| Chapter 2 |
| JC Chasez sighed uncomfortably, adjusting the tie around his neck for the tenth time in the past five minutes and hoping he wasn't over dressed. He still couldn't believe he had been signed to a record label. HIM. The same guy who used to perform in coffee shops and bars a few nights a week. He shook his head. It was nuts. He traced the vein on his hand for a second before glancing at the clock again. 7:12. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the wrinkled business card a guy had handed him one night at the coffee shop after a show. 'Timberlake Records. 3220 Overland Way. Orlando, FL.' Flipping it over, JC read the handwritten words on the back. 'Meeting with Justin Timberlake. 7:00 sharp.' Looking up at the office clock again, JC sighed. It was already 7:15, and no one had come to talk to him at all. 'Maybe this is all just a big joke,' he thought, sighing into his hands. 'I knew it was too good to be true. Who in their right mind would want to sign ME?' Nodding, JC stood up, grabbing his backpack and heading for the door. Just as he was reaching for the doorknob, the door swung open and a young man with curly hair came rushing in. He stopped at the secretary's desk, holding onto the edge as he fought to catch his breath. The woman behind the desk smiled at him. "Good morning Mr. Timberlake," she said politely, handing him a manilla folder with a few contracts inside. JC stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at the man, who appeared to be even younger than he was, and then down at his card. 'Justin Timberlake,' he thought. 'Timberlake Records. This must be the guy.' "Is he still here?" Justin asked, his breath still slightly hitched. "Who?" the woman asked. "JC Chasez," Justin said. "I had a meeting with him today at 7:00. Damn traffic. Did he leave already?" JC coughed slightly, blushing when Justin and the woman both turned to stare at him. He stepped forward, meeting Justin's stare. "Um, I'm JC Chasez," he said. Justin sighed in relief, a wide grin splitting his face and making him look even younger. He stood up and straightened his suit before extending his hand out to JC. "Name's Justin Timberlake," he said. JC shook his hand, feeling comfortable with him already. "JC Chasez." Justin grinned. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had, personal issues to take care of this morning. I think I broke the sound barrier trying to get here." He laughed, extending an arm to the back room "Lets get down to business shall we? You've got one hell of a voice JC, and I want to see just what you can do with it." JC nodded eagerly, following Justin out of the office and down the hall. ~*~ Lance towel dried his hair as he stepped out of the bathroom, the steam from his shower drifting out of the open door. He opened his dresser drawers, letting the towel tied around his waist pool at his feet as he slipped on a pair of gray boxer briefs. He got dressed in a pair of faded denim hip huggers, and slipped on an orange shirt. Sitting down on the edge of his bed to put on his shoes and socks, he turned on the speaker phone and dialed a familiar number. "Joey's whore house. You pay, we lay. How may I help you?" Lance rolled his eyes. "Joey, stop answering your phone like that," he scolded. "What if that had been your mother?" Joey laughed. "Then things would have gotten pretty damn interesting if my mom's calling up whore houses. Besides, I have caller ID. I knew it was you." Lance shook his head, picking up the phone as he finished tying his laces. "You're a sick man Joe. A sick, twisted man." Lance could hear Joey's grin as he spoke. "Yeah, I know. So what's up, buttercup?" Lance growled, causing Joey to laugh harder. "You wanna do something today? Maybe have lunch? Justin's got a meeting and I'm bored." Joey sighed. "He ditched you again?" Lance frowned. "It's not like that Joe," he said. "Justin's meeting with a new client today. Me being there would just be a distraction." "I bet he told you that, huh?" There was silence for a few seconds before Joey spoke up again, his voice cheery. "Well, his loss! Guess it's just you and me against the world. How touching." Lance laughed, glad that Joey always knew how to break an awkward moment. "Yeah, it is," he said. "Hey, bring your roommate. He's always fun to hang with." "Chris? Hmm," Joey pretended to consider the thought. "Why the hell not? Hey Chris!" he yelled, and Lance had to hold the phone away from his ear. "You wanna go-what? It's Lance. No, dammit ... give me the phone! Chris!" "Hey Poofu!" a higher voice spoke up a few second later. "How's it hangin? And I don't need details, please." Lance rolled his eyes. "Don't call me Poofu." "Sure Poofu," said Chris. "So, seriously, how ya been?" "I'm good," Lance said honestly. "Hey, Joe and I were gonna have lunch together today. You in?" "Hell yeah," said Chris, and Lance could hear the sounds of a scuffle over the line before Chris was talking again. "Damn Joey. Anyway, so I guess that means the high and mighty Timberlake stood you up again?" Lance sighed. "What is it with you and Joey today?" he snapped. "Justin did not stand me up, so just back off his case." "Woah, down boy," Chris chuckled. "I'm just worried about ya man. Joey too. Joey might have known you longer, but we're still buds, right?" Lance smiled. "Right Chris. So, I guess that's three for lunch, right?" "Right!" Chris and Joey cheered, and the next second Joey was talking on the phone. "The three musketeers ride again!" he hollered. "Pick you up in five buddy." Lance chuckled as the line went dead. He put the phone back down in it's cradle and grabbed his wallet, heading downstairs to wait for Chris and Joey. ~*~ Justin and JC laughed together as they entered Justin's office. Justin had given JC the full tour of the building, including the recording studios. JC was still in awe of everything, but he was happy that he and Justin, his BOSS, got along so well. It was his first day and already he felt like he had known the guy for years. "Have a look around," Justin said, loosening his tie as he grabbed a paper cup from beside the water fountain and poured himself a drink. "Mi oficina es su oficina." When JC gave him a funny look, Justin grinned. "Took Spanish in high school. That and 'hola' is pretty much all I remember." JC laughed as he made his way around Justin's large office. It looked like the executive wing of a big company, and behind Justin's desk was a large window view. JC stood a few feet back from the glass, admiring the view from a safe distance. "I'll be right back," Justin said, heading for the door. "Make yourself at home." JC nodded, watching Justin leave before continuing his exploration of the office. He stopped at Justin's desk, smiling at the framed pictures that littered it. There were even a few pictures that were pinned up on the filing cabinets with magnets. JC looked over them, chuckling at all of the goofy pictures of his new boss and a group of people he didn't know. He noticed that three guys were in most of the pictures. One was a big guy about Justin's height. JC grinned. He had a goatee, a wide smile on his face as he gave Justin a noogie, and spiked brown hair with red tips. The next was a shorter man, also with brown hair and a goatee, the ends of it turned up into little devil horns. JC chuckled. Looking at the next man, who was being tickled by the shorter guy, JC's breath caught in his throat. The guy was about medium height; taller than the man with the devil horns but shorter than Justin. He had honey blonde hair spiked up on top of his head, the tips of it just slightly blonder than the rest. His body was very nicely built, and JC admired the way his shirt pulled against his flat stomach. If he looked close enough, he imagined he could see the man's abs through his shirt. He had slightly chubby cheeks, pink lips, and a perfect smile. JC looked at the next series of pictures, noticing the blonde man with Justin in all of them. Picking up another picture, JC saw the unique shade of green his eyes were, and it made him shiver with delight. He was beautiful. Taking a closer look, JC frowned at how close the man and Justin were standing. In fact, they had their arms around each other in most of the pictures. A gold frame caught his eye, and JC picked it up, his eyes widening slightly as he saw Justin and the mystery blonde gazing into each other's eyes and smiling, their foreheads touching slightly. There was no mistaking how the two of them knew each other. JC sighed, wondering why he felt a little disappointed. A loud cough jolted him back to reality, and he looked up at the door and into Justin's tense face, his jaw clenched. "See something interesting?" |