Three days later, Alyssa was all better and back on her feet again. Anastasia was very happy about that, as there were too many clients calling for her to deal with on her own. Not that she minded handling the calls. She just didn't like her friend being unwell. Alyssa wasn't looking forward to having to do work on Saturday, but she really needed to make up the hours she missed. She tried contacting her landlord several times, but his cellular phone would either be off or he would say that he's busy. It was beginning to aggravate her greatly. There was something fishy about his behavior. There was no way he could be busy all those times. She was wondering if he had his cell phone turned off on purpose or his being "busy" was just an excuse for not wanting to assist her.

‘My Lord, what a terrible landlord he is. He should never have aspired to be one. I would hate to see how he has treated other tenants.' The one good thing was since the young woman had been discharged, she didn't see any unwelcome animals. ‘However, taking chances are not an option. Something must be done.'  Her and creepy crawlies did not mix, especially since one landed her in the hospital. ‘I'm wondering if I have to get nasty to get him to come, though it probably wouldn't make a difference.'

Alyssa knew the office wasn't exactly the place for her mind to wander, but it was pretty boring so far. They usually got a dozen calls on the usual work days, but that day, there were only three and it was afternoon. True, that should be expected since it was a Saturday, but it was still odd since people usually called after business hours, and she would have to tell Stacey about them.

‘Man, I wonder if picking Saturday of all days to make up my work hours was such a good idea. I can't believe I have wasted almost an entire day when I could have been doing other things.' Lissie was glad she did her cleaning the previous day so she wouldn't have to do it later. She proceeded to think about Michael and how nice he was to her in the hospital. ‘I wonder how his rehearsals are going. I think I'll give him a call and let him know I am now home. I'm sure he would be happy to hear that. I could tell he was genuinely concerned.'  She thought about sneaking a call right now, since she had caught up on some of her work, and it wasn't like a flurry of calls were coming in. But she didn't want to do it in front of Anastasia, who was there to keep her company for a bit.

"Hey, Lissie, why do you look so pensive? What are you thinking about?"

Alyssa looked up, embarrassed. "Huh?"

The blonde gave her a funny look. "You looked like you were asleep for awhile, that's all. Are you that bored?"

Lissie nearly burst out laughing at Stacey's facial expression. ‘If I really did fall asleep, she would never let me live it down.'  She sat up straighter. "Believe you me, I do feel like taking a nap....all this waiting is making me sleepy. But it's just that the thing with the landlord is really bugging me...what am I going to do?"

Anastasia could tell her friend was indeed annoyed. She couldn't blame her. She herself hated when people treated her like a nuisance when it was their job to help...one of her big pet peeves.

 "Oh, that. Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you. I am sure you will think of something."

Alyssa appreciated the confidence, but she wasn't too sure. She hoped so, if she would be staying in the apartment. Oh well. She could always get nasty if she had to, though she hoped that she wouldn't have to resort to confrontation. She tried to avoid it whenever she could.

Anastasia looked at her watch. "Listen, I have to run some errands, so I will have to leave for now. But I'll be back. If any calls come in, let me know, all right?"

"You bet."

Anastasia got her purse and left.

Alyssa figured out what to do. She remembered Michael only had one rehearsal that day and he had a 20 minute in between break, and according to the small card he gave her, it should be right now. This was her chance to call him, now that Stacey had left. She wasn't too worried about a potential client calling. On one hand, she had call waiting, and two, it wasn't like he could have a long conversation anyway. But she didn't care if the conversation was long or short, she just wanted to talk to him. Plus, she was afraid of running out of words to say. Lissie got the phone book where she had written the number in. ‘I hope I don't make an idiot out of myself.'

Michael had been contacted by the Lupus LA founder Daniel Wallace the day before. It was regarding a special event that would be held at Mission Hills Inn-a banquet, to be exact, which was to be held in a little less than two weeks. This banquet was going to raise funds for hospitals that didn't have sufficient money to provide the best care for lupus patients. The gentleman had asked the pop singer about giving a speech about lupus. Like many people, he read that Michael suffered from lupus and that he donated to a couple of organizations, but was a spokesperson for any. Michael had said that he would be honored to do it. Though he considered his medical history to be private business, he wanted to let other lupus patients know that they were not alone. Also, he hoped to end the misconceptions as to why he wore the surgical masks in public. Seemed pointless where the tabloid writers and media were concerned, but he thought it was worth a try. There was even going to be a question and answer period just in case they wanted to ask anything. Abigail and Alyssa were definitely on his list of invited people. Speaking of which, he wondered how those two were doing. It had been 2 days since he met them in the hospital, and he was a little worried, especially about Abby. Of course, Alyssa had his concern, too, as the sting looked pretty painful. The star hoped nothing had happened to either of them. If any of them contacted him, he would be glad, as that was all he needed to do to reassure himself that they were alive and well. He went to take a Gatorade break. All that singing and dancing made him a little out of breath. He loved the sports drink for times like that, as well as water.

All of a sudden, the telephone in the office started ringing. One of his backup dancers, Judith Hill, answered the phone. "Hello, Staples Center, how may I help? Yes, he's here. Hold on one moment."

"Mr. Jackson, there's a phone call for you!"

The superstar entered the office. ‘I wonder who that could be. I hope it's not a prank call. He picked up the receiver. "Hello, this is Michael speaking."

"Hiya, Michael, it is Alyssa, the girl you met at the hospital 3 days ago," said a youngish female voice.

Michael was pleasantly surprised. Ever since that day he visited the hospital, his mind was on those young people, and now one of them was calling him. She didn't have to worry about him forgetting her.

