I hate mornings. I know I've said this before, but it's still true. I hate them. As I drifted out of sleep I realized something though, I didn't hate waking up next to the man I loved. I was sore, and I'm sure James was too, but feeling his warm, nude body next to mine made waking up worth it. Who would want to sleep when they could lie awake next to this perfect specimen of man?
Okay, I have to admit, being in love was making me sappy as hell. I'd spent the last few years getting over my emotions for Manuel after we broke up, then I decided that I'd just live my life alone. I didn't need anyone. Now, now was different story. I never wanted to wake up to a life without James. How could I fall in love so quickly with a guy who sang bubble-gum music for a living? I needed to buy their latest CD. I'd seen one video on MTV from it, and that wasn't so bad. Maybe I'd like his music better on that CD.
"What are you thinking about?" James voice was muffled with sleep, but somehow he had known I was awake. That sent shivers down my spine.
"You" I told him honestly.
"Good, `cause I was thinking of you." He mumbled, sending those shivers all over, not just down my spine.
"You make me happy." I told him, nibbling on his ear.
"You and twenty million screaming girls."
"Don't forget the millions of screaming guys either." I reminded him.
"I only care about one guy." He whispered.
"Can we get any more mushy?" I asked him. We broke up laughing and he eventually crawled out from my arms and headed into the bathroom. I joined him at the toilet and we both emptied our bladders, our legs touching. The shower this time was long, luxurious, hot, and very, very steamy. We groomed ourselves and got dressed in an extremely comfortable silence, not speaking until we left the bedroom. It was then that I remembered we still hadn't been shopping for food.
"Oh, well" James said with a sigh as he closed the nearly empty refrigerator. "Starbucks it is, your treat."
"Hey! I'm the poor guy here."
"So, we don't want people to think you are always mooching off me do you?" he teased me. I felt good knowing he was comfortable enough about the money issue to tease me about it. "Besides, if you get out, there's less chance I'll be recognized."
"You haven't been recognized except by industry people yet."
"I've been lucky." He said with a smile. We left the condo and stopped on the way. I got a venti triple caramel mocha and a chocolate croissant for me, and a latte with a raspberry scone for him. We were supposed to meet my new attorney first thing this morning and so far, we were on time. We arrived at the building where his office was and went inside. I picked up another badge, but noticed it wasn't a visitor badge anymore.
"Where'd you get the picture?" I asked James as I put the badge on. He blushed and looked down at the ground as we walked towards the elevator.
"I found it in a box in your guest room. There were a bunch of wallet photos in there and I took one of you. You aren't mad, are you?"
"No," I smiled. "But I just realized I don't have one of you."
"I'll get you one." He said, smiling as we stepped into an elevator and went up to his office. His new PA was there, and I felt a little bit of jealousy well up inside me when I saw him. He was damn good looking. I glanced to James at my side and saw him smiling. I knew he'd seen the flash of jealousy and was amused.
"Nothing to worry about." He whispered.
"I know, but I am the jealous type." I whispered back.
"So am I." he said simply. Actually that made me a little more relaxed. If he was the jealous type as well, then he'd understand my reaction a little better. Then I thought about the people I'd likely be hanging out with whenever I was in L.A. and realized I better be extra careful and regularly reassure him. Relationships can be a lot of work.
"Peter, I'd like you to meet my very good friend Dave." James introduced me to his new PA. I figured he would wait a while before revealing anything further.
"Nice to meet you, sir." Peter said as he stood up from the desk to shake my hand. "Thanks for the info you left, it really helped out.
"No problem, Peter." I told him, smiling. He really was a nice boy, probably no more than twenty.
"Peter, Dave is my newest client as well as my friend. I'm going to have you work as his PA as well as mine. Do you think you can handle that? There'll be a little more pay for you in it since it will be more work."
"Not a problem, sir." Peter said, smiling at the mention of more pay. Of course, who wouldn't?
"Good, good. We're expecting Judy Saunders shortly. She's Dave's contract attorney and should be buzzed in as soon as she gets here."
"Yes, sir. I've printed out your schedule for the day. Laze is playing this weekend at that club you got them into. There's also been some inquiries about them from a couple of major labels. I've also prepared you a list of potential managers for them and noted which ones might be more...ah...experienced in handling their type of personalities."
"Excellent, Peter. You're getting off to a great start." James told him, opening the door to his office. I followed. I must admit I was impressed with Peter. He was doing a better job than I could have. That was surprising to me, given his age. Given his age. Not even thirty yet and I'm thinking like an old man!
"Earth to Davey." James was saying, pulling my thoughts out of the clouds.
"What are you thinking about?" James asked me as he sat down and started leafing through the papers on his desk.
"Your new assistant. He's good."
"Yeah, he is. His father is a vice-president at one of the labels and worked his way up managing different bands. I'm having to pay almost twice as much for him as I did for Melinda, but I think he's worth it."
"I'd agree there. But, why is he working here?"
"His dad wants him to work his way up and thought this would be a good opportunity for him. You should see his girlfriend. She's almost good looking enough to tempt me."
