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All that Glitters by Tatiana
Number of reviews: 1
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Prologue
"It's hot, man. This definitely needs to be a single." Pharrell Williams leaned back in his chair and looked expectantly at his companion. Justin Timberlake frowned, absently fiddling with one of the buttons on the soundboard.
"It's hot but...something's missing."
Pharrell waited, but the other man didn't elaborate.
"Like..." he prompted finally.
"I dunno. But it's not, it's just not there yet." Justin ran a hand over his head and sighed.
A light knock on the studio door forestalled whatever else he might have said. "Am I interrupting?" Tatiana Skye stuck her head in the doorway and arched an inquiring brow at the two.
"Hey beautiful," Pharrell greeted her with a grin, motioning for her to enter. "When you gonna run away with me?"
She grinned back and accepted a kiss on the cheek. "You're too sexy for me Pharrell," she teased in response to the familiar query. "I can't date a guy who is prettier than I am."
"Hey!" Justin protested with a laugh, pulling her into his arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She cupped his face in her hands and laughed up at him. "Let's just say you're definitely not the pretty boy I originally met." She ran her thumbs over his scruffy chin.
"Hmph," he grumped, leaning down to kiss her.
"Aww," Pharrell teased after they had broken apart. "If it makes you feel any better, I think you're pretty Timbs." He dodged as Justin went to punch him in the arm.
"Thanks dude. That makes me feel so much better--and kinda scared in a prison movie type of way." Justin rolled his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow--let me sleep on this song, and we'll work it out."
Pharrell waved them away, and the couple headed out into the night.
"So how are things going? Is everything okay?" Tatiana inquired, following him to his truck.
Justin shrugged, waiting until they were safely inside the vehicle before replying. "Fine. Right on time, actually." He backed out of the parking lot and waved at the night guard before merging onto the main road.
"But..." she prompted.
He sent her a sidelong glance. "But one of the dance tracks isn't quite finished yet, and I can't figure out what else it needs."
"Well, between Pharrell and Chad and Brian and Timbaland, you've got all these men working on this record. Maybe you need a feminine touch," she teased lightly, meaning only to make him smile. He stiffened and slammed on the brakes. Luckily it was about one o'clock in the morning, so there was no one behind them. "Justin!" She exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?"
"That's it!" He leaned over and kissed her hard on the mouth. "You're a genius, Ti."
"Glad I could help," she retorted wryly. "What'd I do?"
***
"You want me to what?" Tatiana exclaimed.
Justin had made her wait until they had gotten back to the hotel before telling her his grand idea. Now they were in the kitchen of their suite, and she was trying to absorb her shock.
"Come on Pixie," Justin coaxed. "It's just two songs. Just try it. If it doesn't sound right, I'll find someone else. Please?" He gave her his best puppy dog look.
"Justin, I haven't sang seriously since high school!" she protested, adding the spaghetti noodles into the pot of boiling water. "It won't sound right."
"Just trust me, okay? It's getting close to crunch time and I can't think of anyone right away that has the type of voice I'm looking for. I've heard you sing. You'll be fine."
She sighed heavily and bit her lip, searching his warm blue gaze for a long moment.
"You seriously want me to do this? I mean, you're Justin Timberlake. I bet you could get just about anyone to sing on this album."
"I don't want just anyone. I want you to do it." He answered without hesitation.
After a moment, she nodded. "Okay. What do you want me to do?"
***
Pharrell had been all for it when Justin told him, so Tia became the first female to sing on Justin's album. He later got the Janet Jackson to cover the vocals for "(And She Said) Take Me Now", but it was the version of "Rock Your Body" with Tia that was chosen for the third single. She had to admit that it was pretty fun, recording in the studio and seeing what her boys did all day. And she even agreed to be the lead female in the video, as long as they didn't put her name up on the credits. She had experienced enough backlash just from being Justin's girlfriend; she hated to think what would happen if it was found out that she had been specifically picked to sing on a record most aspiring singers would give their right arm to guest on. After that, it made obvious sense that she would move from dancer to backup singer while on tour. The thought never crossed her mind that there might be an underlying motive behind all the innocent changes...
After the tour, the numerous performances, and the Grammies, one would think the boy would finally take advantage of that "hiatus" he and his boys were still on and sit still for a minute, but no. Not Mr. Justin Timberlake. Not even filming three movies, singing on Snoop's new track, the soundtrack for "Shark Tale", and various other collaborations were enough for him. Oh no.
He and JC were starting their own record label. Platinum Entertainment was technically a subset of Platinum, Inc., the name he and the rest of *NSYNC had collared when they originally had joked about starting their own company. P.E. was to be the record label, headed by Justin with help from JC and Christina Aguilera. Sapphire Dance Company was Britney's territory. Triple Threat was the result of Chris, Joey, and Lance putting their heads together and deciding that what the world needed was a business that provided management (Lance), clothing (Chris, with input from Brit and Christina), and security (Joey).
When Justin had excitedly explained everything to Tia, she had felt dizzy. But that was nothing compared to his news of who Platinum Entertainment's first signed artist would be.
"ME?!?!"
"Yes!" Justin said earnestly, kneeling down in front of her. "You, Ti. I've been working toward this since you sang on 'Rock Your Body'. It's perfect. You've got the talent, and I've got the influence and money to back you up. "
"Justin..." She didn't know whether to feel pleased that he had gone through so much work for her, or angry that she was an unknowing pawn in his plans.
"Please? Come on, Ti. You know the business from the inside, between your own experiences and being with me. You've already got the basics; we just need to flush out your image a bit. Plus, the timing couldn't be better. How many other new female artists can say that they've got the blessing of two of the former princesses of pop?"
No matter that one 'princess' was happily barefoot and pregnant, and the other was planning her wedding, she thought sardonically. But he was right. He was offering her the chance of a lifetime. How could she refuse?
"Okay." She heard herself say. "I'll do it."
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