Like I love You
Chapter 3.

Brynn walked down the dimply lit hallway before she finally came to the end, finding the door marked 1402. Raising her hand, she knocked lightly before checking her watch. It was 7:25 already. Rapping her knuckles against it once again, she scoffed to herself becoming agitated. By the third try, her knock became harder, the loud sound echoing throughout the hallway.
She was about to bring her knuckles up once again before the door swung open and a bleary eyed Justin stared back at her.

“Morning,” Brynn said, proficient as always. “We’ve got to get going we’re already-”

“I’ll be right back.” He interrupted, his voice low and gravely. Brynn stepped back as he left the door open, only to return a few seconds later, backpack slung over his shoulder.

“We can’t be late.” She voiced as he shut the door to his hotel room and they began their way down towards the elevators.

“We’re not going to be.” Justin said unamused. Brynn rolled her eyes as she pushed the down button repeatedly, trying to fill the silence.  Once the doors slid open, Justin moved the few steps away as he leaned against the corner as the cart began to move.

Brynn stood still in the middle as she cleared her throat taking in Justin’s morning attire. Jeans and a heavy black sweatshirt, the hood up and covering his light brown hair, his eyes slid shut against his face. Maybe he wasn’t a morning person.

“We’re shooting the spread for Seventeen Magazine at around eight and then from there we have to go right to do the shoot for your album. After that you’ll have time for a late lunch before you do a short phone interview and then-,”

“Brynn!” Justin interrupted, making her jump a little by the volume of his voice but he quickly lowered it. “It’s early and I’m tired as hell. Can you just...chill out for a few? I know I’ve got a full plate today. I just don’t feel like hearing it right now, alright?”

“Well maybe if you’d have got to bed at a decent hour last night, today wouldn’t be so rough on you.”

Justin stood and stared wide eyed back at her, readjusting his backpack just as the elevator doors opened. He was taken aback once again by her cold tone towards him and was beginning to wonder why she hated him so much.

“How do you know what I was doing last night?”

She scoffed slightly, shaking her head at him. “Lonnie filled me in a little. He told me it’d probably take a while to get you to answer your door.”

“Yeah well, whatever. I’m twenty one. I can do whatever I want to. I don’t need a babysitter.”

Brynn rolled her eyes as they exited the elevator, seeing Lonnie as the end of the hall. He trailed behind them as they left the hotel to the awaiting SUV that waited outside for them.

“Whatever Justin. It’s your career.” She voiced, crawling in beside him and slamming the door shut.

She was half relieved that he leaned against the window and closed his eyes, not saying another word for the rest of the drive. So far, this job was not starting off on the best foot.

**
Justin rolled his eyes for the fifteenth time that day as he was handed another outfit to change into. He was already tired and exhausted of being fawned and fussed over but he bit his tongue and quickly changed before returning to hair and make-up.

He watched his assistant not far off in the corner of the make shift tent they had set up outside for him as she stayed out of the way and messed around on her blackberry. He noted that she had changed her attire once again, going back to her roots to the first day Justin had met her. She changed up her casual look of jeans she’d wore last week and once again was decked out in her black pants and heels, with crisp white blouse taking over her tall frame. Gone were the blonde waves that had sat loosely on her shoulders but instead it had been replaced by a sleek ponytail. Something deep inside felt like she used the clothes as a mask. Last week at the meeting with Johnny, Justin saw the mere glimpse of a different side of Brynn. She had managed to laugh and even joke around slightly, giving him just a small taste of the bubbly personality he knew she had. He couldn’t help but wonder why she couldn’t do the same with him.

Looking up from her task at hand, Justin’s eyes met hers as he turned away slightly, embarrassed that he was caught but slowly drifted back in her direction. She looked around confused before walking towards him, her brows furrowed in question.

“Do you need something?” She asked, her voice cold, coming to stand by Justin as a short woman mused with is hair and dabbed make up on his face.

