Next day Lance woke up at Josh’s sofa with an unbearable headache. 

„Where am I…“ He murmured, while opening his eyes slowly. 

Justin was in the kitchen and noticed him waking up. With a cup of coffee in his hand, he went into the living room and let himself fall at the arm chair next to the sofa. Lance glanced at him, before he slowly raised his upper body.

„Hangover?“ Justin teased.

„Isn’t that obvious?“ Lance babbled. 

„Ya, you look like shit.“ 

„I hate you.“

Justin grinned sassy and took a sip. 

„Why don’t you have a hangover?“ Lance complained. 

„I know my limits. You obviously don’t.“ 

Lance showed him the finger. 

„Hey ehm… do you remember what I told you last night?“ Justin said next, turning serious. 

„No Bourbon in this world could make me forget what I learned last night.“ Lance answered. 

„So… how you gonna deal with that?“

„How you want me dealing with that?“ 

„I want you to keep quiet. I’m aware off, that keeping secrets is not what we usually do, but…“

„I know.“ Lance interrupted him. „I won’t tell anyone. I promise.“ 

„Thank you.“

„But… I don’t understand how you deal with this. I mean, why are you here? It must be torture seeing them together.“ 

Justin took another sip of his coffee.

„It’s not.“

Lance frowned.

„It’s not?“

„I’m happy for them. All I want is them to be good.“ 

„Honestly, hearing you say those selfless things is pretty… unusual…“ 

„But I mean it. Besides, I know that I can’t give her what she needs. She told me pretty clearly, that she’s not interested in me.“

„You told her how you feel about her?“ 

„She just knows that I’m having a crush on her. C does as well. But I never explained how serious my feelings truly are.“

„Man… I’m starting to feel pity for you… look what you’ve done…“ 

„I don’t need your pity, dude. Just keep that shit to yourself and things will be fine.“ 

„You’re sure about that?“

„Yes, I am.“

„So… you’re completely honest when you say, that you can see you best friend having the girl you want?“ 

Justin bent his body into Lance direction, before he replied. 

„C never loved someone the way he loves her. He even proposed. Neither of us believed he would ever get married. I would never take this luck away from him, even if I could.“ 

Lance looked at Justin for a moment.

„I want you to promise you’ll behave, no matter what.“ 

„I promise.“ 

Again they looked at each other, before Lance continued talking.

„What about Jess? If you have feelings for Eve, do you still regret that your marriage is over?“ 

„Of course I do. I didn’t want Jess to leave. It’s not like I stopped wanting my wife and the life we’ve shared. But she made it pretty hard for me to love her the way I used to. After a while my frustration about all the problems we’ve had became stronger than my feelings for her. I guess that’s the reason my heart started longing for another woman.“

Lance understood what his friend was saying.

„Thank you for sharing this, T.“

„Thank you for not judging me.“ 

Lance smiled. Then he laid down at the sofa again, grabbing his head. 

„I want coffee and breakfast now. I feel like dying.“ 

Justin rolled his eyes and stood up in the next moment. 

„Your husband called, by the way. He’s pissed off that you let him alone with the twins the whole night.“ 

„What did you tell him?“

„That you drink like a pussy.“ 

When Eve entered the office next Monday, she found Sarah being busy with another woman in front of her iMac. Both stood up when they noticed Eve coming closer.

„Good morning, boss. May I introduce you to our new receptionist?“ Sarah said proudly. 

Eve stopped in front of the desk and smiled. The new receptionist was in her early fifties, having dirty blond short hair and wearing a formal navy costume and big nerdy glasses.

„Good morning, Mrs. Miller. I’m Clara and very excited being part of your team.“ The woman said friendly.

Eve shook her hand. 

„It’s very nice to meet you, Clara. Please do me a favor and call me Eve.“ 

„Of course, Eve. Thank you.“ 

„I’m gonna introduce you to the staff in our team meeting at ten.“ 

„I can’t wait.“ 

Eve smiled once again and made herself on her way into her office.

„Ehm, Eve? Can I talk to you for a second?“ Sarah asked. 

„Sure. Let’s talk in the kitchen. I need coffee.“ Eve suggested. 

Sarah escorted her into the kitchen. While Eve made some coffee, she started to talk.

