Page 4 of Rebooting Conor Flynn

Ji-yoon covered her mouth. “Omigod. You know Minx songs?”

“Who doesn’t?”

The thing about Conor is maybe he never listened to a Minx song in his life but knowing he was going on tour with Ji-yoon, he probably streamed a few and made sure to memorize them. He was that kind of guy—or he used to be.

Ji-yoon had all the enthusiasm of a puppy, and her pure sweetness only emphasized Ashley’s sharp edges.

Mid-way through the introductions, Ashley shrieked for the second time that morning. You’d think she’d look after her voice better.

She and her bunny slippers scuffed toward a tall, wiry man with a slicked-back black ponytail, a goatee, black jeans, and a black shirt unbuttoned to where it tucked into his jeans. Ashley dragged the man in black to our little group. “This is Orlando, my manager. He’ll be a big help to you, Noelle.”

My spine stiffened, and Dina brushed my arm with hers. “Since all the major players are here, let’s have a seat at the table I set up to the side of the stage.”

We shuffled to the table as one entity, Ashley clinging to Orlando, Ji-yoon fangirling over Conor, and Dina nudging me to take the seat at the head of the table.

For the next 20 minutes we discussed strategy and timing—my forte. Conor and Ji-yoon made up for Ashley’s indifference with their input and enthusiasm for my suggestions. This was Ji-yoon’s first tour as a solo without her group, so she was up for anything.

Orlando watched the proceedings with a bird-like intensity from his dark eyes until he made a slicing motion with his hand that even caused Dina to stop in mid-sentence.

He cleared his throat, and the squeaky voice that came from this stern man caused me to slide a glance at Conor and his clenched jaw. If he clenched down on that laugh anymore, he’d break his molars.

I coughed, and Dina kicked me under the table again, making good use of those pointy-toe stilettos.

After the surprise of Orlando’s voice, it took me a few seconds to focus on his words.

“...as I said, those ideas are fine for a regular tour.” Orlando steepled his fingers. “But this isn’t a regular tour.”

His high-pitched words hung over the table, and we all exchanged glances. If I was going to be in charge here, I’d have to ask the hard questions. “Why not, Orlando? Why is this tour special?”

“Because we have a reputation to save.” He shook his long finger at Ashley, who turned pink and dropped her chin to her chest. “Ashley Bennett needs to come out of this tour looking like the girl next door.”

Folding my hands on top of my clipboard, I said, “I think if Ashley is committed to this image rehabilitation and she cooperates, we’ll do all we can to keep things drama-free and clamp down on the gossip sites during interviews and press junkets.”

Orlando was shaking his head before I even finished my sentence. “Sweetie, we need to do more than that, and instead of shutting down the gossip sites, we’ll be sucking up to them, giving them full access to the tour and the talent.”

Orlando’s squeaky voice definitely made him less imposing than his presence and demeanor. It even neutralized his sweetie comment, but I knew his reputation and if I didn’t deliver for his client on this tour, he would make sure I had a big black mark next to my name for all future endeavors.

All eyes were on me. I had to step up.

I flipped back my silky-smooth hair, which in itself was a sham, and steepled my fingers. Letting my gaze settle on each person at the table, I said, “I have the perfect idea.”

Orlando’s dark eyes glittered, as he placed a hand on the back of Ashley’s chair. “Let’s hear it, Noelle.”

I avoided looking at Conor as I said, “It’s one of the oldest schemes in the PR book—we’re giving Ashley a showmance, and we have the perfect candidate.”

Chapter 2

NOELLE

I bit my lip as all eyes at the table shifted to Conor, swiping his phone’s screen, a big grin claiming his face. Feeling the weight of our stares, he glanced up, the smile fading.

“I’m sorry. Did I miss something?” He held up his phone. “Just saw something the Bizzy Blondes posted.”

I clutched the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white. My strategy might impress Orlando and Dina, but it wouldn’t fly with Conor. Would it? The entertainment press would see right through this farce. Wouldn’t they?

Orlando sat back in his chair, his arms folded over his skinny bare chest, a satisfied smile on his face. Dina nudged my foot with the toe of her shoe and nodded. They liked it as I knew they would. Now they expected me to sell it to Conor.

I tapped my pen on my clipboard. “The road to Ashley’s redemption runs through you, Conor.”