Fiction :: A-List(ed)

CHAPTER TWELVE

Two Weeks Later

A-List Magazine

Manhattan, New York

"Good day, A-List Magazine, this is Tai speaking, Mr. Timberlake's assistant, how may I assist you?"

"Ah, Justin's new assistant. He merely passes through you all like water huh?"

What a catty remark. Who is this person?

"Excuse me?"

Lifting my head from my computer screen, I look up into the glass window of Justin's office. Frowning when I'm met with his broad jacket covered back, I tilt my head to the side, trying to figure out why he's standing in front of his window behind his desk looking out at Manhattan when he has work to do.

"Just put him on the line." The person snaps, grabbing my attention.

"Uh, yes mam, one moment, please hold the line." Switching over, I hit Justin's line and I keep my eyes on him, watching when he turns around to glare at his ringing phone.

He lifts his head to look at me and I raise the receiver in my hand for him to see so he can pick up on his end.

"Yes Tai." He says with a heavy sigh after picking up his line.

"I have a woman on the line for you." I voice.

"Who is it? I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone right now." He groans and I bite my lip, feeling slightly out of place.

"I, I don't know."

"Can you find out for me please? I'm holding on."

"Ok, hang on." I voice, switching over as I keep my eyes on him through the window.

"Yes, hello mam? May I ask who's calling?" I inquire politely and I'm met by a harsh groan in response.

"Seriously, he's screening his calls? Unbelievable; tell him it's Nella."

I feel my heart instantly skip a beat when she says her name.

"Of course, hold on." I say, quickly switching back to Justin, my hand slightly trembling when I press the button for his line.

"So?" He asks when I switch over.

"It's Nella." I voice softly.

"Ok, put her through." He says weakly. "I might as well deal with her now, because she won't give up or leave me alone apparently."

"Sure..." I quickly connect their call and then slam down my receiver so I can return to my computer work.

The last few weeks of my life haven't been easy but I'm still at A-List trying to get through an entire work day without so much as thinking about the fact that Justin and I are in the same vicinity.

The messed up part in all of this? I haven't even told my brother about what happened between Justin and me yet. I wasn't ready to hear Sean tell me how it wasn't a bad thing if Justin and I had feelings for each other. I wasn't ready to face those feelings either. Which is why, I've been walking around here like nothing's up. Like I'm not literally screaming on the inside every time I come into contact with Justin or look into those dreary blues of his. He always gives me the same look...the ‘why won't you talk to me' look. I mean we talk, but, honestly, I've been avoiding him like the plague. The moment he even tries to talk to me about anything non-work related, I find a way to hightail it so I don't have to face the inevitable with him. That we're not simply boss and assistant anymore. That we've crossed that line and it's quietly destroying the both of us.

Why it's destroying us? Because there are feelings involved; feelings that shouldn't be there; feelings that we can't cope with.

Justin hasn't been handling me avoiding him well at all. He's edgier and moodier than before and just the other day, I heard him literally curse Robert out, his own brother, because Robert didn't get the right patterns for some prop they had to use in a photo shoot. Justin apologized immediately after of course, but the look on Robert's face was priceless. And, I felt bad.

I mean, it's my fault right? I'm the reason Justin is so unstable right now. I'm not making this easy for him. I'm doing the cowardly thing and running away. But I can't help it. I'm scared. No, I'm terrified of what falling for him would mean. I can't see this turning out well. I can't see myself openly giving into my growing feelings for Justin and still keeping my job. I don't think that's possible and I know for a fact, his dad won't be pleased. I don't want to put a rift between Justin and his dad. They already have so much going on with them. What kind of person would I be if I just ignored that to satisfy my own selfish needs?

That's probably no reason to give Justin the cold shoulder but, I'm not ready yet. I'm not ready to tell him when we kissed meant nothing to me when it meant everything. I'm not ready to lie to him to save him from utter destruction with his family. I'm not strong enough for that because if I tried, I'd probably break down in hysterics and I've never been the kind to play the damsel in distress role.

Jumping out of my thoughts when I hear loud banging, I look up, a scowl forming on my face when I see Justin standing at the glass window of his office, visibly knocking the window and making a signal for me to come into his office.

