Author's Note: Welcome to the newest update to this story. Hope you guys enjoy and please R&R. Who doesn't like to hear comments? Lots of love and hugs to you all. Angel422 and Undiscovered91.

Tommy...

The room vibrated with noise as Jude leaned forward with a grin—gripping the sides of the table in utter comprehension as she stared at Tom. That's what music was all about—getting to know people through the lyrics—through emotions that couldn't translate otherwise. Sometimes, it wasn't about experiencing your own emotions, but pretending that you could relate to someone else's. She got that now. He was teaching her that. It seemed funny that Darius never had. As they continued to sit there, Tommy and Jude persisted to inconspicuously observe the other people in the room—watching them as if they were test subjects under a microscope. A young boy, not more than four years old, caught Tommy's eyes as he squirmed in his mother's lap while she fought to dispel his movements long enough to enjoy the show transpiring on stage. It made Tommy wince as he shook his head. Who would even think of bringing their child to a place like this? It was just begging for chaos to erupt--kind of like sticking Michael Jackson in an elementary school and telling him to keep his hands to himself.

"And here I thought I was the one that was supposed to get caught up in the moment—in this little piece of make believe world of high spun fantasy—guessing people's emotions as we observe." Jude whispered suddenly next to Tom's ear as he chuckled. The girl caught on fast, and she had a tendency to let you know it. Her adamant nature made him curious to say the least—maybe a little too curious. Rule number one—one didn't become overly fascinated by their artists. He couldn't stray from the rules. Jude looked away from him then, and Tommy went back to perusing the room—glancing around it until he heard Jude gasp beside him before leaping up excitedly. Okay? Tom sighed as he let his gaze follow her sprinting figure across the room to land, strangely enough, on an elderly man that resembled Jude remarkably. A family member maybe?

It was then that Tom stared down at Jude's vacated seat—taking in the indentation of her derriere still visible in the plump cushion, and he quickly averted the thoughts that suddenly intruded his normally normal thought patterns, lest they get stuck on Jude's alluring behind. Alluring? What the hell kind of thought was that?

A flash of blonde hair caught his attention, and Tom looked up again--watching as Jude and the elderly man he had noticed earlier embraced quickly in a warm, friendly hug. Obviously, they knew each other. The affectionate greeting between the two made Tom's chest feel hollow—tighten in a way that explored the loneliness he felt lately. It bothered him as he stood up with a sigh before heading in Jude's general direction slowly and with purpose.

It wasn't long before he found himself facing two pairs of the same electric blue eyes. Duh! Tommy wanted to scream--Jude and the old man were most certainly related. They had to be. Those eyes? Jude had obviously inherited them from the older man. A look passed between the two men as Jude grinned up at Tom's approaching figure. Damn, she had a beautiful smile! And why did he even deign to think such a thing except under work-related purposes—maybe something along the lines of a photo shoot for Vogue, not while reminiscing at a cheesy coffee shop in the middle of the city.

"Hey Tom. I guess I need to introduce you to someone. This is my Grandpa Joe. Grandpa, this is Tom Quincy, my, um...producer." Jude faltered at the end, obviously not quite sure what to label him as. Tom didn't mind--he knew it wouldn't be long before he definitely was her producer, permanently. Unless, of course, he decided to have her work with someone else after she signed with Galaxy. It all depended on how the next month went and on the inevitable hit he was counting on them to produce.

After shaking hands with Grandpa Joe, Tommy slid into the booth so that Jude was sandwiched between him and her grandfather. The three chatted amiably for several minutes, mostly about music and the industry--Jude's grandfather was definitely a large part of her life, and he seemed to be quite involved in her music career. Soon Jude voiced her need to visit the restroom, and Tommy, ever the gentleman, scooted all the way out of the booth so that Jude could get out and use the facilities. Resuming his seat, he and Grandpa Joe watched as her blonde head disappeared into the sea of people toward the back of the dim room.

Once she was gone from sight, Grandpa Joe's gaze made its way back to Tommy's face, and he couldn't help but feel wary about the current situation he now found himself in. It seemed strange being alone now with a new artist's relative. But it also gave him insight on Jude's character.

