Justin cleared his throat and shifted in his seat with his eyes roaming over the screen of his phone. He could feel the heat raise up along the back of his neck. He felt Rachel burning a hole in his head. She had been giving him a look ever since they left the radio station hours ago and now they were on the way back to the hotel. He knew she felt some type of way about allowing Melanie to take the day off, but his intention was solely about the health of his new employee. She was shaken up from what Tiny told him and she looked visibly tired which only gave him evidence for his claim.

He was starting to get annoyed though by Rachel stare, he really didn't have time to always having to explain him when it came to Melanie, so he wasn't even going to entertain her. They finally pulled up to the hotel and the clock read 1:15 a.m. The doors opened and Justin quickly hopped out and bee lined it behind Eric, his bodyguard and front of ....Tiny his other one, while Rachel tagged beside.

 Melanie laid in the bed with the covers over her body and tucked underneath her arms, while she stared at the ceiling when she heard the buzz of her phone on the nightstand. She sat up turning on the side lamp and grabbed her phone and began going through it

You up?

She replied as she bite down on her bottom lip.

Yes.

Did you get the medicine?

Yes. I did along with the orange juice. Thank you so much feeling much better.

She couldn’t help, but smile when she arrived to her room after Justin had sent her back. She came back to little basket of cold medicine of sorts and two large bottles of orange juice waiting for her.

Good. Mind if I come down for a few minutes?

“And you would think after all these years they would give up on asking about Britney. Don’t get me wrong we are still good friends, but that’s about it and that will be what it is a friendship.” Justin went on to talk about his interview for the day as he sipped on his bottle of beer.

Melanie nodded as she sipped on her cold orange juice, resting against the arm of the couch with her legs tucked under a blanket, looking at him while sat on the other side. Justin came down to her room after getting to his room and taking a quick shower.

She watched as his dragged his fingers through his damp hair, adjusting his feet as they were propped up on the coffee table,” I hate to rehash shit, we both moved on she is engaged has two kids and you know I’ve been in other relationship since then. No need to keep bringing up shit.”

“I completely understand, it’s like re-opening an old wound.” She agreed, fiddling with the cap of her bottle aimlessly.

Justin tipped his drink towards her,” Exactly, my point.”

They sat in silence for a while taking an occasional sip of their drinks. Justin rested his head back against the couch and took a deep sigh, thinking of maybe calling it a night allowing her to get some more rest, that was until she spoke.

“I ran into my ex-husband.”

Justin slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at her face. She didn’t look at him, but had her eyes cast down at her drink.

“When?”

“At the coffee shop, the last person I expected to run into, or I prayed I didn’t run into. So, I know a lot about re-opening old wounds.” She scoffed, shaking her head. Justin sat up straight, turning his body towards as he watched this mystery woman slowly begin to open up.

He didn’t know what to say or what not to say, but he was going to take advantage of this moment,” How long were y’all married?”

Melanie looked up at him and he could see the glossiness of her eyes as she smiled small,” 8 years, we met in college, fell in love and the rest was history. So young and so naïve. He was my world and at one point I thought I was his. It just amazes me how much a person can change into someone you never thought in your wildest dream they could be.”

Justin nodded as he watched a tear roll down her cheek. He wanted so bad to reach out and wipe it away, but he didn’t want to startle her, or stop the process of this break ground with her. She was having a moment of vulnerability and he didn’t want to scare her off. Over the years, Justin learned when a woman was opening up to you with something that she would rather remain hidden, you had to respect that moment and give it all your attention. You just listened.

Melanie bite down on her bottom lip, wiping away the tear and began to pick at her blanket,” Seeing him, was like cutting open the wound and going deeper. It didn’t have time enough to heal. The pain was agonizing to the point it made me physical sick. It’s crazy how a person can have that much control over your emotions and not even know it.”

“What happened when you saw him?”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked at Justin once,” He said he wanted to work things out. You think it would be music to my ears right?”

He shrugged,” It could be. If you wanted it to be.”

“It wasn’t.” She clarified.

Then it was silence again, she didn’t speak and he didn’t move. Justin felt a sigh of relief when she made certain that she didn’t want to work things out with her ex-husband. He wasn’t so sure if his heart should have been so happy, but it was.

