Contessa Bentley sat at her desk, staring up at the clock, waiting for the minute hand to hit the twelve. Her hand was shaking as she was trying her best to take notes for the midterm that she would have to take the following week. Trying being the key word.

School. Who could care about school at a time like this? she asked herself.

Don't you sound pathetic, a voice interjected.

I gave up everything for him, she answered. My job, my family, my house. Everything . . . yet . . . everything was not enough.

CB, you used to be smart. You used to know that no guy was worth the sacrifice. What happened? Now you're just another sucker like the rest of them. A slave to that ultimate illusion . . . love.

"Remember to read chapters 9 and 17 before the test, and you must bring your own scantron. Form 88-E," the professor instructed the class.

Everyone around Tessa shuffled to get their things together. She quickly followed their lead when they filed out of the room.

As she stepped into the hallway, she pulled on her maroon sweater and re-strapped her overalls. Handkerchief in hand, she tied it on to block the harsh sunlight from her head which was sensitive to the heat.

No need to let the world know how pathetic you are right now, the voice laughed at her as she thought about her clothes. As if clothes could hide you anyways. You thought love was the answer, didn't you? You thought that it could protect you from everything. Where is that love now?

Running quickly down the corridor towards her car, she kept her eyes on the ground to keep anyone from seeing the pain in her face. No, there were no tears. Tears were for the weak. Something she swore she'd never be, but even her shields couldn't hide the pain.

She needed to go somewhere. Anywhere. Anywhere that wasn't home. At least, what she used to call home. Now it was just a dark, dreary apartment. An apartment that was empty in every sense of the word. Empty of love, of light, of everything.

Just as Tessa turned the corner, she ran straight into a wall. She tumbled down and dropped all her books. Only it wasn't a wall that knocked her over. It just felt like it.

I know what you're thinking. I bet she just ran into some guy from *N Sync and it's going to be love at first sight and yada yada yada. Well think again.

"Watch where you're going little girl!" a male voice scolded her.

"I-I'm sorry, I just--"

"Well, you should be," he interrupted. Then he walked away, leaving her with her mouth wide open in shock.

She felt something stir inside and her anger swelled.

"Wait, I'm NOT sorry!" she called out to him.

He turned around before she could take her next breath with anger blazing in his eyes.

"WHAT did you just say?" he attacked.

"Are you DEAF, OLD MAN?" she said, bitter that he had referred to her as a little girl. "First of all, YOU should have been watching where you were going. I clearly was headed in this direction and YOU should have seen me a mile away. SECONDLY, I am NOT a little girl."

He looked at her, confused for a moment by her sudden outburst. He stared at her skeptically, noting her baggy overalls, stained shirt and braids. She didn't look a day over 15.

"Teenagers," he mumbled. He turned again and walked away.

This time, she didn't call after him. She ran instead.

As soon as she caught up with him, she grabbed him by the arm. He glared at the spot where her hand gripped him with fury in his eyes. He was amazed that she dared to touch him.

When he looked up into her eyes, she felt fear come over her, but she was determined to hold her ground.

"I don't know what your problem is," she spoke, "but there is no excuse for your rudeness and blatant ignorance of any sense of manners."

He gazed at her before replying calmly, "Big words for a little girl."

She clenched her teeth but wouldn't let him get the best of her. "I'm sorry, let me simplify it for you, asshole. Wake up and realize you're not the only person on this planet that matters."

He pulled his arm out of her grasp and eyed her with contempt.

Her face burned red, but she thought to herself, Not even WORTH it.

Tessa picked up her bag and books. She turned around and stalked in the other direction. There was a smile on her face now, though. It felt good to speak up for herself. It felt strong. Like the way she used to be. At least for a moment.

That was when she realized she had just told off J.C. Chasez of *N Sync.

This is going to be a LONG day, she thought.

How right she was.

~!~An Hour Later~!~

Tessa adjusted her dress suit as she stepped into Xtreme Productions. She was just in time . . . to be 15 minutes late. As she walked in, she was so distracted by the earlier events that she barely noticed her boss walking towards her. When she did, she thought, Here we go again. Another lecture about how time is money and being late is not worth my paycheck.

She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes as she prepared herself.

To her surprise, her boss, Missy Connor, smiled at her. "Tessa, I am so glad you're here!"

Tessa raised a suspicious eyebrow. Something's up. Connor is NEVER glad to see me. In fact, sometimes I wonder why she hired me . . . that is, BESIDES the fact that I can make a great pot of coffee.

"Sorry I'm late, Ms. Connor," Tessa apologized with a wariness in her voice.

"Pshh, what's 15 minutes, right?" Missy replied.

You say it doesn't matter, but obviously you were counting the minutes, Tessa thought to herself. She wants something.

