Follow My Lead (Stepping Up 2)
“What the heck did you do on your break?” Allison complained, motioning Darla to a chair. “Sit down—and fast. You’re due on set in minutes. The other judges have come and gone.”
“Sorry,” Darla said, settling into the chair. “I have a case of nerves and lunch didn’t sit well. I’ve been, uh, lying down.”
“Oh,” Allison said, her brows dipping. “Why are you nervous? You have a show of your own and I love it. Did I mention I’m a fan? Huge, huge fan.”
Darla gave her an appreciative smile. “Now you’re just saying all the right things, and I prefer the honest, ‘you look like crap’ kind of communication.”
“I said I was a fan. I didn’t say you don’t look like crap.”
Darla laughed. “Okay, then,” she conceded. “I stand corrected. Thank you for the compliment and, ah, insult.”
“All meant in the most loving of ways,” Allison assured her. “I’ll fix you all up on one condition.”
“Okay,” Darla said cautiously, thinking everyone was all about conditions today. “I’ll bite. What condition?”
She lowered her voice. “That you put that diva Lana in her place every chance you get this season.” She dropped to a whisper. “We’re all looking forward to watching it.”
Darla absorbed the words, taking them in with surprise. “Who is ‘we all’?”
“All the crew,” she said, rolling a cart of makeup and hair supplies to Darla’s side. “No one likes her. She’s just so mean to the contestants. We know you’ll stick up for them, like you do for all kinds of people on your show—and the animals. We all love the animal rescue special you do on Fridays.”
The comment made her think of her parents, how she had to focus on her agenda to save their ranch. It had suffered from a virus that attacked cattle. Her mother and father hadn’t told her how bad it had gotten until it was almost too late and they’d taken on debt they couldn’t afford to pay back.
Darla’s chest expanded with warmth and understanding as her father’s frequently spoken words replayed in her head. Words he’d repeated about their financial struggles. Honey, things happen for reasons. You have to have faith. Sometimes we just don’t know what those reasons are until later. Darla’s fear that Blake was a distraction lifted like a cloud of worry and paranoia. Blake had heard Meagan’s concern. Blake had warned her so she could fix what was broken. Blake had made her late enough to the set to have Allison share this piece of information with her. And, most importantly, Blake had given her good advice. She had to be herself in the audition room or she would disappoint everyone, not just Meagan. She’d disappoint herself. She’d disappoint her parents. She had to go into that room and forget about the pressure, about her parents’ predicament. If she did that, everything would be okay. She had to come through for them the way they’d always come through for her.
After Allison made up an excuse of burning Darla’s hair with a flat iron to buy more time, Darla managed to inhale two chocolate bars—Allison agreed chocolate was safe, even for a sick stomach—and she was ready for work. She was ready for Lana. She wasn’t, however, ready to see Blake. Or to say goodbye. But she had to.
* * *
THE AUDITIONS HAD BEEN TAKING place for a good three hours when Blake wished a young male dancer good luck in Vegas, and then found himself being flagged down by Meagan. She lifted her hand and motioned for him to follow her.
Blake froze in an “uh-oh” moment. He’d been hoping for a break to check on Meagan and hoping, even more so, to find out if she’d shaken off her morning. He now prayed he wasn’t about to find out the opposite, a fear easily conceived considering Meagan had made her suspicions about him and Darla obvious. She’d also made it clear she suspected that Blake was negatively influencing Darla. Hell, Darla thought he was, too—or at least, that was what he’d now surmised about the bathroom incident. And maybe he was. Maybe he needed to keep his distance, no matter how much he wanted to have Darla up close and personal. Not forever, but for now, until she found her footing on the show.
Blake followed Meagan to an empty event room that had been cleared as a contestant holding room. “What did you say to Darla at break?” she asked immediately, going right for the gut.
Blake felt the blow, and while he wasn’t one to be at a loss for words, it took him a minute to recover. “Not anything different than I imagine you would have,” he replied cautiously.
She studied him, as she had earlier and then waved off his words. “Details aren’t important. Whatever you said, it worked and that’s all that counts. She’s back to her normal self in there and I couldn’t be happier. Now, I feel free to actually talk to both of you about an idea my team has been bouncing around since early this morning when we found out about Rick.”