Lance had just gotten settled in his room and decided to call his mother to give her an update on his end of the company business. He told her how Samantha had everything she could take care of done, and that she was just waiting for the final preparations to be set.
“I can’t believe how quickly she took care of the stuff I gave her,” Diane said.
“Me either. I guess your instincts were right again Mom. She is amazing.”
“Amazing huh? Do I detect something other than a business relationship there?” she teased her son.
“No Mom. Nothing like that. Although the rest of the guys did want me to mention how grateful they were that you hired somebody nice to look at.”
“The rest of the guys huh? Not you?”
“I’m not gonna lie and say that I’m not attracted to her but I know it’d be stupid to get involved.” For some reason Lance felt like he was trying to convince himself as well as his mother. “Besides, I think she has a crush on Justin.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that pairing. I suppose you’re right about it not being a good idea. So now that the business stuff is out of the way. What else is going on?”
Lance told his mom about the happenings of the previous day. It was actually a pretty tame day so there wasn’t much to report on.
“Well, I won’t keep you any longer. Get some rest sweetie. I love you.”
“I love you too Mom. Goodnight.”
As Lance hung up the phone his thoughts turned to Samantha. He wondered if she was still awake. As he was trying to decide if he should call her room or not, he remember the first time they spoke on the phone.
*****
Sam was in the middle of a blissful nap when the ringing of the phone woke her up. She quickly picked it up before the answering machine clicked on.
“Hello?”
“Hi. Could I speak to Samantha please?” asked a deep voice with a slight southern accent.
“This is Samantha. How can I help you?”
“Well, I was hoping you would come work for me.”
“Excuse me? Who is this?” Sam had no idea who was on the other end of the line.
He laughed as he continued. “I’m sorry. This is Lance Bass with *NSYNC, or rather FreeLance Entertainment. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to meet you for an interview but I was calling to offer you the job if you’re still interested.”
Sam was trying to hold in the scream she felt building up in her throat. “YES! I’ll take it. When do I start?”
“Wow. I’m loving the enthusiasm. Do you want to know any of the details? You know salary, benefits, hours – just the minor things.”
“Oh yeah I suppose I should ask about those things huh?” Sam said as she stood up on the bed and danced around like a fool.
Lance told her all of the particulars and Sam tried to stay focused and listen to what he was saying but it was just impossible. She could care less about this stuff. This was her dream job and if she didn’t need the money she’d do it for free.
“I know leaving tomorrow it a bit of a short notice and if you can’t do it I’d understand but if you want it the job’s yours.” He paused before continuing. “So what do you think? Would you like to be my assistant?”
“You’re right that is an extremely short notice,” Sam said taking a deep breath. “But it’s nothing that I can’t deal with. You’ve got yourself a new assistant.”
“Great. I can’t wait to meet you. A driver will be at your place tomorrow at five to collect you and your things. Try to bring only what you’ll need. There’s not a lot of space on the bus. And anything you need and don’t have you can always get later.”
“Okay great. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I look forward to it. Good bye.”
Lance hung up the phone and turned to his mother.
“Are you sure about this girl Mom? How old is she anyway? She sounded about 13 on the phone.”
“She’s 21. And she is a very nice girl. I’m sure she’ll do fine,” Diane said.
“I thought we were going to go with somebody older, more experienced. Was she more qualified than the other applicants?” Lance asked.
“No actually she was pretty much the least qualified as far as job experience is concerned. But for some reason, I knew she’d be better for the job than the rest of them. I have a feeling your personalities will match well and that she’d be able to get along with the rest of the guys as well.”
“If you say so Mom. I’m just not so sure.”
“Will you calm down and stop worrying. Just give it a chance. I’m your mother, I know what’s best for you. Trust me,” she said as she walked out of the room smiling.
*****
Lance laughed out loud as he thought about his reservations about Sam at first. Once again Mom was right. He decided against calling Sam’s room. He wanted to let her get a good night’s sleep. She certainly deserved after all the hard work she’d put in the past few days. His phone rang as he was getting ready for bed himself.
“Hey man it's Joey. One of the girls in the bar down here was telling me about this kick ass after hours club. You wanna come with us?”
“No thanks. I’m gonna stay in tonight and try to get some sleep for once.”
“Screw you then. I guess you miss out,” Joey said as he slammed the phone down.
Lance just sat there for a minute, stunned by Joey’s reaction. He knew something was going on with him lately but he wouldn’t talk to anybody about it. ‘Oh well. I’ll deal with it in the morning,’ he thought to himself as he climbed into bed.
***