Chapter Five
Elle: So did you make-out with Justin?
Ashley: Why is this a question?
Elle: Your evasiveness is telling.
Ashley: Not evasive. Just honest. No kissing going on. He's not the boy for that.
Elle: Does he tell you you're beautiful?
Ashley: He lies and he's a flirt. That's just Justin.
Elle: Start believing him, Ash. See if it makes a difference.
***
With everything packed into Justin's car, he drove Ashley back to the recording studio so she could get her rental car. He pulled up next to the driver's door so she could get right in, but just as she was about to close the door to his car she heard her name being called.
Jogging toward her was one of the men she'd been working with the day before, she waved to let him know she'd heard him, then turned to give Justin a questioning look. He shrugged and turned the car off and got out as well. The man, seeing that he wasn't going to lose them, slowed his run to a walk as he approached. Ashley couldn't remember his name from the prior day, she honestly couldn't remember much about him at all, but she thought he was the one who'd been the most excited when they'd started the duet version of the song.
He looked like he might be a little taller than Justin, his hair was dark, almost black and he wore square, dark framed glasses that reminded her of Clark Kent. His jeans looked like fancy designer jeans, but the white and green skater shoes made her smile as he reached her. He seemed suddenly taken aback at her smile and paused for a moment, subtly looking her up and down. She decided she couldn't blame him, it was the first time he'd seen her in real clothes as if she'd actually made an effort.
"Ashley," he seemed to stop himself. "Ms. Evans, I was wondering if I could talk to you about the song you recorded yesterday. Well, both of you actually." He said, taking Justin into his gaze now.
"Sure," Ashley said with a one shouldered shrug.
"I took the recording I have of both of you and played with it last night. I also did some rewriting on the lyrics to actually make it into a duet and I think if you'd both be willing to do a few more takes it could really be amazing."
Justin walked around to stand next to them and held his hand out for a hand shake, "Hey man, let's jump back a bit. What's your name?"
Startled, he automatically reached out to shake Justin's hand, "Oh yeah, it's Logan. Logan Jacobs."
"Nice to meet you Logan. We were under the impression that Ashley's studio time for the day had been canceled and that you weren't considering her for the song."
"Not as a solo," he clarified, then looked back at Ashley. "Lance didn't like the idea of a collaboration with Justin. And I hate to ask this, but I think today is our only chance to get it recorded or the rest of them are going to start looking at other artists."
Ashley turned to Justin for his thoughts. "Time to begin step one of loving this business. Recording with yours truly," he said with a half bow.
Ashley looked back at Logan, "You're in luck, I'm tired of being told what to do and I'm ready to try something new."
"We'll give you three takes," Justin clarified. "That should give you enough material to mix it."
"I will make it work with that," Logan said, his face splitting into a wide grin. "Let's get to work."
As they fell into step behind Logan, Ashley looked at Justin and whispered, "You can ask for something like that?"
He looked at her surprised, "Of course. Ashley, it's time you learned that you can ask for whatever you want."
***
They were back in the same studio they'd worked in the day before and Justin watched Logan work to get everything set up. He suspected that Logan was pretty green to record production, but Justin was impressed that he worked quickly and efficiently. In the sound booth he went over the minor changes he'd made to the song, all of which made sense and helped it flow better with the addition of Justin's vocals.
Ashley took off her hat and the long-sleeve denim shirt she'd had on and threw them on the floor. "Can you play back what we recorded yesterday? The version with me and Justin so I can warm up a bit?"
"Of course," Logan said as he disappeared into the studio, and hit a few buttons before the music filled the small room.
"Let's make this magic!" Justin said as he took Ashley by one hand and spun her around. She laughed and sang along to the track, trying to get back into the feel of the song. Justin worked differently than her, his natural high energy made him need to move, especially when it was a dance song.
They hadn't ever finished the recording together, so he looked over the song's end with Ashley then gave Logan the thumbs up as they both pulled headphones over their ears and leaned into their microphones.
Justin felt it, the magic that comes from the perfect collaboration on a song. Striking the right chord. He was impressed by the different confidence Ashley had with the song today, and he had fun adding in his parts to the song.
When they finished the first recording, Ashley threw her fist in the air, "Yes! Justin, thank you!"
He grabbed her and spun her around, "That was all you babe. That was perfect!"
They turned to look at Logan who's grin couldn't get any wider, "Guys, this is gonna be good."
They gave Logan their two more run throughs in record time; they did have issues with one spot near the end that they had to do a couple more times, but Justin could see Logan's excitement. Justin wondered if he'd go home overnight or stay here to work on mixing the song. His bet was on the latter option. He'd been in those shoes before.
As they came out of the sound booth, Logan met them in the lobby, "I can't thank you enough, I think this is better than we could have anticipated."
Justin put his hand out for a hand shake again, "Thank you, man. I'll look forward to working with you again. I'm always looking out for producers that are open to a new collaboration."
That sent Logan scrambling for a business card that he tried to coolly hand over to Justin before he turned to Ashley. "Do you want the final cut sent over to Lance, or...?" He let the question hang in the air at Ashley's startled look.
Ashley looked at Justin, but he just raised his eyebrows at her to make the call. Still flustered, Ashley shook her head, while at the same time pushing loose strands of her hair back behind her ears, "Uh, no. Could you send it to me? I'll give you my number."
Heading back out to their cars, Justin bumped into Ashley with his shoulder, "He was checking you out."
"Gee, thanks Justin, I never noticed," she said with a shake of her head.
"You gave him your number. That made his day, even more than the song I think." Justin held open her car door for her to get in, "I mean, the glasses are a bit much."