Justin coughed nervously, trying to filled the silence between them. “Nope. I uh, I’m good.” Was the only thing he could come up with. Looking at him confused, she turned to walk away. Feeling his cheeks warm, he called her back. “Brynn, wait!”

She turned around quickly, her ponytail swinging as she moved. “Yeah?”

Justin smirked, noting that she looked slightly annoyed. “We’re going straight to the magazine shoot after this right?”

Looking at him as if he had two heads, she simply nodded. “Yes, Justin.”

“Okay, thanks.” He replied, smiling slightly and winking back at her.

Brynn could only shake her head as she walked away, confused as to what was going on in his head. She still couldn’t believe that this was her job.

*
Hours later, trying to hold back her yawn, Brynn watched as Justin posed for various shots in the bright L.A. sun. She felt beyond worthless standing there, doing nothing and wondered for the millionth time why exactly she had agreed to this job. She almost wished she were back at her desk at the head offices of Jive running herself ragged as she tried to do a million things. At least she would be doing something instead of sitting out here in the blazing sun, wearing the most uncomfortable heels, watching a spoiled pop star grow an even bigger ego.

She had to give him credit though, the creative side of her coming breaking through her bad mood. It was easy to see that he was agitated and tired and pretty much over the entire day by now just as she was. Johnny had warned her that he didn’t like this part of celebrity but for as much as he seemed to hate it, he had a great stamina to grin and bear it and didn’t mind the women that were constantly at his beck and call.

Brynn had to admire the photographers and their creativity. They seemed to know exactly where to put Justin and what outfits complimented his figure. For being young, he was well built and muscular though she was sure it had a lot to do with the constant dancing he’d been doing all of his life. Shaking her head, she tried to clear her thoughts, chastising herself for thinking of Justin like that. She worked with him pete sake, not to mention he was six years younger then her.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Brynn looked up when she heard laughter only to see Justin break out in a small dance as one of the crew turned up the radio, filling the area with an upbeat song. Trying to be unamused, she watched as he moved smoothly, snapping his fingers and dancing for no one but himself, as he sang along, trying to be serious. She couldn’t help herself as she cracked a small smile when he pointed to her, his voice singing along effortlessly along with the radio.

The grin Justin sent back at her caused her to shake her head, unable to suppress her grin. He really was a dork but he had a uniqueness that Brynn didn’t see in a lot of people. He seemed genuine and working in the industry, that was rare.She couldn’t deny how his personality seemed contagious to everyone around him. He had a certain charm. She looked up as he approached her holding several Polaroid photos in his hands and handing them to her.

“What do you think?” He asked, his voice full of question as he licked his lips.

“Me?” Brynn asked surprised.

“Yeah, I wanna know what you think.”

“Oh um,” Taking the photos from Justin’s hands, she was careful not to get her fingerprints on them as she scanned them carefully. She took in the portraits, the lighting, the wardrobe and most importantly the serious, seductive looks Justin had etched all over his face in each one.

“They look good, Justin.”

“Yeah?” He questioned coming to stand beside her.

“Yes. Very natural, edgy. I like them.” Brynn forced a smile and tried to move away as she felt Justin’s shoulder brush hers and could feel the heat of him singe through her blouse.

They both looked up as the photographer’s deep voice broke their thoughts. “That’s a rap everyone!”

Justin hung his head as his shoulders relaxed. “Thank God.”

Brynn laughed at his relief, feeling it herself. “You’ve got a few minutes to change and grab something small to eat before we’ve got to head to the next photo shoot.”

Rolling his eyes once again, Justin nodded before walking back to change. Brynn glanced at her watch to make sure they were still running on time and went to gather her things to wait for Justin to be finished. She could only hope that this next adventure went a lot faster.

**

The day had to be coming to a stand still, Brynn convinced herself as she leaned heavily against the wall of the studio they had been at for the last three and a half hours. Who in the hell would have thought that these things took so damn long? Certainly not her.

