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“Iknow.” I shoved myself off the stool, unable to keep still. The familiar anger rising up from where I’d been keeping it leashed. “I know. I hate the fact that I even have to say this. Pushing back this production will be a PR nightmare the company can’t afford. We’ve pushed money into advertising this, and moving it will make us look unprofessional, unprepared, and shake the confidence of the donors and trustees who are already skeptical of the change in leadership, myself included. Not to mention you all agreed to the overtime rehearsals in writing.”
He opened his mouth to protest, and I stopped him. “You don’t have to say it. What you were told and what he meant were two very different things. You think I like watching Sloane like this? Or you? Or any of the other dancers who are going through it? No. It makes me want to tear something limb from limb, but I can’t do that. The rest of the season I can take care of, but my hands are tied and I am fuckingfuriousabout it.”
The steam of my rant ran out, and I leaned on the back of one of the chairs in the breakfast nook. I felt the wood creaking under my hands. Good. The faint feeling of fragility in the chair was the only thing keeping me from putting my fist through the wall.
If I could go back in time and change my mind, or give myself some kind of hint about how far Ian would take it, I would. It certainly wasn’t making me feel good about the beginning of our working relationship. If we didn’t have half the company quit in protest, we would be lucky.
I was going to do something, I just wasn’t sure what. Being bound so tightly had me ready to snap.
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “I’ll do whatever I have to in order to get you guys through this. The group schedule came through. You’re on opening night.”
“Fuck.” Ash swore under his breath and closed his eyes. “I need you to know if she gets injured I’m not going to be able to hold myself back.”
“You’ll have to get in line.”
He finally looked at me. “I’m sorry for implying you hadn’t tried, or that you weren’t. It’s just—”
“I get it. If roles were reversed, I’d think the same. But I don’t want you to think I’m any less pissed about it. The only reason I’m not showing it is because I can’t get anywhere if I go in there and start setting things on fire.”
Ash finished his food and put the dishes in the sink. “She’s staying here,” he said. “Or if she insists on going home, Jace is with her. I want her protected any way we can.”
“You have no arguments from me.”
“Good.” He leaned down and grabbed something off Sloane’s bag. “I have to go to her apartment so she has clothes for the next few days. She was too tired to go there first.”
I sat back down with my own food. “Make sure you’re resting too. You’re not invincible either.”
“Thanks, mom,” he smirked, but there wasn’t real humor behind it. “I know. I’ll be fast.”
The spaghetti was good. We didn’t cook that much, but the few things each of us had adopted and learned we were good at. The front door opened and closed when Asher left, and barely five minutes later, Jace came in and went straight to the fridge. “She okay?”
“She is. There’s definitely strain, but she’s not in the danger zone. She can’t keep this up for long, but for now, she’s all right.”
That was a relief.
“Tomorrow I want your clearance to pull principals so myself or the other physios can check them.”
“Done.”
“Thanks.”
A bit of Sloane’s scent clung to him. It hung in the air around my seat. I wanted the house filled with it. Every crevice, so there was never any doubt she belonged here forever.
Behind me, the door to the backyard opened, admitting Roman. He stopped as soon as he entered. “She’s here?”
“She is.”
I heard the depth of his inhale. The first hit of blueberries and sweetness set your lungs on fire, binding you to the precious little Omega so deeply you never wanted anything or anyone else. Even considering it felt like you were tearing your own soul out of your chest, and it all happened in a second.
I fucking loved it.
“Where?”
“There’s food.” I nodded to the stove. “Jace is helping her right now, making sure her body is okay from rehearsal. But she wants to meet you.” She told me as much this morning.
He hesitated, moving toward the stairs like he couldn’t stop the pull of going to her. “She’s not going anywhere. I promise.” I would do everything in my power to make sure it was true.
“You were right,” Roman finally said, finding the few words he needed. “She smells incredible.”