"Come with me, my dear," Missy invited as she took Tessa by the hand. "I have a request to make of you. Do you have a minute to chat?"

Tessa's guards were up. If she guessed correctly, she was about to be tricked into something. Who is this and what alien kidnapped my boss?

"Of course, Ms. Connor."

"Oh, pish posh, enough of this Ms. Connor business. It's Missy. There is no need for formality between friends, Tessa."

Friends? she asked herself.

Be afraid, be VERY afraid, a voice inside warned her.

"All right, Ms. - er - Missy," Tessa stammered.

"Please sit down," Missy gestured as she sat behind her desk. "I called you in here because we just got a new contract from our competitor, MediaX, for a new website. I was hoping that you would speak to their client's representative on our behalf."

"Me?" Tessa squeaked. She almost choked. Her boss was offering her a position on a major contract?! I must have hit my head or something, she thought. Yesterday, I was a lowly intern whose only job was to get coffee, order lunches and re-fill the stapler. WHAT is going on?

"Are you sure?" Tessa asked. "What about Rebecca?"

Rebecca was the top marketer in Southern California, and her skills and clients made her infamous in Xtreme Productions. She was a hard-working, smooth talker who could coerce nearly any client to do what SHE wanted.

"Rebecca has her hands full," Missy explained.

"What about Elise, the new-hire? She would probably jump at the opportunity," Tessa suggested. What's wrong with me, do I WANT to lose my job? she questioned her panic.

Elise was a potential superstar in sales and client relations. Missy had hired her immediately after one interview and had taken Elise under her wing. She was Xtreme Productions' new protege.

"Elise only just joined us. I would be more secure trusting you with this client because you have been with us longer," Missy stated.

"And Sharon?" Tessa suggested. "She's been doing well lately."

The only reason Sharon was doing well was because she knew how to show off just enough skin to get the old men dishing out their dollars for Xtreme.

"My dear, are you hoping for any chance to move up in this company?" Missy questioned, her voice growing angry. "Do you ENJOY working in the mailroom?"

Tessa knew by Missy's tone that Tessa had gone too far. Trying her boss's patience was NOT a good idea.

"No, no, it's not that. I want to move up and I know I can show you what I can do. I am just surprised, that's all," Tessa quickly explained.

"Alright then. I need you to meet the rep from the contractor at Ricardo's on 6th Street at 1," Missy ordered. "You are dismissed."

At Ricardo's? Isn't that the new restaurant/nightclub? Why can't I meet them here at the office? Tessa thought to herself.

Tessa walked out of the room quickly, afraid that Missy would change her mind.

She should have been excited, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something her boss wasn't telling her. It's just too good to be true, she thought.

Right. As if you can afford to be skeptical. Do you REALLY think Missy will offer you another opportunity like this? Stop being an idiot, and suck it up. Unless of course, you want to go back to making coffee, the voice mocked her.

"Good luck with the new acount, Tessa," a saccharine voice called out to her.

When she turned, she saw Sharon with a smug look on her face.

"Don't mind her, Tessa. Show Connor what you're made of," Rebecca encouraged from behind her desk. Then she turned to whisper to Sharon, "Stop being such a bitch."

WHAT is going on around here?! Tessa thought. Everyone else seems to know but me!

She kept walking down the hallway towards her cubicle when she saw Elise suspiciously milling around.

"Can I help you with something, Elise?" Tessa asked. There's just something about her that gives me the chills, she thought.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even see you coming," Elise said sweetly. Too sweetly.

"I know," Tessa said with her eyes narrowed.

"So are you taking the new account?" Elise asked.

How did SHE know? Tessa thought. "Look, I'm sorry that Ms. Connor didn't offer it to you but I HAVE been here longer and I--"

"Is THAT what you think?" Elise interrupted. She let out a fake laugh. "You've got it all wrong, Tess, DEAR. She offered it to me but I turned it down. I don't waste my time with little accounts like that one."

"You're lying," Tessa accused.

"Ask Sharon, or even better, your friend, Rebecca. They turned it down too. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but Missy is just handing you the leftovers so that her QUALIFIED employees can handle the REAL work," Elise insulted.

Don't let her get to you. Don't let her get to you, Tessa repeated in her mind. She smiled at Elise with such ferocity, it wiped the smirk off of Elise's face. "If you were scared of such a big account, you could just say so. I wouldn't hold it against you."

Elise's jaw dropped. Tessa had called her bluff, it seemed.

Tessa walked away with a bright smile on her face. That's two for two, she thought. Man, I'm good.

Just as she was about to go to her car, she thought for a moment. Wait, what's WRONG with this client? Why couldn't Elise, Sharon OR Rebecca handle it? What have I gotten myself into?

