Winning Moves (Stepping Up 3)

“Yes, and—”

“I have my contact on my cell so hold on,” he said, and she heard him say, “She’s there.” He came back to Kat. “Where are you?”

“I’m at the front door, but—”

“Front door,” he told whoever he was talking to, then back to Kat, “Go to the bellman and give him your name. You’ll be escorted.”

“Okay, but—”

“Hurry,” he said. “Kat. This is bigger than I thought. This is huge. Call me after. Go get ’em, tiger.” He hung up.

Kat let out a breath and just gave up. She found the bellman and gave him her name. She resolved to do what she did in the middle of a tour when something went wrong—she just needed to roll with the punches. An employee led her to the hotel theater ticket booth and a row of offices behind it.

The woman knocked on a door. A few seconds later, to Kat’s surprise, Ellie Campbell, an old friend and top-notch choreographer, rushed from the room, pulling the door shut behind her. “Kat!” Ellie’s arms were outstretched, her long hair that, at least for today, was a pale shade of light blue, floating behind her.

Kat hugged Ellie, whom she’d met on a television project a good seven or eight years before.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Ellie said, leaning back to inspect her friend. “I wanted you for this project so badly. I couldn’t believe the timing of you coming home today!”

“I can’t wait to hear the details, but what happened to Stepping Up? I thought you were judging?”

“Oh, I am,” she said. “I love it. Absolutely love it.”

Kat’s stomach twisted with the connection the show held to the very past she was avoiding. “I’m confused. Then why am I here? Why are you here? Surely you don’t have time to work on a Vegas show?”

“The studio came up with this idea that we should organize a multi-state tour in between seasons and a Vegas show to run for a full year here at the hotel. The show will open a month before auditions start for season three of Stepping Up. The catch? They gave us a whole six weeks to make this happen. Thankfully though, the tour will be after season three ends. It’s fun and exciting, but—” she grinned and rubbed her stomach “—I have a bun in the oven. I just dropped the bombshell on the studio. I can’t travel to judge and do the Vegas show. It’s too much.”

Kat gaped. “A bun in the oven. How?”

They both laughed.

“Okay,” Kat said. “I know how.”

Ellie raised her finger. “Last season we had a new production manager for Stepping Up. Needless to say, we sort of hit it off.”

“Sort of?” Kat teased, staring at the gorgeous white diamond on her friend’s finger.

“I’ll tell you the story later. But right now, we need a replacement for me on the live show and the tour. I saw your name on a prospect list and knew you were the one, but I called and got your service.”

“I’ve been out of the country for months.”

“So they told me, but I was determined to reach you. I contacted your agent. It has to be fate, honey, because you arrived today, and we really need to wrap up interviews today. Good, bad or ugly, we need to nail this down. You can make this end with good, and leave the bad and the ugly behind. I just know it.”

The door behind them opened, and a sixty-something woman whose hair was dyed a dark chestnut color appeared. Ellie turned to her. “Dawn. Thanks for coming. How did it go?”

“Excellent. I agreed to take the job. I’m thrilled.”

“Wonderful. I am, too.” Ellie hugged Dawn before she departed, then whispered to Kat. “You’d never know from looking at her, but that woman is the hottest new costume designer in this city. I’m talking smoking-hot designs. And we aren’t in prime time like Stepping Up is. We have to dirty up this show to make it work for Vegas.”

Kat laughed, but it didn’t sound completely genuine and she knew it. All she could think of was the TV show and its connection to her past. “I’ve learned to never judge a book by its cover in this business. I’d love to see Dawn’s designs.”

Ellie motioned to the door. “Let’s go meet everyone. I’m excited. This is going to be so good.”

He wasn’t here, she decided. He wasn’t a part of this. If he had heard her name, he would have said no. This was going to be okay. It was going to be good. They wouldn’t see each other. “Me, too,” Kat said decisively. This was exciting. It was a great opportunity.

Ellie rushed into the room. “I have a surprise. I made a phone call and got lucky. The perfect choreographer I’ve been telling you guys about is here. She’s the one.”