Chapter 2
Chance Meeting?
It was almost 4 a.m. when the*Nsync’s tour bus pulled into their hotels parking deck. They had arrived twelve hours ahead of their announced arrival time so there was no problems with fans waiting to see them. The five band mates dragged their weary bodies off the bus, across the lobby and onto the elevator without saying a word. They were all slumped against the side of the elevator when the doors opened onto their floor. Waiting for them was Johnny Wright, their manager.
“Hey Johnny, what are you doing here?” Chris asked perking up at the sight of Johnny.
“I’m here on business. You guys look beat. Get some rest and I’ll see you all later at lunch.”
“K, see you then,” Chris said as the guys made their way to their assigned rooms.
Justin and JC shared a room, as was their habit. JC crashed onto one of the beds as soon as he got into the room. Justin was wide-awake so he waited for their luggage to arrive. After pulling his and JC’s bags into their room he decided to go see what was available in the vending machines down the hall. As Justin approached the vending machine room a young man dressed only in boxers and a t-shirt exited the room with several bottles of orange juice and a bucket of ice.
“Hi,” the young man said as he crossed the hall and unlocked the door to his room.
“Ah, this is suppose to be a closed floor,” Justin said as he looked down the hall for security.
“I know,” Eric said as he recognized his half brother. “My name is Eric Richard, I’m joining you for the remainder of the tour.”
“You going to be our opening act?” Justin asked.
“Oh no! I’m here to see how your tour is run and I’ll be helping set up your European tour. Working on the logistics of moving everything around Europe.”
“Cool! It will be nice to have someone new to hang with,” Justin said with a yawn.
Eric laughed, “You look like you could use some more sleep.”
“That’s were I’m headed after I get me something to drink,” Justin said as he reached into his pocket for some change. “Damn, I don’t have any money on me. I guess I’ll just call room service.”
“Would this help?” Eric asked as he held out a bottle of orange juice.
“Oh thanks man, you’re a life saver. This time of the morning it would have taken an hour to get any room service.”
“Glad I could help,” Eric said as he opened his room door.
“Will I see you later?” Justin asked.
“Yes. Johnny has assigned me to be your shadow for the remainder of the tour. So I will see you at lunch then.”
“Cool,” Justin said as he headed back to his room. “And thanks for the juice.”
“No problem. Have a good sleep,” Eric said as he entered his room. Closing the door he had a big grin on his face. The first meeting of his brother went well and he was excited at the idea of getting to know Justin better.
A private dinning room had been set aside for the *Nsync personnel. The first group fed was the setup crew, followed by the technical crew. The last group to have lunch was management and *Nsync themselves.
“Why are we having to eat down here?” Joey asked.
“You know when Johnny is in town he likes to meet with the whole crew,” Lance said
As they entered the room they saw Johnny across the room talking with some people.
“Who’s that?” JC asked indicating the young man Johnny was talking to.
“He’s. . . .” Justin tried to say.
“I don’t know,” Chris interrupted. Justin. “I’ve never seen him before.”
“He’s . . .” Justin tried again.
“Lance, do we have a new opening act joining us?” Joey asked.
Giving up Justin stomped to the buffet line. “If they would just shut up I could tell them who he is,” Justin mumbled to himself.
“No,” Lance answered. “Maybe he’s with our label.”
The speculation continued as they joined Justin at the buffet line.
Eric notice Justin come in and hit the buffet line. Excusing himself from Johnny he went and picked up a plate, helping himself to the buffet selections. Working from the apposite end of the table he met Justin in the middle.
Chris saw the new guy coming through the line in the wrong direction. “The idiot doesn’t even know which way the line goes,” Chris mumbled.
“Shush!” Lance scolded. “There are plates at both ends.”
Justin and Eric both reach for glasses of juice. “Good morning, Eric,” Justin greeted with a big smile.
Laughing Eric said, “It’s more like afternoon, Justin. Maybe you need some more rest.”
“With our schedule, this is morning,” Justin laughed.
The four other members of *Nsync stood there dumbfounded, all wondering how Justin knew this guy.
Eric was about to say something when Johnny called him over to his table.
“Excuse me. The boss is calling. Talk to you later.” Turning Eric took his food and joined Johnny at his table.
“Okay, Just. How do you know that guy?” Chris demanded.
Justin ignored the others as he took his food to their table.
“Justin, what’s up?” JC asked.
“You know it’s funny that you all want to hear with I have to say now. But you all shut me out a little while ago.”
“Come on, J. Who is that guy and how do you know him?” Joey asked.
“Well, his name is Eric Richard. He will be with us the rest of the tour. He’s learning the ropes so he can help with our European tour. I think he said something about being logistics manager for our tour.”
“And when did you learn all this?” JC asked.
“This morning after everyone went to bed. I was thirsty so I went down to the vending machines for something to drink. Eric was coming out of the vending room and we met.”
“It looked like you already met Justin,” Johnny observed.
