Title: Set Adrift - Second Chances Author: Jezebel the Temptress Feedback: eh_oh_po@yahoo.com
Disclaimers: This is fiction. Ben and Sully are figments of my imagination and The Backstreet Boys are strangers to me and not gay. This has not truth to it. This is for adults only, that's over 18 or 21, depending on your country.
Lou Pearlman sat behind his large oak desk and glared at the papers in front of him. This was worse so much than the lawsuits that he had fought before with both of the bands that had tried to ruin him. What he had read amongst the papers was tantamount to blackmail and yet he could not expose it without risking some exposure of his own semi-legal tactics.
He knew now that he had miscalculated with these boys and in doing so had done both them and himself a great disservice. He should never have thought that their thirst to get where they wanted to go would make them sign anything without legal representation of at least some sort. He also should not have counted on them never making enough money to afford the type of legal counsel he could employ. Not only were they now as powerful as him, they were more successful at doing what he had made his money at.
Lou knew when he was outgunned and by joining forces the two groups had succeeded in making his life impossible and his position at Transcon untenable.
There was still O-Town he supposed but Jacob was too savvy for him. He should have forced the boy from the band when he had the chance but the problem was that the boy would not be pushed. Not like the other one. The one that Dan had replaced. Of course that too had been a blunder - Dan was just as savvy as Jacob but in different ways. He could see that they were going to screw him over in the same way that their two predecessors had.
Maybe this time around he could stop them before they sued him but in doing so he knew that he would lose his last real possibility for money.
The deal that the Nsync-Backstreet camp had placed on his desk also took away the cash cow that had been Aaron Carter.
Lou sighed.
He must be getting old if the bubblegum talent were able to outsmart him.
There was enough money in offshore accounts for him to retire on and he was almost certain that the girls were younger and less knowing in some of the foreign lands he had yet to visit. Perhaps it was time to throw in his chips and admit when he was defeated.
As much as he hated to do it Lou picked up the pen on his desk and signed the papers.
He had his secretary fax them back to the lawyers of the two boybands twenty minutes before the deadline that they had given him and started to pack up his office.
He was still piling his gold disks into boxes when there was a knock at the door.
"I'm a little busy right now, Muriel." He said, not even looking up from his task.
"Louis Pearlman?" A voice asked.
Lou knew that this was not Muriel, his secretary and right hand woman, he looked up and was surprised to see a middle aged man in a conservative dark blue suit.
"Yes?" He asked. Surely this was not another lawyer here to make demands. He had signed the papers, what more did they want.
"Mr Pearlman, I am John Douglas, with the IRS." The man said formally. "I have reason to believe that you owe us some money and I am here to do an audit of all your business holdings."
Lou frowned and realised that he had been more than outwitted. He had been screwed over and served his own head on a silver platter.
If he ever got out of this intact he was going to get his own back, but as he saw the look of concentration on the tax man's face he realised the chances of getting out of it were slim.
They really had managed to get him this time.
To Be Continued