So, I'm sorry that it's kind of short, but the next chapter will be good and dramatic, I promise. I just don't know when I'll update cause it's vital to the story and I don't want to just give you crap to post something. I do like this chapter though, cause it's the first event of the week and it might even hint that all is not what it seems in some cases. Plus, you meet Lee who is a very dear character me (haha). I hope you enjoy and review cause that's why I love you all.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

"Where the hell is everyone?" Avery yawned the next morning as she sat in the kitchen with Jude and Tommy, eating breakfast.

"Sadie and Kwest already left for the yacht because Sadie agreed to help," Jude explained. "And I imagine Nic and the boys are still sleeping."

Tommy smirked into his second cup of coffee. "Portia will kill her. Nic thought the yacht was Wednesday and the brunch was today, but it's the opposite and she's way late."

"Then why don't you wake her up?" Avery wondered. "She's your sister."

"I know," he nodded. "But she's 34-years-old and needs to learn to grow up and wake up on her own."

"Cut her some slack," Jude advised. "She got her events mixed up and since we have one every day this week, it makes sense."

Before he could say anything else, Nic and Spiederman made their way downstairs, dressed and ready, but looking very tired.

"You do realize you agreed to help today, right?" Tommy asked his sister and she got a Diet Mountain Dew from the fridge. "Portia will probably murder you."

Nic rolled her eyes. "I talked to her last night. I agreed to help with the brunch and Sadie took over the yacht stuff. I'm not stupid, Quincy." She eyed him warily. "Don't respond to that."

Five minutes later, once Wally and Kyle had emerged from the rooms they were staying in, everyone walked outside and boarded the small bus that would drive them to the marina.

"I can't wait to meet Portia's husband," Jude admitted. "I keep forgetting she's even married until I receive e-mails from Portia Mills-Alexander."

"He's actually not what I expected at all," Nic reported as they all sat down. "I mean, she was married to Tommy, so you'd figure her type is pretty, hard-working, and a little high-strung, but Max is great. He's older, close to Darius' age actually, and attractive in that way. But he's a bank executive who works from home, so he's really laid-back and easy-going."

Tommy scoffed. "And I'm not?"

"Absolutely not," Nic confirmed. "But you're you and that's why we love-ish you."

"Gee, thanks," he said dryly. "God, I can't believe Old Man Mills is 50."

Spiederman laughed out loud. "Believe it, cause it'll be you in ten years, Squinty."

"Wow," Jude breathed. "You'll be 50."

"Don't rub it in," Tommy warned. "I'm trying not to think about it."

"She has no room to talk," Jude stated. "She'll be in her forties."

Nic held up a hand. "Jude, we just met. Do you really want to muck it up by talking about age?"

"Can I ask a question?" Avery interrupted.

"Shoot," Tommy nodded.

"Will Shay be there?" the young girl wondered.

Tommy gave Jude a look of confusion. "I'm sure he will. Why?"

"I just want to ask him what it's like to be has-been," Avery explained. "He hasn't had a hit record in five years, his last album barely sold 300,000 copies worldwide, and his label is on the verge of dropping him."

"He's on G-Major," Jude spoke up.

"I know," Avery said pointedly. "His own uncle wants to get rid of him cause he's not selling. I can't imagine what that must be like?"

"I like your kid more and more each day," Spiederman decided. "She really just has a 'fuck off' attitude that I think is great."

"You would," his wife smirked. "So, Thomas, I'm thrilled to see you've grown up from your fear of boats?"

"Nic," he said. "Let's not go there, eh?"

"Fear of boats?" Wally repeated. "You're afraid of boats?"

"Used to be," Tommy corrected. "Not since I was in Boyz Attack."

Nic eyed him. "When's the last time you were on one?"

"When he was in Boyz Attack," Kyle joked.

"That's probably right," Nic stated. "I mean, when have you had the opportunity to be on a boat?"

"Never," he admitted. "But that doesn't mean I'm still afraid. And I wasn't really afraid; I just got seasick."

"It was disgusting," Nic put in. "But, I'm shutting up now. So, Avery, I take it you're not a big Shay fan?"

Avery scoffed. "Hardly. Rap is not music. It's talking to a beat. Besides, he doesn't even write his own stuff."