She never went further than that and he wasn’t mad. It was definitely a big step in the right direction. They sat there for another hour or so, turning on the TV to watch before Justin excused himself for the night excluding that he was see her in the early morning.

It had been a couple of days since that night. Justin schedule had definitely picked up like he said. They had early mornings and late nights. Everyone else was use to the contained chaos, but Melanie had to fight to keep her anxiety at bay even with the pills. It was hard to stay on a schedule with them, but she made it through. Now, they had an early end of the day and everyone insisted that they go out and relax for a while since tomorrow was less packed with places to go.

Rachel informed her that they were getting ready to head out of states to celebrate Justin’s approaching birthday.

“It feels great to be finally going out! I need a couple of drinks after the week we had.” JoAnn expressed as adjusted her curly jet black locks in the mirror, giving her outfit a once over before making her way over to the mini bar.

Ericka nodded her head in agreement as she hummed loudly to the music that was bumping through the hotel sound system. She leaned forwarded against the bathroom countertop, towards the mirror as she cleaned up the lip liner around her lips. While tucking at the hem of her skirt that threaten to expose both of her cheeks.

JoAnn happily untwisted three mini bottles of vodka and poured the same number of cups half with cranberry juice,” Vodka and Juice good for you Mel?”

Melanie looked up from her positon on the edge of JoAnn’s bed as she adjusted the straps of her black high heels, she smiled tucking a stand of hair behind her ear,” I’m a rum and coke kind of girl, but that’s fine.”

Joann squinted her eyes and nodding making a mental note of it for future references.

Ericka, once satisfied with her make-up emerged from the bathroom, shimming her hips to a Rihanna song as she met JoAnn half way while she passed out drinks.

“You definitely look to be a rum and coke kind of girl. Rum and coke is like an old drink, but not like scotch or bourbon type old. It’s a chill drink.” Ericka pondered as she walked around in search of her shoes.

Melanie chuckled taking a sip of her drink,” I could drink anything right now after this week.”

“Cheers to that.” JoAnn nodded taking a long sip over her drink and shaking her head to the burning feeling of the alcohol.

Erika looked at both of the ladies and smiled,” I propose we make a toast to relaxing and enjoy each other and possibly not having a major hangover.”

They all burst into laughter, pressing their cups together,” Cheers!”

The moment the doors opened, the music came screaming out you. The bass from the music raddled through your body. Eric covered the front end and Tiny covered the back as they made a path heading straight of the VIP section. It was a small set of stairs before entering into the large roped off area of the club that was placed in the back in a spot where you could see everything, and everyone and vice versa. Once everyone got settled in, the waitress taking care of the VIP began taking drink orders and soon everyone had a cup in their hand.

Melanie stood off to the side nodding her head and swaying her body a bit to the music. She took a sip of her rum and coke... mostly rum...as she watched the scene below leaning against the rail. The club was definitely live, full dancing and intoxicated bodies. It was almost to the point of being too crowded. It seemed everyone was keeping an eye towards the VIP after the DJ announced Justin was in the house. She watched as people made desperate attempts to get into the VIP, but Tiny and Erick weren’t having it.

Some even yelled in her direction as they tried to gain her attention in hopes of rubbing elbows with the Justin Timberlake, but she kept her eyes fixated ahead or wandering as she listened to the music.

She looked over her shoulder as some of the members of Justin’s entourage danced amongst them in the VIP, where Justin was lounging between Trace and Rachel. It had been a long time since she had a night out like this. She had intended on enjoying it.

She turned around and made her way over to the group," I'm going to head down to the dance floor." She said to no one in particular.

"We will go with you." Joann jumped up pulling along Ericka. They all headed down the small steps and out onto the main floor, pushing through the crowd until they reached the middle somewhat. Melanie began to dance, taking a long sip of her letting the warm liquid flood throughout her bloodstream instantly sending a warmth right in behind it. She just danced from side to side to the beat as it thumped through the speakers with the other girls.

Justin watched her from up top, taking a sip of his vodka and cranberry. She looked absolutely beautiful in the dress; it fit all her curves perfectly with leaving something to the imagination. He watched her body sway to the sound of the music as she chatted with the other girls. He had never seen her so carefree at the moment expect for their drive to Napa.

"She is a looker." Justin heard Trace over his shoulder. He looked back at him and nodded with a smirk before sitting back into the couch breaking his attention from her.

"Yeah she is." Justin shrugged sipping his drink.

