Eve and Justin agreed meeting at Starbucks. She parked her car in front of the coffee shop. Justin’s driver parked across the street.

„There she is,“ the driver said, when Eve exited her car. 

„Ya, wish me luck.“ 

Justin opened the door and hurried into Eve’s direction. She was wearing denim shorts, a grey sweatshirt and white sneakers. Her hair was put together into a messy bun. She wasn’t in the mood putting more effort in her look and covered her undone face behind big sunglasses. 

Justin stopped standing in front of her and smiled.

„Hi.“

„You’re buying,“ she replied coolly. 

„Okay but… can you place the order?“ 

„No.“ 

„Why are you so angry? I did nothing wrong.“

Eve scoffed. 

„Don’t you dare claiming that.“ 

Justin gave her an irritated look. She turned around and walked inside. He followed her with little distance. 

Eve found a free table in a quiet corner and let herself fall at an armchair. Justin went to the counter. He was also wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, hoping the cashier wouldn’t recognize his face.

Few minutes later he sat down opposite of Eve and handed over a cup of her favorite coffee. She grabbed the cup and took a sip. 

„So…?“ he started talking. 

„So what?“ 

„Do we keep our sunglasses on in closed rooms now?“ 

Eve put her sunglasses off and put them at the table. Justin did the same. 

„You look cute without make-up.“ 

„I know,“ she replied boldly. 

He smiled at her and took a sip. 

„May I ask what exactly I did wrong?“ 

She gave him a stern look. 

„I don’t know where to start.“ 

He raised his eyebrows, truly being surprised about her anger. Eve continued talking.

„Why you showed up at the office to ask me out for coffee? Why you asked for my number? Why you didn’t leave me alone at the anniversary party?“ 

Justin cleared his throat. He wasn’t prepared for this kind of conversation with her and needed a moment to sort his mind. 

„What do you think?“ 

„Stop asking counter questions, Justin. This is brutally annoying,“ she complained. 

He gave her a sheepish look.

„Um… I… I wanted to make C jealous…“ 

Eve opened her eyes wide. 

„Excuse me?!“ 

„I knew he likes you. A lot. But he didn’t allow himself to do anything, as he believed you were off limits. That’s why I provoked him to make him cross the line.“

Eve was processing hard. 

„So… you played with my feelings just to make him wanting me?! I believed you liked me, Justin. Do you think this was fair what you were doing?!“ she blamed him harshly. 

Justin didn’t realize he made her feel this way and felt awful.

„Um… I… damn, Eve… I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to hurt you… fuck…“ 

Eve was shaking her head in disgust.

„You both suck so much.“ 

„Look.“ Justin continued talking. „It wasn’t meaningless… I did this to provoke C but… honestly… if he decided not stopping me, I wouldn’t have stopped.“ 

Eve gave him a confused look, waiting for more explanation. Justin knew he needed to give her the whole truth. He took a deep breath.

„I told him I would make you mine, if he didn’t do it himself. And I meant it.“ 

Eve continued staring at him, being completely speechless. 

„Um… could you say something…?“ Justin asked sheepishly. 

Eve just shook her head. He cracked a shy smile. 

„C was so mad at me. I never made him that furious with my behavior before. I was really afraid he would hurt me at some point. There was no way he would let me have you. There was no way.“ 

„Well…“ Eve finally said. „Human behavior can be very frustrating sometimes. You want something you can’t have. But when you get it, you suddenly lose interest.“

Justin frowned. 

„What makes you believe C lost his interest in you?“

„Because when he faced the consequences of being with me, he treated me like shit, Justin.“ 

„He just panicked.“ 

Eve scoffed cynically. 

„Ya… I agree to that.“ 

Justin took another deep breath. 

„C wants to protect his lifework. His label has the potential becoming real big, Eve. He panicked because he broke his own rules to be with you. Putting his personal desires above his business made him believe it would cause damage to his reputation. But that’s not what is happening. People gossiping about him will not harm his work. They still respect him and they still have trust in his abilities. He just needed a moment to realize that.“ 

Eve gave him a deep look. 

„What about my reputation?“ 

„Your reputation?“ 

She nodded. 

„If he thinks anyone cares about him in that story, he must be an idiot.“ 

Justin wasn’t sure, if he understood what she was trying to say. Eve noticed, that he got lost and bent into his direction.

„He’s a man, Justin. Nobody gives a shit, if he’s fucking around. But I am the slut who’s spread her legs for the boss. Although I knew sleeping with him would kill my reputation, I dared believing he would protect me, if things came out. Unfortunately he just panicked and made me feel like a slut, who just spread her legs for the boss.“ 

Justin stared at her, being kind of shocked. He didn’t know how to reply.

Eve put her cup at the coffee table and stood up. 

„Thanks for the coffee.“ 

„Why are you leaving?“

„Because there’s nothing more to say.“ 

Justin watched Eve leaving the coffee shop. At the same time his phone started ringing. 

„Ya?“ 

„You still want me to follow her?“ 

„Yes.“

„But it’s creepy.“ 

„Just do it.“ 

He hung up and looked out of the glass window. Eve entered her car and left the parking lot. His driver did the same and drove behind her with little distance.

In the meanwhile JC was sitting in the studio with Jim, being completely absentminded. 

„Dude…?“ Jim asked him, but JC was just staring into space. 

„Dude???“

He still didn’t react.

Jim shook his shoulder to get his attention. JC returned back to reality and gave him an annoyed look. 

„What?“

Jim raised his eyebrows. 

„What the fuck happened to you, hm? You’re completely lost in thoughts.“ 

„Nothing. I’m just not in the mood for this.“ 

„You told me to be in the studio before noon and now you’re not in the mood?“ 

„Yes.“ 

JC stood up. Jim crossed his arms and cracked a smile. 

„It’s about that girl.“ 

JC just gave him a stern look. 

„What did you do, hm? Did you screw things up?“ Jim continued talking. 

„What makes you believe this has something to do with Eve?“ JC talked back. 

„So it is about Eve.“ 

JC rolled his eyes and put on his jacket. 

„Could you sit down and talk to me, please?“ Jim said next. 

„I’m not here for therapy session, Jimmy.“ 

„Come on, man. If you don’t wanna talk about it, fine. But let’s use your emotions to create something. You’re the best when deep things are going on in your mind and you know it. That’s why you told me to be here early. You wanna write about it, but I believe you don’t know how to start. So put off that jacket and let’s figure it out together.“ 

JC looked at him for a moment. Then he did what Jim was asking for and returned to his seat. 

„It’s a ballad,“ he started explaining. 

„Good.“

„It’s about being better than love.“

Jim smiled all over his face. Then he patted JC’s shoulder. 

„I already love it, bro. Let’s get started.“