A/N: I don't own HSM. Bummer, I know.

"Who's Lance?"

Troy noticed the way his wife's body seemed to become stiff from mentioning the name. She looked tense but suddenly calm as she came out from the refrigerator holding a pot with leftovers.

"Lance? I don't think I've heard of any Lance's or know any…" Pam replied while avoiding his gaze. She once again turned her back to him as she strolled over to the oven. Was she telling him the truth? Troy didn't know for sure so he pressed harder onto the topic.

"That's funny because earlier while you were asleep, you kept repeating that name." His heart thudded deeply in his chest that it almost felt painful. His face was serious with his jaw clenched tightly together.

"I did? Hmm, I don't recall knowing anyone named Lance though. I don't even remember what I was dreaming so I could assure you that whatever it is was no big deal, babe." Pam turned around and looked him in the eyes after she stated her part. She shielded them with honesty, hoping that Troy wouldn't catch on.

Troy stared back at her, unsure if he was being lied to or not. He was so confused that he wasn't sure what to do next. "Are you sure you don't know anybody with that name…I meant, it seemed like you did 'cause you were even smiling as you said it in your sleep?"

Pushing herself away from the oven, Pam made her way to stand in front of Troy and placed her hands around his neck. "Troy, you don't actually think that I would cheat on you, do you? Because to me that's what it seems like you're trying to insist…"

"No, no…I'm just confused…maybe feeling a little bit insecure right now, I guess. I don't know. Just forget that I even asked."

"Aw my little baby is feeling insecure? Sweetie, there's no need for that if you already have me…I'm all yours remember? It's been that way since the day that I said 'I do'." She tried her best reassuring act and smirked at him. He gave a small smile back in response.

"I know…I'm sorry." Troy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer against him. He kissed her softly and she deepened it. Her tongue played with his own as the soft kiss became heated. He grabbed her by the hips and lifted her body against his, her legs wrapping around his torso without breaking the kiss. Troy led them down the hallway to their bedroom and kicked the door close.

They wouldn't be coming out for the rest of the night.

The weekend flew by quicker than it had arrived and Gabriella found herself sitting behind her desk that early afternoon on a Monday; the beginning of the workweek. Taylor had left back to Albuquerque later that evening on Saturday after their pedicures and massages. She promised that both she and Chad would go to the party that was to be held the following weekend.

Running a tired hand through her long locks, she sat back in her chair and thought about any last minute preparations that would be needed for the event. Her mind was in a blur since she found it hard to concentrate. For some odd reason it kept flashing back to Toy's R Us in Manhattan. Why? She had no idea.

Maybe it was because she felt so stress-free at the Barbie house, unlike how she felt at that moment sitting with paperwork and outlines for the next issue. At the Barbie House, she was able to rediscover her childhood and the memories that were locked away with it. Back then she would drink fruit punch, get dirty, and make friends with kids that she didn't even know for more than a minute. Now she was grown up drinking coffee, hated to even find a stain anywhere, and would barely trust anyone that quickly. It's the cycle of being an adult.

Scratching out her thoughts, she pushed herself out of her chair and out the door, telling her assistant Valerie to call everyone in for a meeting to be updated on what was going on for Saturday. Minutes later, several employees entered the conference room and sat along the long table. Waiting for them to be silent, Gabriella began to speak.

"Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend, as I know that I did. Um, I just wanted to see if everything has been confirmed for Saturday. First off, I want to thank and commend Heather for picking a beautiful location along the coast. For those who haven't seen or heard of it, it's called Metro Island Coast Bar. It's got one of the best views in California, which is perfect for when the party starts at sunset. I loved that you combined the idea of it being either indoor or outdoor since it has both. So, good job on that one. Next I'll begin by asking Cassidy and Rachel, what's the visual you guys have for me for the event? Got any outlines, blueprints, picture, or something?"

"Well, the place is spacious inside and out so we got tons of things going on. The theme we went for was fun, retro yet modern. We have several lime green round sofa's to be put in and black round tables to be set in the center of each of them. On top of them we have turquoise candles with an arrangement of yellow flowers and bamboos. It's pretty cool….here's a picture of the arrangement." Rachel handed Gabriella the picture and continued speaking. " Those seatings are to be placed in the front towards the sides of stage since the center is the dance floor. We have round tables for the dinner and those are to be towards the back. The cloths are yellow and the centerpieces are three large lime green candles…we decided to keep that simple. We replaced the brown bar stool's with yellow, lime green, and turquoise ones to match the color scheme we chose. Off the ceiling will be white party lights because Cassidy and I felt that colored ones would clash too much with the other colors we have going on. We also got some awesome mini disco balls to be scattered on the ceiling too. The stage will be decorated with a silver wall with holes in them. Inside the holes will be lights the color of our scheme shining through them…can't wait for you to see it. As for the outside, we got black benches and we're going to put turquoise padding that are outlined with yellow since we figured green wouldn't be necessary considering all the nature outside. The tiki poles that are to be lit will also be there outside for the lighting at night. And…that's all we have. How does that sound, boss?"

