Page 74 of Sky Full of Stars

“What the fuck is she doing here, Bianca?”

“We need a voice coach.”

“I don’t need a voice coach.”

“You might, throughout the tour you don’t know what will happen, plus the opening acts and backing singers may require one.”

“So where is Brady?” He is our usual voice coach.

“His wife is due to have her baby in a couple of weeks.”

I run a hand through my hair and turn away from her. “There are literally hundreds of voice coaches in this town. Why her?”

“Because she is good and she is back in LA. We worked with her for years, Aidan, I really don’t see the problem. Just because you had a relationship with her at one point, you can put that aside for the good of the band, surely.”

“For the good of the band?” My blood pressure is spiking. “Put it aside? Jesus fucking Christ,” I whirl around so I’m not looking at her because I’m worried what I might say if she keeps looking at me the way she is. “I don’t want her on the tour.”

“That isn’t your decision.”

“The hell it isn’t.”

“What are you going to do Aidan, throw a tantrum and lose her a job, or walk away from the tour?”

“Don’t be fucking ridiculous.”

“You’re the one being ridiculous. She has worked with us before, she’s one of the best in the field, and we are down a voice coach. You can act like a baby, throw a hissy fit, or you can grow the hell up and work with her. I know you had a thing but that is history and you should be professional enough to move on and do your job.”

My fists clench, my nails digging into my palms.

“Now, are we going to this meeting to sort out the tour you’re heading on in five days, or are we going to stand out here bitching about something you’re never going to change?”

I don’t answer, just walk back to the meeting room. Arch has his back to me but I see Nick’s eyes come up and he raises his brows, silently asking what the fuck? I just shake my head and go to a seat at the far end of the table from where Erica is. She looks my way but then focuses on the meeting. It’s a shame I can’t. I miss most of what is said. Bianca will send over a detailed itinerary and no one is gonna leave without me, I’m sure someone will fill me in. I could care less about what is being discussed right now.

I only come awake when I hear them talking about the three buses we will be travelling on and who will be where. They pass out a list and I scan it. Erica and another person has been put on our bus.

“I want the band on one bus. Alone.”

Bianca’s head comes up. “Aidan, that isn’t a good use of space.”

“Then get another bus.”

Bianca scowls at me. Erica is looking at the piece of paper in front of her. “Aidan, this is all planned out-”

“B, re-work it,” Arch tells her. “We need to work on the music with Dex. It’s gonna be hard enough as it is for him picking up for Jordan, so let’s just have the band together so we can focus.”

I catch his eye, grateful for him being on my side. Nobody knows better than these three how hard it was for me when Erica screwed me over and they will always have my back.

“I agree,” Nick speaks up. “We need to gel with the new guy. It’s better if it’s just us.”

Most people around this table are aware of my history with Erica. One look at her face and I see this discussion hurt her. In coming to my irrational aid, the whole band basically just made her feel like she isn’t welcome. I suddenly feel like a total asshole.

“Fine,” Bianca looks pointedly at me. “Alicia,” she speaks to her assistant but never takes her eyes off me. “Go back over the plan. May we continue now Mr Gass?”

I nod my head but don’t make eye contact with anyone. As the meeting continues I feel more like the biggest prick to walk the earth. It isn’t Erica’s fault. And to be fair, she did try to talk to me, probably to let me know she’d been taken on as the voice coach. I’d been too caught up in ignoring her for my own stupid reasons to behave like an adult. It probably took a lot for her to take the job, knowing how things ended for us. And I’d just made a fool out of her. I should fix this.

As the meeting wraps up and people start to leave I look over at Erica as she grabs her purse. I raise my chin and she pauses. I mouth ‘you got five’ She looks at her hands, takes a breath then nods. We walk out of the room, people dispersing back to offices or out to the parking lot. I text Arch to let him know I’d catch him later and see him look over with raised brows. I walk to Erica and put my hands in my pockets.

She shakes her head and huffs out an embarrassed laugh. “I didn’t mean to cause a fuss.”

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