Dancer's Body

Chapter 7

She scrolled through the screenshots Wyatt had sent her the night before, all posted to Snapchat, and all captured by what he called "scores of people." Her being carried out of the club seemingly unconscious, one of her obviously hungover on the Lakeview couch, and even one of her being led up the stairs by the no-name boy who kept feeding her drinks.

"Who posted these?" she'd asked him last night.

"It doesn't matter. Why the fuck are you acting like a whore? Don't you realize how that reflects on me?"

She felt like she was punched in the gut with the "whore" word, but Wyatt had quickly corrected himself. "I said you were acting like a whore, not that you are one."

Still, they seemed to be giving each other the silent treatment.

As the streetcar came to a halt in front of her stop, Olivia wrapped her coat around her and hurried into RCDC. Rain whipped her face and undid the rare twenty minutes she'd spent that morning blowing out her hair. Oh, who gives a crap?

She sat down beside Juan on the couch with a thud. "Jesus, spring break wasn't good to you," he said, casually rolling up his sleeves to show off his Cancun tan.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, grumpy pants. But actually," he said, leaning towards her, "I was talking about Snapchat, not right now." Jesus, did everybody see them? Hailey came in, pulling her hood back and letting her own perfectly blown out, dry hair fly behind her.

"Where's Mrs. Burke?" Hailey asked.

"Good morning." Roman didn't just walk into the room, he commanded it entirely—the air changed with his movements.

Olivia froze. What's he doing here? Shit, that's right. Today's the day he takes over. She hadn't really believed it when Mrs. Burke had said it, and now she felt terribly unprepared.

"I hope the three of you had a relaxing spring break, because it's the last break you're going to get for a while." He sat down across from them and leaned back casually. Olivia couldn't look him in the eyes, but she also couldn't tear her gaze away from him. Even underneath the perfectly bespoke suit, she could make out the broadness of his chest and shoulders. "Unfortunately, there's been another change to the company."

The three of them glanced at each other.

"Mrs. Burke who, among other duties, was my executive assistant, was diagnosed with varicella on Friday evening. As you may know, it can be very serious as an adult. She's still in the hospital, and although the prognosis looks promising, she of course cannot resume her duties for the foreseeable future."

Olivia's heart sank. He's going to tell us they're suspending the internship program. She only had a year of school left. There's no way she would get it again.

"What that means is we've hired a temporary contractor to take care of many of Mrs. Burke's tasks while she recovers—but one of you will also be working directly underneath me as an assistant. She simply had too much on her plate for a temp to manage."

Juan's eyes popped open so wide that it caught Olivia's attention even from her peripheral vision. "How do—how is the intern chosen?" he asked.

"That decision has already been made."

Her heart hammered in her chest. Stop it. Calm down. Calm down.

"Hailey ..." Dr. Stone said. Olivia's heart fell into her stomach, but she couldn't tell if it was relief or despair. What's wrong with you? "... and Juan. Your internship descriptions will remain the same. Olivia."