Chapter 4: Lunch
The sun was breaking through the sheer curtains and slowly creeping its way towards the bed. The blankets were haphazardly strewn about and it was clear that whoever slept in the bed tossed and turned the entire night. Before the sun could fully capture the sleeping form, the covers were whipped off and tossed to the floor. Hayden opened her eyes and scanned the room, it was truly beautiful. The crème colored walls and carpet blended perfectly with the light lavender colors on the bed. The rustic furniture adorning the room brought about warmth that Hayden missed; it was the warmth of home.
Finally, Hayden began to stir and make her way into the bathroom. Her meeting with Johnny Wright was in a couple of hours and she was trying her best to keep her nerves under control. This meeting would either open doors or shut them for her. She was determined to do everything she could to prove to Johnny how much she loved this business. Nobody ever understood Hayden’s fascination with the music industry, it’s not like she could sing or really dance for that matter, but Hayden didn’t care. Music was always there for her, no matter what mood she was in, there was always a song that matched what she was feeling. She was able to relate to music and for that reason it rapidly became her passion.
“Hayden, are you up?” Tyler said as he knocked on her door.
“Yeah, I’m just getting out of the shower.” Hayden yelled as she wrapped herself in a towel.
“All right, well I’ll be downstairs making breakfast.” Tyler said before walking away from the door.
Hayden continued getting ready, throwing clothes out of her suitcase in search of the perfect outfit. After deciding on a pair of black pin-stripe pants and light pink button-up shirt, she was off to the bathroom again. She dried and straightened her hair and finally put on a light amount of make-up. To finish her outfit, she put a necklace with a ring on it around her neck. After giving herself the once over she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen.
“Good morning!” Hayden said as she walked by her brother and opened the refrigerator in search of orange juice. After grabbing the carton, she poured herself a glass and sat down next to the island. She scanned the newspaper and quickly discarded it next to her.
“How’d you sleep?” Tyler asked as he continued cooking eggs and bacon.
“As best as I could.”
“Yeah, I bet you’re pretty nervous about the meeting, huh?” Tyler asked while setting Hayden’s plate in front of her.
“Definitely, I’m trying my best to stay calm.” Hayden responded, thankful that Tyler assumed the reason behind her not sleeping well were her nerves. Ever since the accident, Hayden has never slept well at night anymore. It’s not like she wanted to hide her feelings from her brother, but now was not the time to delve into that part of her life.
“Do you have everything you need ready to go for the meeting?” Tyler asked as he cleaned off both their plates.
“Yeah, I just need to grab my bag and then I’m ready to go.” Hayden responded.
“Ok, well I’m sorry I can’t go with you, but I have to work the day shift. But you can use my other car and I’ll get you directions to Johnny’s office.”
“That sounds good to me!” Hayden said as she jogged off to go retrieve everything she would need for the meeting.
Five minutes later they were both walking out the door to the cars. “I know you’ll do great! Johnny’s a good guy and he’s willing to help you out any way that he can, so don’t be afraid to ask questions.” Tyler said as he gave Hayden a quick hug.
“I know, thank you again Tyler! This is an amazing opportunity.” Hayden said before getting into the car.
“Anything for my little sis.” Tyler said before Hayden backed out of the driveway and was on her way to the meeting of a lifetime.
______________________________________________________________________
(Johnny Wright’s Office)
Hayden pulled the car into a parking spot and shut it off. Her stomach was officially doing flip flops and her hands were shaking. "I really need to get a hold of myself"Hayden thought to herself. She took a couple of deep breaths which seemed to help settle her stomach before grabbing her bag and walking towards the door. Once inside, Hayden was blown away with all of the plaques and posters adorning the walls, everything from Janet Jackson, to his new group Danity Kane, were covering the walls.
“May I help you, Miss?” A secretary called to her.
“Oh yes, I’m sorry, I have a 10:00 appointment with Mr. Wright.”
“Your name please?” The secretary asked while pulling up Johnny’s schedule.
“Hayden Charles.”
“Yes, Ms. Charles, I’m supposed to escort you back. Mr. Wright is expecting you, right this way please.” The secretary politely asked while walking down the halls towards Johnny’s office. She knocked gently on the door before opening it slightly. “Mr. Wright, Hayden Charles is here to see you.”
“Great, thank you Anna, please let her in.” Johnny said before he started cleaning the stacks of papers off his desk.
Hayden smiled at the secretary as she walked into Johnny’s office. “Good morning Mr. Wright.” Hayden said as she shook his hand. “Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.”
“Please, call me Johnny; it’s no trouble at all. Tyler’s a good friend and anything I can do to help him out, I’m happy to do so.” Johnny said while he sat back in his chair. “So tell me a little about yourself.”
“Well, as you know my name’s Hayden. I am 21 years old and I’m in my last semester of college at the University of Minnesota. I’m majoring in marketing with a minor in management. I am definitely a Midwestern girl at heart. So being in California is a little bit of a shock.” They both laughed at that and Hayden’s nerves finally subsided. “I have a big fascination with the music industry and music in general, hence, the reason why I want to do my senior project on this industry.”
“Yes, your senior project. Tyler was telling me a bit about it. But I’d like to hear what exactly you are looking to do, that way I can try and better assist you with it.”
