Chapter Seventeen

You're dead to me.

Kara dropped her phone on the kitchen counter when she saw the text message from her sister. The clattering sound brought Justin to his feet and at her side in moments.

"What happened? What did you see?"

His questions went unanswered. Kara couldn't say a word, and even if she did manage to get something out it would be muffled by the trembling hand that was covering her mouth. Her phone vibrated with another message and that's when Justin noticed the device sitting there.

First you steal my boyfriend from me and now you're living with him? We're done.

He quickly closed out the text, but it was too late. Kara had seen it and the damage was done.

"I--I can't---I don't know what to..."

She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence. Justin's arms were around her in an instant and her face was buried in his chest. That scent, his scent that once flooded her senses with warmth and comfort, now brought with it a tinge of sadness.

"It's ok," he said as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"No, it's not ok!" She exclaimed stepping back out of his embraced.

Startled by her reaction Justin remained silent.

"I'm sick of people saying that it'll be ok. It wasn't ok when we lost our parents four years ago and it's not ok now!"

Kara was literally vibrating in Justin's hands.

"I promised her that I would be there no matter what after the crash," Kara said between sobs. "And now she can't even stand to look at me; shit I can't stand to look at me!"

"Kara, don't say that," Justin soothed, reaching out to wrap her back in his embrace.

Kara's swat of the hand thwarted that attempt though.

"I can't....I can't deal with this," she said, covering her mouth with her right hand once again before retreating to the solace of her bedroom.

Justin stood there dumbfounded and confused. What the hell just happened? Two days ago they were out buying furniture for her temporary apartment and now she had barricaded herself in her bedroom. He thought they were headed down the path of reconciliation, which was the right path in his mind. He sighed in frustration and slid a hand down his face before making his way into the living room and plopping down on the couch that had been delivered the previous day.

He started to run a mental reel of the week's events, trying to figure out what would cause Marz to send something like that to her sister. She already knew about their affair and had previously made her feelings known so that probably wasn't it. They didn't run into her or any of her acquaintances while furniture shopping, in fact they really didn't run into anyone. Luck must've been on their side because they hardly ran into any paparazzi and both of the furniture places they went to were completely deserted. The stores were promptly closed to the public once Kara and Justin removed their sunglasses and revealed who they were and they were allowed to shop in peace. One of the stores had delivered Kara's living room and dining room pieces yesterday. Just a couch, lounge chair, dining table and four chairs; and the other store had delivered her bedroom furniture earlier that day.

They weren't even hounded by paparazzi when they enjoyed a quick lunch at a local deli, so what could it be? What triggered this sudden anger in Marz? What pissed her off so much that she'd send that message to her sister? Justin's Blackberry chimed, indicating he had an email. It was from Ken, his publicist. It was pictures taken at a distance of him and Kara shopping two days ago and under them was the simple question: Is she moving in with you?

Shit.

This was what did it. If Ken had these pictures that meant Marz's PR team had them too. They'd probably contacted her and asked for a statement, standard procedure, but not so standard when what they're asking you about hits you from left field. What sucked was that the press had it wrong. And it wasn't like this was the first time that's happened either. Justin silently wished that he could text his publicist back and say, "yes, we're together now and it's time to do damage control for Marz." But the first part of that statement wouldn't be true. As of now his relationship with Kara was in limbo; he could tell that she didn't have the strength to fight him a couple days ago when he took her furniture shopping, and he hadn't brought up the issue since.

For a moment he'd thought that they were back to their old selves when she suggested lunch at that corner bistro. He jumped at the opportunity, and was happy to see that smile that crept on her face halfway through the meal. But that smile was gone now. In fact, he couldn't even see her face at all now. The only thing he could hear were the sobs that were coming from the other side of her bedroom door. He decided to try his luck and see if he could get her to open the barrier that separated them by rapping at the wooden door twice.

No answer.

Two more knocks.

Sniffles.

"Kara," he said timidly, pressing his ear to the door.

No answer.

"Kara, open the door babe."

There was silence on the other end that seemed to last for an eternity before he heard the click of the lock being turned, and he backed up as she eased the door open. Just the sight of her brokenness, her tearstained face, made his heart fall to his stomach. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and try to soothe her pain, but he didn't think that would help after his first attempt failed and sent her in the room in the first place.

"I promised her," Kara stated in a small voice.

"You promised her what?" He asked.

