He was late.
Cursing his luck, his coffeemaker, the traffic, and the cars that were parked in the closest spaces to the office building he was headed for, Nick parked in a spot two blocks away and ran. He ignored the looks he got from passersby and tried not to slosh coffee on his hand. The last thing he needed was to burn himself.
He glanced hurriedly at his watch. 9:15. Juliette was going to kill him.
When her assistant showed him into the office, Nick found Juliette behind her desk, and Autumn, Liz, Sherrie, Leah, and a man he’d never seen before all seated. They looked over at him as he entered, and Juliette sent him a scathing look.
“Well,” she began, standing up and moving around her desk to lean against it, “now that we’re all here, why don’t we go ahead and get started. And Nick?”
He gulped. “Yeah?”
“One of these days, I am going to fire you for being so damn late all the time.”
He nodded. At the moment, he knew that speaking would definitely get him killed. So he scrounged up a piece of floor as all the other seats were taken. Stretching out his legs, he glanced over at Autumn as Sherrie and Leah joined Juliette and began to speak. Autumn looked as though she hadn’t slept in days, which was probably true. He knew she’d had to attend the People’s Choice Awards the night before and wondered how her first public appearance since Summer’s interview had gone. However it had gone, she currently looked like hell, and he wanted to send her back to bed with strong sedatives.
“Nick.”
“Huh?” He remembered where he was and looked up to find Liz watching him with narrowed eyes. “Sorry, right here.”
“Are you paying attention at all?” she asked. “Because we just asked if you had any ideas of your own on how you want to proceed with dealing with this situation.”
Oh. “Well…” He glanced at Autumn again. “I think, while I have no particular ideas of my own, I’d be all for anything that will help make Autumn’s life a little easier. It’s been a tough few days, and if I can help relieve some of the pressure, I’ll do it.”
Autumn looked at him with such gratitude that he felt like king of the world. Of course, he was probably worlds away from that title, and he decided he needed to tune in and really listen. But he found himself leaning towards Autumn, who was closest to him, and whispering, “How did last night go?”
She blinked and tore her eyes away from the publicists to look at him. “Uh…I guess it was okay. Considering,” she whispered back.
“Anyone give you a hard time?”
“Some of the reporters were really gracious but some of-”
“Autumn! Nick!” Juliette was ready to chew him out, and Nick knew it. In defense, he held up his hands in surrender.
“I’m sorry! I swear. I was just asking how the People’s Choice went last night,” he defended himself.
Juliette crossed her arms and stared him down. “If you’d been here on time, you would’ve already had the answer to that. And, again, congratulations Autumn on winning an award.”
“Really?” Nick turned back Autumn. “What’d you win?”
Despite the circumstances, she had to smile at the idea of her first award. “People’s Choice New Actress. I can’t believe I still got it!”
“Believe it.” He grinned back. “You deserve it, so why shouldn’t you have gotten it?”
“Thanks. Um.” She faced the waiting publicists. “Sorry, ladies. Go ahead and tell us what your ideas are. Please. We’ll pay attention now. Right, Nick?” She pinched his shoulder.
He held back the yelp and nodded. “Paying attention one hundred percent.”
“Okay.” Leah sighed and began to outline the “situation,” as they were calling it. “The public and the media all see Nick and Autumn as a couple, and, currently, they all believe that Nick is nursing a broken heart upon his discovery of Autumn’s so-called treachery. Nick, you’ve got the sympathy card at the moment—something you haven’t had in a while. Autumn, on the other hand, has some people up in arms, while her fans are sticking to her loyally. However, the loyal fans are a vast minority, and, as you may have noticed, the media is crucifying her with every new statement Summer makes. Autumn, you said that Summer refuses to back down?”
Autumn nodded. “She said, because of her personal agenda, she plans on airing out my closet. She has no intention of stopping.”
“Wait.” Nick held up a hand. “You met with your sister? When? How was it?”
She sighed. “I’d rather not talk about it, but, yes, I met with her yesterday. At her apartment. She’s vindictive and cruel even though she’s off the drugs. She won’t stop until I’m nothing and nobody again.”
Leah shook her head. “You’ll never be nobody again. We’re going to make sure of it. There are several options open to us on how to proceed. Autumn has a taping of Primetime tonight where she’ll make her official statement, and several magazine interviews and the Oprah taping next week.”
“Oprah’s pretty cool,” Nick whispered to Autumn quickly, and she gave him a fast smile.
Juliette picked up where Leah left off. “Before Autumn attends any of those, we need to figure out what Nick’s place in this mess is. Obviously, because Nick didn’t attend the show last night with her, everyone was further led to believe that he may actually be brokenhearted. At this time, we need to decide how Autumn will discuss her relationship with Nick because it will come up. And, no, there is no way to avoid bringing it up without causing more negativity for Autumn,” she added when Nick opened his mouth. He scowled and closed it again.
“So, no matter what we do, Nick and Autumn are still in a relationship?” Liz asked, glancing over at—was he her boyfriend still or were they over? She shook the thought off and focused on the women in charge.
Sherrie smiled grimly. “Like Juliette said, if Nick and Autumn are apparently broken up, people are going to blame Autumn further for hurting yet another person. As we want to avoid any further negative press, Nick and Autumn are together.”
