Subpoena for Britney Spears’ former assistant - and lover?

Britney Spears‘ former assistant Shannon Funk has become the next person to receive a deposition subpoena in Kevin Federline’s custody challenge - on the same day that news broke suggesting Britney and Shannon had more than just an employer/employee relationship.

Britney’s cousin Alli Sims was the first confidante of the singer to be issued with the order in the early hours of Sunday morning, followed by Britney’s security guard/nanny Daimon Shippen on Monday.

Shannon was served with the legal papers late on Tuesday night as she arrived at the airport in Long Beach, California. She took the notice from security expert Aaron Cohen and asked: “What can I do about this? Is this a big deal? But honestly I have nothing negative to say about Britney so let [Kevin’s lawyer Mark Vincent] Kaplan go after me. I’m on Team Britney! I support her no matter what. Kevin’s a bad father.”

According to OK magazine, Shannon was Britney’s lover as well as assistant before she quit both roles late last month.

An inside source told the magazine: “That boy who claims he went back to hang out with Britney and hooked up with her? No, that’s not what happened. “Instead of hooking up with him, [Shannon] ended up back in Brit’s room and bed.”

A stylist, who worked with Britney on a photo shoot just after that evening, added that seeing the two women together made it obvious it was more than just a drunken one-night-stand: “They seemed really in touch with each other, like they knew what each other wanted.”

Shannon denies the stories but still has affection for her former employer: “I love that girl. I will do what I can to protect her.”

In related news, while Britney and Kevin are battling each other for custody of their two sons, they’ve joined forces in an attempt to keep the details of the case out of the press.

The couple claims the details of the case should be kept secret for their boys’ protection and well-being but media outlets claim it is in the public interest to follow the case.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon has scheduled a hearing for next month for the media organisations, specifically People magazine and local news station KNBC, to present their arguments.