"He used to," Tommy explained. "His first album was all him, then Darius took over and brought in these writers who'd done incredible work for other people but as time went on, it just wasn't working for Shay anymore. And he couldn't tell D no, so he went along with it, allowing his career to tank along the way."

"The only thing he has going for him anymore is that his wife used to be a Victoria's Secret Angel and that's nothing to brag about," Nic mused.

Spiederman rolled his eyes as the bus pulled up to the Royal Hampton to pick up Jamie. "Here she goes on a modeling rant."

"I won't rant," Nic promised. "I'd just like to state, for the record, that modeling is stupid. Was her self-esteem so low she needed to have people telling her how gorgeous she is all the time? It's actually sad and pathetic."

"People tell you you're gorgeous all the time," Spiederman stated.

"But I'm not paid for it," Nic reasoned. "I just look like this naturally."

Kyle gagged. "Eww. Someone find a muzzle."

"Ha ha," Nic sneered. "I'm not saying that Selita isn't a pretty girl, because she is; I just think her former profession is superficial."

"Isn't she into philanthropy now?" Wally wondered. "That's what Lee told me. It's also what you do."

"That's what Lee told you, huh?" Tommy cut in jokingly. "How are things with the Queen of Money Management?"

Wally shrugged. "Some days are better than others, but she's meeting me at the dock, so today must be good."

"Who's Lee?" Jude wondered.

"Lee Murphy is my financial advisor," Nic began. "I've known her my whole life, as her dad was our family's attorney, and we've always been good friends."

"They're practically twins," Tommy added. "It's almost scary how similar they look."

"Anyways," his younger sister went on, "I agreed for her to take over my money about two years ago, after she finished at the Harvard Business School, and that's how she initially met dear Wallace."

"Love at first sight?" Jude teased.

"Hardly," Spiederman scoffed. "Lee hated him at first. See, she's fun and outgoing, but she balances that well with organization and maturity. Wally has no balance. So to her, he was the complete opposite of everything she wanted in a guy."

"There's a line in the movie Hitch that describes Lee almost perfectly: 'power suit, power tie, power steering.' Now, her suits are Dior, she rarely wears a tie- though when she does, it's adorable- and she's sort of a terrible driver, but it's the idea behind it. She's very career-oriented."

Jude was confused. "And she's dating Wally now?"

"Sorta," Wally confirmed. "Sometimes I call her my girlfriend, sometimes she's just Nic's friend. I told you, it depends."

"Well, don't you want it to be serious?" Jude continued. She missed pestering her boys about women. "You're thirty-three now, Wally, not eighteen. It's time to grow up and settle down."

"Why?" he replied. "Maybe I never want to be committed."

Nic rolled her eyes. "Lee will have him completely wrapped around her size five finger by August, you watch. I know her."

After picking up Jamie, who had a very heartfelt reunion with the band he originally managed, they made it to the pier.

"That's Lee," Nic whispered to Jude as they got off the bus and found a very pretty brunette in Ralph Lauren Bermuda shorts and a white tank top waiting for them. "Lee-Lee, looking fabulous."

Lee Murphy slid the stylus back into it's place of her BlackBerry Pearl and looked at the group from behind her oversized Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. "I've been waiting here for fifteen minutes. Was I or wasn't I told 11:15?"

"That quote fromHitch might describer her life, but clearly, Little Miss Sunshine describes her," Nic joked as she led everyone to Darius' massive yacht, appropriately named The Platinum, after his favorite color.

"He should downsize," Lee mused. "It's too big for one man who rarely uses it."

"Lee, I know you're slightly bitter that we were late, but shut up," Nic advised. "Darius Mills is a very important person to every person here, other than maybe you, so just be quiet, drink his alcohol, and have a good time, all right?"

Lee clung to Wally's side and kept mum.

"There they are!" Darius boomed as they boarded the boat. "My favorite group of people, give or take Spiederman."

"Joke on me all you want, but you're fifty and I'm not," Spiederman shot back, shaking his old boss' hand. "Happy birthday, D."

"Thanks," Darius nodded, hugging all the girls and shaking the guys' hands. "Jamie, before you leave today, I'd like to talk to you about projection sales for the fall."

