Page 22 of Hero on the Road
He snorted. “That sounds like Parker. And what are we supposed to do?”
I sighed. “Sit and wait until someone gets back to us. And plan what we’re going to do to Barry when we catch up to him.”
* * *
“Liv, I tried. There’s nothing I can do.”
“That’s not what I wanted to hear, Parker.”
“It’s not what I wanted to tell you, either, but I don’t work for Atomic and they don’t want me butting in.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed at them, trying to wish her words into something else. This couldn’t be happening. This could not be happening. Parker was the one who could fix anything. She had a stronger will than anyone I’d ever met and an inability to take the word ‘no’ as a final answer.
“What did they say?”
“They say I work for you but not them and they’re blocking me from doing anything. I’m not allowed to send you money because they’ll report me to Drive In. You know I’m not really supposed to be working with you in the first place. I could lose my job. We could both be sued.”
Oh my God, I hadn’t even thought of that, but she was right. Officially, she worked for Drive In. She managed my career through some loophole she’d found but she was on a tight rein there, and we both knew she was walking a dangerous line. If Atomic decided to make trouble and she lost her job because of this, I’d have to kill myself.
“Okay you’re out, then. Have you been able to get in touch with Taylor?”
Because I hadn’t. I’d called her at least fifty-seven times and she hadn’t picked up. It was so unlike her that I’d started to worry that something had happened to her, too.
Was she also stuck in a parking lot without a ride? And without her phone?
“I did actually, and she’s giving Atomic an earful right now. She says she’ll call you as soon as she has good news.”
Terrific. That meant she wouldn’t call if she didn’t have good news. And right now, I needed to hear my friend’s voice.
“Thanks, Park. If you figure out a way to get us some money, let me know.”
I hung up feeling entirely hopeless. This was a stupid, stupid situation. What kind of record company actually blocked my best friend from sending me money when I was stuck on the road without a van? This was unreal.
A second later, my phone buzzed again. Taylor was calling.
“Please tell me you have good news,” I said.
“I don’t. I offered to get you a hotel room or a ride. Anything. I begged them to take care of you. But their official answer is that they hadn’t paid for the van in the first place and they’ve already put the tour’s entire budget into play. They’re not willing to do anything else. And they won’t let me do anything, either. I’m sorry, Liv.”
She sounded horrified, and rightly so.
“They’re actually going to leave us up here on our own?” I asked, shocked, horrified, and getting increasingly angry.
Seriously, this couldn’t be happening.
“That’s what I’m getting so far,” Taylor replied. “I’ve got a call in to my lawyer though, and we’ll see if they get any more reasonable once he gets a hold of them. But that’s not going to happen until tomorrow. So for tonight...”
I looked up and met Connor’s eyes.
For tonight, we were on our own, in a town far away from ours and where we didn’t know anyone. In the middle of the night.
Connor reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “You sit tight. I’ll figure something out.”
A moment later he was gone and I was actually on my own. Waiting for other people to figure something out.
CHAPTER13
Olivia