"She kind of reminds me of Pocohatos. All Colors of the wind and shit."

Justin chuckled shaking his head as he sipped his drink again," You are ridiculous man."

Trace shrugged his shoulder with smirk," She could make a burlap sack look good. Lucky man."

"She's my assistant Trace." Justin added matter of factly.

"So, that doesn't stop her from looking good. So what is it you plan on doing for your birthday?" Trace asked eyeing him over his glass cup as he took a gulp.

"I'm thinking Barbados."

Trace nodded," Nice, definitely. Who is all going to be there?"

"You,Rach, the family, Jessica, Tiny and the girls."

"Does the include Melanie?"

Justin shrugged looking back at the dance floor," Yeah, why not?"

Trace watched him for a moment as his best friend became completely infatuated by this mystery woman right before his eyes. He knew that look in his eye and he had only seen that with one other person and that only ended with a broken heart. Maybe Rachel had every reason to be paranoid about this situation.

"Oh nothing, I didn't think you would you know since she just joined the team." Trace applied.

"It's no big deal, she's good people. Besides she Sanaa’s cousin. So I’m not worried.”

As the hours went on, Melanie made her way through the crowd and headed to the bar for bottle water. The heat from the surrounding bodies and the liquor made her sweat more than she liked and made her mouth very dry. She pulled at her dress a bit as it suctioned to her uncomfortably. As she made her way towards the bar, she was almost knocked down by a passing body," Whoa--"

A hand jetted out grabbing hold of her waist, before she toppled over in her heels," Sorry about that lit--"

She glanced up to pier into the eyes of her ex-husband with shock," Melanie???"

"Reggie" She pulled back once she was steady onto her feet. She could feel his eyes running over her slowly catching him licking his lips.

"You look really good. I mean really good." He said with almost disbelief in his voice. What did he expect her to look like? She hadn't felt good in a long time and the one night she felt a bit of normalcy. She had to bump into him not once, but twice in one week.

"Um, thanks." She attempted to turn and walk away, only getting a few feet before she felt his hand wrap around her arm gently pulling her back closely to himself.

"Hey Wait, wait don't run off this time.  Please Mel." He whispered against her ear that sent chill through her body. She couldn't remember the last time she allowed him that close to her. She closed her eyes slightly, when she felt his hands linger against her hot skin. It had been a long time since she felt a man's touch, but as much as she missed it she didn't want it from him. The images of the past couple of months came flooding in like a river. She shot her eyes open and pushed him away from her.

"Stop." she said shakily she could feel the familiar lump in her throat starting to form.

Reggie observed her for a moment, as he watched  her start to come apart slowly before his eyes. He sighed with frustration, he licked his lips shaking his head," I'm trying here Melanie I really am, but you are making this very difficult."

She snorted folding her arms against her body. “Stop trying.!"

"Melanie..." He reached out for her hand, but she pulled back quickly with a shake of her head.

“No Reggie." She said with a stern voice, walking past him heading back towards VIP. He threw his arm out before she got too far past him stopping her and pulling her back in front of him.

 Justin was standing over the little railing watching the scene down below him unfold. He noticed at once when Melanie had almost been knocked over by the guy. The look on her face shock and disbelief gave him a reason to believe that it happen to be someone she knew and didn't want to run into. So, he watched as he pulled her close she almost giving in to whatever he was whispering into her ear, until whatever went through her mind sends her railing back into reality. It seemed their reaction seem to go downhill from there.

Justin turned on his heels placing his drink down on a nearby table and made his way down the little stairs of the VIP section and headed off in direction of Melanie with Tiny and Eric calling after him, maneuvering through the crowd quickly.

'Throw me a fucking bone here Melanie, what do you want to hear? I'm sorry. I'm sorry alright? I'm sorry." Reggie shouted at her causing her to draw back with her arms around her body.

Tears threaten to fall from her eyes as her heart beat rapidly in her chest. He continued to talk, but she couldn't hear him. She could feel a panic episode start as she continued to try to bypass him. She couldn't breathe; she had to get out her eyes darted around her to find a gap in between the crowds of people to make a hasty exit. Off to left of her a small gap appeared open slowly and she saw Justin coming through heading directly towards them quickly.

Reggie pulled her arm a bit to regain her attention, by then Justin was upon them and he step slightly in front of her creating a distance in between her and ex. Justin locked eyes with her, but didn't speak because he didn't have to his eyes said everything.

