Page 22 of Out of the Blue

Joey sighs. “Cheri and I talked about this. We knew this could come out, but we didn’t want it to, obviously. Seems like we have no choice here. We have to deal with it head-on.”

“The band knows the truth, and that’s all that matters. We’ve got your back, whatever you decide to do.” I push against the booth’s cushioned back. “We could ignore it.”

He shakes his head. “No. Reporters, or whatever you call them, will be hounding us, watching for Cheri or me to slip up. We don’t do drugs, man.”

“I know. We all know.”

He blows a breath upward, causing his hair to fly out in all directions. “I’m pissed, you know? But this was Cheri’s brother. It’s going to gut her.”

“I’m sorry this happened. I have no idea how they found out.”

After picking at our food, we return to our rooms. Joey calls Cheri to tell her about the article while I pace in my own room coming up with a bunch of different ideas about how to tackle this. I do understand Cordelia is the logical person to work this out, but hell if I’m going to seek her out if I don’t have to. A knock sounds on my door, and I open it. Joey walks in.

“So, before I could even call Cheri, a man named Kevin Hewitt called me. He’s the Marketing VP at Apex, and I gave him the broad strokes of our real story. He told me to speak with Cordelia and she’d circle back with him. I finally called Cheri and we discussed this whole thing. She doesn’t want to be a part of the decision-making, since it’s too hard on her. But she supports whatever we decide to do.”

At the inclusion of Cordelia, my blood runs cold. I was trying to avoid her for the rest of the tour—as if that were possible since she’s in charge of our marketing. But, Joey’s worth it. I’ll do what I have to.

“Want me to go with you to meet her? Or the whole band? Or do you want to talk with Cordelia by yourself?” Pick the third option. Please.

“I could do it alone, but really would appreciate your coming with me. Just you. Not all the guys.”

So much for my hope. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I reply, “Sure thing.”

We select a different restaurant in the hotel, where Cordelia meets us. She’s stunning in a black miniskirt, thigh-high black boots, and a t-shirt under a fluffy jacket. Can’t read what this one says. Whatever, her tits stretch the material in a tantalizing way.

Joey tells her about the article and what really went down five years ago. Thankful for something other than her sexy body to look at, I give Joey my undivided attention. Well, at least when my mind isn’t wandering off to how she sucked me off last night. Then bolted.

“That’s a lot to take in.”

Joey nods, his hair moving in triple time. “Yeah.”

She bites her luscious bottom lip “And you didn’t know about Shane’s drug addiction before that night? Cheri either?”

Joey shifts in his seat. “No. We didn’t know. Cheri still beats herself over it, thinking she should’ve figured it out sooner. But she didn’t know.”

She purses her lips, then proceeds to ask a ton of questions. Where did this happen? Who else knows about it? How did her parents handle it? Where is he buried?

I’m here for Joey. I support him as he answers her questions but try not to look at the inquisitor. Or breathe in her mysterious floral scent, which makes my lower half take notice.

Together, we craft a social media strategy that includes seeking donations to stop heroin use by underage kids. When we’ve exhausted all the avenues, Cordelia stands.

“I’ll go call Mr. Hewitt and get right on this.” She rests her hand on Joey’s shoulder as if she’s going to say something else. But doesn’t.

After she leaves, I focus on Joey, who appears wrung out. “What do you think?”

“She’s making sense. It fucking sucks it was disclosed this way, but I’m sort of relieved. I figured it would come out somehow. But what’s done is done. We can get it out into the open and move on. I don’t want to be the reason TLR implodes.”

His use of the new hashtag Cordelia created doesn’t go unnoticed. And I sympathize about not wanting to be the reason the band falls apart. Shit, I’ve worried about that myself countless times since my mother was killed. Somehow, though, after I read her diary, I was too angry to care anymore. Still am. But I do understand where Joey’s coming from.

I rise. “Believe me, brother, you won’t be the reason.” Together, we return to our rooms.

Later, Joey tells Dwight and Maurice what went down in the tabloid and how Apex is dealing with it. They offer him support. Dwight even offers to smack some heads at the tabloid, and we all erupt into laughter.

God, we needed that.

“I think Cordelia’s got a good handle on this,” Maurice notes. He removes the bandage from the blood test his eye doctor ordered. Since drops don’t seem to be clearing up the redness, his doc ran some tests.

Dwight bangs a beat on the table. “Yeah. Bet you a Jackson this is old news in a week after she gets through with our social media rebuttal.”

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