Page 30 of Rebooting Conor Flynn

I ground my back teeth, my gaze shifting over her shoulder. I couldn’t watch her as she delivered the news that cut me off at the knees.

“I-I mean you could perform it however you want. Wouldn’t even have to be the same arrangement as the original. Make it your own.” She blinked her long lashes, even more noticeable without her glasses.

Did she become a different person when she ditched the glasses? She had to realize how her request gutted me.

I rolled my shoulders. “I already did that.”

“What?”

“I wrote three albums with songs of my own.” I strummed a harsh chord on my guitar, and she jumped back.

Ducking her head, she lowered her voice. “I know that, Con. And you just performed a perfect set with those songs. We...Odyssey is just asking for one Five2Go song to make the fangirls happy. You said yourself that you and the boys are trying to arrange a reunion tour. This would be a great taste of that tour. Even Ian and Sam...”

She trailed off, her cheeks sporting two red flags, her implication as loud as that cranked tube amp on stage. Even Ian and Sam, who had careers and tours way more successful than mine, performed Five2 songs in their sets.

“Maybe I should try singing Baby Oh to see if I can do more than just the chorus this time.”

She pressed her lips together. “Maybe just be a team player so we can get this tour off the ground and make it a success.”

“You’re right. I’ve sung Five2Go songs on other tours, and I can do it for this one. Company man at your service.” I saluted. I wasn’t here to make life hard on Noelle.

“Okay, thanks. Just trying to do my job.” She tucked an errant lock of silky hair behind her ear.

She’d lost the glasses, smoothed out her hair, and changed into a different person. Actually, she was the same person—the one who dumped me for her job when I went to Australia.

“I hate to bring this up now, but don’t forget we have the press event at the end of Ji-yoon’s set.”

I tapped my temple. “Branded in my brain.”

“Thanks.” Her gaze followed Ji-yoon as the singer discussed placement with the stage manager. “She’s really excited about going solo. I hope we can deliver for her.”

Was that another reminder to me that other people were depending on my cooperation? How much of myself did I have to relinquish to make sure others thrived?

“I’m sure she’ll be brilliant. She’s a professional...unlike some people.” I darted a look toward Ashley arguing with her choreographer.

“I know.” Noelle wrinkled her nose. “I keep waiting for the kinder, gentler Ashley to show up. When’s that going to happen?”

I leveled a finger at Noelle. “It’s your job to make sure it does, right?”

“Thanks for the reminder.” She stiffened when Ashley glanced in our direction.

I couldn’t imagine trying to please that woman...in any way. I should cut Noelle some slack. She probably had as difficult a time delivering the promoter’s edict about the Five2Go song as I did hearing it. She knew how it would land.

Noelle might be ambitious about her career, but she had a kindness unique in this business. Maybe that’s why she still held the position of assistant after all these years.

I turned back to Noelle to let her know I was going to one of the trailers to look over my set when she turned on her heel and left me with my mouth hanging open. Was she afraid of Ashley’s temper?

If I saw Ashley bullying Noelle...or anyone else, I’d have to step in—fake dating relationship be damned.

As Ji-yoon started her first song, I jogged down the steps of the stage to claim one of the trailers set up for us. I grabbed a water on the way and opened the flimsy door, peering inside the empty space. Someone had left the remnants of their lunch on a table. Probably Ashley, given the condition of the picked over salad and the red lipstick imprint on the can of Diet Coke.

I wished Noelle all the luck in the world rehabilitating Ashley, but I couldn’t see it happening—not even if Ashley and I shagged in the middle of the stage.

I pulled my laptop out of my bag and brought up the set list. I didn’t mind including a Five2 song. Noelle was right—we all did them, even Jay, when he still toured. And why shouldn’t we? Those songs belonged to us, each of us in our own right.

Just knocked me back that the promoters demanded it from me. I massaged my temples. Maybe promoters required it from the others, too. I’d gotten too touchy. Sometimes I wondered what happened to the carefree lad pranking about on stage, happy to be singing any damned thing.

But I knew—from tours to studios to promo appearances, locked in hotel rooms to keep us safe from roving fans, no sleep, no family, no real privacy, no real life. And then feeling guilty for the resentment when the work continued to provide so much wealth, not just for me, but for my family. My older brother had a small musical career of his own, thanks to my success.