Page 35 of When We Fell Again
“It’s left me in the shit a bit because we had a lot of tours lined up for him.” Theo rubbed his chin, screwing up his face. “I’ve put the feelers out for a freelancer, but I’m going to have to rearrange who’s doing what. I know you were going to have some time off after Idol Rev, but I’ll need you to step in.”
I sucked in my lips. My own calendar after Idol Rev didn’t have many gaps. And after two weeks with Jordan Bowie, I would definitely need a break. “Right. What are you thinking?”
Leaning forward again, Theo pulled out a busy spreadsheet with all of the upcoming tours on it and passed it to me. Bands, cities, towns, and dates started to merge into one as I tried to read it.
“Which ones are you expecting me to do?” I hated Theo’s spreadsheets with a passion. The guy really had to start using Excel properly.
“Chris is in blue, you’re in purple. No, wait. I changed some of Chris’s tours over to you.”
No wonder the page looked predominantly violet. “We need to go through this one by one. I can’t tell what I’m meant to be taking over versus what I’m already meant to be doing.”
Theo checked his watch. “Not sure we can do that now. The show’s about to start, and I promised Kelvin I’d watch the support act with him.”
Apart from checking that Idol Rev were somewhere in the building, I had little to do for the next hour except look at this mess. “Why don’t I take a look now? I’ve got some time to kill.”
“Thanks, Lex. That’d be great. Sorry to dump it all on you, but the next few months are going to be chaotic for all of us.” He pushed another bunch of paperwork he’d been hiding underneath a folder at me. “There will be a decent bonus in it for you, promise. And we’ll catch up after the Idol Rev set for a drink, yeah?”
“Of course.” I forced a fake smile. I’d already planned on fleeing back to the hotel as soon as possible after the gig. Less chance of bumping into Jordan that way. “I’ll see you later.”
Once he’d left, I picked up my phone, ready to reconcile my dates with the new ones on his spreadsheet. But before I could open my calendar, I spotted a message from Sadie.
Sadie: Hey stranger! How’s the hot ex? Hope you’re staying out of trouble x
How did I reply to that?
Hotter than ever and he’s getting me into even more trouble than I could ever have anticipated…
I’d managed not to think about Jordan for at least half an hour. But Sadie’s reminder had me mulling everything over again. What was I going to say when I saw him? Would he even speak to me? Sure, he’d messaged me about a work-related thing, but anything more than that?
Having promised Sadie I’d keep her updated, I had totally neglected my best friend for most of the past week or so.
Alexis: Sorry! It’s been pretty hectic. Not much to tell x
Sadie: Seriously? You’ve been with them over a week and there’s NO GOSSIP? Has he turned celibate?
Alexis: Nope. No gossip. Not even a juicy titbit to keep your over-active imagination alive, lol
Lying to Sadie wasn’t something I relished, but if I mentioned anything to her now, she’d be on the phone within seconds and I wouldn’t be able to see the set.
Sadie: But Jordan looked extra hot on stage…
At that exact moment, Jordan walked past. Expecting him to ignore me, he got a few feet in front of me and then turned around.
“Hey, Lex.”
“Hi.”
The air between us crackled like static electricity. The unspoken words said more than the banal ones we’d exchanged. Before either of us had the chance to say anything meaningful, Levi, Jude, and Robbie appeared.
“Lex, did Jordan tell you? We’re going into the studio after the tour to record our new stuff.” Jude’s grin almost covered his face.
“Kelvin’s really happy about how the tour’s gone,” Levi added. “There might be another one sooner than we thought.”
“Can you keep your diary free to come with us?” begged Robbie. “It’s been great having you around again.”
Given the news Theo had landed on me, it didn’t look like I’d have a spare moment to take a shit, let alone go on another tour with these guys.
“It’s been really great having you with us.” Jordan’s gaze met mine, and my insides contracted. “Like old times,” he added with a lazy smile.
