White Noise

White Noise by Lark Taylor www.larktaylorauthor.com Copyright © 2023 by Lark Taylor Book cover design: Ashwood Designs – www.cateashwooddesigns.com Cover photo: Xram Ragde Edited and proofread by: Abbie Nicole Formatted by: Breathless Lit All rights reserved. This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. References to real people, events, brands, organisations, establishments, or locations are intended to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organisations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. Warning This book contains material that is intended for a mature adult audience. It contains graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations. Synopsis What happens when a world-famous rock star gets trapped in a lift with a journalist? Ollie I thought my day couldn’t get any worse. After catching my best friend and girlfriend in bed together, the only thing going right in my life is the interview for my dream job. But fate is laughing at my expense. One mishap leads to another until I find myself trapped in a lift and missing my interview. And I’m not alone. I’m about to discover unexpected things about Luca Weston, lead singer of the world-famous rock band, Caffeine Daydreams. After we’re rescued, I can’t stop thinking about Luca. Given I’ve spent my life burying my emotions and identifying as straight, obsessing over an unobtainable male rock star is a whole new experience. When I’m suddenly assigned to be the journalist following Caffeine Daydreams on their tour, can I resist Luca and keep things strictly professional? Luca Getting stuck in a confined space with a journalist should be my worst nightmare. But something about this uptight man intrigues me. Ollie has me opening up in a way I never have before. The lift doors open, Ollie walks away, and I wonder if I’ve missed my chance with the man of my dreams. When my manager insists on having a journalist follow us on tour, I know the perfect man for the job. I have six weeks to find out if the chemistry between Ollie and me is real, and if it is, I’ll turn my whole world upside down to keep him. White Noise is a bi-awakening, forced proximity, MM rockstar romance. The first in the Caffeine Daydreams series, each book will follow a different couple as they find their HEA. Although better read in order, these books can stand alone. CW: main character dealing with mental health issues, including on page anxiety attacks. References to a minor side character dying by suicide (off page and happens prior to the story starting). Cheating but not between the main characters Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Epilogue READY FOR KAI AND SILAS? NEWSLETTER ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dedicated to plot bunnies that invade your brain when you’re supposed to be taking time off. Whoops. Chapter 1 Ollie I’d hoped today would change my life, but as I watched my girlfriend of six years get railed by my best friend, this wasn’t how I’d thought it would happen. I shouldn’t even be here. Right now, I was supposed to be pulling up to the Identity offices, ready for the interview of a lifetime. Instead, I was frozen in the doorway, watching the muscles in Callum’s arse flex as he drilled into Suzie. I didn’t remember him looking that ripped. Fucker had clearly been going to the gym without me. Not what you should be focusing on right now. My inner voice was probably right. But if I focused on the reality—that the woman I was in a committed relationship with was currently behaving like she was auditioning for a porno—I might spontaneously combust. I needed to do something other than gawp at them while white-knuckling the heavy briefcase in my hand. A younger version of myself would’ve used it to whack Callum on his way-too-toned backside. I didn’t even know why I’d bothered taking the thing with me in the first place. It’d seemed like a grown-up thing to do for an interview somewhere as prestigious as Identity. Fat lot of good it would’ve done me, given I’d forgotten to put my portfolio in it. You know, the one thing they’d asked me to bring along. How I’d forgotten it was beyond me. It had to be the exhaustion. I’d spent most of the night staring at the ceiling instead of sleeping. Considering how long I’d waited for an opportunity like this, you’d think I would’ve been ready for the interview. Confident even. I’d certainly proved my worth at smaller websites, my most recent one landing me an Orwell prize. Unfortunately, that wasn’t how imposter syndrome worked. The more success I garnered, the more my brain told me I didn’t deserve it. That it was only a matter of time before someone realised that I didn’t know what I was doing and called me out. A large part of me believed I would rock up to this interview only to be laughed out the door. I’d been so convinced of this fact that my brain had provided me with several detailed examples of what could happen. Of how badly I could fuck it up. Because that was what this situation needed. More pressure. You couldn’t blame me though. Opportunities like this never came around…not with a website like Identity. They were the crème de la crème of digital journalism. Hard-hitting interviews, in-depth profiles,