Chapter Thirty-Four

Lauren closed her eyes and silently cursed herself for being so unbelievably stupid. She was confused and she was at a loss as to what to do, but Justin wasn't exactly making this easy. He was being bullheaded and with strong emotional turmoil topping it off…he was a walking ball of hypocrisy. He didn't know which way was up and which way was down, but that didn't excuse him in any way. If he was pissed off or he was wanting to close off, then he needed to just do it and leave everything else alone.

One minute he was screaming at her in anger, the next minute he was smiling at her, the next he was being concerned, then he was kissing her, and then he was turning away. If his signals and his actions were that mixed up, she could only imagine what was going on inside of his head. He had always been a thinker and someone who wanted to make sure of his actions before completing them, but lately it seemed like he was working on auto-pilot and when a thought came to him…he acted on it. That wasn't Justin at all and she felt like she needed a playbill to keep up with the cast of characters in this story.

Lately his attitude and his personality had changed about as quickly as he could change clothes on tour. It wasn't fair and it was frustrating because she never knew exactly what Justin she was talking to at any given moment. That made her plans very hard to follow and it made talking to him almost impossible. How was she supposed to explain everything and push him into talking when all he wanted to do was walk away?

She took several deep breaths before following him out the door and looking around until she found JC and Miranda again. They were standing off to the side talking to a few organizers of the benefit and they were being gracious as always.

"I wasn't going home for Easter because the trip is too long and we have a video to shoot in a few days. It's my honor to be here and help out in any way I can." Lauren watched Miranda as JC spoke and she had to smile when she saw the love radiating out of her.

"We thank you all the same Mr. Chasez and for bringing Justin along as well. As much attention as we can bring to the cause…the better."

He shook their hands and smiled again. "Like I said, it was our pleasure. Have you met Miranda Hill? She is currently working on a new book and she is in charge of interviews and setting up our interviews. Maybe you all can work out a time that we can get together and REALLY get things rolling."

Miranda shook their hands affirmatively. "It's wonderful to be here, and especially for such a good cause. Here are a few of my business cards and you can call me day or night to set up an appointment."

Lauren shook her head when she thought about how Miranda was always networking and always making contacts. "And she really does mean that."

All eyes turned to her and she blushed when she realized that she was now the focus of everyone's attention. JC reached for Miranda's hand and squeezed it before talking to Lauren. "Where did Justin run off to? These people would like to talk to him."

She could tell that JC wasn't too happy about the fact that Justin had disappeared and especially since he was one of the honorary guests. In fact, she knew that he was probably wondering if they had argued there of all places when really it should be all about the children and helping people who were struggling just to make it. "He um…he said that…that he had to go look for something."

"What did he have to look for?"

Right there she knew why Miranda had a hard time lying to the man. The look he had on his face reminded her of the one her father had given her when she had eaten an entire can of PlayDoh when she was four. "Um…that I couldn't tell you. I'm sure he'll be right back."

JC looked at the people in front of him and gave Miranda a look before addressing Lauren again. "Which direction did he disappear in and would it have anything to do with what happened outside?"

Lauren could feel her cheeks start to burn and she couldn't believe that JC was doing this in front of everyone. "Yeah…yeah I'd say that that scene is replaying over and over in his head at the moment."

"JC, maybe we should talk about this later because I'm sure these people don't care about…"

He smiled at Miranda before interrupting. "I don't think it's a crime to let these people know that Justin is irresponsible and downright pigheaded from time to time. They're wanting to invest in his name and his face, but I seriously doubt that a grouch is…"

Miranda squeezed his hand even tighter until he cringed. "I…don't…think…we…need…to…do…this…now."

He pried her fingers off of his and lowered his voice. "I know what I'm doing."

"I do too. You're scaring them." She smiled brightly at the confused faces in front of her and put her arm around JC's back to sink her fingers into his side.

Lauren wanted to either laugh at their flirting/parenting or be embarrassed. In the end, she decided to be both. "Justin needed some fresh air because the press was hounding him outside and…"

"Well there you are Mr. Timberlake. We were just wondering where you ran off to. It's a pleasure to have you here today."

Lauren cringed when they interrupted and she heard Justin's voice right behind her. "What did I miss?"

JC's hips slid back and forth while he tried to discretely remove Miranda's tightening fingers from his flesh. "Miss your manners or…OW! Dammit Miranda!"

