Chapter 24
24
After an amazing few days away from the real world with Jack, reality came back with a vengeance. I tried not to let Jack’s evasiveness on the last night get to me, but my gut told me something was off. I would have pried deeper into his future plans if the comparison to me hadn’t made me feel like a fraud.
As if he can sense my vulnerability, my dad chooses today to resurface. The irony that I took an escape trip from my escape tour, is not lost on me and it wasn’t lost on my father, either.
1:15 PM
Dad
How goes the job hunting? I saw your pictures from the beach. I didn’t realize the tour stopped there.
It’s okay. I’ve had a couple of call backs but nothing concreted yet.
It didn’t, but we had a few days off, so I decided to take a quick detour.
Isn’t this entire tour a detour? I have a friend at a company in New York that needs a buying assistant. I set up an interview for you in two weeks.
What do they buy?
Dad
Clothes of some kind. Kids, I think. I’ll forward you the listing as soon as I have it.
Thanks, Dad.
He thumbs up my last message. I appreciate that he wants me to get a job, but I wish he would discuss things with me before setting up interviews. Kids' fashion is not my area of expertise nor interest. I also didn’t want to relocate. New York would put me closer to my grandmother and cousins, but further from Jack and the girls.
Did you talk to the boys about my offer?
I don’t know how to respond to that question. On the one hand, I don’t want to lie. On the other hand, I have no intentions of talking to the guys. They are happy with their current setup. They aren’t going to rock the boat to hire my dad, who I suspect they don’t even like. Plus, they’re about to take a hiatus. That fact isn’t public knowledge, though. I give him a version of that truth that is hopefully enough to put him off asking me again.
They aren’t planning to make any changes right now .
Stressed after the exchange, I decide to do what soothes me most: organize. Thinking about the tour ending and the expiration date of my career hiatus and relationship bubble has me antsy. I need to channel this energy into something productive. Heading into the arena, I spot Shonda doing inventory. Perfect.
“Hey, Boss Lady,” I greet.
“Hey. You’re early.”
“Yeah, I had an annoying conversation with my dad and needed to busy myself to forget about it.”
“You came to the right place. You can start inventorying the small items.”
Doing as she says, we work in companionable silence. The monotony of the task only distracts my mind for so long. Soon, I’m back to obsessing over my next move.
“You’re brooding,” a voice says beside me and I glance up to see Shonda studying me. “Want to talk about it?”
Figuring why the hell not, I dump all my career uncertainty on to my temporary boss who nods in all the right places and seems to think over my dilemma. “How did you know what you wanted to do?” I ask finally.
“Honestly, I kind of fell into it. Similarly to you, I wanted time to figure out where I wanted my life to go. My sister knew a guy who worked on tours and he got me a job as an assistant. One tour led to another and eventually, I landed a job doing merch and it clicked.”
“You’re saying I need to try on a bunch of hats before I find the right one?”
She laughs at the analogy since we are inventorying the hats. “Just because it worked for me doesn’t mean it will work for you. You already have way more of a direction than I did. I can tell you have an eye for clothing and your organizational skills are incredible. I’m sure you can do anything you put your mind to.”
“And I should put my mind to . . . ? ”
“Nice try. Only you can make that decision. Think about your favorite parts of the things you’ve done. What are they?”
“I love picking out clothes. I love the satisfaction of helping people feel confident through their clothing. I even enjoy the marketing side of things.”
“Have you thought about opening your own store?”
“Isn’t that expensive?”
“If only you knew some fancy rich boys with money they could invest,” she jokes. She’s not wrong. I mean, she’s wrong about the Ryders. I would never ask them for money, but I do have some connections that could lend startup capital—assuming I had a plan.
“It doesn’t have to be all that expensive. You can start small with an online only store and expand. A friend of mine owns a store in Nashville. I’m sure she’d be happy to discuss the ins and outs of it with you.”
“Really? That would be amazing.”
“Happy to help. You can repay my kindness by untangling all the lanyards. Trent packed them wrong and now they’re a jumbled mess.”
