Chapter 20: Joint Venture

            There was a knock on the door; Isadora got up to answer it.  She wasn’t surprised to see Lexi standing there since she had invited her over but her friend seemed a little stressed when she should be happy.

“Is everything okay?” Isadora said.

“Depends, you did buy ‘N Sync today right?” Lexi asked.  Isadora just nodded, though still unofficial as of that moment but the offer was on the table and they were just waiting on paper work. “Good, that is one less thing I have to worry about.”

            “You should join me for an early dinner; we can talk about what happened today and come up with a plan.” Isa explained.  “You seem stressed is everything okay?”

            “I will be better when this is over.  We can talk about it all at dinner, you ready to go now or are we waiting?” Lexi offered.  Isadora just smiled and grabbed her coat.  It was clear that Lexi needed a friend right now.  She was ready to accept that role.  They left the hotel and headed straight for one of Isadora’s chain restaurants.  After all why pay for food when you own a restaurant?  They were seated right away in a private booth of course.  The car ride had been mostly silent and that worried Isadora.  Two friends that had not seen each other in such a long time should have more to talk about.

            “I am so over this, please tell me that everything went fine today and this will all be over soon.  I mean you saw the guys last night they look awful.” Lexi said once that waiter left. 

            Isadora carefully explained the details of the sale; Lexi hated the idea of a severance but understood why they needed it.  It would take time to get things settled and the paperwork all in order.  She spared Lexi most of the boring details, just noting that she got the rights to all their music and stuff.   

            “Chris told me that nothing happened in the bathroom last night.” Lexi added once the conversation got a little stale.

“He must really trust you, I told him not to tell anyone.  ” Isadora explained.  She wasn’t mad that he told if nothing else it confirmed Lexi’s story about the guys trusting her and made herself look more appealing as an employee. 

“I think he was fishing for something.  He may have made a connection between the two of us.  I guess it doesn’t matter in the end surely they will see that I did it for the right reasons. ” Lexi said.  Isadora nodded, last night it was clear that the guys couldn’t possibly do any worse than Jade.

“I went in there with him because I needed Jade to think that something did happen and that I was as stupid as I am young.  I couldn’t tell you because I didn’t think I could without someone else over hearing.  And yes Chris did appear to be on to us.” Isadora explained.  “he was acting weird though, like he was terrified to go in the bathroom alone.  I didn’t know what to do, I just wanted to help him somehow.”

            “Chris was in the bathroom with you, apparently turned on, and you mean to tell me that you did nothing?” Lexi questioned.

            “Well yes and no.  I sat on the counter with my eyes closed while he took care of himself.  I may have helped out a little bit teasing him with sexy noises but I can’t be sure if that was actually helpful or not.” Isadora explained.  She was very honest about what had happened, after all it was kind of funny.

“So you had a sexy boy band member jerking off a few feet from you and you just sat there?” Lexi questioned.  This conversation had just gotten very interesting.  Both women laughed a little.

Isadora admitted that she may have peaked just a little when curiosity got the best of her.  It was nice to know what Chris had to offer her in the future.  She swore that she didn’t touch him but the thought had crossed her mind more than once.  It didn’t bother Lexi that she may have peaked, if anything it made her feel a little better and least she got something for her money.

They talked about what to expect from Chris going forward, it was unclear how the singer would react to being bought by a woman that openly admitted to wanting him in more ways than one.  Isadora expected there to be complications and she was admitting to having plans for him, none that would be too unpleasant for him of course.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Lexi finally asked.  Isa just nodded and waited for her to ask, though she hoped that Lexi knew that she could ask her anything.  “How much exactly did it cost you to have Chris for the evening, with no limitations?”

Isadora thought it was an odd question but she had nothing to hide. She fished the receipt out of her purse just as the waiter brought their main courses and set in on the table in front of Lexi.  She carefully looked it over and smiled.  It wasn’t as much as she thought it would be but the price may have recently come down when people started complained and demanded refunds.

“So this sale is pretty much a done deal right and you are going to hire me when it’s over?” Lexi asked with a smile.  Isadora could see the gears turning in her head.

“What are you thinking?” Isadora asked.

“Can I borrow some money?” Lexi wondered out loud.  Isa just shot her a confused look, it wasn’t what she had expected her friend to ask.  “I will pay you back I promise.  There is just something that happened today and I want to prove a point, mostly to myself.  I would need about that much money maybe just a little more.” She pointed to the receipt.  Lexi was still mad that Jade had made such a big deal about her ‘stealing’ from her.  Maybe with Isa’s help she could afford a little more time alone with JC.  Not that he would complain about it at all and it wasn’t like they didn’t have something to celebrate.  It looked like she had just landed that great new job. 