One of Justin's eyebrows raised as he looked at the pair. "Nooooo…I don't think I missed Miranda."

Out of habit, Lauren elbowed him playfully in the ribs and smiled. "They've all had too much sugar today. BIG Easter baskets and all, so please excuse their stupidity."

The man and woman both laughed and patted Justin's shoulder on the way by. "You guys are way too funny. We hope you enjoy your day with us and let us know if there's anything we can do to make things easier."

Justin rubbed his aching ribs and groaned pitifully. "I'll remember that."

He waited until the people were out of earshot and turned to glare at the three familiar faces in front of him. "Mind telling me what THAT was all about? Those people probably think we're an episode of Three's Company or something."

Miranda pulled back from JC and winked at him. "And he is just BUSTING out of his era."

Justin's arms crossed over his chest as he glared even harder. "Why do I feel like the butt of some joke here?"

JC shook his head but his disappointed cobalt eyes stayed on Justin. "You feeling like a butt is exactly what I was thinking. What was that all about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"That whole 'let's drag Lauren around and then storm out of the bathroom like a maniac' display that you just showed everyone a few seconds ago."

Justin turned away and rubbed his jaw with a hand. "That is none of your business and I don't think that I pulled in everyone's attention like that. Besides, I was over there talking to some kids who wanted an autograph. I guess I should have walked away from them so I could come over here and look like 'happy little in love Justin' just to make the gawkers happy? I don't work that way, JC. Never have and I never will."

JC's fingers laced with Miranda's again and he pulled on her until they were walking away from the younger pair. "I'm going to go find a few people who understand what this day is supposed to be all about. See you later, Lauren."

It was an obvious and purposeful dig towards Justin for JC to walk away and not say anything to him. Justin stood there with his jaw dropped as he watched them walk away and Lauren turned slowly to look up at him. "He was acting strange when I walked up too."

"RUDE is what he was acting."

She shrugged and started walking towards the tables that held name-cards for seating arrangements. "He has never liked tenseness around him and someone would have to be completely blind to see that we've been tense around each other lately."

Much to her surprise and dismay, he followed along beside her. "Are you saying that the façade isn't believable? Oh my GOD…say it ain't SO! And here I thought that you were one of the best actresses I had ever seen." He pulled out her chair and grinned bitterly when she looked at him. "You certainly fooled the hell out of me."

She jerked the chair out of his hand and sat down without his assistance. "And I could say the same about you."

He slid in beside her and reached for her hand but she pulled away. "What's the matter? You don't want everyone to believe that the kiss outside was only ONE show of our affection towards one another?"

"I don't want you to touch me because you'll somehow find SOME way to blame it on me."

He held up his hands and sighed. "Your wish is my command and you'd be amazed by how easy that one is."

Even though she knew she should drop the subject, she was too mad and too bitter inside to hold her tongue. "Let me just add once again that the kiss outside was not my fault and nobody forced you to do it. You could have said 'no' at any point and people would have understood."

"Peer pressure is a bitch, and so is…"

She quickly turned and pleaded with him. "Please Justin…please can we just forget all of this for a few hours? No more hurtful words, no more angry tones, and no more bitterness for a FEW HOURS?" He continued to stare at her and she couldn't tell what he was thinking because his face gave away nothing. "Justin, if you ever cared about me, if you ever once felt anything towards me, if you cherished our friendship at all, PLEASE give me a few hours that are free of nastiness and bitterness. PLEASE? It's…it's Easter."

"I'm not one of the things in your Easter basket, Lauren."

Her shoulders slumped and she nodded slowly as she stared down at her hands. "Thanks a lot, Justin."

There was a long silence between them before Justin finally sighed and gave in. "Ok I don't think a few hours of pleasantness towards one another will hurt, but it won't change anything either. You understand that right?"

"Yeah…I understand."

"As long as you understand that, then…hey you two."

JC held out Miranda's chair as she sat down beside Justin and then he took his seat beside her. "Are we still brooding over here?"

Miranda gave him a stern look before turning back around and smiling. "JC is in a snit because…well…he heard something that he didn't like very much."

Lauren's head came up and she looked JC over for any signs of anger or disgust. He only showed concern.

Justin was beyond being confused. "What did you hear?"

JC shrugged and took a long drink of water before answering. "I heard two people talking and it was enough to make me see even MORE how blind and stupid some people can be."

For a moment, Lauren thought he was talking about her, but the way he was intensely staring at Justin told her all she needed to know. "I hope it can be salvaged."

