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heque? What cheque?’
‘Along with the confidentiality papers you signed, you also agreed that if you chose to end this process early you would bear the cost of your travel and accommodation. I can have my accountants work out the cost of first class travel from the States and your food and board on a private island for the last three days for you if you wish? I pay them enough to ensure they’ll have the information for me within the hour.’
Shock tightened her insides. ‘You are not serious!’
‘I never joke about the small print, Miss Woods. Trust me on that.’
He never joked about anything. Wasn’t that the conclusion she’d arrived at soon after meeting him?
‘I didn’t mean you were joking about the small print. I mean you’re not serious about demanding all of that from me...’ Oh, but he was. His intent was written clear on his face. ‘I can’t pay you back...not that sort of money,’ she muttered, and had the strongest suspicion that he knew that, too.
‘Then perhaps you should rethink any hasty decisions you intend to make in the name of standing your ground, hmm?’ He held out his hand for her suitcase.
She gripped it tighter. ‘All this, so you can what? Toy with me for a little longer? Show me who’s in charge? Or is this where you apply a little more pressure on me to tell you where Ben is?’
His hand dropped. ‘This is where you stop throwing a tantrum, return your suitcase to your dressing room and go downstairs to await your fate, just like all the other dancers.’
‘But we both know I’m nothing like them,’ she replied. He’d cornered her. And where her parents had tried to break her with their indifference, disbelief and eventual estrangement, he was threatening her with financial ruin. The ashen taste in her mouth intensified.
His gaze went to the top of her head, a peculiar fire lighting the piercing depths as he took his time to trace her face, her body down to her toes and back up again. ‘No, I dare say you’re not. But then every performer has the right to believe they’re a special snowflake, don’t they?’
Somewhere along that disturbing scrutiny, her breath had strangled in her throat. Now the subtle dig struck a little too close to home. Similar taunts had been the start of endless years of torture she’d received from mean girls because her talent had been noticed and nurtured by her high school drama teacher.
Distress at the recurring memories gave way to a spark of anger. ‘I don’t think I’m a special snowflake, but I am enlightened enough to question your motives where I’m concerned. Can you look me in the eyes and tell me our meeting two weeks ago has nothing to do with my presence here?’
‘Of course it does. Our meeting led directly to an investment in Hunter’s that I’m hoping will bear fruit for years to come.’
Sage hid her surprise that he was freely admitting to it. ‘And this investment fell into your lap, just like that?’ she challenged.
His jaw clenched for a long moment, and she got the distinct impression he was recalling a very private memory. ‘No, Miss Woods. Nothing worthwhile comes about just like that. But I wouldn’t be good at what I do if I didn’t spot an opportunity when I come across it. Hunter Dance Company has the potential, with the right guidance, to become a great investment. I would’ve been remiss not to seize it.’
‘So this has nothing to do with me?’ she pressed, wanting a reassurance she knew would be false.
‘I’m not in the habit of investing several million dollars in a company on a whim. Make of that what you will.’ He strode to the door. With one hand on the handle, he turned. ‘If you still intend to leave today, let my housekeeper know within the hour. It’ll give me time to draw up a bill of costs before you go.’
He exited the room, sucking out all the oxygen with him.
She had no idea how much a first-class ticket from DC to Greece cost, nor did she have the first clue how much it cost to stay on a private island with a dozen staff waiting hand and foot on guests. What she did know was that, with less than a thousand dollars in her bank account, she could ill afford it.
That was most likely what Xandro had counted on. Their encounters to date might have been relatively short and sour, but it was clear he calculated his moves a dozen steps ahead before he played a single hand. He’d controlled every single move, right down to his appearance here this morning.
Almost on automatic, she returned her suitcase to the dressing room, emptied its contents back onto the shelf and stashed the case in the provided cubbyhole.
She was still perched on her bed a long while later, contemplating ways to evade the unbreakable net she could feel closing in on her, when the housekeeper came to announce that a buffet lunch was served on the terrace outside.
As Sage trudged downstairs, she realised that at no point had Xandro Christofides revealed to her just what he intended her fate to be. Just as he’d refrained from pointing out why he’d come to her bedroom in the first place.
She found out several hours later that he intended to carry on with his mind games when, with a few simply uttered words, Melissa held out a tantalising glimpse of Sage’s dream, now just one seven-minute audition away from coming true.
‘You’ve made it through to the final twelve, Miss Woods. One more step and you could be part of the Hunter Dance Company. Congratulations,’ the director announced with a toast of champagne once their dinner plates had been cleared away.
She forced herself to respond to the felicitations. To nod and smile and agree that yes, it was awesome and everything she’d worked so hard to achieve.
But Sage couldn’t stop the premonition blooming that she’d just been handed her worst nightmare. And that Xandro was still very much in control of it.
CHAPTER FIVE
SHE WAS A good actress. He had to give her that.
