“WHAT?!”
“You heard me Justin.”
“There is NO WAY, nuh uh, I am not having it.”
“It is out of your hands now man. Besides, what would you say? ‘I don’t like Gina because she talks to Britney? I don’t want to work with Gina because I’m a baby and can’t act like a professional’?” JC answered, trying to calm down his friend but also trying to get down to what his problem really was.
“I don’t care, I would think of something! I can’t believe Johnny agreed to this without even talking to us!” he called out and threw his hands in the air in frustration.
The five had been called into the JIVE office after the awards show to talk to Johnny. They had no idea what it was about, but when they found out four out of the five were thrilled with the news. Johnny relayed the news that Gina had also heard and almost all of the members of *NSYNC were looking forward to the amazing opportunity. All except for one.
“He’s the manager Justin, he does what the people above him tell him to do,” Lance jumped in and stated the obvious fact.
“I don’t care. I refuse to do it, I’m not going on tour with her.”
“Justin, this came from a higher power so it has to be big-“
“I. DON’T. CARE.”
“But WE do. This will most likely be the biggest tour of our careers, stop being so damn selfish Justin!” Chris yelled, raising his voice and shaking his head. “Don’t you get it? A combined tour between JIVE and Arista. They each picked their biggest acts…this is an HONOR, so stop being a brat!”
Justin crossed his arms over his chest and groaned. He didn’t want to hurt the guys’ careers; he would never do that because he loved them like brothers. He knew that there were five people to think about when it came to the group all the time, but still. He barely knew Gina Corleone but from what he did know, he did not like her and did NOT want to work with her.
Joey noticed Justin’s inner battle and pushed the issue. “We all know there is some weird vibe between the two of you, it was there right from the start. Who knows? Maybe she’s not as bad as you think-“
“Doubtful,” he interrupted, turning away from Joey.
“OK, fine. She is also a professional and would not do anything to jeopardize anyone’s career. Besides, it should be an honor for us to work with someone so well known throughout the business. We would probably gain an even bigger audience.”
“Whatever.”
“Justin…there are a lot of people that go on a tour and it’ll be busy; you know how it goes. You can’t walk away from this, think about us and think about the fans…think about how much you love touring,” JC added.
“I know. I KNOW all of this. There are a lot of people that go on the tour, but this is a joint headlining tour, meaning we will do a lot of press with her. I don’t like her, and I don’t know how all of you DO.”
“We can talk about this later…about why you really don’t like this chick. I mean, well, nevermind. Later. So you are OK with this now?” Chris asked.
“I’m SO not OK with this, but I’m doing it. Happy?” Justin answered sarcastically.
“Ecstatic,” Lance muttered as the conversation died. The five just stared at each other, wondering what they were getting themselves into.
Tour prep, 9am Wednesday, August 23rd
Gina headed into the JIVE studio with her hair thrown up in a high ponytail and wearing a warm-up suit. It was early, she was tired, and she was upset that her “two week vacation” ended up being only three days. She was meeting Mark, *NSYNC, and their tour manager in one of the conference rooms and was pushing it on the time factor. She made it to the lobby where she was stopped by the receptionist.
“Can I help you m’am?” a sweet older woman from behind the counter asked. Gina whirled around and stared at her through her dark sunglasses.
“Yes…I need to get to conference room one please.”
“What is your name sweetheart, do you have an appointment?”
Gina froze and raised her eyebrows. It had been a long time since someone asked her who she was, and it felt a bit odd. She pulled her sunglasses up and perched them on top of her head just as Eric rounded the corner to stand next to her.
“I’m sorry. I’m Gina Corleone, and I have a meeting with Johnny Wright and-“
“Oh Ms. Corleone I am sorry, I did not recognize you. Yes, you do have an appointment at 9 with Johnny and the *NSYNC boys. Let me show you the way,” she interrupted quickly, standing up and blushing a bit. She walked down the hall and waved to several of the employees, and everyone greeted this woman warmly. Gina realized that this sweet lady was respected amongst everyone.
“It looks like we will be seeing a lot of you, since you are touring with the boys and all. By the way, my name is Mary and I’m probably the first person you’ll be seeing when you walk in the door, Ms. Corleone.”
“Nice to meet you Mary. Please though, call me Gina. This is Eric; he works security for me, so don’t worry about him,” Gina answered, smiling for the first time that morning.