“Can I ask why you need the money?” Isadora asked after Lexi’s long pause.  Her friend debated on telling her why, but maybe she would be more likely to loan her money if she knew why.

“Because I think Jade lied to you and I can prove it.  I bet if I offer to pay for an evening of pleasurable company with JC, she will take my money and not tell you.”  Lexi explained.

“Oh I know she would.  That could make things interesting; it would be a clear violation of our agreement.  If she signs the paper work before you do that I could nail her for breach of contract.  But I have to ask why JC.  Is there something going on there that I should know about?” Isa asked.

She told herself that she wouldn’t admit to it, in fear that Isadora would use it against her.  But she was starting to trust her friend again and if she knew then maybe they could make another deal to insure that they could be together in some way, that is if JC still wanted her after this was over.  She would never force him to love her.

“I can’t explain it, it’s a weird situation.  I have feelings for him but I don’t know if he has any for me.  I mean he is basically a prisoner now and it could be nothing.  If I got him alone maybe I could figure out what it really is.  I guess he could be using me.” Lexi rambled on while her friend just smiled at her, she was over thinking this.  “I think I might be in love with him.”

This was starting to explain why she was so willing to tempt her with Chris and it also meant that she could not judge her for going after him after they got settled in.  But with her ‘owning’ JC, his love life and overall happiness was her concern.

“I guess we will have to see what happens.  I wouldn’t take it to heart if he is a little upset with you at first.  Maybe a date night is just what the two of you need, but I won’t be placing any bets on Jade sticking to our agreement.  I am not a fan of hers and I expect only the worst from her.” Isadora explained.  She quickly wrote Lexi a check and handed it to her as if it was nothing.  It wasn’t about the money after all; it was about reestablishing their friendship.  And Isa was hoping that she would not only see a return on the investment placed on the guys, but also some new music for her iPod.

            Isadora wasn’t that dumb, she wanted to restore them to what they once were.  A happy healthy ‘N Sync is much more profitable than that lip synching train wreck she saw last night.  And she knew what the guys could do on their own, which is what the fans liked before.  They shouldn’t be slaves they should be free to do what they want but their government wouldn’t allow them to be free, the freest as you can get as a man is to get married and that is only because they promised to Love, Honor and Obey their wife. They break that promise and they get divorced, then it’s back to being a slave.

            Isadora thought she could give them the ability to do what they want while still appearing to be in control to the rest of the world.  The Supremacy System had become corrupted and is being abused by women like Jade Gaillard. They would only use it for its original purpose.  It was a good idea in theory.  Men were the stronger sex but also the more violent one.  It was meant to protect women from that violence but it just made them a little power hungry.  She didn’t think you guys were dangerous but to be on the safe side it’s nice to have a backup plan.  They would only use it in an emergency.  As much as Lexi hated it, she couldn’t start a fight yet.  It’s just like everything else that has happened in the past, in time people will realize that it’s not right but they needed more people on their side before they could start another war.

“If you need training we can arrange that but I want you to be more of their personal assistant, as opposed to their baby sitter.  I have higher expectations for them, and you, but I have enough on my plate I can’t be there to boss them around all the time.” Isadora explained bring the conversation back to the issue at hand.  Isadora loved what she did for a living but it didn’t leave her much ‘free’ time.   “We have to work within the current system, I hope you understand that.  The government sees the guys as property but I would give the guys everything they need to do their own thing.   They have proven that they can be successful without female control.  I can give them the freedom they need to be great again.” Isadora promised.  She wasn’t going to say it but seeing a return on her investment would be nice.  “But I need you to help me.  The guys already trust you.  You can’t put a price on trust.”

She couldn’t explain it but Lexi believed Isadora.  The woman was brilliant that much was true; she had built an empire out of nothing but a bunch of great ideas.  The fact that Isadora was even telling her all of this said a lot. 

“I guess I need to spend the next few days packing up the stuff I want to take with me.  I can’t believe that we are moving in together.” Lexi beamed.  It only made sense that they moved into together since they would be spending most of their time together.  Isadora was already renovating her massive house to accommodate the 6 new boarders.  She wanted them to be comfortable.

“I hope you and the guys will like New York.  I thought about moving to Orlando but I just can’t afford to move and buy a boy band.” Isadora explained.