Justin fastened the belt around his waist and Adelyn took off. He glanced at his watch and noticed that it was 12:31. He was late for the job. Hopefully everything would work out and Colby wouldn’t be too mad at him.
He jumped when his cell phone rang.
“Aren’t we popular,” Pertel muttered from the front seat.
Justin rolled his eyes. “Hello?” he said into the phone.
“Is this the great Justin Timberlake? And if so, I’d like to know where the hell you are!”
“This is Justin. Who the hell are you?” Justin asked, not liking the tone this guy was taking up with him.
“This is Ray. I’m supposed to do this job on 9th street, but Colby said that I should make sure you’re watching out for me before I go in. I repeat my question, where the hell are you?!”
“Something came up,” Justin told him. “And I can’t do it.”
“What do you mean you can’t do it?”
“I can’t talk about it now. The fact is that I can’t help you out and you’re just going to have to deal.”
“This is great… just great! Colby’s gonna be pissed, you know, and I don’t want this landing on my shoulders!” Ray let him know. “You’re the one who should be taking the blame for this one, pal!” He went on, “It just figures! After all the terrific things I’ve heard about you, you go and screw this up for me. This is just great.”
“Look. I’m really sorry that this isn’t working out for you, but honest to God something came up. I really don’t mean to leave you hanging.”
“Yeah, apologies, apologies. We both know that Colby will never get rid of you. You’re safe… and when he catches wind of this, it’ll be my number that’s up.”
“If you want, I’ll call him and explain the situation to him myself,” Justin promised. “And I’ll make sure you don’t get fired. What’s your name again?”
“Ray. And thanks.” Ray’s voice suddenly seemed a lot more calm than before.
“Not a problem.”
“So you think I should do the job anyway?”
“Actually… I think I got things taken care of. Go ahead. You’ll be fine.”
“Really? Thanks, Justin. Hope to work with you again some day.”
“It was my pleasure.” Justin hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket.
“What was that all about?” Adelyn pried. “Whoever it was, was upset with you about something.”
Justin thought quickly. “This guy from the Tribune wanted me to write one of his assignments for him. I told him no, but apparently, he thought I had agreed to doing it. He got a call from the boss telling him that it’s due tomorrow and he wondered why I hadn’t turned it already. Don’t worry, though, I’ll clear everything up when I call the boss tomorrow and explain the situation to him.” Even Justin was impressed by how smoothly the lie passed through his lips.
“Why was he calling you after midnight?”
“He knows I’m usually up late.”
Oh, okay.”
Adelyn seemed to buy his excuse, but still, Justin couldn’t relax. The second Adelyn got word of the break in on 9th street they’d be driving as fast as they could toward it, and if this Ray guy happened to get caught… Colby would have Justin’s head brought to him on a large silver platter.
When they pulled up to the gas station, Pertel waited in the car while Adelyn and Justin went inside.
“You look a little pale,” Adelyn told him as Justin opened a glass door and grabbed a Coke from the shelf. “Is everything okay?”
Justin tightened his fingers around the cold bottle. When was she going to stop asking him that question? “Really, Adelyn, I’m fine. I just need something to drink.”
She followed him to the checkout counter. “Maybe you should get water or something.”
“Coke will be fine,” he told her.
“You could be dehydrated, Justin.”
“Coke is fine,” he repeated before handing the cashier his money and walking to the door.
She grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and he turned around to look at her. “Justin, wait. We need to talk.”
He looked around. “Here?”
“No, I mean yes, here. I need to talk to you.”
Justin looked at her as if she were crazy. “Right now?”
“You’re acting really weird.”
Justin shrugged. “I’m a weird person.”
Adelyn pulled him behind the candy isle, and grabbed his collar, pulling him down to her level. “Like I said before… you really confuse me, Justin Timberlake. But, there’s just something about you. I don’t know what it is but you… you…”
He gave her a small smile. He kind of liked this game. “I what?”
She pulled him even closer, until their lips barely touched, and then she moved back again. “You captivate me,” she finished.
Justin leaned toward her again, but it was too late. She was already walking away from him. He blinked, and then followed her outside.
When they got back to the car, Pertel fastened his seat belt and then looked at Adelyn while she and Justin got back into the squad car. “I’m glad you’re back. I was just about to go in and get you.”
“Why? What’s going on?” Adelyn asked as she started up the engine.
“We just got a call about a break in on 9th street. Step on it!”
Justin screwed the cap back onto his bottle as Adelyn raced the car down street after street. “I’m sorry we’re so far away now,” he said, pretending to be sincere. “This is my fault.”
“Yes, it is,” Pertel agreed. He looked over at Adelyn. “Brady, if your boyfriend here didn’t have to stop at the gas station for whatever reason, we would be there by now.”
“I have a sore throat,” Justin lied. It was more like an upset stomach…
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Adelyn told Pertel. “And Justin had no idea that there was going to be a break in. It’s been dead all night until now.”
“I know,” Pertel sighed. “But I just want to catch this guy. He hasn’t hit in a week and I have a pretty good feeling that this was our chance. Now, because of Lover Boy, we probably missed it.”
Justin quickly unscrewed the cap of his Coke and took a big drink. How was he supposed to know that Adelyn and her partner were looking specifically for him? Had he gotten himself into a mess or what? Slowly, and nervously, he took another sip of Coke, though he had a feeling that no amount of soda would calm his stomach this time.
Chapter 8
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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