Taking a quick look around, I stand, eyeing him strangely before heading into his office and shutting the door behind me.

"You could have called me you know." I point out when he comes over to stand before me.

"I did, you weren't answering your phone. You looked lost, day dreaming or something." Justin shrugs and I look away from him in guilt.

"Oh, sorry." I say softly.

"It's ok. I just wanted you to take the book to Robert and tell him that I placed the memos of what we need to work on and change up in there for him." With that said, Justin heads over to his desk then comes back over to me with the big black A-List book in hand.

Taking the book from him, I hug it against my chest and begin swaying on my heels, looking up at him for any more instructions.

"Is that all?" I ask when he remains in place just looking down at me intently.

"No..." He mutters, taking a step towards me which causes me to take a step back.

My back makes contact with the closed door and I sigh.

"Tai, we can't keep doing this." Justin voices calmly and I look away from him, the intensity and mystification in his eyes too much to bear.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Everything's good, we're good..." But my voice drifts and I jump in shock when he corners me, sandwiching me between his office door and his solid, tall frame. "Justin..." But he cuts me off.

"No, listen to me Tai. This isn't right. We can't be working together with all of this tension between us. We need to talk about this Tai, about what happened between us. We need to clear the air. You can't keep avoiding me."

Oh god, I can barely think straight with him hovering like that, glaring at me with so much fire in his eyes.

"I don't think..."

"Damn it Taiana!" Justin growls angrily, hitting the wall harshly above my head which causes my eyes to widen. "Don't do this, please. I can't take much more of this. It's fucking killing me."

"What did you just call me?" I ask in horror, feeling my heart ache.

"What? I called you by your name." Justin frowns, looking down at me, the heat of his body from how close we are engulfing me, driving me crazy.

"No one has ever called me Taiana in years. Not since my parents. How did you..."

"Sean." Justin shrugs. "I asked him if Tai was short for something, because I was curious even if you said it wasn't. He told me it was short for Taiana. He also said only your parents called you by your full name. I'm sorry about your parents by the way. Everyone else knew you as just Tai so I asked why he told me your full name then and his words were ‘you're not everyone else.' I didn't know what that meant at the time, but it was the night of the album release party we went to for Carla." Justin explains, deeply scowling by the horrific expression that's probably on my face right now.

When did he and Sean talk that night and how did I miss it? Oh my gosh, it must have been when we were all sitting at Justin's booth before Robert came to get me. I left Sean, Chris and Justin alone. Who knows what else they talked about that night? Oh my god! I'm going to kill my brother!

"Justin, we're at work, this is neither the time nor place." I try to say calmly, not wanting to upset him anymore.

I need this to end. I can't do this. I feel like I'm on the verge of tears now and how is it going to look if I leave my boss's office in tears?

"If you'd just talk to me Tai, we wouldn't be in this position." Justin states.

"I can't..."

"Tai, listen to me. Hey, listen to me." Justin demands before lifting my chin so he can look into my eyes. "I don't know what's going on with you. But, that night, when we kissed I felt something. That kiss meant a whole lot more to me than I was willing to admit, but seeing you again afterwards at work made me realize a few things. It made me realize that I wouldn't have taken back that night and what happened between us because..." But he stops abruptly before pulling away from me.

"What?" I ask in a gravelly tone.

"You're crying." Justin points out in astonishment. "I...I didn't mean for...no, no don't cry Tai. I'm sorry if I'm coming on too strong. But you wouldn't listen to me, you wouldn't talk to me and it's been driving me crazy, but god...don't cry."

"I'm not..." I am, I am crying.

I can feel the silent tears rolling down my cheeks. This is crazy. How in the world did we get here? I was fine with him just being my boss. Now, now I'm crying because I can't deal with my stupid emotions!? Ugh! Being female sucks!

Sighing, Justin closes the small gap between us, gently wiping away my tears with his fingers.

"I'm sorry Tai. I never meant for this to happen. But, you have to know that I care." He admits while wiping my face dry.

All I can do is stare at him, wishing that I wasn't falling for him, but I am. I know I am. Avoiding him these past few weeks did nothing to change that.

"Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just scared I guess, but, I care too." I say weakly and Justin nods.