"I promised her that I'd always be there. 'We're all we've got'. That's what we used to tell each other. And now, I've reneged on that promise. I lied. I hurt her, and I lost her," Kara whispered before collapsing into Justin's open arms.

He was confused as to what she was talking about, but stood strong. He wanted to question her, try to understand what she meant, but didn't want to push her too far. This fragile state that she was in seemed to be taxing enough on her, and the last thing either one of them would need would be a complete emotional breakdown. He rubbed her back soothingly and kissed the crown of her head sweetly before whispering in her hair.

"Whether you believe it or not, everything's going to be ok. Trust me."

And she wanted too.

Justin scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom and placed her on the newly delivered queen-sized bed before tucking her in. She needed to rest. He could only imagine the headache she was experiencing with everything going at a million miles an hour in her mind and she deserved a good nap. He could handle the situation with Ken on his own and try to do something about Marz. Justin sent up a silent prayer that Marz would hear him out and brushed a sweet kiss across Kara's forehead before turning on his heels to head out of the room. He'd taken two steps when he heard her tell him to wait.

"Stay with me; I don't want to be by myself," she said in a barely there voice.

This was a side of her that he wasn't used to seeing; vulnerability. His heart strings were tugged once more. Justin did as she wished though. He lay down behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle protectively as she snuggled into his embrace. He heard her sigh and rubbed his thumb against her abdomen in no particular pattern.

"I don't know if I told you this, or if Marz did, but our parents died in a car crash about four years ago," Kara said after the room had been silent for a while.

"I'm sorry."

Justin whispered his condolences and was shocked when he felt her chuckle.

"You know, I used to reply with 'me too' when people told me that. I guess there's not really an appropriate response to someone's death in our society, huh?"

Justin shook his head, not thinking that she couldn't see him.

"It wasn't even their fault. They were coming back from an event for the sorority my mom belonged to in college and were t-boned by a drunk driver. They were less than a mile away from home too."

Justin was shocked with how even her voice was as she told him this, but said nothing; silently encouraging her to continue.

"Marz had just signed her contract with Jive, but hadn't started recording yet. They'd told her that it would be perfectly okay if she wanted to take some time off and grieve, you know, give her some more time to record the album, but she declined. She sat there in that boardroom and told them that she had everything she needed sitting right next to her to get the album done. And you know what that was? Me. It was then that I vowed to stay by her side no matter what. Through all the bullshit she put me through, the snide remarks, everything. I couldn't turn my back on her, and not because she was my sister, but because we were all each other had left. I don't think she ever got the chance to grieve properly, you know? She was literally in the studio two weeks after the funeral. It took her six months to record everything and within another five the album was out and she was on the road."

Wow. Justin didn't know what to say. Now he understood why Kara was behaving like this. She'd been the backbone for her sister and now…well, now she wasn't. Both of them had incredible strength. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost his mom, let alone both of his parents at such a young age. He definitely wouldn't have been able to begin a career in this industry.

"I gotta make this right," he heard her whisper.

"I have to," she murmured, before going to sleep.

~*~

"So, where do we go from here?"

Justin looked up from the mug of coffee he was nursing. Apparently Kara wasn't the only one who needed the nap. Both of them slept for what seemed like days and woke up well rested that evening. Kara did her best thinking hyped up on caffeine and decided to put on a pot of coffee once they'd emerged from the bedroom and now the two of them were seated in her living room in silence until she posed her question.

"What do you mean: where do you want to go from here?"

"Well I obviously want to go work things out with my sister, but seeing as she's no longer talking to me how are we going to spin things so that neither one of you are seen in too much of a negative light?"

Justin sighed. He thought she'd been asking about their relationship.

"We can put all the blame on me, I don't mind. It's not like I'm not already being deemed as the bad guy in this situation."

"Whoa! Hold up," Justin said, interrupting her rant. "We're both adults here, and we both knew what we were getting into when we started this. I'm at fault in this just as much as you are."

"Justin, you have an image to uphold. Something like this could ruin you!"

"Well if that's what it comes to then fine. If people are more concerned about my goddamn private life than they are about my music then they weren't fans from the start. I need you to stop trying to carry the world on your shoulders. I don't know how you've managed to stay sane all these years with all this pressure you have on yourself."

Kara brushed it off.

"I'm just doing what needs to be done."

"No, you're overcompensating so that you and your sister don't have to deal. You said earlier that Marz never really got a chance to grieve, but you know what, I don't think you did either. You dove into your sister's career along with her. I'm right. I usually am," he said, eliciting a chuckle from the both of them.

