After Isabel's doctor's appointment, she was fitted with crutches and sent home with another prescription of pain killers for her leg. Her doctor said it'd be another 3 weeks before they would know whether her leg was healing properly, but so far, it looked good. Least now she could get around on her own a little.
"Okay..so where you wanna eat at?," Nick asked as he pulled out of the hospital's parking lot.
"I don't care..hey, don't you gotta go to Jive today? You said something about that yesterday.."
"Damn..I knew I was forgetting something. Let's go grab some McDonald's and go on over there, will you hand me my cell?"
"Sure.," She said handing him the cell phone.
After Mcdonald's, Nick drove towards Jive's building in downtown Orlando. He grabbed the food and drinks while Isabel hobbled in behind him.
"Umm..let me go see if they're here and we'll go down to the cafeteria and eat..or something."
"Are you sure I can come with you?"
"I don't see why not, we're not comtemplating the world's take-over Isabel. Just some stuff that I missed..awhile ago."
She nodded, "Okay..I'll just wait here then."
He grinned, "Cool, I'll be right back.
He was back within a few minutes, "Okay, they're going to meet us down in the cafeteria. I said I had a guest and they said they didn't care."
"Who is 'they' anyways?"
"Well one's our manager, Mike, the other two are just two executives from Jive."
She nodded and tried to keep up with him.
Once at the cafeteria, Nick pushed open the door and let her go in. The three men were sitting at an otherwise empty table. The cafeteria was pretty empty, except for a table of five guys and a couple of girls on the other side of the room.
Nick set the food down and grinned, "Mike, Steve, and Gary, this is my friend Isabel who's staying with me till Kevin's back from Italy."
She smiled at the three, "It's nice to meet all of you. Especially you Mike, since you have to keep all five of them straight and in line."
Mike laughed, "Since I try to keep them in line."
"Hey!"
Everyone at the table laughed. "So, what happened to your leg?"
"Car accident. But I'm fine really. And I'm sorry I'm barging in on your all's meeting; it's completely unintentional."
Steve shook his head, "It's alright really, this is a very informal meeting as well, so it's fine."
Gary cleared his throat, "Now I know you missed the meeting that we had with the other guys, did they fill you in at all?"
Nick nodded as he grabbed a fry, "Yeah, they said it was just about the contract and that we had to sign papers about our fourth year or something like that."
Gary nodded, "Yes, that's pretty much it. I have it here, if you'd like to look over it?"
Nick nodded, "Sure."
Isabel was looking around the room, not really listening to Nick and the three men, it was boring. Her eyes landed on the other table filled with people in the room. 'Hmm..five guys..one with reallllly baaad curly hair..hmmm..could it be? Oh no, this would just be TOO good.,' She thought as the light bulb in her head went off: It was N'Sync.
And some of their counterparts.
She giggled like a little girl inside when Justin Timberlake himself looked over and caught her eye. He grinned and she smiled back at him before turning to Nick, realizing he had asked her something. "I'm sorry, what'd you ask?"
"I was just asking if you wanted to take a look around Jive for a few minutes? Gary's going to go make a copy of the contract and give me some songs that Brian wrote before he went home yesterday."
"Umm..sure."
"What were you looking at?"
"Nothing..let's go."
He helped her up and gathered their trash to throw away. "Isabel, come on this way."
She almost groaned, geez; she was almost too obvious in staring at Justin. She turned and followed Nick through a door that led to a hallway. It was covered in posters and plaques of all the Jive artists. BSB, N'Sync, Britney, Mystikal, R. Kelly, etc. She looked at Backstreet Boys and looked over at Nick, "Dude, you could tell them to get a new picture of you guys to put up. You and Bri look like shit."
He looked closer at the picture before grinning, "You know..we do."
"I call 'em like I see 'em."
He laughed and followed behind her, stopping to look at N'Sync's plaque for breaking the record of first week sales and sighed. "What's wrong Nick?"
"Nothing."
"Yes something is..now, I want to see the new, improved, honest Nick, and I want him to tell me what's wrong."
He smiled, he couldn't help it. "I was just thinking, we were the first ones to break that record that Garth Brooks set and we were soo excited. And after that, all the shit started with Kelsey."
"And you..drinking?"
He nodded and looked away, almost ashamed, "You know, I never liked who I was then."
They started back down the hallway, "Do you like yourself now?"
"I think I'm getting there."
"That's good Nick..you need to like yourself."
"True."
"Are you excited about recording again?"
He nodded and pushed open another door, "Yeah..I've been itchin' to get back in the studio."
"You'll have to send me a tape of the new album."
"Definitely."
They ended up in front of Gary's office. "Wait here and I'll be back in a minute or so."
"Here, give me the keys to the car. I'm gonna go find a bathroom and I'll just meet you out there."
"Okay.," He said handing her the car keys.
He went inside and the door shut behind him. Isabel went back down the hallway and found the cafeteria after a couple more twists and turns. N'Sync and the girls with them were still there. She looked around, okay, a bathroom had to of existed in there. 'Okay..maybe..not.,' She thought after looking around and not seeing anything.
She groaned, she was going to embarrass herself, she was sure of it, as she made her way over to the table N'Sync was at. "Sorry to bother you all but--"
"We're not giving out autographs right now..," JC said barely looking at her.
"But I didn't want an autograph, I was just wonderin-"
"No pictures either."
Isabel rolled her eyes, "Okay, I don't really give a crap who you all are or what you THINK you are, I was just looking for a bathroom but since you don't seem to be much help, I think I'm better off on my own."
She muttered some things under her breath that were very un-ladylike. She fought with the door to get it open and was about to throw a fit when someone opened the door for her. She looked up and found herself looking into some very, very blue eyes. And it wasn't Nick.
"Umm..thanks."
"No problem, you looked like you were having some trouble. I couldn't stand to see a pretty lady like yourself having trouble with anything and just had to help."
"Well, thanks anyways, it was..very nice of you."
Justin watched as she went through the doorway past him. "You were looking for a bathroom, right?"
"Umm..yeah..just point me in the general direction and I'll find it."
He nodded and pointed down the hall, "There's one right around that corner and its the first two doors on the left."
She smiled, "Thank you Justin."
He smiled, "So since you know my name, what's yours?"
"Isabel."
"Very nice to meet you Isabel. So, were you here with Nick Carter?"
"Yep, he's a friend of mine and I'm staying with him."
He nodded, "Ohhhh..that's cool. Well, I better get back to the guys. And I apologize for JC's attitude, we're all tired and cranky."
"It's okay, I guess. It was nice meeting you Justin."
"You too Isabel, see you around."
"Yeah..you too."
She watched as he walked back through the doors and they closed behind him. Isabel finally shook herself out of her 'dreamworld' and went down the hall to the bathroom.
She met Nick at the car, "Did you find a bathroom?"
She nodded as he unlocked the door, "Yep..took me awhile."
"I guess I could of showed you or something.."
"It's okay."
Then, they were on the way back to Tampa and home.
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