"I know you do, else you wouldn't be crying right now." He smiles and I force a smile as well.

His blues are so warm and comforting; it's hard not to get lost in them.

"It's crazy...I guess I ended up being another one of those assistants after all huh?" I voice sadly.

"What? No, don't ever say that Tai!" Justin hisses angrily. "You'll never be like them. You'll never be just another fling or notch on my belt. Why the fuck would you say that?" He snaps at me and my eyes widen in shock at his sudden swap. Did he just swear at me?

"I didn't mean..."

"Just shut up. You mean more to me than that, so you can as well get those ridiculous thoughts out of your head. And don't worry about my dad either. I'll deal with him."

"Yes sir." I smile, too weak to really fight him anymore.

"God, Tai what are we doing? This really is crazy. What's even crazier is how all of the walls I've built are tumbling down so easily with you. I don't know if I should be worried about that or not." Justin coos, his hands finding my waist to pull me against him. Breathing deeply, he leans his head down, connecting our foreheads together and I look away from him, slight nervousness and panic rising in my system.

He has no idea that I feel the exact same way. What are we doing? I don't know. But I do know work is not the place to be displaying such emotions. Thank god we're to the side where people can't see us through the glass window. That would be bad if anyone witnessed this little display.

"Maybe I should...maybe we should talk about this outside of work. I should leave now; I don't want anyone thinking anything. I'll just bring the book to Robert and then get back to my desk." I voice.

"Fine, that's fine. You do that. We'll talk later." Justin agrees, pulling away from me and straightening his posture before fixing his attire.

Nodding, I give him one last glance and a weak smile before I turn around to open his office door so I can leave.

I quickly pull myself together, stepping out and shutting the door behind me, never turning around as I head down the hallways in the direction of Robert's office with the A-List book tightly in my grasp.

*****

I finally make it to Robert's office but I stop dead in my tracks when Chris comes into view.

He's at his desk with his head down, typing away on his computer. I think about turning around to leave before he looks up and notices me because honestly, I've kind of been avoiding him and Gem as well.

Unfortunately, I'm not fast enough and he spots me.

"Tai? Hey girl, what brings you to this side of A-List?" Chris grins happily.

He must be glad to see me, not that I blame him. I'm sure he's realized by now that I've been avoiding them.

"Just came over here to bring the book for Robert." I voice, showing Chris the large black book in my hand.

"Oh, well he's in a meeting with his dad now. But just leave it on my desk and I'll hand it to him when his old man leaves." Chris voices.

Hmm, a meeting? I wonder.

"Ok thanks Chris." I quickly drop the book on his desk and turn to leave, but he stops me.

Yeah, I didn't think it was going to be that easy to leave either.

"Tai, are you ok?" Chris asks out of concern and I whirl back around to face him with a bright smile.

"Of course why wouldn't I be?" I lie.

"Well...I'm not an idiot. Ever since that night we all went out to that Broadway musical you've been acting strange. Gem noticed it too. Now, I'm not asking you to tell me what's going on or deny anything. I understand if you're going through some things and that's fine. But, if it has anything to do with us trying to you know...we're sorry for trying to set you and Justin up, we just thought you all would have been a perfect match." Oh he has no idea. "But, once you don't hate us for it..."

"I could never hate you guys. It's not that, I promise." I assure him and he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Ok good. Well, I just want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here and so is Gem. You're our friend now girl, so we care." He admits and I giggle.

"Not ‘frienemy'?" I snicker, remembering the first time we met and the mini speech he gave me. I think he remembers too because he laughs in response.

"I don't think we could be your enemy even if we tried. You're too much of a good person Tai. You definitely don't deserve that."

Aw, oh my god, make him stop before I start crying again!

"Thanks Chris."

"Don't mention it. I'm here if you need me. And I'll give Robert the book for you, no worries." He adds in.

"Great, thanks so much. I'm going to get back to my desk. I have some documents that need typing up."

"Sure, we'll do lunch again one of these days."

"That would be nice. I'd like that. Bye Chris." I wave goodbye to him and I give Robert's office one last glance before I turn on my heels to head back in the direction of my workstation.

