A/N: Well readers, as promised, here's the next chapter!

I am still amazed at how dedicated you readers are to this story! I can't thank you enough for submitting reviews and having this on your favourites and alerts! All your comments are seriously appreciated! getlostinthesound and flutegirl0422, telling me that receiving an update of this story makes your day, makes my day! TeamBTR44, salifast32,bigtimerangergirl123 and loganlover84, your constant positive reviews really helped me keep going with this story, so thank you for sticking with this since pretty much day one!

[larrrrrrystyllinson]: One of my favourite things about reviews is how readers tell me their reactions to my character portrayals, it shows how invested you guys are to the story, so thank you so much for reading!

Disclaimer: I have no legal affiliation with the Big Time Rush show.

As she informed her brother, Katie spent Thursday morning discussing her arrangements with her new business associates. Katie had apologized to Jack as soon as he walked through the door, for James' behaviour the last they had met. Being a good sport, Jack told her that he was just glad that she was giving him this opportunity, feeling like he overstepped the boundary by previously asking her out. Katie had assured him that she didn't hold it against him, but made it clear that she only wished to work with him in a professional setting.

Katie's meeting with Laura went surprisingly well, considering that Katie informed the older, more experienced manager, that her position was only temporary. Katie could only hire Laura as a replacement for herself. After a short moment of hesitation, the older woman agreed, telling Katie that would give her just enough time to decide whether or not she really wanted to stay in Hollywood and work. As a mother of two young children, Laura was in the process of deciding if she wanted to be a working mom, at least for the critical years of their lives.

With the agreement of both employees, Katie informed them of Fulton's attack, and they had to be prepared for whatever was coming. Feeling like she needed to protect whatever valuable assets that she had, Katie created a contract that stated that if another company were to takeover Knight Management, her current employees would be legally protected from any unprovoked dismissals. Katie was sure that Fulton would have a legal team who would be ready to tear this contract to pieces, but her legal advisors assured her that their jobs would be secure for at least a year under FMA. Katie knew that she made the right decision to hire Jack and Laura when they both offered their support and allegiance to Knight Management against Fulton.

When Katie walked out of her office that afternoon, she decided drive along Sunset Boulevard to watch the tourists as they meandered Los Angeles, trying to soak up the Hollywood scene. Out of the blue, she stopped off at the Fun Burger that was situated near the Palm Woods to get a bite to eat. She was glad that the place was still open after all these years; the family of 2J had come here, every now and then, to eat a burger while she was growing up. She had some great memories of this place, including her first, and semi-disastrous date; coincidently, the hostess had seated her in the same booth as that night, and she looked over towards the booth that James and his date were sitting at, when he was acting quite overprotective of her.

Katie sighed, putting down her burger, finally realizing that she only came here because it reminded her of James. She groaned before speaking to herself, lowly as to not attract looks from the other restaurant patrons.

"Why is it so hard to get over him?" A nagging voice was trying to push its way through her brain, but she quickly suppressed it by changing the song in the mini jukebox. She didn't want to listen to the voice that she suspected came from her heart. She devoured her meal quickly and left the restaurant before her mind strayed to James again.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't with Katie. After she had vacated Fun Burger, she ran straight into Beverly. The other brunette had just spotted Katie, and Katie could see the hesitation strewn across the veterinarian's face. Katie sighed internally, but waved at Beverly, who had returned the sentiment.

Katie approached the other woman, "Hi Bev, how are you?"

Beverly nodded slightly, "I could be better."

The two women stood there, shuffling their feet, unable to say anything to each other before Beverly pointed up to a giant billboard behind Katie, "You look great."

Katie quirked an eyebrow in confusion before turning around and looking in the direction that Beverly was pointing at. Somehow, Katie had passed the advertisement she and James and done for 'Cuda, without even realizing it. Katie's face flushed immediately, she hadn't realized that the company was going to post the ad across one of the busiest streets in North America, now allowing all of Los Angeles to see her pose so provocatively with James. Nor had she known that they were starting the campaign so quickly. She turned back to Beverly and smiled sheepishly.

"I had no idea that it would be so...big."

Apparently, Katie had said the right thing, because Bev laughed, breaking the tension between the two ladies.

"James was right, you really are funny," Beverly stated unexpectedly.

Katie gave her a half-smile. "I'm sorry, I heard that you two are broken up."

