(Friday afternoon of that same week)
Knock, knock.
"Come in." Yelled the voice on the other side of the door.
Liz took a deep breath, contemplated whether or not to even have this conversation with her boss but decided that she HAD to have it.
For the past few days, all Liz had been able to think about was what her father had said. If she wanted to stay in Florida, than she had to do it for herself and not for Justin. She had gone through a hundred different scenarios in her brain about what she should do: go back to Maryland and hope to find another job someday that made her feel as good as this one did. Finish school then come back to see if Lynn would hire her. Say 'to hell with Maryland' and stay in Florida with or without a job with Lynn.
Liz actually chose the last one. She knew that with or without a job with the girls, they would still be friends and she desperately wanted and needed them in her life. She felt for the first time that she was a part of something and the friendships she had with them would continue to grow if she stayed in Florida.
There was still a part of her that worried about asking Lynn to continue her job while she stayed in school then work permanent when she graduated next year. She hoped that Lynn thought enough of her to allow her the opportunity to really shine in the Florida sun.
"Is anyone there?" Lynn asked when no one came into her office.
Liz snapped out of her daze, took a few calming breaths, gave herself a few quick words for a personal pep talk, then slowly pushed the door open.
Lynn's face lit up when she saw her friend walk into the room but it immediately dropped when the same look wasn't reciprocated.
Liz saw the warm smile erased from her boss' face and quickly realized that if she was going to get her to offer a job to Liz, then she needed to appear prepared so she slowly raised the sides of her mouth until a convincing smile began to form.
"What brings you here? I thought you'd be on your way home by now. Is everything okay?" Lynn asked, some what concerned about Liz.
Since speaking to both her and Justin on the same day earlier in the week, she hadn't seen Liz until now. She was very busy getting things together for the girls to start up with Britney in about 10 days, had to fly to Memphis to see to another one of her artists and had just returned that afternoon. She was in the office catching up on some things when Liz had knocked.
Lynn knew from talking to Justin that he was crazy about Liz and she thought Liz felt the same. But the young woman also had a lot on her mind for which Lynn could only hope that she was there to talk about some of it.
"Oh, I had to finish some stuff before calling it a day. How was Memphis? I hope you had a great time." Liz said as she stood with her hands on the back of a chair. She was feeling butterflies in her stomach and was afraid to sit down. She had to have something to cling to and the leather seat was fulfilling that request.
"Yes, I had a wonderful time in Tennessee. I wish I could have stayed a little longer. Maybe when the girls are done with the tours, I'll get to go back there and spend some time with friends and family. Now, although I thank you for you concern, I wonder if that is the real reason you stopped by here." She said as she leaned her body forward and placed her chin the confines of her hands as her elbows rested on the wooden surface of her desk.
Liz shuffled around in her shoes, for which she was going to take off as soon as her body hit her apartment, looked to the ground and mumbled under her breath something Lynn couldn't understand.
Lynn simply smiled, realizing that Liz was still nervous talking to her. "Dear, please just spit it out and do it so I can hear you this time."
Liz raised her head and blushed as a small smile crossed her lips. "Sorry about that. I just wanted to ask you something and although I had this whole speech planned out, I can't think of a word of it right now."
Lynn chuckled aloud and sat back against her chair. "Well, I suggest that you come around and sit down then just say it. Nothing like beating around the bush so let's hear it." She said as she pointed Liz towards the front of the seat she was now digging her claws into the back of.
Liz hesitantly walked around it and sat down but immediately put her hands in her lap, wringing them together. "Um, well, I wanted to…um." She started but looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. She HAD to ask now or she would never get the courage up again. She raised her head so she could look Lynn square in the eyes.
"I wanted to know if you would consider having me as a permanent employee? I would transfer down her and finish school. I would have to double up on some courses that didn't transfer fully but I think I could do that and still work for you…that is if you wanted me to stay."
Liz finished and returned her eyes to her lap for merely a second before raising them back up. She mentally cursed herself for acting like a scared child. She would have a better shot at a job if she remained professional but since coming to Florida, she had softened into a kitten.
Lynn slowly rocked back and forth in her seat, occasionally rubbing her chin with one of her knuckles as she stared at Liz. She was looking for a sign that told her the reason she was willing to stay here permanently. She wasn't getting anything so she had to ask.