I don't know why, but the thought of Justin's dad irks my soul. Something about that man is disturbing to me. He seems so pleasant and warm and welcoming but there's another side of him, a darker side that he doesn't show.

But I'm sure Justin and Robert have seen it, which would maybe explain why they try to never cross him.

It just saddens me that they actually have their father alive with them still but it's like he's not even there.

I would give anything to see and be with my dad again even if it's for a minute.

But I guess that's life for you...unfair and unpredictable.

*****

Inside Robert's Office

"Dad, I can't do that to my own brother."

"You will if you know what's good for you."

"This isn't right dad."

Glaring at his father, Robert sighed angrily at the mere notion of ever betraying Justin. He loved his big bro. He cared about his big bro which is why he always covered for him.

Robert wasn't the type who liked conflict. He was the calmer, more rational one between him and Justin. He handled tight situations better and he always felt that there was no reason to compete with his brother. He knew Justin felt the same. They had a mutual understanding. That they were in this together fifty-fifty. Even if their dad was strict, Robert never felt like his father favored any of them more than the other.

The only reason why it was harder for Justin to please their dad was because he was the oldest and their father expected the oldest to take the lead. But Justin wasn't growing into the man their father wanted him to be. He was a free spirited person just like his mom. And Robert knew that running a company wasn't Justin's thing. Justin was only doing it for their dad. Robert knew that deep down, this wasn't where Justin wanted to be. He also knew that Justin had a lot of respect for their father and his wishes which is why he willingly slapped on a suit everyday and played editor in chief. It was all for their dad, to make him proud, to impress him. And Robert was proud of Justin for that reason. He looked up to his big bro for that reason. For putting his own dreams on hold to please a man who was more like a villain than their own father, their own flesh and blood.

Robert knew all of this and more and he was ok with it. But apparently, their father wasn't. Their father wasn't ok with his eldest son, possibly wanting something else, anything else than running this empire.

It was in their blood. They were blue-bloods, raised to take over this business and then pass it down to their own children. Robert could see himself doing that, but it was only because he loved this business. Justin on the other hand was a different story. Robert wasn't completely sure what exactly Justin's dreams were, but he knew running this company wasn't Justin's life goal.

And that was why he couldn't do what his father asked of him. Robert respected his brother too much for putting up with their dad to turn around and actually help his dad destroy Justin, just to teach Justin a lesson because he wasn't following their dad's orders.

Their father was crossing the line. He was crazy with power and it saddened Robert because he remembered a time when their dad wasn't like this. But, with no love of his life to keep him occupied, Randall threw himself into his work and thus became the monster he was today.

"Robert, let me remind you on who has the power to cut you off from everything A-List as you know it. You would have nothing and you would be a nobody if it wasn't for me. I raised you when your ungrateful mother went off gallivanting with her new flavor of the week."

Robert bit his lip to not mouth off at his father due to the mention of his mother.

"Both you and Justin should thank me instead of giving me such a hard time. You all would be nothing without me. My side of the family was bred into power from as far back as I can remember. Your late grandfather, my father, was an aristocrat from England. I thought that you all would grow up wanting to embellish in your roots. But you're both ungrateful children who need to learn the hard way and face the consequences for your actions."

"I still don't see what that has to do with Justin or Tai dad. She's a nice girl, she's helping Justin get his act together and you were the one who hired her."

"Yes, well, your brother is at his old games again and I really thought this new assistant had more will power to avoid my son's charm, but once a Timberlake always a Timberlake." Randall chided. "The point is I will not allow another scandal with Justin. We've lost clients because of his loose ways in public which only caused media chaos. He needs to learn a lesson and pay the consequences for his actions. So, maybe taking away the one thing he's managed to actually care about in a long time will open his eyes and make him see how unreasonable he's been."

Robert narrowed his eyes at his dad in detest. What the heck was this all about?

"Wait? Are you telling me...Justin and Tai?" Robert chuckled in disbelief. "You're saying my big bro is falling for his assistant?" He couldn't believe it. Justin? In love? In lust...maybe. But in love? Robert never thought he'd see the day, but the way their dad spoke about them...

Wait, he liked Tai too. So, what was the deal?

