Chapter 12: Plans and Promises

            The next day Isadora’s assistant walked into her boss’s home office to find it completely trashed.  There were pictures and articles spread out all over the place.  And then there was Isadora in the middle of it all, still in her PJ’s, sifting through the stuff on a fact finding mission.

            “It looks like a teeny bopper magazine threw up in here.  What is all this junk?” Kyliegh asked. 

            “It’s not junk.  It’s research.  Do you remember Alexandria Ackhart?” Isadora asked.  Kyliegh nodded and picked up one of the articles.  “Well she called me late last night with an interesting proposition.”

            “Business or personal?  I know you two used to be friends, right?”  Kyliegh questioned.

            “Kind of both.  And yes, though I still consider her my friend.  She just didn’t understand me at the time.” Isadora explained.

            “Now she does and you are going to do business with her?” Kyliegh asked.

            “No, I am pretty sure that she still thinks that I am insane but she may have found a use for my, unique way of thinking.   I am sure she has her own hidden agenda, but it could benefit me as well.  What do you think of this guy?” Isadora asked holding a picture of Chris out to her assistant.  Kyliegh took it and looked it over.

            “He is alright if you like short, dark and handsome.” Kyliegh teased.  “As usual I am not following you.  What does he have to do with Lexi?”  Isadora carefully explained what they had talked about the night before and how ‘N Sync and Lexi were connected.  “But you don’t know anything about the music industry and it doesn’t sound like Lexi does either.  So why are you really considering this?”

            “You are right we don’t know anything about making music, but the guys do.  They did it on their own before.  And it’s not about the money.  Haven’t you ever thought that there might be more to life than money?” Isadora asked.

            “That is something that people who actually have money say, while the rest of us don’t really know the answer because we are too busy worrying about getting money.  Isa, if you want a lover just get online and you can have a guy here tomorrow, probably even one that looks just like him.” Kyliegh stated holding up the picture that Isadora had given her.    Isadora got up and took the photo from her assistant before walking out.  She wasn’t getting it at all.  Sure she could get a guy that looked just like him, but it wouldn’t be him and he probably wouldn’t love her any more or less than the real Chris Kirkpatrick would, but at least she could have said that she tried to get the right guy to fall for her.

            Isadora knew that she had a different way of thinking but had the world really changed so much that her wanting a specific guy to be with her was crazy?  Were there women out there that were okay with owning someone and just having a bedroom buddy, not really caring who they were as long as they looked the part?  What happened to true love?

            Kyliegh may have been right about the money thing too.  People tend to settle for the lifestyle and things that they can afford, while dreaming about the things just out of reach.  But Isadora could afford Chris and his friends.  She could be his knight in shining armor but that didn’t mean he would reward her and even if he did would it be genuine?  Would she really care either way in the end?

            While there was some sense of urgency to save the guys, Isadora knew that it would take time and everything had to be done right, which she explained to Lexi when she called her back later that day.  Of course she was on board with the plan after all a chance at love, and maybe some more money, was better than having nothing at all, which at times is exactly how Isadora felt despite having everything.  Lexi had to agree with that logic as well, though neither girl was admitting to having any motive, other than money and saving lives.  But unlike Isadora, Lexi had nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Even if JC didn’t love her and she still could be with him, at least she would have a great new job with benefits and more money; she certainly couldn’t have any less money than she had now.

            The guys, even though they didn’t know it, also had nothing to lose.  Jade would either kill them or sell them.  If she sold them there was no tell what scrum Jade would sell them to or how they would be treated, Lexi was pretty sure that even though Isadora’s intentions were still somewhat unknown, the guys certainly wouldn’t be treated any worse by her and Lexi was planning to be there to help them out when she could just like she was doing now.