"Elizabeth, before I consider your offer, I need to know why you'd even think of doing something like this. Are you running away from something or are you running towards it?"
Liz knew what she was talking about since her father had asked the same thing – but with a lot more words than Lynn used. She cleared her throat and began to form intelligent words for the first time since entering the room. Her confidence was returning and it couldn't have been at a better time.
"Actually my father asked the same thing the other night when I mentioned an interest in staying here. I have taken the past few days to think about why I would want to return to Maryland and finish school there or try my hand out here in Florida. I came up with the fact that I want to do this on my own. I was always forced to do the things my mother wanted me to do, attended the college she went to and that of my sisters, am getting the degree she wanted to me get, and was going to work at the place she wanted me to work at. Now, for the first time, I have branched off from my family and have found something that I enjoy doing. I may have only been here a very short time but the connection I feel with you and the girls is overwhelming."
She noticed the warm glow to Lynn's face when she mentioned being friends with everyone.
"I know that asking for a permanent job isn't something you were expecting and to tell you the truth, I don't anticipate an answer from you right away. All I ask is that you watch me over the next month, dig around in my past work experience, do whatever you wish, to see that I can only be an asset to your company. I KNOW I could be good for you because you have been great for me."
Lynn smiled whole-heartily at that statement but she had just a few questions she needed answered. "Elizabeth, I know the girls feel the same way about you, in fact they all love you to death but I just want to know two things." She saw Liz shake her head for her to continue. "The first is what if I don't have an opening, would you still consider staying in Florida?" She waited for Liz's answer to the first question before she sprung the next one on her.
Liz sat up in her chair and took a direct stare on Lynn's eyes. "Yes. I definitely want to stay in Florida one way or the other. I love it here and know that I still could remain friends with the girls…and you, even if I don't get a job with your company. I plan to get information on the schools next week and will go from there if I get accepted."
Lynn sat back in her seat and nodded her agreement. "Okay, so you will stay with or without a job from me?" Liz nodded her head and Lynn knew she had to ask her next question. "Well, then I hope I'm not out of line by asking this but does you sudden interest to stay here have anything to do with my son?"
Liz knew that the subject of Justin would come up and prepared for it. "Lynn, I have thought about that and right now, I don't know what kind of relationship, if any, that Justin and I have but the answer is no. I'm not changing my whole life for him. As harsh as that might sound, I don't know if I could live with myself if I did something like that. Now, that's not to say that the thought hadn't crossed my mind and I would love to stay in touch with him and the guys but I would probably see just as much of him if I lived in Maryland."
Lynn again, nodded her head and quickly stood from her seated position. She crossed the room and stood in front of Liz, for which she motioned her to stand as well. When she did, Lynn pulled her into a friendly hug.
Liz was a little taken back by that move. She had received hugs before by Lynn but this one felt different and she couldn't put her finger on its significance.
"Elizabeth…" Lynn started when she pulled out of the embrace. "I want to thank you for the willingness you have shown in wanting to remain with me. I know what an incredible worker you are and an even better friend you have been towards the girls and myself. Now, as far as my son, well, I hope that the two of you can work things out and find whatever it is that you have together and make it work. But job wise, I will only give you my word that I will look into this offer of yours and get back to you."
Liz shook her head. She didn't expect an offer right away but she couldn't help but feel a little let down by Lynn not jumping at the opportunity to keep her around. Maybe she didn't think as highly of her as Liz did for Lynn.
"Thank you for considering my offer. Whatever your decision may be, I promise I won't let it interfere with my performance now. I will still be here until the end of the summer regardless and will do my best for you and the girls." She said as she stepped back and held out her hand for Lynn to take.
She smiled warmly at her then linked her hand with Liz's and shook it. That was the sign that Lynn was looking for. She thought Liz had wanted to remain an employee for Justin or that she was running away from her family but right then and there, Lynn realized she was only doing what SHE wanted and Lynn had to be awfully proud of her.
"I will let you know as soon as possible, I promise."
Liz smiled and waved as she walked out of the office. She held her head up high as she rounded the corner to her own office, gathered her things to head home then walked to her car. Once inside, she hesitated before turning the key. She instead, put her hands on the steering wheel, clasped her fingers tightly around it and lowered her head to the now hot leather band.
