From: hjanssen@janssenspub.net
To: joshua.scott@gmail.com
Date: April 16, 2007 at 9:24 a.m.
Subject: Re:re: :)

I did it! I confirmed my participation in the IBOA Conference! I will be flying in on Wednesday afternoon, and I present first thing Thursday morning. I'm ridiculously nervous. It still five days away and the the butterflys in my tummy are fluttering away! I never feel comfortable talking in front of people. You should have seen me when I had to present my thesis and business plan to my professors to get my MBA. Oy. Anyway, at least I am comfortable with the topic - How To Stand Out Amongst the Rapidly Growing Competition From National Chains. Whoo hoo, exciting stuff, isn't it?!

I was thinking that I would stay for the weekend. After my presentation on Thursday I am technically done, though I may attend a few sessions on Friday. I haven't been to L.A. in a few years though, and would love the chance to soak up some sun. If you're around this weekend, I would love to see you. I really didn't think I'd be seeing you soon (or ever)! Oh, and is there a hotel near your place? I'm staying at the conference hotel on Wednesday and Thursday, but figured that for the weekend I would want to stay someplace closer to your house.

And I haven't forgotten that I owe you a question. Who do you admire most in your life?

Alright - I'd better go work on my presentation. Ugh :p

-h.

-----------

From: joshua.scott@gmail.com
To:  hjanssen@janssenspub.net
Date: April 16, 2007 at 12:03 p.m.
Subject: UMM??

Hell no, there aren't any hotels around my house! For fucks sake, you're staying with me. Besides, I certainly owe you lodging and first class accommodations!

I'm free on Wednesday afternoon/evening, so I was thinking maybe I could meet you at the hotel and we could grab dinner or something. I don't think I would last until Friday night knowing you're in town and not being able to see you. Maybe sushi? The only other plan I have for this weekend is a party at my manager Eric's place on Saturday night, but other than that, I would be happy to be your LA tour guide.

I don't have a lot of time right now - more frustrating meetings with my label, which I'm sure I'll bitch to you about soon enough - but my mom. I'm sure you'll hear me gush about her more, but here's the short version. She is the strongest, most open and loving person I've ever known. She has an amazing career which she has always been able to balance perfectly with her family. She has never been afraid to take chances or help somebody in need. I owe her everything. My dad too, of course - but my mom...she's just incredible.
.
.
.
You remind me a lot of her.

Anyway, I'm saving my real question for dinner on Wednesday (we get to play our 'tell a secret' game in person!), but here is an easy one - what is your favorite song lyric of all time?

-c.

-------

From: hjanssen@janssenspub.net
To: joshua.scott@gmail.com
Date: April 16, 2007 at 9:24 a.m.
Subject: Re: UMM??

Seriously - are you trying to get me in the sack or something? You keep saying these ridiculously sweet things to me.

Dinner on Wednesday sounds perfect. And I suppose you can expect a houseguest on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (I'm flying out on Monday morning, I hope that's ok.)

And dude - favorite song lyric of all time? That is not an easy fucking question!! There are so many things to take into consideration. For instance, of all the song topics, what is the most important? Something happy and uplifting? Something ridiculously sexy? Something heartwrenching? Something political? How do you compare and choose one?

Because I'm a cheater, I've come up with two. You'll just have to deal with it. I'll list them and you decide which category they belong in :)

"Made my bed and I sleep like a baby, with no regrets and I don't mind saying, its a sad, sad story when her mother would teach her, daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger, and how in the world could the things that I said, send somebody so over the edge, that they'd write me a letter, saying that I'd better, shut up and sing or my life would be over?" - Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks. I wish I could write something that powerful.

and

"What a wicked game to play, to make me feel this way, What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you, What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way, What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you and, I wanna fall in love, with you" - I'm not so sure its the lyrics as much as it is Chris Issak ;)

I'm saving your question for Wednesday.

-h.

-------

From: joshua.scott@gmail.com
To:  hjanssen@janssenspub.net
Date: April 16, 2007 at 10:01 a.m.
Subject: Re:re:re: UMM??

Jesus fucking Christ, are YOU trying to get me in the sack or something? You can't just go around spouting off lyrics to "Wicked Game!"

-------

From: hjanssen@janssenspub.net
To: joshua.scott@gmail.com
Date: April 16, 2007 at 11:09 a.m.
Subject: Re:re:re:re: UMM??

Sure I can ;)

-------

It had been a tension-filled five days for JC, to say the least. Jive had decided to pull "Until Yesterday" from the radio airplay lists (not that it had gotten any radio airplay), and replace it with "You Ruined Me." JC loved the song, but knew it was next to impossible to make any impact with a ballad as your first single. And with more than three years since his last album, it certainly felt like a first single. Deep down he knew this would be another let down and he didn't know how he would handle it. He was at his wits end with Jive. He wanted to go tell them all to fuck off, take "Kate" and run. But Eric kept insisting it was the best deal out there. And Eric was not only his manager, but his friend. And he had to trust that he was making the right decisions.

The movie needed another reshoot from the leads, and would be pushed back another four months, at least.

He sent Tony a birthday card, hoping that extending that olive branch would be a start. But there had been no response.

The one good thing in his life right now was Hannah. Which was strange because he had only spent a day with her. But her e-mails and random text messages had become the highlight of his days. He checked his e-mails every half hour sometimes, hoping to hear from her. Why they invented phones with internet he would never know. His BlackBerry was turning him into a dependent little puppy dog. He hated it.

