Page 108 of Rebooting Conor Flynn

Dina said, “I could work with this.”

“Except it’s a lie.” Nobody heard me, or if they had, they didn’t acknowledge me.

“Sex addiction.” Orlando nodded. “You could even do a song.”

Nash coughed.

Finally, sanity.

I took a breath and dropped my shoulders, until he said, “We could turn it into a PSA for her.”

I blinked.

What language were these people speaking?

“Maybe Tomo rescued me.” Ashley wriggled in her chair.

“Perfect.” Dina steepled her fingers.

I bumped Ashley’s chair. “Except the photo shows him groping and grinding.”

They all talked over me at once, drowning out my voice.

I tried again. Flipping through my notebook, I said, “We could start by having Ashley tell the truth about her voice.”

Ashley slammed her coffee cup down. “Absolutely not.”

“That’s not happening, and we’re not discussing that again—ever.” Orlando folded his arms over his waxed chest, visible through his open shirt.

Dina took a hit off her vape. “Back to the sex addiction.”

“We could totally do this.” Orlando snapped his fingers at someone off camera. “Mischa, take notes.”

Dina rubbed her hands. “Noelle can draft the statement for Ashley. She’s such a good writer.”

“No.”

This time they heard me. Silence descended on the meeting.

After a pause, Dina said, “You can do this, babe. I know you can word it perfectly, make it believable.”

“You mean lie.” My hands curled around the arms of my chair like two claws.

“What’s she saying?” Nash hunched forward, the nose hair from his nostrils visible. “What’s she saying, Dina?”

“I said, no. I’m not doing that. I’m not doing this.”

Dina laughed nervously while Orlando growled, “Excuse me?”

I straightened my notebook on the table next to my laptop and pushed back my chair. On shaky legs, I headed for the door.

A chorus of voices erupted behind me.

“Noelle.”

“Where’s she going?”

“We’re not done.”