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Instead, she followed her performer’s instincts and let her years of experience working with the unpredictable public take over. She smiled as though she and Sid were now best friends while her mind raced back through their conversation, trying to determine if she had said anything foolish in an unguarded moment that would make this difficult situation worse.
She risked a glance at Sid, and it was now obvious he wasn’t a stagehand. His teeth were too straight. His skin was too clear. He smelled too good.
How could she have thought he was attractive?
Probably because he was attractive. And interesting, too. She had enjoyed talking with him and had honestly thought they might become friends.
She had been such an idiot.
The last thing she needed in her life—even as a friend—was another handsome, charming, entitled man trying to use his wealth and power to take over her life.
Yet she had allowed Obsidian Hayes to sweet-talk her into confiding in him. Well, if that’s the way he wanted to play it, then fine. She could play, too.
If Jayna had learned one thing during her years of live aquatic theater, it was how to improvise when things didn’t go to plan. She faked the sincerest smile she could and said, “Yes, we’ve met. For some reason, Mr. Hayes just happened to be hanging out by the backstage pool, which put him in the right place at the right time to give me a hand.”
Jayna risked another glance at Sid and noticed with satisfaction his obvious discomfort. Why had he been backstage? She was tempted to press him, but her number-one rule of improvisation was to say as little as possible until she knew which way the scene would unfold.
Emmaline answered without missing a beat. “I thought Obsidian could use a break, and I suggested that he see if anyone was left at the theater who could use some help.”
So, Emmaline was good at playing the game, too. Jayna didn’t buy that explanation for a minute but decided the best thing to do would be to play along. “Ah, helping. That would explain the mop.”
Jayna couldn’t miss the subtle questioning look that Emmaline gave Sid, or his equally subtle shrug. These two were close, and Jayna felt a tiny prick of jealousy at their obvious connection.
Don’t you dare allow yourself to feel anything for this man other than suspicion and mistrust.
Jayna noticed that several of her coworkers had been drawn towards her conversation with Emmaline and Sid, and she decided to find out what kind of person Sid truly was.
“Mr. Hayes was just telling me about his plans to roll back the dropper reallocation changes.” She spoke in a voice loud enough to be overheard by the cast and crew standing nearby, and her announcement brought murmurs of approval from the park staff, along with another questioning glance from Emmaline.
Sid cast a wary glance at Jayna before addressing the growing crowd of employees, “I can’t make any specific promises until the team has reviewed the numbers, but I agree that the current situation, as it was explained to me, is not acceptable.”
The murmurs of approval were louder this time and included a smattering of applause.
Jayna noticed Gabrielle in the crowd. While the others around her looked happy, Gabrielle’s lips were pursed in concern. Jayna remembered their earlier conversation at the rehearsal pool, and with a heady rush of adrenaline, she launched forward with a crazy plan before it had even fully formed in her head.
“We appreciate your willingness to change the dropper structure of the company,” she said, “It’s a nice token effort. But Mr. Hayes, if you really want to help the park employees, please consider allowing us to buy the park from you.”
A gasp rose from the gathered employees. A few cheered, but most whispered and murmured. Gabrielle’s eyes widened, and then she smiled and gave Jayna a nod of approval.
When Jayna finally dared a glance at Sid, she could tell by the set of his jaw that he didn’t much care for her proposal.
But it was Emmaline who responded to Jayna’s challenge. “Why would the park employees want to purchase Realms of Neptune?”
The crowd continued to grow, and Jayna worried she had gone too far. Was this a test? Was she being led into a trap that would end with her getting sacked?
What the shell. If she was going to get fired, she’d rather it happened because she had dared to speak her mind on behalf of her cast-mates.
“We want to own the company so we can have more say in how it’s run and how we are compensated. We don’t want someone with a bunch of money getting richer at our expense.”
Jayna glanced at Sid before continuing. “I’d like to believe Mr. Hayes has our best interests at heart. But with all due respect, he can’t possibly care about this park the way we do. We just want to do a job we love and claim our fair share of the profits. And we don’t see how that’s ever going to happen unless we own the place ourselves.”
Her speech ended to deafening silence, which lasted several long seconds before the employees burst into applause.
Jayna braved a glance at Sid, but his expression was unreadable. Emmaline leaned forward and whispered into his ear, and he looked pointedly at Jayna. Then he nodded and turned to address the crowd. “If the park’s employees can raise enough to match the price I paid within thirty days, I’ll sell the Realms of Neptune.”
There was even more applause, and Jayna found herself mobbed by her fellow employees, hugging, congratulating, and thanking her.
Emmaline approached Jayna and in a quiet voice said, “Well done!”
