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By: Soxy “Mike, Jules is having a fit! You’re a half an hour late!” Kendra, Julianne’s assistant, said in an impatient voice that freakishly mimicked her role model. “Who is the love note from Mish?” She heard the office’s main receptionist call with a smile. She just grinned and continued on to her office. Sara, her assistant, was rolling her eyes and holding what looked like at least 40 ‘Called While You Were Out’ papers while she waited for her boss. “Kendra is so freakishly becoming Jules that I fear for the health of this company,” she stated with a straight face and then grinned. “I think I need a raise. I’m the one left to their firing squad while you hole up in the studio. How is it going?” She studied her bosses face carefully, noting the bags under her eyes and her messy ponytail. Shaking her head, she continued “by the way, Justin called; he wanted to confirm that you were going to the party at 40/40 and if you wanted to go with him. Seriously, even I’m confused about what the hell is going on with the two of you,” Sara said while opening the door for her boss and taking Mike’s jacket. Putting her bag underneath her desk and taking the coffee that another assistant had put on her desk, Mike took a long sip, closing her eyes to savor the coffee, taking a long sip before finally looking up. “Justin and I are having wild hot monkey sex, haven’t you read In Touch? Jesus, Sar, get on the scoop!” One more sip of the sinfully good coffee, Mike grabbed her leather-bound planner and notebook before making her way towards the other side of the office where the meeting was taking place. “Call Justin back and tell him he needs to stop harassing you, if he wants a date with you then he should just ask. Also, cut the waiting on me crap, when I hired you I told you I didn’t want my assistant to be my whipping girl. I have other people.” She looked down at another rag magazine, smirked and continued, “such as apparently Colin Farrell to treat like that. I wonder, just who am I not sleeping with?” she asked to the office as she finally pushed through the doors of the conference room. “Where the hell have you been? I don’t think your sex life is really what I want to be talking about right now Michelle Dianne Schrade!” Julianne barked from her seat at the head of the massive oval table. “Good morning, Julianne Rosalita Margoles, would you like your Prozac and Xanax now or later? I’m 15 minutes late because I was working overtime at the studio. Hence, if I’m at the studio I am somehow making up for my tardiness, because in the long run we hope it will just bring us a lot of money.” She looked pointedly at her other friend. “Amy, my dear, how goes it?” She asked as she gracefully plunked her tall form into their custom-made leather chairs. She definitely needed one of these in the studio. She could probably squeeze another ten minutes of sleep if she had one of these. Maybe she would have Sara roll one down, or at least call someone to roll it down... “Mike,” Amy said with a grimace, “she literally is in such need of medication I think we are talking Valium. Something is going on with the rags and she isn’t happy. She’s been here since 5 am.” Mike looked down at the various magazine articles that were strewn all over the oak table. “Yes, it does seem as if I’m boozing, doing drugs, sleeping with Justin, Colin, Jude, and hey, look at that ladies, apparently Dom and I are having a torrid fling. Quickly, Sara call him, tell him if we are having such affair I am severely missing the pleasure part.” She flipped her notebook open. “Now, ladies, let’s talk business, not bullshit.” “This is important, Mike, this is my part of the job,” Julie said shaking her head. “I’ve always been able to squelch the media from writing stories like this, I don’t understand. Well I do actually, the trip to relax you has actually only made you more important to the masses. They are absolutely fascinated with what will happen next in your love life because of that bitch Stacy.” “The hype for your next cd is crazy, I can’t even tell you how many shows are trying to book you. But, seriously, we need to talk about the party tonight and also the new talent we have gotten stuff from. Also, our next step with Jackson Myle, he’s got the cd down, press or pushing record companies?” Amy was flipping through the credentials of a 20-something raw New York talent that had sent them a demo tape months ago. Amy had been pulling for him, Jules didn’t want to take on another ‘far too good-looking boy’, and