Kaia’s eyes widen and she steps away from me, glancing back at Honor. “Says who?”
“Don’t engage with your predecessor, Kaia. She’s clearly been trolling the NYB’s website, angry at being replaced.” I tilt my head to the side. “How is being pregnant going for you, Honor?”
She scoffs. “Like you can judge me. I know that you two are not supposed to be all over each other like this. I mean, you’re supposed to be her teacher, Calum. Jesus.”
I shoot her a glare. “We should go, Kaia.”
Honor blocks our path. “Seriously? The last time I checked, you were obsessed with me. I practically had to take a restraining order on your fucking ass. What happened?”
I slide my arm around Kaia’s waist, tugging her close as I start to maneuver around Honor. “You had plenty of chances, Honor. Clearly I’ve found a replacement for you.”
Kaia does a double take. “What?”
Honor bares her teeth. “I want my job back, Calum.”
I shake my head, pulling Kaia along with me. “I don’t really care.”
“I’ll report you both!” Honor calls after us.
I stop, releasing Kaia from my grip. Turning around slowly, I send Honor a smoldering glare. “You’re an aging, bitter, disgraced former employee. I don’t think that anyone will listen to you make accusations against me, the primary supporter of the ballet company.” I smirk. “So go right ahead. I would love to get you on record so that my fleet of personal attorneys can destroy you.”
Honor’s eyes widen. “Calum—“
I shake my head, spinning back to Kaia. “Let’s go.”
Kaia lets me pull her along, glancing back as we leave the bar. We step outside and my limousine is already waiting. I get the door, pulling it open for her.
But she doesn’t get in. Her eyebrows are drawn down, her mouth is twisted to the side. “Is what you said true? Am I really just a replacement for Honor?”
That gives me pause. “No. I don’t… it’s more complicated than that. Can you get in the fucking car?”
She balks. “I think I can get my own ride tonight.”
“Seriously?!” I protest. “Get in the fucking limo, Kaia. If you insist, I can drop you off at your house.”
Kaia stares at me, her hands bunching into fists. “Fine,” she says through clenched teeth. She ducks her head and climbs in the back seat.
I get in after her, pissed off. Honor managed to ruin a perfectly good mood. And now I’m chauffeuring Kaia home instead of having her enthusiastically blow me.
“Where are we going?” I ask, bristling.
Kaia looks away, out the limo’s window. “Queens.”
The limousine pulls out and I glare at the buildings as they pass, seething.
19
Kaia
“She said that you are the biggest backstabber that she’s ever met,” the bleach blonde housewife says. From my computer screen, she squints at the woman she’s dishing gossip to. Because she’s had so much plastic surgery done to her face, she looks almost serene even though her voice is angry.
I am sitting in full splits on the floor of my living area, watching tv on my ancient laptop. My apartment doesn’t have any heat of its own. Instead I rely on ambient heat from the tenants below, several tiny space heaters, and a ton of blankets and socks.
Still, my apartment is chilly today. The people downstairs must have their heat turned down during the day. I wrap myself up in my prized possession, my dove gray winter coat.
It is heavy and warm and made of wool. I brought it at a thrift store for pennies on the dollar and I unabashedly love it.
As the women on my screen escalate tensions, I lower my upper body onto the floor. My kitty Exupéry swishes his tail, disapproving of my focusing on anything that isn’t him.
I raise myself onto my elbows with a sigh and pet him. “I know. You don’t like Kelly either, huh? Who could?”
The cat meows are rubs against my hand. I feel sort of bad for Exupéry because I am almost never home. But there is a kitty door downstairs that Exupéry seems to make full use of whenever I’m not around.
“You probably have like eight other families,” I say, scratching her chin. “I get it. I’m just not around very much, am I? I wouldn’t even be here right now, except that Basil is sick. So I get a full day off.”
She cocks her head and looks at me, giving me one last rub before strutting off. I sigh and think about food; I can’t remember the last time that I went grocery shopping.
I sit up and pull my laptop in, pursing my lips. Maybe I need to go shopping at like… a farmer’s market. That sounds healthy… and way cheaper and closer than some place like Whole Foods.
I type in farmer’s market in my search bar and a million results pop up. I scroll through the results, not seeing exactly what I’m looking for.
There is a sudden knock at my door, a loud enough banging that I tense and shut my laptop. This is definitely out of the ordinary because no one knows where I live.
Well, except Calum.
Why would he not call me first, though?
I scramble to stand, brushing off my jeans and lilac midriff tee. The knocking comes again, sounding even more aggressive this time.
“Coming!” I call, trotting to the stairs and thundering down them. The banging persists even as I wrench open the door.
“Okay, okay—“
I stop mid sentence, blinking.
My father stands there in his slacks and a dark fleece jacket, looking angry. A few steps down, Hazel stands with her hands in the pockets of her stylish black silk jumpsuit.
“Oh. Hi?” I say, squinting at both of them.
My dad smiles, showing his teeth. “Your sister and I were just in the city, meeting with some people for her fashion label. We thought we should just stop by.”
I narrow my eyes at them both. It’s the first time I’ve heard about my sister having a fashion label, but I let that pass.
“How did you know to find me here?” I ask, glancing out the door. “And why didn’t you call?”
My father’s smile broadens. “Can’t you just be happy to see your family, Kaia?”
I flick my gaze to Hazel, who is smiling smugly. “Of course. I mean… do you guys want to come in?”
My heart starts racing. I definitely don’t want either of them in my private space, my innermost sanctum. For a second, my breath hitches as my father looks past me, considering.
When he shakes his head, I’m beyond relieved.
“I thought we would all get some lunch. Somewhere…” He glances around him, his lips twitching. He obviously doesn’t like my neighborhood very much. “Nice.”
I suck in a deep breath. “Yeah, sure. Let me just grab my shoes and my purse.”
I turn around and clatter up the stairs, quickly finding them. My dad and my sister have a cab waiting when I come back down; only fifteen minutes later, we are back in Manhattan proper.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
My dad glances back at me from the passenger seat. “We’re almost there.”
I glance at Hazel, who is playing on her phone. “How is school?”