It started with a simple phone call.

The resulting situation really wasn't the junior assistant's fault. 
She'd already had fifteen things to do, arms full of mail, a sack
of laundry and two deli bags when the personal assistant to Mr.
Timberlake thrust the schedule for next month at her.  That she
managed to grab onto the schedule at all and not drop it was a
minor miracle.  Particularly when the P.A. snatched the deli bags
away, since she'd been using those to balance the mail and keep it
from falling.  She'd already had too much to do.  And now this.

"Check up on these," Rick said, striding away.  Halfway down the
hall, he stopped and demanded, "And where the hell are the
espressos, damnit?  How is anyone supposed to eat lunch without
anything to drink?"

There was only one thing Kate could say, and she said it.  "Yes,
sir.  I'll get those right away, sir."

"I swear," the P.A. said, walking on.  "The quality of help these
days."

She really wasn't getting paid enough to put up with all of this,
but then, she was on tour with Justin Timberlake, and that was
saying something, even if she hadn't seen the show even once yet
and the closest she'd gotten to the star himself had been seeing a
glimpse of his sneaker through an open door as she handed forms to
Rick.  She knew it was Justin's sneaker; she'd opened the box from
Nike when it arrived in the mail.  'Mail' being a loose term
covering UPS, special courier, and actual mail sent ahead to the
places they were staying.  In her case, either a seat on the bus,
or a room at a Motel 6, crammed in with at least three other
people.

So when Kate finally got to the task of confirming the next month's
interview schedule, June 15 through July 15, she was in the usual
hurry and not perhaps as careful as she might have been by the time
she got to Saturday, July 12.  

There were two call-ins for radio shows, a newspaper interview and
an interview with a college organization scheduled for Saturday. 
The radio stations were easy to verify.  The newspaper people
routed her around until they finally found the person who was going
to be doing the interview.  The college one, though...

"Mississippi State!  How may I help you?" said the cheery voice on
the end of the line.

"Yes, I was calling for the GLBA.  I need to confirm an interview
time."

"For the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Association?  Sure thing,
sugar."

The junior assistant hastily scribbled down the full name of the
organization.  While Mr. Timberlake was fully in support of gay
rights, that didn't necessarily mean that the person originally
scheduling the interview had meant for him to talk with them. 
She'd have to talk to her boss about it before confirming the time
for this one.  Kate cringed a little at the thought of confronting
the P.A.

"Honey?  That's Gene E. White."

The junior assistant dutifully wrote down what she'd heard, 'Jeanie
Wyatt'.  "Got it.  Thank you."

Three more days of schedule to confirm and then off to face her
boss with the news that the college organization wasn't a Christian
Bible study program or whatever he'd assumed.  Rick was going to be
pissed.  Of course, Rick got pissed about everything.

She was so going to buy a pound of chocolate for later.  The only
worse than the pay and being treated like she was, was the constant
reminders that she could be replaced at any time, that any one of
a million fans would love to have her job.  That was so far from
the truth, it wasn't even funny.

~~~~

"Hello?  Is this Jeanie Wyatt?"

"Ginny Wyatt," the dark haired student of microbiology corrected. 
"Who's this?"

"This is Kate Parker.  I'm a personal assistant for Mr. Timberlake. 
I was calling to confirm your interview with him on July 12th."

Ginny blinked.  Looked at the phone and blinked again.  "This is a
joke, right?"

"No, Ms. Wyatt.  The interview will be at the Jackson Marriott at
9 a.m.  You'll need to stop at the front desk and ask for me.  I'll
escort you up.  Please be at least a half an hour early.  Are you
going to want to take photographs?  Oh, and do you need
directions?"

She pinched herself.  Yes, she was definitely awake.  And she had
no idea what was going on.  Good sense suggested it was a prank,
like the time somebody'd called her, pretending to be Publishers'
Clearinghouse and telling her she'd won the big prize in their
contest.  She'd called back the number they'd given her though, and
it wasn't even a real number.  The kicker here though was that
Justin Timberlake was going to be in Jackson for a concert.  She'd
wanted to get tickets, but they were way too much for her budget. 
Had she entered some sort of contest and forgotten about it?

"I can look up the address of the hotel," Ginny said.  "And, yes,
definitely, photographs.  Can I bring a friend?"

The P.A. had been very firm when Kate had brought up the potential
problem with an interview with a gay organization.  He hadn't even
consulted Mr. Timberlake, just told Kate scornfully that she should
know that Mr. Timberlake was pleased to support such things and
would be happy to be seen with some attractive examples of today's
collegiate youth.

"Yes," Kate said, adding '+ girlfriend' to the notes for the
interview.  "That would be fine."

"And, um, can I get your number in case I need to call about
something?"

Kate gave her number, thanked the girl and hung up.  Onto the next
task.

Ginny hung up, waited a few seconds, then dialed the number.

"Kate Parker, how may I help you?" came the answer.

She hung up the telephone, heart beating fast.  It was real!  It
was really real!  Or a well-thought out prank.  But!  Justin
Timberlake!  She called her friend immediately.

Natalie was skeptical.  "Yeah, so what if the area code isn't
local?  It's probably somebody from back home, pulling a practical
joke on you.  And cell phone area codes don't have to match the
state area code."

"It's a Florida area code, though.  Not Tennessee.  I looked it up
on the web."

"Still.  You're going to go to the hotel and no one's going to be
there."

Ginny snorted.  "So what should I do?  Not go and risk the
possibility that it might be real?"

"You have a point.  I wouldn't tell anyone about it though."

Ginny nodded.  "If it's real, everyone will want to go, and if it
isn't, everyone will want to laugh.  Too much hassle."

"Exactly.  So.  What're you going to wear?"

"Um.  Clothes?"

