(Monday Morning at Work)
"Elizabeth, you look well rested today. I hope your weekend went off without a hitch."
The young woman swiveled around in her office chair. Dressed in a comfortable leisure suit, she adjusted her silk blouse as she stood to welcome her boss inside. "Yes, my weekend was wonderful. I got a lot of unpacking and…well, re-packing done." She chuckled to herself when remembering how long it took her to get all the contents of the boxes out…only to put most of them back beside her suitcase for she had to pack up for their trip later in the week. Her laughter was interrupted when she realized that she hadn't invited her boss to come in. "Lynn, please come in. Have a seat."
She held out her hand and placed it in the direction of the hard wooden object situated in front of her small desk. Lynn took the seat almost instantly. A loud sighed was overheard as her derriere met the thin cushion that lie on top of the chair. "Are you okay?" Liz asked, a little worried for her when she noticed the stressful look Lynn had on her face.
She could only muster a slight grin at the young woman standing behind the desk. "Yes dear, I'm okay. I just get like this whenever Justin is out of town. I know he's an adult now but I just…well…" She began but Liz interrupted.
"You're his mother. You don't have to have an explanation. You miss him and worry about him. I completely understand." She smiled at her and slowly found her way back to her seat. She scooted the chair closer to the edge of the desk so she could place her arms on its surface. Both hands clasped together as she waited for Lynn to inform her of the reason for the visit. When the two merely stared at each other, Liz took it upon herself to get some answers. "So, why exactly are you here?"
Lynn laughed nervously at her young employee. "I am so sorry, I must seem like a complete basketcase to you right now." She looked at Liz who had a sympathetic look on her face and smiled. "I came in here to let you know that there has been a change of plans. Now don't worry, it's not major, but I have arranged it so I can make it to Mississippi to see the opening night of the guys' tour."
Liz sat up straighter in her seat before answering her. "Oh, okay, so I need to be on 'Girl Alert' while you're gone. Yeah, that's no problem. I figured you would be going so I don't see anything wrong with it. I've got the girls' numbers and can keep them informed of anything if you run across a problem and…" She was practically rambling at that point and Lynn had to quiet her down before she ran out of oxygen.
"Elizabeth, please. I don't think you understand."
Liz stopped mid-sentence and looked at her. She raised an eyebrow and wondered what she had missed. Her eyes wondered up to the ceiling as she replayed the conversation over in her head to find the mistake.
Lynn saw this and just shook her head. The girl had some major loosening up to do. "Elizabeth, what I mean is that I won't need you for 'Girl Alert' as you call it. I have Shey handling that for me. What I was talking about when I said plans had changed is that I need you to come with me to Mississippi…well, really go to Memphis first then we'll just head down to Mississippi after that and catch the show."
Liz returned her eyes to her boss and was realizing the situation now. "Oh, sorry about that. I just thought…well, nevermind. Yeah, you need me to go to Memphis with you then the concert. That's sounds great. I was looking forward to seeing the guys perform while we were with them but opening night sounds better. When do we leave?"
Lynn stood and slid a packet of papers across Liz's desk. "Look those over and let me know what you think. I'll need them filled out and signed by tonight. We leave on a plane at 7:00."
"7:00 p.m. as in TONIGHT?" Liz asked, she was not anywhere near ready to leave Orlando that day.
Lynn turned to leave her office so she could have the rest of the afternoon to do her work. "Yes dear, tonight. Now, I'll meet you at the airport by 6:00. Don't be late."
The last thing Liz saw was the wave of Lynn's hand as her retreating form exited her office. "How the hell am I suppose to get this done before tonight, go home, pack for four days on the road, make arrangements with Shey to call if she needs help, get the neighbors to water my plants…"
"Elizabeth…" Her head shot up as her name was being called. She looked at the opening to her office but saw no one. "You're wasting time." The voice said as it echoed down the hall.
Liz merely shook her head and smiled. Lynn already knew her too well. "Yes mother." She replied.
She heard laughter again as it drown out the busy street from below. Tonight would come far too quick if she didn't get to work.
Liz grabbed the stack of papers left on her desk and began flipping through them, trying to sort out which forms would take the longest and started with those.
