"Justin, your car is here."  I yell up the stairs. He was going to miss his flight if he didn't get his ass down the here right now. I continued to stand at the bottom of the stairs holding Harlow in my arms as he finally makes an appearance at the top of the stairs. He locks eyes with me the entire time it takes him to get to the bottom.

"I don't want to leave." He begins to whine.

"Justin." I said cocking my head to the side.

"I know I know. I have to go but that doesn't make up for me not wanting to leave you and Harlow here." He leans down and kisses Harlow on the forehead.

"We will manage without you." I joked.
"I'm sure you will. But I don't know if I will manage without you."

            I laid Harlow down in her bassinet and took him into my arms. I held on for as long as I could. I wanted to remember his scent, I wanted to remember his grip around me, and I wanted to remember this feeling. "I love you. Have a safe flight and an amazing show tonight. I expect to have details."

"Three days. Only three days." He mumbled to himself.

"Actually I will see you Wednesday night... I changed my flight."

His eyes lit up. "Are you sure? That's going to be a long day for you."

"Yes, I'm sure. Your mother is actually going to fly with me. Along with Lonnie... we don't want to take any chances with the paparazzi or others bombarding us."

"I'm sorry you have to deal with this."

"Hush." I placed my finger over his mouth, before I kissed him again. "You're going to be late. I will see you in a couple days. Make sure that bus is ready for Miss Harlow."

            I watched in the doorway as his town car drove away. I hated this part but I knew he had to go. Getting ready to leave for the office was not such an easy thing to do this morning. I had too much going on in my mind to completely concentrate on what I needed to do. Harlow slept the entire morning away. She really was his child. I had a bad feeling that it wasn't going to be a good day; I hope my instincts are wrong.

            Leaving Harlow with Lynn isn't such a difficult choice. Leaving Harlow in general was more difficult. I surprised myself at how difficult it was.

            My office building was surrounded by photographers, one at every entry into the building, with twelve of fifteen at the very door that I go in. Those damn people knew were my parking spot was now and they surrounded that entry door. Deep breathes. I kept repeating to myself.

            I walked very quickly through the parking garage and into the doors. Being hounded by the paparazzi was something I never thought I would be dealing with on a personal level. But yet I guess I never expected to be marrying the biggest celebrity in the world.

            I stepped off the elevator on my floor and there was an instant quietness that covered the entire office. I walked slowly down the hallway knowing every single person is staring at me right now and they were all probably just now gossiping about that has happened this weekend.

            I entered my office and shut the door. Long day. It's so going to be a long day.

"Emily, I know you said no visitors or phone calls today but Lexie is here to see you." Cheryl informs me.

Now she shows up out of nowhere. "That's fine, send her in Cheryl."

            The door opens slowly as I see a very pregnant Lexie standing across the room. She appears to be tan and glowing. Pregnancy is suiting her well. She is one of those pregnant women that look like they had the basketball shoved underneath their top. I would never be that lucky. I would be swollen everywhere on my entire body.

            I had nothing to say to her now. I needed her days ago when my life was turned upside down.

"Emily, I haven't seen you in a while. How are you doing?"

I turned from my computer screen to her, glaring at her. "Fine, Lex. Just fine."

"That doesn't sound so convincing."

"No. Really everything's fine now. How is the pregnancy going for you?"

"Fine... what's going on that you are not telling me? What do you mean everything's fine now?"

"Did you check your voicemails Lexie?" I said frustrated.

"Rob and I were on vacation in Fiji and we shut our phones off." She says it with a smile on his face.

"Next time you should rethink that option." I said turning back to my computer.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's not as important as your vacation was."

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?"

"No. Lexie... I have had a couple long rough days..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asks, attempting to want to listen now.

            Being an absent friend wasn't something that was going to work with me right now. I had too much going on to have to deal with her insecurities and her dilemmas.

"No I don't. I wanted to talk about it when I called you."

"So you are mad that I went on vacation with my boyfriend and didn't answer your phone calls."

I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe she was saying this to me. "Lexie, you should know by now that I could care less that you were going somewhere with your boyfriend. But I do care that you weren't answering your phone or returning any phone calls. I thought something had happened to you. I was scared and that was the last thing I needed to add to my list this weekend."

"I'm sorry I should have at least called you. I didn't even think you would worry."

"Lexie, until Justin came into my life... I have always only had you. Of course I would worry."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that. I just wanted some alone time with him before the ciaos started."

"Well I'm glad you achieved that." I turned back to my computer. I had work to get done.

"Well, since you're busy and in a mood, I will leave. Do you and Justin want to have dinner with us tonight? We have some news to share."