“My senior project is basically anything I want it to be. I have complete control over it! I was hoping to chronicle the workings of this industry. From signing the new artists, to recording, and finally promoting their albums. I’d like to look at it from both the management and the artists view point. I’m open to changing and revamping this idea based upon your input as well, Johnny.” Hayden said.
“That definitely sounds like a good idea. My only suggestion would be to stick to one artist, rather than try and cover everyone. Otherwise, the project might turn out a little scattered, like it did not have a clear focus. One thing to keep in mind is that depending on the genre of music the artist records, the steps they go through vary. For example, the pop artists go through more promotion than say the hard rock bands. It all depends.” Johnny said as Hayden was scribbling notes in her notebook.
“I think focusing on just one artist would be a really great idea. It would definitely produce a more in-depth project, rather than just generalizing everything.” Hayden said.
“Before we head down the hall to a recording studio, I wanted to give you my cell phone number. I will be in L.A. most of the time but sometimes I head out to New York or Orlando, if I’m needed. Please give me a call whenever you need something; otherwise feel free to come to the office anytime.” Johnny said while handing Hayden his business card with his cell phone number written clearly on it. “We can sit down later and go through some management questions as well. But before he heads out to lunch, I wanted to take you down to the recording studio so you could listen in on a session.” Johnny said while getting up from his chair and walking to the door.
“That’d be wonderful. Thank you again Johnny for everything.” Hayden said as she grabbed her things and walked out of Johnny’s office. Johnny knocked on the door and walked in with Hayden following closely behind. Hayden’s eyes grew wide at all of the machines that were wrapped around the room, thousands of buttons on each board and only one guy controlling it. There were huge plush couches along the side of the wall and stools sporadically placed throughout the room. Hayden was snapped out of her daze when she heard Johnny speak up.
“Hey Justin, come out here, I want to introduce you to someone.” Johnny said.
“Hey Johnny, what’s up man?” Justin said while walking out of the recording booth.
“Justin, this is Hayden Charles, she will be hanging around here quite a bit working on a project. I was also hoping you would be able to let her listen in on your recording session today.” Johnny said.
Justin reached his hand out and proceeded to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you Hayden, I’m Justin Timberlake.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Hayden said before letting go of his hand.
“Well now that the introductions are done, I’ll let you get back to recording. Hayden, feel free to take notes and ask questions. Mike, one of Justin’s producers should be coming back shortly.” Johnny said before walking out of the room, leaving Hayden and Justin by themselves.
“So, do you mind if I ask what project you’re doing for Johnny?” Justin said while taking a seat on the couch.
“It’s more like Johnny is helping me out with a project.” Hayden said after taking a seat on one of the stools.
“Oh yeah, what’s it about?” Justin asked.
“It’s my senior project for college. I wanted to do an industry analysis of the music business. Turned out Johnny is a good friend of my brother’s, so he set up a meeting and here I am.” Hayden said while shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Being alone in the room with Justin Timberlake was making Hayden’s nerves come back and in full force. Johnny was well aware of the situation regarding this project, but she felt like Justin was just thrown into it. Hayden was feeling like an intruder. “I can head back to Johnny’s office to go over some more questions and let you get back to whatever it is you were doing.” Hayden said while she stood up from her chair.
“No, it’s fine. Johnny actually talked to me earlier about the possibility of someone watching the recording session today. I’m cool with it. But Mike had to head out for a little bit, he won’t be back ‘till about 1:00, so do you want to go and get lunch?” Justin asked as he threw on his hoodie.
“Umm…I guess that’d be cool. Are you sure Johnny won’t mind?”
Justin looked at her strangely and busted out laughing. “Hayden, one thing that you’ll learn after spending time here, Johnny is one of the most laid back guys out there.”
Hayden felt a small blush creep into her cheeks. “I’m just so grateful for this opportunity; I don’t want to screw anything up.”
“Don’t worry, if there’s a problem, which there won’t be, I’ll take the heat.” Justin said after walking through the recording studio towards the doors. Hayden couldn’t help but check him out as he walked in front of her, he was very good looking, but he never acted like he knew it. He was confident, but at the same time down to earth and a genuinely nice person. She was definitely going to have to thank Tyler again!
“So where are we going to lunch?” Hayden asked.
“I know this café a couple of blocks away. It’s pretty low key and they have great food.” Justin said while getting into his car.
“Sounds good. I love café’s, they remind me of home.” Hayden said
“Where’s home?” Justin asked while he started up the car and drove off.
“Minnesota, I’m definitely a Midwestern girl. Ever been there?” Hayden asked.
“I’ve been there on tours, but never just to go there on vacation or anything.” Justin said after taking a back road to the café.
“Yeah, I suppose a big superstar like you going to Minnesota would be a little weird.” Hayden joked.
Justin smiled at that comment. “Well maybe someday you can take me to Minnesota.”
“You wish I would bring you there.” Hayden said while winking at Justin.
Justin laughed and with that he knew she would definitely be cool to hang out with. There was an innocence and lightheartedness to her. He was looking forward to getting to know her better and help her with her project.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Just another side note...damn I'm glad I actually saved all of these!!!
Story Tags: justin college
