Page 44 of Rebooting Conor Flynn

Not that there was a prospect of that—at all.

“I have not heard from Ashley, but then I didn’t expect her to be on the bus. She had some bullshit excuse for why she had to fly. At least Ji-yoon has a valid reason. Her manager has her on a whole other, parallel promo gig. We’re not gonna see much of her.” He stashed the bag and turned around so fast, I had to back up. “Should we be worried about Ashley?”

“Orlando called me last night to tell me Ashley had checked into the hotel, so at least we know she’s going to be there.”

But I was worried. Ashley had gone radio silent after Charlie’s party. Had she seen the photos of Conor and the speculation online? I half expected her to call the gossip sites to reveal the stunt between her and Conor to avoid the public humiliation of her man cheating on her again.

A look was not a cheat. Get a grip, Noelle.

I scooped in a deep breath. Probably meant nothing. Silence was better than screaming over the phone or tattling to the entertainment reporters.

I asked, “Is her stylist Shanice downstairs? I didn’t see her when I came in—just a bunch of grubby guys down there playing video games.”

Conor and Rhys high-fived around me and Conor said, “Ah, tour life.”

“Is Shanice the baddie with the braids and the cowboy boots?” Rhys stuck his tongue out in a disgusting manner.

“Eww.” I pushed past Rhys. “That sounds like Shanice, but she’s way out of your league.”

“Bro...” Conor punched Rhys’s shoulder. “Looks like Noelle has made you her honorary brother. Get ready for the shade.”

“Is that what you are, Con...” Rhys’s gaze slid sideways to Conor “...her honorary brother?”

I turned my back on Conor’s answer and called over my shoulder. “I’m going to find Shanice.”

Once on the first level, I almost bumped into Jade, her phone out, scanning the interior of the bus.

She tapped her screen with one long nail and peeked at me above the phone. “If you’re looking for Shanice, she’s not here. She took the flight with Ashley.”

“What are you doing?” I gestured toward Jade’s phone, encased in a sparkly cover. Reminded me of the Bizzy Blondes’ phones.

“This is my first tour on the road, and I wanna document everything.”

I mumbled under my breath. “Dina should’ve given you Nolan’s assignment.”

“What?” Jade batted her false eyelashes.

Jade could definitely help with reporting on the tour. “If you’re going to record everything, anyway, do you want to help publicize the tour on socials?”

Jade placed a hand to her throat, her fingers tangling with several necklaces. “I’d love to do that.”

As the bus growled to life and everyone cheered, I tapped a tabletop with two connected chairs. “Let’s sit for a minute and discuss this.”

Thirty minutes, twenty miles, and several delegated tasks later, I stood up and stretched. “This is going to be so helpful, Jade. Thanks.”

I knew Jade would be hyped to do this for free, but I was the last person to take advantage of a young woman with stars in her eyes. I’d arrange payment with Dina for Jade. I’d still be writing most of the copy and overseeing her posts, but I’d just off-loaded a big headache.

Now, if I could only off-load from this bus.

I checked my phone for the hundredth time for a message from Ashley...nothing. I also snuck a look at the socials to see if the drama over the pics of me and Conor at the concert had subsided.

Despite someone from Ashley’s fanbase doing a three-part dissection of the photos and their meaning, it seemed as if the social media world had moved onto a scandal involving two rappers and the swapping of back-up dancers.

I rolled my shoulders and relaxed my muscles for the first time since boarding the bus to hell. The musicians had already raided the snack cupboard and deposited themselves on the sofas in the lounge area in front of one TV playing videos on YouTube and another TV dedicated to Fortnite.

Rhys waved at me. “Have a seat and grab me a water on the way. We can squeeze you in.”

I ducked in front of the mini fridge and got a bottle of water for Rhys and a Diet Coke for myself. On my way to the lounge area, I noticed Rhys sitting next to Conor and some empty space on the other side of Rhys. But when I got to the sofa, Rhys scooted over into the free space, leaving the seat next to Conor open.