"Good thing she's taken, then." I said with a smirk on my face. He was teasing me now!
"Yup. Hey, while we wait for Judy, do you want to look over the resumes of these potential managers. Tell me who you think would be the best to interview?"
"Sure, I need something to do." I said, taking the files he handed me. Twenty minutes later, our lawyer was late, but I was done reading the files. I'd made my decisions and was waiting for James to finish a phone call to Orlando. He hung up and we started talking about the different applicants. I showed him my top two picks and explained why I picked them. He agreed with me about one, but pointed out some things about the second I hadn't realized. That was when Peter buzzed in the attorney.
She was a short woman, no more than 5'6" at the most. Her petite build, blond hair and nicely cut suit made her appear the complete professional. She greeted us both warmly though and sat down in the other chair in front of James' desk. She pulled some papers out of a satchel case and organized them on the desk in front of her after we had exchanged pleasantries.
"I don't know who you know at the studio, or exactly how good your script is, Mr. Young, but they are offering you one hell of a sweet deal. There are very few writers who have successful shows that get offered deals this good. I've marked up a few changes I want you to look at, mostly dealing with creative control and with the payment schedules. I've also marked up the section on what constitutes delivery of the completed scripts and with the options for DVD and video sales. Finally, I added some language on book and magazine deals since a lot of sci-fi series generate very lucrative revenue from printed materials. All in all, if this show ends up as successful as several recent sci-fi franchises, you'll be a millionaire within two years, even after taxes, agency fees, and guild dues."
"Wow, I was hoping the news would be this good." James said, sitting back in his chair and smiling.
"I've got to admit I was somewhat dubious about this last night. The reason I was late was because I was making a few phone calls this morning." Judy said, smiling for the first time. "My phone calls told me a lot. This particular studio messed up with some of its programming, canceling a show before they should have. They need a good, strong product and everyone who has seen your work, Dave, is enamored. They say it has the potential to outstrip anything currently on the market and the studio has no desire to pass this up. They've recently learned some harsh lessons about disrespecting the creative genius behind the shows that were producing them a lot of money and they are trying to fix that. Plus, since you've not been in Hollywood, they think you'll be a breath of fresh air. My advice is to jump on this, and jump on it fast."
"Thanks, Judy." I told her. "Let me call and see if I can get a meeting set up. Do you have any time restrictions?"
"I cleared my calendar today for this." She said with a smile. "I wanted to make sure we got this done as soon as possible."
"That confident?" I asked her.
"This deal is not something you waste time with." She said.
"Okay, I'll call right now." I responded, pulling out my cell phone. I'd programmed the studio numbers in yesterday as well as JMS and Luke's numbers. Okay, I'd programmed in every number I had, but that's not important right now. I was surprised that when the secretary answered the phone, I was patched right through to the executive.
"Tom Johnson" He said as he picked up the phone.
"Mr. Johnson, this is Dave Young" I said.
"Dave! It's good to hear from you so early in the morning. Please, call me Tom. What can I do for you?"
"Well, I'm here in the FreeLance office and just got done meeting with the attorney James hired. We've discussed your offer and have some minor items we'd like to discuss."
"Really, well hold on a moment and let me see if our attorney is available. I'm going to put you on hold, is that okay?" he said.
"No problem, Tom" I said, stunned. I was not expecting this, even after all that Judy had told me. We were on hold for less than two minutes before Tom was back with their attorney on a conference call. At James' suggestion, I had used the call transfer feature on my phone and transferred the call to James' desk phone. From there, he'd put it on speaker so we could all hear and talk. Everyone introduced themselves on both sides and then we got down to business. Judy was very professional in her presentation and argumentation. I was really impressed out how she maneuvered the studio attorney. James had gotten me a damn good attorney.
Finally, the arguing was done, and to my surprise, Judy got me everything she had wanted. I made a mental note to James about making sure she was always my lawyer, no matter what she cost. She was worth every damn penny. They studio had even thrown in another $50,000 on the advance payment. After they were done, we set up a meeting for later that afternoon at the studio. We would be reviewing the documents and signing them at the studio's office. After that was done, I would be officially a Hollywood writer. When the phone call ended, I let out a big sigh and slouched in my chair.
"Nervous?" Judy asked me with a wry smile.
"Very." I told her. "I feel like I'm drowning."
"Not unexpected." She told me. "You're making a very big transition for a 29 year old man. Most people in the business start young like Lance here. Behind the scenes people usually start in their early or mid-twenties right out of college. You've been working a regular job, in the regular world and now you're entering a whole new life. Take my advice and keep some reminders of your old life around you. They will help anchor you and keep you centered on who you are."
"Thanks, Judy. For everything." I told her.
"Good, I'll see you gentlemen at the studio then?" She asked as she stood to leave. The papers were all back in her satchel.
"Yes, at 3 o'clock." James said, getting up to shake her hand. I followed suit and we all exchanged farewells. It was at that moment that my cell phone rang. It was JMS.