Mike had been so damn busy they weren’t sure she knew who he was. “Also, is Justin going to be taking you to the club tonight? I want to make sure Cynthia is on the beat then, she pants whenever she sees the two of you. I want to make sure she is positive that there is nothing going on between you and Orlando. Where the hell she got that idea, I have no clue.” Julianne looked pointedly at Mike and Amy. The story had run and than quickly faded by a dozen or so pictures of Mike and Justin acting cozy for the cameras. Mike, still was trying to protect Kate and if she really thought about it, herself. His last words to her were haunting. She’d been replaying that night over and over in her head. It had caused her to loose focus more than once during studio time and even time when she was practicing the choreography for her Grammy performance. Shaking her head of the memory she looked down at her planner and then up at her friends/co-workers. “I think we should go public with Jackson. I had him meet me down at the studio two days ago,” Mike said, then stopped short, “or was it yesterday? I’m not really sure.” Her eyes were already beginning to droop with the weight of her restless body. “Anyway, we jammed, he’s the real thing. He’s beyond Justin, John Mayer…the guy is amazing and girls and GUYS are going to eat him up. If you want Justin and I at the party we’ll go..but maybe I should take Jack, he can get a taste of the spotlight. It will definitely take the heat off Justin, off you, and the press will scramble to find out who the gorgeous guy is. He’s a nice guy and I think it'll be a little jump start into how this amazing boy has been. You know he’s my good friend during the tough times of Stacy etc.. Good publicity all around and I don’t have to pretend to want Justin’s conceded-cocky ass. Now, ladies, the rest is up to y’all. I’m just a puppet to all this. I’ll be down in the studio dancing, apparently Allie doesn’t think I’m up to par,” Mike finished as she stood and made her way out of the room knowing that Amy and Jules were about to start the real nitty-gritty work and they needed the quiet to do it. As their friend walked out of the boardroom, Amy and Jules looked at one another. A sigh escaped Amy’s lips. “What the hell happened in Colorado? I mean, something has freaked her out. The music is phenomenal, but she is pushing way too hard. Justin’s called about ten thousand times worrying about her. He said she’s fierce at the studio and that perfection isn’t good enough. Something, or should I say someone is haunting that girl and I want to know what the hell happened that last day!” Julie nodded in agreement, her eyes wandering out towards the windows that looked out at a skyline that was incomparable. “I know, Amy, I know. She’s working harder than I’ve ever seen her. We know the who, but why has nothing happened. There has been no word, after that one story he got freaked? That’s NOT GOOD. Her life is public and he’s the type to avoid reality. Although, I did have his publicist looked into, apparently he and Katie are having some tough times.” Amy’s ears perked up. “How tough Julianne?” “They are breaking up. She is tired of all the travel and word is her new co-star is romancing her, being very attentive.” Julianne looked back toward her friend. “It seems Mr. Bloom has been preoccupied with something.” “Or someone. Interesting turn of events, my friend, we will need further information. If she’s this good miserable without him, how good will she be with him?” ** After a long night at the club, her face hurt from fake smiling and real belly laughter. Jackson Myle was going to be on everyone’s must buy cd list and girls were going to swoon once publications from club opening came out. Justin had been attentive and very obviously worried so Mike did her best to make him over aware that she was just fine. When a girl is unsure of exactly what risk she is willing to take to explore what could be a grand love there are only a few ways to think it out. 1) Throw yourself into your work 2) Eat as much as possible until you no longer look like the girl that ‘boy’ fell for 3) Find a replacement in order to forget 4) Exercise your demons….literally 5) And finally…. Bubble baths Mike had overdone 1, tried to do 2 but only got so far, completely ignored 3- the Y chromosome was enough to make her jittery, number 4 cancelled the benefits of 2 and she was pruney from 5. It was two weeks since that ‘talk/intervention/declaration’ from the ‘boy’ himself. She’d hightailed it to Vancouver with Justin that next