faith4

Chapter Four

   "Brian?" Nick asked. "Yo, B-Rok! Earth to Bri..."
   Brian looked up, startled. "Yeah? Did you say something to me?"
   Nick rolled his eyes. ?Yes... Haven't you been paying attention?"
   "Sorry, I was just thinking." Brian apologized.
   AJ smirked. "Don't hurt yourself." He said sarcastically.
   Brian shot him an exasperated look. "Thanks for the advice Bone. I'll keep that in mind. What did you ask me?"
   Katherine Fisher chuckled. She was one member of the Boys' management team. "We were wondering if you were finished your new song yet."
   "Almost." Brian answered. "I've just got a little bit of tweaking left to do."
   "Okay, then." Katherine clapped her hands efficiently. "I guess that's all for today. I'll see y'all later."
   The five guys got up, said good-bye to Katherine and headed out of the building. "So, you guys all wanna grab something to eat?" Howie suggested.
   "I'd love to 'D." AJ answered. "But I'm meeting Mom for lunch at the office. But how about tomorrow?"
   "Sounds good." Howie nodded, then turned to the others. "You guys?"
   "Of course!" Nick said. "I'm starving!"
   Kevin chuckled, rolling his eyes at Nick. "You're always starving Frack. But I'm in too. Bri?"
   Brian glanced between AJ and the other three. "Actually, I think I'll head over to the office too. There's something I want to talk to Kaelyn about."
   The others nodded, so AJ and Brian drove off to the office and the other three headed across the street to one of their favorite restaurants.
   "Okay." Howie said after they had sat down. "Somebody tell me what the hell is wrong with Brian. And who is this Kaelyn?"
   Nick laughed. "B-Rok has gone crazy." He stated simply.
   "Thank you for your intelligent, informative response." Howie said sarcastically.
   Kevin smiled, and began to explain Brian's plan for Kaelyn.

   Brian said goodbye to AJ at his mother's office, and walked over to Kaelyn's cubicle. She didn't notice him immediately, so he leaned against the doorframe before clearing his throat.
   Kaelyn glanced up in surprise. "Uh, hi, Mr. Littrell." She said, unsure.
   "Call me Brian." He insisted.
   "Alright... Brian." Kaelyn turned her chair to face him fully. "Is there something I can do for you?"
   "Yes, there is. I wanted to ask you something. Why don?t you join me for lunch and we can talk about it?" he answered.
   She looked hesitant. "I don?t know... I have work..."
   "Don't you get a lunch hour?" he asked.
   "Yeah, but I usually work through it." She explained.
   "Come on, I'll buy." He continued to coerce her. Finally she smiled ruefully.
   "Alright." She picked up her purse and stood up. "Where are we going?"
   Brian suggested a nearby restaurant, and the two headed out of the building. Once they were seated and had ordered, Kaelyn looked at Brian expectantly. "So, what did you want to know?"
   He hesitated. "Let's put off business until after we eat. How about we talk about something else?"
   "Like what?" she asked, leaning her elbows on the table.
   "Well..." he paused. "Like how you came to work for the fan club, where you're from... that sort of thing."
   Kaelyn raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Alright... Um. I graduated from the University of Alberta in April with a BA in Drama and English. I was working at a minimum wage, dead-end job, looking for something in my field. Which, of course, was nearly impossible because of what a practically useless degree it is." She chuckled wryly. "I also wanted to get out of Edmonton. So, I remembered seeing an interview with Ms. McLean about the club. And I thought, since I used to be a die-hard fan, that I would be able to do the job. Plus it had the added bonus of being half a continent away from my mother." She smiled.
   "You don't get along with your mother?" Brian asked, hiding a smile.
   "It's not so much that we don't get along, per se. We just disagree on major issue..." she paused for dramatic effect. "I think I have control over my life, and she thinks she does."
   Brian laughed out loud. "She thinks you're still her baby girl?"
   "Yeah, I'm still a child in her eyes." Kaelyn laughed as well.
   "My mother's a little like that too." He admitted. "I just got out of there before it got to that point. But I'm still her Baby Duck."
   "You'd think she would have moved her attentions on to her granddaughter."
   "Actually, Danielle's not her only grandchild." Brian answered. "My brother Harold has three of his own. Kaleb's five, Sarah is three and a half, and Christopher is 18 months."
   "Wow." Kaelyn said, the nodded her thanks to the waiter who delivered their food. "So you're an uncle three times over."
   "Yep." Brian grinned proudly. "It's almost as great a feeling as being a father. What about you?" he asked.
   "No, I'm neither an uncle nor a father." She deadpanned. They both laughed. "But seriously, I have a 20 year old brother who is perpetually single and my younger sister is only 14, so... no nieces or nephews."
   "That?s a shame." He commented. "They?re a lot of fun."

   "Would you like some desert?" Brian asked after the two of them had finished their meal.
   Kaelyn shrugged. "If you're having some, I'm sure I could be persuaded to have some as well."
   He grinned. "Great!" he signaled their waiter. "So, you said you had a BA in Drama?" he asked after they placed their order.
   "Yeah. That and English were my two good subjects in school." She answered.
   "What kind of drama do you do?"
   "Well, mostly straight theatre acting, but I was also into musical theatre." She answered.
   "Have you had any voice training?"
   "A little." She looked at him quizzically. "Why?"
   "You have a beautiful voice." He said.
   "Thank you..." she was flattered, but confused.
   "I was just wondering if you'd ever considered getting a recording contract." He began. When Kaelyn opened her mouth, he held up his hand. "Just hear me out, alright? I heard you singing that day I left Danielle's toy in Denise's office. I was so impressed by your voice that I brought Kevin and Steve, one of our management team, to come listen to you. Kevin agreed to produce your songs and Steve agreed to manage you. What do you think?"
   Kaelyn stared at him with her mouth open, speechless. "What?" she finally spluttered. "When did Kevin and... Steve hear me sing?"
   Brian looked sheepish. "When you're working late you sing along to your disc man. So, I brought them in to hear you. We just stood by the doors."
   She stared at him, aghast. "You were spying on me?" she exclaimed.
   "No! Not exactly..."
   "I can't believe you would do something like that!" she cut him off. "What if I didn't want anyone hearing me sing? It's a very private thing! It didn't occur to you to ask me before putting me on display like that?"
   Brian looked surprised at her outburst. "I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be that upset about it. I was just trying to help you out."
   At his contrite and sincere tone, Kaelyn softened slightly."Look Brian, I appreciate the thought, even though your methods need work. But I'm just down here to work at the club. I didn't come here with stars in my eyes, hoping for fame." She looked at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand.
   "Alright." He smiled at her. "I'm sorry for not consulting you. Don't hate me?"
   She smiled back. "Nah. Besides, even if I did, it would be bad form to tell the boss, wouldn't it?" the two laughed, breaking the tension. They finished their lunch and headed back to the office.