My biggest gripe about the music industry has to be the over-exposure and the tabloids.  Second to that?

Stupid ex-girlfriends and asshole ex-boyfriends (Abbey’s, of course). 

I have been dealing with way too many conference calls and e-mails about all the shit that John was spouting off the other night.  Of course, Jill doesn’t give a rats ass because any exposure for her is good exposure. I, on the other hand, like to try and stay out of the gossip rags as much as possible.  I would also like to keep Abbey’s name relatively untarnished, but now I’m not so sure that’s going to happen.

It plays in our favor that John is a nobody and has no credibility, but it looks bad that Jill said nothing to contradict him.  Unfortunately, I have to call her up and kiss ass so she’ll make a statement claiming that John’s an unstable asshole and nothing he said was correct.  I hope she goes along with it, I really do.

Poor Abbey has been completely freaked out by this whole thing.  She’s never really had to deal with all this before, and she’s taking it all kinda hard.  I can’t blame her, either.  It’s never fun to be called a whore that sleeps with her boss to get someplace.  She’s also been avoiding my place because there are paps camped outside my front gates.  Stupid fuckers.  I think it’s sad that these people can make their livings off of the misery of others.  Luckily for Abbey, she lives in an apartment complex that has a guard booth and only residents or guests with specific permission can get in.  At least she doesn’t have to worry about being accosted at home.

I lean back in my office chair and stare at my computer screen for a second before picking up my phone and dialing Jill’s number.

I supposed I should get all this over with.

As the phone rings, I type a message to Abbey, letting her know that I’m making the call.  She’s at her apartment.  Gotta love technology.

TigersFan81: I’m calling Jill now.  Wish me luck.  

MeanMrMustard: Luck.  Make sure to tell me what she says!  

Jill’s ringback tone is Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and I roll my eyes a little.  She only picked this song because I said it was cool once.  She doesn’t have a varied taste in music.

“Hello?  Jill Hawkins speaking.”

“Hey Jill, it’s Justin.”  There’s a pause on the other end before her sickeningly sweet voice comes back over the line.

“Justin! How are you? It was so great to see you the other night.”  I don’t believe her brightness for one second.  She was never that excited to hear from me, even when we were together.

“I’m all right.  And I’m actually calling about the other night.”

“Oh?  What’s up?”  Like she doesn’t know. Ha!

MeanMrMustard: What’s she saying?   

TigersFan81: nothing yet, patience Jude. Give a guy some time…sheesh!  

MeanMrMustard: yeah, yeah, yeah…talk faster!  

“Well I’m sure you’ve heard all the rumors that have been swirling around lately about me and Abbey.  I was hoping that you might be able to help me out with those.”

She giggles on the other end and I would like to know what’s so funny.  “Justin, you know that no one would really believe that you and I are dating.  I don’t think that we should pretend to be together just to take the heat off of Abbey.  It’s just part of the business.  She should really learn to deal with it.”

How did I not notice her stupidity when we were together?

“Uh…that’s not what I meant.”  I pick up a pen from my desk and start tapping it against the surface in front of me.  I really wish I didn’t have to do this.

“Oh.  Oops.”  She giggles again. “What do you need then?”

“I was hoping you might be willing to make a statement on Abbey’s behalf.  It would be helpful if people heard from you that John was full of shit.”

There’s a pause on the other end and I can almost hear her thinking.  “You know, John was only reacting to what he saw between the two of you.  Abbey really hurt him.”

This time I let out a laugh, except it much more bitter than her previous giggle.

TigersFan81: She’s defending the bastard!  

MeanMrMustard: I always knew she was an idiot.  Either that or he’s paying her a hefty sum.  And he says I’m the whore.  

“First of all, Abbey and I were not together when she was with John.  In fact, it was probably two months later before we started dating.  Secondly, he brought on all the hurt in that relationship.  Calling someone a slut is no way to gain affection.”

“Maybe she shouldn’t have been acting like a slut.”  I’m so shocked that I actually drop the phone into my lap.  Fumbling, I pick it up again.

“Excuse me?”  I don’t think I’ll be telling Abbey about this part of the conversation.  I don’t need her to track Jill down and beat the shit out of her.  Although, it would be fun to watch.

“Face it Justin, she was always all over you.  If I weren’t such a strong woman I would’ve felt insecure about your friendship with her.” 

“Wow.”  I can’t find any more words at the moment.

MeanMrMustard: any good news for me, Bossman?  I’m dying over here.  T

igersFan81: Hold on, Jude.  I’ll call  you when I’m done.  Sorry love L  

Jill clears her throat and the noise brings me back to the conversation at hand.  “How the hell did you hook up with John, anyway?”