"So far, I love the visual you guys have given me…it sounds fantastic! You guys are to come with me on Thursday to make sure everything is there to be set up on Friday. Thanks for doing your part girls! Next is Melinda. What's on the menu for everyone?"

"Alrighty, appetizers are small turkey sandwiches, meatballs, and shrimp…a variety of everything basically. First part of the meal is a mini grilled chicken salad. Next is the choice of either lobster or chicken Parmesan. Afterwards for desert is chocolate mousse cake. Our caterer is Bella Italiano…I hope you don't mind that I went for Italian."

"No, no…Italian is fine. I'm glad that at least you didn't just make the whole menu Italian at least, you know. You put some seafood on there which is good to give people the option considering our location is next to the ocean."

"Okay then, excellent. As for beverages and alcohol, I already placed an order with the location with Heather to make sure we have enough supply of that for the evening." Melinda finished off her part with that statement.

"Well done, Meli. Sounds like things are moving along just great so far! As for Mallory and Diana, I also want to commend you both on the entertainment. You guys got some really big artists to come and perform, so kudos to you both. Kenneth, Iris, and Tracey, you guys already confirmed the security, publicists, and photographers to me so I guess that's already out of the way. I want the three of you to work at the door, by the way. Iris, you are to be in charge of who gets in and who doesn't; every guest must have his or her name on the guest list. Tracey you are working backstage making sure you don't see any funny business going around. Kenneth, I would like for you to also keep a watchful eye across the room too." Gabriella gave them a pointed look to express her seriousness for the moment and the workers nodded at her. She was a laidback boss and fun to work with but she had to be firm when necessary. "Val, how's the guest list, by the way? Who has confirmed of going?"

Valerie flipped through the pages of her notepad and stopped on a list. "As for guests, we should be expecting the cast of Gossip Girl, Nicole Ritchie with her baby daddy, Queen Latifah, Jordin Sparks, Jamie Foxx, the band members of The Fray, Pink, Kate Beckinsale, Taylor Swift, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Bilson with Hayden Christiansen, Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson…" Valerie continued her list while Gabriella listened intently. She was satisfied by all the names she heard so far, excited but didn't let it show. She had to act like a professional when it came to things like this and not like a teenager.

"Sounds awesome! Before I forget, I'm having two friends of mine coming and they each might be coming with one of their own guests. Their names are Taylor McKessie and Chad Danforth. When you're done with the final copy of the list, please hand it over to Iris since she's at the door." Gabriella directed.

"Gotcha' Gabriella. No problem." Valerie scribbled down the two names on the list and closed her notepad.

"Anything else I should be informed about?" the boss asked. The room was silent for a moment since no one had anything to confirm or ask. "Okay then. Thanks again everyone. I must say that I'm extremely satisfied and as a reward since everything is in order, you guys could call it a day and leave early. Enjoy your afternoons."

The workers let out a sigh of relief and grinned for being able to get off from the job.

Troy was once again in the apartment, standing by the counter eating a bowl of cereal. He didn't have to be at the theater for another few hours so he figured he'd just chill out with Mugsy for a bit.

His mind was set on the Saturday that just passed. His wife said that there was no Lance; that no one she knew existed with that name. He believed her. He trusted her. Why did he even question her? He felt foolish for even thinking that she would do such a thing and kicked himself for it. What had gotten into him? He had been the unfaithful one and shouldn't assume that his wife was doing the same. It wasn't fair for her to practically be accused of it…or so he thought.

He finished his bowl and was about to go to the living room when he suddenly heard Mugsy in the hallway scratching on his bedroom door. Troy furrowed his brows wondering what had gotten Mugsy's attention. It must've been something inside the room, obviously. Troy walked down the hall and opened the door, revealing nothing inside but his furniture of course. He was about to leave the room when he heard a noise. It was a loud and annoying ringtone coming from a cell phone. It wasn't his phone since his was back in the kitchen. The annoying sound was coming from Pam's night table. It was Pam's phone.