morning without so much a bye and when she returned to New York decided vacations did not bring material they brought complications. She’d thrown herself into her work and now had enough material to write at least 12 albums but not enough for what she would consider to be her masterpiece sophomore album. After the club she chose to exercise option 5. She was sitting in the bathtub listening to the tracks she had laid down just that morning. Sighing in disgust she sunk her head under the water. Something about the absolute quietness of water relaxed her as none as the above-referenced treatments had. She slowly sat up, realizing her dreams of being a mermaid were childish. Her fingers ran delicately over the rim of the tub, a song coming into her head. It was funny how her craft totally took her over. Her phone ringing jarred her from her ‘could-be-masterpiece’. Closing her eyes she heard her own voice on the answering machine and then the loud beep that only reminded her of how many phone calls she hadn’t taken. “Hello….Michelle?” That voice. That accent. “It’s…me, Orlando.” Silence. She held her breath and for one minute thought maybe he was holding his too. “I’ve tried about a dozen times to call you. I’ve even resorted to bothering Dom to call you. I’m a tad worried since it seems the only way I know you’re alive is the tabloids and your friend Amy telling me.” Her eyebrows rose at that. Amy had been talking to Orlando and had said nothing? She made a mental note to raise hell when she got to her office tomorrow. “I hope you realize I’m going to just keep calling until you finally answer. That or I’ll be forced to….well come to you. Which would be exceedingly hard considering there is a movie being filmed and I would make a whole bunch of nice people loose thousands of dollars a day because of one woman driving me out of my mind. That would most likely ruin my career and then I’d have to live with you…which now that I think about it, wouldn’t be such a bad thing...I saw the press coverage of you and that bloke. If it means anything, I don’t approve.” As his voice echoed throughout her apartment she closed her eyes and savored it, no matter how bittersweet it was. “It doesn’t mean much Crumb Cake.” “Then of course, I had to watch you and Timberlake all over each other. I’m beginning to wonder if you’re interested in becoming a Mormon or something. Not that there is anything wrong with that but-” Her machine cut him off. Tears she didn’t know she was holding back slid down her cheeks, only to hear the machine pick up again. “Right, it seems that your answering machine and I have a very serious relationship, considering how much time I’ve spent talking to it. You know, in dyer hopes that you’ll pick up and let me know you’re alive? Maybe I should call the cops, I didn’t like the look of that Myle guy. That’s it, Mike, I’m calling the cops.” She dove for the phone, quickly picking it up, “I’m here, alive, just not wanting to talk. Respect that.” Slamming down the phone and realizing she just soaked her carpet she closed her eyes and grabbed for a towel and sunk down to the floor. Why did everything have to be so damn hard? Why couldn’t she meet a nice SINGLE boy who made her insides melt? The phone rang again and slowly her eyes opened. Her voice rang clearly, along with the beep. “It’s good to know there is someone listening to my pathetic attempt to woo you. Even though by now your machine probably thinks I’m in love with it, let it down gently, ok?” There was a pause and then a deep breath. “Now, back to my little fantasy of living with you. Wouldn’t that be nice?” His voice was easily drifting throughout her apartment. Closing her eyes again, a stab to her heart as she wished for just one moment that it could be true. That it was just meant to be and fate has destined them and his voice along with him was meant to be in her apartment. “I mean, single girl…single guy. It would be heaven, don’t you think, love?” For a moment she felt as if her heart stopped beating. What was he implying? What was he saying? “I know if you look at those fun tabloids that just adore you and Justin…together.” His voice was dripping with something….anger? Jealousy? She really didn’t know if she could handle this. “Well anyway, if you took a look at those rags then you’ll know, Kate left me. Well, actually according to them that’s how it happened. But really she noticed I wasn’t 100% committed any longer.” Her eyes widened, what was he implying? “I guess what I’m trying to say Michelle is that I figured it out.” Chapter 21 |