~~~~

"Okay, this is eerie," Natalie said as they parked the car they'd
borrowed for the trip to Jackson.  "Where's the horde of fans
surrounding the hotel?"

"Apparently somewhere else."  Ginny got out of the car and looked
at the unprepossessing shape of the Courtyard Marriott.  "Not
exactly where you think a big star'd stay."

"I'll bet you lunch that he won't be there and the desk clerk will
never have heard of this Kate Parker person."

"What kind of lunch?"

Natalie stuck her tongue out at her.  "Salad at McDonald's."

"You could always wait in the car," Ginny suggested, heading for
the door.

"As if.  Someone's gotta be there to laugh at you."

"Just for that, I'll tell him that you think his music stinks."

"It does.  Give me George Strait any day.  Now there's a man to
swoon over."

Ginny rolled her eyes and went in.

At the front desk, she asked for Kate Parker and was told to wait. 
She and Natalie went and sat on a couch nearby.

They scrutinized every person who came through the lobby.  Then a
harried-looking blonde woman came down the hall and stopped at the
front desk.  After a few words with the person there, she turned
and came toward them.

"Hi!  You're from the college?"

Ginny stood up, followed by Natalie.  She held out her hand.  "Yes. 
I'm Ginny Wyatt, and this is my friend, Natalie."

"Good, good.  Nice to meet you, Ginny, Natalie."  Kate shook hands
and smiled at them.  They seemed nice.  They chatted all the way to
the elevator and up to Mr. Timberlake's floor.  "Okay, now if
you'll just have a seat in here, Mr. Timberlake will be in in a few
moments."

"Thank you," Ginny said.

When she and Natalie were alone, she looked at her friend.  "Tell
me if I start drooling or something.  I'm so excited, I want to
scream."

Natalie snorted.  "Whatever you do, don't scream."

"I'm not planning to.  It's just, you know."

"Yeah.  I know."

Justin smiled.  Lesbians.  The thought almost made him giggle like
a little kid, but he entered the room as composed as he could get. 
"Good morning, ladies," he said, offering his hand.

Natalie shot to her feet, and shook his hand.  "Good morning."

Ginny, on the other hand, was frozen.  ~Wow.  It's really him.~

Natalie kept smiling as Justin released her hand.  She took a small
step to the side and brought her foot down on Ginny's.  "Wake up!"
she hissed.

Ginny startled.  "Oh!" she said and stood.  "It's so nice to meet
you.  It's just... you're real, you know?  And I know that sounds
stupid, but after seeing you on TV and in pictures, it's hard to
believe that you're standing right there like an ordinary person."

Natalie rolled her eyes.  "Forgive my friend.  She had to intern at
the hospital last night.  She isn't too awake yet."

"Really?  You're gonna be a doctor?" Justin asked, taking a seat
near the couch the le-ladies were occupying.  And they were such
cute... ladies.

"Sort of.  I'm majoring in Microbiology," Ginny said as she sat
back down, Natalie beside her.  Justin was smiling at her!

"Microbiology," Justin said.  "You must be really smart."

"Smart-mouthed, maybe," Natalie whispered.