„Look, ehm… I realized, I never thanked you for the promotion and for your trust to hire a new receptionist on my own.“

Eve smiled at her.

„Clara is sweet. I have a good first impression.“

Sarah smiled back.

„Ya, however, thank you, Eve. I appreciate what you’re doing for me, despite the fact that I was not a nice person at the beginning.“

„You’re welcome.“

„Hey, before I forget. I want you to know, that Justin’s statement seems to calm people down on social media.“ Sarah said next.

Eve looked at her surprised. She didn’t know that Justin made a statement. When Josh and her returned home the prior night, he was already in bed and they didn’t talk.

„Well, that’s good news.“ Eve replied.

Then she grabbed her coffee, gave Sarah another smile and went into her office. As soon as she reached her desk, she let herself fall at her chair and grabbed her phone to check Justin’s statement. 

„Good morning, boss.“ Mateo said, entering the office few minutes later.

„Good morning, boss.“ Eve replied, still staring at her phone.

„What’s going on?“ He wanted to know.

„Justin made a public statement yesterday night.“

„Oh, I didn’t know. What did he say?“

„He explained, that Jess and him broke up and pointed out that neither of them is seeing someone else. He also said he’s aware of, that the fandom is looking for answers but asked for understanding that this is a private matter.“

„Did he mention you in any way?“

„No. But he said, that harming his family and friends by jumping into conclusions and making untrue statements is something he won’t tolerate.“

„Well done, Timberlake.“ Mateo said. 

Eve looked at him. 

„You think this will help?“

„Yes, I believe he made a smart move telling about their break up. I mean, it’s still a scandal, but he’s got things under control now.“ 

Few weeks later, Eve was sitting in Eric’s private jet opposite of Josh. She was stroking her baby belly and looking out of the window. Hiding her belly under wide clothes became senseless at this point as she was already five months pregnant. She was wearing a slim black knit dress, tights and comfortable black booties. Her hair was put together into a sleek bun and her make up delicate as always. Josh was watching her with a loving smile in his face. He was wearing dark jeans and a baby blue sweater. They expected cold weather in Germany during October. 

„What are you thinking about, honey?“ He asked curiously. 

„I’m thinking about my mom and what will happen when she learns about my new life on the other side of the planet.“ 

„I wished you were less tensed because of this.“ 

Eve looked at him and smiled.

„Don’t worry. I’m okay.“

The plane landed half our later in Dortmund. It was the closest airport to her small home town, where her parents were still living. Eve felt weird being back home after one year. If she was honest, she didn’t miss Germany for a single second. The fact that it was grey and cold outside didn’t help at all. 

„That weather is so depressing.“ She said, after picking up the keys for their rental car. 

Josh smiled. 

„I always liked all for seasons when we used to be here in the nineties.“ 

„How do you feel being back here after so many years?“ She wanted to know.

„It’s nice. I have countless amazing memories from that time.“ Josh explained. 

They found their white Merceds SUV in one parking lot in the next moment. 

„So…?“ She said, giving him an eager look.

„So what?“ He asked irritated. 

„You wanna drive or…“ 

Josh scoffed.

„Is this a serious question?“ 

„I’m just asking, honey. Maybe you feel more comfortable being just the co-driver.“ She teased. 

„I got this under control.“ He said and opened the driver’s door.

Eve smiled and entered the car as well.

„See, automatic gearbox.“ He added, being deeply relieved that the car wasn’t having a manual gearshift. 

„You know we need to take the highway, right?“ She continued teasing. 

„I’m not afraid of speed.“ 

Eve bit her lip, trying not to smile. 

„Okay…“ 

Half our later they reached their hotel. Josh parked the car in front of the building and gave Eve a self satisfied look. 

„I brought us here safely. This is the moment to admit, that your concerns were totally unnecessary.“ 

Eve bursted out laughing. 

„You’re so sweet.“ She said.

Josh frowned. 

„Why are you making fun of me?“

„It’s cute that you didn’t realize how often you’ve been bullied by other drivers from behind for blocking the left lane.“

„Excuse me?! I wasn’t blocking anything!“

„Driving 160 km/h on the left lane pisses people off.“ 

„I didn’t notice someone being pissed off!“

„I know you didn’t. It’s adorable.“