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“You’re kidding,” Sydni said, allowing the files to slide to the floor. “Is this over the payment thing for your dancer? The guild has strict rules?—”
“I just finished speaking to the Director of the Dancers Guild and there is no requirement—absolutely none—for a professional dancer to be paid for giving a short performance at a social event to which she was invited as a guest. Micki was invited by me to be my guest as you were well aware, Sydni. You lied to her and caused her a great deal of distress, which causes me a great deal of fucking anger on her behalf. Get out of my sight and don’t expect to use us as a reference because I will happily tell any prospective employer how untrustworthy you are.”
“She’s no good for you,” Sydni said, taking a step toward him. “You need a woman who understands the business world, who is fully conversant with the goals and strategies of the Benfield Corporation. Someone with polish, business acumen, an advanced degree in interstellar business management…You need me, if you weren’t too stubborn to admit the truth. Give me a chance and I can change your mind. You should thank me for getting rid of her. She’s nothing but pretty, uneducated DPR camp trash?—”
Josh pushed the button for Security and the portal opened immediately, two men rushing in to take Sydni by the arms. “Get her out of here before I do something I’d regret,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Yes, Mr. Benfield.”
The trio was gone a moment later, Sydni yelling insults until the door closing cut off the sound of her voice. Josh sank onto the couch and rubbed his temples, trying to soothe the pounding headache. Firing Sydni was the easiest part of resolving this tangled mess and he had no idea how he was going to fix the rest of it and get Micki back into his life. He’d grovel at her feet if that was what was required but first she had to be willing to talk to him.
And he had no idea how to break through her wall of silence.
Micki was sitting at Tassia’s kitchenette table, eating a bowl of soup her friend had insisted she consume, when Liam came home from his shift as a security officer. He came in the door whistling a cheerful tune, which broke off immediately when he saw her.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, coming to the table. After kissing his wife he sat down. “How are you doing?”
“She’s a mess,” Tassia said.
Micki could hardly talk for all the crying she’d done. “I can’t get over what he did. I’ll never understand it. How am I going to keep dancing with him?”
Liam stared at her, obviously struggling with whether to say what was on his mind or not. “Listen, I love you like a sister and if you hadn’t helped Tass with her audition for the Comettes way back when, I might not have ever met her. So I owe you and I’m going to tell you something you need to know. But you can’t tell anyone I said this.”
Realizing he was deadly serious, she laid her spoon down and said, “Of course. You can trust me.”
“Josh Benfield fired his assistant today. It was ugly.”
“Because she told me the truth?” Micki asked forlornly. “I would have known anyway when the payment showed up in my account.”
“I wasn’t there but Red and Jayna were the ship’s security assigned to help the Benfield security guys get her off the ship. He fired her for lying to you. He didn’t mean the evening to be a paid performance. She made all of that up to try to get between the two of you.”
“She sure succeeded,” Tassia said with disgust. “She must have assumed the field was clear for her to wind up as Mrs. Benfield if Micki was gone.”
The room was spinning around Micki and she felt detached from reality. “Are you sure?”
“Red and Jayna were talking about it in the office later. The assistant made a fuss all the way to the shuttle. Benfield had to send two company agents with her to make sure she cleared out of the spaceport. But you can’t tell anyone, especially Josh, that I told you. I could get fired for sharing privileged information.”
Micki was touched her friend would take this risk for her but appalled at the damage done to her life.
“If the woman was yelling all this in the corridor and on the shuttle, Micki could have heard it from anyone,” Tassia said. “What are you going to do?”
“What can I do? I should have trusted him, I should have talked to him right away. It’s too late now. I sent the dress back without a note, I refused his flowers, blocked his calls…we’re broken beyond repair.” Micki laid her head on the table and cried fresh tears. “He’s not going to want to talk to me ever again. I believed the worst of him and I stood him up in front of all his friends and family.”
Tassia rubbed her shoulders but didn’t offer any platitudes or encouragement. Liam rose from the table and headed toward their bedroom.
“Lords of Space, what if she goes to the media with this story?” Micki asked, struck by the horrible possibility of all the negative publicity.
“You can’t do anything about it. I’m guessing Benfield Corporation has her signature on a non-disclosure agreement and they’ll sue her if she leaks the gossip,” Tassia said. “The best thing you can do is carry on with the show. At least you’re not dancing with Josh this week.”
“I never expected to be glad to be partnered with Andrus Kumisarc.”
“By next week there’ll be distance between you and Josh and this ugly mess. Maybe you can talk in a neutral place and at least agree on how you’re going to get through the rest of the dances, even if you can’t mend the relationship.” Tassia’s advice was matter of fact. “Seeing the two of you dancing together should quiet the gossip if anything does leak to the media.”
“The show must go on, huh?” Micki asked with a tiny smile.
Her friend took the chair Liam had vacated and covered Micki’s hands with her own. “I want the two of you to get back together if reconciliation is what you want, but I don’t see how it’s going to happen. Has he called today?”
Micki checked her handheld and shook her head dolefully. “No. Not since this morning.”
