Page 90 of Final Serenade

“Who am I going to tell? Your brother?”

“He already knows.”

“And he hasn’t posted it on his Facebook yet?” Sarcasm laced his voice.

“Very funny.”

There was an awkward pause.

“So…the tweet?” Levi scratched his head.

“Frank…Frankie saw some of the videos and wanted to meet Isabella in person. It just can’t come back to me.”

“You don’t think people will eventually figure it out, Cass?”

“We’re careful.”

“Doesn’t look like it. The gas station photos are pretty damn intimate.”

“It could be any woman with black hair.”

“It’d be great if Taylor Rhinehart had black hair. Problem solved.”

“Jesus!” I cried out. “You’ve known for a minute and you’re already making jokes about it.”

“You’re jealous.”

“Am not.”

“What are the chances that one of these days, someone will actually take a really good photo of you two?”

“Like I said, we’re careful.”

Silence took over the room. This was a lot to process.

“Is that why the video interview didn’t get the green light?” Levi finally asked the question I feared the most.

I nodded.

There was a low mutter. “Fuck.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That video could have gotten us ten times more hits.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I gave him a shrug.Rewiredmeant a lot to me. But Frank meant more.

Isabella was a storm of emotions the day of the rehearsal. She wore a Hall Affinity T-shirt that matched Ashton’s and her blue hair was teased and styled to perfection. Maria hovered. Everyone could barely hold their excitement. The sweet bliss of anticipation filled the tiny, equipment-clad rehearsal room.

The studio itself, a warehouse-like building with eight soundproof spaces for rent, was located in the heart of Hollywood. Brooklyn had contacted the owner a few days ago and requested extra security. She’d also requested they not post anything about Frank’s visit anywhere on social media.

This was dubbed as his personal project and for now, he wanted to keep his involvement out of the media. It conflicted with the Hall Affinity PR campaign. Although the album leak and rumors surrounding his private life, including all possible romantic interests, were a much bigger hit with the crowd.

Eager fans and paparazzi camping out in front of the building were the last thing Frank needed ahead of the upcoming shows. Especially since I was on the premises too. One shot of us together and we’d be screwed.

The space was booked for a full day. The band had a few shows lined up around L.A. and needed plenty of time to work on their new material. Levi was hyped. He’d gotten his hands on a sick Steadicam and could finally feed his creative muse.

Ever since his discovery, he’d been trying to drag Frank and our affair into all of our conversations, but I successfully shot his attempts down.

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