'Please let this work out.' She silently said to herself. 'I want this more than anything…well, except one thing.' She shook her head quickly when the image of a young man came into her mind. NO, she wasn't here for Justin, she was here for the job. She had to keep telling herself that. She knew it would be no good but prayed her mind wouldn't think too much about him.
"He's not thinking about you anyway so just get over it." She said aloud then started the engine and headed home – to an empty apartment.
"Justin, lets go. We have 20 minutes to eat before we have to get ready." Chris yelled at his younger friend who was lagging behind the others.
He shook his head when he saw the frustrated look on Justin's face. He had been trying to reach someone on his cell phone but by the way Justin slammed it shut and stuffed it into his pocket, Chris realized his mission had failed.
"Man, come on. Whoever you were calling will be home later but this food won't be." Joey said as he circled back around and caught up with the group. He already had his plate full of food and was now in search of a place to sit.
"I'm coming, dang guys who turned you into my foster parents? I'll eat when I'm ready and if I miss a meal, that's my own fault." Justin snapped at the two.
JC had heard them squabbling and motioned for the rest of the guys to go on and eat. He wanted to talk to Justin alone.
Justin slowly got his food prepared then saw JC flaring his arms in the air to get his attention. Justin merely rolled his eyes at the lame attempt by his friend to be subtle.
"Okay what do you want?" Justin asked as he placed his plate of food on the table then proceeded to sit himself.
JC smiled at his friend before wiping his mouth clean of the salad dressing remains. "Well, nice to see you too, Justin." He started, receiving a less than pleasant grin from the occupant of the seat across from him. JC cleared his throat before laying in on him.
"Okay, I'm only gonna say this once so listen up." He noticed the bored look in Justin's eyes but shook his head and continued. "You HAVE to get over this Lizzy thing. The two of you chose to be friends and that's what you are, so stop trying to call her, talk her into something she isn't ready for, and go on with what you have to do and that is perform every night."
Justin snarled up one side of his lip before commenting on what JC had just said. "Man, you have no idea what you're talking about. I wasn't trying to call her. I know she wants to be friends and nothing else. I accept that and am fine with it. Besides, I was calling Britney to make sure we were set to come to her opening show – so there." Justin said as he stuck his food-laden tongue out at JC.
"J, that's gross. I don't need to see your food after you've put it in your mouth." JC snapped back as he threw a napkin at his friend. "And as for that blatant lie of yours, I know you tried calling Lizzy about five times in the past few days and even tried earlier today, so don't say you weren't trying again."
Justin shrugged his shoulders and continued to concentrate on his food in front of him. "Hey, you guys wanted me to eat but now you want to talk. Well, I can't do both so the food wins out. Sorry." He finished and gave his friend a snide look.
JC shook his head but relented and finished eating himself. When he was done, he turned to Justin to try again. "Hey, can I use your phone a sec, my battery's down and I haven't gotten a new one yet." He asked as Justin agreed and handed him the cellular device.
JC grinned evilly when he pressed a few buttons to see what number Justin had just dialed last. He KNEW it was Liz.
An evil plan began developing in his head and he glanced at Justin to see if he was watching. Justin was too busy stuffing his face full of pasta and salad to even tell what JC was doing.
Quickly, he pushed the send button again and waited for an answer.
After three rings, he heard the voice of the young lady who Justin had tried to contact only a few minutes before.
"Hey girl, what's up?" JC asked as he noticed Justin not looking in his direction. "Yeah, it's JC. Yeah, I'm doing fine. The others? They're okay. Yep, just eating now then getting ready for the show soon. Oh, I know, I can't wait to see you soon. Nope, I haven't talk to him lately…but you can if you want…" JC finished quickly and handed Justin the phone before the girl on the other end could protest.
"What? Who is it?" Justin asked as he wiped his hands on the napkin JC had thrown at him and picked up his phone.
"Oh, it's just the person that you were trying to call before you came out here to eat." He said, giving him a triumphant smile.
Justin's face lit up in a ball of fire as he realized he had gotten caught. He knew JC was talking to Liz and now she was on the other line waiting for him. "I'm SO gonna get you for this." He said as he covered the mouthpiece and glared at his friend.
JC merely excused himself from the table and smiled as he passed Justin.
He had to take a deep breath before lifting his hand from the receiver and trying to find his voice. "Um, hello." He said cautiously. He had to be sure that Liz was the one on the phone.