“Yes, we met this morning after they arrived. We met at the vending machines.”
“How did your first meeting go?”
“It was fine. Just a little short.”
“Well we can remedy that. Let me introduce you to the guys.”
Picking up their plates Johnny and Eric approached *Nsync’s table.
“May we join you?” Johnny asked as they approached.
“Sure, Johnny,” Chris said as he scooted over to make room.
“Guys, I’d like you to meet a new member of our team. This is Eric Richard. He is going to be with you for the rest of this tour. Eric is here to learn the ropes so to speak. He will be your European tour logistics manager. . . . . Eric, this is JC, Chris, Joey, Lance, and Justin collectively known as *Nsync.”
“Hi guys. It’s good to meet you,” Eric said with a big smile.
Chris frowned at Eric. “Aren’t you kind of young to be a manager?”
JC gave Chris a kick in the shins. Chris’s head snapped to JC getting a stern look from JC.
Eric noticed the silent exchange. Without a change in his expression Eric replied, “Aren’t you a little old to be a boy band pop idle?”
Joey gasped, knowing how touchy Chris was about his age.
Chris glared at Eric who never lost his smile.
Clearing his throat Johnny tried to disarm the situation. “Eric may be young, but he has the contacts we need for your European tour.”
“I thought everything was all set for the tour,” Chris asked.
“It was,” Johnny stated. “But we’ve run into a few problems.”
“What kind of problems?” Lance asked.
Eric spoke up. “In your current tour you are doing 38 concerts in 32 cities. You have ninety semi’s and tour buses, with two complete stages.”
“Yeah, it’s a big show,” Chris stated. “So what?”
“A show you can’t take to Europe,” Eric replied.
“What!!” they all said.
Johnny sat back folding his hands waiting for what he knew Eric was going to say.
“You are scheduled to do fifteen concerts in twelve different cities, in nine different countries,” Eric pointed out. “The cost of shipping all of your equipment overseas alone would require at least double the concerts planned to break even.”
“We didn’t have that problem before,” JC stated.
“You weren’t as high tech your last tour,” Eric pointed out. “My job is to make sure you can put on the same show at the lowest possible cost.”
“How will you do that?” Justin asked.
“I’m not sure,” Eric said. “That’s why I’m here. I need to find out what is needed and work with my contacts to see that you can put on your little extravaganza.”
“Little extravaganza!” Chris exclaimed. “I bet you haven’t even seen our show.”
“You're right Chris, I haven’t seen your show. I’ve only viewed all the video from your last twenty concerts. I am looking forward to seeing you all perform in person.”
Chris and Joey looked at each other both thinking the same thing. ‘Twenty concerts? That’s over thirty hours of video.’
The remainder of breakfast everybody just tried to get to know each other. A lot of questions were posed to Eric. He answered most of them honestly, but when the questions became personal Eric became vague with his answers.
As they were finishing up something caught Joey’s eye. “Woo, I think I’m in love,” Joey said as he stared at the tall brunet across the room.
Chris spotted the girl Joey was staring at. “Hold on there bro. She’s a fucking Amazon Joe. A girl like that could hurt you.”
Eric turned to see whom the guys were talking about. A smile spread across his face as he recognized his head of security, Major Gaberal VonHelding. The major started walking toward Eric’s table.
“Shit! Here she comes,” Joey panted.
Eric had a hard time suppressing a laugh.
Walking up to the table she nodded at everyone then turned to Eric, “Eric, I have arranged transportation to the venue.”
“Thank you, Gabby, I’ll be right with you,” Eric said. Glancing around the table he noticed five questioning faces. “Excuse me, I’ve forgotten my manners. Gentleman, may I present my associate, Gaberal VonHelding. . . . Gabby, these gentlemen make up the group *Nsync. Mr. Lance Bass, Mr. JC Chasez, Mr. Chris Kirkpatrick, Mr. Justin Timberlake and Mr. Joey Fatone.”
The major only gave each a cursory nod before turning her attention back to Eric. “Our ride is waiting Eric.”
“Very well,” Eric said as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Gentlemen, I hope to have a chance to converse with you at a later time.”
Five pairs of eyes watched as Eric and Gaberal made their exit.
“Gentlemen, I hope to have a chance to converse with you at a later time.” Chris quoted. “What planet is he from?”
“Yeah,” Lance added. “Where did you dig up this guy?”
“I like the way he talks,” Justin stated. “He sounds so European.”
“Well I’m not so sure we can trust him,” Chris huffed.
“Chris, what’s the matter with you?” Justin asked. “You’re acting like a total ass-hole and you just met him. At least give him a chance.”
“I just don’t like him.”
“Well I do!” Justin almost shouted. “Maybe you not liking him is a good thing. If he’s not talking to you then he will have more time to talk to me.” Justin turned and stomped out of the room.
Everyone watched Justin leave then they looked at each other. “What just happened?” JC asked.
TBC