“I’m going to be late, I’m going to be late and that is going to be really, really bad.” 

Rylee sped through the parking lot of the recording studio and searched frantically for a space as she talked out loud to no one.

Today was the first day of her internship at an up and coming recording studio with and up and coming producer.  She was in her final year of grad school and this internship was the final step on her road to becoming a producer herself.

She was just going to be late and make a horrible first impression…that was all.

“Shit, shit!”  She slammed on her steering wheel and mashed on the break to avoid rear ending the car in front of her.  “Move! Asshole.”  Her road rage was at its peak and she was on the verge of tears when she finally spotted an open parking space.  “Oh, thank you, God.”

Rylee threw her truck into the open spot and quickly gathered her things.  She wasn’t paying attention as she anxiously exited her vehicle and she almost locked her keys in her car.  To add to her increasingly bad day, the heels that her sister had insisted she wear were killing her feet and the left heel snapped just as she reached the front door.

She was sure she looked like a complete mess as she approached the receptionist’s desk.

“Hi, I’m RJ Anderson, I’m here to see Justin Timberlake.”  The woman behind the desk raised an eyebrow in curiosity before pointing down the hall way.

“Room Three, he’s been waiting.”

“Great, thank you.”  Taking a deep breath, she hobbled (because of the damn broken heel) down the hallway and stood before the door with a large black 3 painted on it.  “Suck it up, RJ, this is your big break.”

When the door opened she was met with the sounds of male voices and a thumping beat.  All noise seemed to stop when everyone noticed the disheveled woman standing in the doorway.

“Can I help you?”  A masculine voice came from her left and Rylee turned to see a rather large man with intense facial hair staring her down.  He smirked when he spotted her shoe.

“Yes, I’m RJ Anderson; I was told that Mr. Timberlake was in this room.  I’m the new intern.”  If possible, it got even more silent and Rylee was inclined to hold her breath so she didn’t make any noise.

“You’re RJ?  Is this some kind of joke?”  A slightly higher pitched masculine voice came from a chair that had just turned around and Rylee noticed one of the most attractive men she’d ever seen.  His head was shaved and his eyes sparkled as he looked her over.  He had a day’s worth of growth on his face and it looked damn sexy.

Great, She though, If that’s my boss, I just know I’ll make a fool of myself at some point.

“No, no joke.  If it helps, RJ is short for Rylee-Jean.”

“No shit.”  The man stood from his chair and introduced himself.  “Well, I’m Justin Timberlake, and I’m sorry for the strange reception, I was just expecting a dude, that’s all.” 

It suddenly all clicked, and Rylee almost cursed.  This wasn’t the first time someone had mistaken her name for a man’s, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Timberlake.”

“Oh, call me Justin, please.  Mr. Timberlake makes me sound like some stuffy-assed business man or something.”  He chuckled and Rylee blushed as he proceeded to look her over.  “You might want to wear something more comfortable from now on; we spend a lot of time on our feet.”

“Oh Thank God.”  Rylee’s outburst was met with laughter and her face grew even more crimson.  “I don’t usually dress like this, but my sister thought I needed to make an impression so she conned me into wearing this ridiculous outfit.”  She motioned toward her skirt-suit and then cringed when she spotted her heels.

“Nice shoes.”  The man on the couch spoke again and she turned to give him a small grin.

“Thanks, I was going for the two different height thing, in case Justin was either really tall or really short.”  She earned another laugh from the group and chuckled herself.  After the laughter died down there was an awkward pause and she really didn’t know what to do.

“Well, come on in.”  Justin motioned her into the room and Rylee managed to take off her heels before tripping all over herself.  “That’s Trey, over on the couch, he doesn’t do much around here but he’s good for scaring people away.”  The big man with the facial hair nodded and waved.

“This is Brett, he’s my main sound guy and the man has an incredible ear.  You’ll be working with him a lot too, and I’ll have him show you around in a little while.”  He pointed to a skinny looking guy covered in tattoos and Rylee managed a small wave. 

“And that’s about it.  I like my staff to be small because we spend a lot of time together and the less people the less we fight about stupid shit.  I have another technician that comes and goes, Doug, but he’s not here today so you’ll have to meet him some other time.”

He motioned her farther into the room and pointed her toward a seat near the sound board and next to Brett.  “I’ve got to take off for now, we’ll be working together tomorrow.  Today, Brett is gonna show you the ropes and you’ll mostly just watch to see how everything works.”

Rylee nodded in understanding and watched as Justin made his rounds, slapping five and giving hugs to those in the room.  She admired the jeans that sat on his slim hips and the long sleeved t-shirt that hugged his chest and arms.  Maybe working here wouldn’t be so bad.  After all, there was one hell of a view right here.  Before he could catch her gawking at him, Rylee let her gaze flit around the room and she managed a wave and a goodbye as Justin left the room.

“Well, let’s get going.”  Brett started to show her everything around the studio and Rylee did her best to keep her head from spinning. 