Bev shrugged, "Can't say that I wasn't expecting it." Beverly considered Katie for a moment, before continuing. "But, you know, he didn't break up with me for the reason that I thought he would." Katie gave her a confused look which prompted Beverly to ask Katie the next question, "Do you have time to sit for a coffee or something?"

Katie nodded slowly, completely unsure of where this conversation was going. She wondered if Beverly had seen the kiss between her and James, last Sunday night. Normally, Katie could care less about people's feelings, being in the entertainment industry and all, but, Beverly seemed to be a genuinely good person, which made Katie want to be completely honest with her.

After they had settled down in a café a patio with beverages, Katie peered at Beverly, wondering what the woman had to say to her. She cleared her throat, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Beverly took a sip of her iced tea, looking tentatively over at Katie. "Do you remember when we first met, and I told you that I was worried about James' possible oversized ego? He had asked me out right away, without wasting any time, and I thought that it was partially because he thought he was a celebrity, and that normal rules don't apply to him."

"Vaguely, yes," Katie answered, trying to remember the conversation.

"Well, when I agreed to go out with him, I worried that he was going to be just another one of those celebrities that you read about in the tabloids, you know, the ones that just scream slimeball. I did have a really nice chat with him, and that's what made me agree to a date, but I couldn't help but be on my toes about him. Along with the ego, I also wondered if James was asking me out just to get into my pants."

Katie tried not to let the image of Beverly and James in bed seep into her mind.

Beverly continued speaking, "I waited all night for him to try to take me to bed, but he didn't. He was a complete gentleman. I expected James to be a complete playboy, from all the stories that I've read about him, you could imagine how surprised I was when he not only dropped me off at home without any intentions of coming in with me, but asking me out on a second date, too. In fact, James spent the night going on about the guys and about you. Especially, about you."

Katie bit her lip, looking away from the pretty brunette.

Beverly chuckled ruefully, "I should have seen it from the start. I don't think a conversation passed between us, that he didn't manage to drag you into it." She spun the drink in her hand before continuing, the condensation dripping slowly. "I don't think I actually realized anything until the night of the dinner in Malibu."

Katie glanced up at Beverly, hoping that she wasn't going to bring up the kiss. It was one thing for her to want to tell Beverly about it, and another thing to be put to shame.

Katie feigned naïvety, "Oh?"

"Katie, when I said that James dumped me for a reason that I didn't expect, what did you think I was talking about?" Beverly asked, rhetorically. "James may not be the brightest bulb out there, but I can tell that he has a really good heart. And, if it weren't for the fact that he was in love with you, well, I'd still probably be throwing myself at him."

Katie's eyes widened at Beverly's blunt remark. "Bev, what? I...James and I are just friends..."

Beverly smiled pityingly at the shocked woman across from her, "I think that's the problem. You know," she started slowly, "I saw that kiss on the dance floor, and your fleeing." Katie dropped her jaw. "I should be pretty pissed at you."

Katie squeezed her eyes shut, in complete horror. "Oh geez. Bev, I'm so sorry," Katie managed to whisper, feeling ashamed of her actions. "Wait...'should?'" Katie asked, opening her eyes in wonder.

Bev smirked, sipping her iced tea, cooly. "Yeah, 'should.' I felt so humiliated when I saw you two, but after James' unceremonious dumping, and a few days of simmering anger, I came to a couple of realizations; one, I was angry at the both of you for longer than the actual duration of mine and James' relationship. Two, I didn't know James long enough to be that angry about our break-up, and three, this one was the hardest to accept, you weren't the third wheel in the relationship."

"Come again?" Katie gasped, bewildered.

"You heard me. Now I won't go so far as to blame myself, James is still a jerk for asking me out and leaving me point blank, but, I can't say that you're the reason for breaking us up. Katie, I'm a doctor, I'm naturally quite perceptive, it's partially why I'm choosing to talk to you at this moment." She sighed, before leaning in to continue talking, "When I met him, I knew James was emotionally selfish, actually, he's probably selfish in all ways, but, when it comes to you, it's like he would do anything to make you happy. I shivered all night before James offered his jacket for warmth, and by that time, we were already at my front door. When he found out about your car, he offered to replace it immediately. And, he got really excited about the trip to Malibu, I don't think he would have invited me, if it weren't for the fact that he kept letting it slip that you guys were going."

