Elle woke up on the morning of the interview with mixed feelings. The fight between her and Nick was finally over but for some reason, she was still worried that things could never be "normal" again. Elle took a long, hot shower before getting dressed and leaving for the interview. At 10:00, she was walking into the conference room and getting things organized. After she had things under control, Elle walked over to the break room, settled herself into a chair with coffee in hand and waited for the interviewees to arrive.
Meanwhile, Nick and the other four members of the Backstreet Boys were just getting into La Guardia airport after three-hour delay.
"We are going to be so late. Do you think that we should call Elle… Nick?" Brian asked with a grin.
"Shut up Brian," Nick said laughing. "I guess we should call Elle. I'll do it, if no one else wants to."
"What were you thinking about questioning that Brian?" AJ asked as Nick walked over towards the window of the airport to get better reception from his cell phone.
"Hey Els. We kinda have some bad news for you."
"What's that?" Elle said. "No, wait, don't tell me. You are going to be late."
"Sorry Els. We ran into trouble in North Carolina when we had to change flights. We basically had to run down the concourses and hide in the bathroom for two hours until we could finally leave and catch a flight to New York."
"It happens. Don't worry about it. Tell everyone that it's no problem, but that the editor of the magazine for the interview has a meeting at 2:30 and she must be there. If you get here after 2:00, we are going to have to cancel the interview. That better not happen Mr. Carter. I want to see you."
"I want to see you more," Nick challenged playfully. "Don't worry, we'll be there in about an hour. That is, if we don't have another run in."
"All right, I will see you then. If I am not in the conference room, it means that I am with Maranda getting yet another lecture on how lately I have been slacking off and how I need to work harder." Elle said.
"Okay, see you then." With that Nick hung up the phone and re-joined the other four Backstreet Boys.
"So…what did she have to say." AJ said. "Or, I guess the question is: what did you have to say." The other three laughed as Nick began to turn red.
A hour and 15 minutes later, Elle was sitting across the table from Maranda.
"Elle, you have to realize that giving you this interview is a stretch. You did show some improvement over the week, but I know that you are not showing your full potential or even half your full potential. I know that you have done so much for Jive Records New York. You have pushed us to a whole new and younger level. That is the only reason why I am still allowing you to conduct this interview." After Maranda had finished her statement, Elle said her thank yous and quickly walked out the door. Just as she was shutting the door, she heard a familiar song drifting through the corridor.
"…the road to take, to find the way back to your heart."
It was Nick. Elle quickened her pace until she was practically running. Her heart was pounding and tears were forming in her eyes. She turned the corner, jumped into Nick's arms, and was greeted with a long and loving kiss. Moments passed by as both of them felt as if the other was reading their soul.
"Ahh, isn't that sweet." AJ said as he walked down the hallway towards the couple. "Are you two going to do this through the entire interview?"
"Uh huh." Nick said between kisses.
"You know I would love to, but unfortunately for me, my job is on the line." Elle said as she and AJ began walking towards the conference room.
"That's a rip off." Nick whined as he stood in the spot where only moments ago, he and Elle discovered that they loved each other.
"Come on Carter, move your butt." Elle commanded.
She smiled to herself and knew that finally, everything was going to be just as it should be.