Walking into the foyer of the Timberlake mansion, Lance was greeted by a very grim looking Justin; at least being given a nod as Justin passed the foyer was taken as a greeting. Justin didn’t bother stopping to talk to him, instead kept walking toward the back of the house. Figuring he was headed toward the music room, Lance made a beeline toward the kitchen. Due to years of experience and knowledge of the Timberlake phenomenon, he knew that when Justin was pissed about something, he played music. Loudly.

This was exactly what was occurring at that moment.

The unmistakable words of Eminem blared throughout house and all Lance could do was cringe at the foul language. If he knew anything at all about Justin in the ten plus years he’d known him, were his temper tantrums. Loud music playing was caused by two different types of anger, in Justin’s book. R&B music was played when he was having a fight with his significant other. For instance; when Justin thought she didn’t wear enough clothes at a photo shoot or something along the lines. Then the rap, angry music was played when his significant other had pissed him off, fighting him every step of the way in an argument. Judging by the music playing throughout the house, and the state of Justin’s unfriendliness, Lance figured it to be the latter.

The Timberlake Drama Club.

Lance wanted to make his visit as quick as possible because he was smart and being caught up in the Timberlake dramatic piece was not a very smart thing to do. He was sure some performance was bound to unfold when Juliana got home.

Trying to block out Eminem’s voice, Lance made his way into the kitchen. Finding that room empty, he helped himself to a bottled water out of the refrigerator. Taking a few gulps of the cool water, he walked over to the monitors on the wall. As he predicted, he could see Justin laying down on one of the sofas in the music room, arms draped over his eyes, looking tense as ever. In the family room on the second floor, he could see Lynn with Andie, peacefully watching a movie. He thanked God that Justin had some sense left in his brain and didn’t add that room to his music broadcasting.

All of the Justin’s cars were in the garages; Trace’s car was parked outside the circular driveway, which meant he was correct in thinking Juliana was out of the house. No doubt shopping, to alleviate the tension of arguing with her husband.

Going out the back kitchen door, Lance made his way around the house toward the pool house, where he hoped Trace would be.

Opening the tinted glass doors to the pool house, Lance had to react quickly to avoid being hit with about a dozen hats that were launched his direction. Moving out of the way swiftly, the hats landed inside a large plastic bin right inside the threshold.

“Whoa!” was all he said causing Trace to look up from the floor, where he sat in front of a pile of clothing.

“What’s up?” Trace offered.

“Nothing much, compared to what’s going on in here. What are you doing? Working for the Salvation Army?” Lance joked, looking around the house. Just at a glance, he could see about ten plastic bins with jeans, shirts, hats, sweaters, and belts.

“Yeah sure, cause Chris makes three million a year selling Fuman at Salvation Army.” sarcasm dripped from Trace’s voice.

“I’m keeping this.” Lance said completely ignoring him and putting the black trucker hat on his head.

“I don’t care.” Trace said shrugging. “What are you doing here?”

“Need a favor.” Lance simply stated as he lifted one of the bins off one of the sofas before taking a seat.

“I’m all out of those. But there is a couple of T-shirts in the bin behind that sofa you are welcomed to.”

“What’s up your behind?”

“It’s ass, Lance. A-S-S.” Trace said with a finger directed at Lance. “Why do you have to be so damn proper?”

“Why do you have to be an ass?”

“Don’t you have artists to represent and promote or something? I’m in the middle of something here incase you failed to notice.”

“I need you to do me a favor, A-S-S.”

“You mentioned that.”

“So, will you?”

“Will I what?” Trace said getting up from the floor and heading to the kitchen where he grabbed two beers out of the refrigerator. “What do you want?”

“Come to dinner with me.” Lance said taking the cold beer Trace had given him to his lips.

“I’m straight, Lance. I thought you knew that.”

“Fuck you. You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t. Why are you asking me to have dinner with you?”

