“I really don’t want to sound like I’m echoing the others, but I think you probably did a lot of long-term good,” he said gently. “I know,I knowhow disappointing it is when your plans fall flat. I’m like you that I get so excited and build it up in my head. So sure that I’ve locked it in this time and I know exactly how it’s going to go and then…”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I was so ready to fix this for us.”
“Let them be petty and realign. If nothing else, that one woman sounds like a killer ally and can be the ancient others fear to work as a deterrent. You did that, Jasmine. Take the lesson you can’t go rogue and should work with the team more and move on.”
I snorted. I heard him. I’d gotten a bit big for my britches. I’d let the fact that I’d had so many wins and how many years of things going so well behind the scenes build my ego and I needed a reality check.
He wasn’t wrong. None of them were.
It just sucked.
Then again, it even happened to Superman and Batman, right?
Yeah, I didn’t really know comic book stuff, but everyone had their setbacks. It just hurt others when I did and I was used to carrying it all.
“But you shouldn’t have to, and that is what they keep trying to teach you,” he said as if knowing exactly where my head was. “Just be Jasmine Stewart, VP of Heavenly Entertainment for a bit, love. That’s where you need to be right now. That’s where yourpeopleneed you to be right now. There’s nothing wrong with that. Even Superwoman has to pay her taxes and clean up her closet.”
That was maybe the best way to put the situation into Jasmine for me. It really was.
We talked a bit longer, but then it was time to go back to my own sleep. I was glad he was going to meet up with me at corporate later. He was excited to see my creative process and have that insight? Another side of me.
Fair enough. I wanted to learn more about him too.
It would be nice to have a month of nothing more than to just get to know the twins and Mason better. Really, it would be.
Speaking of Mason… He was sitting there looking worried when I woke up.
“I didn’t realize at first what was happening,” he said before I could open my mouth. “I thought—it felt like it was just looping. Like the dream was almoststuckand I thought I’d done something with my magic by pushing in. I’m sorry. I will apologize to Evan too. He’s not wrong that I need to butt out more but…”
“But it’s not easy when I’m with others.”
“No,” he sighed. “And like what is the line? Dylan was actually abusive at times and I tried to stay out, but then we let too much happen. Please hear me that what I was feeling from you wasterrifyingand that shouldn’t happen in a dream with him.”
“That’s fair and you’ve been—you accepted you can’t butt in.” I leaned in and kissed him. “We’re all trying. Yeah, you gotta apologize to him too.”
“I will. I was a bit worried I might hurt him, but fuck, he’s powerful and smacked me back. I mean, I deserved it but it was a wake-up call that I need to get back to practicing too.”
“I love a motivated man,” I purred before sneaking another kiss. Yeah, I really did, but it was also rooted in him wanting to protect me.
Just as I did him.
So yeah, I swooned.
I also rocked his world with some hot sex, not forgetting he’d been pleasing me while I’d been having sex dreams with another man in our bed.
My life really was great sometimes.
18
If I was going to actually choreograph with corporate and our dancers in mind, I decided to do it right and go all out. I had the playlist that Kyria and others had compiled and listened to it several times. We also had some of our other choreographers and trainers joining us.
Basically, it was going to be a fucking collective—brainstorming session and melding of ideas to get this idea off the ground.
Evan was there looking way too excited, and I was a bit shocked that Aidan was too wearing a glamor. Okay, sooooo he wanted to see this part of me?
That was actually ridiculously sweet.
“Where do you want to start?” Kyria asked me as we got settled into the dance studio corporate had.