That was when she realized that she didn't even get the name of the representative. Something made her stomach turn in fear.

"Rebecca?" she called out.

"Yeah, Tessa?" Rebecca replied.

"Do you know who the rep is? I forgot to ask Connor," Tessa explained.

"Hmm, let me think," Rebecca said. "C, um, J, yeah, it's, um, J.C. something."

"Chasez?" Tessa choked out. She turned and walked to the door, mumbling, "Of course. Of all the stupid, freakin', dumb luck. Mr. High-and-Mighty, pain in the--"

Rebecca smiled as she watched the young intern leave the building. "That girl's got spunk and a lot more going for her than she thinks."

~!~At Ricardo's~!~

"I think that we will be able to squeeze you in. It's perfect because the following week, we are booked completely by Halloween parties and such nonsense," Emily Pratt informed the dark-haired man in front of her.

"That's wonderful. Thanks so much, Emily. You're the best," he smiled warmly at her.

This man, J.C. Chasez, was different from the man who Tessa had encountered earlier in the day. VERY different.

He had been stressed all morning, trying to find a place to hold a dinner party. He needed somewhere with good security, classy, and yet, secluded. He was relieved when he was able to ask a favor of his dear friend, Emily. The old woman had been friends with his mother, Karen, for years and was more than happy to let him hold his party at her husband's new restaurant.

He had been to several nightclubs and bars, but none of them were right. It wasn't the places that bothered him. It was the people. Everywhere he turned, people were looking for a way to exploit him or his friends. They didn't seem to grasp the words "private party". They all wanted to publicize it and promote it through the radio stations or the newspapers. They just didn't understand.

He wanted a life too. Was that too much to ask? If he could have just one night out of the year where he could provide some normalcy for himself and for his best friends it would be a godsend. It was something he wanted more than anything.

It seemed that lately, he had only found comfort in his music. And in his art. He wasn't a professional, far from it, but it was a hobby that brought him peace of mind. Something he desperately needed.

Unfortunately, his career didn't allow him such frivolities. Instead, it demanded that he keep a smile on his face 24 hours of the day, act friendly to every person he met and censor anything personal that could hurt the group. He was no longer himself. Just a unit of a super-group that was riding the top of the charts. Only, he felt like he was being pulled under. It was too much to ask. It was too hard. It was superhuman.

He wasn't superhuman. He was just a young man trying to make his music. Just trying to live his life like the rest of humanity. But what could he do? It was a path he had chosen and he had to pick up the check, no matter the cost.

"Josh?" Emily said loudly.

Realizing that she had been calling his name for awhile he quickly shook out of his daze and answered, "Oh I'm sorry. You were saying?"

She replied, "Well I was just---"

He looked up when she stopped speaking. Her eyes were on the door and he turned to see what she was staring at.

"Tessa?" Emily called.

"Emily!" the young woman replied as she ran on her high heels to hug her old neighbor.

"How ARE you my dear?" Emily asked.

"I am wonderful. I can't believe I found you! It's been too long. What are you doing here in California?" Tessa asked.

"Well, you know, Ricky, always wanting to start new projects," Emily explained, gesturing to the restaurant. "And this is it."

"Oh! Ricardo's. I should have known," Tessa beamed.

"Yes, well, I tried to stop him, but you know how stubborn he can be," Emily laughed.

"Ahem," J.C. cleared his throat.

"Oh, dear, how rude of me," Emily apologized. "Tessa, this is Karen's son, J.C."

"You know my mother?" J.C. questioned with suspicion in his eyes.

"Well, not personally. But Emily has told me wonderful things about her," Tessa smiled. Don't let him know you recognize him. He doesn't seem to realize you were the rude girl from this morning. Not yet, anyway, she thought.

J.C. stared at her. He was fully aware that she resembled the girl he had run into at the college. Only, she looked much older, and there was something about her. Something very different that made him think he was mistaken. He would NEVER think that the woman in front of him was 15 years old. Not with the way SHE looked. Plus, she didn't seem to recognize him. The girl from earlier was ready to kick him where it hurt. He doubted that she would be as calm and polite as this woman. No, she was a spitfire. She would have let him have it the second she could. This woman couldn't be her. But he couldn't shake the resemblance. It was too close.

She stuck out her hand and introduced herself. "I'm Tessa Bentley. I'm pleased to meet you."

He shook the hand she offered him and didn't smile. "J.C. Chasez."

Tessa kept herself composed. She replied, "If you are anything like your mother, I am sure we will get along well."

"Is there a particular reason why we would need to get along?" J.C. asked suspiciously.

Realizing her slip, she quickly covered her tracks. She answered honestly, "To tell you the truth, I am actually here to meet you for a business meeting. I am here to discuss the project that MediaX has contracted to our company, Xtreme Productions."

