Terms & Conditions // Book One

Chapter 11

Chroi lifted her hand in the air to slap Winston a high five when she walked past into Josh's building.  He winked at her as he opened the door for her and closed it tightly behind her once she was inside.  A quick elevator ride up to Josh's floor and a knock on the door later and she was sitting in Josh's kitchen while he explained that Niall had not returned from an errand yet. 

Josh reached out to hand her a bottle of water.  He leaned onto the kitchen counter,

"How are things?"  He asked.

Chroi liked Josh.  He seemed to be protective of Niall but from afar.  She was impressed by the group of people around Niall.  All of them seemed to have his best interests at heart and Josh was at the top of that list.

She smiled,

"Great.  We actually already almost have a full CD we can record.  Just need a record deal."
Josh raised his eyebrows,

"Really?  That sounds intriguing."

"Brandon has shopped my demos around to some record companies and there's some interest."

"Already getting interest huh?  That sounds amazing.  I'm happy for you."

Chroi finished her sip of water,

"Is there a but in that sentence?"

Josh shook his head, a smile popping up on his face as he grabbed his phone,

"No.  No but in that sentence."

Chroi groaned,

"Are you gonna take a selfie?  Please tell me you're not about to take a selfie."

Josh raised his eyebrows,

"Uh no.  Not really a selfie kinda guy."

Chroi relaxed,.

"Thank God."  She breathed as she took another sip of her water.

"Not really a selfie fan huh?"

"Your buddy loves them and I'm just selfie'd out."

Josh snickered,

"Yeah.  I noticed."  Josh tapped through his phone to make sure he didn't have anything pressing to answer and then set his phone back on the counter, "He didn't used to be like that ya know."

Chroi got the impression she'd struck a nerve,

"I didn't mean-"

"Oh I know you didn't."  Josh interrupted, "But he...and her...they never used to care much about the media or selfies or social media..."  He quirked his brows as he stared down at the counter, "Somewhere along the way...they started to care."

It was clear Chroi had definitely struck a nerve now.  Josh looked like he was remembering a time long ago while he stared at his granite countertops.  At least Chroi thought they were granite.

She awkwardly toyed with the water bottle in her hand,

"I think he's been erroneously told that all of those things matter."

Josh finally seemed to realize she was still in the room.  He looked up,

"You don't think so?"

Chroi shook her head,

"No.  They don't.  Social media, when used sparingly and intelligently, is a great tool to help a career.  But when you start worrying about follow numbers...who's commenting...who's envying your life...who's...caring at all..."  Chroi shrugged, "It's reached a point where it's no longer useful but harmful.  I don't even have a Facebook account."