"I hear that the paperwork will be signed today?" he said after I'd answered.
"Yes." I told him firmly.
"Good to hear that." He said, and I could see him smiling. "I'm on the set of Jeremiah right now and won't be able to get to the meeting today. I want to go over some stuff with you soon, though. We have a lot of things to get moving on."
"James." I whispered, holding my hand over the phone. "Is there somewhere I can to talk?"
"Yes, conference room down the hall, on the right." He told me as his own phone rang. I left the room and went to the conference room. Peter seemed to know what I needed because he was following behind me with a pad of paper and a pen.
"Okay, do you have time to talk right now?" I asked JMS after Peter had left.
"About 30 minutes, why?"
"Well, I'm going to be busy this weekend and have to go back to work on Monday." I told him.
"Work?" JMS asked, confused. "But you're signing the contract for your new work this weekend."
"I still have my old job and I need to give them two weeks notice." I told him, my tone letting him know I would not brook any argument on this.
"You do realize we are on a tight schedule as it is, don't you?" he asked.
"I haven't heard anything about schedules yet." I answered.
"Damn. Well, here's the long and short of it. We got 6 months from this Sunday before they air the mini-series. We have one month after that before the first episode airs."
"WHAT?" I screamed.
"Exactly." He snorted. "You have to have the script done within six weeks. That's six and a half hours of scripting, then we cut it down during filming and editing. Plus we have to pick a director, but I've already got a few in mind. Then we have to work with that director on filling all the other positions. We have to secure contracts with the post-production facilities including our graphics people. After what we went through on B5 I can tell you that you want to use the same graphics company for both. I've got some ideas on who we should use, but I want to run them by you."
"Hey, I'm just the writer!" I protested.
"Look at your contracts again." He answered. "You're also the Associate Producer. Like you said yesterday, this is your world, your dream. I'm going to make sure that you are able to see your dream come to life, and I'm going to make sure you know how to do everything I do."
"Sounds like your going to be mentoring me." I said a little nervously.
"I am." JMS told me. "I read your script based on Luke's recommendation. I saw real potential in it, I even thought it was something I could have written. Hell I was jealous that someone had already written it and copyrighted it!"
"Thank you" I squeaked out. My head was starting to swell, but self-doubt pricked that bubble quickly. "I can only hope I will live up to your expectations."
"You better," he said seriously. "I've staked my reputation on this one. I'll be there working just as hard as you, but it's going to be you that makes this work. I have to go now, so we'll talk more later. I take it I can reach you at this number?"
"Yes." I told him firmly. "I'll be in Arizona for the next two weeks, but I plan on working on this while I'm there."
"Good, talk to you later, Dave." He said and hung up. I sat back in the chair and just stared at the far wall for at least half an hour. I broke from the trance when Peter walked in with a bottle of Dr. Pepper for me. I thanked him and stared at the pad of paper in front of me. A moment later I started writing. It was freethinking really, fleshing out the outline for the mini-series based on the original movie script. The show would start before what I had already written, giving me much more time for character development. I got so focused on what I was working on that time passed without me noticing until James came into the room and started nibbling on my ear.
"Hi." I said huskily, looking up from the pad which was now half full of notes.
"Hi. You ready for lunch?"
"Sure."
"Good, there's a café nearby that I want to take you to." He said, wrapping his arms around me.
"I'd rather just sit here with you." I told him honestly. My stomach betrayed me by rumbling at that moment and we both laughed. During lunch I told him about my conversation with JMS, and some of the ideas I was working on. He told me about the latest adventure with Laze. I'd be so glad when he hired a manager for them and got them out of his hair. The good news was that there was now a lot of interest for them from some major labels. With any luck, they'd be FreeLance's big break. He also told me about the country singer he was developing and that led to a depressing topic.
"I'm not going to be around much for the next few weeks." He told me, looking down at his half full plate.
"That sucks." I admitted. "But it might be for the best, professionally."
"Professionally?" he asked me.
"With the tight schedule for the series, I'm going to be busy. It doesn't help that I'm waiting two weeks to leave my job. The next two weeks are going to be hell. But if I work real hard, I might be able to take some time off. It would be nice if we could coordinate it and spend some time together. Maybe in Arizona. We could go up to the Grand Canyon and camp for a couple of days."
"Camping?" James said, his face brightening. "I haven't been camping in years!"
"Well you saw my camping gear in the apartment. I love camping and I know the most romantic spot."
"Suddenly a couple of weeks doesn't seem so bad if that's the reward." James said with a smile.
"James, we are both professionals. We're not love-struck teenagers. We are love-struck adults. I don't care if we're separated for two weeks or ten years. The only thing about my love for you that will change is that it will grow stronger."
"You mean that, don't you?" James asked with tears in his eyes.
"James, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. More importantly I want us to be a part of each other's lives. But we both work, we both have dreams beyond spending every moment in bed that we can. Those dreams don't have to threaten our relationship, but not pursuing them could kill us as a couple. I've already told you I love you, I've told you I want to spend my life with you. I will do everything I can to spend as much time as I can with you now, tomorrow, next year, and for the next fifty years. I'm not going to go and look for someone else because you aren't around at that moment because I know that wherever you go, you will come back to me."