She watched from behind the scenes as Justin walked off the set, leaving the view of the camera as he walked over to the photographer for the third time in the last fifteen minutes. She checked her watch once again before finally taking charge of the situation.

“What seems to be the problem now Justin?” Brynn found herself asking, on the verge of exploding as she brought her fingers to her temples.

Justin, dressed in all black turned away to look at her, his face hard.

“I told you, we had already discussed how I wanted the backgrounds for this album and it’s clearly not what they’re using.”

Breathe Brynn silently told herself. “So what’s happening now?”

Justin shrugged, as his face stood firm. “They suppose to be changing it... again.”

“And you do realize we have a schedule to keep?”

“Well if this would have been set up correctly the first time, we wouldn’t be having this problem, now would we?” Justin said, glaring at the photographer.

“Justin.” Brynn hissed. “Have some manors.”

“Whatever. Call me when someone around here knows what the hell they’re doing.”

Brynn looked at the photographer, smiling apologetically. She contemplated calling Johnny for a moment but Justin seemed to know what he was doing. She’d give him a few minutes to cool down, then she’d go talk to him.

“I’m sorry about the delay Miss Clarkson but we’ll have the correct backgrounds set up shortly.”

Brynn nodded, trying to sympathize. “I really hope so. Mr. Timberlake is on a very tight schedule and we’re already pressed for time.”

The photographer nodded and Brynn took that opportunity to search for Justin. She found him his dressing room, drinking a bottle of water as he sat, his leg bouncing in that nervous way she had discovered just a week ago.

He looked over at her, hearing her heels click against the cement floor, nodding his head in greeting.

“Is all of this really necessary?” She questioned.

“All of what?” Justin shrugged, running a hand over his head.

Brynn sighed, already seeing where this conversation was going to go.

“All of the corrections, the waiting, making people bend over back words.”

Justin stood, coming to stand directly in front of her, his face serious and persistent.

“Yes, Brynn, it is. This is my first solo album. It’s a make or break kind of thing and I want it to be perfect. An album cover is remembered forever. I’m not going to settle, alright?”

Brynn swallowed slowly. She could see the determination and the passion in his eyes. He wasn’t going to back down easily which put her in a bind. They still had a schedule to follow.

“Alright. I’ll go see if they’ve got things fixed yet. This better be worth it Justin.”

She turned on her heels about to walk away when Justin’s voiced stopped her.

“Brynn!” Turning around she found him inches in front of her. “I wouldn’t be doing this if it didn’t mean a lot to me. I’m really sorry it’s taking so long.”

Her breath hitched in her throat with the lack of space between them. She looked up, seeing his blue eyes look back at her, honest and sincere as he licked his lips. Trying to reroute her eyes, she shook her head and gave him a professional nod.

“I’ll go see what’s going on.”
**

Another two hours later, Brynn was all too happy to see Justin walk off set, his features tired and annoyed, feeling closely the same herself. Things had finally come together and shoot had reconvened and finished without any further problems.

She walked over to him, dressed in all black, as he handed the black fedora to the stylist and peeled off his leather jacket, leaving him in a cut off muscle shirt that seemed to carry out it’s name, exposing his arms and the large cross tattoo that sat across one bicep, surprising her. Why did that surprise her? Gathering herself together, they scanned through the photos from the day, watching Justin’s facial expressions, praying that these were what he had expected.

He turned to Brynn, his eyes hopeful. “What do you think?”

“Do you like them, Justin? That’s really the question here.”

He nodded, bringing his hand to rest under his chin in thought.

“Well yeah, but I want to know what you think. I mean these are for my album cover. Do you think they’re right for it?”

Scanning the photos once again, Brynn was finally starting to see the hesitation in Justin’s voice with this whole project. This was his first solo album and he was letting his fear and hesitation slip with each day of promotion they completed. Still, the professional and creative side of her once again noted that all the drama they had gone through this afternoon had been worth it. Justin seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

“Honestly Justin,” She said turning towards him, her eyes trying to look anywhere but his broad chest and his muscular arms glistening with sweat. “I think they’re amazing.”