A grin slid over his face and he winked at her. "Oh I'm working on it."

She wasn't sure what it was, but just knowing that JC was now on her side, that he understood, that he wasn't judging, and that he immediately thought the worst of Tom and not her…gave her the strength she needed to hold her head high and smile with some sense of newfound hope. "Thanks."

Miranda gave her a "told you so" look. "Remember what I told you. Push…push…push."

Justin looked back and forth at the three of them like they had lost their minds. "Would you like me to leave and sit over there with the children? Because I'm beginning to feel like a complete moron or like I've somehow been dropped in the middle of the foreign language channel. What are you all TALKING ABOUT?"

It was pretty quiet from that point on. Presentations were made, the charities were explained in great detail for the honored guests, and thank-you's were made to everyone who gave up their holiday to be there in support of their worthy cause. Lauren looked around at all of the people who had nothing, less than nothing, and they still had huge smiles on their faces and hope in their eyes. That made her think and do some very valuable soul searching in the process.

These people were lacking in material things, they had little or no money, no personal belongings other than the things they could fit into a backpack or overnight bag, and yet they were happy. They weren't happy in the sense that they were satisfied with their positions or lack of means, but they were happy nonetheless. They were happy to be alive, happy to have friends and family, happy to be celebrating the holidays, and happy that they were blessed enough to be healthy. Their problems made her troubles with her heart and with Justin seem trivial in comparison.

If those people were sitting there with their heads held high, if they still hung onto what little bit of pride they had left even when they were at their darkest hour…how selfish was she to be moping around and pouting? She had always had a roof over her head, loving parents, food on the table, clothes to keep her warm, and love overflowing. Maybe she had been blessed too much because at that moment she felt very selfish and she felt extremely guilty. She was sitting at a table with two guys that half of the world would kill to see, much less know, and she was feeling sorry for herself.

Feeling sorry for herself, in the middle of these people, was one of the biggest insults she could ever throw out in her life. It was pathetic and she was better than that.

After everyone finished eating, soft music started playing and JC stood up to hold his hand out to Miranda. "Coming?"

She rolled her eyes playfully before laughing. "Well since I can't wait forever for that cutie over there to ask me…so I guess you'll do."

"Gee thanks."

Lauren leaned her elbows on the table and rested her chin on the back of her hands as she watched them dance together. She couldn't help but sigh dreamily when JC pulled Miranda close to him and they leaned into one another. Miranda rested her forehead against the side of his jaw, her hand was holding one of his and it was pressed against his chest, his head was dipped low against her so that his lips could brush her bare shoulder from time to time, and his hand ran up and down her back soothingly as they rocked to the music. Now that was what romance was all about and that's what comfort and love was about. No words were needed between them because their movements, their touch, and their hearts said it all.

Lauren chanced a look at Justin and she saw him staring down intently at the fork in his hand as he scraped it along his plate. He looked deep in thought and he looked like someone with the weight of the world on his shoulders. What he was thinking about, she didn't know, but she knew that it must be really eating at him if he was looking that way. Maybe he was trying to work out a few things that weren't fitting in his bad image of her anymore. That was really reaching but she was trying to be as hopeful as possible.

"Justin? Um…do you want to…you know…dance?"

The fork clinked loudly against the china as he dropped it. "Not really."

"Ok. We're like the only people still sitting at the tables."

"At least they can't call us unoriginal."

And that was her cue to shut up and leave him alone. JC and Miranda came back to the table a few minutes later and Miranda sat down with a huff. "One slow song with him is about all I can take."

"Does he step on your feet?"

She took a sip of her water and smiled evilly. "Nah…I just have to remind myself that we're in public."

JC laughed as he walked around the table towards Lauren. "Don't let that stop you, dear. Lauren? Would you like to dance? You look pretty bored sitting here all by yourself."

Justin's head turned when he heard that. "I'm sitting here with her."

JC helped Lauren stand and he tucked her hand on the crook of his arm. "You're sitting here…big difference."

While Justin had been thinking and Lauren had been daydreaming, Miranda and JC had indeed been talking and it was a very dangerous thing when the two of them teamed up. Their plan was formulated and now all it took was a little bit of effort to pull it off.

JC spun Lauren around and hugged her to him when she seemed off-balance. "You haven't been drinking again, have you?"

She winced with embarrassment when she heard those words. "Oh no…you're just so manly that being this close to the power source is making my knees weak."

