Miley's POV
I took a deep breath and decided to focus on something else. I grabbed my phone when I felt it ringing. I answered it after I saw that it was Ollie, my manager who was calling.
I might not be happy to talk to him but I know that it will take my mind off of Justin.
Ollie jumped right into a conversation without asking me how I was even doing. I stood to my feet and knew that this wasn't going to be good.
"Ollie, what are you talking about?" I asked as I walked to the railing of the boat.
"I think you hanging out with other stars is doing you good!" He said. "Now would be a good time to attend more events and perhaps release a new song." He pushed.
I hated small talk so I have always been grateful that he didn't talk much of that but this intensity he was sending my way is too much.
"You have this all wrong." I sighed shaking my head.
I wasn't trying to up my social gain by hanging out with Demi. This wasn't about my ratings. I am hanging out with Demi because she is my friend, and I don't understand why Ollie is bending something like this in order to benefit my ratings.
"Well, you have had a long break and I think now is the time to step back into the light," Ollie spoke like it was the simplest thing to do.
Lately, anytime Ollie and I spoke I ended up angry. I know he is just doing his job, but I was always annoyed.
"Look, I know you don't want to hear this but maybe you and Nick could rekindle your romance," Ollie said.
I could tell that he was approaching this lightly because he knew I would be mad. Yet that changed nothing.
"You are kidding right?" I spat. "What are you talking about? Another contracted relationship?" I asked with anger boiling within me.
"Liam has moved on and I think it would be good if you were spotted with someone new. It would be good if it was Nick because you two have a history." Ollie explained.
Everything that came out of his mouth was shit.
"You are insane!" I yelled. Of course, this is happening right now.
"I'm just saying!" Ollie defended.
"You have been spotted with Justin Bieber and people are assuming that you both are up to no good. I mean, I am looking at pictures of you on a boat right now." Ollie continued.
"Justin is not good for your image especially if you are trying to stay away from how Liam is painting you." Ollie sighed.
"And how is Liam painting me?" I asked as anger began to boil within me.
"Not good. It is my job to clear these things up. I can't if you are hanging out with people like Justin! I think that Nick would help you clean your image up." Ollie said.
I was tired of talking about Liam and this whole conversation.
"I'm done with this conversation," I said as I hung up the phone.
Liam. Liam. It is always about fucking Liam!
I slowly looked around at the water and saw people on a boat nearby obviously taking pictures.
"Fucking paps!" I rolled my eyes and turned my back towards them.
I decided to head inside because I didn't need more pictures of me circulating.
"Hey," Joe said.
"Hey," I said sitting down in a chair away from the window.
"You okay?" Joe asked walking over towards me.
I took a deep breath and looked around making sure that we were alone.
"No, I'm not okay." I shook my head.
"What happened?" He asked looking at me confused.
"My manager is what is wrong. Liam is what is wrong." I said looking off into the distance.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Joe asked.
"No..." I shook my head.
"Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I am here for you," Joe said with a slight smile.
"Thanks," I said with a sigh.
"How are things?" I asked raising my brow.
"Fine," Joe said with a shrug.
"Oh really?" I asked giving him a pointed look. "How is your family?" I asked.
"Ugh," Joe groaned. "It's different from what it used to be," Joe said.
"Kevin and Dani moved away to focus on their family. My parents are now retired and live close to Kevin and Dani." Joe said with a sigh.
"Do you get to visit them often?" I asked.
"No, I don't." Joe shook his head. "We haven't seen each other in a long time," Joe said.
"Oh," I said raising my brow. They used to be a very close-knit family.
"Yeah, after the band broke up things changed. I mean, I went on to have a solo career and then I lost myself for a while. They tried to help me and continue to support me but it wasn't the same. Even after I got myself cleaned up they never looked or treated me the same way. After a while, I just stopped trying to act like we were a perfect family." Joe shook his head.
"I'm sorry," I said.
"It's not your fault, and it is not mine. I tried to be a part of their version of a family but it just didn't work. They were so judgmental and always talked down to me. Nick is the worst. My parents gave up and left...but Nick continues to treat me like shit." Joe said.
"Why?" I asked. I was surprised, to say the least, Joe and Nick were always the closest.
"I don't know," Joe shrugged.
"How is your family?" Joe asked trying to change the subject. I could tell that this was hard for him.
"Fine," I said. "Everyone is doing their own thing. I see them sometimes but they are all so busy." I said looking away.
"It's weird...growing up." Joe said looking away.
"Tell me about it," I said shaking my head.
Being around Joe was something I missed. There was something so easy about talking to him and I missed that. I missed having friends.