"Yes Robert. Are you slow? It's as clear as day that Justin is falling in love with her. But I won't have that, any of that. Not to mention she's not good enough for my son, so I really don't know what is going on in that head of his."

"Wow old man." Robert raised his hands in the air, ignoring Randall's harsh glares. "Weren't you the one who always told us, never judge a person solely by their outer appearances?"

"Tai is a beautiful girl."

"So what the heck dad?"

"But she's only interested in Justin because of who he is and what he can give her. I won't have her come into this family and run him dry. I won't have him fall in love with her and maybe end up marrying her, only to have her turn around and take half of this empire which I've worked so hard for..."

"Wow, wow, wow...dad, you're getting carried away. Justin and Tai are nowhere close to walking down the aisle. We both know Justin's history with women. It would take a hell of a lot for him to fully commit. And Tai is a sweet girl. She's not a gold digger or any of those terrible things I'm sure you're thinking about your own ex-wives who happen to be our moms. So you need to chill out."

"Plus, I don't see how any of this adds up with you wanting me to ask Tai out. I like her yes, but if she and my brother have something going on, then I'll back down and respect that. She's not like Justin's other assistants and believe it or not, I think she's actually good for him. Me, well, I bounce back easily you know. Plenty of fish in the sea. But Justin, dad, Justin needs someone who loves him for him and doesn't pass judgment on him. You haven't exactly made his life or mine easy. But, I got less of the fire than he did and he's trying you know? He's trying to change but you can't see that."

Robert paused when his father looked away from him, turning his back on him to head for the door to exit his office.

"Dad did you even hear a word I said!?" Robert called out, enraged that his own damn father would turn his back on any of his children like that.

"You all are utter disappointments Robert, just like your mothers. But I meant what I said. You're going to separate Justin and Tai by whatever means necessary and I won't take ‘no' for an answer so you better start learning how to say ‘yes.' Especially if you want to keep your status in this company to have a solid future. I could fire her, but I'm sure that wouldn't solve anything. That is all. I don't need to hear these sob stories you're feeding me. If you all want me to listen, then make me listen by standing up to me and facing me like a man. Tell your brother that because he's a coward and until he learns how to speak for his self, this conversation is over. There is work to be done."

And with that said, Randall swiftly exited Robert's office without giving him a chance to reply.

When Robert was alone again, he sighed heavily before slamming his fists down on his desk harshly in anger. Loosening his tie, he plopped down in his chair defeated and full of rage.

"Damn it dad...would it kill you to just be our father for one god damn moment instead of our fucking dictator?" Robert thought out loud.

The truth was he was stuck.

He didn't know what to do.

He didn't want to betray his brother in any way and put a wedge in their relationship, but, he didn't want to lose everything he worked so hard for his entire life. Because between Robert and Justin, this was Robert's only dream...to someday run this fashion empire and make an impact on the world, changing it for the better through fashion and giving people the ability to express themselves and their individualism without being judged.

*****

Later

It's been a long tiring day, but the day is finally coming to an end and I'm thankful for that.

As I gather my belongings to leave, I jump in fright when someone slams down an object harshly on my desk.

Lifting my head and spinning around, I lock eyes with Robert, his bluish-grays boring a hole through my soul.

"Robert? What..." Trailing off, I notice that he brought back the A-List book.

"I looked over the changes Justin wanted and made a few of my own notes and additions. Let him know that we'll discuss the preparations for next month's issue in our next board meeting, but in the mean time the book is his."

"Oh...uh ok sure. But he's not here right now. He went down to the cafeteria to grab a drink..." But Robert cuts me off.

"When will you be free Tai?"

"Excuse me?"

Is it just me or does Robert seem a bit off today? He looks anxious like he's got a lot on his mind and his unnerving stare is making me uneasy.

"Have dinner with me?" He asks eagerly and I glower at him in shock.

"What?" I snap.

"Have dinner with me." He states again and wow, where did this come from? "Why are you looking at me like that? I like you Tai isn't it obvious? I mean, I thought you liked me too but..."

"No, that's not it. Are you ok?" I ask out of concern.