“Nice to meet you too Gina…oh and you as well Eric. Here’s conference room one. See you soon!” Mary opened the door and smiled at the people already sitting in it, lounging in the chairs. “Ms. Gina Corleone is here, gentlemen.”
Every person in the room stood up as Gina walked into the room, leaving Eric out in the hallway chatting with Mary. “Good morning Gina, glad you could make it,” Johnny said, motioning for her to sit down.
“Hi,” she answered simply and nodded. She noticed the empty seat beside JC and made a beeline for it. There was an empty seat next to Justin across from JC on the other side, but there was no way in HELL she was going to sit next to him.
“Well, now we can get started. Mark and I have been talking and we have lots of ideas, but we want to hear yours…” Johnny began, standing from his seat and talking to everyone.
“You look tired,” JC whispered over at Gina with a grin on his face.
“You look way too happy for 9am. I am NOT the morning person, period,” Gina whispered back.
“Justin is the same way.”
At the mention of Justin, Gina turned her head and ended the conversation, focusing her attention back on Johnny. JC noted her instant discomfort and made a mental note to figure out what was causing it all.
“Gina?”
She looked over at Johnny and raised her eyebrows in question. “Yes?”
“What do you think?”
“Well, I would love to hear what everyone else’s ideas are and see what I can add to.”
“Is there anything you specifically want for your stage time? Anything that you traditionally have?”
“I’m pretty flexible…I’m really all about making this tour bigger and better than the last, that’s what I like to do for every tour I do.”
“How do you keep coming up with new ideas? You’ve done tons of shows!” Chris asked in awe. Gina smiled; she had a huge fan in Chris and found it quite funny but utterly adorable.
“Yes, enlighten us oh wise one,” Justin mumbled. Gina heard him and glared while Joey kicked him under the table.
“What is your problem, Justin?” Gina asked flat out. It was early, she was crabby, and she wasn’t about to take shit from anyone, especially a nineteen-year-old pretty boy with a major attitude problem.
“I don’t have a problem.”
“Then put a sock in it already because I’m tired of your attitude towards me. I have done nothing bad to you,” she quipped, then leaned back in her chair and turned to face Johnny, acting like nothing happened.
However, Justin was embarrassed and he was not one that appreciated being embarrassed in front of his friends OR his manager. He considered the conversation far from over.
“I suggest you watch that attitude of yours Ms. Corleone, because I have gotten nothing BUT it from the first words out of your mouth and I will NOT put up with it,” he said and raised from his seat, leaning over with his hands on the table almost taunting her.
Gina spun slowly in her chair and looked at him in shock. Oh no he did NOT just say that. She placed her hands on the table calmly and took a few deep breaths. Meanwhile, JC was looking back and forth between Justin and Gina, then glancing towards the rest of the guys. Johnny watched with an eyebrow raised; he didn’t know of any tension between the two.
“I fully intended on being nice, that is, until I walked over and heard you badmouthing me before you had even MET me. I planned on giving you a chance, dismissing all the things I had heard about you because I know how rumors go. However, you fully lived up to everything I had heard and THEN some. So, I’m sure everyone would like it so much if you would check the ego at the door next time we see each other.”
By the time she was done answering Justin’s dig, she was standing up and leaning over the table much like he was. They were practically nose to nose and the rest of the people in the room could almost see the fire coming out of their ears. The guys were appalled at Justin’s behavior, and they sprang into action at the same time. Joey stepped on Justin’s foot under the table as Chris and JC tried to distract Gina. Lance looked over at Johnny and shook his head solemnly.
“It is going to be a long tour if it starts out like this.”
The meeting had ended and they decided to come together after a lunch break at 1pm to discuss further plans. Johnny had called the break because he didn’t know how much longer he could keep Gina and Justin in the same room without them killing each other. Gina left and the guys were all getting up to do the same when Johnny began talking.
“We have a problem here.”
The five sat back down in their chairs and sighed. They knew a lecture was coming, and its main focus would be a certain curly-haired youngin.
“Justin, what the hell was that?”
Justin looked down at his hands; he didn’t really want to talk about what had just happened. “What do you mean?”
Lance rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. “Justin answer the question and stop playing dumb because I would like to get out of here sometime before I turn twenty-two.”
