Chapter 17 #2
Reno was pulling the protection from his ears when Kandi knocked on the practice room’s door. She didn’t give them her usual smile when she walked in. She set a bag of takeout from the coffee shop along with a gallon jug of iced coffee on the table before pointing at Reno.
“Come with me.”
Reno eyed the coffee. “Can I get that first?”
She sighed, in the long-suffering yet somehow kind way she did, and poured Reno a cup herself. She handed it to him and said, “Let's go.”
It wasn’t uncommon for Reno to be pulled from practice to deal with one thing or another.
Usually, it was just scheduling, or picking brands to collaborate with, or handling requests from other musicians or booking management companies, but today, Kandi seemed anxious.
After the morning Reno had already had, he wasn’t sure he was ready for whatever she was dragging him into.
They were on the elevator, the button for the executive offices pressed, before Kandi finally explained what was happening.
"Someone leaked that Luka is here with you, and we can’t control it," Kandi said. "This could push Sterling to consider cutting funds if they see you as a liability.”
The coffee was so bitter on his tongue—a liability. “What does that mean, you can’t control it?”
“Someone, a few someones maybe, posted a bunch of photos, not just of you two together but also of Luka out and about the city. Thankfully, your man seems to hold himself very presentably in public; even when he’s out partying, he looks put together.
I think the most damning thing is that he’s gay and a smoker spotted at drag shows, but the general public doesn’t really care about that anymore. He should quit smoking, though.”
“He’s trying.”
“The problem isn’t that he is gay, though. It’s that he’s out and proud—which, really, good for him—but he is apparently dating you.”
“I—” Reno felt the plastic coffee cup bend in his grip. “Why can’t I be happy?”
“You know PR doesn’t want you in a relationship.
The speculation around you and Luka has been ramping up for weeks now, and this is the nail in the coffin.
” She pulled up a photo: Reno, his hand on Luka’s chest, scowling, as Arnaud and Jaewon tried to block the photographers’ view outside of the restaurant.
The elevator slowed to a stop and dinged as the doors opened. Kandi stepped out with Reno behind her, but she didn’t walk down the hall towards the conference rooms.
She tapped Reno’s cup. “Finish this, then we’ll go in.
They can wait for you for another minute.
Listen." Kandi made Reno look at her before she motioned for him to drink. “They’re talking about moving you from your flat to a new location. Security is ramped up around your neighborhood, but they’re starting to get frustrated with the costs of protecting you.
Especially since, in their eyes, it looks like you’re intentionally jeopardizing that investment with this secret relationship.
It’s drawing too much negative attention; they need you to be good and stick to what you’ve been doing over the last decade, so they can trust that their return from you will be reliable. ”
“They need me to be good,” Reno repeated, hearing Luka’s voice in his head. You’re good for everyone. Your friends, your bosses, your band. What would happen if you had to choose? He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"I feel queasy.”
Kandi took the unfinished coffee from him and threw it in a nearby trash can.
She smoothed the front of her blouse down, tucking it carefully into the waistband of her pencil skirt from where it had come unadjusted.
Her mousy blonde hair had been pulled into a high ponytail, giving her a more severe look than normal.
“Let’s get this over with. I’ll do my best to stick up for you in there, but I can’t promise a lot at this point. ”
“Thanks.” He knew Kandi was telling the truth, that she would try to stand beside him. But, over the decade or so he’d worked with her, he’d learned that sometimes what she thought was best for Reno and what Reno wanted were two very different things.
She opened the conference room door, and Reno was relieved to find only two people inside.
“Mister Edwards, Mister Singh. How have you been?” Reno took the seat opposite them, and Kandi sat next to him. “Your families are healthy?”
“Yes, thank you,” Manu Singh replied, extending a hand to Reno.
They’d worked together often; Manu managed Voltage’s radio and television appearances, and now their social media presence.
Any song he touched went viral, and Reno had no idea how he did it.
“I heard the new album is coming along well. When do you expect to be ready for mixing?”
“Hopefully, within the next two months. We could release a single in the next few weeks as a teaser.”
“Good, good,” Tomas Edwards replied, taking Reno’s hand next. The large man’s hand engulfed his, and Reno tried not to mind it too much. He’d never liked the way Tomas looked at him.