"You never just stopped and cried over the loss of your parents."

Kara held up a finger but Justin continued, ignoring her protest.

"No, hear me out here. I understand you want to be there for you sister since you are all she has left as far as immediate family goes, but your happiness and sanity needs to be taken into account here too. The world doesn't revolve around Marz. As much as she thinks it does, it doesn't. She wasn't the only person who lost their parents that night, you did too. And I think since then you've taken on that role and have made it your job to not only take all the bullshit she throws your way, but to shield her from the wrong in the world. Now I'm in no way trying to diminish our affair, it was wrong and you and I both know that, but the world isn't all unicorns and cotton candy. It's hard and cruel and everything doesn't always work in your favor."

Justin took a deep breath, not realizing that he'd made his spiel in one breath. He paused for a beat, letting Kara digest his words and was shocked when he saw a smirk cross her face.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Thank you."

"For?"

"Being my own personal Confucius," she chuckled.

He mimicked her laugh.

"No, really, you're right. Thank you for opening my eyes to what I was doing. I'd been doing it so long that I hadn't even realized how destructive it was."

"What? I never told you that I minored in Psychology in the School of Hard Knocks?" He joked.

Kara emitted a hearty laugh.

"Oh wow. I wasn't expecting that," she continued laughing.

Justin placed his mug on her coffee table and rose to his feet before bowing mockingly to Kara. His blackberry tumbled out of his pocket and landed with a soft thud on the carpet next to Kara's feet with the screen still displaying his email from Ken Sunshine. At the bottom of the screen, under the pictures and Ken's question Justin had written I don't know; I don't even know anything now, but he hadn't sent the message yet.

"What do you mean by this?" Kara asked, pointing to the device.

Justin inwardly cursed himself before responding.

"I meant exactly what I said. I don't know anything anymore when it comes to us. I mean, I thought we were on the same page in this relationship. I thought we both wanted this, that we were gonna fight for this, but I come back home and you've leased an apartment for six months. How am I supposed to take that, Kara?"

She sighed and lowered her head. She knew that this conversation was going to come back up. They never did finish it the other day.

"You never answered my question, you know," she said, raising her head slowly to meet his gaze.

"What question?"

"What do you want? What do you want from me? What do you want from this?"

Now it was Justin's turn to sigh. He sat down next to her and took her mug from her, placing it next to his on the table. He took her right hand between his and looked her in eyes before responding.

"I want you. All of you. With me. I want to wake up in the morning with your hair splayed across my chest. I want your scent to be the first thing I breathe in when I open my eyes, your face to be the first thing I see. I want to shoot the shit with you and be perfectly at ease with lounging around the house all day in sweats with you, or be just as comfortable taking you out on the town. We've never been able to do that and I want to so badly. I want to show the world that I'm happy and you're the reason why."

"But the papers-." Kara began.

"Fuck them. Fuck the media! They're not the ones in this relationship. We are. Do you hear me?"

He placed a finger under her chin and raised it so that her eyes met his once more.

"But that is if you still want to be. I thought we were on the same page, but I don't know now. Do you still want to be with me?"

Kara didn't know how to answer the question. She searched his eyes for a clue, but all she could see in them were hope; hope that she wanted the same thing he did.

"I don't know," she told him honestly. "It's just....."

Sitting in front of Justin now, she thought about all the things that had happened to them, and all that they'd experienced because of their inability to say no the physical attraction. There were things she'd always be grateful to him for, like the way he made her feel when he looked at her with pure sexual hunger. She had never felt like that with any man before. Justin was gorgeous, and smart, and so much fun to be with. Not to mention the sex was amazing. But he didn't make her feel like there was someone out there who loved her more than life. She didn't feel secure and fulfilled. He wasn't it, he wasn't the one.

"I can't," she said.

Watching his face fall was the hardest part. His eyes went dark as hope diminished and he looked away from her and down to the floor, letting go of her hand.

"Justin, I'm sorry. I had a really great time with you-."

He snorted and turned away from her, staring off toward the fireplace.

"I had a great time with you," he mocked. "This is the part where you give me the brush off."

"No, this is the part where I'm finally honest, with you and myself. I had a great time with you, and you're a great guy. It's just that this isn't for me. It's not what I need right now."

"So tell me what I'm doing wrong," he said.

She could hear the hurt and desperation in his voice. She had wanted to spare them both the pain, but apparently that was impossible.

