Chapter 16
NOELLE
I walked out to the pool, my flip flops smacking against the cement like they were announcing my doom.
Shame. Slap. Shame. Slap. Shame. Slap.
Had Ashley seen those comments? She couldn’t have. She’d been pleasant and upbeat—or at least pleasant and upbeat for her. She’d sent out a warning shot already that she wouldn’t allow this stunt to humiliate her.
Now it was humiliating all three of us.
Celebrities and their managers pulled PR dating schemes all the time. Why did this one have to be so difficult?
Because the PR person and one of the celebrities have history.
The hotel staff mingled with the talent and crew, offering pre-made prickly pear margaritas, tequila sunrises, and palomas.
I needed to be prickly to break the bad news to Ashley, so I grabbed a margarita from a tray, doing a doubletake at the bronzed pool boy in a pair of board shorts clinging on to his slim hips for dear life. These guys had to be Ashley’s idea.
I liked it. Anything to get her in a good mood before I told her about the new social media bombshell.
I spotted her, margarita in hand, flirting with one of the wait staff over the rim. She definitely knew nothing about those poor Ashley comments.
Conor waved me over to his chaise lounge, and I avoided him, making a sharp turn toward Jade dangling her feet in the pool.
I kicked off my flip flops and sank beside her. “Has Jermaine given a reason for the meeting yet?”
“Not yet. I think it’s just a peptalk and team building party.
But Phoenix, summer, pool—perfect.” She raised her tequila sunrise and tipped it back and forth, causing the orange and yellow liquids to merge into fire in a glass.
“Just hope none of the dancers gets too tipsy to perform, or someone might bring down the set...again.”
I clinked my glass with hers. “And I wasn’t even tipsy.”
“You and Conor seemed to be having a serious discussion last night on the bus.” Jade flicked a spray of water into the air with her toes.
“There’s always some business to discuss. You and Rhys were hitting it off.”
She wrinkled her nose. “He’s hot, but he’s the type to have a groupie in every city. You know what I mean?”
“I do. Yeah.” I thought Conor had had a groupie in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. And all that time, he was Conor the Goner.
Did we really have a chance to rekindle what we had together, or was this fake dating plan with Ashley going to blow us up?
Jermaine tapped on his glass with a fork, as if he were the best man at a wedding. His slightly drunken smile matched the vibe. He must’ve gotten an early start on his day-drinking too.
I took another gulp of my margarita to catch up.
“Wanted to celebrate the tour getting off to a great start. Sold out in San Diego. Sold out tonight in Phoenix. Third show in Albuquerque sold out.” Jermaine lifted up his phone.
“Can’t discount the power of social media.
The tour is creating a buzz—on and off the stage.
Thank you, Noelle, for more than just your PR savvy. ”
My drink sloshed mid-sip, and I inhaled some salt from the rim of my glass. I dragged my hand across my nose. “Excuse me?”
“The fans are speculating about Conley and thinking maybe Conor Flynn isn’t the good guy after all, as he seems very interested in the tour’s publicist. Brilliant.
They can’t stop floating theories. We like it.
” Jermaine clapped. “Now onto the transition between Ji-yoon’s set and Conor’s. Too clumsy right now.”
As Jermaine droned on about some technical crap, I snuck a peek at Ashley. I hoped to break this latest glitch to her privately, not have Jermaine do it in front of everyone.
My mouth hung open when I caught Ashley giggling with one of the dancers—not even Tomo. Had she heard Jermaine’s speech?
My gaze tracked from Ashley to Conor, standing next to Marcus, the keyboardist. He heard Jermaine. I could see him clenching his jaw from here, and the desert sun hadn’t caused that flush to his face. Anger pulsed around his body like a red-hot aura.
Sensing my attention, Conor looked over at me and held my gaze. I lifted my arms in a shrug, and he gave a shake of his head.
Jermaine droned on for several more minutes, his talk interrupted by bursts of applause and clinking of glasses. Someone tapped my glass, so I downed my drink and grabbed another from a passing tray. I needed liquid courage for my conversation with Ashley.
The pep talk ended and the wait staff started circulating trays of food. This must be the pre-party, but my stomach couldn’t handle any food right now.
I swung my legs out of the pool and stuffed my feet into my flip flops. Drink in hand, I squared my shoulders and approached Ashley, reclining on a chaise lounge. I stopped next to her, and my shadow fell across her body, clad in a bikini top and a gauzy wrap tied around her waist.