A soft 'hi' was heard on the other end and his heart stopped. For the past few days all he thought about was either seeing or talking to her. It was true that he had tried all week to contact her but since she didn't have a cell phone, he could only call her apartment. He didn't know anyone who DIDN'T have a cell phone but he did now.
The main thing he wanted to know was how she was doing. After talking to his mom, he had a feeling that Liz needed some time to get through whatever it was she was dealing with before she would even think about him but he wanted to stay around so she wouldn't forget about him either. But all he got was her machine and he never left a message. He wanted to talk to her not her machine.
"Hey, how are you?" He finally got out as he shifted nervously in his seat.
He heard her moving around herself and wondered what she was doing.
"I'm fine. How about you?" She asked, wanting to get the attention off herself.
Justin sighed. If they were going to talk then he would have to instigate it. "I'm okay. Look, I'm sorry JC called you but I swear I had nothing to do with it. He just grabbed my phone and called then handed me the phone."
He could almost hear in her voice a smile. "It's okay. I'm glad he did." Justin smiled too at that. "Yeah, I was wondering how you guys were since I hadn't talked to you since…well, since that night."
That night she was referring to was the one where they decided to be just friends after the kiss they shared. Justin sighed when thinking about it too.
"Yeah, that night…anyway, well, we're doing fine. You know, hitting the stage every night. That's about all we have time for. So, what's going on where you are?" he asked as he finally settled the nerves in his stomach down. He hoped that they could talk like friends, which would be a start.
"Me? Well, I've been getting things ready for the Britney tour and then seeing to things for when we come back to yours. It's really hectic because I have a few other things I'm working on so I don't have a lot of time either."
"What other things? Outside of work?" He asked, wondering if those 'other things' had to do with a guy or something.
"Oh, just something I'm looking into. I don't want to say anything yet because I may jinks myself but I'll let you know if I can make it happen."
Justin smiled to himself and almost felt a blush come to his cheeks. He felt happy in the knowledge that Liz was more relaxed with him now and willing to share things with him when they happened. This was a great start to what he hoped would be a lot more than just a friendship.
"Well, if you need any moral support, you've got it from me." He answered.
"Thank you, Justin. Hey, I better get going. I just got home and I'm starving. Hearing about you eating has made me even hungrier and I think if I don't get something to eat soon, I won't have any fingernails left."
He chuckled aloud about that. "Yeah, I get it. You just don't want to talk to me anymore." He said, trying to sound upset.
"Justin, really, I am hungry. Look, I can still talk if you don't mind hearing me chew my food."
Again, he laughed. He felt a warm current move throughout his body when he realized she would like to continue the conversation with him.
"Nah, I was just kidding. I really have to go too. We have to get ready for the show and by the looks that Lance and Joey are giving me right now, I'd say I'm about five minutes later already."
He heard her laugh on the other end and he followed suit. "Well, look, I'll talk to you later, okay?" She said into the telephone.
"Yeah, hey, can I call you this weekend?" He asked before he even realized it slipped out of his mouth. He wanted to talk to her and had indeed called half a dozen times already but this time, he wanted to make sure it was okay with her.
"I'd like that. I should be home most of the weekend so anytime would be fine." She replied.
He said 'okay' and then the two told each other bye before Justin closed his phone and started to stand and throw his tray of scrapes away.
When he joined the others, he apologized for his tardiness but the group could tell immediately that he was in a better mood than he had been all week.
After they finished getting themselves ready for the show, Justin found JC and thanked him for calling Liz in the first place.
"Man, don't thank me. Just don't lie to me again cause I'll catch and make you pay." He said, smiling brightly to his younger friend.
Justin came up and hit him in the shoulder. "Yeah, well, I didn't actually lie to you. I did call Britney to see about opening night. You guys are still going right?" JC nodded his head in agreement.
"We're going but exactly WHICH girl are you there to see?"
Justin just rolled his eyes. "JC, don't start okay."
JC raised his hands in defense of himself. "What? I didn't say a thing…but really, who's it gonna be: Britney or Lizzy?"
Justin started to walk off and leave JC alone without an answer. He didn't want to admit to anything right then.
As JC saw him leave, he shook his head. He had his answer. 'BOTH!'
In 10 days, one of them would go away happy and the other would wind up being hurt again. JC prayed Justin would make the right decision. 'Give her some time, man. Just give her some time.'