'She must've forgotten it' Troy figured.

Walking to the table, he looked at the screen and saw that it was her mother calling. He frowned to himself and decided not to pick it up since she could talk for hours about pointless things that he wouldn't care much about. It stopped ringing and the phone showed that it had three missed calls. He picked the phone up and decided to see who the other two calls were from. Pam wouldn't have anything to hide anyway, right? It was a marriage and in marriages there weren't supposed to be any secrets even if he did have one of his own. He skimmed the list and saw that the other two were from her mom. It must have been urgent if she called three times.

Shrugging his shoulders, he scrolled further down the list when a name suddenly caught his attention.

Lance.

It was a missed call from yesterday.

"What the fuck? She said she didn't know any Lance's." he spoke aloud and read the name again to make sure he even read it right. "Did she just lie to me?"

Now he was confused more than ever. What was going on? If there is a Lance, then why did she need to lie about him? Is this guy some kind of importance to her? Looking over at the digital clock next to the bed, he saw that he had enough time to make it Pam's office for her lunch break to return her phone and to talk to her. He had the urge to get answers and didn't want to waste anymore valuable time.

Troy went to his closet and retrieved a jacket. He bid his goodbye to Mugsy and left for Pam's job. A half hour later, he arrived and stepped through the large glass doors and headed to the reception desk. The receptionist smiled at him for she recognized who he was considering that she went to his wedding and a few shows.

"Hey Mr. Bolton! How are you?" she asked.

"Hey Brenda…uh I'm pretty good, I guess. Wait that's lie…I don't know, I've been better."

"Doesn't sound like you're doing too good. Are you looking for Pamela?"

"Actually, I am. She left her phone at home and I wanted to give it to her in case of an emergency. Besides, the mother in law kept calling nonstop so I think its best that Pam calls her back or whatever. Did she step out to lunch yet?" he questioned.

"No, she hasn't. If I'm correct, a delivery boy just came in with some Chinese food for her. She should be upstairs in her office. Go ahead on up." She replied and moved her hand towards the elevators.

"Thanks Brenda." Troy said as he gave her a final wave and went to the elevator. He pressed the button for the sixth floor and nervously rubbed his hands together. He was convincing himself to just return the phone and talk to her later when she got home. There was no need to try and make a scene at her job. No need for it at all. The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, revealing an office filled with various empty cubicles since people went to lunch. Taking advantage of not being stopped because people recognized him, Troy made his way around the cubicles and went towards the back where he knew his wife's office was located.

He was a few feet away when he noticed that the door was cracked open a bit. He heard a voice and easily placed it as hers. Next thing he knew, he heard another voice, a deep masculine voice. He stopped in his steps.

'Nah, it's probably not a big deal. She's probably having lunch with a coworker…no need to freak out.' Troy thought to himself, trying to reassure his conscience that there was nothing wrong with the situation.

Pam's giggles lingered out between the crack of the door and into Troy's ears. He silently stepped closer and listened.

"Oh Lance, you're such an idiot…a sexy one I might add…"

There was that Lance name again! Was he really hearing this? Could it be what he suspected all along? He couldn't have been making it all up, the evidence was right there behind the door.

He stepped even closer to the door and peeked inside. What he saw had twisted his heart and caused his breathing to become shallow. His eyes became wet and he shut them tightly for a few seconds. He opened them again hoping to not see his wife with her lips still on the mysterious man.

They still were.

Panicking and unsure of what to do next, Troy turned around quickly and rushed his way back to the elevator without making a sound. Stepping inside again, he pressed his back against the wall and let out several loud breaths of air trying to regain his composure.

'What the fuck was that? I did not just witness my wife two-timing me! I can't believe she had the nerve to fucking lie to me about it and smile in my face when I asked. How could she be so conniving and do this behind my back? What's her reason? How long has this bullshit been going on? I passed up the gorgeous and honest ex-girlfriend who I still freaking have feelings for because of my marriage to a woman who's playing me?' his mind jumped to different questions as he thought and couldn't stop the tears from falling.

The elevator stopped at the lobby and Troy walked quickly out before Brenda could stop him. He just walked and didn't know where to go. He wanted to clear his head of the pain he was feeling. He felt betrayed that his wife was unfaithful. But did he even have a right to feel that way? He had been disloyal to her a month ago.

Looking at his watch he saw that he still had enough time to make it to the apartment to chill for a bit before the show.

