This is what I've been missing.
I immediately head for Henderson's office. It's been a whole six hours since I've talked to him.
It feels like a lifetime.
Before I can get there, I run into Leslie outside the bathroom; she's already in tears. This does not bode well for … anything. I wonder if Henderson was right about her being too dramatic to cast. On the other hand, he thought dating me was a bad idea, so what does he know?
"Leslie, are you okay? What's wrong?"
She wipes her face with the back of her hand. I notice angry red callouses lining her palm. I take her hand, looking more closely at it.
"Seriously, Leslie, are you okay? This looks bad. Should we get someone to look at it? You've really torn up your skin here."
"Yeah, I just poured some alcohol on it to clean it. It brought tears to my eyes." She waves her hands in the air, trying to fan the moisture away from her face. "I'll be fine in a second. I just don't want this to get infected."
I look again. It's bad. Several small tears and one big circular shaped wound in the middle of her left hand. Shaking my head I say, "What are we going to do? Do Henderson and Grayson know? Have you told Levi? Can you change the choreography?"
Again. All her numbers have already been restaged once, thanks to Jasmine's injury at my house.
While Grayson took my suggestion and hired Leslie because of her ballet form, Leslie has blown us all away, learning some tricks to perform while singing. While it's not what Jasmine would have done, it's a lot more than most people could have done in this short time span.
And her hand is paying the price.
Leslie shakes her head. "I'll be good. I need to air it out for now. I didn't use enough chalk last night and this morning. I'll tape it for tonight. I think I might have the seamstress bedazzle a pair of trapeze gloves to match my costume. I ordered them on Prime, so they should be here by tomorrow."
I blink, my gaze shifting from her face to her wounds and back again. She's seriously impressive. "Damn, girl. You are a badass."
Leslie pulls her hand from mine and shrugs. "Yeah, well, the hand is the least of my issues. I've been a ballerina for years. My feet have seen worse and still performed. I'm not saying it feels awesome, but you know, the show must go on. Is it really a show if someone's not bleeding?"
I know the kind of injuries Angie worked through onHollywood Dance Off!and even some of the less-than-optimal physical conditions we suffered through while on tour. Leslie's right, the show must go on.
Still, her stock just rose in my book.
"You're my hero. But when this is all healed, I'm taking you for the most luxurious manicure this town has ever seen. Complete with paraffin and hot towels and a bottle of champagne."
A broad smile spreads over Leslie's face. "I don't even really know you, but I'm totally going to take you up on that. Can you find a whole body paraffin tank? By the end of these three weeks, I'm going to need to soak for about three years. This has all been so crazy."
I know what she means. "Well, you're a rock star to me. I've gotta run for a final fitting."
I don't know why I say that instead of admitting that I need to see Henderson. I mean, it's not like we're asecretor anything. People certainly see us together, but we aren’t making out or holding hands or anything where people can see. It probably looks like I'm just a VIP cast member who he's looking to keep happy.
I mean, that's fine. He's already breaking his personal rule by dating an actress at work. I can let him work through his comfort zone and keep things on the DL for now.
As long as it's just for now.
I've kept one man's secret. I'm not keeping another's.
I head toward wardrobe, but then cut through the hallway to the back entrance to Henderson's office. I slide in quietly, tiptoeing up behind Henderson, who's hunched over the keyboard, typing furiously. Leaning over him, I whisper in his ear, "Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you work?"
Henderson snaps upright, pretty much knocking me over. I stumble back, slamming into a bookcase, knocking piles of papers over everywhere. "Jesus Christ, Tabitha! You scared the ever livin' piss out of me!"
I scramble to the floor, trying to pick up the mess I've created.
"Why didn't you come in the main door like a normal human being?" He slides out of his chair to all fours, trying to sort the chaos.
I sit back on my heels and shrug. "I ran into Leslie, who's a beast, by the way. She's tough as nails, and you were wrong about her. No drama, just a total professional. Just like you were wrong about dating me."
Henderson stills, his hand in mid-air. Finally, after a moment that feels like a year, he sits back and looks at me. His lips are pursed, an expression that gives me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