(5:55 p.m., Orlando International Airport)
"Elizabeth, nice to see you're early." Lynn said as she and her assistant approached a seated Liz.
She smiled up at the two of them as they came closer. Neatly folding her newspaper in her lap, she leaned down to pick through her carrying case for the papers Lynn had wanted her to fill out. She grabbed the stack and rose from her chair, slipping the newspaper into the confines of the chair next to her. She handed them to her boss before answering her.
"I wasn't sure about the traffic so I got here early."
Lynn smiled brightly at her while she took the papers. She glanced at them for only a moment before lifting her eyes and planting them on the young woman in front of her. "Well, it's nice to have people who make it to places on time…" She stated, quickly glancing to her left and shooting her assistant an evil look. "Anyway, these look like they're all in order. I hope you didn't have a problem with any of the venders?"
Liz shifted in her shoes…she didn't have time to change out of her suit and her heels were killing her. "Um, Mr. Jenson was a bit of a nag but other than that, nope not a one."
"Wonderful. I was hoping they wouldn't be too much of pain. Those men sometimes can get on an ego trip and dealing with a woman sets it off." She said as she slid her carry-on bag beside Liz's things and quickly found an empty seat. "Listen, no talk of business right now. We'll have plenty of time for that when we hit Memphis. I need to go over a few things with you before tomorrow but that can wait. Right now I just want to close my eyes and wait for us to board."
She slowly allowed her eyelids to touch and let out the excess air in her lungs before her body relaxed and she got comfortable. Liz stood there a moment not knowing what to do. Was she suppose to take the hint and relax as well or what? She looked over at Lynn's assistant, Joyce, and merely shrugged her shoulders.
Joyce mouthed 'It's about time she relaxed' before she retreated to the nearest bathroom.
Liz could only smile at her while she quietly sat back down in her seat and picked the newspaper up. The airport wasn't too crowded that evening with only a low constant sound of people coming and going. Liz tried to concentrate on the written words in front of her but she could see Lynn out of the corner of her eye. Liz could only wonder what is was like to love someone as much as she did her son.
Although Liz was kept very busy all day, she did manage to sneak by Lynn's office several times that afternoon. Each time she did, she noticed her either staring off into space with a saddened look upon her face or smiling uncontrollably while she talked to Justin on the phone. He had called to let her know that all was fine in Mississippi. The guys were there rehearsing and working out any glitches in their show.
Liz tried not to eavesdrop on their conversation but she couldn't help herself. She hadn't seen a change in emotions happen that quickly as when she saw Lynn's upset face turn completely right side up with just the sound of her son's voice. She truly adored him and that much was obvious to everyone around. Liz knew that this short stop in Memphis would only make Lynn more excited to see Justin in a few days.
The plan was for her and Liz to work on the schedule for the girls on the first day and double, even triple check all the arrangements for the following week on the road with the guys. The next day, Liz would be on her own, working on the second tour the girls would be on with Britney while Lynn saw to another one of her artists. She needed to catch up on the goings on and make sure everything was okay before heading down to Mississippi and eventually on the road for the summer.
Liz was very excited to be handed the amount of work she was given. She knew she had impressed Lynn with what she had done so far and looked forward to seeing where this all would lead. One thing she kept reminding herself of was that she was only there for the summer. She would return to Maryland in the fall and go on with her schoolwork. She couldn't afford to get too close to anyone in Florida because they would be too hard to leave when the time came. She had to remain professional but with every passing day that she got to know Lynn and the girls, she was finding that keeping the personal side out of it was harder to do.
Time would only tell if she was able to keep things professional or if she would allow a little fun into her life. Unfortunately for Liz, there were outside forces making that decision for her already.
(Mississippi – Morning of the Show)
Liz arrived by plane earlier in the morning than she cared to. Lynn had booked the first flight out of Memphis so she could she Justin and the guys the entire day. Liz was told she could rest in the hotel that the guys' were in until someone came for her. She would be free for the day, up until show time. Liz made her way into her room, refused to unpack…she would be leaving the following afternoon anyway, and plopped herself on the bed. She wanted…no she needed, as much sleep as she could get.