            The plan was simple; Lexi told Isadora everything that had happened that Isadora could use to win over Jade.  Isadora would pay the club a visit in the coming month.  She would play the part of the spoiled little rich girl that sees something that she wants and will stop at nothing to get it, while playing to Jade weakness to will offer to buy the guys.  By then the guys will be drained and on the brink of becoming useless to Jade Gaillard, which required little to no sabotage on Lexi’s part, nature would just run its course.  As much as Lexi didn’t want to see them like that, she couldn’t stop it any way, and for once it would benefit them in the end because the less Isadora had to spend to get them, they more she could spend on them once she had them.

            Their alliance would be kept secret for now; they couldn’t risk the guys’ reaction affecting the outcome.  Though they had all been actors at some point in their lives and could certainly act the part of the sick and surprised, there was no way of knowing if they would be on board with the plan.  None of them had faith in the system and though the girls didn’t either any more, they still had to work within it.  The government sees the guys as property and until the system crashes that is how the girls had to think of them as well but behind closed doors they could be treated like the people that they really were.  But to the outside world, and the guys for now, Isadora had to appear to be all business while Lexi had to remain the same.

            Lexi was having a hard time staying quiet and letting things go. By now she was calling Isadora daily to see when she was coming, but Isadora was working as fast as she could and Lexi didn’t blame her, she just wanted this part to be over.  All of the guys were exhausted and prone to little slip ups which Jade would punish them for.  It was a vicious cycle of abuse.  It was all taking a toll on Lexi and everyone saw it.

            “I think you should talk to Lexi.” Joey suggested after a bad night.  He has seen Lexi get in to it with a co-worker shortly after Jade punished Lance to tripping on stage.  Lexi couldn’t attack Jade or protect them so now she was taking it out on other people.

            “Why me?” JC sighed.  It wasn’t like he didn’t want to, there just wasn’t much left to say.  He didn’t keep secrets from the guys and they all knew how he really felt about Lexi, which was why they wanted him to talk to her, but there wasn’t much that he could tell her.  He couldn’t tell her that he was fine, because she could see that he wasn’t.  He couldn’t tell her that he loved her, because it would kill him if she didn’t love him back. 

“Trying to get through to Jade lately is like running into a brick wall, it just doesn’t budge, and when you do it often enough it really takes a toll on you.  That is what Lexi has been doing for us, maybe she should quit.”  JC thought out loud.  But this time no one responded or protested.  How much more could they really ask her to endure for them?

JC took a deep breath, before getting up.  That was all the conformation that he needed, now he just had to find Lexi.  Which didn’t take long he could hear her yelling from across the club, he found her in the back hallway beating the crap out of a box that she had stubbed her toe on.

“So now you have taken to attacking inanimate objects?” JC asked.  Lexi looked at him with a somewhat surprised look on her face, partially because she didn’t realize anyone was awake and also because she hadn’t really taken the time to look at him lately.  He wasn’t looking so good anymore; he wasn’t the same guy that he was when he arrived.

“It’s been a rough week.” Lexi sighed.  She took the time to take a seat on a crate that was back there and motioned for JC to join her.  They sat there for a minute in silence.  There was a time when the two of them would sit and talk for hours, but with their schedule and him being so run down; all of his free time was spent sleeping.  Lexi started to say something when JC interrupted.

“You should quit.” He stated.  His eyes were fixed on his shoes, it wasn’t that he wanted her to leave but she needed to.  Lexi paused; she would have liked to think that she had mentally prepared herself for this conversation and many others.

“I can’t quit.” Lexi responded.  JC started to protest, listing the many reasons why she should.  She just nodded and waited for him to stop for air, after all his heart was in the right place.   She needed to give him an answer that would put him at ease and she had promised never to lie to him, so what she said was the truth.  “I can’t quit, unless I find a new job.  My bills won’t pay for themselves.  I have been looking: I have a line on something but nothing has come through for me yet.  Do remember what you told me shortly after we met?  About it being easier if I didn’t care?  That’s not an emotion that you can turn off, you know?”