"You work for THEM?" J.C. asked in disgust.

The people they had sent out to him from that company had worked on his last nerve. They frustrated him to no end. They had no understanding of who he was, nor the integrity of his group and their image.

First, there was the Rebecca woman, who was nice enough, but her intentions were not on the group. She wanted to maximize profits, charge fans for entering their site and pretty much make it all about the money. It just went downhill from there.

He met Sharon who seemed too touchy-feely for him. He was well aware of her flirtatious approach and he wanted none of it. He didn't think that any company with any reputation would be as unprofessional as to try and seduce their client. He just felt dirty after meeting with her.

Then there was Elise. There was just something about her. Something that gave him the chills. She had seemed nice on the outside, but the mischievious glimmer in her eyes and her dangerously ambitious motivations made him wary. He wanted someone who would work closely with them, but there was something selfish about Elise. He didn't want to be exploited, seduced or used. That was exactly what he expected if he worked with any of those women.

Now, he wondered, What can I expect from Tessa Bentley?

Tessa was fully aware of the hostility in his voice. As she had guessed, Missy's previous attempts had not gone over the way it should have. This did not bode well for her. She had less experience than Elise, less charm than Sharon and definitely less talent than Rebecca. How could SHE convince him to work with Xtreme?

It's your job. Figure it out, the voice ordered her.

"Well, yes, I am an intern at the publicity department," Tessa explained.

"Oh, so you're the sacrificial lamb? A last ditch attempt to manipulate me into working with your company?" J.C. said bitingly.

Tessa eyed him skeptically. What is going on with this guy? He seems angry at the world, she thought, realizing that his hostility was targetted at something bigger than herself.

"I think Jerry might need me in the kitchen," Emily excused herself, not wanting to be in the middle of the argument.

"Yes, I am here to convince you to work with Xtreme, but I won't manipulate you," Tessa defended. She eyed him carefully, "Besides, I don't think I am up to the challenge. I don't get paid enough."

J.C. could feel a smile twitching inside, but he wouldn't show it. She seemed genuine and honest, but he didn't know if this was another ploy, another strategy . . . another trap.

"Well, then by all means, convince me," he replied, sitting on a stool at the bar.

She pulled out another stool and sat beside him. "I understand that it must be difficult knowing that you have to pay someone so that they can take over and control how you look to the public, but rest assured that I, uh, we will do our best to make sure you are happy with the outcome."

"Oh, really? Your friend Rebecca had other ideas."

"Rebecca, well, she is here to make sure that you get the best from our company."

"And by the best, you mean squeezing every dollar out of our fans that you can, right? After all, they aren't human beings, they are just dollar signs," J.C. said bitterly.

Tessa hesitated. This wasn't going to be easy. But she knew it wouldn't be. "No, by the best, I mean something that will be completely satisfactory to your needs. I can see that the fans mean a lot to you, so I suspect that the final product will be a great asset to them, while still maintaining its purpose promoting you and your group."

He didn't answer, thinking for a moment. How do I know that she's not just feeding me lip service? How do I know I can trust her? he asked himself.

She sensed that she was gaining ground with him. He was no longer bent on argument. Instead, he seemed to genuinely think about what she had just said.

"Can I ask you something?" he said softly.

She was wary, but she stayed calm. Hopefully, if she trusted him, he would trust her. "Of course."

"Do you go to USC?" he asked.

She was surprised to say the least. He knows it was you. He knows you were the one who yelled at him and insulted him. There goes your job, the voice mocked her.

NO. I refuse to let that cost me my job, she replied.

"I work at Xtreme," she said simply.

"It's just, well, this morning, I met a girl that looks almost exactly like you. Just a little younger," J.C. explained.

"Oh!" Tessa said, thinking quickly. "You must mean my little sister."

A little white lie goes a long way.

"She goes there?" he asked skeptically.

"Well, yes. She's a senior there," she said.

"A Senior?!" J.C. exclaimed. "How old is she?"

Tessa thought for a moment. "Ummm, she's my age. 22. We're identical twins."

CB, the hole's just getting deeper and deeper, the voice laughed at her.

J.C. was stunned to say the least. "Oh, I guess that explains the resemblance."

She laughed nervously, "Yes, well, looks are the only thing we have in common."

J.C. smiled genuinely. "I feel kind of bad, now."

"Why?" Tessa asked curiously.

"Well, we kind of had a bad first meeting. I was stressed over my schedule for the day and I think I took it out on her."

To put it lightly, Tessa thought.

"I bet she was a little ticked herself," Tessa said carefully.

"Yeah, how did you know that?" J.C. asked.

She smiled sincerely. "It's a twin thing."

"Oh, of course," J.C. laughed.

Chapter 2 -->