Chapter 249: Flight To Toronto
<🎧 Song Recommendation: junebug! by GAYLE>
...
Von woke up and reached out to his side. Emily was no longer lying down beside him.
He let out a small sigh, a soft smile tugging at his lips as he stared up at the ceiling.
’Of course she’s already up.’
He reached for his phone on the nightstand.
[5:34 AM.]
Which gave him about twenty minutes before he actually had to move. Rolling out of bed onto the cool floor, Von knocked out a quick set of push-ups to wake his body up before heading straight into the bathroom for a hot shower.
By six o’clock sharp he was dressed, and by six-ten he was heading down the staircase into the foyer.
But the moment he got down, he remembered exactly why he had been in a foul mood since last night.
Because the interview wasn’t in Miami.
Emily had dropped the bomb on him the previous evening: he was flying to Toronto.
Von still couldn’t believe it when he replayed their late-night conversation in his head.
"What?" he had asked her, staring at her in disbelief. "Why do I have to fly all the way to Canada for a single interview?"
Emily had looked genuinely apologetic, holding up her hands. "The Canadian tour promoter hasn’t signed the venue contracts yet, Von. They want to meet you in person before finalizing the approval, and being there in person means we can negotiate a significantly higher cut of the gate."
"Why can’t you just fly them here?" Von had grumbled. "It can’t just be that."
"We both know that’s not really possible on short notice," Emily said. "But you’re right, that’s not all. The Evening Scoop... they’ve been calling my office almost every week. They’re preparing a major cover feature for you and desperately want you back in their studio. I wasn’t even considering it at first, but since you have to meet the promoter in Toronto anyway, it’s killing two birds with one stone."
Emily had ultimately managed to persuade him, which was how Von found himself walking out the front doors of the mansion into the crisp morning air, bound for the airport.
Bunny already had the Cadillac Escalade running by the time Von stepped outside.
Von was dressed casually. He was wearing a pair of dark fitted joggers, a slim-fitting charcoal turtleneck that accentuated his broad shoulders, and a pair of small, round black sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose.
The understated look stripped away the larger-than-life rockstar aura, making him look exceptionally young again.
He pulled open the back door and slid inside. Olivia was already seated in the back row, holding two iced coffees in a travel carrier.
"Good morning, boss!" Olivia greeted with a bright smile, sliding one of the cups toward him. "You’re looking really good today."
"Good morning, Olivia," Von said, accepting the cup with a warm nod. "You look lovely too. Thanks for the coffee."
Bunny shifted the Escalade into drive and smoothly pulled out of the driveway, merging onto the highway toward the airfield.
As the palm trees blurred past the window, Von took a sip of his drink and turned to his assistant. "Run it by me again. What’s the timeline looking like?"
Olivia pulled up a tablet and tapped the screen.
"We fly out at seven and land in Toronto by ten. The interview at The Evening Scoop studios is scheduled first, followed immediately by the lunch meeting with the Canadian promoter and venue reps. If everything stays on track, we’ll be back in the air by four and you’ll be home in Miami before dinner."
"Ah, nice, nice," Von murmured while swirling the ice in his cup. "I didn’t even have time to look up The Evening Scoop last night. What are they all about? Emily said they were eager to get me back."
Olivia paused, looking at him with a slight raise of her eyebrows.
"You might not remember, but you’re actually quite familiar with them. Do you remember Arthur Pendleton?"
Von held the coffee halfway to his mouth.
Arthur Pendleton.
The name sounded really familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite place the face.
He thought for a few seconds before looking over at Olivia. "Who’s he again?"
"He’s the host of The Evening Scoop," Olivia explained calmly. "You saved his life back during the International Film Festival in Toronto. It’s honestly surprising you forgot, considering the footage of you swallowing a fish whole went viral across the internet."
The realization hit Von immediately.
’Dammit... Loki.’
He had almost forgotten about that incident, and now he had to return there after the bizzare first impression he’s left.
"Right..." Von cleared his throat, adjusting his sunglasses. "Right, Arthur. I remember now. I just confused his name with someone else."
Olivia offered a polite, knowing smile, wisely choosing not to press the topic.
An easy silence settled over the cabin for a few minutes before Olivia reached into her briefcase and pulled out a neat paper folder.
"I prepared a talking-points script for the interview," she offered gently. "It covers potential questions regarding the tour leak, the Miami opener, and your upcoming film projects. You can go through and practice it if it interests you."
Von looked at the neatly printed pages and offered a polite decline. "I’ll be fine."
Even as he turned it down, Von couldn’t help but admire her diligence. Olivia did this every single time.
No matter how many times he went off-script or declined her prep sheets, she always showed up with a meticulously researched folder.
She was quietly making herself indispensable, ensuring that if he ever did need a lifeline, it was already sitting in his hands.
Von unclipped his headphones from his bag and settled them around his neck. He hadn’t brought them for style.
He knew he wouldn’t have time today to sit at a mixing desk and fix the structural roadblock that had stumped him on I Just Might Be Dreaming last night.
So his plan was far simpler. He would loop the unfinished DAW export directly into his ears for the entire three-hour flight.
Sometimes, brute-forcing a melody through pure repetition was the only way to force his brain into finding the missing piece.
The flight north was smooth and quiet. By ten in the morning, the private jet touched down at Toronto Pearson International Airport under a pale autumn sky.
A private transport team whisked Von and Olivia directly to the high-end media complex in downtown Toronto. Within twenty minutes of arrival, Von was sitting in a plush chair in a private dressing room while a makeup artist quickly touched up his hair and brushed away the slight exhaustion under his eyes.
Once the stylist stepped back with a nod, Von stood up, adjusted his turtleneck, and pushed open the dressing room door.
The moment he stepped into the bustling backstage corridor, a loud, distinguished voice echoed down the hallway.
"Von!"
Von looked up. Striding down the hall toward him with wide arms and a beaming smile was Arthur Pendleton himself.