His Rockstar

46. | In the Papers

"When I found out you were going to Arizona, I thought you were going for family." Naomi slides up beside me in the breakroom, a newspaper in hand.

"What?" I look at her confused, closing the cabinet I got the coffee from.

"Lindsey Hayes: Newfound Star of Soundcircus." She reads, then turns the newspaper around showing a picture of me and Alex on stage. "I didn't know you could sing."

I snort. "I don't."

"This says otherwise." She waves it with two fingers clipped on it. "It's all over social media."

I roll my eyes. I'm sure if I were to open my social media apps, I'd find many, many notifications thanks to that concert.

"I can't believe I work with a singer." Naomi leans against the counter, staring up at the ceiling in awe.

"Not a singer."

"But you could be." She retorts. "I mean, you have the band in the palm of your hand, and you can sing. Why wouldn't you become a singer?"

"Because that dream is no longer mine." I tell her, glancing at her. "I have a job here, and I'm not going to just up and leave it for a career I probably won't survive in."

"I'm sorry." She says.

"Not your fault." I smile slightly at her. I fill the two cups I grabbed with coffee and add flavoring to mine.

"You're making two."

"What?" I look at her, bewildered.

"You're making two coffees." She nods to the cups on the counter.

I shrug unconfidently, having been caught. "I'm just going to ask Rhys if I can get off work early."

"For what?"

I could lie to her, but I don't see the point in it, so instead, I grab the cups and say as I turn away, "I'm taking Alex to see our daughter."

"Oh." She follows after me. "Wait, what?! Daughter?"

"Shh. Don't announce it to the world." I say as we walk to Rhys's office.

"I can't believe you and Alex have a...you know." I nod. "When did you have her?"

"When I was seventeen."

"And how old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"So..." She seems to be doing the math. "She'd be..."

"Five." I push open the door to Rhys's office, and he looks up at us. A smile immediately finds his face at the sight of Naomi. Talk about head over heels.

Naomi walks over to him, finding a seat in his lap as I set the coffee down. "What's this for?"

"I need to get off work early."

He takes a drink of the coffee, raising a brow at me. "What for?"

"Something important. And I know I've missed a lot of days, so I won't have any more days called off." I assure him. It's a wonder he hasn't fired me yet for how many days I've called off work.

"I can't let you off work for something I don't know. And you said it yourself, you've missed a lot of days. So I don't think you should miss any more." He tells, setting the coffee down and rubbing his hand over Naomi's side.

"Come on, Rhys. It's one more day. And she can always work overtime." Naomi chimes in.

"I want to, baby, but with as many days as she's missed, she can't miss anymore." He kisses her shoulder. I feel envy rise inside me, but I push it down.

"I'm going to see Delilah."

That catches his attention. His expression turns serious, and Naomi stands up, albeit confused. "I thought you weren't going to contact her until she was older."

"Wait," Naomi looks between us. "Did you know?" She asks Rhys.

He exhales through his nose, pushing to his feet. I glance down at the floor, then back up. "Rhys is the one who helped me with her. He took me in until I could get on my feet."

"How come you never told me?" She frowns at him.

"Because we both agreed to forget it." I tell. "I knew she'd be safe with an old friend, and I couldn't support her, so we decided to keep it quiet." I turn my gaze to Rhys. "I need to leave early, so Alex can meet his daughter."

"She lives all the way in New York." He states.

I nod. "We're going to fly out."

He inhales deeply. "What time?"

"Three."

"Fine, but this is your last. So enjoy it."

I nod. "Thank you." Then I'm turning to the door, returning to my desk. But there are nerves settling in my stomach.

Let's just hope I can get through this.

***

A/N: Lots of short chapters coming up