Chapter Twenty-eight

A curler fell from Lori’s hair as she scurried around her bedroom for somethng decent to wear. It dropped to the floor and rolled under the dresser, and she let it go. She didn’t have time to go looking for it, not when she was supposed to be down at the studio in thirty minutes.

She was back in Orlando, in her old condo, after Howie and AJ had come chasing after her in Europe. John had never closed it up. A part of her had already forgiven Howie, but she wasn’t about to let him know that just yet. She wanted to see exactly what he was going to do to make it up to her.

Her phone rang and she reached for it while making a grab at a dress in the closet.

“Lori? This is Kristin,” a friendly female voice said.

“Oh, hi, how are you?”

“Fine. You sound a little frantic. Are you all right?”

Lori tossed aside the dress and reached for a pants suit. “I have no idea what to wear. What are you wearing?”

“Jeans and a white blouse. It’s nothing fancy, today’s going to be a pretty casual day.”

“What’s on the agenda?”

“Final touches to the last song on the album, radio interview, stop at a local news show and afternoon meetings about the around the world trip,” Kristin rattled off.

“That’s a casual day?” Lori squeaked, throwing down the pants suit and searching the closet for something else.

Kristin laughed. “You’ll get used to it. Howie made sure they have your name at the front desk. You’ll get a special id badge to get you in.”

“Okay,” Lori said, biting her lip. Suddenly, this was sounding incredibly overwhelming to her.

“Hey,” Kristin said softly. “Would you like me to meet you there?”

“Omigosh, would you? I’d be so grateful.”

“No problem. I’ll see you there. Do you need a ride or anything?”

“No, as soon as I get some freakin’ clothes on, I’ll speed right over.”

“You’ll look awesome no matter what you choose.”

“Thanks.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

“Bye.”

Lori hung up and began pulling curlers from her hair. She finger fluffed it and pulled it back in a loose ponytail.

“All right, hair’s done. Now you just need clothes!”

She finally just closed her eyes and pointed into her closet. The result was a sleeveless beige sweater and white pants. Sandals completed the outfit. Satisfied that she was dressed appropriately, she grabbed her purse and sprinted out the door to her Jeep, which John hadn’t sold for her either. Putting on her sunglasses, she took a deep breath.

Today was going to be a whole new experience to her. She was about to step into the world of a superstar, and she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to.

She’d done her research on the Backstreet Boys, and she now knew everything they had accomplished, and all they had been through. She admired them for their dedication to their craft and all their hard work. She came back to Orlando two days after Howie had visted her, and spoken to him a few times on the phone since he’d left her apartment in Brussels with AJ, but she hadn’t seen him. John had asked her out to lunch, to apologize, and she forgave him.

She parked beside AJ’s truck and hurried inside to the front desk where Kristin was waiting for her, as promised. The two women hugged and Lori was given an identical badge to Kristin’s. Soon, they were headed down long hallways to a private meeting room in the very back of the building.

“Are you ready for this?” Kristin asked, her hand on the doorknob.

Lori nodded. “But I’m terrified, too.”

Kristin smiled and said, “I completely understand.”

Lori gulped hard. “All right, I’m ready.”