"I can be whatever it is that you need. Tell me it is."

Kara sighed, thinking over everything. Her life was topsy-turvy right now. Her boyfriend was gone, her sister was gone, and her job was gone. With everything she'd worked so hard for having disappeared, what was it that she needed most?

"I need you to be there for me."

"Of course."

"But not as my boyfriend," she clarified. "As my friend. As my dear friend."

Justin was silent for a moment. Then he looked over at her, studying her eyes. He knew the look of determination on her face, and caught the resolve in her eyes. For the first time in a long time, part of her seemed to be at ease.

"There's no talking you out of this, is there?"

Kara shook her head no, and Justin sighed and ran a hand over his face. This was turning out to be one hell of a day.

"I don't understand," he said.

"It's the right thing, Justin. We have to do what we can to make it right, regardless of the toll it takes on us personally. And I think we've both known for awhile that this wasn't the right fit."

Justin was silent for a long while, and Kara started to wonder what he was thinking.

"This blows," he muttered finally.

"Yeah."

It did suck. Justin was the one friend she had left, and now she had to say goodbye to him too.

"Well, on that note I guess I better go."

"Justin-," she began.

He shook his head as he stood.

"It's fine," he told her. "I'm alright. I just need some time to myself, you know?"

Kara nodded, and stood up to follow him down the hall and to the front door. He opened the door, and turned to look back at her. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something to her, but no words came out. It was the strangest feeling, knowing you were losing something but not being all that upset about the loss. It was sadness that she felt, not hurt or anger, and she knew inside that she'd miss him. They'd still be friends, but it'd never be the way it was before. Maybe that was the notion Justin had no words to convey.

He opened his arms, and she smiled as she stepped into them. When they wrapped around her, she closed her eyes at the feeling. He was warm, and solid, and that ever present masculine scent floated around her. Suddenly she realized she'd never rest her head on his chest or fall sleep in the little nook below his chin again. Kara stepped back, looking up at him, and they both smiled softly. His hands cupped her face, brushing her cheeks and memorizing her skin. His fingertips brushed her lips, and his eyes traced the contours of her face.

Leaning down, Justin touched his mouth to hers softly. He brushed his lips over hers, feeling her exhale of breath one last time. The same pulse of electricity rolled through him, and he felt it everywhere, including some places he probably shouldn't have. Her lips parted, and he pulled her closer, their tongues touching each other hesitantly. He tasted like fresh coffee, and it was bittersweet. Finally he broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. Her hands pressed into his back, in their last hug for who knew how long.

"Bye, Kara," he whispered.

Then he was gone.

~*~

Without Justin around the next few days passed slowly, but that was okay with Kara. She had plenty of thinking to do. Trace had made it pretty clear that wasn't interested in rekindling any kind of relationship with her, but hopefully she'd have more success with getting her sister to reconsider the finality of her words. Of course, that meant that somehow she'd have to actually get Marz to talk to her, which was much easier said than done. Marz had gone through a lot of trouble, changing the codes to the front gate and changing the locks on the doors, so it wasn't like Kara could just pop in a surprise her. Getting her to show up to a meeting was out of the question, since she couldn't even get Marz to answer her cell phone. Left with just one other option, Kara scrolled through her phonebook and called the only person who could help her at this point.

"Hello?"

"Hey Lauren."

"Kara? Hi. How have you been?"

"Fine. I've been fine. You?"

"Pretty good. Busy."

"Yeah," Kara said. "I remember those days. Listen, I don't want to take up your time with bullshit so I'll cut to the chase. I need to talk to Marz."

Lauren paused.

"Um, that's nice, but I'm not sure what that has to do with me."

"I need your help. I need to help set up a meeting with Marz."

"Oh Kara, I don't think there's anything I can do. If she doesn't want to talk then I can't force her."

"I know, but there is something you can do. She won't agree to meet with me, but I think if I can get her face-to-face for a few minutes I can get her to hear me out."

"Kara-."

"All I need you to do is get her to meet me. Tell her she had a lunch meeting or a fitting or something, and I'll handle the rest."

"I don't know Kara. I don't think I should get involved in this. I could lose my job."

"Lauren, please," Kara pleaded. "She's my sister. I don't want to lose her over this. Please help me."

The line was silent for a long while, and Kara started to wonder if the girl had hung up the phone. Finally she heard a soft voice.

"Okay. She isn't going to like this, and I will kill you if I lose my job, but I'll do it."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. First let's see how things play out. She has some time tomorrow afternoon. I'll tell her she has a styling meeting at the Beverly Hills Hotel."