Beverly let out a a small chuckle, "You should have seen him, he was like a little boy who was idolizing his hero; 'Katie this,' and 'Katie that.' I really have no idea how I didn't see it sooner." Her smile dropped slightly, gazing at Katie seriously, "But, what really gave it away was how he kept staring at you all night. No, it wasn't even that, it was the way that he was looking at you."

Katie blushed, unable to hold her voice steady, "I...I don't know what you mean."

Beverly shook her head, "Yes, you do. It's the way that you want to look at him."

Katie flopped back in her seat and really considered Beverly. "Why are you telling me this?"

Her companion raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders, "I really don't know, maybe it's the good Samaritan in me, or maybe I'm a hopeless romantic. Either way, I just had to let you know." She took another sip of her drink before adding an afterthought, "I would have liked you, Katie."

Katie understood that their conversation was wrapping up. She gave Beverly a small smile, "I would have liked you, too. Unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately, these things happen," Beverly confirmed.

Katie spent the afternoon wandering Los Angeles, trying to find Kendall a good-bye present, something of a tradition, between her and her brother. While she idled in the local touristy shops, she contemplated her discussion with Beverly. Again, someone had told her that James was in love with her; she blew a raspberry, startlingly an old lady standing next to her. Katie grinned apologetically before scampering away.

She made her way to a bus bench, facing away from another gigantic poster of her and James. Katie watched, bemused at two teenaged girls, who squealed when they saw the poster.

"Oh my gosh!" One of them drawled out, nasally. "That's like James freaking Diamond! He's so cute."

"I'm so jealous of that girl, she's, like totally, draped all over him. Smelling his essence." Her friend remarked.

Katie bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"I know, right? Oh my gosh! I'm gonna go buy this for my boyfriend, that way he'll smell like James! And who knows, maybe I'll pick one up for myself, so that way, my boyfriend would look at me like that!"

The two girls giggled and continued walking. Katie sat, bewildered by the success of the advertisement. She turned to look at the poster, willing herself not to blush. Katie definitely saw the lust that emitted from the both of them off the poster. She couldn't believe that they had taken it so far that day, if Daniella hadn't stopped them, they might have not.

Katie placed her head in hands, a position she was recently getting used to. She knew that she and James liked each other, but love? That was a territory Katie wasn't prepared to enter. She was only twenty-two, too young to fall in love, at least the kind of love that lasted forever. Katie thought about what she had been telling James and everyone else who had listened; she was afraid of breaking apart the relationships that everyone had, but if she was being completely honest with herself, she didn't want to lose James.

"I can't," she whispered, thinking about how much it would hurt if he disappeared from her life for good. She sat up and pulled out her cellphone, wanting to call James, right away. Her fingers hesitated over the call button, she had no idea what to say to him.

She sighed, and stood up, deciding that she would talk to him when she knew what to say. But, Katie knew that was the problem, she didn't know when she was going to come up with something to say.

Katie came home, ready to make another meal for Kendall, before they spent another night playing video games together. Though she wanted to be completely selfish, and just have another Knight siblings bonding night, she knew her brother would be ecstatic with another night hanging with his friends.

"Hey Cam, it's me," Katie pulled the phone away from her ear when her friend started to shriek hysterically on the other end. "Cam. Cam. Camille! Listen, I'm sorry for ditching and avoiding you all week. I promise, I'll spend hours telling you everything, just not tonight. Yes, I'll treat you to a spa day. Will you and Logan come over tonight? I'm making dinner before Kendall leaves, and I know that he would love to hang out with the guys before he goes. Yep, I'm going to call Carlos right after this to let him know. Thanks, Cam. See you soon."

Katie smiled, ready to call James' home line to see if he and Carlos wanted to come over as well, when her brother walked through her door, Latino in tow. "Oh, hey guys. I was just about to call you, Carlos."

"For what? Did you hear something from the studio?" Carlos bounded into the kitchen, excitedly.

"I was just going to tell you to come over, and nope," Katie shook her head, "I still haven't heard anything. But, don't worry, studios usually take forever before making a casting decision, and the director said that you pretty much had it in the bag."

"Oh, well, I'm here. Hey, did you buy any corn-dogs?" Carlos asked, reaching into one of the grocery bags.

Kendall came into the kitchen as well, grabbing a water bottle at the same moment that Katie slapped Carlos' hand away. "No, I didn't. I have some in the freezer, but, don't eat any. I'm making dinner."

Carlos made a face, "Are you sure about that?"

