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Romance

[BREAKING] LuvByte member Oli reportedly dating a non-celebrity for over a year Hardworking and dedicated to her job, Grace was used to working long hours and spending whatever spare time she had alone. After a week of pulling all-nighters, she foun...

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Denied. Oli sat in the boardroom, having been denied of his request to leave the same time as the other band members. Yes, even his bandmate Sam, whom he had asked to remain—who usually stayed when there were things left to discuss—was denied by their manager, Norah. She was sitting at the other end of the table next to David, her co-manager.

Sam gave Oli a squeeze on the shoulder, the best he could do considering the denial, before heading for the door.

Oli knew what was coming—the phones had been blowing up since this morning. And it wasn't because they had a teaser out for the next album.

Oli tilted his head as he met Norah's eyes, a slow smile forming on his lips.

"Don't you smile at me." Norah smirked.

"Why not?"

"Who's this close source?"

He shrugged. It could be anyone, really. His social circles were too small, and it was no secret within their industry that sometimes the part-time stylists and staff turn into these "sources" for extra bucks. Not saying that they fabricate things—most of what they said were true anyway, or sometimes taken out of context, given that they were only close to the celebrity in proximity, but not in relation.

"We can confirm that your nickname is Honey."

He let out a laugh, and the sound reverberated through the cold room. He didn't like boardrooms, had always connected it to serious business meetings with the big label guys. Oli worked better in studios, spending late nights producing music not just for the group, but for his friends too. It was the work he liked best, and if the day ever came that he wouldn't be on stage anymore (although of course he preferred to be on it for as long as he could), he wanted to remain behind the boards, creating with his peers. He loved the conversations he had around music, about music, loved when they finally reached harmony, when things fell into place perfectly.

"I call you Honey," David chimed in.

"Maybe you're my girlfriend, David," Oli teased. "Can we tell them David's my girlfriend?"

Norah made a face. "Management's gonna ask me soon."

"Aren't you the management?" He put air quotes around the last word. Norah was management; she'd been kicking their butts since they started working three years ago. But she also had been with them through all of the tours, press cons, mall shows, concerts, and shoots. So she's also Norah, their so-called group mom.

Norah sighed. "Do you want me to take care of it, or do you want to have a say in this?"

Oli straightened, surprised that he had an option all along. They'd never had a say on things before—it had always been: Do what the management tells you to do. The management didn't approve.

But they were, after all, approaching their fourth year very soon, and contract renewals were as crucial for companies as they were for artists.

"What do you mean?"

"You can deny or confirm it." Norah pressed her lips together. "Do you need me to run the pros and cons with you?"

"Sure." Oli jumped on the offer. "Say I confirm it?"

Norah sighed. "Con: You might lose some fans."

"Because I have a girlfriend?"

David snorted. "You didn't even start with the pros."

"There are no pros when artists confirm that they are in a relationship, especially with a non-celebrity. At least if it's an actress, then you can get some relevance from each other, build more star power."

"You're so romantic." Oli grinned. "That's it, I just lose some fans?"

"Not just. You're forgetting you have six other boys with you. They can lose their fans too."

Oli paused. He knew all of this, of course; they had this talk when they started out. No dating in public was the first rule. They dated, of course. But it got harder to do the more they got popular, and they'd started to run out of places to go and, honestly, the time to do it.

"And then there's also the con of the girlfriend losing her privacy."

Oli fixed his eyes on the table, lips pursed as his thoughts started to run with the narrative of what Norah was saying.

"I'll give you an hour," she finished, unaware of the blur of all the scenarios Oli had playing in his head.

Oli frowned. "You can't even give me a day?"

"People will assume it's true if it takes longer than a few hours."

"And if he denies it?" David wasn't finished. "You didn't even say the pros and cons for that. You're so obvious, Norah."

"Pros of denying: All of the things I just said might not happen. Con: You have to be more careful. Just because you deny it doesn't mean people won't do their best to catch you."

Oli looked up.

She gave him a smile, the one she used when one of their requests got rejected by the company, or when someone didn't get an item from the grocery list because it didn't fit their monthly budget. "And then, of course..."

Oli gave her a quick nod, already guessing what she would say next. He drummed his fingers on the table. "Can you give me until tonight at least?"

"Three hours."

"Three—" He stopped himself from bargaining, because the more he did that, the more he lost time. "Can I leave?"

"Already texted the driver."

He started to run but had to pause, giving Norah a sheepish smile.

"Three hours," she reminded him.

"Love you, Mom."

"Two hours, fifty-nine minutes!"