She cut off her conversation with Rhys. “Oh, hey there, Noelle. Jermaine’s news must be music to your ears.”
I blinked behind my non-prescription sunglasses. “I-I mean the numbers are good. I’m happy about that, but the other stuff is getting a little out of hand. We’ll do our best to contain it.”
“What? The little gossip about you and Conor?” She flicked her fingers. That’s just nonsense. Fans are always looking for conspiracies.”
“You’re not upset about it? It doesn’t make you look bad at all. None of those comments are negative towards you.”
Because they’re negative towards me and Conor.
“Yeah, I didn’t get that at all. People must be buying the fake relationship between me and Conor and are shipping us harder than ever.
That’s a good thing.” She winked. “The other drama adds a little spice and is bringing attention to the tour. That’s totally legit.
Well, I don’t have to teach you your job. ”
Except the added spice negatively impacted Conor’s reputation while boosting Ashley’s. That’s why Ashley didn’t care about the new cheating boyfriend narrative. It benefitted her.
Ashley’s gaze shifted over my shoulder, and I turned slightly to see Tomo enter the gate to the pool area.
A smile touched Ashley’s lips.
Maybe Tomo was keeping Ashley too occupied to worry about the phony love triangle between me, her, and Conor.
My shoulders finally relaxed, and I took another gulp of my maggie.
Social media had just ushered me onto a world stage of whack-a-mole.
Ashley wasn’t pissed off about being the pitiful third wheel in a threesome.
Her fans painting her as the wronged party was doing more for her image than being in a loving relationship with good guy Conor Flynn. Only Conor wasn’t the good guy anymore.
Tomo appeared beside me and squeezed the back of my neck, his eyes never leaving Ashley’s face. “How’s our backup back-up dancer?”
I answered lightly, “Staying firmly in the alternate category. You missed Jermaine’s meeting.”
He lifted a muscular shoulder. “Busy in the gym. Figured that was more important.”
“It definitely was.” Ashley slid her sunglasses to the tip of her nose as she eyed Tomo up and down like a Big Stick on a scorching summer day.
I scanned the pool party for Shanice. Did she even care that the star of the show was crushing hard on her ex? As long as Ashley still pretended to gush over Conor in public, I didn’t give a shit what she did with Tomo in private. But I hoped Shanice felt the same way.
Conor and I had to put the brakes on the rumors about us. I didn’t want to pump up Ashley’s rep at the expense of his.
Tomo dragged a chair close to Ashley’s, and I took the hint.
“Okay, Ashley. Just wanted to touch base with you and make sure we’re all good and on the same page.”
“I think we’re exactly on the same page, Noelle.” She waved her hands in the air. “Go have some fun. I think Conor wants to talk to you. He’s with Jade by the pool.”
I twisted my head over my shoulder, and Conor tipped his chin at me.
If Ashley didn’t have a problem with me and Con talking, I’d grab the opportunity.
I was getting sick of tiptoeing around Conor on the tour bus while Ashley flirted openly with Tomo at the pool.
Everyone out here knew the lowdown regarding the fake dating, anyway.
“Yeah, I think he wants to ask me about Javeed.” I don’t know why I felt as if I needed an excuse to talk to Conor. Ashley had practically pushed me toward him.
I joined Conor and Jade, but if he had something to tell me he wasn’t going to do it in front of Jade.
After several minutes of looking at me and Conor like she was following a tennis match, Jade got the hint.
Patting her stomach, she said, “I’m going to grab some of that food before the crew devours it all.
I’ve had two tequila sunrises on an empty stomach, and I’m gonna need a nap before the show tonight. ”
“You and everyone else.” My smile stayed frozen on my face until Jade turned with a wave of her hand.
Conor and I started talking at the same time.
He folded his hands on top of his head and said, “You first.”
“I am so sorry about this new bit of gossip. The fans believe you’re doing Ashley dirty by hooking up with me.”
“Makes me look a right gobshite.” He jerked his thumb at his chest. “Is she pure fuming over there?”
“Does she look like she’s mad?”
We both turned our heads toward Ashley at the same time, just as she threw back her head and laughed at something Tomo said.
“She told me she didn’t mind this type of publicity. Said it added spice to the story. Of course, her fans are all painting her as a victim, saying she deserves better.”
Conor narrowed his eyes. “That’s what she said, did she?”