They hadn't spoken much since their flirtatious little e-mail exchange, and that was causing him tension for different reasons. Cold showers and pathetic ruts against the sheets at night were not proving effective. His inability to control his feelings for her was getting ridiculous. She made him feel like he was 14 all over again.

But no matter how much he wanted her, he was going to try his damndest to ignore it. Or at least wait for her to come to him. He did not want to mess this up. And once he slept with someone, he always messed it up. It was his pattern. It was inevitable, really. He wasn't having much luck controlling other things in his life right now. He was going to control this.

He saw her the moment he handed his keys to the valet. She was sitting at an outdoor table outside of his favorite Japanese restuarant. It was a hidden gem, and he was more grateful than ever that he had never seen any paparazzi around the area. She was wearing a black wrap dress and her long, dark hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. She looked classy and elegant, completely different than she did in her jeans and T-shirt that day in the bar. This wasn't going to be easy.

When he finally reached the table, she remained seated. She looked up at him and smiled, and he look down at her and smiled. Finally, after too many tortuous seconds she stood up and squealed, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"I can't believe I'm in California. I'm so excited!"

Not exactly the first words he was hoping to hear out of her mouth.

"It is so great to see you, Hannah. Has it really only been two weeks?" She tried to pull away but he squeezed her tighter.

"Oh JC, it is so great to see you too." When they finally pulled away she ran a hand over his slighly stubbled cheek. "Are you OK?"

He needed to shake off whatever funk he was in. She was noticing.

"Yeah, yeah - fine." They took a seat and the waitress came by and took their drink orders. "You look amazing, Hannah. Really. I barely recognized you!"

"Well I'm in the big city now. I need to step up my game. Can't traipse around LA in my old hockey T-shirts," she laughed. "I like having a reason to get dressed up sometimes. And you, well you look good when you're not wearing oversized winter outerwear."

He chuckled. "Thanks."

"So you know that we haven't even talked since you left? I mean, e-mails and stuff, but we haven't spoken. Weird, huh."

"I was going to call you that first day we were texting, but then Justin showed up and I didn't get a chance."

"I know that I've said this a lot, and you're probably sick of hearing it, but I'm so glad we are friends. I felt it you know, some strange connection that we had but I wasn't sure how to convince you to call me. I didn't want to sound like some crazy." He would never tire of hearing that.

"I know. I can't remember the last time I became such fast friends with someone. I can't remember the last time I told people some of the stuff I've told you."

"I don't have many friends around Minneapolis anymore. I mean a few, but lots of them have moved away for work, or gotten married and ignore me now, you know - the usual. Most of my time is spent working, or with my mom, or dealing with my dumbass brother, so being able to e-mail you at the end of the day really cheers me up."

"Same here. My career is on the verge of a breakdown right now, and I'm dealing with some fucked up situations with some friends of mine. Its definitely a rough patch. I think we met at the right time."

"Indeed."

The waitress delievered their drinks and they placed their order. They shared an order of edamame as Hannah told JC about the flight and her presentation. Even though she shrugged it off as uninteresting, JC really did want to know about her presentation. Regardless of what she said, it was interesting. He didn't know too many women who had the opportunity to present at professional conferences, and it was fascinating to him. He remembered when his mom used to rehearse her presentations in front of him. He loved it, and to be honest, Hannah's topic was much more interesting than the fertilizer-related presentations his mom gave.

"So its first thing in the morning then?"

"Yeah. Oh my God, I'm going to need a liter of coffee before going in there."

He reached his hand across the table and took her hand in his. He gently rubbed circles on the skin above her thumb. "You'll be great."

She sighed deeply and gave his hand a squeeze. "I know I will."

The waitress brought a large tray of nigiri and maki sushi, and JC and Hannah dug in, enjoying the assortment of fresh, spicy, and buttery flavors. They joked an laugh with ease. Any worries JC had of the evening being awkward were swept away.

An hour and a half had passed before they took care of the bill. JC offered to pay, but Hannah insisted they split it. Her reasoning was that he was letting her stay at his place, she could pay her half of the bill. JC thought maybe it seemed less like a date if they shared the cost.

Hannah glanced at her watch. "Wow, its 9:00 already. I really need to get back to the hotel and practice, and get to sleep soon. I need to get up at 6:00. Can't wait." She gave a lazy smile.

"Let me drive you back to your hotel."

They rode in silence with the windows down and the warm breeze caressing their faces.

"Mmm," Hannah moaned, then inhaled deeply. "I could get used to this."

For a moment JC let himself imagine she meant spending evenings with him, and not the mild weather.

He pulled up in front of the hotel a few minutes later and turned off the engine.

"Good luck tomorrow. You won't need it, but if it makes you feel better I'll say it."

"It does. Thank you," she paused. "I signed up for a few more sessions for tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning. I'll be done Friday around 3. Should I call you then? I can grab a taxi to your place or something."

"It's no problem. Just call me and I'll come pick you up."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Really, its no big deal. I'll probably be down here for another meeting anyway."

"Ok, well. I will see you then I guess. Thank you for dinner. See you Friday." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze as she climbed out of the car.

"Hey, wait!" She poked her head through the open window. "We forgot to ask our questions tonight!"

"Friday."

"Friday," she repeated. She turned and gave a small wave as she entered the hotel, the breeze slightly blowing her skirt to mid-thigh.

With a sigh, JC let his forehead hit the steering wheel.