News Flash | ONC 2024

Chapter 3 | Gavynn

"Don't call him," my sister, Grace, says through the screen. She's not facing the screen, but her curly, dirty blonde hair sweeps over the camera as if on a run. Likely, she's on a treadmill or briskly walking through her Manhattan apartment for a better seat. "It's his vacation."

I roll my eyes. "But I miss him already."

"It's been seven hours."

My brother, on the other side of the three-way FaceTime call, squints in disbelief. "Why would you send him away knowing Aaron has zero clue how to manage anything?"

Aaron, my manager, really didn't know shit. At least my agent, Jordan, knew a few things from working with my family before. Grace and my brother Giovanni both had him as an agent when they started acting. He may be lazy and unmotivated, but we could always count on Jordan to do the bare minimum.

Unlike Will, who went above and beyond his job description. It's why I wanted to pick up the phone and speed-dial him. Jordan's been pissy since I surprised Will with a vacation. I didn't bother to warn him or Aaron (or half the team) about it, and now they're scrambling to figure out what to do. I swear Aaron doesn't know how to type an email, and Jordan doesn't have an assistant to yell at.

At least my bodyguard, Carlos, knows how to do his job. But, I have an inkling that my bodyguard misses our sassy little assistant more than he led on.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think Carlos has a crush on Willy, too.

"So maybe it was a bad idea," I groan. "But you've gotta admit Willy needs to relax, right? You've seen him running around last week at the party Dad hosted. Or how stressed he was about the last-minute publicity stunt the entire family had to go to the other night."

Grace finally faces the camera; the backdrop of the sunset behind her fills the screen with a perfect golden sheen. With years of modeling and acting on both Gio and I, she mastered the art of finding the best lighting. But it was her wisdom and rational thinking that we boys could always depend on. "And you think he's not sitting in his hotel room stressed out of his mind for not being here to babysit you?"

I blink. "I didn't think about that."

Gio snorts as if he'd know better. "Of course you didn't."

"Not that he doesn't deserve a vacation," Grace retracts. "I just think you could've eased him into it. Let him pencil it in on his own time, not practically shoving him out the door."

My lips purse as I make a face. "He's annoyingly stubborn. He'd refuse to take it if I didn't buy him the ticket. And for the record, I did mention it a few times. He always says stupid shit like "I'll rest when I'm dead" and whatnot."

Gio's face fills up the screen. "When you say you bought the ticket, did you really pay for everything?"

"Maybe." I ignore my brother's annoyed sigh and focus on my sister. "Back to what I was saying. How bad would it be to call him? Or at least text him to see if he's settling in?"

Grace gives me a knowing look. "I'd say don't, but I know you. You're going to do it anyway."

I failed an innocent smile. "Eventually, I'd have to check in with him anyway, right?"

"I suppose."

Gio scoffs. "If you're that worried about him, might as well catch the next plane out."

I grin; my brother's silly suggestion is actually not so silly after all.

"No," my sister says. "Gio, you imbecile."

"Thanks, big bro," I say, bringing my laptop closer to my lap to gather the hotel and flight information. "Brilliant idea."