Page 48 of Going Solo

“Only because they think they’ll lose their jobs. What if someone buys it and they get tokeeptheir jobs?”

Nick and I looked at each other again. Nick shrugged.

“Does this mean I don’t have to go on the road with Cole Kennedy?” I asked.

Ludo shook his head. “It’s only a text. I’m not promising anything. Acquisitions can take years, and you could still get bought by the Nazi Party.”

“Damn.”

Dav came back from the toilet, wiping his wet hands on his jeans. “What did I miss?”

“Ludo’s buying a radio station,” Sunny said.

Dav nodded. “Sounds about right. Are we getting another round in?”

Breakfast TV bloodbath!

Krishnan’s claws out for Cole in ex-lover showdown

What happens when you put two of Britain’s most eligible homosexuals side by side on breakfast television’s most famous yellow couch? A real catfight!

Sparks flew on the set of “Wake-Up Britain” this morning as host Krishnan Varma-Rajan interviewed pop star Cole Kennedy, whose sell-out world tour starts in Glasgow in three days’ time.

You’d think the often-flirty Varma-Rajan might be keen to snag a date with the multimillionaire heart-throb, but all the TV hack seemed able to do was ask Kennedy about his ex, Tobias Lyngstad. The transcript is too deliciously uncomfortable not to share.

Kennedy:I’m not here to talk about that. Let’s talk about the album and my upcoming tour.

KVR:You’re the one who invited Toby on tour. You must have known you’d be asked about it.

Kennedy:It’s one small part of a big and really special show. This album is all about?—

KVR:It’s a publicity stunt. I’m giving you the publicity. Are you back together?

Kennedy:It’s not a stunt. We haven’t seen each other in ten years.

KVR:You haven’t even spoken to him?

Kennedy:Not yet. I’m looking forward to it.

KVR:What are you hoping to get out of this? Why would Tobias agree to do this?

Kennedy:I’m looking forward to getting back out on the road, spending some time with my fans, and sharing what is an incredibly personal album for me.

Varma-Rajan didn’t get his answers, but they’re good questions! They’re also terrible dating form. Never ask about the ex on a first date, Krishnan. Scroll back through their Instagram like everyone else and save your ex-boyfriend questions for date number three.

ChapterNineteen

The atmosphere in Glasgow was electric. Everything in the city was plastered with Cole’s face, like he’d taken tips on how to run an effective outdoor advertising campaign from that bloke who runs North Korea. His face might have rolled past on a papier-mâché missile at any moment. Nick and I had spent the day getting the outside broadcast van set up and prepping for our first Pop Review Special. Cole’s opening night show was still twenty-four hours away, but hundreds of people were milling about outside the Glasgow Arena. Every thirty seconds, a dozen gas cannons shot balls of flame high into the air—which certainly added to the sense that I was preparing to battle my demons.

“You need to scoot, pal,” Nick said. “Got your backstage pass?”

I waved my lanyard at him. “Are you sure you don’t need me to stick around and finish up here?”

“I’ve got a cassette lift to conquer the steps and a hot Latino security guard to protect me from the Kenneddicts; nothing can defeat me. Your services are no longer required. Go make your ex realise what he’s missing.”

I stopped to check my reflection in the window. In the ten years since I’d seen Cole, I’d rebuilt myself from the ground up. I had a personal trainer, a dietician, a naturopath, and a Harley Street dentist who’d installed a set of veneers so startlingly white that when I smiled, birds fell out of the sky. I was twenty-six, I had a good career, and if I did say so myself, I looked bloody gorgeous. Lean, toned, tanned. I’d have felt confident if my ex hadn’t been a millionaire global superstar and beloved sex symbol.

“For Christ’s sake, go!” Nick said.

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