"Hello, Dear," Emma smiled as she looked up from the information sheet she was filling out about a new member, who sat in front of her, looking nervous.
"Is Rok in his office?" Jill pointed at the door behind Emma's desk.
"Yes, ma'am, unless he snuck out while I was in the restroom," Emma again smiled.
"Hey, have you even met Brian Littrell?" Jill asked the young girl. The girl shook her head back and forth, dark hair flinging wildly around. "Do you want to?"
The girl shrugged, then nodded slowly.
"Let me go drag him from his cave of an office," Jill smiled and entered the office. "Daddy, there's a little girl out there signing up who's never met you. Kinda wants to. Dunno why though."
Brian looked up. "Hey, Sad Eyes, lead me to her. How's Leigh?"
"Fine. Mad at Nick 'cause he wouldn't get out of bed for her to wash the sheets in the guest room."
"Figures. He's lazy," Brian followed her out into the main room. "Hi there, Little Lady," Brian grinned a grin that oozed Southern charm at the girl. "What's your name?"
"Ava," The girl said softly.
"Beautiful name, your momma knew what she was doin' when she named you. Beautiful name for a beautiful girl."
Jill laughed softly.
"Thank you," Ava said softly. "Are you really a Backstreet Boy?" She cocked her head sideways.
Brian grinned and began to sing. "You are....my fire, the one...desire, believe...when I say, that I want it that way."
Nick, who had just walked in, apparently because Leigh Anne kicked him out, picked it right up, "But we are two worlds apart...Can't reach to your heart...When you say...That I want it that way."
The girl's eyes widened considerably when it sunk in that two Backstreet Boys were serenading her with one of pop's most timeless songs.
"Hey, I've got to talk to these two, but I'm sure I'll be seeing you more often at meetings, ok?" Brian bent over and hugged the girl, as did Nick.
"It's not pretty, is it?" Nick asked, falling into a chair and looking out the window over Orlando.
"Nah," Brian shook his head. "I don't understand what happened. The books are all right, the money is just not there. I don't get it."
Nick looked thoughtful. "How much money do you need?"
"A lot."
A silence fell over the group until Brian broke it by saying, "Is that a sample?"
Jill nodded, looking down at her outfit. It was a sample that had been made of one of her designs for her clothing and make-up company, which AJ had named Crazy Daisy. All the samples were made in her size, a one, and in a three and five so the other girls could try them and give their own input as to how they fit different body types. The one she had on at the moment was a denim studded miniskirt that hung low on her hips and showed off quite a bit of leg paired with a pale pink tight ribbed tank top studded around the neckline. It was cropped, and showed off her thin, well-muscled stomach and her hips.
"Sell it, it's hot," Nick sighed.
"Are those shoes designed by you, too?" Brian asked, placing his head in his hands.
Jill looked down at her ankle-high heeled boots and nodded yet again.
"Sell it."
The fell into a comfortable silence, all of them lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly Jill jumped up. "Ow!" She squealed, falling into Nick's lap.
Brian cocked an eyebrow and Nick laughed. "There are easier ways to get my attention, Baby."
Jill sighed. "They shoes are going to need a more stable heel before they go on the market. Anyways, I got it!"
"You got what?" Brian asked, pinching the bridge of his nose and resting his elbows on his immaculate desk.
"How you can make a lot of money and not really have to spend any. And it's fast."
"How?" Brian raised his head.
"Charity concert," Jill said. "You guys can do a set. I bet AJ would do Johnny No-Name for it. I can get Tonya out here, she's releasing a CD soon, she's already got a single out. We could get plenty of people."
Nick laughed.
"No, she's got something," Brian grinned. "She's really got something. Who do you think you could get?"
AJ walked in. "What for?"
"A charity concert to raise money," Brian said.
"I could get Tonya, AJ would you do Johnny No-Name?" At AJ's nod, she continued. "You guys. I bet Mandy Moore or Jessica Simpson would, maybe Britney or Christina. I could probably get soulDecision, I know one of them."
"You could get *N Sync," AJ said.
"Would they really do a charity concert to help a Backstreet Boy's foundation?" Brian asked. "Be realistic."
"Not possible," AJ shrugged. "And yes, they would. Listen to me. Jill, you talk to Justin, don't you?"
"He's called once or twice," Jill muttered.
AJ grinned. "Look, she could just mention it and ask if he knows of any acts that would be willing to perform. I know he'll bring up that god-awful group Innosense, but apparently they do have fans."
"Wasn't Amanda in Innosense?" Jill asked.
AJ nodded. "Back when they were good, so was Britney Spears."
"But would the rest of *N Sync do it?" Jill asked.
"If Fro Boy wants them to," Brian shrugged. "Aargh!" He clenched the muscles in one arm, jerking it in an "oops" manner. "I meant Justin."
Jill laughed. "Don't worry, Tonya and I practically invented the nickname Fro Boy."
"Good, now I don't feel bad," Nick grinned.
"Well, you should. You just call him that because of petty jealousy," Jill laughed and wobbled over behind Brian's giant, plush chair, screaming for help as Nick vaulted over the desk and landed on Brian's lap.
"Ugh! Nick!" Brian yelled as Jill, who had kicked off her shoes, took off around the desk and ran for the door AJ held open.
As Nick ran through, he hit AJ over the head for helping Jill, which caused AJ to curse and run after him. "AJ! there are kids in the building!" Brian yelled, running after them. "Will you guys shut up? This is an office building, not Jive!"
Emma looked up at Ava and her mother, who were staring at the unruly bunch as they ran through, and laughed at their looks. "That was Jill, Nick, AJ, and Brian, in that order. Brian is the one who had heart problems." Just then, Brian whizzed past after the other three. "Look at him go now. He used to have to go back behind the stage after every song and go on a respirator for a few minutes!"
"Is it...safe for her to be here?" The woman asked as Jill ran through and dove behind Emma.
"I'ma get you," Nick called, running into the room. "Where'd she go?"
AJ, who was hot on his heels, plowed into him. Brian, who rounded the corner yelling, plowed into AJ, and the three fell into a heap on the floor. Jill had crawled under the desk into the part where Emma's legs usually went.
Emma stared at the pile of limbs connected to young singers, then turned to the concerned mother. "Brian's the only one of the group who actually goes to the meetings, so there isn't nearly as much chaos."
"But there is chaos?"
"Only when there's new girls who see Brian for the first time. There won't be much of that, either, he's trying to meet them all before their first meeting."
The woman nodded. "Ok..."
Nick jumped up and ran around the desk, peeked into the office, then ran out of the room. AJ and Brian just sat up, dazed.
Jill crawled around the edge of the desk carefully. AJ opened his mouth but Brian covered it. "Let Nick get lost for awhile."
Jill grinned and draped herself across Brian and AJ's laps. "So I get to organize it."
"You're in charge, can ya handle it?"
AJ grinned. "Kelly, can you handle this? Michelle, can you handle this? Beyonce, can you handle this? I don't think you can handle this."
Brian, finally giving up on controlling AJ and Nick, joined in with AJ and Jill when they yelled, "Whooo!" and began to sing.