Page 100 of Rebooting Conor Flynn

People backstage began to turn their attention from Ashley and Conor to their phones. My own phone buzzed with messages from Dina, Orlando, and Toby—seemingly all at the same time.

Rhys smirked. “Oh shit, Tomo.”

Around us, one phone after another lit up.

Someone whispered, "Is that...Ashley?"

My stomach dropped.

I opened the PopWiz notification.

Ashley let out a hair-raising shriek.

Chapter 24

CONOR

Ashley’s scream was more piercing than a live mic next to a stage speaker.

The photos.

Someone leaked the photos.

I covered my ears and met Noelle’s eyes, giving a slight shake of my head.

Did she do it out of some misplaced loyalty to save my career...at the expense of her own?

I quirked an eyebrow at her, and she mouthed the word, No. Relief loosened the knot in my chest.

As I navigated to the PopWiz account, Ashley cursed, shouted, and kicked an amp with the sharp toe of her stiletto. That had to hurt.

“Who did this? Which one of you took those fucking pictures? I will make sure you never work in this business again.”

The backstage crew, musicians, and dancers all shuffled. A couple of them slinked off the stage. A few grinned broadly, enjoying the show after the show.

“It was you, wasn’t it, Conor?”

I jerked my head up at Ashley’s accusation.

“I know you had the pictures because right before my set, Noelle told me she had them. I’m sure she shared them with you.” Ashley jabbed her finger at me. “You couldn’t take a few boos for a couple of shows. Try living in my stilettos for a few years.”

She kicked her leg in the air to show off her shoes, and one flew off her foot and nearly hit Rhys on the head. He ducked and caught it with one hand—those fast drummer reflexes.

“I did have those pictures.” I folded my arms. “I deleted them. I wasn’t burning Noelle’s career to save my own.”

Someone gasped. Was it Noelle?

“Ha!” Ashley threw her head back, emitting a strangled laugh. “You’re telling me you had the means to end the hate against you, and you deleted them.”

“You did?” Noelle folded her arms across her midsection and almost doubled over.

“You told me you could fix it, Noelle.” I shrugged. “I believed you.”

“I believe you, too.” Noelle glanced at her buzzing phone. “Neither Conor nor I sent those pictures to PopWiz, Ashley. Why would I do that? The exposure of you and Tomo just put my job on the line—I mean, even more than it already was.”

“Wait. Wait.” Jade waved her hands. “Why is this on Noelle?”

“Because...” Ashley limped over to Tomo who held out her shoe to her. “...one of her jobs as publicist for this tour involved boosting my image—not trashing it. The release of those photos just put a big F on her forehead—for failure.”