"She's a special girl, you know." Grandpa Joe commented—delving immediately into the subject area that interested Tom the most right now. The more he got to know the girl beneath the tough exterior, the bigger chance he had of breaking open her shell. He had no intentions of losing this bet. Jude's grandfather could be a key to that. Outwardly, elderly people tended to appear somewhat feeble, frail, and dependent although only morons would fall for that as an excuse to back off. Wisdom did come with age. And Tom was no moron. At least, he hoped he wasn't.

"Very." Tommy agreed as he continued to stare in the direction of Jude's disappearance. It suddenly hit him. Was he watching for her to come back, or was he trying to avoid looking at her grandfather? There was no way he was watching for Jude, right? He just needed to chalk up these feelings to being nervous around an extended relative and let it go even if he really did feel fairly comfortable around the old guy..

"Ever since she won that contest, her life has been like a tennis match." Jude's grandfather continued suddenly and Tommy found himself staring once again at the man as he shrugged his shoulders. So Jude felt bounced around? Hmmm..interesting..

"It's been fast, non-stop, back and forth, back and forth. Sometimes it's been brutal on her, slamming ace after ace against her. But she continues to run after that ball and return it, even getting some aces of her own. It's unpredictable--no one can know where the ball will go next for her." Papa mused before pausing--suddenly taking on a pained expression that most parents have when it comes to concerns about their children. Tom wouldn't doubt the extra concern considering the turn her own family life had taken lately.

"I worry about her, probably more than I should, but I can't help it." Joe replied before pausing and looking over into Tommy's piercing blue gaze with his own pointed look.

"I don't have any reason to worry about her where you're concerned, right, Mr. Quincy? I know about you wanting her as an artist." Joe remarked with a guarded expression that denoted a slight warning tone. Tom grinned as he perused the man gently. He highly respected the older generation's intuitive abilities. Before he had a chance to respond to the challenge, Jude returned to the booth. It wasn't long before excuses had to be made to return to work and Joe and Tom shook hands firmly before Jude gave her grandfather a familial kiss on the cheek.

Tom's own grandmother loved pointing out that you should never count your chickens before they hatched, and Joe's insight made Tom think about his proposition as he and his future artist exited the joint before unlocking the Viper and sliding behind the wheel. All the warnings he had gotten about Jude were finally starting to register, causing a tiny crack of unease in his infallible wall of confidence.

Jude...

As I eased myself into the passenger seat of Tommy's much loved blue Viper, I couldn't help but wonder at his sudden eagerness to leave. Did something happen between him and Grandpa Joe while I was in the bathroom?

The thought was quickly shoved to the back of my mind as I leaned back in the seat and enjoyed the ride.—wind whipping through my hair, sun shining brightly, radio blaring, a hot guy seated next to me--life couldn't get any better in my opinion.

Except for the fact that I had, once again, just referred to a certain ex-boybander--who is also my temporary producer—as hot. Well, I suppose I couldn't avoid that inevitable fact anymore. There it was—laid out on the table for anyone to peruse. He was just plain hot. So? What was it about that old adage, 'I could look, I just couldn't touch' right? If Tommy hadn't been sitting next to me, I'm almost certain that I would've leaned forward and bashed my head against the dashboard in hopes of erasing any un-work related thoughts about him from my mind. I just couldn't afford the distraction.

Glancing around, I noticed the familiar streets and buildings fly by us, and I shot a confused glance at the man in the driver's seat. Um…?

"Tommy, where are we going?" I asked suddenly as I looked out into the passing vicinity again.

His eyes were concealed behind a pair of sunglasses, and he didn't even bother to turn and look at me as he answered.

"Your house." He replied simply—almost casually as if it were highly normal for him to be taking me to my house without any further questioning. Well then. A quick hrrrummppph later and he finally did spare a look at my obviously surprised face only to have his focus return to the road as a slight smile played at the corners of his lips. My reactions were obviously highly amusing to him. When he offered no further explanation, I kindly voiced my bewilderment.