"I was worried about that." He told me quietly. "It's...it's hard accepting that we have to spend time away from each other for our careers. I get worried."
"A past relationship?" I asked gently. We'd never really talked about his past relationship. He'd said there'd only been one.
"Yeah, I might as well tell you now since I'll be going back to Orlando next week." He said with a frown, not looking me in the eyes. I noticed his adam's apple throbbing a bit as well and filed that away as a sign he was nervous or upset.
"You don't have to tell me, but I would be lying if I didn't tell you I was interested in hearing what you have to say." I told him gently. He looked up at me and smiled.
"That's one of the things I love about you. You are always so understanding and willing to wait until I'm ready to tell you something. You let me know you want to hear it, but you don't push me. I guess the best way to start this is to just blurt it out. JC and I were lovers for four years while we were in NSYNC."
"OH" burst out of my mouth and I sat back in my chair. For some reason I didn't expect this. It also scared me. How could our relationship compare with theirs? They were living together, touring together, in each other's company for long stretches at a time. They practically grew up with each other!
"Don't get that look in your eyes, please?" James begged me, reaching out to my hand across the table. We were sitting in the front of the café and I pulled my hand back before anyone could notice. Unfortunately, he took it the wrong way and got this weird look on his face. He tensed up, and I realized he was about to leave. I moved my feet under the table until I'd twined them around his legs then slowly looked around at all the people. The tension drained right out of him and he smiled wanly.
"Thanks." He said, then continued in a quieter voice. "Josh is bi-sexual. I knew that when we got together and didn't think it would bother me. But it did, especially when he would pick up some girl, then crawl in bed with me afterwards. We argued about it forever and he promised me he wouldn't screw around anymore. Then he met Bobbie and well, we got into another fight. We got back together, I mean we were together all the time anyway. But he would disappear whenever we had a break and go see her or someone else."
"Why did you stay with him?" I asked, then mentally kicked myself.
"Because I loved him and thought he loved me the same way." James said with a frown. Tears were welling up in his eyes. I reached out and took his hand, not caring what other people saw at that moment. The man I loved was in pain.
"I'm sorry, baby." I whispered. "Love is worth a lot of pain sometimes."
"Sometimes it is." He agreed. "When he was with me, he treated me so well. I felt like the king of the world when he looked at me with those eyes of his and his smile. Well, after our last tour, when we decided to go on hiatus, I thought he'd move in with me and we'd be together at home. He didn't. Then I went to his place one day and used my key to get in. I found him doing it in the living room with Nick Carter and some girl at the same time. We got into a big fight right there in front of them and I left. I came out here for a few weeks then got in my car and drove. I ended up in Phoenix. That's when I decided to buy the house out there. I wanted a place that didn't remind me of NSYNC or of him, and that seemed like the perfect place. I can't tell you how glad I am that I did."
"How long ago was this?" I asked. Rebound was the word bouncing around in my head, and I was worried about if he was really feeling emotions for me, or just emotions for emotions sake.
"Four months ago." James said calmly, smiling at me. "And there is no rebound effect here. I got that out of my system by partying a little heavily right afterwards."
"Are you going to see JC while you're out there?" I asked him.
"Probably." He answered, squeezing my hand tightly.
"Then can I make a suggestion?"
"Sure"
"Try being his friend again. What happened, happened. But it is in the past. No matter what, you two spent a lot of time together, you know each other very well. If you can be friends again, you both would be better off."
"I'll try." He told me. "You're not worried about something..."
"Are you in love with me or with him?" I asked, cutting him off sharply.
"You." He said vehemently.
"Then I trust you completely. I know we haven't exchanged rings or vows, yet, but I want you to know that I am fully committed to you and you alone. "
"And I to you." He said softly, smiling gently.
"Then I have nothing to worry about." I smiled back, but there was a seed of doubt in me now. I only hoped it never blossomed.
It was three o'clock and we were all sitting around the conference table at the studio. Sitting on my left was James, with Judy on my right. Around the rest of the table was a whole host of people, including Tom Johnson and the attorney from yesterday. The meeting started off with introduction, but I quickly lost track of all the names. All these people were department heads that would be working on the project in some capacity or another. There was Marketing, Sales (advertising sales), Public Relations, Web Development, Project Development, and even Casting.
The first part of the meeting detailed the changes to the contracts and the two attorney did most of the talking. When they were done, and the final version of the contracts signed by me, the room erupted into a short round of cheering. Tom held up his hands after a moment and the room quieted down. A secretary was called in and she set about processing the paperwork. Within an hour, Freelance would have an electronic transfer of $150,000. By the time they got done with taxes and fees, I'd have about $80,000 in my bank account. I now had more money than I'd ever had before, but only one more paycheck that I could count on, and that from a job I would soon be quitting. I wasn't sure if I was rich or broke.