"Hi, how are you?"

Oooh, did that warm voice make her want to melt. She loved it so much. She hoped she wouldn't die of immediate heart failure from just making this phone call. It was hard enough making her fingers dial the number. They were nearly paralyzed, but she fought through it. A part of her was afraid that he would have forgotten her. ‘I'm being ridiculous. He would never do that.' 

"I'm much better. I actually left the hospital the same day you visited me. Left that afternoon."

"Oh, that's wonderful." He was so glad to hear that. Now if there was a way for him to know Abigail's status.

Making conversation was not exactly Lissie's forte, especially with someone she just met. She realized she'd better talk fast or else she would've wasted his time when he was probably doing something. It was in his nature to be unselfish...take time to do something when he didn't have to.

"So, how are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine. I'm at rehearsals at the moment. You've called at the perfect time."

Alyssa was glad to hear that. It meant that it was indeed his break, and she had guessed right. She was worried that she would call him the wrong time and he would be kept from whatever he was preoccupied with. She didn't want to take advantage of his kindness.

"I figured you were. So, how are rehearsals going?"

"They keep me busy, but are going very well, thank you. I am looking forward to these concerts."

"Oh, that's good to hear." And it certainly was. Lissie knew for a fact that the pop star always went through a difficult time touring as he never got a break. Very little time to rest and no time to goof off. She certainly didn't blame him. She imagined that it was tough enough for him when younger but at his age now, all that stress could kill him.

"Hey, Mr. Jackson, this is no time for a gab fest! Your break is almost over!" a rather gruff male voice in the background yelled.

Michael glanced at his watch. His director was correct when he said break was almost over, but he still had time to tell his new little pal about the banquet and invite her.

Alyssa knew that the conversation would soon be over, but she didn't mind a bit. She was just glad that she got to talk to one of her favorite singers, and he actually took the time to talk to her.

"Sounds like I'd better let you go. Whoever was yelling sounds real impatient with you," she said.

"It's only my stage director." His voice then grew serious. "I have a question for you."

This sounded interesting to Alyssa. What could Michael possibly want? "Yes?" she asked eagerly, waiting for him to go on. ‘Maybe he wants me to come over to his house or something. I would love to watch movies with him and his children.'

"The founder of Lupus LA contacted me the other day and asked me to present a speech about lupus at a banquet. Would you be interested in attending?"

Would she? Was he kidding? In a minute! This would give her an opportunity to know more about his lupus story, as well as hear him give a speech. Based on the speeches she heard him give at different award shows she watched on TV, she was sure he would do just great at this one, too.

"That I am. Thanks for asking."

"If you see Abigail again, tell her she is invited as well."

"Can do." The young woman wasn't sure when this would be, though. She just hoped it would be before this function. ‘I could always make arrangements whenever I call her. I almost forgot she gave me her number.'

"I'd really better get going now. It was nice to hear from you."

"Likewise. Thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to talk to me. I really appreciate it. "

"Thank you for calling. You take care of yourself. Goodbye and may God bless you. "

"Same to you. Goodbye." Alyssa hung up the phone, and thought, ‘hey, that wasn't so bad. Not bad at all.' In fact, it was nice. Very nice. ‘I can't believe I was such a nervous wreck. Now I am sure I can do it again.' All she had to do was relax and be normal and everything would go well. She couldn't wait until her business partner returned so she could tell her about this. And she imagined when Abigail heard the news about the invitation, she would be just as excited, if not more. Speaking of which, she wondered how Abigail was doing, or if she was still hospitalized or not.

At that moment, the telephone rang again. ‘This had better be a client.' She picked up the phone. "Good afternoon, Graphics and Animations Incorporated. What can I do for you?"

"Hi, Graphics and Animations Incorporated, this is Abigail."

Lissie nearly gave a frustrated sigh, but then remembered how much she wanted to hear from Abby, too. "Oh, hello. How are you feeling?"

"Much better. And I have good news," the young girl said excitedly.

"That makes two of us! I will let you go first!"

"Okay, thanks! My news is that if I continue to do as well as I am doing, I will leave the hospital tomorrow. "

"That is so great!"

"So, tell me this great news. What is it, what is it?"

 ‘Wow, if she is this excited when I haven't even told her the news yet, when I do tell her, she is gonna go insane.' "Well, just a little while ago, I spoke with Michael Jackson a few minutes ago, and he invited me to a function where he is making a speech. He said that you are invited as well."

"Oh, did he? I'll be there! I can't wait! I hear that he is a very dynamic speaker!"

"Oh, it wouldn't surprise me if he was." This was because he was so talented.

"Rats! Someone needs to use the phone here. I will call you later, okay?"

"All righty. Bye."

"Bye. " With that, Alyssa hung up. She couldn't help thinking about how blessed she was. She had been there for almost a week, and she had made quite a few good friends. She sensed a great friendship with the King of Pop, and she couldn't wait to spend more time with him. Despite the small minor setbacks, she had to admit that she loved California. A great job, great friends...what was not to like? She wondered what the Churches of Christ congregations were like. She couldn't wait to find out the next day.

There was still the pest problem, but she thought it could be ignored for now. Until she found something to do about it.

She was thinking about closing office early, since it was nearly closing time anyway. ‘No point in having it open when it is obvious no one will call.' She was disappointed about not having any job related calls to tell Stacey about whenever she returned. 'Oh boy,' the slightly frazzled woman thought, 'I hope she won't be too angry about this.' She didn't necessarily think that the blonde would be angry at her, but just that several hours of her day was wasted. Making up her mind, she closed up office for the day.

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