Katie punched him in the arm, "That tube of snickerdoodle was faulty. And, don't act like you've never eaten my cooking before and liked it." Carlos and Kendall nudged each other, chuckling over Katie's obvious embarrassment at failure. "Will you guys shut up and help me put the stuff away?"

"Sorry, baby sis, gotta shower," Kendall stated, raising one of his arms, and wafting his other hand underneath it.

Katie shoved him out of her kitchen, "Gross." Kendall fist-bumped Carlos across the bar counter, laughing. Katie crossed her arms. "This is you getting back at me for leaving you with super-mom, isn't it?"

Kendall gave her his famous dimpled-smile, before pointing his fingers at her, "Yes, yes it is." He laughed again before closing the door to the guest room.

Carlos laughed along with his buddy, though helped Katie shelve her purchases away. Kati rolled her eyes, but continued her task. She glanced feverishly at Carlos for a few minutes before trying to strike up another conversation, as cool as possible. "So, James couldn't make it? It is Kendall's last night, here."

Carlos stopped what he was doing to grin knowingly at Katie. "Why? You miss him?"

Katie scoffed, "No!" She cried, too adamantly. "I was just wondering, 'cause Kendall was pissed at him for...something," she finished, lamely.

"Kendall was mad at James? Oh, I guess that's why he and James stayed holed up in his office for so long. I was wondering what they were doing in there," Carlos brought one hand up to scratch his chin, pondering about that afternoon's events at the mansion. "James still won't come out of his office. I don't know what he's doing in there, but I guess it's alright, Kendall did come out smiling."

"Kendall smiled? After talking to James?" Katie's eyes widened, pulling on Carlos' shoulders to bring him closer, "Did you make sure he was alive?"

"Alive? Wha−Katie, what happened between you guys?" Carlos cried, feeling unaware of the situation at hand.

"I have to check to make sure that Kendall didn't kill him," Katie frantically replied, searching for her keys.

"Kill him? For what? Katie, what happened?" Carlos asked again, raising his voice in panic.

"Katie, relax. I didn't kill him." Kendall said, stepping out of his room.

"Kendall! Katie...James...what...killed?" Carlos uttered, still hysterical.

"Katie and James...kissed," Kendall told Carlos, turning slightly green. Katie sat down onto one of the bar stools, glad that she didn't have to think of an excuse to cover her brother's homicide.

Carlos stood there, soaking in the information before clapping his hands and pointing at Katie, "Oh!" He laughed, manically. "I knew it! I knew it! When did it happen?"

"Carlos!" Kendall shouted.

"Sorry."

"It was at the restaurant in Malibu. Apparently, the two of them enjoyed dancing together a little too much," Kendall raised one of his eyebrows at his sister before looking back at Carlos. "Katie believed that I was going to murder James, after finding out," he shrugged his shoulders, "which, to be honest, I wanted to," he held up his hands in defence when he saw Katie's accusing look, "but, I didn't."

"Why does that make you want to kill James?" Carlos asked, still confused. Katie and Kendall sighed dramatically, waiting for their friend to come to the right conclusion on his own. The epiphany came a minute later which Carlos signalled with a snap of his fingers and a gleam in his eyes. "Oh! Okay, got it."

Katie furrowed her eyebrows, standing up and walking towards her brother, "Wait, why would you come out, after a talk with James, looking happy?"

Kendall gave her a toothless grin and pointed a finger at her, "I can't answer that, at least not right now."

Katie was about to respond, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. "This isn't over, big brother," Katie warned, pointing a finger back at Kendall while answering the door.

Katie opened the door to a smiling Camille and Logan.

"Hey, guys," Katie greeted. "Come on in."

Katie closed the door after the two had entered her domain. She sized up the guests in her house, feeling like they were incomplete without the presence of James. She walked over to nudge Kendall with her shoulder, "So, if you're okay with James, why isn't he here?"

"Well, I'm technically still pretty mad at him, but I'm not talking about that now. Also, he has something that he needs to do, so we said our farewells already."

"What's more important than hanging out together, on your last day here?" Katie wondered aloud, trying to get a more straightforward answer out of her brother.

"Sorry, can't say," he shrugged, before turning to the other guests. "Okay, who's ready to game?"

Katie and Camille had prepared dinner while they allowed the boys to enjoy a round of Bio Hazard: Battle Blast 12: Crotchy Returns, Again. They had initially feared that the boys would start fighting after five minutes of the game, but because all of them gave the girls the puppy-dog look, something that Katie had taught them over the years, Cam and Katie had caved.