"Welcome to the team, Dave." Tom said to me, smiling broadly. "I had our team assemble today because we want to go over some big picture items with you. JMS will be the Executive Producer on this project, and from what he said earlier, you two have already discussed most of the important details.
"That's correct, Tom." I confirmed.
"Good, good. Well, what I wanted to happen today is for you to understand exactly what's going to be happening over the next few weeks. You see, we really messed up with a couple of recent decisions. The people who made those decisions are no longer employed here. However, we still have fallout to deal with from those actions. We've lost a lot of fan support for the sci-fi genre and for our station. Your project is going to be our showcase effort in restoring that support and gaining back our fan base."
"And economic base." Sales added. I was struck by how honest that answer was.
"That's correct." Tom agreed, nodding towards the lady who had spoken up. "We need advertising revenue, which means we need ratings. We need a damn good product, and even better hype to achieve this.
"Normally, we would use big name stars cast in key roles to generate hype, but we don't think that will work this time." Marketing started speaking. He was a middle-aged man who had the eyes of a politician. I knew I had to be careful with him.
"Why not?" Judy asked.
"Because the problems we have to deal with aren't based on who stars in our shows. It deals with creative control of the shows, and an apparent lack of dedication to them. It's behind the scenes stuff that is negatively affecting us, not the quality of the product."
"I would disagree there." I spoke up. I'd just signed the papers that would change my life forever. I'd be damned if I was silent now.
"Many of your recent shows have been very high quality on acting, but some of them haven't. You've had good shows with no named actors who may not have been totally ready for the roles they played, and you've had bad shows with damn good actors that didn't have good enough material to work with." I told them. Several eyes were widening at my comments, and Tom leaned back in his chair smiling.
"Not even an hour after signing and you are already fitting right in." Tom said, as he looked around the room at his people. "Get to the point Mark."
"Right, well, anyway, we think that one way to win back the confidence of viewers is to promote you, the writer, the creator of this work. If you are out there telling people how much control you have, how much we are dedicated to this work and then deliver a superior product, we can regain our position in the ratings race."
"What do you want me to do?" I asked.
"Media blitz, starting as soon as we go into production." Mark, Mr. Marketing said. "You should be done with script writing by then and have more time to start hitting the different press outlets. We'll be building the rumor mill until then. By the time you're ready, we should have generated a minor frenzy. Until then, we'll limit press contact to very short interviews. After that, we'll get ready for television and print media."
"We'll also be doing a behind the scenes documentary." Web Design said. "We'll be putting up media files interviewing you and the director throughout production as well as the main actors."
"I can manage all of that." I told them confidently. Inside I quivered at doing a camera interview, but I'd already committed myself.
"We need to know some background things before we start going to the media." Public Relations said, and I cringed inwardly. I was not looking forward to this. "Everyone here has signed Non-Disclosure Agreements when it comes to company business, and everything discussed now falls under that classification. Please, be as honest as you possibly can."
"Go ahead." I told her. I almost wished James wasn't here to hear everything, but then again I'd be telling him eventually."
"So, first things first. Are you married?" Ms. Public Relations asked.
"No, I'm gay." I told her.
"I take it you're out?" she inquired immediately.
"Totally." I responded.
"Good, we can use that." Marketing Mark said. He expounded when I looked at him. "Clive Barker is gay, David Geffen, many other great Hollywood talent. We can use that in the marketing blitz."
"Okay, next question: Are you in a relationship." Ms. PR asked.
"That's a question I can't and won't answer truthfully." I told her.
"It's okay." James said from beside me. Everyone turned to look at him. I think they forgot he was here. "We are romantically involved, but I can't come out due to my career."
"Oh" Ms. PR said, looking downcast for a moment. "Well, the official answer will be that you're single. I hope you don't mind if we prepare just in case scenarios?"
"So long as you keep them more secure than your scripts." James said, and everyone laughed. Movie scripts always seemed to get leaked. Not even George Lucas was absolutely successful in stopping it from occurring.
"No problem, I promise." She said immediately. She was smiling again. "So, what should we list as your home town?"
"I was born in Modesto, California." I immediately answered.
"The same town as George Lucas?" Marketing Mark asked.
"Bingo." I said, smiling. I knew what he was thinking.
"Oh, we can use that big time!" he was practically drooling.
"Right, good. So parents?"
"Both dead, and yes, Mark that plays great for the sympathy factor." I said, my eyes warning him to keep quiet. He just shook his head. "My grandfather died in 1975 from a brain tumor, my natural maternal grandfather was murdered in an alley in 1986 by the mob. He had a gambling debt. I never knew him though. My maternal step-grandfather, the only grandfather I've really known is suffering from Alzheimer's and being taken care of by my Grandmother and one of my cousins. My Aunt Bev was a quadriplegic and passed away. I've got a crapload of Aunts, Uncles and cousins that have had legal problems ranging from drug possession to welfare fraud. I'm not close to any of them though. My sister is married, with four kids and lives in North Carolina."
"Wow, a lot there." That was from Marketing Mark.