“And of course, you’re the villain. They’re dragging you...and me.”
“That’s fucked up, Noelle. That’s not what I signed up for when I agreed to this stunt.
And it’s definitely not what I had in mind for you.
We need to shut this down.” He ran a hand through his hair.
“Look, I’m not invested in protecting the Conor the church boy image, but I don’t want to be completely cooked either—and I don’t want you dragged into it. ”
“It all started with those pictures from the concert and then the night at the club.” Conor always did try to protect me, but I could handle myself today.
The stunt was my idea, after all. “Like I said, Ashley’s not mad about it.
I think we can salvage this narrative without doing any more damage to your image.
Did you hear Jermaine? The show in Dallas sold out in thirty minutes. We’re doing something right.”
“That night at the club.” Rubbing his knuckles across the reddish-blond scruff on his chin, Conor said, “We were the only two there, and the paparazzi seemed to know just where to find us.”
“Popular place for celebrities.” I put down my empty glass, and a roving waiter immediately placed a new one in my hand. I took a tiny sip. I had a limit of two alcoholic drinks, but this was a celebration...or a wake. “Is that why you called me over? You saw me talking to Ashley.”
“I honestly don’t give a shit what Ashley thinks at this point.” He leaned in. “I talked to Ian this afternoon. Felt bad about interrupting his vacation, but I caught him at a good time. He called me right back.”
“What did he have to say about the phone situation?”
“The way he remembers it was that every time we got new phones, which was frequently, Gordon’s assistant, Louise Broadbank refreshed them. Ian had an issue once with his transferred data, and Gordon referred him to Louise. You remember Louise?”
“I do.” I patted my head. “Curly, brown hair and glasses. She always had the best frames. I made a list of Baker Street employees this afternoon after you left, and her name made the cut. I was going to look up some of the old contacts on Instagram when I got...distracted.”
“She’d be a good person to start with if she did the phone transfers. Maybe she remembers something about that particular swap in Australia, as it was one of the first. Or maybe she recalls the protocol with someone checking her work once she moved the info.”
“I’ll reach out to her.” I slipped my phone from my back pocket and launched Instagram. “Didn’t she go by Lou?”
“Don’t do that here.” Conor took the phone from my hand and placed it on a small table next to his beer. “We didn’t even have a chance to talk about what happened on the bus last night.”
“I think...” I plucked the sunglasses from my face and wiped the lenses on my shirt “...we were both carried away by the moment.”
“The moment.” He cocked his head. “Do ya mean when I found out the woman I loved hadn’t ghosted me?”
“Shh.” My gaze darted to the side and then snapped back to his face. “Loved?”
“Love. Still do. Can’t help it. When I saw you again, the years fell away.”
“You’re not supposed to say that.” I put my fingers to his soft lips, as my entire body quaked. How could he even know that he still loved me? We’d been hot and cold ever since we reunited on this tour—drawing close to the flame and then pulling back before getting singed.
“I thought this was a safe space?” He threw his arms out to the sides. “Everyone here knows the thing between me and Ashley is a joke.”
“Not everyone. There’s staff here. People walking by the pool enclosure.”
“Hey, social media already think we’re an item. Let’s lean into it...into each other.”
“You know why we can’t do that.” I picked up my glass and licked some salt from the rim.
“Only because it might get you into trouble with your company and Dina. This is your promotion opportunity. I’m not gonna fuck it up for you, but...”
Jermaine’s voice sliced through the air. “Picture time. Let’s get a group shot by the pool. Then those of you on the stage and behind the stage better sober up for the show.”
Everyone laughed and moved toward the pool, crowding in, pushing me and Conor closer together. Conor curled his arm around my waist, pulling me flush against him, by boob smashing against his side.
We could not have another picture like this on social media where I knew it would inevitably land. I put my hand over his, now tucked beneath my shirt and resting on my hip, and tried to pry his fingers from my bare flesh.
“Con, we’re not doing this now. You need to keep your hands to yourself.”
He whispered in my ear, his warm breath tickling my lobe. “Make me.”
“Two can play dirty.” I bent his fingers back.
He grunted and released me so suddenly, I lost my balance. I teetered on the edge of the pool, and Conor reached out to grab my arm. As I pushed it away, I took a step back and my foot hung off the end of the deck. Someone to my left jostled me, and I fell backward into the water.
But not before I grabbed Conor and took him with me.