Ginny elbowed her.  "It interests me.  And I'm good at it."

"Cool.  That's how music is for me," Justin said, giving them a
lead-in to the interview.

Ginny nodded.  "Well, yes.  You're obviously really good at it. 
Especially since you started doing it so young.  When I was little,
I wanted to be a doctor, and fix people."

"Exactly."  Justin smiled at the girl again.  "So, um.  What do you
want to know?"

Ginny's eyes widened.  She hadn't expected that, but then, she'd
more than half-expected this was all a bad joke.  "Um..."  The
questions that came to her mind weren't really the kind of stuff
she could ask.  She looked at Natalie, who shook her head.

She swallowed.  She couldn't think of anything other than really
impertinent questions, but she was just sitting there waiting for
her to say something.

"So, um, do you have a girlfriend?"

Natalie rolled her eyes.  "Why not just ask if he has a boyfriend,
too?" she hissed.

Justin's smile widened.  "Neither, at the moment," he says.

He was smiling even more at them.  Obviously, he wasn't mad.  So
she went ahead and asked the next question that had come to mind,
"What do you look for in a girlfriend?"

"Or boyfriend," Natalie added, enjoying herself.

"Natalie!"

"What?"

Justin laughed, thinking they were having a joke on him.  "Well,
um.  I like a... person who's honest and nice.  Pretty doesn't
hurt.  Someone who likes music, and knows why they like it. 
Someone who knows what *they* want from life."

Ginny nodded enthusiastically.  "Those are good things, yes."

"Are you taking applications?" Natalie asked.

Ginny gave her a quelling look, but when she looked at her, she
could tell Natalie was just joking.  She smiled.  "Like *you* know
what you want from life."  She looked back at Justin.  "She's a
literature major."

"Yeah, yeah, make fun of me.  Just because I'm going to end up as
a secretary doesn't mean I don't like what I'm studying."

"You don't have to be a secretary," Justin said.  "The biggest
thing that I've learned is that you really *can* be anything you
want to.  It just depends what you're willing to give for it."

Natalie laughed.  "See, Gin?"

"Yeah, well, he's Justin Timberlake.  He *can* do anything."  Ginny
looked back at Justin, who was regarding her with an amused
expression.  She blushed.  "Oops.  Sorry."

"Nah, 's all good."

Natalie got a mischievous look on her face.  "So, what do you think
of Ginny?  She's nice, funny, honest and she knows what she wants
in life.  And she likes your music, so that means she probably has
taste, too."

"Nat!"

Justin grinned back.  "Does she know *why* she likes it?"

Natalie looked at her friend.  "Well... I could tell you the real
reason, but I think she'd probably get mad."

Ginny looked at Natalie curiously.  "I like his music because it's
fun.  Because the lyrics are clever and I like his voice.  What are
you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about.  Working late nights... at the
hospital..."

At this rate, she was going to be a perpetual blush.  "Oh!  Yeah. 
And because it's better than caffeine for staying awake, because it
makes me want to move and dance."

Justin laughed.  "Sounds like a match to me," he teased.

Ginny shook her head.  "Thanks.  I mean, *thanks*, because I'm
really flattered, but y'know, it isn't funny."

"Nah, sorry.  I mean, with your girlfriend right there and all."

Ginny raised her eyebrows.  "Huh?  She's not my girlfriend."

"You're a girl and you're my friend," Natalie said.

"Yeah, but, you're not my *girlfriend*."  She looked back at
Justin.  "Really.  I like guys."

"T-that's great.  But, um.  My notes said Ginny Wyatt plus
girlfriend."

Ginny and Natalie looked at each other, both equally confused. 
Ginny turned back to Justin, shaking her head.  "No.  I don't know
how that could've happened.  I asked Kate if I could bring a friend
and she said yes.  I'm pretty sure I didn't say girlfriend.  I
wonder why she would've thought that?"

"Well, it is an interview for the GLBA.  Maybe she was confused."

"The GLBA?" Ginny asked.

"The Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Association!" Natalie said, putting
two and two together.  "The one that Gene guy runs."

"Oh, yeah.  Gene White."

Natalie looked at Ginny.  Ginny looked at Natalie.  "Are you
thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes, but White and Wyatt don't sound anything like each other,"
Natalie said.

"Wait."  Justin said the names.  "Now do they sound alike?  Maybe
someone with an accent."

"White.  Why-utt."  Ginny looked down.  "They kinda do."