His eyes turned up in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Brynn nodded, waving her hand in front of the portraits. “It’s unique, edgy, serious and a little dark.”

He laughed. “Dark?”

“Well you know. You’re all stripped down on your own. The other guys aren't there with you. I think it gives some mystery to the whole ‘who is solo Justin Timberlake’ scenario.”

“Hmm. I guess that could be good,” He said, as he pondered for a minute, turning towards Brynn and looking at her seriously as he licked his lips. “Do you think...”

She looked at him questionably as he stopped mid sentence. “Do I think what?”

“Do you think I look sexy?” He finally finished, his face masked in nothing but seriousness.

With wide eyes, she looked back at him shocked as her heart sped up in her chest.

“Justin!” She gasped as she turned away from him quickly.

He let out a laugh, loving that he got to her so easily as he watched her cheeks turn a deep shade of pink. “What? I just wanna know if you think they are because, well let’s face it. It’s sexy that sells.”

Scoffing, she turned on her heels as she went to gather her things, as he followed.

“You need to go get changed so we’re not late for your phone interview.”

“Alright. But why can’t you just answer me?” He asked, not backing down, his lips turned up in a smile.

“I’m your assistant, Justin. You can’t just ask me stuff like that.” She replied, gathering her things, as she felt her ears warm, spreading slowly through out her body.

“Okay, from a professional standpoint,” He asked as she shook her head, rolling her eyes at him. “Come on Brynn, I won’t tell.”

When she finally faced Justin, his eyes were gleaming back at her as he once again licked his lips in a way that was starting to make her slightly nervous though she’d never admit it to anyone but herself.

“I think your ego is big enough to cover half of the state of California and my opinion means nothing,” Brynn voiced, scanning through her blackberry. “Now get changed so we can get back to the hotel and you can get something to eat before we’re late.”

Letting out an exhausted sigh, Justin finally gave in. “Fine Boss Lady.” He said, his voice laced with humor as he turned to walk into his dressing room but stopped, peeking his head out quickly. “I wouldn’t want to admit it if I thought someone I was working for was sexy either.”

Brynn could only watch in shock once again, her mouth open as he sent her a quick wink before dodging back into his dressing room. Damn him was the only thing that crossed her mind as her heart began to race once again and a deep nagging begin to set in the pit of her stomach.
**


Later that afternoon, Brynn tried to get used to the large man trailing behind them as she and Justin entered the hotel. She was thankful the ride back had been pretty much the same as it was early this morning- silent and drama free, even though she couldn’t get his question out of her mind no matter how hard she tried. Taking the same elevator up to Justin’s floor, she was thankful to see that most of the hotel was vacant. She was scanning her e-mails as Justin’s voice broke her train of thought, realizing they had stopped out in front of his hotel room.

“Are you coming?” He asked, sliding his key in until the green light lit up, allowing him entry.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go down to the restaurant or something, Justin?” She asked nervously, as he held the door open for her.

Something didn’t feel right in the pit of her stomach, being alone in his hotel room. Brynn couldn’t put a finger on exactly why but it sat deep down, nagging her.

Justin nodded. “I just want to chill out and rest for a while. I’m already beat from today.”

“Fine,” She told him, following into his hotel suite. “You’ve got about thirty-five minutes until that phone interview.”

“Yeah yeah.” Was his half hearted reply as he disappeared into the bedroom.

Looking around Brynn was surprised to see that his room was actually somewhat neat. For his age, she expected to see clothes scattered around aimlessly but instead noted everything for the most part was neatly piled on top of his suitcase.

He reappeared a short time later dressed down in light blue track pants and a white t-shirt, his feet now bare as he flicked on the TV.

