"Little diva prick."
Ivy muttered those words to herself as she closed the door to her office, making sure not to slam it. She wouldn't want to give him the satisfaction of letting him know he got to her. Mr. Justin Timberlake always considered it a personal victory if he could get her to slam her door. She walked around to the other side of her desk and sank down into the plush leather of the chair behind it. Almost immediately the phone rang and she groaned. Five minutes. Couldn't they leave her alone for just five minutes? Sighing, she picked up the receiver.
"Ivy Matthews."
"Ivy, I'm glad I caught you."
"Hi Johnny," she said, "What can I do for you?" Ivy was all business now. She was lucky to have gotten the position so soon after graduating college, but her internship while she was a student had paid off. Public Relations was a huge responsibility, especially when you were promoting some of the biggest pop stars in the world. Ivy'd worked hard though, earning a reputation for being tenacious and firm, but fair. Now, as the CEO of Wright Entertainment Group began talking, she already had a pen handy to write down anything that might be important.
"I wanted to tell you how impressed I am with your work. You've more than shown me that you can handle this job and I wanted to offer you another project while NSYNC is on hiatus."
"Thank you," Ivy said, smiling now, "I've enjoyed working for WEG and working with the guys. I'm actually pretty eager to start something new since it's going to be a year before they go back into the studio."
"Well, it's new, but......not new."
"I'm not following you," she said, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"I have a client I want you to promote, but he's someone you already know. In fact, he asked for you specifically."
Ivy sat in silence, waiting for him to quit beating around the bush. It couldn't be good if he took this long to tell her who it was. She was wracking her brain for any indication of who it could be and missed the name when he finally told her.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I said its Justin Timberlake. You already know he's planning on a solo project and he asked that you be the one to run the promotion for the album. He was quite insistent."
"I'm sure he was," she said, unable to keep the snideness from her voice.
"Look, I know you two have your differences." Ivy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing outright. Differences? More like an intense and utter hatred for one another. �.... but I really think this would be a good idea. He's been with the other four for so long that going solo is bound to scare him a little."
"Why did he ask for me?"
"Well, he told me that since he won't have the other guys with him, at least he'd have someone he knew around and that he thought you were the best for the job."
Ivy frowned, staring at the paper in front of her. She had been doodling on it while he was talking and she was irritated to find that she had inadvertently scribbled Justin's name. With quick, furious strokes, she ran the pen over it until it was completely blackened out. How in the hell would she be able to deal with him during the duration of his solo effort if she couldn't even stand to look at his name? She had taken so long to answer that Johnny said her name, making sure she was still on the line.
"I'm sorry, I just don't know if..."
"Look," he broke in, "If you do this and everything goes well, I'll give you a raise."
"How much?"
"Twenty percent."
Damn. He'd only known her for a little over a year, but he knew which buttons to push. Twenty percent was a huge chunk of change and she knew it would solidify her reputation in the business. Determined to make him work for it though, she smiled.
"Make it thirty."
"Now Ivy, you know that's ridiculous."
"Is it? I don't recall there being a limit on how much a raise can be."
"Twenty two."
"Tell you what, make it twenty five and you've got a deal."
She heard him sigh in the background and knew she had him. When he agreed, she jumped up from her chair and did a little dance behind the desk. She struggled to keep her voice calm and professional while he outlined some of the things she would need to do before they started and she made sure to write down the meeting he scheduled for all of them on her desk planner, where she'd be sure to see it.
When she finally hung up the phone, Ivy was smiling from ear to ear. So what if she had to work with the most spoiled and pampered kid in the music industry, she was getting one hell of a benefit from it. She moved from her desk to the window, overlooking the bustling city below. Suddenly, Justin was her favorite person in the world.
Well.... almost. He was still a diva prick, but if he were standing there right now, she'd shock the hell out of both of them by giving him a big kiss on the cheek. She was so happy that she decided she'd go out tonight and celebrate. Maybe she'd give Nelson a call and they could have dinner at the new Italian place that had opened recently. Ivy turned back to her desk, picking up the phone again. Yeah, this definitely needed a celebration and who better to celebrate with than your fianc�?
Ten minutes later Ivy hung up the phone, scowling. Nelson had told her he was too busy to go to dinner that night, but that he was happy for her. His whole manner seemed as if he were praising a child for being able to dress itself. Annoyed that she'd gotten a pat on the head, Ivy smacked her hand on the desk, making the papers jump and flutter. Sighing, Ivy picked up the phone again. She knew that Steph would be excited for her and just busting to do something. She could always count on her.
This time was no different. This time, when she hung up, she had a smile on her face. Steph had shrieked so loudly that Ivy'd had to hold the phone away from her ear, chuckling at her friend's exuberance. They'd made plans to go out and as Steph had put it, 'do it up wild style." Ivy giggled as she pictured what that could mean with Steph. When she walked out of her office for the day, she had forgotten why she hated Justin so much and was looking forward to spending the evening with her best friend.