"Yo man, excuse me I'm talkin' here." Reggie voiced with his heavy Brooklyn accent, hint of annoyance.

Justin didn't move," You okay?" He asked loud enough for her to hear, but she couldn't speak as she heaved.

Justin frowned as he took in what was going on. He reached down and took hold of her hand, whispering into her ear," I'm going to get you out of here."

He felt the squeeze of her hand around his. He turned around and proceeded to move around Reggie, but he blocked them," Yo ain't you that Timberlake cat?"

Justin shot him a glare before tighten his grip on her hand and pulling Melanie closer behind him, “Move man."

They stared each other down, neither one of them moving an inch until their intense glares was interrupted by Tiny," Everything good here boss""

Tiny had been watching the reaction a few feet over and hadn't planned on interfering until they stood there looking as though they were a bout knock fist at any  moment and the onlookers were definitely a problem.

Justin looked at Tiny for a moment and pulled Melanie from behind him," Take her out for some air, I'll be there in a minute."

Tiny took hold Melanie's arm as tears began falling down her cheeks as she struggled to breathe, but grabbed hold off Justin's arm with pleading eyes,"  Please don't worry about it."

"Yo Melanie you get out to L.A. and you fucking celebrities and shit. I see how you do no wonder you don't want to work on us.  You got little slim shady over here." Reggie chuckled disbelief sizing Justin up and down.

Slim Shady??

Justin thought.

 I got your Slim Shady bitch.

Just as Justin was about to say something smart, Melanie tugged hard on his arm, "Please!"

She stressed as she dropped her hands and headed straight to the front door unable to breathe as she began to hyperventilate. She pushed her way through the crowd forcefully getting a couple of stares and sly remarks before she reached the outside gasping for air in the brutal cold temperatures.

It felt good against her skin for a few seconds that cooled off her body and slapped her arms around her body and began to shiver. She stood for a moment breathing in and out trying to calm herself before going inside to grab her coat and ask to be taken back by the hotel.

She felt a coat being placed over her shoulders as she looked behind her to see Justin wrapping her in it and pulling her close to his side, “Tiny is bringing the car around."

He kept his head down as out of nowhere came flashing cameras and a crowed. Eric was behind shielding them from the probing cameras. Melanie ducked her face down pulling the flabs of the collar around her face,” Back up guys no pictures!"

They shouted out his name and asking who Melanie was constantly, before she felt Justin move along to the curb and help her into the car, sliding in beside her and closing the door, muffling the noise to the chaos. Melanie shivered as they cranked the heat pushing out the cold air first. She buried her face into her knees. She was so embarrassed she couldn't bear to look at anyone. She let the tears fall quickly one after the other, but she didn't dare mutter a sound, or at least try not too that was until she felt his large hand skim over her back and giving a tight squeeze of her arm.

The ride back to the hotel was quiet, expect for Melanie's muffled cries. Justin rubbed her back, but it only seemed to make her cry harder. So, he sat back, but remained close. Once they arrived, Tiny secured the front first and guided them back inside. Melanie furiously away the tears from her cheeks, Justin watched in the reflection of the elevator doors as she kept her head down sniffling.

The doors open to her floor and she stepped out quickly making her way down the hall. Justin stepped out and turned around to Tiny shaking his head,” I got this. I’ll call for you when I’m ready to go up.”

Tiny nodded with hesitation before hitting his floor numbering and watching as Justin followed behind the woman. He looked over at Eric and they both shook their head.

Melanie stood at the door slipping in her key, she could feel Justin behind her, but didn’t care. She pushed up the door and tore of her jacket pulling her cell phone from her purse disappearing into the bathroom locking the door behind her.

She pressed her back against the cold door and slid down it slipping out of her shoes along the way down. She pulled her knees up into her chest and wrapped her arms around them bursting into tears.

Justin stood on the other side listening to her muffled cries.  He felt the strings of heart pulling hard. He never was very good at women crying, it tore him apart. He never knew what to say or do, but hold them if he could, but he couldn’t with her. She locked herself away.

He sighed pushing his forehead against the door,” Melanie, if you need me I’ll be right here.”

She only responded with firmer cries.

He shook his head, squatting down as sitting against the wall by the door.

 He was a man of his word.