“I think I want to just order a pizza or something. What kind do you like?” He questioned, watching her stand there as he searched for a phone book.

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about me. Order whatever you like.”

Justin stopped flipping through the pages as he raised a brow. “You don’t like pizza?”

“I like it just fine. I just said don’t worry about me. I’ll eat later.”

“Okay, so lets say I just wanted to know what your favorite kind of pizza was, hypothetically, what would the answer be?”

Brynn shook her head, trying not to give in to his boyish charm.  “I like odd combinations. Pepperoni and pineapple.”

“Was that so hard?” He questioned, taking in how she stood their awkwardly in the small living room. “You know you can take a seat somewhere. Take your shoes off. Rest a while.”

“Right.” She said, trying to fill the tension she felt. Walking across the room, she took a seat at the small table by the window, overlooking the busy streets of L.A. She knew it was unprofessional but it had been one hell of a long day and Brynn’s feet were killing her. Kicking off her pumps, she couldn’t prevent the small ‘Ahhh’ that escaped her lips.

Justin couldn’t avert his eyes from staring at her for a moment as her head tipped back slightly, eyes closed in relief before he reached for the hotel phone on the table where she sat.

“You know, you don’t have to dress so professional around me.” He confessed, causing her to look up at him in surprise. “I mean those heels have got to hurt your feet. Especially when you’re either standing around or traipsing after me. You need to be comfortable.”

Brynn looked back at him dumbfounded. Was he looking out for her or telling her how to dress? Either way, it felt slightly awkward coming from him. Before she could reply, he was on the phone ordering the pizza. She suddenly felt out of her element. She was after all suppose to be the professional one. How on earth did she end up in Justin’s hotel room with her shoes off while he ordered pizza, her favorite kind none the less?

This was hardly how she pictured this job.

“Pizza will be here in about fifteen minutes.” He said as he plopped down on the couch. “Anything you want to watch?”

“No I’m fine.” She voiced from the table as she ran a hand across her forehead.

“The Price is Right is then.” Justin said as he tossed the remote on the coffee table. She watched as he kicked his feet up, his left arm going above his head and resting against the back of the couch causing the slightest bit of his shirt to ride up, exposing part of his tanned stomach.

Averting her eyes, Brynn stood and excused herself. “I’m going to use the ladies room.”

Justin could only watch her flee quickly, shaking his head as he continued to watch TV.

**

Fifteen minutes later, Brynn found herself answering the door and paying the pizza delivery guy. Just as she shut the door and turned around, a large box in her hands, she breathed in quickly as she bumped into Justin, forcing her to look up into sky blue eyes.

“I was going to pay for that.” He said easily, as he took the box from her hands.

“It’s um, it’s fine. It’s probably better I answered the door anyways.”

“Yeah.” He said, his breath fanning across her face from being so close as he gave her a lopsided smile. “Probably.”

Before she had time to plan her escape, Justin turned and walked back into the suit, dropping the pizza box on the coffee table. He retrieved some napkins and plates before squatting in front of the small refrigerator and grabbing a can of pop.

“What would you like to drink?”

Brynn took a seat at the chair across the room feeling somewhat out of place once again. “I’m fine.”

“Ok, Sprite is then,” He laughed, setting the can down on the end table beside her. “Help yourself.”

She watched as he wasted no time before digging into the pizza, the TV providing the only other sound besides him eating. Eyeing the box, Brynn tried not to take in the delicious aroma as it wafted through the hotel room. He had offered for her to eat with him but something about it didn’t feel right. After all, she was suppose to be professional and making sure he got to where he needed to be and things got done. Technically he had gotten to where needed to today and it was only a short time before she’d make sure he was doing the phone interview that Johnny had scheduled.

Still, there was something odd and unsettling about eating pizza in his hotel room that screamed wrong. Continuing to ponder, Brynn opened her can of pop and took a drink, not realizing how thirsty she had been. Deciding to give in to the growl in her stomach, she reached forward and reached for a slice of pizza, accepting the napkin Justin handed her in the process.