She pauses, “We met at the Memphis stop of your tour.” 

Suddenly it all makes sense.  The distant attitude, the claim that she was staying with a friend the night that the shit hit the fan with Abbey and John…she was really shacking up with the ass munch.  I can’t believe I didn’t see it then.  Of course, I can’t imagine any girl that would want to be with a guy like John, but again, Jill’s proven herself to be an idiot.

“You’ve been with him since then?”

Another pause on her end and I know it’s the truth even if she doesn’t admit it.  “Yeah, we met in the bar the night you hit him.  Things with us were just so…crumby, and he was being really sweet and everything.  I felt bad for the guy because you had all ganged up on him over Abbey!  He just wanted to spend time with his girlfriend and she was totally ignoring him to hang all over you.  He’s a really nice guy, Justin.”

“Yeah, well, congratulations.”  I all but growl.  They’re perfect for each other, really.  “Listen, you don’t have to make a statement, just do me a favor and try to keep John from spouting his mouth anymore, please?”

“As a favor to you, all right.”  She sounds as if I just asked her to swim the English Channel.

“Thanks.”  I end the conversation quickly.  I don’t think I can take much more of listening to her and her stupidity.  That girl has lost some brain cells or something.  I never thought she was this idiotic.

Taking a deep breath, I pick up my phone again to call Abbey.  She’s left me about five IMs asking if I’m done talking yet.  Brat.

“Well?  Is she going to make the statement?”  Her voice is hopeful.

“Hello to you, too, Jude.  I’m doing great, thanks for asking.”  I smirk at her exasperated sigh.

“Fine.  Hey Justin, how are you?  Good? Great.  What’d she say??”

“She won’t make the statement, but she said that she can ask John to keep his mouth shut.”  I hope this is enough for her.  There’s not much more we can do except make our own statement.

“How the hell did those idiots hook up, anyway?  I didn’t think John had the time to date.”  I’m glad that she doesn’t sound bitter, just curious.  I relay the story that Jill told me, minus the ‘Abbey’s being a slut’ part and Abbey reacts about the same way that I did.  “They’re meant for each other.”

“Tell me about it.”  I laugh along with her.  “So, I think the next step is for us to make a statement or something.  Do you have any interviews scheduled soon?”  I click open my appointment book and scroll through the things that I have for Abbey.  Sadie sends me her schedule every week so we can all be on the same page.

“Yeah, next Friday I’m meeting with Rolling Stone.”

“Perfect.  They’ll be a great place to get a statement out.”

“So are we telling people we’re together now?”  She sounds unsure and I can’t say that I blame her.  I’m not sure I want us to really be out in the public if it’s going to be crazy like this.  I know that media coverage usually dies down soon, but I’m not sure I want to take the chance that it doesn’t.  I’d like some peace in my life, even if it means lying to the public.

“I was thinking that we might still keep that to ourselves.”  I can tell she’s mulling the thought over.  A minute later she asks me how we would do that.  “Well, when they ask about the accusations, you tell them that they’re in no way true, because they’re not.  You can just say that you and I are really close because we have to spend so much time together for your career, but any rumors that you’re using me to further your career is just bullshit.”

“So we tell the truth but we omit the part where we go at it like bunnies?”  There’s laughter in her voice and I can’t help but chuckle.

“Yeah, Jude, we leave that part out.”

“Thanks for doing this for me, Boss man.”

“Anything for you, Jude.  Now, how about you come over and we can ‘go at it like bunnies’?”

~*~

I love being at photo shoots with Abbey.  There’s something sexy about watching my girl behind the camera.  Today they’ve got her in a pair of dark jeans and a dark tank top, and they’ve poured a bucket of water over hear head.  She’s holding onto her guitar, and it’s reminiscent of the shoot I did for them a couple years back, but it still looks cool.

They’re almost finished up with the photo shoot, and then they’re going to do the interview.  I know she’s nervous about the whole thing, but I’m sure she’ll do fine.  Sadie’s already told the interviewer that he can ask about the rumors but Abbey doesn’t have to answer questions about her love life.  I’ve always had good luck with these guys, so I’m not worried.

“Great, go ahead and grab that towel now.”  I watch as Abbey passes off the guitar to someone standing by and she takes the towel being handed to her.  The look on her face is thankful and I can tell she’s getting tired of being in wet clothing.  I can’t really blame her, it can be uncomfortable. 

She runs the towel over her head and through her hair as the photographer snaps shots.  She’s laughing at something that Sadie just said to her and I can’t wait to see these pictures.  I know they’re going to be great.

