The rest of brunch had been…interesting.

Only after another round of drinks did Riley manage to steer conversation away from Justin. She had done it to herself, but she also knew there was no way Katie and Emi were going to stop badgering her until she gave them an answer.

The standard teasing had occurred, which devolved into reminiscing about the *NSync days, and Diego rolling his eyes recalling his sister’s infatuation and adventures as a fangirl.

Somehow – Maybe it was Riley’s third bloody mary talking- they had convinced her she needed a Justin cram session, since she had mostly ignored his solo career.

“Ry…He’s your boss. He’s gonna expect you to know SOMETHING about his career, don’t you think?” Katie had pointed out.

She had a point, and now they had a date next week to have a JT content marathon. Riley made a mental note to bring tequila – a LOT of tequila.

Riley sighed as she turned the key to her apartment. She was definitely buzzed still, and was ready to crawl into bed and sleep the day away. A rare mood for her, but she could feel it taking over.

Her life was just getting weirder and weirder.

She heard Benji in her room as she walked in, and a loud crash followed. She hurried over, ignoring the slight dizziness she felt.

“Benji! What did you do, bub…?”

Riley didn’t find the source of the crash right away. Benji was a pretty good dog, well trained, loveable and usually gentle. Her eyes scanned her room until they landed on what must have fallen.

Oh no…

How did he get to THAT? Riley saw a small wooden box next to her dresser, and then noticed her sliding closet door was open. The contents of the box were strewn across the floor, and she stopped in her tracks. She had to pick it up. She didn’t want to, though.

She walked over slowly. “Benj….bad dog,” she said almost in a whisper. She should have been more mad, but she felt a knot in her stomach instead. She bent down to pick up a polaroid.

She had sunglasses on. Her tanline was obvious and her hair was windblown, but she was happy. She was smiling. He had his arms wrapped around her, the glare of the sun shading half of both of their faces. The beach was behind them. She could feel that day. Emi’s birthday 3 years ago. They had all gone to the beach during the day, and a waterfront bar at night. The couple in the picture were totally in love.

Riley felt a lump in her throat and set the picture down on her dresser to pick up the rest of the spilled items. Something caught the light and sparkled and she felt her eyes start to sting.

She hadn’t looked at that ring in months. She rubbed her hand over her ring finger, and almost missed the small indent that had been there not so long ago. A two-carat princess cut diamond with a pave band. She picked it up and her throat caught. The tears fell from her eyes quietly.  Wiping them away uselessly, she stared at it. It was gorgeous. She should have gotten rid of it. She should have listened to Katie, but a combination of spite and nostalgia had compelled her to keep it, along with the other memories of him in that box. Her Derek.

No- Not her Derek anymore.

Still on the floor were three other pictures, concert wristbands, a dried rose from the night he proposed, and two of his doodles. His most irritating habit. Drawing a silly, and awful, cartoon whenever she was angry to change her mood. She hated that it had worked every time.

She took a deep breath and scooped everything back into the box quickly, finding a more secure place in her closet for it that Benji could not get to. It was too late, though. It was too much and she had too much vodka in her to let it go.

She fell onto her bed and let herself cry. A quiet but deep cry.

Benji whined and jumped up next to her, nudging her side with his nose and settling in by her stomach.

“Yeah…I know…You’re not in trouble, it’s ok, dude…” She sniffled.  Benji looked at her with sad eyes. The truth was he had probably seen more of this side of her than he liked, but he was always quick to snuggle up to comfort her. He was still a puppy when everything ended, and some days she wondered if he missed Derek, too.

His last  words to her haunted her and stalled her every time she thought of them.

“I just…I can’t anymore, Riles…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean for it to happen like this it’s just…You’ve changed. I’ve changed. It’s better this way…It’s too hard.”

6 years together. Too hard. He had cheated. He had encouraged her to chase her career goals. He had suggested they start their new life in a new city. He had proposed, with no hinting or encouragement from her. She wasn’t that girl.

But she was too much for him. SHE was “too hard.” She remembered the anger. It helped. Briefly.

She drifted off for the second time in two days, this time hugging her pillow In one arm, and resting her other softly on Benji.

Riley woke up groggy the next morning to her phone ringing. She instinctively grabbed her phone, and clicked “answer” before she could think about it.

“Hello…?” she managed.

“Riley?”

She sat straight up. A voice she did not immediately recognize, but she had an idea.

“Y-Yes, hi. “

“Did I…wake you up?”

She was right. It was him.

“Oh…No, Not at all.”

“Uh…Ok. Wait- Did I interrupt something? “

Riley was confused for a second before remembering she had fallen asleep crying.

“No, Monday morning. Just starting my day.”

She mentally kicked herself. It was a weekday, and here she was tearstained and still in yesterday’s clothes at 10 am. She was really nailing this job so far.

“Good. Wait. Have you been crying?”

“Excuse me? Why do you say that?”

“Your voice it just…Nevermind. Good Morning. I need your help with some album promo. Did you go over that strategy yet?”

She straightened out her sweater, as though he could see her.

“Yes, I did.” She walked quickly over to her desk and pulled open the binder, quickly flipping to the album section. “Is this regarding in-store or radio outreach?”

“Well, additions, actually. That stuff was pretty much coordinated before you. Johnny scheduled two last minute radio shows I need you to get arrival times and program briefs.”