"I seem to have missed something here. We're going to my house because...?" I asked in a strangled tone as Tom grinned even wider at my unveiled sarcasm. Glad to amuse, almighty one. Excuse me for not being able to read minds.

"I'll tell you when we get there." Tommy replied casually, too casually--I didn't know if I wanted to know why we were going to my house after all. He hadn't even been my producer for an entire day yet, and already Tommy was driving me nuts with innuendos and freak side shows. It was still beyond my realm of comprehension as to why we were making an impromptu visit to my house in the middle of the day. What was he up to now?

"Fine. But here I thought we were supposed to be working, as in, writing songs and all that jazz..." I trailed off as another sudden thought occurred to me.

"Hey, how do you know where I live, anyway?" I asked curiously as Tom shot me another sneaking glance as he chuckled.

"Hmmmm..would you believe me if I told you I was related to James Bond?" Tommy asked jokingly as I narrowed my eyes at him. Oh nice joke buster.

"You have such a future in stand up comedy, Quincy." I quipped nonchalantly as he laughed sincerely.

The idea of him driving me home still bothered me, especially after his vague attempts to avoid answering my questions. Was it just me, or did this seem slightly stalkerish? I gingerly tried to scoot over in my seat as close to the door as I could get. Three inches really did a lot for your sense of personal space let me tell you. Right now, I was just nervous. Plain and simple. Obviously, I'll never make a career in espionage because Tommy noticed my slight shift in position and audibly chuckled.

"I don't bite, Jude, I promise." Tom stated caustically as I sighed. Just because I hadn't noticed any fangs in his mouth before didn't mean they weren't there. Of course, it's not like I had been studying his mouth earlier, or anything, because, of course, I wasn't. I mean, staring at his mouth that is. Oh just shut up Jude before you stick your foot further into your self-deprecating orifice.

Tommy seemed to realize my pointed dislike for not being answered honestly because he suddenly pointed to a screen that was located above all of the buttons and dials that worked the radio and AC.

"It's called a GPS navigating system. It could give me directions to a McDonald's in Utah down to a foot if I wanted." Tom remarked as I raised a brow. Damn, but he was high tech. I knew these cars didn't come with systems like this. Made you wonder how much he spent on getting it installed. Okay, so I was impressed.

"James Bond, huh?" I commented mildly as he laughed again—watching quietly as he pulled slowly into my driveway. Tommy shifted the Viper into park and hit the unlock button, but I made no move to get out of his outrageously expensive car.

"So, we're here. Now are you going to tell me just why exactly we are now at my home and not back at Galaxy Studios?" I asked quickly--exasperation clearly evident in my tone as I stared unblinkingly into Tommy's gaze. I don't like being in the dark about things, especially when Tom Quincy was the one in control of the light switch. Can you say phobia folks?

Once again, that cocky, know-it-all smile appeared on Tommy's face.as I imagined myself mentally eradicating it with a human eraser. Yeah, so I had a vivid imagination. Anyone remember that show Ally McBeal?

"Nope." Tom answered me confidently as my eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Excuse me?

"I'll be here to pick you up at 7:15. The show starts at 8. See you later, Harrison." Tommy replied matter-of-factly as he leaned over me and pushed open my car door before giving me that 'I don't have all day' look. Ugh!

Next thing I knew, I was standing on my sidewalk, watching that arrogant SOB burn rubber as he sped out of the quiet neighborhood I had grown up in. I must have stood there for a good five minutes before turning and letting myself into my house. The jerk--he hadn't even stuck around to see if I got inside safely. Granted, it was the middle of the day and I had a cell phone in my purse--not to mention my keys--and the fact that the Andrews were right across the street. So forgive me for wanting chivalry. Speaking of keys, I realized suddenly that my Mustang was still parked at Galaxy Studios. I was now stuck at my own home until Tommy's return. Had he planned it that way?

Knowing that I was separated from my car was the last straw. As I slammed the front door to my house shut, I vowed that Tom Quincy had another thing coming if he though he could give vague orders and expect me to follow them. Time to don camouflage and the iconic Rambo bandana.