“What was that?” Mark’s voice boomed through the dance studio. He hadn’t moved from his position, probably trying to assert dominance.
“Luca, please.” Her grip tightened on my arm. “Let’s do it quickly and get it out of the way. I just want him gone.” Her small, resigned smile made me want to punch Mark in the face. I didn’tcare either way whether we performed it now, but it pissed me off that we were only doing it because Mark demandedit.
“Fine.” We moved into position to take it from thetop.
We began the routine anew, reenacting the dance off the ice under Mark’s triumphant gaze. When we finished, Matilda paused the music.
“See, that wasn’t too hard, was it?” Mark gloated, watching Matilda as she returned to my side.
“It was when we could have shown you tomorrow,” I said, not caring that I needed to keep this man on my side. Jack wasn’t there to tell me off, so fuckit.
Matilda stiffened beside me but remained quiet.
“I’m the producer. If I want to see your dance, I get to see your dance.” He stood, unbothered by my attitude. His tone had shifted since the first time we’d spoken. The warmth had disappeared, replaced with a sharp edge that didn’t hide his contempt.
He wasn’t wrong; he had us by the balls. Well, me by the balls and Matilda by the…whatever.
In a once-in-a-lifetime kind of event, I decided to kill him with kindness.
Well, as kind as I could be. I ignored the asshole.
I placed a hand on Matilda’s lower back and knew I’d hit the mark when the producer’s eyes narrowed. I might not have fully trusted Matilda, but I trusted Mark even less.
“Ready to go?” I glanced ather.
Her bright green eyes stared up at mine, something in them freezing me in place.Gratitudeand…
Mark coughed, drawing our attention to him. Kudos to his dentist, because his jaw clenched so tightly that regular veneers would have cracked under the pressure.
But then, helaughed.
“Thanks for thatlovelyperformance on such short notice.”Sarcasm dripped from his tone. He strolled to the door and continued, “One thing you’ll learn quickly is that our Matilda is always eager to please.” He smirked over his shoulder as if he’d served a cutting blow. “Have a good evening, both of you. See you at the press event next week.”
He pushed the door open and exited, leaving the room in a heavy silence.
His words closely echoed the insult I’d delivered to her by likening her to an obedient dog. The similarity turned my stomach sour.
“I think it’s time to call it a night,” Matilda chirped, moving out of my hold and walking over to her bag. She quickly repacked the contents that had fallen out when the dickhead had kicked it out of his way. “You’re definitely coming to the press event, right?”
“Yes. I said I’d be there, so I’ll be there.”
“Thank you. I know it’s not your scene, but you’re really helping me out by coming along.” She nodded and smiled brightly over her shoulder. She was acting as if Mark hadn’t just come in and bossed her around.
“Are we going to ignore what just happened?” I moved to grab my bag from near the speaker. I pulled out my water bottle, taking a gulp and hoping it would wash away the odd feelings swirling around my stomach.
“There’s nothing to say. He can be like that sometimes.” The sound of scrunching wrappers filled the room as she collected the trash and dropped it in the can, not standing still for a moment. Her erratic movements set my nerves on edge.
“Like a narcissistic, controlling boyfriend?”
Her hand faltered as she grabbed her bag off the floor, but that was the only sign of discomfort. She shrugged and offered me a small smile instead. I ground my teeth with frustration.
This woman.
“Stop smiling for one damned second and be honest.”
“We used to date, up until, like, a year ago, before I realized he was like that.” The words rushed out and she signaled with a hand to the door he’d left from. “He just likes to be a pain in the arse sometimes.”
“And you just let him?”