"I'm sure you can spin it the right way." I told him smugly. Okay, he was probably pretty good at his job, which was a good thing, but I didn't have to like him.
"About your personal history..." Ms. PR continued, getting us back on track.
"Well, I left home at sixteen. Got my G.E.D. immediately and worked for a living. Hung out with a bad crowd, partied a lot, and yes that did include drugs. Decided there was no future for me along that route so I joined the Navy. Served for four years, got out and lived on Southern Cal for about 8 months. During that time I met and partied with a whole bunch of Hollywood stars, some of which I'm sure you already know about. After the original script deal fell through, I moved back with my mother and went to college. I graduated with a Bachelor's in History, met a guy, fell in love and we moved in together. Two years later we broke up and I went into depression. Partied a lot, then woke up and didn't like the direction my life was going. Moved out to Arizona, got a job there and have lived there since then. My current residence is, and will remain Arizona." The room was silent for a while, everyone staring at me with wide eyes.
"You sure don't hold anything back?" Tom said softly.
"Why should I?" I asked him. "Any private investigator can find most of this stuff out. If it ever gets printed, they'll try to present it as a scandal. If I don't deny it, if I confront the issues, answer the questions, it becomes diffused and can be made into a positive thing. Am I right, Mark?"
"Depends on what your answers to the questions are." He said slowly. "Let's see. Answer this: You used drugs in the past. What do you have to say about drug use?"
"Drugs have one purpose and one purpose only. They help people escape from the things in their life they don't like. They help numb the emotions, they get you away from the things that make life a living hell. That's the trap that I, and that millions of other people often fall into. They numb you, they take your mind away from your troubles, but when the drugs are gone, the troubles are still there. I was lucky. I woke up and realized that the only way I could permanently get past my troubles is to stop using the drugs. As long as I used them, my troubles would only grow. I made the right choice, look what I've achieved now. If someone's using drugs and hearing this, I hope they will think about it and get the help they need to face their problems instead of running from them." I looked around the room as I was speaking, and noticed a look in the eyes of the Sales rep. She saw me looking and knew I knew. Her eyes got a scared look in them, then a thoughtful one. I wasn't sure it was enough, but maybe she'd be thinking harder about things.
"I don't think we could come up with a better answer." Mark said, smiling. Okay, maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
The rest of the afternoon passed pretty damn quickly as we discussed the exact plans for their media blitz. Everyone, including Mark seemed confident I'd be prepared for what they had planned. By four, everyone but Tom and the Project Manager had left. James had left with Judy (she gave him a ride back while he left the keys for the SUV to me) so I was now alone with Tom and the Project Manager, Harry Weasely.
"So, now we need to talk about production issues." Tom said after everyone else had left.
"Yes," Harry said, speaking up for the first time today. "JMS is going to be interviewing directors and I know he'll want you to speak with them as well. You're also going to be involved in selection of production staff and main casting. You also have to finish the script, or at least the first draft, within six weeks."
"That's a lot to do." I said softly.
"Yes, it is." Tom said. "How committed are you to finishing your two weeks at your old job?"
"Tom, I you want to cancel this project right now because I am finishing these two weeks, tell me know." I said, my voice hard. "These people helped me out when my mom died, then when my dad died. I don't know where I'd be today without them. They will get everything I can give them before I leave."
"You have that much loyalty to the people you work with?" Tom asked me.
"When they treat me right, yes I do." I told him. His nod told me he got the double meaning of that sentence, and the warning. Screw me over and I would return the favor. Do right by me, and I would do my best for him.
"Good, then I trust you'll be spending nights and the weekends working on the script as much as possible?"
"Here's what I got so far." I started, pulling the notepad out of the briefcase Peter had given me (James sent him on a shopping trip while we were at lunch). The next hour was spent working with Harry over the points I'd come up with while Tom looked on. Tom left at that point, and Harry took me over to his office. He explained their computer system and handed me some software that would allow me remote access to their databases and some other industry resources I might need. Before I knew it, it was almost 7:00 p.m.
"Want to get some dinner?" Harry asked me when I noticed the time.
"Sorry, I have to get out of here. My best friend's plane lands in a half hour.
"Good luck, then and I'll be calling you Monday night." He told me.
I rushed out of the building, stopping to return my temp pass to the receptionist. In return, she handed me a permanent pass. It had the same picture as my FreeLance pass and I smiled thinking of my boyfriend. As I hopped in the SUV and peeled out (Yes, there was even smoke from the tires), my phone started ringing. I answered it while maneuvering onto the freeway. It was my man.
"You at the airport yet?" he asked me.
"No, just left the studio." I told him.
"Shit, you're going to be late!"
"I know that!"
"Sorry, how'd the rest of the day go?"
"Great. You know, I really think I'm going to love this work."
"That's good to hear."
"Well, thank you for encouraging me. I don't think I'd have had the guts to do this if it hadn't been for you."
"Don't worry, your turn to encourage me will come around sometime." James told me with a chuckle.