"Very funny. I'm not going to beat around the bush, Lauren. Miranda gave me the tape of your conversation with Tom."

Even though she tried not to, she tensed in his arms. "I figured she would."

"I found it very interesting."

Her eyes slowly raised until she was looking into his. "From the way you've been standing up for me today against Justin, I'm assuming that you're not completely disgusted by me."

"I'm not disgusted by you at all. In fact, after hearing Miranda's tale about Melinda and Tom's schemes…it makes me angrier to know that he's responsible for something this big. Pulling me away from Kara by using Melinda against us is one thing, that's just using his powers in business, but trapping you is another matter. Pulling apart two people who have only ever known what it's like to be close…that's personal. That's sick, it's twisted, and it won't continue."

She relaxed against him and tightened her arms around him. As strange as it may sound, it felt good to be held and comforted by him. "Thank you, JC."

"I'm taking that tape into the studio tomorrow and I'm going to sharpen it in areas that are intelligible. I can't promise you anything, but at least it will be something. At least it will be something that Justin can't deny. Maybe…just maybe it will reach him."

"And if it doesn't…I'll have my answer."

He looked down at her worriedly. "Answer to what?"

"To whether or not this is all worth fighting for, and to whether or not I really mean anything to him other than a body to have around."

"Watching you two fight like this is tearing us all apart inside because while we love both of you…we don't know where to step in or how. We've been quiet because we didn't want to isolate Justin by making it seem like we're taking your side, and we didn't want you to feel pushed aside if we seemed to agree with Justin."

She nodded against him and said a silent prayer of thanks to God for blessing her with such wonderful people in her life. "What do I do? What do I do that I haven't already done?"

"As much as I don't like Miranda's tactics of pushing people, mainly because that's how she got to me in the first place, I have to agree with her on this one. When you figure out what Justin was told, when you two can unite together again, then things will go faster." He was quiet for a few moments before continuing. "I saw you watching Miranda and I dance together earlier, and I recognized that dreamy look on your face. While you think that we are perfect…we're not. You're envious because we can SHOW our love for one another, but you could have that same thing. He loves you whether or not you want to believe it, and you're so eaten up with the love you feel for him that you can't see straight. Put yourselves out of the misery and go for it."

"It's not that easy. You can say that because Miranda has never purposely hurt you and she has never torn you apart the way Justin and I have with each other. I don't know if we can mend this anymore, but I promise to stay true to my heart from this moment on."

"You do that and you'll be amazed by the results. You'll be amazed."

Miranda had to work hard not to smile when she looked at Justin sitting beside her and she knew that JC was pulling on Lauren's ear the moment he got her on the dance floor. She didn't have much time to work her magic on this teenager beside her, but she had worked bigger miracles in less time.

She continued to stare at him and the smile she had been fighting creeped across her face. She didn't want to sound arrogant or conceited, but this was going to be a piece of cake. Literally she had been drooling at the chance to corner Justin just a little bit and after hearing that tape, Lauren's vent, and realizing just how far Justin had gone in his stupid-hood only put the odds in her favor.

He was tight, he was edgy, and he was well aware of the hard woman sitting next to him. The energy and the vibes her eyes on him were sending was enough to make him want to get up and leave the table. She leaned forward to rest her cheek on her propped up hand and the fingers on her other hand drummed on top of the table to a beat that quickly became annoying.

"Ok Miranda…WHAT?"

"Did I say anything?"

"I know what you're doing."

She looked shocked and she leaned back in the chair. "I'm doing something other than looking at a very beautiful young man?"

"Good God, don't tell me that you have a crush on me because honestly…I don't know if I could keep up."

Her fingers started drumming again and she smiled even brighter when she saw him tense. "Am I bothering you? You seem uptight."

"Don't."

"I wasn't…"

"Just…don't. Ok?"

Her eyes slid over him and down to his hands. She saw that his normally perfect fingernails were bitten to the quick, and the skin around them was picked at and thoroughly chewed on. Her perusal continued upwards until her eyes landed on his lips and she could see that he had been chewing on his lips quite a bit by the state of them. They looked almost chapped by the way that the skin was pulled off.

She tried her best to keep her mouth shut, but she couldn't hold back the words anymore. "Things just don't add up anymore."

He groaned and gripped his head between his hands. "If there weren't so many people around…that's all I'm going to say. If there weren't…so many…people…around."

