Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“No.” I shook my head and smiled at my sister, but I could tell it didn’t reach my eyes. “I get there when I get there.”
Her worry lines deepened. “Right.”
I squeezed her hand in reassurance, then sent her on her way. I simply didn’t care if I was late. It would be frowned upon, but no one was going to do anything. If Eva was late, well, the consequences weren’t worth risking it.
The dancers sped by, all doing their best to beat the clock and get into the studio before Eloise arrived.
The hallway cleared as Sadie and I passed the last of the dressing rooms, then entered the stairwell and descended to the third floor. We popped out near the strength training center, and Sadie wagged her tail as we approached the entrance to Kenna’s office.
“Oh, Alessandra,” Maxim called out from the end of the hall, lifting his hand.
So close. I’d been so close to not having to deal with him, or his father, this morning. Every time I saw them, I thought of Juniper, and my anger nearly burned through my faux civility. “What can I do for you?” I asked, my hand on Kenna’s doorknob.
“Sienna is looking for you.” He arched a brow just like his father. “You need to sign your contract.”
“I’ll see if I can find time to stop by her office before leaving.” I smiled and gave the same response I did every day since returning. It wasn’t like I needed the money.
“See that you do. Not being on contract makes you a liability.” He narrowed his eyes and moved to step between me and Kenna’s door, only to retreat when he spotted Sadie already there. “We’re two weeks away from performance, and my father may make allowances for you, given his fondness for your mother, but your refusal to sign has become as circumspect as the offers still pouring into this office on your behalf.”
“Noted.” My smile didn’t slip even an inch. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to be late to take class.”
He huffed a sigh of annoyance, then turned on his heel and headed for the elevators.
I knocked on Kenna’s door twice, then walked in after she said to.
“Good morning, Sadie-kins.” She leaned down and ruffled Sadie’s ears, then looked me over with the same appraisal that had become her custom in the last six weeks. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
“A few hours.” I let Sadie’s leash go, and she immediately trotted to the bed Kenna kept under her window. “You?”
“Matthias was home, so I managed a couple.” A smile curved her mouth, and she walked over to her desk, then picked up a stack of envelopes. “I grabbed these off Sienna’s desk before Vasily could see them. Offers from”—she tilted her head and read the return addresses—“Atlanta, Sydney, Paris, Vancouver, and yet again . . . San Francisco.” She tested the weight of the envelopes. “And they don’t feel like contracts.”
“They’re offers to come for specific roles.” I walked forward, then sat on the edge of her desk.
“Freelance,” Kenna noted. “All of the fun, none of the politics. Dance in, dance out.” She handed me the stack. “I’m starting to wonder if you want Vasily to see them.”
I stared at the envelopes. Word had spread that I wasn’t signing, and whatever offers weren’t on paper were flooding my email. Misery surged through me, sitting on my chest and making it hard to draw breath. “I hate it here,” I whispered.
“I know.” Kenna sat back on the desk next to me.
“I miss him, and I hate it here.” My thumbs pressed into the stack, denting the envelopes. “Yes, he kept the truth from me, but I kept it from Caroline. We were all doing the wrong things for what we thought were the right reasons, but he’s the only one who got punished.”
“You’re doing a good job of punishing yourself,” Kenna said. “You could stop the self-flagellation and just call the man.”
“After six weeks of silence?” I shook my head. “He probably hates me for the way I walked out on him.”
“You called him out on his bullshit and broke off a relationship on its predetermined date. You didn’t fuck his best friend, Allie.” Kenna drummed her fingers on the desk’s edge. “That man is in love with you. If a decade apart didn’t kill it, then six weeks hasn’t come close to even wounding it.”
I looked over at her wall of diplomas and accolades, then through one of her windows into the training area, where two members of the corps were working out. It was all part of the vicious cycle of dance, injure, recover, return.
And I was stuck in it.
“What good would calling him do?” I shrugged. “One of the reasons I walked away is because he’d hate it here.” I wasn’t even sure that going home to Hudson at night would make this place better, but at least I’d be happy for ten hours a day, even if eight of them were sleeping.