that she wouldn't be yours. She loves Justin, not you and you're going to have to move on. I know that sounds rude, but its time that you let go of your dreams. You're going to have to move on and finally realize once and for all that she will NEVER be yours to hold."
Ashley wiped away a tear as the realization set into his mind. "I know she can't be mine...that's the problem. I keep thinking that maybe there is a way for us to work out..maybe I can be the guy for her. Justin has to have faults somewhere and I want to be the one that shows her that I love her...but I can't. I can't find one single thing to help my case."
"Thats because there is nothing. She loves him, Ash. You're going to have to find a girl to love. You're not in love with Whitney right now, and that's an advantage. You have a strong infatuation, but its not love. You can move on..if you just try."
"I'm trying, Cait. I'm trying so hard that I'm exhausted from the effort I'm putting in. I know Jacob told you that we slept together, but it was so magical, Cait. I just..I can't get the feel of her out of my mind. I dream about it and I think about it. How can you push someone away when they have that type of hold on your mind?"
"You may think you can't, but you can, Ashley. You have power over your mind..you may think she does but you're being afraid to stand up and take control. Let her go..that's the best thing to do."
Ashley sighed before closing his mouth. Cait knew that he was pissed at her for being so forward, but someone needed to help him. She stood up and walked back to the bunk where Dan was resting. Pushing him over, she climbed in beside him, and was shocked to find that he was awake. "I'm taking it that you heard that whole conversation."
He nodded his head and kissed the end of her nose. "You are doing the right thing. The boy needs to move on before he makes himself sick with this obsession that he is having."
"I know and that's why I said that stuff. He needs to realize it..I can see a change in him and I'm barely around him. You on the other hand, are around him more than me. You can't honestly lay here and say that you haven't noticed some type of change. His attitude has an edge that is starting to worry me. Ashley's never been snappy about anything, he's been able to control his anger, but he can't do it because he's so frustrated at himself."
"Whitney's coming back tomorrow night..I heard Jacob talking to her on the phone. Cait, don't tell Ashley cause I know she'll want to tell him herself, but she's quiting. Lou accused her of some things and told her that Justin was not allowed to be around during the tour, and she quit."
Cait closed her eyes and sighed. "I can't believe how this is falling apart. Life is sucking right now."
He tilted her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. "Its not TOTALLY sucking right now. We're together and I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon..infact..I think I'm in love with you, Cait."
She smiled brightly before kissing his lips. "I AM in love with you, Dan. You make me feel happy," she said, as his lips connected with hers. His arm reached around and pulled the curtain closed. It was time to show her how much he actually loved her.
She kissed his cheek gently before giggling slightly. "You know you love the attention, it feds that big ego of yours," she joked.
Justin shrugged. "I dont have that big of an ego..what's wrong with knowing that you're loved by millions, have a beautiful girlfriend and have a body to die for? There's not a damn thing wrong with that! I've told you that."
She rolled her eyes before looking at the hotel where they had pulled up. A feeling of dread washed over her because she didn't want to say goodbye. It wasn't like she was never going to see them again, but she wasn't going to be working for them anymore. She loved her job and now she was leaving it behind. As they walked through the hotel lobby, she suddenly didn't want to leave. She had grown use to being with those guys and now she was going to be going back with one..it was just going to be odd.
"You know..you can stay here if you want. I'll just sneak back and see you..I mean he can't keep us apart. As long as I love you, I'll find a way to see you."
"No..this is for the best. I don't like working for Lou and I'm sure I'll get to see the guys at music events and Lou can't stop me from coming to visit them."
Justin wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled slyly. "Now I'm the one that might have a problem with you coming to visit five guys...especially on a friendly visit. You only get friendly with me.." he said, kissing her lips quickly.
'If you only knew, Justin,' she thought to herself as she watched the doors of the elevator open. The two of them stepped out, and Whitney couldn't help but smile as she saw Trevor and Dan wrestling on the floor in the hallway. Cait was standing there looking at them as if she was bored, but her eyes immediately lite up when she saw Whitney standing there. She walked over and hugged her friend that would be leaving. "I know you're leaving and I just want to say that you better keep in touch."
Whitney sighed. "Trust me..if the circumstances were different I would stay..but this is just something that has to be done. I'm going to get the guys together and tell them that way. It seems to me that it would be easier..by the way, is all my stuff in a room with you?"
Cait nodded her head. "You can go gather it and I'll assemble the troops up for you," she said, winking before turning to walk away. She stopped and turned around to smile at Justin. "Its nice to see you again, Justin. Let me say this..if Whitney gets tired of you..you can come sleep in my bed."
"Wouldn't Dan have a problem with that?" he said, winking and laughing as she shrugged and walked off.
Justin followed Whitney into the room where Cait had pointed and he felt bad as he watched her get everything together with a fallen face. He wished there was a way to make this situation happy for her, but he was drawing a blank. She needed to get away from the situation at hand and go to a place where she could concentrate on having fun instead of feeling down. Maybe it was time for that vacation he had been wanting to take with her.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked him, interrupting his train of thought.
"I'll talk to you about it later. Have you got everything?"
She nodded her head, before heading to answer the door when there was a light knock. She smiled when she saw Cait standing there. "They are waiting in Ashley's room," she told her. Whitney and Justin followed behind her, and they were soon standing infront of the three guys that were confused and two with knowing looks on their faces.
"You're back!" Trevor exclaimed, hugging her before blushing slightly at Justin who had his eyebrows raised. "Don't worry man.."
Justin nodded his head but remained silent. He watched her as she took a deep breath and spoke. "You guys..I have something to tell you. I can't stay on your tour any longer. Some things have happened, and its just better if I leave. I wanted to let you know the real reason before Lou reaches you and fills you with lies. He has restricted me from seeing Justin while working for you guys, and I can't do that. Therefor I'm going to leave the tour. I want you all to know that it has nothing to do with any of you," she said, her eyes landing on Ashley who looked like he might cry. "Its just better not to creat any problems."
Ashley's heart was pounding in his chest as he let her words settle into his brain. "You're leaving?" he asked, still not believing what he was hearing. When she nodded her head, all his hopes were torn apart.
After all the questions were answered, Ashley pulled Whitney aside. "This doesn't have anything to do with what happened between us, does it?" he asked her, his blue eyes clouded over with sadness and worry.
She shook her head. "No..and I haven't told him, Ash. I think I'm just going to keep that between me and you...but this does not have anything to do with that."
He hugged her to him and inhaled the smell of her, knowing that he could never forget that. "You better keep in touch with all of us. I know I'll miss you," he told her, before reluctantly pulling away.
She tried to smile at him, but only produced tears. "Don't worry..I have your cell number and I'll check in to make sure things are going ok. Its not like I won't see you..in fact I will be seeing you in a week for the MTV music awards."
He nodded his head. "It won't be the same, but I'll deal..we all will."
Justin walked over to the two of them and cleared his throat. "We have a plane to catch, Whit."
She nodded her head and hugged the rest of the guys goodbye. After saying goodbye to Cait, they grabbed her stuff and left the hotel. Whitney was quiet on the way to the airport and knew that things were about to change.