Beautiful Brokenness (Jordan Knight/NKOTB Fanfic, Liadan #2)

Conflicts and Chances

-JORDAN-

"Earth to Jordan."

"Huh?" I blinked as I pulled my eyes from gazing out of the conference window and turned back to see Jon staring at me.

"Where's your head, JK?" Donnie chuckled as he tapped his pencil against his clipboard.

We were supposed to be brainstorming ideas for a tour, but I couldn't focus. My thoughts were back home with Lia. I hated fighting with her and the longer we were together, it just seemed to get harder, yet I couldn't find it in me to be the one to try to resolve the conflict. I didn't appreciate that she had demanded to know who was calling me as if she suspected I was cheating on her. Her impassioned response only reinforced my worries that telling her about Veronica would lead to problems. I could see that maybe I was wrong to keep it from her, but at the same time I didn't need her constantly suspecting that something was going on. She just needed to trust me; I hadn't given her any reason not to and I was handling the Veronica situation.

"Sorry, I'm daydreaming," I pushed myself to an upright position from leaning against the window and walked over to the conference table where the guys lounged in various positions. Jon was leaned back in an office chair, Joe was perched on the table, Danny had his hands pressed on the table as he looked over the notes spread before him and Donnie paced back and forth across the floor. "What are we talking about again?"

"Track listing for the tour," Danny said. "We're debating if we should start with an old song or a new one. I was saying new could kind of hype up the crowd to realize it's not just a reminiscent tour, but that we're really back and making music again."

"And I thought an old song could play off the nostalgia," Joey explained. "You know, make them think back on old memories to get them excited about our return."

"I can see both," Jon added. "I mean we could even do a medley, if we wanted."

"Those are all good ideas," I shrugged. "Maybe we should wait until we narrow down what we want to put on the album before we decide."

"That's what I was thinking, but the label wants a tentative idea of what old songs we want to do on tour," Donnie swung his clipboard back and forth. "So why don't we all come up with a list of ten or so songs that we like best and then we'll see which ones get the most votes?"

The other guys and I nodded our agreement.

"When do we need to have this turned in?" Joe asked.

"Today's Friday, so let's say Monday? That work for everybody?" Donnie questioned.

"Works for me," I said as Danny, Joe, and Jon gave their approval.

We wrapped up the last few items on our agenda before breaking to go to our individual offices. We were scheduled to meet up to record that afternoon, but in the meantime we were free to handle whatever we needed. I didn't even have to think about what I was going to spend my time doing as I made my way out of the conference room.

My eyes scanned over the office directory until I found exactly what I needed. Veronica Lowell's office was located on the top floor. I made my way over to the elevator and stepped inside before mashing the bottom.

Irritation coursed through my veins as I thought back over our long conversation the afternoon before. I'd told her in no uncertain terms that she needed to stay away from my family. Nevertheless, she'd launched into an unusually long monologue about all the wonderful things she could do for my career and Nathan's career. Her mention of my son had been enough to tip me over the edge and I'd made it quite clear to her that she wasn't to come within a foot of him again. Instead of responding, she'd hung up on me and refused to answer when I called back. To add insult to injury, she'd sent a torrent of texts to my phone about how great of a talent he was and that I had no right to keep my son from the career that he deserved. She'd pissed me off.