PART THREE

*AJ*

I know I saw Melody go out here, I thought to myself as I peeked into every room I came across. Whenever I looked inside a room she wasn't in I mumbled a quick "sorry," and kept looking.

Finally I spotted her when I turned a corner. She was standing at a candy machine, mumbling something unintelligible and kicking the machine slightly. I smiled as I kept walking towards her.

When she finally got a candy bar out, she smiled and looked my way. As soon as she saw me she stuffed the candy bar in her purse and looked up, a rushed smile on her face.

"Mr. McLean."

"Please, call me AJ," I offered, grinning crookedly. "'Mr. McLean' makes me feel like I'm 50."

She chuckled lightly, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement. "All right then. Hello, AJ. You can call me Melody."

"Hello, Melody," I greeted, taking off my sunglasses. "Well, I just wanted to give you this." I handed her a small briefcase with her initials on the front. "You left this behind in the conference room."

"Oh, what a klutz I am," she laughed, blushing slightly as she accepted the briefcase. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I smiled. "We got a chance to look at some of your songs. They're all very good, we can't wait to start working with you."

"It's a pleasure," she grinned and I saw her cheeks flush once more. "It'll be a privilege to work with you, too, I'm sure. I've been listening to your music for a long time now and you're very good at what you do."

To be honest, I couldn't tell if she was speaking the truth or just giving me a professional 'impress-your-clients' line. "Thank you," I said with a smile. We stood like that for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say. "Well, I guess I'll head back then," I finally said. "You probably have other things to do."

"It was nice talking to you," she said and extended her hand. I shook it and smiled, "You, too. See you on Wednesday," and took off the in the direction I came from.

*Melody*

I stood there watching AJ turn a corner and smacked a hand over my forehead. "Idiot, idiot, idiot," I kept repeating in a whisper as I recalled him watching me stuff that candy bar in my purse. Not to mention being nervous enough to forget my briefcase? What the heck was wrong with me?!

After I was done wallowing in my stupidity, I started walking towards the exit. As soon as I got outside I dug into my purse and found my Twix bar. Hungrily, I bit a chunk off it as I took a left turn towards a coffee shop nearby. I would pick up my car after lunch with my best friend.

As soon as I stepped into the small cafe, I spotted Lorna sitting at the table by the window, her fingers fiddling nervously with a napkin.

When it came to looks, Lorna Malorny was the complete opposite of me. She was tall, skinny and beautiful. Her golden locks were straight, and her eyes a light blue. Basically she could've been a model. She was trying to make it in the music business, which was how we met. Her voice was truly special, and it was an honor to be working with her. To top it off, we built up a great friendship along the way.

"Hey, sweetie," I smiled as I sat down. "Sorry I'm late, my meeting took a little longer than expected."

"No, it's okay, I just got here," she said and looked at me with a smug smile. "So?"

"So what?" I laughed, amused by her curiosity.

"Melody, come on," she pleaded. "Tell me what celebrities you'll working with this time. Is it Celine?"

"Nope," I grinned and took a sip of the coffee that Lorna had ordered for me.

"Anastacia?"

"Not her either."

"Christina?"

"No."

"Britney?"

"Not even close."

"Then who?" she whined.

"All right, I'll tell you," I said and placed my cup on the table again. "It's the Backstreet Boys."

"The Backstreet Boys?" she said with a surprised look. "I thought you worked with solo singers only."

"I work for whoever's willing to have me," I said. "This time I get to do the full album."

"Wow, that's awesome," she exclaimed. "I'm not really into their music, but they'll top all the charts if you start writing for them."

I blushed. "Oh, it's not like they weren't already," I said with a smile.

"Don't be so modest," Lorna waved me off. "You've got a gift, it's about time you realize it."

I just shrugged and looked out at the small cafe.

"So which guy did you like the best?"

I looked back at her and chuckled, "Lorna, I was in conference with them for 15 minutes. I haven't had time to build up an opinion of them yet."

"But just off the top of your head," she urged me eagerly.

"Well," I pondered. "Brian was really the only talking, and I got to-"

"That wasn't what I meant," she said. "I meant, which guy is the cutest?"

I laughed again. "Jeez, I don't know," I said. "I didn't really think about it."

"Oh please," she huffed, a wicked smile on her face. "If you're in a room with 5 gorgeous boyband members, how could you avoid not checking them out?"

"Well," I grinned. "If you put it like that, then-"

We were interrupted by someone tapping on the window beside us.

*Lorna*

With a startled gasp, I turned to the window to see the man I least expected, and the man I loathed seeing the most.