She yawned loudly and leaned forward to give him a perplexed whisper. "You think you know somebody and then…well…I guess I'll just say that she REALLY fooled me. I expected a lot better."

Very slowly his hands came away from his hair and he turned to look at her. "What?"

"Lauren, I don't know what is going on inside of her head but she's being really stupid. Oh I'm sorry, I shouldn't say something like that when you two are so close but…well…I've noticed that you two are fighting lately and I have the feeling that you're thinking along the same lines."

Justin had no idea what to say to that so he continued to silently stare at her.

"She has always been so mouthy and strong that I believed her words were just as honest and passionate. Lately I'm beginning to wonder."

"Don't be fooled. She's not as honest or as innocent as she may seem. I've learned that the hard way."

If that was all it took for him to crack a bit, she wondered why Lauren was having such a hard time doing it herself. "Now hearing YOU say that really worries me. You two have been close for like…forever, and to know that you're completely disillusioned really hits it home for me."

"Oh I didn't mean for you to be disillusioned about Lauren. She's a good friend and…"

She held a hand up to interrupt him. "Oh no, the words have already been said. First responses and initial feelings about something are usually correct. I've been in this business of listening to people long enough to know that much." Let's see how he covers this, she thought.

"It's not my place to feed you information or to make you see Lauren in a negative way. You need to make up your own opinions. Wait a minute…you two are close and you have been ever since you came to Orlando. What's the deal here?"

She covered her rapid and frantic thinking by grabbing her water again and taking a long drink from the glass. "I'm going to be blunt here. Ever since that night she got drunk at the club, my respect for her slipped a little. I talked to JC about that last night and he told me not to worry but I'm a worrier I guess. I never would have guessed that she would have done something like that. I always knew she was wild, but that's crazy and erratic behavior that is unacceptable."

His eyes were sad as he slouched in the chair. "That doesn't mean she's a bad person. We all make mistakes and we all do stupid things that we end up regretting."

"She told me about the contract she signed and her deal with Tom."

He came up in the chair and gaped at her. "She TOLD you about that?"

Miranda tried her best to look bored with it as she shrugged. "I guess her conscience was getting the best of her and she needed to open up. Just between us…it was WAY low of her to do. I didn't tell her that because she came to me as a friend and needed someone on her side since…well…obvious reasons, but I can't understand her motives at all."

The pout was back and so was the self-pity that Miranda just wanted to smack out of him. "Join the club. Wait…why are you on MY side?"

She looked out on the dance floor when the song ended and was relieved to see that JC held onto Lauren to start dancing to the next song. Now it was time to hit little Justin Timberlake where it mattered most, and she wasn't about to cushion his feelings at all. "Let me explain a few things. I thought and thought about what must have been going through her head, besides stupidity, for her to sign a paper like that. To team up with TOM of all things. Is she completely insane? After everything that Tom has done to me, to Melinda, to you, and to everyone around him…I just couldn't imagine why she did that."

His arms crossed over his chest and he pulled on his bottom lip with worrying fingers. "Mmmhmm."

"It's not like she couldn't trust you. You've always been there for her, you've lended your heart, your shoulder to cry on, your trust, and your SOUL whenever she needed it and then she pulled something like this! I asked her if she had told you before this was all done and she said that she hadn't. Maybe you can help me here, what in the world was she thinking?"

His fingers rubbed even harder. "I wish I knew."

"I understand that you don't want to talk about this with me because we're not close or anything but…"

"No no…it's ok. I just never thought you would understand my side. I thought you would be on Lauren's side automatically."

Oh good heavens, he was hardly an opponent at all. "You thought wrong. Honesty and trust is what I'm all about and Lauren blasted all of that trust inside of you. I can see why because I feel betrayed just knowing that she did something like that. I just wish I understood why." She smiled slightly and coughed to cover it before he could see it. "I mean, she had everything. You two were closer than ever from what I could see, it was getting kind of passionate there for a little while, I thought I caught a few sparkles of love and daydreams in your eyes, and then BAM she blows it."

He shifted in the seat uncomfortably.

"I'm no Lauren expert but I'm a woman so I'll take a blind stab at it. Did you two talk about sacrifices or trust before she did any of this? Did you maybe talk about feelings and/or how much you meant to one another? Maybe she didn't feel like you were…oh this is stupid, but maybe she didn't feel that you were seeing her as anything other than a little girl? That's SUCH a blind guess."