“Thank you.” She told him quietly. “It’s not everyday you find someone who likes this combination on their pizza.”

“It’s not bad actually.” He said, his mouth full as he turned back to the TV. “1200.”

Brynn laughed softly, trying to see what he was fussing over.

“For a trip to the Caribbean? Please. 1450. They’re including air fare.”

Actual retail price, 1500. Brynn smiled as Justin laughed, eyeing her between bites of pizza.

“So you’re a travel expert, huh?”

She simply shrugged. “I did spend an entire day of my life booking all your travel arraignments a few weeks ago.”

Justin couldn’t help but study his new assistant. He could see her slowly warming up to him. He realized with the flip of a switch that she could easily slip right back into her professional Boss Lady persona but for the moment, he was happy to see what little of the real Brynn Clarkson he could- even if that meant plying her with pizza and The Price is Right.

They continued to banter back and forth, calling out prices and arguing about who was right and who was wrong and all the tension between them seemed to temporally be at ease. He noted how much more relaxed Brynn looked with her shoes off as she sat back in the chair, her legs crossed, giving him the perfect view of her pink, manicured toe nails. Small blonde tresses had escaped her pony tail through out the day and he was glad to see she made no immediate attempt to tuck them back, giving her a softer look as they framed her face.

He couldn’t prevent the slight dip in his stomach every time she’d argue with him, the slight sass in her voice causing him to laugh. Every once in a while, she’d roll her eyes at something ridiculous he said and she’d chuckle softly, causing that funny feeling to return and his lips to grin back at her.

Before he could even analyze his new found feelings, she was on her feet as her blackberry rang, bringing it to her ear as she talked back to whomever it was, prim and proper as ever.

He cringed as he was handed the phone, rolling his eyes as the woman on the other end began to ramble off the same twenty questions he’d answered many times before.

Brynn looked back at him in warning, letting him know that he better respond as he was suppose to or else he would have to answer to her. When the interview was finally over, he handed over her blackberry and watching regretfully as she slid back into her heels.

Here it comes, Justin thought, watching her gather her things.

“Well that looks like we’re done for the day,” Brynn announced, looking out the window and saw the sun beginning to fall. “Tomorrow you’ve got to start rehearsing for your video shoot and you still need to go over the final concept with the director.”

Rolling his eyes, Justin followed her the door suddenly feeling a loss.

“Justin! Are you even listening to me?”

He crossed his arms over his chest as he put his back towards the door. “Yes of course.” He blinked back, trying to sound interested.

“Good. Maybe tomorrow I won’t have to knock on your door fifty times.” She spat back, annoyance in her voice.

“Seriously? I was like ten minutes late.”

“How about tomorrow you be on time?” She questioned, the tone of her voice going right to his chest.

“Dammit Brynn, I know you hate me.” He said loudly as his hand played with the door knob. “But,” He let out a breath, his voice softening as he looked back at her with earnest blue eyes. “Could you please try to drop this professional act and meet me somewhere in the middle? I’m twenty-one fucking years old. I don’t need to be treated like a child. I know how this industry works. You don’t have to remind me, okay? I’ve promoted albums before.”

Brynn swallowed thickly, her mouth suddenly void of any moisture. She tried to think of something to say, but all cocky comebacks seemed to die on the tip of her tongue as she took in the hurt on his face. She tried to ignore the masculine scent of him as he stood so close to her and the light blue color of his eyes as he looked back at her. Still, she was professional doing an armatures job and she did blame him a little for being stuck doing this job. If he was so knowledgeable with everything, then why was she even there?

“I’ll try.” Was the only honest answer she could give him before sliding past him and opening the door.

Once the door clicked shut and emptiness filled the room, Justin leaned his head against it and let out a breath. “Try harder, Brynn.” He whispered to nobody but himself. All he could do was hope his words would sink in and tomorrow would be different.