Page 9 of Vicious Impulses (The Capo and Ballerina)
He holds up his hand to silence me. “It’s not about beingPrincipessa, Nevaeh. Though I’ve already given the role to Jalene. As your understudy, she is more than prepared to step in so short notice.”
My heart sinks and tears well up in my eyes.
Every doubt, every taunting word I’ve had to overhear for months echoes in my ears.
Told you she wasn’t good enough.
She doesn’t deserve that lead role.
We all know why she was chosen.
Of course I wasn’t good enough. I never deserved to be chosen. How could I fool myself into ever believing that I did?
“But the show isn’t why I stopped by,” he goes on. “An offer has been made for you. A very, very generous offer. The most generous offer we’ve ever had.”
My heart skips inside my chest. “A-an offer? For me?Already?!”
“I’ve had many since you debuted. Just none that were a good enough fit. Honestly, this one seems—it may not be comfortable for you—but the amount proposed… it’s an amount that can’t be turned down. Even if I wanted to. You understand.”
I swallow against the block forming in my throat, parsing through the racing thoughts in my mind. “Who is it? Mr. Andressi?”
“He made an offer,” Ignazio admits. “He was very taken with you.”
The flashback from last night of him cornering me outside the restroom invades my mind. The same disgust that had filled me as his lips pressed into my throat returns. “A final offer? A real one?”
“Nevaeh, they areallreal offers. It simply depends on the conditions. But the offer I’m speaking of isn’t Mr. Andressi’s.”
The second shock to my heart within seconds—it does another quick skip, my pulse speeding up. I rack my brain for who else it could be from last night. There were no shortage of leering businessmen foaming at the mouth to bid on the dancers. Though I had spent much of the evening with Mr. Andressi, several had pulled me aside for a quick meet-and-greet.
“He’s quite familiar with you,” Ignazio says, wandering over to my window. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one up. Never mind asking if it’s okay in my private space. “He described you perfectly. Likely saw you on stage and decided you were the one without ever meeting you. Hisangel, he said.”
And that’s when the shock and disgust morph into an even deeper horror.
My eyes widen and I stare at Ignazio as if I’ve heard the worst news in my life. Maybe I have as I think about last night and the beast of a man that had beaten Mr. Andressi bloody. He’d beaten him unconscious like that level of vicious violence was nothing. Then he’d rounded on me like a predator about to devour his next slab of prey—he’d trapped me with his wolfish eyes. His clenched jaw and hard features. The way he’d loomed over me was intimidating and overwhelming all at once.
“No,” I whisper.
“His name’s Caelian Ziccardi. He will be taking you this evening. He bought you out early, Nevaeh.”
“Of… of my contract? But I thought that’s impossible? I still have time—”
“The amount he paid was enough,” Ignazio interrupts, blowing smoke. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do.”
“It’s in my contract that I’m still with the company at least for the next year!”
“Not anymore it isn’t. Your contract is voided.”
My mouth drops open to argue some more, but I’m so thrown by the news that I can’t even articulate myself. It’s becoming difficult to think. Difficult to breathe.
“This isn’t legal,” I sputter finally after several shaky breaths. “This isn’t fair, Ignazio. The company must abide by the contract and—”
“Fair is relative, Nevaeh. Now pack your things. I’ll return in a few minutes. Don’t try to escape. He’ll be waiting for you.”
Ignazio wants to hear nothing else I have to say. When I try again to reason with him, he repeats himself and then walks out, leaving the chemical stench of cigarette smoke behind him.
I’m so shocked I can’t even provide a real reaction beyond staring around the room.
My whole life’s about to change.