“Not just me, you jerk. I have to attend a business dinner and I’d like you to come with me.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to go by myself. If you come to dinner there is a possibility you’ll end the night knowing where Kayla is.”

“I wasn’t aware that she was missing, Lance. Besides, I already know where she is and where she will be. Which is a lot more than what you’re offering.” Trace said taking a seat on one of the barstools across the room.

“You talked to Kayla?” Lance asked confused.

“More like Kayla tried out for Justin’s tour.” Trace said taking a big gulp from his beer bottle.

“Yeah right.” Lance said. “You serious?”

“Does it look like I’m joking?” Trace asked with a bored expression across his face.

“What happened?”

“Nothing. Everything. You name it.”

“Vague much?”

“She tried out, made it. Now she’s one of Justin’s dancers. That’s it.”

“Small world.”

“Yeah.”

“So did you apologize for being an ass? You know, for acting like yourself?”

“You know for someone who needs a favor, you’re really cutting it close.”

“Did you?”

“Did I what? Apologize? I didn’t get a chance, I was busy gawking in shock at her sucking face with her boyfriend to do so.”

“Boyfriend? Damn.”

“Yeah that’s what I said.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“What is there to do?”

“I don’t know, I thought you liked this girl.”

“What made you think that?”

“For starters, the fact that you allowed her to be one of Justin’s dancers. I know you have your input in that. And the fact that I know you and I can tell you’re upset about her. And I can tell you have something up your sleeve. Don’t be an ass and make her life on tour miserable. That’s immature and stupid.”

“Don’t get all dramatic on me, Lance. There’s enough drama inside the mansion, I don’t need anymore.”

“Speaking of. What’s going on in the Timberlake Drama Club? I walked in and Justin ignored that I excisted and has music blaring throughout the house.”

“I don’t know. Some shit about Juls not being listed on some tour schedule. Justin doesn’t care about her and Andie and some other shit I didn’t stick around to hear. I walked out and came in here to organize this mess before we start production for the new stuff.”

“Where did Juls go?”

“My guess is the same as yours.” Trace said.

“Shopping.” They said together before laughing lightly.

“So are you coming with me to this thing or not?” Lance asked.

“What for? I already told you I know where Kayla is.”

“Do you really want to be around here when Juliana walks in with all the bags?”

“Good point.” Trace chuckled. “What’s this thing about? And what does it have to do with Kayla Medina?”

“Well it involves her in the long run.” Lance shrugged. “I’m thinking on investing in the restaurant business.”

“You’re buying Kayla’s diner?” Trace asked with a raised brow. “She didn’t mention she was selling it. Then again the bitch didn’t mention she had a boyfriend tucked away in Florida either.”

“Bitter, are we?” Lance said mocking his earlier look. “I’m investing. I don’t know for sure yet if it will be on Kayla’s diner.”

“I’m not bitter, I’m better. And it sounds to me like you’re still trying to get to Noemi, aren’t you?”

“I’ve always wanted a restaurant and so I get to kill two birds with one stone.”

“Sounds like you’re in over your head. Let it go, Lance. She’s probably married with three other children. We wouldn’t know if she’s anything like her cousin.”

“You must really like her, man.”

“Shut up.” Trace said throwing his empty beer bottle in the trash. “You keep pursuing her and you’ll find the naked truth soon enough.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Who are you meeting with?”

“So you’re interested?”

“Curious.”

“I have a diner meeting with Mr. Ruiz himself. Who just so happened to mention to me that his daughter would be joining us for dinner. According to Mr. Ruiz, his daughter is also in the restaurant business with his niece.”

“Why do you want to torture yourself? She’s a fire pit.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lance shrugged.

“You’re telling me that you’re going to invest lots of money on this chick, whom you don’t know from a can of paint? Just to get a piece of ass?”

“No, I’m saying I’m investing in the restaurant business because I’ve always been interested. Dessert will be completely free.” Lance said with a mischievous smirk.