Melody smiled when she spotted him and waved him in. He didn't smile back, only grunted something and headed inside.

"Does he have to be here?" I sighed, disgust filling me. "I'm really not in the mood for one of his tantrums today."

"Lorna, please," Melody sighed, a pleading expression on her face. "Just give him a chance, all right? He's really not a bad guy once you get to know him."

I only huffed and concentrated on my cup of coffee.

Fletcher Franklin was one of the most horrible guys to ever set foot on this planet. To make it even worse, he was Melody's boyfriend. A butt-ugly, beer-smelling, fat truck driver, who disrespected everyone. And that was the sugarcoated version of him. Honestly, I couldn't find a shred of goodness in that man. What Melody saw in him I would never understand.

Fletcher made way to our table, and plopped into the seat next to Melody. "Hi, sweetie," she smiled and tried giving him a kiss.

He only groaned and jerked away from her as he said, "Now that we're through with the oh-so-lovely greetings, go buy me some coffee."

"The waiter will be here soon, Fletcher," I said through clenched teeth. "Melody's not your maid."

"Was I talking to you?!" he snapped and Melody sent me a pleading expression. When I didn't say anything, he smirked, "Didn't think so."

"What's wrong?" Melody asked concerned and placed her hand on his arm. "You look tense."

"Well, you would be too if you spent the entire day moving furniture instead of sitting on your fat ass doing nothing," he said fiercely and jerked his arm away from her touch.

I saw hurt flash in her eyes, but it was gone quickly. "I'm sorry, baby," she whispered.

I tightened my fists under the table and had to restrain myself from punching him in the face. That bastard, I thought angrily.

The remaining time he was there was mostly in silence, except for a few outbursts from Fletcher about his lousy job every once in a while. "I mean, they expect me to move an entire apartment of furniture in one day," he exclaimed. "Those fucking bastards are just insane."

Melody nodded understanding and agreed with him. Mostly I think it was to avoid another scene from him.

When he finally stood up to leave, without bothering to leave money for his coffee, he said, "We'll have dinner tomorrow. I'll pick you up around 7. Be ready, okay?"

"Okay," Melody nodded silently, and he walked out without giving her as much as a hug.

Temporary shock hung tightly in the air. I was still too baffled to even speak, but when I finally regained my voice, I asked, "What are you doing with that man? Why do you put up with all his crap?"

"He wants to be with me," she said, forcing on a smile. "That's more than I could ask for."

"You don't have to put up with him," I huffed. "Don't you see he only wants someone to complain and vent to? He's not interested in you."

"Gee thanks, Lorna," she said sarcastically. "I can't tell you how great that makes me feel."

"You know I didn't mean it like that," I sighed. "A lot of guys would love to be with you, but you're too good for this man."

"A lot of guys?" she repeated. She held up two fingers in front of my face. "This is the number of relationship I've had in my life, Lorna," she said angrily. "Two! Including Fletcher. Is that a lot of guys in your book?"

"And the fact that he's married doesn't bother you whatsoever?"

Her hand fell down as she looked at me with hurt in her eyes. I tried to keep my face as hard as stone, but my heart was filling with worry for my best friend. "That was low," she finally said. "You know it bothers me. But it's an arrangement, and it's been working out fine for a long time."

I watched her face closely, trying to find any kind of doubt in her eyes. "Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you're truly happy?" I finally asked.

She looked surprised at first and was about to say something, but her face fell and she concentrated on fiddling with her napkin.

"So much for a fine arrangement," I said softly and leaned back in my chair. "Mel, he's no good for you. Wouldn't you rather want a guy who loves you and only wants to be with you?"

"Yeah well, when he comes knocking, I'll be there," she said angrily. "Until then I'm sticking with Fletcher."

"Fine," I said and raised my hands in defeat. "As long as you don't bring him anywhere near me. Maybe you're willing to put up with his shit, but I'm not."

"If you're friends with me, Fletcher will be in your life as well," she snapped. "I'm sorry if that's not good enough for you. Maybe we should stay away from each other until we've both cooled down."

She started gathering her stuff and finding money for hers and Fletcher's coffee. "No Melody, wait," I said hurriedly. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it."

"Oh, you meant it all right," she hissed and got up from her seat. "Do me a favor and wait a few days before calling me, okay?"

"Melody," I called after her as she walked out of the cafe. Just as she stepped outside, I noticed a single tear run down her cheek, which she quickly brushed away.

"Great," I mumbled and was left alone with my thoughts. "Just great."

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Chapter 02 » Chapter 04