Walking back to the apartment, Troy was contemplating his next move of action. It didn't take him long to decide. He finally made it to his destination and opened the apartment door to be greeted by an excited Mugsy. Troy showed him some attention before whipping out his cell phone.

Was he seriously going to do the random thing he was about to do? Was it the right move? Should he seriously be considering the plan that was forming in his head? All answers pointed to yes.

He looked through his phonebook and stopped on a number. It was the number of his parents' house in Albuquerque.

"Um, do you know anything about my parents?" Troy couldn't help but wonder what became of his parents since he was lousy enough to not keep in touch with them. He felt slightly embarrassed to say the least that he asked her such a question.

"Well last time I saw them, they seemed to be doing well. They're still living pretty well and both are in excellent shape. Chad would obviously know more about this though; I know he still sees them often…you know, they do miss you Troy…that I'm more than a hundred percent sure of. Why don't you ever give them a call? Or write them a letter? The number is still the same and so is the address…"

Gabriella did say that the number was still the same. Should he call? He knew he wanted to. He had to if he wanted to make his plan possible. Besides, he did owe them that much since he had been an asshole to not keep in touch.

With his hand shaking nervously, he pressed the button with a green phone and held the phone to his ear.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

"Hello?" the sweet voice of his mother had picked up. It was really her and after all these years, she still sounded the same. Troy stood silent for he was in shock that he even grew the balls to actually call his parents. "Hello?"

Realizing that he still didn't answer back, he cleared his throat and began to speak. "Um…hi…mom." Troy heard silence on the other side of the phone. He began to wonder if he did the right thing by calling at all since she still hasn't spoke back. Did she faint?

"Troy? Is that you?" he noticed that uneasy tone in her voice, probably in shock that it was actually her son calling.

"Yeah, its me." He answered. It was silent again but that was interrupted by his mother's squeal.

"My goodness! I can't believe its you! My baby! My Troy! My little Troy! Jack! Pick up the phone!" she yelled. Troy smiled to himself, chuckling at his mother's reaction and her eagerness for his father to pick up the phone. Moments later, Jack was on the line.

"Gosh, what is it? Who's on the phone?" Jack asked clearly annoyed.

"Dad…" Troy spoke nervously.

"Troy?" he imagined his father with a confused face and smiled to himself again.

"Uh, yep. It's me…How are you guys?" Troy asked.

"How are we? How the heck are you?" Jack excitedly asked back.

"I'm doing pretty good actually…I just wanted to call and see how you guys were…"

"We're doing good. Your father and I are still living well and obviously missing our little boy. I can't believe we're actually hearing from you. It's been such a long time…"

"I know…I know and it's my fault that it's been this long. I want to apologize to you both for that…"

"Save the apologies for later. I want to hear all about your life now. Did you make it to what you wanted? Ended up with the career you dreamt of besides basketball?" Jack asked, interested to know what became of his son's future.

"Where do I begin? It's not like I want to brag or anything but uh…erm…I'm living here in an apartment in New York and I work as an actor on Broadway." Troy summed up; leaving out that his apartment was shared. He was too pissed off to mention he was married.

"Broadway? My son made it big then, huh? I'm so proud of you sweetie!" his mother exclaimed.

"I heard you were doing well. Chad came by after his little road trip over there and told us that he saw you and that Kelsi girl. He said you were happy where you were and living well." Jack said.

"Yeah I did see him, Taylor, and Gabriella when they came here. They all looked pretty happy too and seemed to being doing good. It was great seeing everyone again and pretty shocking too…I wasn't expecting it at all."

"I'm sorry but this is a little off topic. I have a question for you Troy because your father and I are dying to see you. You're a few years overdue of seeing us and visiting your old home. We just really want to see our son and see how he's grown and become a man...I was wondering…" she was cut off by Troy's voice.

"Actually, now that you mention it, that was another reason why I was calling."

So this is where the story has gotten us so far. I hope you guys like the direction its moving in which leads me to ask, are you guys satisfied with how its turning out so far? The last two chapters didn't really get many reviews at all...well considering that the story is seventeen chapters long, I haven't recieved as many as I would of hoped so I'm not even sure if you guys are completely happy with it. I'm not saying that you have to review but it would be nice to have some reassure every now and then.

Anyway, I was planning on breaking the chapter up into two but decided to get a few things out of the way and put those events together. Right move? I think so.

I got my fingers crossed that you all enjoyed this chapter and it's drama! Review!