Straightening his posture, Robert folds his arms across his chest while keeping eye contact with me. "I'm fine. Look I'm not trying to pressure you into anything you don't want to do. I just thought, since I mentioned to you some time back that we could catch up since we haven't had a chance to really get to know one another, I thought now would be good a time as any. Work isn't pilling in now so I have some free time on my hands, but, I'll leave the decision up to you. I just thought it would be nice if we could be friends you know? Hang out maybe? But, let me know when you make up your mind and we'll set up a date." He rambles out.

"Uh...ok?" I'm confused. I thought we were already friends.

Maybe he just means he wants us to actually hang out as friends? Well whatever. I don't see anything wrong with that as long as it's on a platonic friendship level.

"Right. Well, I'm going to jet. But, I'll be seeing you Tai. Take care ok? Bye."

"Ok, bye Rob...ert."

And just like that he's gone, before I could even get his full name out.

How strange. What the hell is going on with that family? Have they all gone off their rockers? And Robert was actually the sane one. Well, we can kiss that goodbye now.

"Was that Rob?"

Diverting my gaze I let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey Justin!" I smile when he comes into sight, sipping on some type of blue concoction. "And yes, that was Robert. He just dropped the book off for you."

"Oh..." He shrugs, taking a large gulp of his drink in the glass he's holding while walking over to me.

"What the hell is that stuff you're drinking?" I giggle.

"Mountain Dew Voltage. It's really good, take a sip." He chuckles before pushing his glass in my direction.

"I don't know." I hesitate.

"Just taste the damn thing Tai." He laughs out and I shrug before grabbing the glass from him and taking a sip.

"Oh you're right. It is pretty good." I admit, handing him back the glass of soda.

"Told you." He grins before finishing off his drink and placing down the empty glass on my desk. "So, what did Rob say about the notes I left him in the book?" Justin asks while wiping his palms against his pants before picking up the large book to page through it.

Stuffing my hands into my navy blue jacket which matches the skirt I'm wearing, I shrug. "He didn't say much except that he made a few additions and notes of his own and that you all would discuss the changes in your next meeting."

"What? But one of my notes was that he kept the book for a change so he and the creative team could really dig into it. It's summer and he's usually more involved in the summer fashion line than I am since he deals with a lot of the promotional stuff and adverts. I always used to travel during summer on vacation, but even if I'm here this year it's still his thing. I don't get it." Justin says, before placing the book back down on my desk. "But, whatever I guess." He brushes it off and I bite my lip as I continue to watch him, thinking about how cute and adorable he looks when he's all confused and upset.

Gosh, this is really unhealthy to be thinking of my boss in such a manner but I can't help myself. So I cave...

"Robert asked me out." I blurt out which causes Justin to snap his head up to look at me.

He's taken aback by my outburst, but I can still see anger slowly forming in those blues.

"What?" He questions as his eyes narrow into tiny slits.

"It was really random. He wanted for us to actually hang out as friends or something." I point out.

"What exactly did he ask you?"

"He uh asked me to have dinner with him?" I shrug.

"Uh huh, and what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything." I admit.

"You didn't say no?" Justin asks incredulously.

"I didn't say yes either Justin." I point out.

"But you didn't say ‘no' Tai. Why the fuck would you not say ‘no' when I'm pretty sure that was my brother's way of asking you out on a date? Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

"Would you keep your voice down please?" I hiss at him lowly. "It's not a big deal ok? If Robert wants us to hang out, I don't see the harm. We are friends Justin. He was my friend long before you were even nice to me so..."

"That's not the point Taiana. He likes you. I'm not stupid." Justin growls in a low whisper and I groan.

"Really Justin. I don't see how that matters if he likes me or not and please do not call me by that name. My name is Tai."

"No, your name is Tai-a-na." He enunciates. "And it does matter if Robert likes you. We can't both like the same girl. What the fuck Tai!?" Justin growls angrily and I roll my eyes.

"Justin, relax."

"Again with the relaxing? I am relaxed. I just don't like the fact that my own fucking brother is asking the one girl I'm interested in out on a dinner date. That doesn't sit well with me. And you didn't even say ‘no.' What, are my feelings so microscopic that you can't see them? Is this one-sided? Let me know Tai because..."

"Justin stop! It doesn't matter if Robert likes me more than a friend." I whisper back, my eyes darting around us to make sure no one is eavesdropping on this switch in conversation.