"Thanks Lauren, you don't know what a big favor you're doing me."

"Just don't forget, you owe me one."

~*~

Kara sat at the end of the beige couch, playing with one of the numerous pens the hotel provided in the suite. After she'd gotten off the phone with Lauren she'd called and booked a suite at the hotel to keep up appearances. She heard the door lock click and sighed, mentally preparing herself. Here's hoping that her money wasn't wasted.

"Whitney, I don't know why we couldn't just do this at my place. You didn't need to bring me all the way here for some samp-."

Marz froze mid-sentence when she saw that her sister was the only other occupant in the room. She took off her sunglasses, and if looks could kill Kara would've been dead on the spot.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Marz asked through clenched teeth.

Just as Kara was about to respond she held up a finger, halting her sister's action.

"You know what? I don't even care. I'm gone."

Marz turned and began walking towards the door when Kara rushed over to her, grabbing her arm in an attempt to stop her from leaving.

"Let me go!" Marz barked, yanking her arm free of her sister's grasp.

"Wait, please. Let me explain. Please," Kara begged.

"Explain what? What else do I need to know that's not already splayed across every tabloid known to man? What else is there to add to this wonderful story?" Marz asked sarcastically. "Pregnancy? Wedding bells? Herpes?!"

"What?! No!"

"Well, what is it then? What can you could tell me that I haven't already read on Perez Hilton's page every day since this shit blew up in my face?"

"Since when did you start reading that trash?" Kara asked.

"Since I started feeling like that's all I deserved," Marz said barely above a whisper.

"Marz, I'm sorry. I am so sorry. And if I have to say it to you for the rest of my life for you to believe me, I will. I am so sorry. I…we never meant for it to happen. I swear! It was never supposed to be anything more than a kiss."

Marz held up a finger, silencing her sister.

"Spare me the details please," she said with disgust.

Kara simply nodded.

"We didn't plan on having that affair. We didn't plan on hurting two of the most important people in our lives. And had I known then what I know now I wouldn't have even agreed to it. I went through all of that and I have nothing to show for it. I lost the best boyfriend I ever had, lost the person who means the most to me by reneging on the promise I made you all those years ago. I even lost my job."

Kara finished with a chuckle, casting her eyes to the ground. Marz couldn't help but chuckle a bit herself before what her sister said really sunk in.

"Wait, what do you mean you have nothing to show for it. Aren't you and Justin still together?"

Kara's face slowly rose to eyelevel with her sister, and Marz could see the tears begging to be released in her eyes.

"No, no we're not."

Marz saw the pain in her sister's face and immediately went into to comforter mode. After all, Kara was still her little sister aside from all that had transpired. Marz wrapped her arms around Kara and just held her as she cried. And cried. And cried. Hearing her younger sister breakdown like that triggered her own floodgate and within minutes both women were bumbling messes.

"I'm so sorry!" Kara exclaimed as the tears racked her body.

"I know, I know," Marz replied, rubbing her back soothingly.

"No, you don't. And you hate me."

"Hate you?" Marz questioned, pulling back looking her sister in the eye. "I don't hate you. I could never hate you, Kara."

"But you said that…"

"I know what I said and I should never have said that. Yeah, I was mad at you -shit I still am- but I could never hate you. Come on, let's sit down. These shoes are killing me."

Kara chuckled. Leave it to Marz to bring up fashion when the two of them are having an emotional breakthrough. The two of them sat next to each other on the couch and Marz took her little sister's hands in hers; something she hadn't done in years.

"What you and Justin did hurt me. It hurt me to the core. It felt like he was repeatedly stabbing me in the back and you were there to twist the knife every time he did. But you know what hurt the most?"

Kara shook her head 'no'.

"That I would probably lose the most important person in my life. When I came home and saw all your stuff gone that's when it sunk in; like, really sunk in what had happened. I'd just lost my sister over some guy who honestly wasn't worth it."

"Me too," Kara whispered, shocked that her sister had uttered the words that she wanted to say. "When you told me to leave that's what I was thinking. I'd broken my promise to you for a guy. For Justin of all guys."

Marz laughed at her sister's mock disgust.

"Hey, don't go knocking on Justin now," she said.

"No, I'm not knocking him. We both knew what we were getting into when we decided to sneak behind you and Trace's backs, and I fully deserve whatever I have coming towards me for that be it here on earth or in the afterlife. But I just want you to know that I sincerely apologize for everything. And I would understand completely if you never want to speak to me again after this, but I had to tell you that."

