“Fuck you,” she grits through her teeth. “You should be down on your knees apologizing and begging for my forgiveness.”
That’s quite the little fantasy she has.
“I’ll get on my knees for you.” I flash her a smug smirk. “But it won’t be to apologize or beg.”
Disgust fills her expression. “You’re an—”
“I need to talk to you, Phoenix,” Skylar interjects.
“Knock next time,” I bark.
Skylar’s eyes go big and remorse hits me like a brick to the head.
I already killed her fiancé, there’s no need to be a dick to her on top of it.
“Have fun with your groupie,” Lennon mutters under her breath as Skylar disappears.
Biting my lip ring, I rake my gaze over every inch of that curvy body. “I plan on it.”
Lennon came here to start a war…
She’s got one.
CHAPTER 35
LENNON
Evidently, the girl who interrupted our conversation isn’t a groupie, because when I walk out to the kitchen, I see her talking to Phoenix instead of screwing him.
Or rather, trying to, because he won’t even look at her.
Upon noticing me enter, he promptly gets up.
The pretty blonde twists around in her seat as he stalks away. “Come on, Phoenix. We need to figure something out.”
Ignoring her, he grabs a bottle of Jack off the counter and brushes past me.
My curiosity comes to a peak and I blurt, “Who are you?”
It’s probably none of my business—but seeing as she not only claimed the last bunk, she was attempting to have a serious discussion with Phoenix—it’s obvious the girl is more than a hookup.
“I’m Skylar…the new publicist,” she says, and I detect a hint of the same Southern accent Memphis has.
Her presence explains a lot now. “Oh.”
“You must be Lennon.”
“Yeah.”
Giving me a warm smile, she waves me over. “Since we’re the only females staying on this bus, we should get to know one another.”
Thanks to Sabrina and the rest of her cohorts torturing me throughout high school, I’m typically wary of girls who look like her.
However, she seems genuine and judging her for being beautiful and thin is no better than the way those girls judged me for not being either of those things.
I take a seat at the table. “How long have you been working for Sharp Objects?”
She draws in a deep breath before she answers. “A little over four years.”
That’s…strange. “I thought you said you were new?”
“The new publicist.” Reaching for her water bottle, she takes a small sip. “I was a merch girl before that.”
“Congrats on the promotion.”
“Thanks.” Her cheerful expression falters, and she looks down at the table. “I was only hired because I was Josh’s fiancée.”
My stomach twists with regret and sadness. I feel like a monster for congratulating her now.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Can we not?” she whispers, her voice shaking. “I appreciate your condolences, but being the grieving widow is…”
My chest aches because I can’t imagine how awful all this must be for her.
“Draining?”
“Yeah.” She clutches the large diamond ring hanging from the thin gold chain around her neck. “When Josh was alive, people only interacted with me because I was his fiancée…and now they only do it because they feel bad.” Her eyes find mine again. “It would be nice to have a real friend that actually likes me for me, you know?”
I nod.
“Anyway,” she says, changing the subject. “I’ve always wanted to be a publicist, so I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
“I imagine you must have your hands full with Phoenix.” I wince. “I’ll try to do a better job, so things will be easier for you.”
Her nose crinkles. “Phoenix is definitely a handful, but he’s not the biggest problem child of the group.”
That’s news to me. “He’s not?”
She gives me a sad smile. “Nope. That was Josh.” Something peculiar crosses over her expression and her lips press into a firm line. “Now it’s his brother Memphis.”
Safe to say she’s piqued my interest. “What’s going on with Memphis?”
“Please keep this information to yourself.” Sighing, she rubs her temples. “Although it’s now public knowledge thanks to the TMZ article that broke yesterday.”
Uh-oh. “I won’t say a word.”
I couldn’t even if I wanted to since I signed an NDA. Besides, Memphis isn’t the one I want to destroy.
“Two women have come forward claiming to be pregnant with his baby.” She exhales sharply. “One is a famous reality TV star, and the other…”
Her mouth clamps shut and she recoils, almost like it makes her physically sick to say the words.
“The other is a minor,” she croaks after a moment.
I get why she looks so queasy.
“Wow…that’s...”
“I know.” Taking the elastic from her wrist, she piles her long, blonde hair into a knot on top of her head. “Between Phoenix’s intoxicated antics and the stories about Memphis surfacing, Chandler thought it would be a good idea for me to come on tour.”
I can understand why. “Yeah—”
I stop talking when the door to the bunk area opens and Phoenix and Memphis stagger out.
Frustration swells inside me as I zero in on the now empty bottle in Phoenix’s hand.
“Don’t mind us,” Memphis slurs. “We just came to get a refill.”
Skylar and I exchange an uneasy glance.
And then we get up from the table and handle our problems.
I watch Skylar shuffle through a stack of paperwork while we sit on the sofa in the greenroom. “What are you doing?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
Safe to say that only piques my curiosity more.
Sensing this, she makes a face. “Given what’s happening with Memphis, I decided to make a few spreadsheets with everyone’s hookups and the cities they took place in. This way, I can keep track of things.”
I blink. “How in the world would you know all that?”
Granted, she’s been with the band for four years, but there’s no way she’d be able to keep track of every hookup they’ve had.
“I don’t. These are just the ones I do remember.” She pulls another face. “Along with the results of everyone’s most recent STD test that I had them get yesterday.” She circles something with her pen. “I don’t want any more surprises or TMZ articles.”
Can’t say I blame her.
Curiosity strikes again and I eye the pile. I can’t help but wonder just how long Phoenix’s hookup list is.
I’m not as stealthy as I’d hoped, though, because Skylar catches me trying to sneak a peek. “George or Phoenix?”
“What?” I say as the song the band was playing comes to an end.