“On it!” Owning a store isn’t something I ever consider, but it does combine a lot of the aspects of the industry that I enjoy. Can I picture myself clocking in every day and helping women shop? Maybe. It’s definitely worth exploring, but I am still going to explore other options.
After talking, Shonda, I am more at ease. I’m excited to tell Jack about the conversation, but he isn’t on the bus when I get there. As I step off and round the corner, I run into Eliza.
“Hey! Have you seen Jack? ”
Barely glancing my way, she answers. “The brothers doing an interview with Paris from Backroad Radio. She is going to be around for the rest of the tour.”
Ick. That is not exciting news. Last time I saw her, she was fawning all over Jack. With our relationship being so new, it makes me apprehensive. I know we haven’t made any long-term plans, but at least for now, he said he was mine. We didn’t specifically say that meant exclusive, but I can’t imagine he meant anything else. Instead of stressing about it on the bus, I decide to find the guys and watch things for myself.
When I finally find them, they are in a large office upstairs. The three are seated in director chairs while the reporter from my first night on the tour sets up. Unlike last time, there is no cameraman, only Paris and her phone. Spotting me first, Grayson calls me over.
“Paris, I don’t know if you met Ellie last time. She is our little sister’s best friend and is working for us on this tour.” I give her a quick wave and glance over at Jack to see if he plans to add our relationship to the explanation. When he doesn’t, part of me is disappointed. I know we don’t want it getting out before we tell Lainey, but I hate that this woman will be hanging around thinking he is on the market.
“Isn’t that adorable,” she coos as if I am eleven and not a few years younger than her. Ignoring the weird energy she is giving off, I turn on my brightest smile.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I love your concert outfit content. It helped me figure out what to pack for the tour.”
“A fan, how sweet. I’m sure you boys get this often, but it gives me warm fuzzies every time.”
Turning her attention back to me, she continues. “We’ll have to grab lunch while I am here so you can give me all the dirty deets on what it’s like traveling with these guys.”
The guys tense when she laughs, but they know I’d never give away information about them. At least, I hope they know .
“Won’t you get that yourself?” I ask sweetly. “Eliza said you’ll be joining us for the rest of the tour.”
“I will, but I’ll be staying at hotels and flying to each stop. The bus life is not for me. This badge won’t get me everywhere.” She points to the VIP lanyard hanging around her neck that says ‘Media.’ I give her a commiserative expression, but I am secretly glad she won’t have free rein the way she would with an all-access pass.
Which reminds me that I need to grab mine. It doesn’t matter much during the day since everyone knows me, but as we get closer to showtime, I need to put mine on so no volunteers try to kick me out.
“We were about to start the interview if you want to hang around,” Declan states. Thinking about it momentarily and deciding that I do want to watch the interview, I plop down on the couch behind Paris.
After fiddling with her tripod, she presses a few buttons and goes to stand behind the guys.
“Hey, hey Backroad Radio XM fans. I am here with the infamous Ryder Brothers. We’re talking about their plans for the last few stops of the US tour and get the inside scoop on what’s next for them.”
She asks them a few mundane questions about their favorite stops on the tour places, they’ve eaten, fans they’ve met, and any funny stories they have from traveling together. Once they have all answered a few, she begins to discuss what is next for them.
“Rumor has it that the three of you plan to take a break once this tour is over. Is there any truth to that?”
Declan takes on the question. “That’s right, Paris. We all have side projects we want to focus on. Our plan is to wait a bit to record the next album to give us time to dive into those projects.”
“Any hints on what they will be? Rumors are swirling that one or all of you will be judges on everyone’s favorite singing competition show.”
“We aren’t ready to reveal what our exact plans are yet,” Grayson answers. “But we hope our fans will enjoy us taking on these new challenges.”
I’m happy to see I’m not the only one who gets evasive answers, even if the other person is a nosy reporter.
“Do any of these new challenges include new women in your life? Sources say that you, Jack, were spotted at a private beach in Florida earlier this month with a mystery woman.”
Jack’s eyes widen slightly before he schools his features. “All our plans are professional in nature.”