The past few days in Memphis had been a nightmare. Things started off on a high note by having Liz meet Lynn's family and friends. She instantly took a liking to those around her but it was when she sat down on the second day and tried going over the girls' part in Britney's tour that things turned bad.
Liz had taken a look at the proposed plans for the way things would be ran on the tour, thinking that they would be similar to 'N sync's due to having the same management team, but she was mistaken.
The guys' schedule didn't call for much interaction between the opening acts and themselves. All the acts would be tied up in interviews, photo shoots, etc. But on Britney's tour, the girls were to be around Brit for most of the day. They had scheduled duel interviews where all the girls plus Britney could talk and have equal time in the spotlight. All of that was okay with Liz because she fully felt that Innosense should be taken seriously and given a fair shot no matter who's tour the girls were on. The problem came in setting times with Britney's people.
Liz had no problem with Johnny over times with 'N sync, due mainly to them not being in the same room for more than five minutes anyway, but having to deal with the likes of Marie St. John, the woman in charge of Brit's tour, was pure hell.
The woman didn't want to hear any special requests by the girls or if the schedule fit them. If they wanted on the tour, then they would do what Brit did, no questions asked. Liz was on the phone with Marie for two and a half days trying to convince this woman to lighten up and be flexible.
The thing that got to Liz the most was that the same words that she spoke to Marie could have easily been directed at herself. She was way too uptight…she was told by ALL the girls at least once a day, and she needed to see other people's view on things before casting her opinion. She would just go with what she was feeling and wouldn't look twice before running down someone else's ideas if they didn't match her own.
She was stubborn to a fault but that streak was what gave her an edge in dealing with people in this profession. They knew she was young and inexperienced but after going ten rounds with her, they had to bow out in defeat. She was a tiger in training and was ready to pounce on her next of prey.
But that wore her thin.
The battles she would rage took so much out of her that she began questioning why she was doing it in the first place. The schedule of events weren't too awful, they could be manageable, but she felt that she had to prove to other people that she had ideas that were just as comparable as theirs. She sought out the confrontations and thrived on them in the past but something about her dealings with Marie got to Liz.
She closed her eyes, hoping to find a few moments of peace from the storm that was brewing in her head. She knew what was going on and she hoped she could avoid it at all costs but it looked to be directed straight at her heart. She was enjoying her time with Lynn and the girls more than she cared to admit. They were becoming a part of her life and slowly creeping into her world and turning into friends.
She wasn't sure of what to do about all of it. She had vowed to keep things on a professional level but being around people her own age was wonderful. For the first time, she didn't look at work as a stepping block to help her conquer the business world but as a time to get to know people and hang out with friends.
This was all too new to her and she wondered what else would come of her newfound friendships. She didn't have time to think about that because just as her mind was drifting and allowing her to enter the darkened world of sleep…knock, knock, knock.
Groaning, she rolled her tired body off the bed. She didn't have the strength to even catch herself when she fell. The ground below her was hard and she lazily reached her arm up to hoist herself back on her feet. She made her way over to the door, looked through the peephole and raised her eyes to the ceiling. She would need more energy than she had if she was going to deal with the person on the other side.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door quickly and plastered a fake smile on her face.
"Ebby…" The young man started then took a closer look at her. "You look like shit." Came from the young man whom she had met before.
Liz just rolled her eyes at the man in front of her. She had wanted to talk to him ever since their last meeting but now was not the time. "What do you want Justin?" She said, completely ignoring the fact that he had commented on her tired body.
He chuckled to himself when her eyes rolled and she shot him an evil look. "Hey, I came down here to introduce you to the guys. I didn't know you looked like hell in the morning. Why didn't you warn me before?" He said, smiling the whole time.
Liz bent her neck to either side trying to crack it. The sound made Justin cringe and in turn made Liz crack a smile as well. "Well, you'd look like this too if you had to deal with your girl's people for days on end. Added to the fact that your mother felt it her obligation to take the first flight out of Memphis just to see you. By the way, where is she?"
Justin looked at her tired face, the blackened indentions that surrounded her eyes, her slumped shoulders and tangled hair and simply shook his head. She really didn't know when to let things go and relax.
