Chapter 289
Chapter 289:
Sebastian didn’t look up. He continued eating his eggs, his jaw working rhythmically.
“Ignoring me?” Crystal scoffed. She leaned in. “She’s using you, you know. She’s desperate. She probably promised you… favors p>
Sebastian stood up abruptly. His chair scraped loudly against the floor. He picked up his tray and walked away without a word, leaving Crystal standing there, her face flushing red with embarrassment.
She turned her glare toward Skye. “Toxic,” she mouthed.
Skye just took a sip of her coffee.
The afternoon dance session was grueling. The air conditioning was struggling to keep up with thirty bodies moving in sync.
The doors opened, and Dominic walked in again. He didn’t usually visit two days in a row. He was making a point. He sat in the director’s chair at the front of the room, crossing his legs.
“Sterling,” he called out.
Skye stepped forward, wiping sweat from her forehead.
“Solo,” Dominic commanded. “Contemporary. No music p>
Dancing without music was brutal. It exposed every flaw, every hesitation. There was no rhythm to hide behind.
Skye took a breath. She began to move. She extended her leg, arching her back, her movements fluid and precise. She spun, her breathing heavy in the silence. She finished in a pose, her chest heaving.
Dominic yawned. He actually yawned.
“Boring,” he said. “Again p>
Skye gritted her teeth. She reset. She danced again.
Harder.
Faster.
“Again,” Dominic said.
And again. And again.
By the fifth repetition, Skye’s muscles were screaming. Lactic acid burned in her thighs. Her vision blurred at the edges. The other trainees watched in horror. This wasn’t training; it was torture.
Skye landed a jump and her knee buckled. She collapsed to the floor, catching herself on her hands. Sweat dripped from her nose onto the polished wood.
𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿е y𝘰𝗎𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘷o𝗋𝘪𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝗆 𝖻е𝗹ո𝘰𝗏𝘦𝘭ѕ.с𝗈𝗆
Crystal smirked in the background, whispering something to Whitney.
Sebastian stepped forward from the line of boys. He looked ready to fight.
Skye saw him. She shook her head slightly—a microscopic movement. No. Not yet. Don’t blow the deal.
She forced herself to breathe. In. Out. She pushed against the floor. Her arms shook, but she rose.
She stood up. Her legs trembled, but she locked them. She looked Dominic in the eye.
“Is that all you’ve got?” she asked, her voice raspy but defiant.
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected her to stand up. He wanted her broken. He wanted tears.
Skye walked toward him slowly. She stopped right in front of his chair. She leaned in close, as if she were going to beg for mercy.
Instead, she whispered, “How is the five-hundred-million-dollar loss in the tech sector treating you, Dominic p>
Dominic flinched. His head snapped back.
It was a secret—a deep, dark financial hole that Thorne Corp had fallen into just last week, a hole dug by a mysterious competitor named Oracle Holdings.
“How do you know that?” he hissed.
Skye smiled. It was a terrifying smile, full of teeth and blood. “I read the financial reports you try to hide. Maybe you should spend less time torturing dancers and more time watching your assets. I hear Oracle Holdings is eating your lunch p>