"No business!" Portia Mills-Alexander cried from up above them. "It's your birthday week, so business can wait until next Monday."

Darius rolled his eyes. "Pregnancy has made her bossy."

"Pregnancy?" Jude and Nic repeated simultaneously.

"You didn't know?" Darius realized, backing away. "Whoops. Tom, walk with me." He led Tommy away.

"You're pregnant?!" Nic screeched as Portia descended a flight of stairs to join them. "I've known you since I was ten and you didn't tell me?"

Portia made an apologetic face. "I;m not pregnant. I just want to be. Badly. And for a few weeks, I thought I was, but it was a false alarm."

She hugged her distant publicist/stylist. "It'll happen.Where's your husband? I'm excited to meet him."

"In the cabin with Liam," Portia reported. "Talking about football of all things."

"Liam Fenway talking about football?" Jamie said. "There's something I have to see to believe." He excused himself and walked away.

"Portia, this is Lee Murphy," Nic introduced. "She's my financial advisor and Wally's uhh, friend."

Portia eyed Wally and shook Lee's hand. "It's nice to meet you. You do good things with Nicola's money."

"Yeah, well, she pays me to do it," Lee stated. "You throw great parties."

"Thanks," Portia beamed. "So, Jude, do you want to meet Max?"

"Absolutely," Jude nodded, letting Portia lead her away. "Nic says he's amazing."

Portia smiled. "I can't believe I found him. When I was eighteen, I'd thought I'd hit the jackpot with Tommy, but Max makes me realize Tommy was pretty much hitting rock bottom. No offense, Tom's a much different guy then he was back then, I'm just saying, we weren't right."

Jude sighed. "Yeah, I know how that is."

"Wrong," Portia interrupted. "You two were textbook definition of 'right.' You just didn't know how to make it work properly."

"Okay, let's not worry about that," Jude stopped her. "I just want to meet Max."

"Max, sweetie, I want you to meet Jude Harrison," Portia introduced Jude to a man of about forty-eight with big brown eyes and a warm smile. "She's my number one."

Jude grinned and shook his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You, too," he assured her. "Portia and Darius talk of you nonstop."

"Miss Harrison," Liam Fenway, G-Major's onetime A&R rep, greeted her. "Nice to see you again."

"Liam," Jude said, shaking his hand, as well. "How are things in London?"

"Good," he answered. "Music scene's a bit different there, but I make it work."

"I'm sure," Jude replied. "Well, it's good that you like it."

He gave her a nod. "Thanks."

"So, you're still in Toronto, huh?" Max asked. "You must really like it there?"

"Well," Portia murmured, "she could've gone to Thailand years ago, which would've changed her life, but she didn't."

"Portia," Jude warned. "I'm comfortable in Toronto after all these years. You know, I'm thirty-three, I've got a nine-year-old daughter, and I'm settled. It's good for me."

Next to her, Portia shook her head sadly. Before blowing off Tommy, Jude had so much potential to be an international phenomenon but now, even though her albums were still going platinum, it was obvious to most she wasn't reaching her full potential.

"Hey, Ma, can I go swimming with Spied and Nic?" Avery called over to her.

"Yeah, but put on sunscreen!" Jude yelled after her as Avery scrambled to dive off the side of the yacht.

Max watched the young girl go. "So, that's Avery, right?"

"Uh-huh," Jude confirmed. "My little ball of crazy."

"Oh, you're lucky," he assured her. "Kids are a blessing."

"And yet, he doesn't want any," Portia whined. "He freaked when we thought I was pregnant."

"I'm old," he pointed out. "I'm going to be forty-ten in a few months and that's ancient to be have kids."

Portia rolled her eyes. "I want a baby."

"And I said I'd look into adoption," he replied. "I don't want to discuss it here."

Jude took the beginning of that argument as her cue to exit, so she made her way to the top deck, only to find Tommy all by himself, watching Avery with his sister and brother-in-law down below.

"Hey," she said tentatively.

He turned to face her. "Hi."

"Can I join you?" she wondered quietly.

"Sure," he agreed.

There was a long moment of silence before Tommy spoke again.

"Jude, I think we should talk."