“Juls will skin you alive if she heard you talking about a woman like that. Way to go, Lance.” Trace joked giving him a thumbs up.

“Whatever. What’s the difference with you calling Kayla a bitch? At least my reference’s tasteful. No pun intended.”

“No see, that statement about Kayla is a fact.”

“Sure.”

“It is.”

“So you’ll come?”

“When did I say that?”

“I’ll come get you at seven-thirty. Wear a suit. Tie is optional. We’re meeting the Ruiz family at eight.” Lance said grabbing two t-shirts on his way to the door.

“I’m just going, to laugh at you. Be forewarned.”

“Whatever. See ya later.”
 

Los Angeles
Same time

He was trying hard to keep himself composed, sitting across the foyer where Jenn was greeting her guest. The need to hurl over the couch and claim Jenn as his own was crucially overwhelming.

He didn’t recall ever feeling the overpowering sensation ever in his life. Although he was trying his best, it wasn’t good enough because he found himself clenching the beer bottle in his hand tighter.

“How have you been? Haven’t heard from you in a few days.”

“I’ve been slacking off work the past few days. Jc and I went to Orlando with Juls, Justin and Trace. We just got back this morning.” Jenn said handing Luis a bottle water. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks.” Fonsi said taking a small amount of the liquid in his mouth. “So things are good between you and Jc?”

“Never better.” Jenn said with a grin.

“Good.” Fonsi said. I definitely have to do something about that, don’t I?

“Are you ready to work?”

“Not a minute wasted, huh?”

“That’s right.” Jenn smiled.

“Is Jc coming down to the studio with us?”

“Do you mind?” Jenn asked.

“Actually I was thinking..” Luis started to speak only to be interrupted by Jc as he walked into the kitchen.

“You don’t mind, do you?” Jc asked putting an arm around Jenn’s waist and kissing the side of her head.

“Not at all.” Luis said with a fake smile.

“We’ll be down in a minute, Luis. Make yourself comfortable. Warm up for a few minutes.” Jenn said.

“Sure.” Luis said taking his bottled water and his writing tablet from the kitchen island.

“C?”

“Jenisse?”

“You promised.” was all she said.

“I promised, what?”

“That you wouldn’t do the jealous husband bit.”

“I wasn’t doing anything. I was actually nice. Did he actually think he was coming to my house and have a say whether I could be in my own studio? That happened once and it won’t happen again.”

“C, just please be nice. Please?” she begged.

“I promise. I promise.” Jc said kissing her softly before heading to the studio.
 

Los Angeles
6:30pm

“Do you think you can turn down the music? At least to an eardrum bleeding volume instead of eardrum blasting volume?”

“Sorry, Ma.” Justin said turning the volume down with the remote, then turning the whole system off.

“Andie is asleep upstairs, in her room.”

“Thanks for staying with her for a while.” Justin said sitting up from the couch. “We appreciate that.”

“Speaking of we. What’s going on?” Lynn said taking a seat next to her son.

“Nice slip in, Ma.” Justin said with a chuckle.

“That’s what I do.” Lynn grinned. “Come on, tell your mother what’s going on.”

“What makes you think there’s something wrong? Everything is fine.”

“You’re such a bad liar, honey. You’ve never been good at it. I’m not sure if I should be proud of raising you this way or ashamed. My son can’t lie to save his own life.”

“You want me to lie? What kind of things have you been teaching my daughter?” Justin asked with a shocked expression on his face.

“Andie will be just fine. You know why?” Lynn continued without waiting for a response. “Because she has two wonderful parents who love her dearly but most importantly love one another very much and will continue to love each other for the rest of their lives.”

“My mother, the optimistic one.” Justin smiled, before placing his head on his mother’s lap.

“What’s the matter, honey?”

“Have you ever felt like you’re losing your grip on someone? Like no matter what you do, you can’t hold on to them?” Justin asked as his mother rubbed this head tenderly.

