Let A Damn Good Woman Leave // Riley Green

C H A P T E R O N E

Being a tour manager is harder than you would think. There's a fine line on who's the boss. In reality, he could fire me any minute. On the other hand, he has to do what I tell him if he wants his life to not fall apart. Somehow, he doesn't seem to grasp the concept of the latter.

Riley Green is the most difficult human being I have ever been around. Girls flock to him, men respect him, but to me, he's just a mess of a human being. That's the funny thing about my job, I control his life. I wake him up in the mornings, find him rides to his interviews, I even schedule his meal times. I'm the reason he's respected the way he is. It's all me. I just wish he'd give me some credit for it.

"Delta, put your journal down. I need your help," Riley breaks me from my train of thought. I look up to find him holding up two pairs of boots.

"Those," I point to the ostrich skin ones in his left hand.

He puts the boots I picked down and places the other pair on his feet. I roll my eyes, "Why'd you even ask me then?"

"Well, I really did want your opinion, 'cause I thought you might agree with me, but you didn't." The smirk on his face makes me want to reach up and smack it off. I say nothing in response. Saying nothing will piss him off more than arguing.

It's his turn to roll his eyes at me. "What time do we have to be there?," he asks as he throws a cut-off over his head.

"You're not wearing that. You are about to do an interview with the Grand Ole Opry for fucks sake." I ignore his question. This job can be so exhausting sometimes.

"Well, what do you suppose I'll wear then?" He seems just as annoyed as I am. I walk over to his small wardrobe and file through his choices. I land on a plaid button down.

"Here, this will look so much better. Still keeping your style, but not looking like you just walked straight out the fucking barn," I smile a little too sweetly at him while handing him the shirt.

"Why, thank you darling. What would I do without you?" He responded, matching my overly sweet, sarcastic tone.

Not much of anything, I thought to myself. Although he wasn't being serious, it's hard not to be annoyed that he doesn't see just how much I actually do for him.

"We have to leave in 15 minutes," I told him as I walked out of his room.

"Y'all get a quickie in?" Carter jokingly asked. Carter is Riley's best friend and drummer.

The whole band and crew think there is something going on with Riley and I. Riley will fuck anything with a hole, so he doesn't mind the jokes. I do. If only they knew the truth of how I feel about him. I hate him so much. He makes my life a living hell with no remorse about it whatsoever.

"Ha. Ha. Never in a million years." I respond.

"You know I'm just joking, Delta. I don't think you would touch him with a ten foot pole." Just as Carter is done responding, Riley walks in, buckling his belt.

"Who's touching me with a ten foot pole?" Riley responds, raising his eyebrows.

"No one, especially not Delta Jane over there." Carter tries to make a joke of it. He's treading lightly because he knows how badly these jokes hurt me.

"Anyways, are you ready?" I try to change the subject.

"Are they gonna ask me about Charlotte?" He ignores my question, but heads for the door anyway.

"Yes. Y'all broke up a week ago. You were the face of current country music couples." We stopped outside of the tour bus, the light tension far gone.

"I just don't know how to answer." He looks down at his feet, visibly uncomfortable with his vulnerable position.

As big of an asshole Riley can be, when it comes to Charlotte, he treated her like a princess. He found out from social media that his girlfriend confirmed the only reason she dated him was to boost her following so that she could be a full-time influencer. It's the most fucked up thing I have ever heard. Riley tries to act like nothing bothers him, but this crushed him. I've never seen him so upset.

" Hey," I touch his arm to get his attention, "if you don't want to address it, don't address it. It will be fine. People understand how upsetting this is."

"I just don't want people to know that it breaks me," his green eyes are piercing my soul, no humor in sight.

"I know it does, you can dodge the questions. Play them off if you need to. Cope with this however you see fits. Usually I would advise you from a business point of view, but I can tell how it's affecting you. Do what you've gotta do, Riley." I can see the tears welling up in his eyes as I finish.

"Thank you," is all he says as he leans in for a hug. Although this is awkward for me, I know how much he needs support. I hug him back and don't pull away until he wants to.

"Are you ready?" I ask, still holding each other at arm's length.

He takes a deep breath and nods, turning to walk towards the sign that says 'Grand Ole Opry Talent Entrance.'