~*~

Justin Timberlake liked to think of himself as a one woman man.  He hated the idea of cheating and he tried to be as honest about his feelings with women as possible.  Currently, he was dating a spit-fire of a woman named Christina and he was slightly infatuated with her.

But damn, if his new intern wasn’t a hot mess.

He chucked to himself as he made his way out of the building and toward the parking lot.  He was really expecting a young kid to walk in today of the male persuasion, but he was happy to be wrong.

Rylee seemed cute in her discomfort. Her blond curly hair had been pulled back into a clip and her pinstriped suit was hot.  When she took her broken heels off, he caught a glimpse of a small tattoo of music notes on her foot and he thought it was incredibly sexy.  He was looking forward to seeing what she could bring to his studio, especially since her resume and her demo tapes were incredible.

Thinking another girl was hot wasn’t cheating, he convinced himself, it probably wasn’t a good idea but it most certainly wasn’t cheating.  He just wouldn’t mention it to his girl that he thought another chick was cute.

She was currently camped out at his house trying to shake off some illness.  They had been hanging out a few nights earlier and suddenly she became violently ill, so he made her stay in bed and he’d been taking care of her for the past couple of days.

He liked Christina.  She was a sexy little Puerto Rican/ Canadian which made for an interesting combination.  The girl had a body to kill for and just enough innocence to make you wonder if she knew what she had going on.  That, and she was one of the funniest and most out going people he’d ever met, it was needless to say that he was instantly attracted to this girl.

They had met at a bar where she was working as a waitress, and he’d been foolish enough to hit on her that first night.  She rejected him, told him she was taken, but Justin Timberlake did not get turned down.  So he went to that bar every night for the next two weeks until she finally caved and went on a date with him.  Things got hot between them real fast, and here they were, a little over a month later.  

Pulling his car into his driveway he hurried up the walk with a grocery bag holding the ingredients for chicken soup.  Well, a can of condensed soup and some crackers, but he wasn’t claiming to be Martha Stewart. 

“Baby, you awake?”  He called up the stairs toward the bedroom but turned when he heard noise from the kitchen.

“In here, J.”  He turned the corner into the kitchen and caught site of Christina sitting on the counter in a pair of panties and a tank top.

“Well, damn girl, even sick as a dog you manage to look hot.”  She stuck her tongue out at him and hopped off the counter.

“I’m feeling much better, thanks.  I was looking for something to eat but I don’t think you’ve been shopping in months.”  Christina went to kiss him but he turned his head and she got his cheek instead.

“Sorry baby girl, I don’t want to take any chances and catch what you had…that shit was nasty.”  That earned him a smack on the arm, but he really couldn’t afford to be getting sick.  That, and it really was disgusting to hear her puking all night long.

“Did you bring me food, J?”  Grabbing the paper bag in his hands she started to rummage through it and gave a squeal when she found the can of soup. “Ooh…my favorite.”

Justin admired the view as she moved around the kitchen and put together some grilled cheese sandwiches to go with the soup.

“You remember that intern that I was telling you about?  RJ?”

“Yeah, the dude that was supposed to start today.  Is he a completely tool or something?”  She tested the soup to make sure it was hot enough and grinned in satisfaction when it met her standards.

“Yeah, that kid.  Turns out he’s not a dude at all.  It was a she.”

“No shit?”  Justin sat at the table and waited as Christina placed two bowls of soup down and the plate of sandwiches.  “You know, that’s strange because my best friend sometimes goes by RJ.”

“Rylee-Jean.”  Justin remembered the name that the girl had given him and sat back when Christina gave him an intense stare.

“Yeah, did I tell you that?”

“Tell me what?”

“That my best friend and roommate’s name was Rylee-Jean.  I know we’ve spoken about her but I thought I’d always referred to her as Ry.”  Christina took a sip of the chicken noodle soup and sighed when she felt the warmth slide through her chest and into her stomach.

“You didn’t tell me you’re best friend’s name was Rylee-Jean, that’s the name of my intern.  She sent in all her papers as RJ, which is why I thought she was a dude.”  He finished off his sandwich and soup and sat back in satisfaction.

“Holy shit.  I can’t believe she’s interning for you and didn’t tell me!  I know I’ve been away for a while, but this is huge!”  Pushing her bowl away from her and popping the last of her sandwich into her mouth, Christina stood and grabbed her cell phone off of the table.

It went straight to Rylee’s voice mail so Christina hung up the phone and tossed it back on the table.

Justin picked up their dishes and placed them in the dishwasher before heading back over to his girlfriend and leaning over with a grin.

“How much better are you feeling?”  He placed small kisses along her neck and collar bone which elicited a moan from Christina.

“I think I’m almost completely better…”  She grabbed onto his t-shirt and placed a rough kiss on his mouth.  She pushed him away and sauntered out of the kitchen toward the stairs.  “Maybe a little bit more time in bed will help that last little bit…”

Justin raced after her and grabbed her by the waist, carrying her up the stairs and into his bedroom.