My girl is hot, you know.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I rip my eyes away from Abbey to take the call from Rachel.  I have some meetings to attend today and I really shouldn’t be here with Abbey but I couldn’t help myself.

“Get your ass down here, Justin.  These guys are on their way and you can’t afford to make them wait.”

“Yeah, yeah.  I’m on my way.”  I hang up on her, not in the mood to hear her bitch at me.  I sneak closer to the set, catching Abbey’s eye and giving her a small wave.  She grins back and the photographer takes a picture.  I can’t wait to see what that one looks like.  I’m not going to be able to be here for the interview, which kinda sucks.  I guess I’ll just have to read the article when it comes out.

~*~

Anything but Ordinary:

Pop’s New Singing Sensation and Her Crazy New Life.

By Rick Martins

When I came into the studio today I found pop’s new princess, Abbey Rhodes, flanked by an entourage of people; an assistant, wardrobe attendants, make-up artists, and Justin Timberlake, just to name a few.  It might be an easy assumption to make that this girl has got a big head, but after just a few minutes of getting to talk to her it’s not hard to see that she’s anything but full of herself.  She was first discovered by Justin from a video she posted on YouTube, and after a whirlwind of a first year, she’s made quite the mark on the music industry.    

Now she’s sitting across from me on a couch with a towel slung around her shoulder’s as she attempts to dry off from her wet and wild photo shoot.  Her face lights up as I start asking her about all the new changes in her life.  

“So, Abbey, how does it feel to be music’s new ‘it’ girl?”  

“I didn’t know I was an ‘it’ girl!”  She laughs, “but it all feels pretty cool, whatever you want to call it.”  

“How has life changed for you since all this started?” 

She sits back and gets comfortable, thinking over the question before answering.  “Life is a little more hectic now.  I’m usually booked with all kinds of appearances or something, or else I’m holed up in the studio working on new music. I don’t have as much down time as I used to, but I’m OK with that.”  

“So we can expect another album from you soon?”  Her first album, ‘Along the Way’ landed at number two on the charts and went gold.  Quite an accomplishment for any artist’s first.  

“Uh, not any time soon, no.  I’m just playing around with some new producers and sounds.  I still want to release another song or two from this album before I put out another one.”  

“What direction do you think you might head in this time?”  She smiles as she talks about her music and it’s plain to see that this girl loves what she does. 

“This time I think I want to go a little more rock.  I don’t want to stray from my acoustic sound too much, but I’d like to make it a little more raw.  A little less safe, too.  We’ll see if just a flash in the pan or not.”  

“And what would you do if the second one doesn’t take off like the first did?”   

She leans forward to rap her knuckles on the coffee table in front of us, grinning at me. 

“Knock on wood, man.” She let’s out another laugh.  “I try not to think that way, but if it were all to end tomorrow I’d probably go back to playing in hole-in-the-wall cafes and open mic nights.  As long as I can keep playing, I’m a happy girl.”   

“You’ve just gotten off a three month tour of the states with Justin Timberlake. What was that like?”  

“Oh, it was amazing.  I have never experienced anything like that before in my life and it was incredible.  Getting to tour with Justin was a huge deal, too, because he’s almost guaranteed to sell out crowds so I always had full arenas to play to. That’s not something a lot of people can say on their first go-round.”  

“And how is it working with Justin?” 

She rolls her eyes a little, letting out another chuckle.  “People should start asking Justin what it’s like to tour with me!”  She grins at me, “I’m just kidding.  He’s great.  He’s such an old hat at all this that it was nice to have someone with experience to learn from.  He taught me a lot about performing and music.  It’s been great getting to work with him.”  

She starts to tug on the towel hanging around her neck.  “Sorry, I can’t sit still.”  She gives me a sheepish look when she catches me staring. “And I’m a little nervous because I think I know what’s next.”  

“You mean the rumors about you and Justin dating just to further your career?”  “Yeah, those.”  The smile disappears from her face

 a little.  “I just think it’s sad that people feel the need to say things like that.  Unfortunately the relationship that I had with John [ the man that’s spreading the rumors] ended badly and I guess he’s lashing out at me.  The rumors are ridiculous, anyway, and I would hope the rest of the world would be smart enough to pick up on that.”  

“So, there’s nothing going on between you and Justin?”  This time the smile returns and she gives me a coy look.  

“Justin and I make beautiful music together.  That’s all.”  I can’t help but laugh along with her. 

I guess she’s not going to spill any details of her love life.  With all the other craziness going on, I can’t say I blame her.