Tomas smiled at Reno, dropping his hand and leaning back into his chair, crossing his arms. “Sorry to drag you up here in the middle of your day.” He always apologized for that, but he did it so often, Reno didn’t know why he bothered with the lie.
“We’re beginning to become worried for your safety. ”
“Why?” Reno asked, feeling suspicious of their intentions after Kandi’s briefing.
“The tabloids may be fairly innocent right now, but you know as well as we do what your personal fan base can be like. Out of all our signed musicians, you’ve had more stalking and harassment incidents on record than anyone.
T-yan is close behind you, but things have been quieter for him since he moved. ”
“Are you asking me to relocate?” Reno tried to get Tomas to the point.
“It may come down to that,” Manu replied, cracking open a bottle of water noisily, the label crinkling around it.
“Security is having difficulties keeping up with the number of reporters trying to sneak around. Again, it’s relatively harmless at the moment, but if journalists have your home address, it’s likely to be leaked to the public sooner rather than later.
We can’t control mail, packages, and people walking down the street.
You live in a very crowded area. There’s so much activity happening around your neighborhood, there’s no reasonable way we can guarantee your safety unless you are willing to have a bodyguard assigned. ”
“A bodyguard?” Reno blinked. “I guess I’d be fine with that if it was someone I already knew, but I don’t like the idea of being that restricted.”
“We assumed so. I can’t see you as the type to want someone watching over you all the time,” Tomas said with a frown.
“You’ve always liked your privacy.” He was correct, but the way he said it made Reno’s scalp itch.
Tomas leaned forward to put his elbows on the conference table.
“The reporters are not our real concern. They know Cane is watching the area and will mostly stay out of your way.”
“So, what’s the deal, then?”
“As I said: the fans.”
Manu agreed, “Things have been stirring up online for a while. We’ve been tracking activity carefully, and despite our best efforts, things are starting to take a turn for the worse. The leaks this morning will likely cause a fallout.”
“You mean the restaurant photos?” Reno wished Kandi had let him keep his coffee, so that he had something to hold in his hands.
“Mister Fischer is a liability we can’t ignore anymore.”
Reno’s focus snapped to a razor-sharp edge. “He’s not your business.”
“He is yours, which makes it ours,” Tomas said, to which Kandi grunted, crossing one leg over the other. Tomas looked at her with a raised brow.
She said, “None of my boys are restricted from having relationships. Don’t be inhumane.”
“Oh, no.” Manu waved a hand in a way Reno knew was supposed to be calming, but it made Kandi bristle. “We aren’t saying he can’t date. Just that the combination of things here is making our situation difficult.”
“Why?” Reno tried to keep his voice level. “Because I’m dating a man?”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Tomas said. “You’ve had issues in the past with jealous fans doing irrational and dangerous things.”
Reno could feel his palms sweating. It always circled back to her.
“Now that your name is international, a smear campaign like that could be the end of your career. It wouldn’t be unexpected for those old rumors and accusations to resurface with the announcement of you dating someone new.”
“Mess things up for me?” Reno was trying and failing not to dig his nails into his thigh. “You mean, mess up your investment?”
“Do you need a moment?” Tomas asked, and Reno fought back a scowl. Truthfully, he did need a moment. He was getting dangerously close to losing his temper. It always disgusted him when he had to deal with a person who only saw money when they looked at him.
“No, I am fine,” Reno said calmly. “So what do you expect of me? To move, to hide my relationship?”
“Yes,” Manu said outright, and Reno felt like someone had slapped him across the face.
“We need you, for your own safety, to maintain the image of being a single person. We have seen this pattern over and over, with past stars—once a relationship becomes public, there is a dramatic increase in violence and harassment. We are still at the point where we can sweep this under the rug. If you allow us to do this, then you won’t have to experience those things.
The world is still unkind to people like you. ”
“People like me?” Reno tasted bile in the back of his throat.
Manu looked uncomfortable as he said, “We expect that if you come out in a relationship with a man—”
“So you mean gay people?” Reno interrupted, and Kandi gave him a warning look.
“We"—Manu waved between himself and Tomas—“do not have a problem with who you choose to sleep with, but we are trying to protect you from a reality—”