“I know, I just meant it would better for you if you could.  It doesn’t surprise me that you can’t, you’re a good person.  I just want you to be happy, we all do.” JC confessed.  She looked at him and smiled.  They locked eyes for a minute.

“I could never be happy knowing that you are here and what you are going through.  Even if I left tomorrow I would still worry about you and the others.  I can’t forget about you or pretend to not know what I know.”  Lexi explained.  She patted him on the knee.  It was nice to know that she cared but it was hard to see her like this.

“Swear to me that you are really looking for a new job and you’re not just telling me that so that I get off your case?”  JC begged.

“I swear to you that I am telling you the truth.  I told you that I wouldn’t lie to you guys.  You get enough of that from everyone else around here.  These things just take time.”  Lexi explained.  Her smile faded a little after she spoke and that worried JC.  She knew that JC could see how stressed that she was but it wasn’t just about Jade and work.  There was so much more to it and that too was taking time.  Lexi had to make sure that all this stress and hard work wasn’t for nothing.  Before JC could ask her what was wrong she leaned over and kissed him.

There was some hesitation on JC’s part as her hand found its way to the back of his head preventing him from pulling away from her, not that he wanted to.  But this wasn’t why he had sought her out; he was trying to get her to leave not give her a reason to stay.  Her lips were so welcoming it wasn’t long before he was kissing her back despite his brain telling him not to.

He opened his eyes to find that he was now face to face with Lexi as she straddled his lap, with no clue how she had gotten into that position without him realizing it sooner, he finally put his hands up in protest.  As she pulled away from him, she paused and took a deep breath.  This was the moment of truth.   She figured whatever emotion or expression was on his face when she looked at him, that was how he felt about her.

She was a little confused by what she saw.  His eyes were bright blue but watery as if he were about to cry.  His eye brows were positioned as if he was confused or conflicted.  He closed his eyes and wetted his lips almost like he wanted to kiss her again.  JC rested his hands gently on her thighs before hanging his head.

His emotions were running wild as the seconds felt like hours.  It was upsetting for him to think about.  If a woman that he had feelings for had kissed him like that a few years ago it would have made him as hard as a rock, but this time nothing physically happened, it couldn’t happen because of Jade.  They would never be able to share that kind of intimacy.  As much as he liked kissing her, he would always be left want more.

Lexi shifted and was about to get up when he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug, without warning he buried his face in her shoulder and started to cry.  She embraced him back and let his tears soak her hair and t-shirt while the sounds and sniffles and sighs filled her ears.  This wasn’t what she had expected.  But in all the time she had known him, she hadn’t really seen him cry, so maybe he was just long overdue.  Lexi let the warmth of her body comfort him.

“I don’t really want you to leave; I just want you to be happy.”  JC finally said pulling away from her enough to look her in the eyes.  His arms remained around her as if he thought it was the only way to keep her with him.  Lexi used her thumb to wipe away his tears causing him to rest his cheek against her palm.  He was saying everything that she needed him to say without actually saying some of it.  He had feelings for her that he himself couldn’t explain.  “The only thing I have to look forward to any more is seeing you.” JC added, letting a few more tears run down his cheek.

Lexi cringed on the inside, now he was just breaking her heart.  Isadora needed to work faster, Maybe she would if she knew how it felt to want something so bad.  In her head Lexi was begging for Chris’s future forgiveness for what she was going to have to do to speed her friend up.  JC started to say something again put Lexi quieted him by putting her finger to his lips.

“It’s okay JC, I know how you feel.  I don’t want to leave you either but I am going to have to find a better way to release my frustrations before I do get fired.  I need something to look forward to as well.  Promise me that you’ll meet me here every night so that you can at least say good-bye to me.  I have missed you the last few days, I know you are tired but I only need a minute of your time.” Lexi begged.  He held her hand and smiled a rare genuine smile.

“Only if you promise not to leave before I can get back here”