Except, I’d be shocked if he didn’t. The last two interviews had been pretty good, at least as legitimate as Van’s had been. And while they had some decent credentials and experience, they paled in comparison to Van. We were just waiting on the background checks to make sure everything was in order before Priyanka and I had the decision to make.
Part of me hoped that Van’s background check would screw up his chances. Not because he wasn’t qualified, he was. Not because he wasn’t capable, he definitely was. I was the problem. I had such a visceral reaction to him that I was a bit concerned that I’d be unable to keep my feelings to myself. But over the course of the past few days, I’d been weening myself away from thinking about it. If Van was going to be my security, I couldn’t be lusting after him like that. The last thing that I wanted to do was to create a hostile work environment that made Van feel completely uncomfortable.
The sound of my phone chiming, indicating that I had a text message, brought me out of my thoughts. I was just wrapping up on my breakfast for the day, both my cats curled around my feet after their own breakfast had been administered. Sitting at the marble countertop of my kitchen island, I shifted in my barstool and scooted my plate away from me, the remnants of my breakfast sandwich littering the plate, and grabbed my phone from its discarded placement on the counter.
Hey, can you call me when you get a chance? Nothing’s wrong, just need to update you on something back home
Kit’s text put my hackles on alert instantly. I loved hearing from my oldest friend, but being reminded about home wasn’t always a comforting memory.
Kit McKendrick had been my best friend since I was a little kid, having met him when we were in elementary school. Growing up in Phoebe, North Carolina, we’d fallen victim to the atmosphere of the town and had bonded over our mutual love of all things scary and anything to do with the horror genre. It was pretty uncommon to live in Phoebe and not be obsessed with Halloween and things of that nature. The town had an afflictionfor spooky shit for as long as anyone could remember. Only for me, the true horrors had always been behind the closed doors of my childhood home.
A ripple of unease tickled my spine, causing me to put my phone down. I wanted to hear from Kit, but I wasn’t in the right headspace to hear anything about home. Not until I’d finished my breakfast at least.
I pulled my plate back to me, picking up the final corner of my ciabatta breakfast sandwich, barely a piece of the hashbrown patty and a sliver of egg whites still visible, and tossed it back. Butter filled my mouth, mixing with the egg whites and potato. I’d been having this same breakfast for years and it always hit the spot just right.
Ringing filled the kitchen, and I scoffed as my phone lit up with a phone call. It was Priyanka. Man, my phone sure was popular this morning. Wiping my hands on the paper towel sitting next to my plate, I wiped my mouth before grabbing the phone and answering.
“Hello?” I said, pressing the phone against my ear.
“Morning!” Priyanka’s perpetual giddiness was loud and clear, a tiny smirk lifting my lips at her greeting. I aimed to be as cheerful as she was every damn morning. “I got the background checks back on our security hopefuls.”
“Oh, awesome. And?”
Don’t say Van, don’t say Van.
“It’s got to be Van.”
Fuck.
“Really?” I kept my tone even, I didn’t want disappointment or elation to bleed into my voice.
“Yeah, the other two didn’t have spotless backgrounds checks. Nothing serious, but they’d definitely violated their NDAs. Van Argent is squeaky clean.”
“Well, that’s good.” I cleared my throat. Okay, so Van was going to be my security, if he accepted the job, of course. I needed to start filing him away in my brain as off-limits. “So, what’s the next step with that?”
“I’ll give Van a call. I’ll take care of everything as far as that’s concerned and just text or call you with any updates.”
“Okay, cool. That would be great, thanks, Pri.”
“Of course! Have you thought about the tour announcement at all?”
I sighed. I should have thought more about it, but I was always better with on the fly pressure. Taking a second to think, I blurted out the first thing that breached my brain. “What if I shot a little something to insert into the end of theBirthstone Babymusic video? Just like me walking by the flyer for tour that I’ll be posting on socials? Then we can insert that into the edit for the video, drop the video, and I’ll post the flyer on socials to announce tour all in one go.”
“Great idea! Do you want me to reach out to Rodrigo to shoot you walking by the flyer?”
“That’s okay, I’ll text him after we get off the phone.”
“Alright, I’ll let you know the update on Van later. Don’t forget you have the Hot Ones shoot next week.”
An incredulous smile stuck to my face as I shook my head. “I haven’t forgotten. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Alright, Alistair. I’ll talk to you later. Enjoy your day!”
“Thanks, Pri. Talk to you later. Bye.”
The call ended, and as I pulled the phone away from my ear, that text from Kit was staring back at me. I sighed. I really didn’t want to deal with it, but I also wanted to get whatever the hell it was over with. I wanted to head to the studio today to mess around with Blue, having some lyrics I’d been mulling over, and I was only going to be able to clear my head to make that happen after I dealt with whatever was going on back home in Phoebe.
I tapped on Kit’s name and initiated the call, hoping he answered so I didn’t have to delay this any longer than I already had.
