I laugh. “I’m not at liberty to give hints.”
“Cathleen talked to you about it, right?” She pushes for more. “You know whether they picked you?”
I do know.
I was called into Gabriel’s office this morning at the crack of dawn. Cathleen was there and the Executive Director of our London branch was on speakerphone as I heard the news.
“You’ll know soon enough.” I push up from my desk. “I’ll go grab us those coffees.”
“That’s my job.” She’s on her feet too.
I shake off the idea with a brush of my hand. “I need the air. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She cups her hand over her ear. “Is that a British accent I hear?”
I shake my head as I grab my coat and my purse and head straight for the elevator.
Chapter 43
Alexander
I survey the interior of the old theatre I’m standing in. It’s seen better days. It’s been shuttered for more than a decade.
At one time it was a bustling off-Broadway venue. Amateur productions found their legs here. Some went on to win Tony Awards when they hit The Great White Way.
The building next door was abandoned as well. It used to house a music school.
It will again.
This time the name above the door will read The Anna Donato School of Music.
A name fitting a school that will nurture children’s talent, just as my mother, Anna Donato, encouraged mine before she died of cancer.
She was a single mother, raising two children by working two jobs.
Her third job was teaching me how to use music to ease my pain after the death of my father.
This is her legacy.
My plan when I arrived back in New York weeks ago wasn’t to put roots here, but things have changed.
It started when my former music teacher, Chris Morgenson, reached out to ask if I could help teach at the school he runs now.
I picked up a handful of classes for him when one of his regular teachers took ill.
That, and my time spent with Alvin, ignited something inside of me. I finally saw what drove my mother to insist I sit down behind the piano every night before bed to practice.
I want to teach.
The lease on the building where Chris is teaching now is due up in a month, so we sat down, worked out a deal and decided to launch under a new brand.
Chris will stay on and teach. He’ll help me find my rhythm by walking me through the steps of running a school, and then he’ll retire in a couple of years.
My goal is to teach next door. I’ll offer classes to children of all ages. We’ll work with families who can’t afford to rent instruments or pay the lesson fees.
I’ll supplement the work I do there, by the magic that will happen in this theatre.
My junior symphony will perform here, as will new talent from around the world.