Part 520

Sarah wiped her tears and looked over at Becca. She saw the same fear and anger in Becca that she was feeling and knew they both had the same question…What if they couldn’t stop Pearlman?

Steve interrupted her thoughts. "I’ve started the process of suing Mr. Pearlman for defamation of character and slander. In the settlement, everything about Howie’s alleged…"

"What the fuck do you mean by ‘ALLEGED’?" growled AJ. "NOTHING HAPPENED! Howie is NOT a FUCKING FAG!"

Sarah tried to calm him, "Alex, no one is saying he is."

"THEN WHY THE HELL IS HE USING ‘ALLEGED’?"

"It’s legal mumbo jumbo," offered Kryss. "There’s no way to prove that Howie isn’t a homosexual."

"He can SAY he isn’t! THAT should be enough. NOT to mention, Sarah’s OBVIOUS PREGNANCY should be ENOUGH evidence."

Nick spoke up, "AJ, let Steve finish."

"NO, DAMNIT!! I’m not going to let Steve paint Howie in the same light as Pearlman!"

"Alex, drop it. Steve knows I’m not a fag," said Howie looking AJ dead in the eyes.

A silent understanding passed between the two men and AJ grew silent.

Steve continued, "In the settlement, everything about Howie’s alleged sexual preferences and his ‘revelations’ about Sarah’s past will be dropped from his book with a cash settlement of $100,000 to be paid to Sarah and Howie’s foundations and a public apology on the same station that broadcast the interview. The cash settlement should cover the cost of damages incurred to the room."

"We need to know EVERYTHING that has happened with Mr. Pearlman in the last few days," said Dave.

Kevin remarked, "It’s more than just the last few days, Dave. It goes back to the days when he was our manager. We want a stop put on what he says about us."

"Let’s hear it all and we’ll decide how best to handle this. I’ll tell you now, we may not be able to stop everything he says about the group, unless it’s extremely personal like the stuff in the interview about Howie. We CAN and WILL stop him from involving Sarah and Becca. He has no ties to them." Dave stopped, took a sip of water, and asked, "Sarah, just to be clear on this point. When did you and Howie start dating?"

"Just before the release of ‘Millenium," answered Howie. "But she never met Pearlman. We were in the middle of severing ties with him and I didn’t want her involved."

Charles looked at his notes, then asked, "How much of what Pearlman is saying is true?"

"What difference does THAT make?" asked Brian.

"So we can do damage control."

"You JUST said you’d STOP this," snapped Becca.

"We are, but this has already been made public, Mrs. Carter," soothed Dave. "We have to do what we can to clean up this mess. Together, a statement will be prepared that Sarah and Howie can release to the press to clear up any doubts."

Sarah’s voice was little more than a whisper as she said, "I understand."

With Howie’s help, Sarah recounted the events from her past that Lou had brought up leaving nothing out. She also told them about her encounter with Lou at ‘Brendan’s Pub’ and the others put in their side of it as well.

When she was done, Dave asked, "How is Becca involved in all this?"

"While we were at the Pub, Pearlman approached Becca and tried to blackmail her into getting Howie and Sarah to back off with the lawsuit," said Nick.

"That’s why we called you," added Kevin.

"We need to hear Becca’s side, Nick," said Alexis gently.

Sarah locked her eyes on Becca’s making a sisterly connection they’d had since college. Becca nodded her head to acknowledge Sarah and slowly began to recreate her encounter with Mr. Pearlman. Everyone saw the fear and anguish that Becca had felt last night and it turned their stomachs. Nick’s grip on Becca tightened. Brian fussed over Garrett to entertain him to keep him quiet. Kevin turned his head to avoid seeing the emotions playing out in Becca’s eyes. AJ clenched and unclenched his fist wanting to take his anger out on SOMETHING. And Howie held Sarah closer, stroking her hair as she cried silently for the pain both women were feeling.

When Becca finished, Nick wrapped her in his arms pulling her close to his chest and running his fingers through her hair. Looking at Dave, he said, "My wife’s been through enough with all this. She’s taking Garrett to our room for the rest of this meeting."

No one was going to argue with Nick. He had a look of strong determination that told everyone he wasn’t going to take any crap off of anyone. The maturity with which he was conducting himself also had them pleasantly surprised.

Part 521                               Index