"Gene's gonna be so mad when he finds out," Natalie said.

Ginny nodded.  "I would be.  Getting cheated out of a chance like
this."  She looked at Justin.  "I'm *so* sorry.  I had no idea.  I
thought maybe I'd won a contest I didn't remember entering or
something like that."

"It's not your fault!" Justin insisted.  "Besides, it's not like
you can't tell him what I said.  I'll give you some of my notes and
stuff to give him, too."  Justin grinned again.  "Besides, you're
probably prettier than him any day."

Ginny grinned back at him.  "Yeah, but he probably would have
flirted with you, too."

Justin laughed aloud at that.  The spent the rest of the hour just
talking.  Justin leaves thinking it the most thoroughly enjoyable
interview he's ever had.

"Everything go well?" Kate asked as the door closed behind them. 
She started toward the elevator, escorting the girls back down to
the lobby.

"Yeah, except for one thing," Ginny said.

"What's that?"

"We're not supposed to be here.  *I'm* not supposed to be here. 
When you called me, I thought someone was playing a joke on me, or
that maybe I'd won a contest or something.  But we aren't supposed
to be here at all.  It's Gene White who's supposed to be here. 
He's the one with the GLBA.  It's all a mistake."

"Oh," Kate said, smile freezing on her face.  "Well, that is a
problem, isn't it?  Still... you had an enjoyable time with Mr.
Timberlake?"

"Oh, yes.  Definitely."

"He's really nice," Natalie said.  "In fact..."

Ginny recognized that tone of voice.  It was the same tone Natalie
had used with great success on their history professor when they
were both freshman to convince him that, no, he really had told
them they could write a paper on World War II for extra credit. 
The report had saved Ginny's GPA and she really had done the work
-- but the professor had never said any such thing.

"He said you could help us with getting passes to the show."

Ginny thinks that she's going to kill Natalie when they get home. 
Or get her chocolate if this works.

Kate rolled her eyes.  "You don't have to lie.  I really can give
you passes."  And she produced them from her pocket.  "There you
go.  Enjoy."  All the while, she was thinking 'I'm dead.  I'm going
to be killed.'

"Sorry," Ginny said.  "Natalie just thinks she can get away with
stuff."

"Hey, I saved your ass last time."

Ginny didn't look at Natalie.  "Thank you.  It's really nice of you
to give us passes.  Especially when we're not even supposed to be
here.  Are you.. are you going to get in trouble for this?"

"Giving you passes?  Nope!"

"No, I meant for us being here at all."

"I don't know.  It's not your fault, either way.  I'll escort you
to the lobby.  If you'll just follow me?"  Kate led them out the
door and toward the lobby.  Somewhere, deep inside her head, a
voice called out 'dead woman walking.'

"I'm sorry," Ginny said.

Rick came out a door and walked up to Kate.  "There you are."  He
spared the girls a thin-lipped smile, then turned back to her. 
"Here's the lunch list.  Try to get it right this time."  He strode
off.

"Wow.  That guy's a jerk," Natalie said.

Kate smiled brightly.  "That guy's my boss."

"He shouldn't be," Ginny said.  "Justin was so nice.  How can he
stand having someone that mean working for him?"

Cynically, Natalie said, "Probably because the guy kisses up to
anyone he can't get away with bullying."

Kate just kept smiling and herding the younger women toward the
elevator.

They let themselves be escorted the lobby and waved at Kate when
she left to get the lunch order.  But once she was out of sight,
Ginny turned to Natalie.  "We've got to do something.  She's going
to get fired because of us."

Natalie looks at her.  "Okay.  Saying that I agree with you, what
can we possibly do about it?"

