Chapter 5:
“How was dinner last night?” Madison asks Mina, passing her Starbucks order the next morning at the office.
“Thank you. I need caffeine in an IV today!”
“That bad huh?”
“Too much wine, plus I barely slept. So yes, that bad” Mina replies, chugging down her latte, not caring about how hot it was.
“Are you gonna talk about it?”
“Talk about what?”
“Min… stop playing dumb”
“I’m fine Mads. Yes, I work too hard but I’m proud of that. On the business front, dinner was fine. I think that I have some ideas on where to start. On the personal front, it was a dumpster fire”
Madison nearly spits out her coffee.
“We talked about old times, got caught up but then he asked when I started to hate him” Mina explains.
“You mean he doesn’t…?”
“Remember? Oh yeah? You think guys remember these things but OH NO not Mr. I’m Such Hot Shit I Was in NSYNC Chasez”
“Rather long but go on” Madi stifles a laugh “Let it out” she adds.
“I’m done” Mina states, sitting back down in her chair “We’re professionals. I can handle this, he’s just a client”
“Proud of you” Madison raises her coffee cup in a toast
“Only because I’m feeling feisty, how about we set up a lunch with Miss Charlotte and get her ideas? He’ll hate it” Mina asks with a Cheshire Cat grin.
Charlotte and JC were waiting for Mina and Madison at the restaurant a few days later where they arranged to meet for lunch. Mina wasn’t expecting JC to be there.
“Thanks for meeting with us,” Madison states, pulling out her chair and sitting down. Charlotte grins excitedly while JC looks like he rather be anywhere else in the world right now.
“Yes, thanks for meeting with us! Let’s talk ideas” Mina adds, avoiding JC’s eyes and focusing on Charlotte.
“I have tons of ideas! There’s this new club that just opened off Hollywood Boulevard, I can’t remember the name of it though but amazing DJ from what my friends have said” Charlotte begins
“That’s a good start. I’ve also got a few venues in mind. There’s this club- the Roosevelt that is like an Old Hollywood smoking lounge. We can either have the party while the club is open to the public or they are available for private events. There’s a separate VIP entrance if we choose the first option. Do you have a theme in mind, invitations, have we thought about food?” Mina asks, firing off a million questions at once.
“We work with a particular bakery for most events. Their cake is out of this world! Whatever you imagine, they can make it happen” Madison states.
“Could they make it vegan? Charlotte asks
“Why? I’m not” JC suddenly chimes in. He had been sitting quietly, looking annoyed for the most part.
“I know babe but most of my friends are” Charlotte turns away before she could see JC roll his eyes. If he was warming up to the thought of a party he didn’t plan on Charlotte inviting all her friends. Madison catches his expression and quickly changes the subject.
“I’ve got to use the restroom. Charlotte come with?”
Charlotte agrees and they excuse themselves leaving Mina and JC at the table together. They sit in silence.
“Asking Char for ideas? Nice touch” JC laughs breaking the awkward tension.
“She’s your girlfriend. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. This was all her idea in the first place, remember?”
“I’m sure you’ve got better ideas. I really do just want this to be a simple event”
“Give her a break like I said she is your girlfriend” Mina replies with a hint of snark. “Have you thought about the guest list? Will your parents be here or Tyler or Heather?” she continues
“Not sure. They might fly out. I…uh haven’t asked”
“No problem.” Silence fills the air once again.
“Listen Mina-” JC starts but is interrupted by the return of Madi and Charlotte.
“You didn’t finish the plans while we were gone did you?” Charlotte giggles.
“Just talking invites”
“Oh! I saw this thing where someone sent recorded video invites to each guest. Babe, isn’t that a cute idea?” Charlotte suggests
“Sounds great!” JC replies dryly.
“We can look into it,” Madison responds. Mina sighs internally.
“I liked the video screens at the MTV party. Could we do something like that?” Charlotte asks Mina.
“Possibly. Depends on the venue we choose but that’s a definite possibility”
“I was thinking we could have a slideshow of pictures of JC from over the years”
Madison glances at Mina. That was the first idea out of Charlotte’s mouth that they didn’t hate. Suddenly their lunch arrives so they take a break from planning.
Mina was thankful when the end of lunch came. Charlotte had left a bit early, had another meeting to attend with some makeup brand or producer or something. She honestly wasn’t paying that much attention to her.
“I’ll reach out when I get everything together,” she tells JC, awkwardly shaking his hand. He smiles in return and leaves.
“That couldn’t have been more awkward,” Madison laughs. They were in her car on their way back to the office.
“You’re telling me”
“Min. I know you don’t want to talk to him about what happened but you’re going to have to. So much sexual tension during that meeting you could have cut it with a knife”
“I know. I know… it's gonna make things even more awkward”
“Maybe, maybe not. What if he feels the same way?”
“The same way? Madison Ryan Morgan! I am not in love with JC Chasez!”
“Could have fooled me”
“Let me rephrase… I’m not in love with him, anymore!”
“Whatever you want to tell yourself Min” Madi laughs “Remember that doctor I went out with a few times?”
“Yes… why are you changing the subject. Madi… I told you no more setups”
“I know you did but even though it didn’t work out with us he’s got this great friend. His name is Alex, he’s a pediatric oncologist at Cedars-Sinai. I think you’d like him” Madison explains with a grin.
“Okay okay…fine!” Mina reluctantly agrees. Madison grins the rest of the drive.