Marz nodded slowly, and shocked her sister when she giggled.

"What? What's so funny?"

"You've always been hard of hearing, haven't you? Did you not hear anything I said? What would make you think that I don't ever want to speak to you again?"

A small smile spread across her face and Kara imitated her.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't think we'll go back to everything being all peachy keen immediately, but that doesn't mean that I don't think we won't be at that level one day. After all, you did hurt me and it's going to take some time for you to earn my trust back, but at the end of the day you're still my baby sister and I still love you."

"You do?" Kara asked, tears threatening to make another appearance.

"Of course, silly. Now, will I trust you around my boyfriends in the future? Probably not. Screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me. And I'm not going to let that happen again."

"And I promise it's not. I swear," Kara promised.

Marz smiled and nodded slowly.

"I know, I believe you. And I accept your apology."

Those five words lifted a weight off of Kara's shoulders that she didn't realize were there. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and watched her sister glance around the room.

"Was all this a ploy? Like some kind of scheme to get you back in my good graces and on the payroll, missy?"

Marz smiled brightly and Kara felt her heart swell with love for her sister. It'd been so long since she'd seen that expression on her face.

"Graces, yes. Payroll, no."

"No?"

Kara shook her head 'no'.

"You found a job?"

"No."

"So, what are you doing for money? Where are you living?"

"I have my own apartment."

Marz' jaw dropped and Kara nodded.

"I know, right? My very first apartment. I had some money saved up from being your gopher all those years and paid up six months of rent two weeks ago. I figured that would give me enough time to figure out what I want to do with my life. And also some time for me to stay out of the public eye," she laughed softly and Marz followed in suit.

"Ok, I can respect that. And Lauren's learning; I mean, she's not as good as you were."

"That's because I've known you your whole life," Kara smirked.

"Yeah, but she's a fast learner."

Kara nodded in agreement, making a mental note to send Lauren a fruit basket or Edible Arrangement or something to thank her for setting this meeting up.

"So does this mean that you're not going to help me with my music anymore?"

"No, not necessarily. You know that I'll always be around for that, but I want to take these six months and find myself. Figure out who I am outside of being your sister, Trace's ex-girlfriend and Justin's ex-mistress. I want to find myself, you know?"

"Yeah, I do. You take this time and do what makes you happy, okay?"

Kara nodded and wrapped her arms around her sister. Marz sighed in content and hugged her back before whispering, "I love you, Kara. Don't you ever forget that."

Oh damn, here go the waterworks again.

Getting into her car a little while later, Kara let out a sigh of relief. Things weren't perfect between she and Marz -maybe they never would be- but at least they were going to try. This would be new found territory for both of them. They'd been business partners, and boss and employee, but they'd never been just sisters before.

Just as she was putting her seat belt on, Kara's phone started to go off in her purse. She knew it wasn't someone she knew, because the ringtone was the standard one she'd use for strangers and unknown numbers. Picking it up, she checked her makeup in the mirror, wiping away the watery mascara from under her eyes.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this Kara Sotelo?"

Kara paused. Was this another snotty reporter trying to get the scoop on her love life?

"Possibly. Who may I ask is calling?"

"This is Mark Goldenstein. I work A&R for Columbia Records."

That got Kara's attention. She paused, fumbling over her words.

"I-er--, yes, this is Kara. How can I help you?"

"I wanted to talk to you about a writing opportunity. We have a new artist coming into the Columbia family, and we need some new material. We got an advance copy of the album you did with Justin Timberlake, and it's fantastic."

"Thank you."

"Would you be interested in going to Paris and producing some songs with our artist? We'd pay for all of the expenses of course."

Kara paused, her brain working over time. Columbia records? Paris? Producing?

"Oh, I don't know Mr. Goldenstein. I'm sure you've heard all the rumors swirling in the media about me. I was thinking it was time for me to take a vacation."

"Oh please, Ms. Sotelo," he said. "We've been waiting for a fresh new producer like you for a long time, and you come highly recommended by Mr. Timberlake."

She did?

"Besides, what better vacation is there than one where someone else pays all the costs for you?"

He had a point. She didn't exactly have the money saved up to go flouncing around the world on some grand adventure the way she wanted. And it was a job, in France no less.

"Actually Mr. Goldenstein," she said. "I'd love too. When do I leave?"