"But closer than you think."

"Justin, that doesn't excuse a DAMN thing because you don't help someone see you as an adult by trapping them with a contract. Hmm…you were both together a lot so it wasn't like she wanted more of your time. In fact, she always seemed to support you through everything. She took time away from school, risked her school career a few times, put her dreams and her ambitions on hold just to support you, and so what more could she want, right?"

That jab was meant to go straight to his heart and she succeeded. "She wanted something more."

Miranda leaned closer to him and rested both arms on the table. "Just ANOTHER stab in the dark, but could it be that she fell for you? You know, love and all that good stuff?"

"She…she might have. I don't know." Her declarations of love rang inside of his head and he fought to push it aside.

"Ok so let me see if I can put this little puzzle together a bit because you have given me a few pieces that I didn't have. She cared about you, loved you, had your time, had your interest, had your care, was giving unselfishly of herself for SO long, hated Tom with a passion, stood against opposition for your whenever it came along, and then started thinking of you as more than just her best friend. In fact, I would go as far as to say that she was falling in love with you and you obviously made her feel secure in that because she was willing to risk her friendship with you to make it known. Hmmm."

He wanted Miranda to have the answers and he wanted her to make it all clear, but he didn't think she would be able to. The more she talked, the clearer things became, and the more things didn't click with what he had been told. "And?"

"Well I'm at a loss because then she went and signed the contract that would enable her to do things that she was ALREADY doing. I mean, the contract put her with you and basically made you two HAVE to be a couple, but you were already a couple. It's not like she had to push you too hard to make that a reality." She giggled for effect.

"Yeah but…but she felt some need to manipulate because…"

His words trailed off and she finished his thought. "Because she kept it a secret from you and felt that she HAD to not only keep quiet about it, but also to do it in the first place? Is that what you were going to say? Doesn't seem much like the Lauren you know, right?"

"No it doesn't. But if she felt she was protecting me by signing it then…but what was she protecting me from? WHY did she have to do this?"

"It's really hard to keep the lies from the truth. I'm struggling with that myself." And that lie slipped out with more ease than she thought it would. "I'm at a loss here, Justin. On one side I have Tom who I know is a rat bastard power-trip freak, and the other I have Lauren who has always had my back, has always fought for what she believes in, who ALWAYS tries to do the right thing, and then she goes and does something like this. She goes and does something SO FAR out of character that it makes me wonder if I really knew her. Maybe it was all an act and I was fooled for these months that I've known her."

He sighed and gave her a pitiful look. "Try being fooled for nineteen years."

Her eyes widened and she put a hand to her chest. "NINETEEN YEARS? You'd think that she would have shown her true colors in nineteen whole years! Man…she's like the most manipulative snake I've ever seen and her patience is unlike anything I've ever heard of. To think that she's managed to wait this long to finally drag you through the mud and purposely hurt you THIS BADLY…I don't know whether to hit her or kiss her for truly being the stuff nightmares are made of." Let him digest that one for a second, she thought. "Well, enough of this sad talk. I just wish I had the answers because she's really throwing me for a loop here. I'm sorry, Justin."

If possible, he was even MORE confused and he wondered if Miranda had purposely caused more havoc in his life. "I have a headache and I think I'm going to leave."

She reached out to rub his arm comfortingly. "Awww…I'm sorry if I wore you out or upset you. Maybe you should go home and rest. You won't have much of a chance for that once the tour starts next week."

He stood up and pushed his chair in. "Thanks for the chat. You surprised me."

She waited until he had walked away before smiling and raising her glass in a toast. "No more than I surprised myself. Come on, JC."

After Justin managed to drag Lauren off of the dance floor and they were heading towards the exit, JC sat back down at the table next to Miranda and his eyes sparkled when he saw the satisfied gleam in her eyes. "Were you good?"

"I was very good. He wasn't crying, wasn't angry, wasn't even miffed, but he was thinking…and that's a VERY dangerous thing right now."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "You rocked his world, didn't you?"

"I think he now sees that his anger and his blinding stupidity was a bit much since Lauren MORE than earned his trust."

"What do we do now?"

"Hmm…you clear up the conversation on that tape, burn it onto a CD, and leave the rest to me."

He leaned forward even more to lightly kiss her lips. "You're so beautiful when you're evil."

She kissed him softly and her lips lingered before she finally pulled back. "Oh you haven't seen anything yet."