nce. Her ankle throbbed with every step. She kept her eyes fixed on the concrete, on the
r door
han Alyssa's annual rent. She positioned herself directly in Alyssa's p
g me off for my private party. He has a few calls to make before he joins me inside. I
e in the back seat. Broad shoulders. A profile cut from marble. The same man who
sa's voice was flat. "Less
Some of us have places to be. People to see." She turned back toward the car, her hee
e Maybach pulled away from the curb and disappear
n the stairs into the subway, into the fluorescent-lit tunnels that smelled like urin
tment she shared with Paige Sutton, counting the cracks in the c
ith an elastic bandage she'd bought at a dollar store and started her barre exercises. Her cheek was hidden beneath a
n. The room went silent. The artistic director never visited
raight to Al
My offi
iped her face with her towel and f
a sheet of paper from his desk and threw it at her. It was next month's casting sheet. Her nam
ian said. "Effect
hands sho
ttered. Gregg Ashley's family has donated three hundred thousand dollars to this company annually for the past de
do anyth
ility. Unless..." He paused, letting the silence stretch. "Unless you're willing to make
ed. "I'm a ballet dan
d feelings." He pulled another document from his drawer. "Of course, if you refuse, I should mention that the Elena Voss Medical Fund is currentl
e letterhead. She recognized the signature of
k. The address was embossed in gold. The Ap
e. And Alyssa? Wear something that shows yo
In the bathroom, she splashed water on her face until her skin went num
vomit. Private club. Members only. Discretion guaranteed. The kind of place wher
be there. She knew it w
again, or the possibility that the man from
s. High neck. Long sleeves. The most conservative thing she owned. She was pulli
ng dressed like a
't turn around. "Gala. Bo
e room and grabbed Alyssa's arm, forcing her to
cident. I
re ly
ed her bag and her coat. "I'
to Midtown took forty minutes. She spent them staring a
canvas bag, at her face. They didn't want to let her in. Then she produced the invitation, and their exp
mirrors. The music grew louder. Bass vibrations traveled through the
ber liquid, women in dresses that left nothing to the imagination draped across their laps. And in the c
. The swan
ed the space, looking for exits, looking for allies, finding neither. Then her
er his knee, a crystal glass balanced on his thigh. He was wat
into a smile tha
voice carried over the music like he owne
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