"Is Justin here yet?" I asked. Okay, I have to make an admission here. When I went to that NSYNC concert with Manuel, Justin was the one that had given me a hard on. Not that I wanted to sleep with him when I had James, but still...
"Not yet. There was an accident on the 405 and he's going to be late."
"Looks like we're all going to be late."
"That's okay. Have you thought about where to go for dinner?" he asked me.
"Tony Roma's in Beverly Hills?" I asked hopefully. "Manuel loves ribs and last time he was in Phoenix I promised to take him and we didn't ended up not going."
"Um, it's kind of mainstream..." James said slowly. "But I'll call them now and make reservations for 8:30. If they know we're coming it shouldn't be too bad. Plus by 8:30 most families should be gone."
"Thank you." I said softly. I had forgotten for a moment that having two pop stars with us might be a problem.
"Anything for you, love. I'll see you when you get home." He said, and I could hear the love in his voice.
"Uh, don't forget..." I started to say but he jumped in.
"Your little joke will be ready to go, I promise. Just call me when you get off the freeway."
"You got it, bye bye bye." I told him.
"You've been listening to our music!" he nearly yelled.
"I heard it on the radio. I actually liked it."
"Thank god! I was worried you didn't like my work."
"Love, if you're in it I couldn't help loving it." I told him. It was ten more minutes of loving platitudes back and forth before I hung up. When I did, and was taking the exit for LAX, I realized we had been talking like love sick teenagers. I couldn't help but giggle.
It took me another 20 minutes to park, and 10 more to get inside the terminal. These new security measures were a pain in the ass. I headed for Baggage Claim, where I always met Manuel whenever he flew into an airport, and sure enough he was there with his baggage and a stormy expression on his face.
When I first met him, he was a scrawny computer geek with beautiful black curls. His Portuguese heritage gave him a nice olive complexion. Two years ago, he had shaved his head and started working out. Now his arms rippled with muscles and his short buzz gave him the look of a demented biker. The fact that he had his motorcycle jacket, dark jeans, and army boots on completed the look. He had gone from cute computer geek to gorgeous hunk.
"Heya!" I exclaimed when I saw him. He looked me up and down, and I stopped short of a hug. He wasn't much of a one for public displays of affection.
"Not only are you in LA, but you're dressing like a Hollywood pansy too." He said, the corners of his mouth quirking in a gesture I knew meant he was hiding a smile.
"Better than sadomasochist biker wannabe." I retorted. I was glad to see him.
"You're the one who got me tied to that cross and shaved while blindfolded as I remember."
"You asked for it." I reminded him. He broke out in a grin and gave me a hug. It had been two months since we'd seen each other.
"Let's go or we'll be late for dinner."
"Where's this boyfriend you've been talking about?" he asked as we headed back to my car.
"He was waiting for his friend Justin to drive up from San Diego." I told him.
"Cool, is there enough room at his place for all of us?"
"Of course, he has four rooms, only one of which is an office." I told him.
"And the two of you are sharing sleeping space?" He asked me.
"Yes, we are." I breathed more than spoke and grinned stupidly.
"You love him already." Manuel stated. He knew me better than anyone, but James would probably end up knowing me even better than Manuel did.
"Yes." I said simply.
"So what's this about a deal for that script you wrote?" Manuel asked, changing the subject now that he'd found out what he wanted to know. I spent most of the drive to James' telling him about the day's events. He didn't believe me at first, but then I pulled out the studio identification card as well as the software Harry had given me.
"You're finally making more than me." Manuel said after a while. "Way to go, Dave. I'm glad life is finally giving you the good things you deserve."
"Thanks, Manuel." I told him. I felt better having him here, more connected to myself and less washed away in Hollywood. I got off the freeway at the right exit and immediately called James. I told him we were almost there and he promised that things were ready. The sun had long since gone down and it was turning into a beautiful night.
We pulled into the complex and headed down the street towards James' condo. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the driveway floodlights were on, and two figures standing by a silver sports car. I pulled to the side of the street and parked in front of the small yard the condo had. Manuel was staring at the two figures by the sports car and his mouth dropped open.
"Dave, are you sure this is the right place?" He asked me in a whisper.
"I think so, I've only messed up once so far. These condos look a lot alike."
"Do you know who those two guys are?" Manuel asked me, pointing to James and Justin who were now walking towards us.
"Why? What's the matter?" I asked him.
"Oh my GOD!" he nearly screamed out, his butch voice going a little nelly. "Get us OUT of HERE!"
I rolled down our windows instead as James came up to my window while Justin leaned in Manuel's. Poor Manuel was almost hyperventilating when James finally spoke.
"Are you two looking for something?" James asked me. Manuel's eyes were now glued on him as he spoke.
"Yeah, I'm looking for this guy that I'm in love with." I told him, hearing Manuel gasp.
"Really?" James asked, keeping a straight face. "You're in love with a guy and think you will find him here?"
"I sure hope so because there's no one else in the world for me." I said, letting out a little sigh at the end.
"Oh my god, how mushy!" Manuel whispered to himself..