"My mom is talking to Lance's mom right now and…hey, what did you mean about 'my girl's people'?"
Liz waved her hand in his face to shake him off. "Nothing." She said as she started to walk back into her room. "So, are you coming in or did you just plan on spending the day in the hallway?"
It took Justin all of two seconds to see that she was in no mood to joke this morning. He told his companion, whom Liz hadn't even noticed standing behind him, that he would be just a minute and to wait on him downstairs. He said his good-byes and followed Liz inside.
As he rounded the corner where the bathroom jetted out to hide the bed, he noticed her body sprawled out on it. The comforter wasn't even pulled back and she wasn't even laying straight. It appeared that she had fallen forward and refused to make herself more comfortable.
Justin could only smile at the sight before him. "Look, I just came here to see if you wanted to have some breakfast with us but I can tell you aren't in the eating mood so I'll just go and…" He began but saw that her left leg started to twitch as she moved slowly and turned on her back to face him.
Her hands went straight to her face to shield her eyes from the light but she was able to speak somewhat coherent. "I'm sorry Justin. If I said anything a minute ago, I apologize. I haven't had much sleep lately and was really looking forward to a peaceful nap before dealing with the thousands of screaming teenys that I'm sure will be at the arena tonight."
Justin approached her tired form and sat beside her on the bed. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled as she swatted it away. "So, you do still have some energy left in you Ebby."
She peered through her hands and gave him an evil look. "I save a little just for pests like you. And what's with the Ebby thing again?"
He tugged at her shoulder this time to get her to sit up. She groaned loudly but managed to oblige. "I can't help it, I love having nicknames for people…and I'm not a pest." He said as he nudged her in the side.
She flinched and fired back by shoving him towards the edge of the bed. "Yes you are."
He heard her squeal when he lunged towards her and knocked her off the bed completely and onto the floor. She landed with a 'thud' and rubbed the back of her head while trying to catch her breath. She didn't have the wind knocked out of her but rather was laughing so hard. He had surprised her and now they both were on the floor in a pile.
She looked over at him and noticed he wasn't laughing with her. "Are you okay? I swear I didn't think you'd fall off the bed. Is your head bleeding?" He said as he moved closer to her to check for blood.
She composed herself some but jabbed him in the stomach when he leaned his body over hers. He yelled out in pain then sat up, leaving her lying on the floor. "Yes I'm fine. Is this your way of getting me to come downstairs with you for breakfast because if it is, a nice invitation would have been better."
He rubbed the side of his stomach where her bony elbow had just punctured before speaking. "Damn, remind me never to piss you off." He said as he noticed her smiling before sitting up and looking over at him. "And yes, I would like you to come down for breakfast but if you're too tired then just say so. You don't have to assault me."
She started to elbow him again but stopped short when he quickly inched away from her and held up a finger to her face. "Sorry, I won't do it again." She said, but he gave her a questioning look. "Justin, I promise, I won't do it again. But, since you have me up now, I guess I could join you and the guys. I haven't met them yet but I've heard more than enough about them from the girls. I can't wait to see if it's all true." She got a sinister look to her face as her eyebrows merged.
Justin just rolled his eyes, stood up from where he was on the floor, and offered Liz a hand. She accepted immediately and as she was being raised, he spoke to her again. "Yeah, well like I said before, don't believe a word any of those girls have to say. It's all lies."
Liz turned her head to the side to ponder that thought a moment. "You know, I did hear someone saying something about that tongue of yours, but…nah, it couldn't be THAT good." She said and smiled as she turned to walk into the bathroom to freshen up.
Justin caught up to her as she shut the door. "Okay, so I take that back. You can listen to only the GOOD parts of what they say. By the way, what DID they say about me and my tongue." He was intrigued now. He wondered what dirty things the girls had said about his abilities in the kissing department and other areas where his tongue was used.
Liz emerged a moment later from the bathroom with a towel over her face. She dried the excess water off it before looking at Justin. "Oh, you're still here?" He gave her a bored look and motioned her to answer his question that he just posed to her. "That? Well, lets just say that I now know why your girl is always smiling. You must really satisfy her with that thing." She finished as she brought her hand up to his mouth and flicked his chin.