Sliding into the car, Ashley looked back up at him, "You, Justin, are a bit much. And I liked the glasses." She said before shutting the door in his face.
***
"Hey, mama?" Justin asked as he slipped onto a kitchen stool. Lynn was looking through the cupboards and adding things to a grocery list on the counter.
"Yeah baby?" she asked as she added cereal to the list with a pointed look at him.
"More milk too," Justin pointed out before continuing. "Do you miss being a manager to a scrawny little pop star?"
After seeing her son being taken advantage of, Lynn had taken a much more active role in the management team of *Nsync, and also Justin's solo career. He couldn't have done it without her on his team.
Lynn put both hands on the counter and looked Justin right in the eye, no longer distracted, "Not particularly. Why do you ask?"
"I want you to be Ashley's manager," Justin said without preamble.
"How is that going to work? Does Ashley know?"
"No, and I'll ask her of course, but," Justin blew out his breath. "She needs some breathing room from Lance."
"What about Johnny Wright?" Lynn asked, naming Ashley's previous manager and one Justin had spent most of his career with as well.
Justin shook his head, "I called Johnny and he isn't taking any artists who aren't working with his production company."
"What about you?"
Justin traced his finger along a black vein in the marble countertop, shaking his head again, "No, in the first place, Lance won't agree to it if it's me."
"And the second reason?" Lynn prompted.
Justin met his mother's gaze, his brow furrowing with a mix of determination and vulnerability. "You know mom," he said slowly. "I've always been the one to take charge, to lead the way. But this time, it's different. I want Ashley to be in control, to rediscover her passion for music. I've seen her struggle, and it's time that she calls the shots."
Lynn came around the counter and took his cheeks in her hands, "You know, as your mama, I've always been proud of you; in awe of you even. But hearing you say that makes me feel like you really have grown up."
"So, will you do it?" Justin asked again.
Lynn let go of his face and nodded slowly, "If Ashley wants me as a manager, then I'll do it for now."
She ran her hair through Justin's hair and looked back down at him, "but you do have to promise me one thing."
"Anything," Justin agreed quickly.
"You have to promise me that you won't kiss her."
Justin rolled his eyes, "It's not like that with us."
"I wasn't asking if it was like that between the two of you," Lynn pointed out. "I'm asking you not to kiss her."
Justin shrugged, "I guess I just don't get what kind of promise that is?"
Lynn smiled at him gently, "it's the kind of promise a mother asks of her son when she's tired of seeing him get hurt, over and over."
"I won't kiss her, mama," he said, linking his pinky with hers for good measure.
***
Ashley stood before the full length mirror in her bedroom, scrutinizing her reflection with a critical eye. Was it too professional?
She's taken some time to view, and even share, the viral video that had posted of her and the guys dancing. She loved it. The fans loved it. They were eating it up. She couldn't see Lance's anger over the whole thing. Most comments were positive, cheering for the *Nsync reunion just like she was. Of course there were comments about her being with the boys, and fans assumptions that the UNC shirt was Justin's. There were even comments about the laughing hug she'd shared with Justin at the end of the dance. But it wasn't like it was anything that hadn't been said before.
Regardless, Ashley figured that the more professional the better for dinner tonight.
She wore a tailored pair of black cropped slacks paired with a sleeveless cream silk blouse that exuded elegance. Though she despised heels, she decided the sacrifice would be worth it and chose a pointed black heel to match. To complete the ensemble, she slipped into a dark gray blazer with a faint pinstripe pattern. Looking in the mirror again, she pulled her cascading loose curls to the front so they framed her face.
She heard a low whistle from behind her and she turned to find Justin leaning casually in the open doorway. His admiring gaze made her smile, "Is this okay?"
"You look perfect."
Ashley gave him a critical eye, taking in the t-shirt and jeans look he had going on. "You're making me feel overdressed."
He waved off her concern, "I wanted to talk to you about this whole manager situation before we leave so you can tell me what you think."
Ashley nodded, taking in a deep breath, remembering the voicemail she'd left for her former manager earlier. "I left Johnny a message earlier, but he didn't call back."
Justin nodded in understanding, "I'm glad you called him, but he won't take you. Not with Lance's company still in the production role. So I was wondering-"
"How you would feel about having me as your manager," Lynn broke in as she stepped in the doorway.
"Wait, what?" Ashley asked, suddenly dazed. "You would do that?"
Lynn laughed softly, "for you, I would do that. But I need you to know, I'm nothing like Lance and I'm going to ask a lot more of you in some areas. I believe that this is your career, not mine. You know I started off helping manage *Nsync. I've helped Justin when he's asked for it, but he mostly manages himself now. My goal would be to get you to the point where you are the one picking things for you, not me by."
Ashley didn't know what to say. Since she'd lost her mom, she'd had very few women in her life, but Lynn had always been there if she was needed. To have her take on this role would truly open doors for her; she had to believe that.
She smiled, and stood so she could hug this woman, "I would be honored to have you as my manager. Even if you do give homework."
Lynn glanced playfully at Justin, "You've been telling tales on me," she teased.
Ashley shook her head, her genuine smile still on her lips, "No, I just know the homework means that you care."
"Alright then," Lynn said as she clapped her hands together. "Are we ready to go?"
Ashley looked back at Justin, "Seriously, J, are you really wearing that?"
He stood up and disappeared into the hallway, reemerging with a navy blazer he'd apparently left on the sofa table in the hall. He slid it on with his ever casual grace, instantly elevating his look. With a grin, Justin grabbed the fedora she'd worn earlier and placed it at an angle on his head. "I'm ready. Let's go ladies!"