After the emotional night Zenia had, Justin couldn’t bring himself to leave her. They remained on the couch holding each other until he felt her body relax and drift off to sleep. 


He carried her to her bedroom, laying her down and kissing her forehead. Justin took his sweatpants off, leaving his t-shirt and boxer briefs and climbed into the bed with her. He pulled her to him, cocooning his body around hers. He felt her stir a little and whimper in her sleep. He moved her hair and kissed her neck gently. 


“I’m going to take care of you. Don’t worry,” he whispered into her neck. 


Justin laid there for some time, his mind racing about the threats that Michael had made to Zenia. Justin’s loved ones always said one of his greatest yet worst qualities was that he always tried to save people. He knew it too but told himself that this time was different. He had to make sure Zenia and Grace were okay. He had to.


—


Zenia awoke to the unfamiliar yet calming warmth of a body next to her. She remembered being with Justin on the couch as he consoled her the night before and wondered how she ended up in bed. It startled her a bit until she glanced down at the strong muscular arm that was draped across her midsection. Zenia was suddenly very aware of the closeness of their bodies with his curved around hers. His chest was against her back, his lips dangerously close to her neck, his leg tangled with hers and even more so apparent, her backside in contact with his front, his boxer briefs just a thin barrier between them.


 She turned her upper body to see Justin’s peaceful sleeping face, his hair in slight disarray. She smiled to herself thinking everything about this moment felt so good.




She heard him snore quietly and thought since he was sleeping soundly that she could escape to use the bathroom and get her day started.


“Don’t leave,” Justin groaned tightening his hold on her.


“I thought you were asleep,” Zenia said turning to face him.


“I am. And you should be too,” he mumbled. “Too early.”


“Its 9 AM. I’m usually up by now. Want some coffee?”


“Sure,” he grumbled.


Zenia attempted again to escape his hold, but he pulled her close to him again. 


“I can’t make coffee from bed—“


“Shh.” He silenced her by placing his lips on hers, his hand moving to her hip where he squeezed it affectionately. He then placed soft kisses along her jawline. Pulling back he grinned and simply said “Good morning.”


“Good morning, Justin.” Zenia smiled back, pecked his cheek and hopped out of bed to start her day.


This is definitely something I could get used to, She thought.  


—


After a quick breakfast and coffee with Zenia, Justin reluctantly went home to shower and change and make it to an impromptu meeting with his manager Johnny and publicist, Annie. 


He decided to drive himself to WEG headquarters, instead of calling for car service and security. He figured with a meeting as random as this, paparazzi would not be expecting him out.


When he pulled up, parking his silver Mercedes Benz in the parking lot and making the small trek to the office, unaware of a pair of green eyes watching his every move and noting which car he drove.


—


“Good morning, J. Have a seat,” Johnny greeted him as he entered the large conference room.


“Morning Johnny. What’s this about? We couldn’t have talked about this over the phone?” He questioned taking a seat.


Johnny opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Annie’s boisterous voice as she burst into the conference room.


“Justin, Justin, Justin.” The woman said, throwing her belongings down on the table. 


“What’s going on Annie? I’m on a break and I really don’t see the point in coming in here today.” He responded seemingly annoyed. Annie was still fairly new, having only been his publicist for 9 months. He was still trying to figure out if he liked her or not. She wasn’t exactly his cup of tea but she seemed to know her stuff and was efficient.


“I know. However, after seeing some recent articles about you, I’m a little concerned about some things.” She paused to take a sip of her large coffee. “So, I’m not sure who this Sienna girl is but I’m not sure it’s great for your image to be dating a single mother. It comes with too much baggage and drama and that is the last thing you need right now.”


Justin rolled his eyes. He remembered a similar meeting months before about how he should publicly handle his breakup with Jessica. He more or less respectfully told Annie that he would deal with his relationships and breakups however he pleased. This wasn’t 1999 anymore and he didn’t have to tiptoe around questions about who he was dating.  He was a seasoned performer and public figure now and he felt he had earned his say in his career and personal affairs.


“Her name is Zenia.” He said simply, correcting her.


“Right. So, it seems fairly new so I don’t think it’s too late to break it off before the media jumps on this too hard.” 


“I’m not breaking off anything.” Justin looked at Johnny for some sort of help, but he just offered him a shrug. 


“Justin, the world was expecting a Justin and Jessica engagement. A fairytale story. This just doesn’t align with your image,” Annie continued confidently arguing her case.


“I don’t give a damn what the world was expecting. Jess and I are over. I have moved on. I’m happy and I refuse to sacrifice my happiness for a false image of my life.” Justin shouted, startling everyone in the room including himself. It seemed that no one wanted Zenia and Justin to be together and it was starting to infuriate him.


He didn’t give a damn about her being a single mother. He didn’t give a damn about her being the total opposite of his ex. 


Annie sighed and ran a hand through her long auburn hair, “Well be prepared for a media shit show.” 


“Whatever,” Justin stood up and roughly pushed his chair in. “Don’t call me on my break for anymore meetings about this shit. This was a waste of my time.”