"Well, look no further." James said and leaned in to kiss me. Behind me I heard Justin's comment.
"Gods, this is so sickening, watching a love struck couple make out. I hope they don't do that during dinner. What do you think, Manuel?"
"I think I'm going to be sick." Manuel muttered, causing Justin to jump back from the open window.
Justin, James, and I all broke up laughing at that point. Poor Justin was sticking his finger in his ear and shaking it. Manuel's shout is intense, and he was right next to him. Manuel started punching me in the arm until I put up a hand and stopped him.
"Maybe I should introduce you." I told him, a very smug look on my face. "Manuel, I want you to meet my boyfriend, James Lance Bass. On your right is his friend and band mate, Justin Timberlake."
"How can you introduce me when we haven't even met yet?" Justin asked me with a smile on his face.
"Because I'm the boyfriend of Lance Bass." I said haughtily.
"Nice to finally meet you, Manuel." James said, reaching in to shake his hand. Justin did the same. James then mentioned that we'd better get moving if we were to make our dinner reservation. He and Justin hopped in the back. When Manuel made to move, he was told to stay put. I knew the way easily and we walked up to the front door right at 8:30. There was a line of people even this late, but we were seated immediately. I noticed a few whispers, but not much.
Dinner went pretty damn good. Manuel soon got over his star struck silence and was telling them funny stories about me. Then I got revenge and started telling funny stories about him. James and Justin then took turns trading funny stories about each other. We all were laughing hard when a young girl of about sixteen came up to the table.
"Excuse me, but could I have an autograph?" she asked Justin. He smiled and signed the paper she held out, then passed it to James who signed as well. She stared at me, then at Manuel, then turned back to me.
"Aren't you the guy who was kissing Chad Allen?" she asked me, and my heart dropped into my feet. James busted out laughing, as did Justin. Manuel just gave me a sideways stare.
"Yes." I said softly.
"Cool, are you an actor, too?" she asked me.
"No, a writer." I told her.
"Oh, well can I get your autograph too?"
"Uh, sure." I said as she handed me the paper and pen. I had no idea what to write until I looked at what the others had written. I finally decided on `Never give up on your dreams' and signed my name. She looked at it for a moment, smiled, said thanks and ran back to her table. The next ten minutes saw the three of them teasing me about my first autograph.
We finished dinner around ten and decided that we all felt like going out. Manuel wanted to shower and change, so we stopped by the condo first. He showered quickly (for him) and was ready to go a half hour later. I realized I didn't have much cash on me and stopped at a bank near the club Justin had picked out. This time Justin and Manuel were in the back seat, James beside me in the passenger seat. I pulled out two hundred dollars and put the money and card back in my wallet. The receipt printed and I froze when I looked at it. The day's events hit me when I saw the dollar amount. I looked over at my boyfriend and he smiled back.
"I had Peter make sure the funds were transferred today." He told me.
"Oh," I said. Manuel reached out and grabbed it. We'd always been open about finances so it wasn't a big deal. His low whistle matched my feelings at the moment.
"$84,568.12" Manuel read aloud. "You've definitely got me beat. No wonder you could afford to fly me out."
"Drinks are on Dave." Justin said with a grin. I groaned. We were going to a star-studded night club that probably boasted $50 drinks. I quickly pulled out another $200 from the ATM to the sound of three people laughing. James told me not to worry at that point and I drove the rest of the way. I started to park, but Justin insisted I go to the front where the valet was.
There was an immediate murmur from the line of people out front when Justin stepped out. The valet took the keys and drove off, leaving us to walk up the red carpeted entrance. I was stunned at the flashes of cameras for a moment while the two of them posed. Manuel and I hung back, then all four of us went inside with more cameras flashing.
We ordered drinks at the bar and picked a table that was in a roped off area. Justin and Manuel immediately went to the dance floor and were soon surrounded by several women. James and I nursed our first drinks and watched them in action.
"You would never know Manuel was gay." James said over the din of dance music.
"He's bi, but he leans more towards men." I explained.
"Oh, um, do you want to dance?" he asked me.
"Let's go near some women and dance with them." I told him, and he agreed. All four of us spent the next two hours dancing, taking occasional breaks for liquids. I had one drink then switched to water since I was driving. While James and I always danced with women, we were never more than a foot apart and kept on bumping into each other. It wasn't what I really wanted, but it was enough.
Pretty soon, Manuel started getting very tired. He was on East Coast time after all. Justin was starting to tire as well so we all left. The drive home was filled with Justin and Manuel talking about the qualities of the different women they danced with while James and I traded looks.
We ambled into the condo and went to our various rooms. I followed James into his, really tired. We both undressed in near silence and climbed into bed, immediately moving to the middle and each other's arms. We kissed lightly for a few moments.
"James, please tell me this isn't a dream because if it is I never want to wake up." I said softly. He pinched me and I yelped.
"Nope, not a dream." He said smugly. I growled at him and attached my mouth to his left nipple, making him groan. Soon after that, neither of us were thinking about anything but how much pleasure we were giving and receiving.
To be continued