“Sure. It happened with you, Justin. You were the one I held onto when your dad and I got divorced. You were all I had but then you decided to be cute and take over the world with your music. No matter what I did to try to keep my hold, I knew down inside of myself that it was time to loosen my grip, as you say.”

“I didn’t take over, Ma.” He chuckled. “That’s how I used to feel about Juls. I wanted to have a tight grip on her, so I wouldn’t loose her again.”

“But?”

“But then that all changed when Andie came into our lives and suddenly my grip became five times tighter on both of them. I’ve created this thick web around them that I can’t even break myself, and now I have to deal with it. Am I making sense?”

“Why do you feel like you have to loosen your grip on them?”

“It’s not so much that I want to loosen my grip on them. It’s just that I want Juliana to realize that I’m not always going to be able to keep my grip firm. She needs to do some gripping on her own. Ya know?”

“Juliana is a very independent woman, Justin. I think she can handle you being away for a while. She knows you love your music and with that comes sacrifices. She’ll be okay when you go on tour.”

“But you don’t know her like I do, Ma. Juls is this big confidant, independent woman in everyone’s eyes. But Juls completely depends on me, Mom. I’m angry because it’s not just ‘us’ anymore. We have Andie to care for and she’s too stubborn to understand that I’m not wanting to loosen my grip because I don’t love them but because I feel like it’s my time to come back, musically. She thinks that I’m leaving them because I don’t love them. Can you believe that woman? She suddenly wants to be everywhere I am and I know it’s all me. Everything she’s feeling is just something that I’ve created because of my selfish need to have a tight grip on her.”

“Perhaps you were a little selfish, Justin. Love goes that way sometimes. As much as you think Juliana depends on you, I believe she’ll be alright. She’s a smart cookie and she knows that taking Andie on tour wouldn’t be right. Maybe she really is trying to spend as much time with you as she can before you’re gone. Give her a chance, Justin because just like you are scared about losing your grip she’s scared about being given just a little bit of a slack from your grip. It can be a scary thing. You both have definitely been spoiled with each other. Change is hard, sweetheart. You should know that better than anyone.”

“What if I stop recording and forget this whole thing?”

“Would that make you happy?”

“No, but all this fighting and bickering with Juls would stop.”

“Will that solve anything? Juliana needs to understand that the music business used to be your life before you met her. You put that aside to start a family with her and she did the same with her career for a while. She’s doing great in her comeback and you will do great as well. You need to understand that like you said, you’ve created a bond with your family that is now going to take some work to mold into another change on the road. And most importantly remember that you have a beautiful daughter that needs and loves you both very much.”

“What do I do if Juliana leaves, Mom? What if she can’t handle me being gone? What if she takes Andie from me?”

“Dear God, Justin. Now you’re talking crazy!” Lynn said with a hand over her heart as if his words had hurt her.

“Seriously, Mom. She’s acting as if she’s going to give me an ultimatum soon. I can feel it.”

“Everything will work out, Justin.” She comforted.

“I hope you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Lynn smiled down at him before placing a kiss on his forehead. “Change of subject. Have you decided on the nanny situation yet?”

“Juls keeps avoiding the topic. Every time I try talking to her about anything it all ends up in a fight about the tour.” Justin shrugged. “I’m starting to think we should of stayed living in Florida. We got along good yesterday when we went.”

“Hmm.”

“I haven’t even been to rehearsals yet. I only have four songs completed. I haven’t made the video either. And all she keeps talking about is the tour.”

“Well you know she’s always been one to say how she feels right then and there. She’s not like you, keeping everything bottled up until the last straw.”

“Ain't that the truth.” he chuckled. “You can talk to her about it.”

“I’ll call her later tonight. Maybe we can set up some interviews with some nannies tomorrow or this week sometime.”

“Don’t you have to go back home?”

“Paul wants to stay a few more days.”

“Well good luck with that.”

