Page 47 of Love Hollow at Last
She had so much anguish in her face that Noah just wanted to hold her.But he snuck a look at the empty rooms around them.What if another Hanson family member bursts in on us?
“Can we go up to your room?”he murmured, taking her hand.
Aya took her hand away.“Did you hear what I was telling you?”she said.“It is.Not.A good time.”
He recoiled.Because he’d never let himself get close to anyone, he’d also not experienced a lot of rejection.And it stung bitterly.He found himself wanting to head over to the mirror in the hall to see if he looked okay.Should I have shaved?Is that it?Do I look bad?Of course, it didn’t really matter how he looked.He would never be as attractive as Aya.Maybe he was just a typical idiot, trying to use his money and status to date someone well out of his league.Maybe that was why old, ugly guys in show business ended up with young models.They knew they would never be able to compete with successful women their own age, but at least with women who were young and semi-anonymous, there might be some semblance of parity.
Of course, things didn’t usually go well for those guys either.
Emi chose that moment to come back down.“Aya, did you still want help with the programs?Because I think I figured out a couple of ways to get them to look better in black and white.”
“Why not sepia?”asked Noah.He remembered the thick programs for Pilgrimages in years past, particularly because he was often bored during the ceremony as a kid.It was fascinating to look at the glossy portraits and the lists of names.
“Can’t afford it,” said Aya shortly.“Sure, Emi.Let’s head out.”
Noah followed them, wondering if they would invite him.
Eventually, as they were getting in the car, Emi remembered.“I’m sorry, Noah.Do you want to come with us?”
He looked at Aya, but she was staring straight ahead.
“Um, n-no, that’s fine,” he said quickly.“See you later.”
41
Noah
Noah’s head was reeling.“Why would they tell Arkanyon Products to back out?Is there some sort of corporate conspiracy?”
Grace rolled her eyes.“Well, apparently, corporations are people, so I’m not sure that ‘conspiracy’ is the way we’re allowed to describe agreements between them.Even the illegal ones.”
“Seriously, though,” he said.“Why do you think they would say something to Arkanyon?Won’t this festival at least get a few people listening to my music, making them more money?”
“They must have heard a rumor about you trying to poach one of their biggest assets.Did you tell anyone about Evie?”
“Of course not!”he snapped.“But she’s so unhappy.Isn’t it obvious she’s thinking of leaving?”
Grace adjusted her headband.“I can’t be sure.A lot of recording artists are unhappy.That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll jump ship.”
“Well, it’s stupid of them not to.”He amended it immediately.“I mean, strange of them not to but fine.”
“Everyone wants to make a living,” Grace said.“Speaking of which, our balance sheet is not balancing now.So for all our sakes, you’ll need to help us out of this.The core staff start tomorrow, and we have to make payroll.”
“Okay,” he said.“Well, we’ll just have to cut a few corners.”
Grace held his gaze.“You don’t really seem to be getting this, do you?Arkanyon was one of our biggest sponsors.”
He shrugged.“Can we get other sponsors?”
Grace sighed.“Don’t you think I’ve been trying?This is the eleventh hour, Noah.Even a well-worded request for money for a festival that’s about to start is not necessarily going over well.”
“What else can we do?”
She patted the swivel chair next to her.Noah hated those chairs, though he tried to settle in next to Grace.He preferred to sit on a cushion on the floor, laptop on the coffee table his mother had brought by, looking for solutions to problems.
Except it seemed they were out of the easy solutions.
“There’s not much left,” she said quietly.“And, Noah, I’m sorry, but I can’t go without a paycheck.”