“Sure I …Anything specific?”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

“…Have you done this before.?” He asked.

She hadn’t. She winced “I will take care of it.”

“Marin…”

Her last name? Did he think they were that cool?

“Justin…I will take care of it. Give me a couple hours. I’ll get back to you with the details.”

“Ok. This is important, Marin…”

No shit, dude.

“I understand. Speak to you soon.”

Here we go.

“And so it begins,” she mumbled to herself, “To the Google…”

She needed to figure out what he was asking for…and get it to him QUICKLY.

**

An hour and a half later, she had call times, programming notes, and an itinerary of topics for each radio show Justin was booked for, along with station contacts.

She grabbed her phone and texted him, not wanting to seem too eager or pushy.

I have radio show details for you. Call times are secure, and I have briefs. Should I email those to yourself or Johnny?

Her phone buzzed a few minutes later.

Both of us. Wow. Quick turnaround. Not bad, Marin…

What? Like it was hard? Ok, it might have been for someone else. Not for Riley. She needed to deflate herself a little, though. This was just the first of many demands, she was sure.

I’ll need you there, of course. Before me.

Wait, what?

Duh, Riley. Assistant. Great, “Justin Timberlake’s Shadow.” She wondered how that would look on her resume.

Yes, of course. I will see you there.

****

It was entirely too early and Riley had had no idea what to wear. She had settled on nicer dark denim, a pair of cognac Chelsea boots, a simple black t-shirt, and a black blazer. She had flat ironed her hair, knowing she would end up pulling it back later in the day, and worn simple diamond studs.

Did she look like an assistant? She had no idea, but the last thing she needed was to be uncomfortable while running around for the man who had killed her childhood source of joy.

Ok, easy Riley. You are being a brat. She mentally checked herself and walked into the lobby of the radio station to check in.

Once inside, it was about what she imagined. Not fancy…a few couches here and there and a little kitcheonette in the corner that looked to be public. She was glad to have stopped at Starbucks on the way, and patted herself on the back for thinking to text Justin to see if he wanted anything. He had, and told her to expense it, along with hers.

Perk number 1: Free coffee. It was something.

She settled in and organized her notes, introducing herself to the station manager and DJ’s, making sure Justin had a comfortable place to sit and the mic was set for a man of his height.

She may have been going overboard, but she was nervous, and that’s what Riley did when she was nervous.

The doors opened, and a woman who looked way more put together than she did showed Justin and Johnny in to the green room where she was sitting.

Riley stood.

“Good Morning Justin…Johnny…”

“Hello Riley.” Johnny smiled.

“Marin…” He sized her up quickly and seemed to approve of her attire, not saying anything but nodding quickly. “Thank you for beating us here. Are we good to go?”

“Should be. Everything looks good. “ She extended a drink holder to him. “Triple venti, nonfat white mocha, no whipped cream…”

He stared at the cup. “That’s …huge”

“You said Venti.”

“I did. Damn. Always forget that’s the big one. Oh well. It works. Thanks.”

He grabbed the drink holder, took one sip, and placed the cup down on the coffee table in front of them.

“Ready to roll, guys?” He addressed the station manager and DJ.

Seriously?? One sip? What the hell was she supposed to do with his cup? Seemingly reading her mind, Johnny spoke up.

“He’ll finish it when he comes out of the booth. He likes it kind of cold, anyway…” he winked.

Riley smiled “Noted. Thank you.”

**

The interview went smoothly and for as tired as she was, she was amazed at how quickly Justin turned on the charm and made everyone in the room laugh. She looked around and it seemed like everyone who worked at this station had come to gawk. All eyes on Justin, lost in a sort of trance, fascinated.

She laughed internally. This guy. He had some kind of pull. Maybe that’s why she had gotten this job.

She did not seem to understand the magic.

The interview wrapped up, and off-air, Justin and the DJ caught up. She heard some mention of a sports team, and a promise neither of them would probably keep about catching a game together.

Justin laughed and hugged him, and headed out to where Riley and Johnny waited.

“How’d I do…”

Shit…Riley had not really been listening.

“Great! Never worried about you.” Johnny offered, glancing at Riley.

“No hiccups that I could tell, “ Riley added, handing him his abandoned latte.

Justin took the cup from her. “Marin…just so you know…You don’t have to dress up…”

Dress UP? She was wearing JEANS and a blazer from H&M.

“Oh. Right well, wasn’t sure.”

He smiled. “You’re gonna be busy. Whatever you are comfortable in.”

“Got it. Any remaining business here we need to wrap up with the station?

“I think we’re good here.” He cocked his head to the side, as if a thought had just occurred to him.

“Riley…Did we get you the album yet?”

UGH. No…And she didn’t particularly want it.

“No, not yet.”

“You should have that. Familiarity and everything. I have that album breakdown session next week. I’ll want you to preview the questions. They won’t make sense if you haven’t heard the album.”

“Yeah. That makes sense. “

“Great. We’ll get you one. Just…Don’t share it, ok?”

Riley smiled “Not my first rodeo, Justin. Lock and key.”

“Hmph. Ok, well…On to the studio session?”

“Car is on its way!” Riley replied.

Next on the agenda was a final listen of Justin’s upcoming album, Man of the Woods, to make sure it was launch ready. She imagined she was there to get him water, order lunch, handle any errands. She was not looking forward to it.