“I don’t need any luck. I’m Super Grandma, remember?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m going to head to the hotel. Paul is waiting.” Lynn said getting up from the couch. “Stop playing that awful music, will ya?”

“I’ll try.” Justin said following his mom out of the room. “Thanks, Mom.”

“No problem, Sweetie.” she said walking into the foyer; where Juliana was closing the front door behind her. “Hey, Honey.”

“Hey, Lynn.” Juliana said with a smile. “I hope Andie wasn’t too much of a handful.”

“Oh, nonsense. You know I’m a big pushover when it comes to my granddaughter.” Lynn laughed. “She’s upstairs asleep.”

“Okay, thanks.” Juls said. “Did you eat something? I brought food.”

“I’m meeting Paul for dinner. You and Justin enjoy.” Lynn said grabbing her keys from the center table. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Juls. We can do lunch.”

“I’d love to.”

“Goodnight, sweetie.” Lynn said kissing Juls’ cheek. “Goodnight, honey.” she said to Justin doing the same.

“Goodnight.” Justin and Juls said in unison causing Lynn to smile at them.

“Bye.”

“I brought food.” Juliana said lifting the bags she carried to Justin’s eye level.

“I gathered.” Justin said following her into the kitchen. “Where are all the shopping bags?”

“What makes you think I was shopping?”

“Because I know you like the back of my hand?” Justin shrugged. “What kind of food did you get?”

“Thai.”

“Sounds good.” Justin said taking containers out of the bags while she took two sodas out of the fridge.

“That steak dish you like is in one of those.” she said.

“Thanks.”

“Are you going to eat in here?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I want to know where I will be eating.”

“And where is that?” Justin asked annoyed.

“Not in here obviously.” Juliana said grabbing a container of food and the soda, leaving the kitchen.

“Am I going to need a handcart to carry the bas in from the car?!!!” Justin yelled as she crossed the foyer to the living room.

“I’ll get them myself, jackass!! I don’t need you!!” she yelled back.

“Fuck this.” Justin said grabbing his food. “I’ll be in the pool house incase my daughter or anyone else, besides you of course, needs me!!!” he yelled before heading out the kitchen door.
 

Los Angeles
8:48pm

“Tell me again why I let you talk me into this?”

“I didn’t talk you into anything. You agreed, so stop complaining.”

“I’ll stop complaining when I damn well please. Try wearing thongs when you are bloated and have cramps, then talked to me about complaints.” She snapped.

“Well no one told you to wear that dress.”

“Yeah sure and look like a complete cow in something else, next to your attire? I think not.”

“Well you are correct, Kayla. I do look hot tonight.” Noemi laughed as they made their way through the restaurant’s lobby.

“You’re hot alright, in the ass, which is what your father is going to say when he see all that leg you’re showing.” Kayla smirked.

“Like you really have a lot of room to talk. Have you looked at yourself? That’s a whole lot of cleavage you’ve got going, slut.”

“Well I don’t have long ass prostitute legs to flaunt to these stupid investors. I had to show something. How fun would it be for me if they only ogle at you all night?”

“True.” Noemi laughed before telling the hostess what dinner party they were joining. “Dad is going to be fuming when he see us.”

“Is that before he bitches about how late we are or after he bitches about how tipsy we both are?” Kayla giggled as they followed the hostess to the back of the restaurant.

“Probably at the same time. You know how puertoriquen men are.” Noemi said with a giggle to match.

A waiter blocked their view from the investors but they could both see Mr. Ruiz engaged in conversation with the man across from him. As the waiter stepped out of the way, the two women became immobilized before the table.

“Enjoy your dinner, Ladies.” The hostess said to them with a smile before walking away.

“No fucking way!!” Kayla said causing a few diners to turn their direction.

“You have got to be shittin’ me.” Noemi said at the same time, her line of vision directed toward the man lifting his glass of wine, as if toasting her presence.