“Are you saying there is no new woman in your life?” Paris presses.
“You’ll be the first to know if anyone new comes into my life,” he replies, putting emphasis on new . I catch the meaning but I fear Paris interprets it differently since her eyes take on a predatory gleam.
“You heard it here first, folks,” she says to the camera. “Be sure to follow my account CountryGirlParis to see if the love bug bites our favorite mustached musician.”
The guys are out of their seats as soon as the live stream ends. They all attempt to make a break for it before she gets her claws into Jack. Literally. Her neon pink nails are wrapped around his forearm.
“Jackie,” she coos in a baby voice. “Eliza said you would give me the grand tour of the tour. The dressing room, backstage, and maybe even your bus.”
“We keep our bus to family only,” Declan interjects. I wonder if he will offer to give the tour instead of Jack, but he makes a quick exit. Chicken.
Jack glances between me and Paris as if he isn’t sure what to do but resigned himself to being her guide and they leave shortly after .
Once they’re gone, Grayson bumps his shoulder against mine. “You okay, Ellie Bellie? He’d never be interested in that viper.” I smile at his attempt to reassure me. I haven’t explicitly talked to the guys about me and Jack, but they know about us and we don’t hide our connection in front of them.
“I know,” I reply. “I just hate that we can’t tell her Jack is taken. And she reminds me of a woman my dad dated shortly after he and Mom divorced. The vibes are bad all around.”
“I get that, but you’ve got nothing to worry about. He’s so into you it’s disgusting.”
Laying my head on his shoulder, I take a deep inhale. “Thanks. I’ll deny it if you tell anyone I said it, but you are totally the pretty one.”
“Hell yeah!” He hoots. “Come on, let’s go grab some food and see if we can melt Paris with the force.”
“You’re such a nerd. Don’t make me take back my pretty comment.”
“Hey, you got the reference. What does that say about you?” he quips. “Last one to catering has to tell Bryce we ran out of jalape?o chips.”
“Did we?”
When Grayson nods gravely, I race out of the room, knowing Bryce is as serious about his chips as I am about mine.
Chatting with Gray and Bryce takes my mind off Jack being alone with the obviously besotted reporter. That doesn’t stop the jealousy from bubbling up when I see them laughing across the room. I try to remember that I have every reason to trust Jack and just because she wants him doesn’t mean she can have him.
Shortly after he is done eating, Grayson gets looped into Paris orbit, leaving me with Bryce. We sit there in awkward silence for a few moments before I think of something to break the tension.
“I don’t think I had the chance to say ‘thank you’ for what you did that day with Donny. I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t show up.”
“Don’t sweat it. If I’d known the full breadth of what was happening, I would have laid him out for you.”
I can’t help but smile at that. Bryce was four years younger than Lainey and I. It’s hard to think of him now as a grown man, but he is definitely coming into his own. Like Declan, he is on the shorter end of the brothers but he makes up for it with muscle tone. Since he wasn’t on a hit TV show as a kid, he went to traditional high school where he was a star soccer player and wrestler. I have no doubt he could’ve ‘laid Donny out’ if he wanted to.
It’s been a while since I have had time to chat with Bryce one-on-one. We talk about what he has been up to since he graduated. Like his brothers, he prefers music over school, choosing to become an apprentice at a record label over college. He also told me he has been DJing on the side for extra money. He’s considering trying to make a go at it professionally, but he’s worried he’ll only get booked because of his name.
“Why don’t you do it anonymously?” I suggest.
“What do you mean?”
“Some of the biggest DJs are guys whose faces we never see. Whether they wear a mask or block out the DJ booth, they are killing it without revealing their true identity.”
“Damn, that’s not a bad idea. What would my name be?”
“I know how to stop while I’m ahead. That’s up to you. I bet Lainey would have some good input, though.”
“Thanks, Ellie. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
“No problem, lil Ryder. Oh! What about that? You could wear a flaming skull mask.”
“That’s an option,” he states, but his tone tells me not a good one. Fair enough. Finishing our meal, we chat until we both need to get to our prospective stations.