"Yes it does." He scoffs, pouting lightly.

Gosh, it would be so cute and sexy that he was jealous like this if it wasn't irritating me that we were having this conversation in work! Where anyone could hear us! And then what?

"No, it doesn't because I like you not him ok? I like you Justin. There I said it. I mean, Rob's a nice guy, I like him yeah as a friend, but that has nothing to do with how I feel about you. You have nothing to worry about. And if it will make you feel any better, I'll tell him that. But if you don't shut up now, then you will have something to worry about if someone hears us. I'm still trying to figure us and this whole thing out. I'm not yet ready for others to know and I'm certainly not ready for the attention."

I think I managed to calm him down because he's quiet now, his blues wildly searching my browns.

"I hate this." He sighs profusely, moving around my desk to sit at the edge of it, facing me. "I hate my dad for making my life so fucking difficult when it shouldn't be."

"You don't hate your dad Justin." I point out, smiling softly.

"No, I don't, but I wish he'd just let me live my life without always butting in. You know, now that I think about it, he's never really been much of a father. He was more along the lines of a teacher or police officer or even a damn judge. There was no parental attachment there when he raised us. He taught us, lectured us, provided for us, but never really took on the role of a loving, affectionate, caring father. He bossed us and ordered us around, but that other side, that genuine, caring side between a parent and child wasn't there." Justin voices meekly.

Before I can get a word in to try and comfort him, we're interrupted by Chris who calls out to us while walking in our direction.

"Hey Chris what's going on?" Justin asks before standing to go over to him, completely forgetting about the fact that he was just pouring his heart out to me.

I have to hand it to Justin; he's good at putting on a front for others. Which makes me wonder...how long has he been pretending like everything in his life is ok when it's clearly not? I think he's been doing this his entire life and it hurts me because I actually care about him and that's not healthy for him to do at all. He can't keep stifling his feelings like this; he'll suffocate if he's not careful.

"Oh nothing much is going on. I was just getting ready to leave for the day." Chris speaks up and I look at him, noting his uneasiness.

"Oh, me too." I smile while gripping onto my belongings.

Today needs to be over. No doubt about that.

"So what brings you over here? I know here's not on the way to the elevators." Justin chuckles and Chris gives him a guilty grin.

"Yeah, well actually, I was on my way out. In fact, I made it all the way down to the lobby before I came back up here to catch you guys before you left. Well, actually, I came up hoping I'd catch you Justin."

Ok, now I'm curious and so is Justin because he's glaring at Chris oddly now.

"Why?" Justin drawls and Chris looks at me briefly before diverting his attention back to Justin.

"I know it's none of my business and I have no idea what's really going on with you but, I thought you might want to know that I saw your dad talking to uh...Nella down in the lobby just a few minutes ago. I didn't hear what they were saying...but, they seemed pretty into whatever conversation they were having. I just felt you should know." Chris admits, looking between the two of us and I look away, not even wanting to see the expression on Justin's face right now. I'm sure he's pissed. How couldn't he be?

"Nella's here?" Justin asks in shock. "Talking to my father? What on earth could the two of them possibly have to discuss? You know what? I don't even care anymore. I don't want to know."

I'm no rocket scientist, but it should be clear that he's the common discussion topic between them.

"O...k, well, I just wanted to tell you that. I'm going to go now. I'll see you all tomorrow." And with that, Chris excuses himself to leave, leaving Justin and me alone again.

Turning to face me, Justin sighs and gives me an apologetic stare.

"Tai, I know what you're maybe thinking right now. But, I'm willing to say to hell with everything right this very second if you'll wait for me to grab my things so we can leave and maybe grab a drink together?"

"What?" I ask in shock, noting the large smile on his face.

"I'm buying." He offers and I smile in return, stunned. Wasn't he just upset a second ago?

"What brought this on?" I inquire, giggling softly when Justin walks up to me and delicately brushes some of my hair out of my face.

It amazes me how he switches so easily without any effort. I could learn a few things from him.

"Let's just say, for once in my life, I'm setting my priorities straight and doing what my heart says and needs instead of what my mind wants me to believe..."

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