Ginny frowned.  "I don't know.  But we have to do something."

~~~~

The concert was a blast.  Kate can't believe she *finally* got to
see one.  But her boss assigned her to work security because
someone got sick.  So, yes, standing all the way at the back of the
upper balcony, but she still got to see the show.  It's a great
comfort, since she'll be fired tomorrow.  But after the show,
something strange happened.  She was summoned back to Mr.
Timberlake's dressing room.  She could hear voices inside as she
approached.  Finally, she knocked lightly.

Natalie looked up at the knock.  She was still holding the signs
she and Ginny had made and then held up at the concert.  When the
two were held up together, they read, "Kate's great.  Rick's a
prick."  Below that, they said, "See us for more details," but
neither of them had thought that part would be visible.  Natalie
was still surprised that it had worked.

"Come in!  Oh, Kate, thanks for coming.  These two ladies have just
been telling me what a good job you did with them."

"About that, Mr. Timberlake, sir.  I'm very sorry for the mix up. 
I've called the GLBA representative.  He's agreed to a phone
interview tomorrow and one of the other groups called to cancel, so
it works with your schedule.  The error is totally mine."  Kate met
Justin's eyes.  "I'm sorry, sir."

"See?" Ginny said.  "Kate's nice.  Really nice.  She tries hard. 
The other guy is just plain mean."

"He's the kind of person who probably said *he* spent a lot of time
picking up lunch when Kate did all the work."

"And made her pay for it," Ginny added.

"Well, there is a petty cash fund," Kate said fairly.

"But you have to use your own money, right?  And then you maybe get
the money back later.  If you have all the receipts and your boss
doesn't lose him or pretend he never sent you to any of those
places."

"Well, yes, but..."

"See!" Ginny looked at Justin.  "She made a mistake, and so her
boss is going to get her fired, when half the stuff she does is
probably things he was supposed to be doing in the first place." 
Ginny knew about that kind of thing.  Interns tended to get blamed
when something went wrong.  And, then when things went right, other
people took the credit.

Justin frowned.  "Well, okay.  I won't let her be fired, all
right?"

Ginny nodded.

Natalie said, "Give her a chance.  I bet she could do a better job
for you than that guy who's supposedly her boss."

"Oh, Natalie, no!  I don't have the experience to get a job like
that," Kate said, aghast.

"You can do anything you want to do if you set your mind to it,"
Ginny said.  She looked at Justin.  "Right?"

"Wait, am I no longer in charge of who has what job?" Justin asked.

"Well, yes, sir.  I mean *no*, sir!  I mean--"  Kate sighed in
defeat.  "Whatever you say, sir."

"Good.  I say you're hired, on a probationary basis."

Kate was so happy she was nearly in tears.  "Thank you, Mr.
Timberlake."

"And call me Justin," Justin said.  "Now.  All lovely ladies out of
my dressing room.  And Kate?  Send in Rick the prick, will you?"

Kate grinned.  "Yes, Justin."

"Thank you," Ginny said quietly to Justin as she got up.  "For
listening to us and for being nice to Kate."

"You're welcome, pretty lady.  I, uh, don't suppose you'd like to
come to a club with me tonight?"

Ginny had nodded when Justin said she was welcome, but when he said
the rest of it, it was like her heart stopped for a minute.  "Would
I?" she asked, a huge smile growing on her face.  "I'd love to."

"Good.  Pick you up in an hour?"

"We're not -- we aren't staying anywhere.  We drove up for the
day."

"Well, then.  Pick you up from costumes in an hour?  You can wear
anything you want.  And we'll take Natalie with us, huh?"

Ginny looked at Natalie, eyes begging.  ~Please, please, go along
with this.  Please don't screw this up for me.~

Natalie laughed.  "Sure.  I'm not going to pass up a chance to go
dancing."

Justin smiled.  "JC might be around here somewhere.  Maybe. 
Y'know, like hiding on my bus."

Natalie's jaw dropped.  "Oh.  Wow.  Do you mind if I fall in love
with you right now?  You're amazing."

Justin laughed.  Just then there was a knock on the door and Rick
stuck his head in.  "I was told you wanted to see me, Justin?"

"Ladies, will you excuse us, please?  Kate will show you to
wardrobe."

Ginny nodded, and both of them leave with Kate.  Once outside,
Ginny turned to Natalie, "Is it all right that I want to scream and
faint right now?"

"Only if it means you won't be there to catch me when I do the same
thing."

"Thank you, Ginny, Natalie.  If you ever need anything, just let me
know."

"You didn't deserve to get into trouble for us," Ginny said
stoutly.  She grinned.  "Besides, because of you, I'm having the
best day of my life.  I'm glad we could help you out."

"Me, too," Natalie said.  "Thank *you*."

Ginny put her arm through Natalie's and giggled.  "Think you can
dance well enough to keep up with JC?"

"If I can't, I'll just be his admiring audience," Natalie assured
her.

Ginny couldn't stop smiling.  "I bet the guy who was supposed to be
here today is going to kill us."

Natalie laughed.  "Do you care?"

"Nope!"

And on that note, they followed Kate to costumes, to find something
to wear for the amazing finish to a perfect day.