He glared over at Lance quickly and shook his head. “What?”
“I cannot believe we invite someone to tour with us, bring them to our home, and you treat them in that way. What would your mother say?”
“That I’m a grown man and can make my own decisions, Johnny.” Justin rolled his eyes. He hated that everyone still treated him like he was fourteen. He didn’t really know why Gina got on his nerves so much. He speculated it was several different things, but she really pushed his buttons and he didn’t like it.
“Then she would smack him upside the head and tell him that he was flat out wrong and has been since the beginning,” Chris added.
“What?”
“Justin she is right on this one. You need to apologize to her for lashing out in that way-“ JC began before Justin jumped in.
“She should apologize to ME for treating me like I am twelve years old…and shut it DOWN Chris because I don’t even want to hear a comment from you.”
“When you act that way, you’ll be treated that way,” Chris said anyway.
“How come you didn’t tell me there was going to be a problem with this before we scheduled the meeting?” Johnny asked.
“Because Justin agreed to doing it,” Joey explained simply.
“I’m not the one that’s wrong here, she lashed out at me!”
“You kept pushing her though. I’m glad she did because you deserved it boy,” Lance said as he stood up from his chair. “Now, I’m going to grab a bite to eat before we reconvene here. I suggest you figure out a way to apologize to her Justin, because we wont get anything done if you don’t.”
“Fine, fine. Let me eat something and think about it, OK?”
They realized that that was the best they were going to get out of him at the moment, so Johnny agreed and let them go. They walked down to the cafeteria, all of them thinking different things. The guys hoped Justin would throw in the towel and apologize, but they knew him a lot better than that. From what they saw in the meeting room, this first real argument between the two was just the tip of the iceberg.
Justin remained relatively quiet throughout lunch and once again back in conference room one. He figured that if he didn’t say anything, he couldn’t be wrong. He watched Gina closely; how she looked at everyone while they were talking, how she did not interrupt anyone’s train of thought, and how she articulated herself well. She seemed genuinely interested in making the tour perfect and she treated everyone well, that is until she glanced in his direction. Every time she did, he was met with a cold stare and her eyes were almost shooting daggers at him.
Gina was beginning to become unnerved at Justin’s constant stare in her direction. She could feel his eyes on her, and they had not moved since she walked back into the conference room at 1pm. She tried to play it off and pretend he wasn’t in the room, but that was virtually impossible. He was being the quietest she had ever heard him be, and she found it quite odd. She glanced at him a few times and tried to appear unaffected and almost bored with his gaze.
The eight of them in the room managed to come up with a layout of the stage and a set list within a few hours. Justin gave minimal answers to questions asked specifically of him, and Gina was sure to direct any questions or comments to anyone but Justin.
“Should we end the show with you guys or with me?” Gina asked towards the end of the meeting. They all looked around at each other, no one really wanting to claim the finale, but both secretly wanting it.
“It doesn’t matter, I mean you’ve been around longer so if you want it Gina, it’s yours,” JC said, glancing around to all the guys for approval. They nodded and smiled.
“Wow, that was easy. Besides, I think you guys had a really cool opening on the first leg of your ‘No Strings Attached’ tour, and that would be awesome to go with again if you wanted to. Also, maybe we can figure out some way for us all to be onstage at the end of the show, I think that might be kind of cool,” Gina answered, tilting her head back and forth like she was contemplating that idea.
“That could work. How about you all think about it and we can finalize it before rehearsals. I think that this meeting is pretty much over with; we can call it day. Mark and I need to get on the phone and start calling for prices and what not for everything, and it will take a few days to get it all in order. Meanwhile, we’ll get on the phone with the choreographers and get them in the studio ASAP. Most likely we’ll start rehearsals tomorrow or Friday, and all of you will be together because we’ll be able to bounce things off of each other, understand?”
All six heads nodded in agreement. “Wonderful. We’ll call you in a few hours and let you know when rehearsals will begin, and where they will be held. We are obviously going to stay in L.A. for these rehearsals, but we can head back to Orlando for a few days if you want to do some there. Do you have any preferences?” Mark asked.
“I’m straight, wherever you guys want to rehearse is fine. I can dance anywhere,” Gina said smiling at them.
“Oh we can dance too girl, don’t you worry. ‘We can do it anywhere’…” Chris said and sang the chorus of the 112 song ‘Anywhere’.