“Then it seems that you guys already made up your minds,” Nick said angrily. “What if I don’t want to be in a relationship with Autumn? No offense,” he added, apologizing to Autumn.
“None taken,” she replied and looked over at her publicists. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea to do this. I don’t want to drag another person into this mess with me.” And she didn’t want to pretend anymore. She was tired of pretending to be with Nick.
Juliette tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk. “Look, maybe you should’ve thought of the consequences before you decided to let the tabloids print all those articles about you two being together. If you’d printed a statement disclaiming it, we could just say that you’re friends at this time. None of this would have been necessary, but you didn’t. So here we are.”
“Look, that wasn’t Autumn’s fault,” Liz began, but Nick cut her off.
“I wanted to keep my private life private. At the time, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. We had no idea something like this would happen,” he added. “If we had a crystal ball that told the future, then I probably wouldn’t have gone along with it. What’s done is done, and I think there has to be a way we can fix this without making up more lies. After all, lies or omissions got us to this point, didn’t they?”
Though it hurt to hear it, Autumn knew it was true. If she’d just been more forthcoming with the truth about her parenthood, about her daughter, and her past, maybe all of this could have been avoided. But she’d kept nearly the entire world in the dark, and Nick had every right to call her fault. She just didn’t know what to do anymore. Her life felt so shaky, so fragile that she was afraid to breathe for fear of breaking. But she couldn’t break. No, she had to be strong and keep going.
“So, Nick and I are still together,” she said quietly, swallowing back the sobs building in her chest. “I’m assuming, once things quiet down, we can call it quits. Until then, you want him to accompany me places and vice versa. We’ll give interviews together and talk about how great the other person is. Do we get to call each other pet names, too?” she asked, a tiny hint of bitterness eking through. “I’ll need a little time to come up with one.”
Leah arched a brow. “The sarcasm is duly noted. I know you’re hurting and tired, Autumn, but we’re trying to help. Let us do our job and help us. The quicker both of you do,” she added, glancing at Nick, “the quicker all of this can blow over. Once Autumn gives her statement including the reason why Summer began her campaign, things should start to calm down. Until then, Nick Carter and Autumn Evans are still together.”
As the pressure built in her chest and she struggled to keep from shaking with nerves, Autumn took deep breaths. The nerves that she’d kept locked up for days were beginning to spill through the cracks. Her heart was pounding, and she needed to get out of the meeting. The walls were becoming too close, and she needed out.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I need some air.” Not waiting for their consent, she leapt up and hurried out the door.
Nick watched her go and couldn’t help but feel anger towards the person who’d caused his life to suddenly be flung into such turmoil. He’d been on a pretty mellow track, career-wise, and had been enjoying doing daily things without the media sniffing him out. Now, suddenly, he was back in the spotlight. And he did feel resentful towards Autumn. So, he thought, the best way to get himself out of this situation was to work with it.
“I’m supposed to be supportive of her during this time, right?” he asked the others. They nodded. “Last week, I was looking for engagement rings for her and was supposed to have proposed to her on New Year’s Eve. Now, I’m sulking in private because she lied to me. Or so everyone thinks.”
Juliette nodded, wondering where he was going with this. But, with Nick, she’d learned it was best to let him talk his way through it, and his idea would emerge. “As far as I know, that’s the word on every tabloid and in entertainment gossip. What are you thinking?”
Nick shut his eyes briefly and wondered how best to say the idea that had just formulated in his mind. It didn’t even sit well with him, and he was sure he’d get shot down. It was worth a shot, though. “I’m thinking that the Backstreet Boys have an album in the works, and my name in the media like this is a fantastic tool. Plus, it’s awards show season, which guarantees that the scandal we’re stuck in is going to grow fangs if we don’t nip it in the bud. Soon. I’m thinking that if I can keep my name in the news until the album is released, it’ll serve many great purposes for others and myself. So, here’s my idea.” He paused before taking the leap. “What if I talked with Autumn about what she’d hid from me, and I decided that I valued my love for her more than anything. So, I did propose to her. We’re getting married. Soon.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
First off, I'd like to thank everyone who completely floored me with their responses to the idea that Proving Them Wrong would be ending. I had seriously believed that no one was that interested in it, and, becoming discouraged, I had difficulty writing the story. Seriously, you, the readers, are the ones I count on to tell me if the story sucks or not. I'm usually pretty confident about the way my stories go, but this one is hard to figure my way through, and I rely on your ideas about it.
So, seeing that there are so many people who really do like the story and want more updates, I was inspired. I will continue the story, and, occasionally, ask for your ideas on where you think the story should go next. Take this chapter for example. I'd love it if, when you're done reading it, you could tell me what you think will happen now...
It would be a fantastic help, and, again, I am so grateful that there are so many people who really enjoy Autumn and Nick's story.
And now I'll end the longest note you've probably read from an author!
Thanks and enjoy!
So, seeing that there are so many people who really do like the story and want more updates, I was inspired. I will continue the story, and, occasionally, ask for your ideas on where you think the story should go next. Take this chapter for example. I'd love it if, when you're done reading it, you could tell me what you think will happen now...
It would be a fantastic help, and, again, I am so grateful that there are so many people who really enjoy Autumn and Nick's story.
And now I'll end the longest note you've probably read from an author!
Thanks and enjoy!
