“That was good, Nolan,” he said through the microphone. The rest of the band was standing behind him, listening. “But I’d like you to sing it again, this time with more emotion during the chorus. The song is about finding the girl you love after losing her. Show the listener how broken you were and how seeing her again gave you hope.”
I nodded and waited until the engineer started the instrumental track of the song again before pouring my heart out. I thought about how this time tomorrow I would have told Hailey that I loved her and asked her to move to L.A. to be with me. True, she could say no and break my heart, but it was worth the risk.
By the time I finished singing the song, Daniel was grinning. “Perfect. She’s one lucky girl.” He winked at me, clearly knowing the song was about a real girl. But I had no idea if he assumed the girl was Alyssa.
The door to the control room opened and my supposed girlfriend walked in. At the unexpected intrusion, all six guys in the crowded space turned to her. I couldn’t see their expressions, but I could imagine Mason’s at the sight of Alyssa’s short skirt, stilettos, and long legs.
She waved to me and spoke to the guys in the room. They nodded. In contrast to what the fans and media believed, the band knew I wasn’t in love with her. They were aware I’d been doing exactly what the record label had requested. And even though none of them had protested at what I’d been forced to do, I could tell Jared wasn’t thrilled with any of it.
I joined everyone in the control booth. They peered expectantly at me as I walked through the door, all curious about what Alyssa could possibly want with me.
She placed her hand on my arm. “Can I talk to you for a moment? It’s important.”
I looked over at Daniel, since he was the one calling the shots. As it was, he’d been very accommodating by allowing me an hour off twice during our recording sessions, so I could meet with my therapist. Talking to my supposed girlfriend was pushing things.
“Go ahead,” he said. “We’ll start laying down the final track. Just don’t be too long.”
I led Alyssa down the hallway to the office where my therapy sessions had been conducted. I knocked on the door. When no one answered, I opened it and waved her in.
Calling the room an office was generous. It was more like a cross between an office, a storage room, and a place where staff and musicians could crash for a few minutes during late-night recording sessions. A naked bulb hung overhead and cast eerie shadows around the room.
Alyssa gracefully navigated her way around stacks of sheet music, books, and paperwork and sat on one side of the couch. I removed a pile of sheet music from a plastic chair and turned it around. The corners of her mouth momentarily twitched down as I sat opposite her.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Have you seen the social media and fan sites since the premiere?”
“No, we’ve been too busy.” Not to mention that I never bothered with any of those things. Kirk and Jared were the ones who had taken over the responsibility of dealing with social media. Mason was banned from it because we were worried what he would say, especially if he’d been drinking.
“You don’t know, then?”
“Know what?”
“About the rumors of our breakup?”
Shit, that had been fast, but I couldn’t say I was disappointed. “No, but that’s good. I’m flying out to see Hailey tomorrow and asking her if she wants to move in with me.”
And if she did, we’d have to find a new place to live. One without Jared, my current roommate.
Alyssa cringed. “You might want to wait on that.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“The rumors are claiming Hailey’s the reason there’s trouble in paradise. It was leaked to the media that you bailed on me during the premiere.”
I felt the frown deepen. “I didn’t fucking bail on you.”
“I know that, but unless you go public with what happened, you won’t be able to contain the rumors.”
I grunted. “They’ll pass. As soon as the next celebrity scandal comes along, everyone will forget that you and I were ‘dating’?”—I finger-quoted the last word—“and everything will be fine.”
“I hope you’re right.” Her shoulders raised and lowered in a long, slow movement. “There are some pretty die-hard fans when it comes to Nolyssa.”
She tapped the screen on her iPhone, handed it to me, and left the room.
Confused why she’d given me her phone, I looked at the screen. At first I couldn’t figure out what I was looking at. But then I pieced it all together. It was a fan site dedicated to Alyssa’s and my relationship. Some of the fans were disappointed at the rumors the relationship was possibly ending. Others weren’t too surprised, because most celebrity relationships didn’t last.
But a few comments had me wanting to smash my fist into the wall. The individuals wanted to physically harm Hailey for being responsible for the demise of Nolyssa.
Deciding to spare the wall, I sent a knee-high pile of paper flying across the room. The pages scattered, creating a huge mess. Much like my life.
I stared at the comments for several minutes until a knock on the door intruded on my not-so-pleasant thoughts. When I didn’t answer, the door opened.
I expected to see Alyssa there, but instead Jared stood in the doorway. “You ready to do this?” he asked.