Justin just stood there while she passed by him. "What the…? What's this with 'my girl' again? Who are you talking about?"
Liz turned back towards him and shrugged her shoulders. "Never mind. Anyway, if you would be so kind as to leave so I can change. I'll meet you and the guys downstairs in 5 minutes." She said as she shooed him towards the door with her hands.
He began to walk to the door while giving her a confused look. "You're a weird one Ebby. I'll give you that much." He said as he let the door fall behind his retreating form.
Liz could only smile as she watched him leave. 'Damn lucky girl indeed' she said to herself.
Introductions had been made and now Liz was feeding her empty stomach with fruit and a bagel. She was situated between Joey and Lance but had started a conversation with the gentleman across the table from her.
"Yeah, I'll have to check that out when I get back to school. Who'd you say I needed to ask for?" She said as she grabbed a napkin and reached to the table behind her where a pen was laying untouched.
"Ask for Charlie. He'll hook you up. Oh, and don't forget to tell him Josh sent you. Everybody who knows that I know him always say JC sent me but he knows not to fall for that. Just say Josh and you're in." JC smiled at her as he brought his coffee cup to his mouth and took a small sip of the hot liquid.
Liz nodded her head as she wrote down the number and name JC had given her. When he found out that she went to the University of Maryland, he immediately grilled her for all the info she knew about the place. He had a few friends around campus and being from Bowie, he did know his way around the area. He told her if she needed any connections outside the music biz, his friend Charlie could help. The man knew EVERYONE and could get her in to see them.
She thanked him and placed the written on napkin in the pocket of her pants. She turned her attention to Lance who was on her left. "So, I hear you have a couple of artists under your belt. How's that going?"
Lance finished swallowing the last bite of his food before wiping his mouth clean and answering her question. "It's going better than I thought. You'll probably meet one of them later at the show. She's gonna open for us. I hope you'll like her." He said with a warm smile on his face.
Liz liked Lance the instant she met him. She had heard about 'Southern Gentlemen' but since one of the only southern men she had met was Justin, she thought that it was just a myth. That was until Lance. Maybe it was his voice that got to her but she was drawn in by him and hung on his every word. His polite manner about him only added to his appeal. She had to shake her head to clear the thoughts that were invading her mind.
"I'm sure I will. Meredith, right?" She asked as she stabbed another piece of watermelon on her fork and popped it in her mouth. She quickly cringed a moment later and made an awful face. Her eyes darted around the small table to check to see if anyone was watching…and they ALL were. She slowly grabbed the napkin in her lap and brought it up to her face. She heard Lance agree with her question and she tried to nod so she wouldn't get too much attention for what she was going to do.
A second later, she wiped her mouth with the now damp paper product and smiled coyly at the on lookers as she lowered it back to her lap.
"You're putting that nasty thing back in your lap after you spit the seeds out? You're just gross."
She whipped her head to the occupant of that comment across the table and beside JC. She stared into the blue eyes of the young man and wanted to rip him apart right there. "Thanks Justin, I WAS trying to make it not so noticeable but I guess I couldn't put anything over on you."
The other guys started to snicker at the two and waited for Justin's comeback. They never got it. Instead, they were interrupted when Lynn came over to the table and asked to see Liz. She excused herself and began to walk off with her, but not before she shot Justin the look of death.
"Damn, did you see that look?" Chris asked as he finished his juice. He placed the glass back on the table and decided it was time he was brought into the conversation. Before, he had been too busy eating to talk.
Same thing with Joey. After forcing the last of his own piece of watermelon…checking for seeds, of course, he wanted to put his two cents in on what just took place. "Man, she gave you the 'I hope you rot in hell' look. What's up with you two?" Joey whispered as the others all leaned in closer to one another.
There were several people in attendance for breakfast that morning and the guys knew that if they were within hearing range, Justin would clam up and not say a word.
Justin was the last to lean in. He looked over Lance's shoulder to see his mother and Liz speaking with Johnny. He returned his eyes to his friends. "To tell you the truth, I don't know. Remember when I was telling you about her?" He had informed the others about his mother's newest employee after first meeting her in the office before they left.
