"No! No, I'm okay." I don't want anyone to think I'm incompetent. "I just—maybe I need to be more careful about how I schedule him. I'll make time between engagements, in thefuture. But if I need to adjust his commitments to certain events, activities, et cetera, then who do I reach out to?"
"Well, you could call me as a last resort," she says slowly, thinking. "You could also reach out to his agent, or the talent manager. You've spoken to Daniella, right?"
I believe we've interacted like once. She's not the friendliest, but she's efficient, and on top of things. "We've spoken once or twice," I say with a wince, hoping I don't have to call her up and beg for help any time soon. "I'll make sure this never happens again. And I really appreciate the help."
"Listen," Arista says, her voice measured, if distant, "you took a job that isn't what you're trained for, and you're learning on the fly. I expected to have to intervene far more than I have so far, so stop being so hard on yourself. Don't be afraid to reach out to me if you need anything. I'll be real with you, most of my trained staff asks for more help than you do, and they've been doing this long enough to know better."
The revelation does a little, but not much, to bolster my confidence. "Thanks. That means a lot."
"Okay, gotta run—you do what you can on your end. Oh, and if Kai's giving you trouble, don't be afraid to give him grief right back. At the end of the day, I hold your employment contract, not him, and if he tries to fire you, I'll be more than happy to remind him why he can't."
That'snews to me. I was under the assumption he was my direct boss, and as a result, was perfectly capable of terminating my employment. "You mean, he can't fire me . . . at all?"
"Nope." I can practically hear the smile in her voice through the line. "So do me a big favor and give him hell, girl. He needs someone to push back on him every once in awhile. And I'm too busy to do it myself. It's part of why I hired you, actually, for this specific job. I know you can handle someone like him. You've got spunk."
It's not the first time I've been told that. But it's definitely the best time. "If I understand what you're saying, you hired me to be a menace to him?"
"A competent one, but yes, a menace."
I think I get it now. "I'll do my best."
"No," she says finally, chuckling on the other end of the call. "Do yourworst."
Nowthat,I can manage.
I walk back over to the dance studio with renewed confidence. I can do this. In fact, it gives me a new outlet to channel my anxious energy into, something to focus on so I don't sit here spiraling about my other shit.
I throw the doors open like a baddie with the Force in a Star Wars movie, head held high, not a tear in sight, and promptly put my hands on my hips, staring them down.
Burke stands off to the side, brows furrowed, watching Kai as he goes through the steps at double the speed. His eyes are sharp, but so are his ears, so he notices me the second my foot hits the hardwood floor. He doesn't move his head, or take his eyes away from his client, but I see the subtle twitch in his posture, see the way he angles his body toward me just a bit, to acknowledge that I'm here, and he's seen me.
Kai, however, is so deep in his practice, I'd be surprised if he noticed abombgo off in his face. Every move he makes is calculated, controlled, and though he's moving at what has to be an inhuman speed, he's nailing every single part of his choreography. Including the part he struggled with in the beginning.
I wonder if maybe the speed and the concentration it requires made it so that he can't let himself get in his own head? Or is it something else?
It's not my place to sort it out. I'll leave that to the professionals.
Whatismy job, though, is making sure that Kai gets where he's supposed to be, when he's supposed to be there. And with the new permission from myactualboss to give him hell, I decide to pull out the attitude my mama always used to say I was born with.
No more pulling punches. He wants to act like a kid, I'll treat him like a kid.
"Kai."
He either ignores me, or he's deaf. The music isn't that loud.
"Kai—"
Still nothing, but I notice the grimace of irritation on his lips, so that must mean he's just ignoring me.
Fine, then. If that's how he wants to play this game, we'll tango, motherfucker.
I walk over to the wall and unplug the stereo, holding the cord in one hand, swinging it around like a lasso as I wait for him to?—
"What thehell,Denali?!? What are you doing?"
Bingo.
"Myjob,"I snap, "which you're preventing me from doing properly. So as of right now, I'm putting my foot down."