When dinner was over and the boys continued playing, Katie took Cam into her study to explain her most recent decision to go on vacation.

When she was finished, she looked at Cam, "So, are you okay with this?"

Camille, ever the actress, stood and paced the study floor. "Katie, geez, why haven't you said anything? Fulton is really going to take over your company? Do you want me to talk to my lawyers? They're really good at finding loopholes in contracts."

Katie stood up as well, placing her hands on Camille's shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. She shook her head, "Cam, this really is happening, calm down. And, no, I don't need your lawyers, I have mine; they're combing through everything, trying to find out how to stop Fulton from taking my company. But," she pushed Camille back into her previous seat, "that's not what I want you to focus on. Since I'm leaving on such short notice, I need you to watch out for Carlos for me. I have the new managers and his agent ready for him, but I think he'd really appreciate some help from someone he knows well."

Camille nodded, "Of course." She smiled ruefully at Katie, "I just can't believe that you're ready to leave the company, after all the work you put in. It's great that you're going on vacation, but you put so much effort into this business, I'd hate to see it go all to waste."

As much as she was accepting of the idea that she would eventually lose Knight Management to Fulton, Katie couldn't help but regret its loss. She wasn't completely truthful with Kendall about being completely fine with leaving the company and finding time for herself; Knight Management was very much a part of her, ever since she was a child.

Cam continued speaking, "It's such a shame that you're losing it to Fulton because of a scandal. I just can't believe that James let himself get caught...wait, how did it happen again?" It was as if Camille had lit a lightbulb because it caused Katie to gasp, standing up again. Camille stood up with her, "Did I say something?"

Katie snapped her finger, and took up Cam's previous pacing, "I never asked him how he got caught. Who would know about this to inform James' old manager?" She turned to look at Camille with a wild look in her eyes, "It was a setup! I can't believe I didn't see it before." Katie stormed out of her study to talk the guys, Cam followed her.

"Guys!" Katie called as she stood in front of the t.v. screen.

All three men groaned in unison while still trying to play. "Katie!"

Katie clicked off the game and turned her attention to her brother and his friends. "This is important, did James ever tell you what happened with his old manager and his wife?"

They looked at each and shrugged, not seeing the importance of this issue, "Well, yeah."

Katie sat on her coffee table, "Quick, tell me everything."

Kendall, confused as to why his sister was so interested, told her. "James was a dinner party with some other hotshot celebrities when he met Larry's wife, they got really drunk, and you know," Kendall looked knowingly at his sister, "they got it on, in one of the nooks or crannies of the house. Someone had told Larry about their little escapade and he confronted James about it like the next day or something."

Katie slapped her hand on the table, startling all occupants in the room. "I knew it."

Carlos, frustrated with not knowing the complete story asked, "Knew what? Do you mind filling us in?"

Katie steeled her eyes at the guys, and Camille, who had sat down earlier. "This whole thing with James losing his manager and coming to find me, it was all a setup." She rolled her eyes at their blank faces before continuing, "Look, we all know that James is fairly...open about his love life, but he has always had the decency to bring the women back to either his mansion or a hotel room, he never risks getting caught. And, how stupid would a person have to be to sleep with their husband's client when said husband is at that same party?"

Katie's audience suddenly started to comprehend and began to nod along, all except Logan, who always managed to see the negative side to explanations.

"Wait, what if it's just a coincidence? What if James really did have too much to drink and lost his better judgement? And maybe Larry's wife was really desperate?" Logan stated, holding up a hand.

Carlos frowned, shaking his head, "James can really hold his alcohol. The only thing that really knocks him out is Tequila, and he avoids that at any social event, after what happened that one time in Mexico."

Logan and Kendall remembered simultaneously, "Oh, yeah."

Carlos continued, "James knows not to drink excessively during business interactions."

Katie nodded, "Exactly. Where was this dinner party?"

Kendall frowned as well, looking seriously at his sister. "It was at Chris White's place."

Katie let out a shaky breath, crossing her arms, "His agent."

A/N: I'm so sorry about the anti-climatic storyline with Jack and Katie, originally I had planned something much more extensive, but I figured I already dragged on the Jatie plotline long enough and they really didn't need another obstacle.

I'll also be announcing something pretty big regarding HM in either the next chapter or the one after, so keep an eye out for it! ;)

Please continue to leave your comments! I get so excited every time I get an email alert.

Love,

D