Page 15 of She's the Star

“The team is handling it. Brian’s on the phone with Teddy’s manager right now finding out who she is. He’s going to ask them to identify her,” she explains. “Since it isn’t you in the video, you don’t need to worry about it, but since Teddy has become fond of apologizing to you, I don’t want you to be blindsided when he asks forgiveness for letting the world think he’d gotten back with you.”

My shoulders sag. “Don’t show me.”

She pops her gum, three times in rapid fire. “I won’t.”

“But keep me updated if it gets worse.”

“I will.”

Maddy rolls onto her back, a gummy smile lighting up her face, showcasing the two teeth that are pushing through her gums. It hits me for the thousandth time how entirely innocent she is; she has no idea how much drama surrounds her. How long can I protect her? And what am I going to do when she’s old enough to hear the rumors about her parents?

Mina snaps her fingers a couple times. “Stop worrying. Maddy is fine. You’re fine. Everything is going to be fine.”

I bite my lip. “Fine. I know.”

“You’re Amber Hope,” she reminds me. “There’s nothing you can’t handle.”

Especially if I don’t venture onto my socials or take to the internet. “You’re right. I’m good.” I nod and let myself play for a second. “Give me the bad news.”

“Nolan refused,” she says with a wince.

I stop strumming. “Refused?” It hadn’t occurred to me that he might not take the job, especially after Brian discovered he’d recently been fired. “Why did he refuse?”

“He says he doesn’t want to.” She shrugs and starts popping her gum again. “We’re going to give him a few days to think about it.”

I don’t want to give him a few days. I don’t have a few days. Rehearsals start in earnest on Monday, and if he doesn’t agree, I’ll have no one to take care of Maddy while I’m working. I mean, obviously Mina can help, and so can Brian, but they have a million other things to do. Taking care of my child is not in their job description.

Nolan can’t say no. He can’t.

Maddy liked him. And he was so good with her.

I set my guitar aside and rub Maddy’s back while I try to think of what he might want. “Double his salary.”

Mina blows a bubble, sinks onto the couch, and tucks her feet underneath her. “Brian made it clear that the salary is negotiable. He didn’t seem impressed, so I made it clear that everything else is negotiable. That didn’t seem to sway him, either.”

How unexpected. What do I have to offer him other than a boatload of money? I’m still baffled that he walked away with nothing but a thank you after he helped me.

I wield a significant amount of power in the music industry, but he didn’t seem like the type who’d be interested in a record deal or adjacent fame. Nor did he seem particularly impressed that I’m one of the most popular pop stars ever. “Maybe I should approach him directly.”

“Absolutely not,” Brian says from the doorway.

“She’s my daughter.” I’m good at delegating when it comes to my career, but not when it comes to Maddy. She’s my responsibility. Not Mina’s. Not Brian’s. Mine.

“I know.” He smiles. “And I know you hate letting me handle this. But we shouldn’t show up at his house again. I think our best option is to send him the offer and see how he responds. Sometimes negotiations take patience.”

I tip my head back and groan. Waiting is the worst, and time is a luxury I don’t have. “It isn’t a negotiation if he simply refuses.” Unless we know why he said no, we can’t offer him what he needs in order to change his mind. There are too many variables that could be affecting his decision, and my instincts are telling me that talking to him face-to-face is a requirement to earn his agreement. “Maybe we could set up a meeting somewhere.”

Brian grimaces and shakes his head. “You can’t meet up with a random guy in public. Imagine what’ll happen when someone sees you.”

Hell. He’s right. “Maybe we could invite him over here for lunch or dinner or something? I could woo him.”

“Woo.” Mina snorts. I throw one of Maddy’s socks at her, but she just rolls her eyes.

Brian ignores us and says, “I’m not sure he’d come, but if he did, it’d give you a chance to make a pitch. He certainly wasn’t swayed by us.”

I nod eagerly. I nearly always get what I want. Surely, I can convince Nolan Byrne that agreeing to take care of Maddy while I’m on tour would be the soundest decision of his life.

“What if we make it a pre-tour celebration? We can invite the band, the dancers, and the rest of the team. Meeting everyone will help convince him, right?”

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