"Well, one minute she's this straight arrow conservative prude then the next she's a normal girl, joking and messing around with me…"
His sentence was met with an amused look by his friends.
"I don't mean 'messing around' like that. I mean we joke and stuff. Gees you guys are awful. She works for my mom."
"Yeah but she's hot…or rather, could be if she'd take those glasses off." Joey said to the group.
"And she's got a body, that's for sure, if she'd wear something a little more revealing." Added Chris. The others looked at him strangely. "What? I can't look at another woman? I know I have a girlfriend but I'm still a guy and as a guy, I do appreciate the female specimen in all its wonderful glory."
Justin just rolled his eyes at the eldest member of the group. "Guys, keep focused here. Yeah, she's hot…or like Joey said, could definitely be if those bifocals of hers could be thrown in the trash. And she has a body…" His eyes raised again to look over Lance's shoulder at the woman in question. He tilted his head to the right to try to picture her in more fitting clothes. "And I've seen a different side of her come out every once in awhile but for the most part, she's way too conservative for me. She's all about business and how she's gonna beat out every man for the job she wants. It's kinda sad really."
The others asked him how so. "Well, she told me that since she was little, all she has known is that in order for her to succeed in life, she has to beat the competition. Her mother, even her sisters, all have high-powered jobs while her father seems to be the happiest just being a high school football coach. I see what is probably her dad come out in her when she's having a good time but her mom always comes back to straighten her out. She can't let loose of the idea that life changes. People change. Plans change. She has her life mapped out and believe me, she's not gonna stray far from it."
Justin grabbed the last of his toast and slid it in his mouth as the group leaned back in their chairs when they heard the voices of their manager and the women he was speaking about, approach. "Well, it looks like 'secret time' again and you know I hate to break that up but we need to be out of here in fifteen minutes for the radio interview. Lynn it's great to see you again and I'll check back with you about the twentieth before the show. Elizabeth, it was a pleasure to finally meet the person responsible of making Marie pull out all her hair. She's a tough one but somehow you seemed to break her."
He held out his hand for her to take. Liz placed her smaller hand in his but gave him a firm handshake. She was taught early on that a handshake can say a lot about the type of person you are. She wanted to be in control and wanted Johnny to know that.
"Thank you Mr. Wright. When I'm after something, I can be very stubborn and won't give up without a fight."
He smiled at her and nodded his head. He snapped his fingers to get the fellas attention and lifted his hand to tell then to stand up. They all rolled their eyes in unison at the 'demand' but did it anyway. Johnny glanced over his shoulder at Lynn who was now speaking to Lance's mother at the time. "Lynn, you better watch out. Anyone who can make me quiver in my boots by just shaking my hand and turn my toughest employee to mush is someone I just might need on my team. You wouldn't mind sharing you little jewel now would you?"
Lynn held up her finger to tell Diane just a minute. She took a small step to her side, placed a protective arm around Liz's shoulder and looked Johnny straight in the eye. "Not on your life." She smiled sweetly at him, let go of Liz, then returned to her conversation.
The guys all tried their hardest to muffle their giggles but a few leaked out. Johnny gave them an evil look before returning his attention back to Liz. "Please excuse the juveniles I work with. They all act like child after there are fed."
Liz glanced over his shoulder and saw them all making childish faces behind their manager's back. She shook her head and returned her eyes to Johnny. "Don't worry about. You can't expect them to act older than their target audience, can you?" She said, smiling ever so sweet to him while giving the guys a look.
"HEY, we DO have older fans too." Justin yelled as he rounded his manager and went to grab Liz. She managed to get out of his grips and ran towards the door. When Justin attempted to follow, his mother looked up from her conversation and shook her head 'no' at him. He started to go after her anyway but when his mother's finger came up and an evil look came over her face, he backed off.
He returned to the group and watched as Liz walked out of the room giggling to herself. "You'll get her next time, Curly." Joey said as he came up beside him.
Justin didn't look at him but merely stated that when he did get her, she wouldn't know what hit her!