Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
“Thanks.” As an apology for whatever she’d posted? “That was sweet of you.”
“Oh, and Vasily announced the fall program.” She looked at me knowingly.
“On the website?” Breathe. Vasily frequently changed his mind. Just because he told me Equinox would be one of our three selections for fall didn’t mean it actually would be. Not until he made it public.
“On the website.” She grinned and her eyes lit up. “He listed Equinox, Allie. You’ll finally have a role created just for you! Congratulations!”
The air rushed out of my lungs.
“That’s amazing!” Anne leaned over and squeezed my shoulders. “I can’t wait to see it.”
Joy, disbelief, pride, every emotion flooded me simultaneously, but anxiety fisted my heart hardest. “He listed it. We’ll really get to do it.” I smiled, choosing to let the joy win.
“Casting is TBD, of course, not that everyone doesn’t know it will be you and Everett, but . . .” Hope flared in Eva’s eyes. “I figured if you helped me for a day or two, I’d have a leg up when rehearsals start and I’d have a shot at getting soloist. Please say yes.”
“Did Isaac put out the choreography?” That should still be six weeks away.
“No, but everyone knows he’s fucking Charlotte, and she’s been . . .” She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. “She’s been practicing, Allie. I’ve seen her in the studio hours after everyone else, with Isaac. If you’re not ready, she’s gunning for your part.”
Nausea turned my stomach. “She’s a soloist. If I’m not ready, the part will go to Reagan or Candace. They’re principals.”
“You’ll be ready,” Anne declared.
No, I was about to take days off to frolic in the woods. Shit.
“So Lina really had a kid?” Eva changed subjects so fast it gave me whiplash. “Why would she give her to Caroline? She hates us.” Her nose scrunched. “Caroline’s cool with her being here? I’m pretty sure she’d rather set fire to our house then let her daughter hang out.”
“She doesn’t know,” Anne told her. “Not yet. We’ll tell you everything we know—”
“No need.” Eva shrugged. “She’s cute. Totally looks like Lina’s pictures, but I doubt I’ll see her much.”
“We’re hoping to change that.” Anne flashed an optimistic smile.
“Why?” She took Anne’s water bottle from the end table, twisted the lid, and took a drink. “If she’s happy, then leave her be. Obviously Lina didn’t want us interfering or she would have told us.” She set the water down. “But you really don’t know who her father is?”
“No.” Anne stiffened. “We figure it has to be someone from San Francisco.”
“Huh.” She stood, then threw her arms above her head, stretching. “I’d ask Jacob. I think he was out there around that time. Spent a couple years in their corps. He might know who she was screwing. Are you seriously going camping?” She addressed that question to me.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Trying to get in Caroline’s good graces so she won’t file a restraining order when we tell her we’re Juniper’s biological family.” She was right: Jacob would be a good place to start. Everyone else I knew and trusted had started and stayed in New York.
“For how long?”
“Three days,” I answered.
“You’re going to take three days off training to go hang out in the woods?” Her voice rose. “You can’t afford the time off.”
“She can,” Anne argued, tucking her curls behind her ears. “She needs a life outside the Company. We’re encouraging this, Eva.” Her tone shifted into something close to Mom’s.
“We’re encouraging her fucking off and not taking her position or upcoming role seriously in order to spend time with a kid Lina didn’t want us to know she had?” She scoffed. “Super responsible, Allie. Mom would be so proud.”
“Low blow.” I stood. “I’ll make up the days, and my therapist thinks it’s a good idea. Getting out of the studio and camping,” I clarified. “Not the lying to Caroline. I’m going to go pack.”
“I don’t get how you can have everything, and not fight to keep it,” Eva said, following me out into the foyer. “I would kill to have half your talent, and you just piss it away. It’s so unfair.”
“Stop fighting,” Anne ordered.
“Is that what the video was about?” I reached the first step, then turned around. “Retribution for not going last night? Or showing the world that you’re more talented? Are you so desperate to prove your worth that you need a million people to tell you that you’re better than I am? Is the validation you get worth throwing me under the bus of the internet?”
Her face fell. “Our follower count was stagnant, and you hadn’t filmed any rehab content, and you agreed to let me use footage of you—”
“I agreed to help my sister!” The shout filled the empty halls of the house.
“We both know they just want to see you!” Her hands curled. “You’re Alessandra Rousseau—everyone in the world loves you, worships you, validates you! I’m just the little sister the Company let in to keep you happy.”