Chapter 7 #2
“It’s a hit. Thanks, Matt.” Dropping to the arm of my couch, I asked, “Hey, are you going to be around for the next six weeks?”
“I should be, yeah.” He made kissy noises at Jane.
“I’m going on tour...I mean I’ll be away for work for a couple of months, and I need someone to take care of Jane. She really likes you, and you’re close. I’ll pay you.”
“Yeah, yeah. I can do that. You don’t even have to pay me. I’m not hard up for money anymore. It’s dope living in these boujee digs. You shoulda seen my dump before...”
“Before your sister got engaged to Ian Pope.”
“Yeah, well. I’m sure you know how that is.” He slid me a glance out of the corner of his eye.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I mean, I guess it’s not a coincidence that you’re living here if you’re hooking up with Conor Flynn.”
My cheeks blazed for a second. “I’m not hooking up with Conor Flynn. I work for him...for his summer tour.”
“My bad.” He shook the mouse. “My bad, Janey Waney.”
“What gave you that idea? How’d you even know I was working this tour?”
“It might surprise you...” he patted his pumped-up chest “...but I do follow celebrity gossip. Mostly just to keep an eye on Ian’s PR image. He’s had some...problems in the past with social media, and Ivy asked me to watch out for anything shady—and deal with it.”
The way Matt’s hazel eyes hardened to green chips with those final words clamped the back of my neck with cold fingers. The easy-going stoner had morphed into someone with a dangerous edge for a second. At least Janey Waney would be safe with him.
“That’s good...I guess, but I’m pretty sure I’m not involved in any celebrity gossip.”
“Wouldn’t be so sure about that, Noelle.” He fished his phone from the back pocket of his jorts. “A couple of fans took some pictures of you and Conor looking cozy at the In-N-Out by LAX.”
“What?” I twisted my hair over my shoulder. “That’s nonsense. We were working.”
“Okay, I believe you. Poking around social media makes me feel dirty—and that’s saying a lot. I don’t believe ninety percent of the bullshit I see on there.”
Jane grabbed the mouse in her mouth and ran circles around Matt as he swiped through his phone.
He thrust it toward me, and I leaned in to look at the video. Had we really been lying that closely together? It almost looked like we were holding hands.
I flicked the edge of the phone with my fingernail. “Looks cozier than it was. We’re just watching the planes come in. It’s loud, and we were talking, so we had to keep our heads close to hear what we were saying to each other.”
“I guess.” He shrugged and tapped his phone. “If you need me to...handle anything for you, I can do that.”
“Handle?” I laughed. “You mean like track down the poster and make her delete the video?”
Matt’s eyes turned to slits. “Yeah.”
The smile dropped from my face, and I gnawed on my thumbnail. What kind of family did Ian get involved with? “I don’t think that’s necessary, Matt. Just take good care of Jane while I’m gone. I’ll leave you instructions about her food before I leave.”
“Yeah, sure. Happy to do it.” He crouched and scratched Jane behind the ear. “We’ll have a good time, won’t we, Jane?”
My phone blared the ringtone for Dina. “I better get that. It’s my boss.”
“I’m out.” Matt tore himself away from Jane and closed the door behind him while I grabbed my phone.
Dina’s name and picture flashed on the display. “Hi, Dina. I checked out the tour bus today. It’s legit.”
“Yeah, that’s not all you were checking out today.”
“Huh? Excuse me?” I could read Dina’s mood better than Netflix anticipating my next binge. And that edge to her voice meant trouble.
“I saw a post of you and Conor snuggling on some grass. Several different fan accounts shared it across socials. What the fuck, Noelle? I heard you had a little crush on him back in the day, but I didn’t think you’d let that affect your job.”
Wait. Cozying had become cuddling? And I wasn’t going to be the one to break it to Dina, but Conor and I had more than a little crush. She didn’t need to know that at this precise moment, though.
I blew a puff of air from my lips. “That’s ridiculous, Dina. We were on the grass watching the planes land—like a bunch of other people out there. Hardly an intimate moment. It was loud, and we were talking about the tour, so we got a little close.”
Dina mumbled something under her breath that sounded a lot like cuss words. “Just watch it, Noelle. Conor and Ashley are supposed to be an item. We don’t want people questioning that.”
“Got it. On it. Of course. Won’t happen again.”
“I just hope Ashley Bennett and Orlando don’t see it. We do not need that man interfering in our management of this tour.”
“I’m sure Ashley and Orlando are not paying attention to some Five2Go fan account.”
“You’re probably right.” She sucked on her vape. “Let’s nail this press meet and greet at the rehearsal tomorrow.”
I flopped onto the couch, dislodging Jane, who was still mourning the departure of Matt. “I’m ready for that, and so is Conor. That’s what we were discussing this afternoon.”
“How’d you end up at In-N-Out together?”
Dina obviously didn’t buy my explanation as easily as Matt did.
“Conor wanted to have a look at the bus, too, and just...long story. Short story—we were hungry.”
“Just don’t be too hungry, Noelle.”
As Dina ended the call before I had a chance to respond to her cryptic statement, I checked the time. I was supposed to meet the girls for drinks at a trendy bar on Sunset, but I didn’t have the energy—and I still had raw onions on my breath.
I curled one leg beneath me and reclined on the couch, staring at the ceiling. How had my life gotten so complicated in under a week?
A month ago, I found out 92 West had acquired PR for a summer tour after another agency pulled out due to bankruptcy. Dina had me working another gig, so I didn’t pay much attention to this last minute one—until she pulled me into her office and announced my involvement.
I couldn’t complain. She snagged the role for me as a favor.
She’d been looking to get me promoted for the past several months and pounced on this vehicle to make it happen.
She had faith in my organization skills and efficiency to rein in this last-minute assignment—she just didn’t know the history between me and Conor. The entire history.
I needed to suck it up and perform. I had to put Conor’s baby blue eyes behind me...or not behind me, but rather way off to the side, like way far away. Or at least on the other end of the tour bus.
Groaning, I doubled over. My buzzing phone stopped my groan from becoming a wail, and I snagged it from the arm of the couch. My mouth went dry when I saw Ashley Bennett’s name. What now? If she told me she was missing the rehearsal tomorrow, I’d...send her a strongly worded text message.
I licked my lips. “Hi, Ashley. Everything okay?”
“You tell me, Noelle. Are you trying to steal my man, or what?”
I think I needed that drink—despite the raw onions.