"Justin is on tour and Lynn has things to do this evening so she can't stay to watch the baby."  The words flowed off my lips as if I had said them hundreds of times before.

"Well we will have to ...", she stops... finally registering what I just said. "Watch whose baby?"

I turned back around to her, looking directly into her eyes. "Justin's daughter. Lynn is watching her while I'm at the office. I can't expect to stay with her while I do other things."

She shakes her head, "Justin's what?" she snapped.

"If you would have answered your phone you would have known. She is just about a month old and she is the spitting image of Justin."

"When did this happen? Who is the mother? Why do you have the baby?"

"It's a long story Lex and I don't have the time to explain it all to you. I have to leave the office on time today."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know... I really screwed up this time."

"It's fine, really. I'm dealing with it."

            I was a bitch to Lexie, but the last thing I wanted to do was let her know that it was ok to disappear from the world and not tell me. She would have bit my head off if I would have done that. Not to mention she was my best friend. She should have been there to help me deal with everything and she wasn't she was on vacation with her boyfriend and soon to be father of her child. Relaxing on a beach.

            As if dealing with everything that's happened wasn't enough I received an email from Kevin Daniels saying that I had a new client that I was going to be handling. They were requesting that only I handle the account. As I read down through the information I feel my entire body start to tense up when I see in bold print, Tri-Star Agency. My first thought was why on earth would they need a PR agent?

            As I was reading the previous emails between the two I find out that they had a representative for the company after I left but they didn't work out for ‘personal reasons' and instead of hiring someone fulltime they wanted to outsource. Them as a client wouldn't be difficult. I knew that company like the back of my hand but it was the details that were attached to the company that I wasn't too fond of.

            I shove that email into the keep folder but I was done looking at it. I wanted to think about anything other than that company and that night.

            Grocery stores, paparazzi and me do not go hand in hand. I hated those damn people following me. It annoyed the hell out of me. The more and more it happened the more annoyed I became. It wasn't really an issue in the beginning because they only followed me when I was out with Justin somewhere... but now, now they are following me everywhere.

            Dealing with them I managed to miss a phone call from Justin. Ugh. I wanted to talk to him. I look like a total beaming fool as I listen to his voicemail in the bread isle.

"I just got here and I want to come home already. I was super late for sound check today which pushed the meet and greet behind and it's been a mess. I hate the time zone difference. I lost so many hours in the day. Anyways enough of my so called drama... I hope your day went well. I will call you again before I go onstage. I love you."

            Lynn was cooking dinner when I got home. She really outdoes herself sometimes. She stands in our kitchen with her apron that stays in the pantry here.

"What are you doing?" I asked her as I drop the bags on the kitchen counter tops.

"I figured you had a long day at the office, I was going to make you dinner before I left."

"You didn't have to do that. I'm used to cooking when I get home." I startled to unload the bags, placing the items on the counter.
"One of these days you are going to let me doing things for you and you not feel guilty for it."

"Sorry Lynn, that may never happen."

"Don't I know it." She chuckled. "I talked to Justin. He isn't having such a good day."

"That makes two of us."

            Before this moment I didn't let the idea of Tri-Star and that day affect me. But now that she has asked and I have to think about it, again. The emotions run high and I can't hold back. "My boss has given me a new client."

"New clients are a good thing right?"

"Not this particular client.... This client... makes me think of my mother... as everything does I guess but anyways Tri-Star was the company I used to work for."

"Was it not a great working environment?" she asked.

"You can say that." I feel the tears coming but I can't stop them.

"Honey what's wrong?"

"The day my mother died... we were at the agency's event and the party afterwards and we were driving home from that event when she was killed." I swallow my words hard as I say them. "The idea of that place makes me blame them. I know it had nothing to do with them but I can't think of them and not think of my mother's death. Without their party... for their event ... for me... she wouldn't have been there."
"Em, honey you can't blame yourself for this. You could have made a hundred different choices that day but somehow, someway the result would have been the same."

"I know." I saw with the lump in my throat.

            She turns off the stove and walks over to me, placing her arms around me. "I remember that morning when Justin told me he had met this amazing woman at that event. He kicked himself for not finding her daughter and at least introducing himself to her. I remember him saying how amazing it was to have spoken to her. Have you ever thought that maybe it was your mother's plan this whole time? That everything you have gone through was going to put you in this very same spot you are in today?"

"I actually have. It's almost as she is guiding me to where I should be today."

"I think your mother has made sure that you end up in life, exactly the way you should."

            Once again, Lynn has come to my rescue. She knew what to say and exactly when to say it.  My mother had made sure to find a good man with an amazing mother who loves me as if I was her very own daughter.