Gina laughed and shook her head at his antics. “OK, so then wherever is available works, and I know it’ll be fine for my dancers also…we’ll just have to let them know about it. I’m sure we probably share some choreographers, which will help in the long run. Where do we kick off the tour?”
“You’re right about the choreographers, and that will definitely help. We are starting and finishing up in Orlando, so I think we could probably start rehearsals up here for a bit, head to Orlando a few days before we go, rehearse there and just flow right into the tour.”
“OK that’s a good idea. Well, we are done here so you’re free to go. Thank you for making it back here this afternoon and for getting this done. As you all know, this is only the beginning. I suggest you get some rest and we’ll give you a call.”
“Thanks Johnny. Mark, I’ll be hearing from you later. Boys, it’s been real, but it’s time for me to hit the pool for a little workout. So much for a two-week break, but it’s all about the business. JC, you have my number so if ya need me you can reach me. Later guys!” Gina said, waving and pulling her sunglasses down as she walked out of the room.
“Dude you got her phone number?” Joey asked as soon as she was gone.
JC rolled his eyes and sighed. “Yes I did because we’re going to need to keep in touch with her from now on and this is the easiest way.”
“Man I should have thought of that. Did you give her your cell number?”
“No. Justin’s.”
“WHAT?” he asked, snapping out of his daze. “You gave her MY cell? Why JC?”
“I’m playin’, relax. Of course I gave her mine. Did you think I was going to give her Chris’?”
“You should have dude! Man! I could tell everyone that Gina Corleone called me.”
“You need help Chris. Seriously.”
Once again they all rose from their seats and made their way out to their cars. The guys headed home to get in one more night of relaxation before the insanity of the tour was upon them and ate up every single minute of every day.
As planned, Gina received a call from Mark in the early evening letting her know that rehearsals started on Friday morning, bright and early at 7am. She groaned and whined on the phone to him but in all honesty, 7am wasn’t that early for rehearsals. She wouldn’t be herself if she didn’t complain to him for just a few seconds. Gina managed to get a long swim in after the meeting and worked out with her personal trainer. Then, for the first time in a long time, she was able to cook herself a nice Italian dinner. Once that was done, she made her way down into her basement studio and began to play around with some new lyrics she had written over the past couple weeks.
“Callin’ me…me. Callin’ me-damn.” Gina pulled her headphones off and walked out of the booth, taking a break from a part of a new song she was not quite hitting like she should. If anyone else were listening, they would think that it she sang it fine. However when it came to her music, Gina was a perfectionist to a fault. If one little part sounded just a tiny bit off, she would re-record the whole verse. She grabbed a bottle of water and was singing the line quietly to herself when her house phone rang.
“Hey this is Gina,” she answered, glancing at her watch. Her eyes widened in shock; she had been toiling in the studio for close to four hours.
“Hey Gina! It’s JC Chasez.”
She giggled. “You don’t have to say your last name JC, I know who you are. What’s going on?”
“Well I was talking to the guys and we were wondering if you wanted to join us for lunch tomorrow, kind of a ‘get to know each other better’ thing before we officially jump into the tour. I think you might have some misconceptions about us…well, some of us at least.”
She knew he meant Justin. The fact that he called to straighten things out before things really picked up showed her that he was a good person and she could bet her money that the rest of them were the same, for the most part. “Ah, I see where you are going with this. Lunch would be great, where should I meet you?”
JC knew she would go and he smiled to himself in triumph. “We can swing by and pick you up if you want…I’d just need your address.”
“First my home phone number, my cell number, now my address. Are you stalking me Mr. Chasez?” Gina teased. It had been a long time since she had felt comfortable with a male close to her age, and she almost forgot what it felt like.
“Now you’ve caught me. Seriously though, we’ll have to take a limo anyway, so why make you drive too? If I promise to stick Justin in a separate limo, will you consider it? What if I strapped him up on top of the limo?”
Gina laughed out loud and almost dropped the phone. “Well when you put it that way…how do you put up with him? I’m sorry, that was out of line. Anyway, how could a girl refuse that offer?”
JC laughed; he already liked her. “Great then, give me your address and I’ll stalk-I mean, we’ll pick you up at noon. I promise we won’t be late this time either.”
