Winning Moves (Stepping Up 3)

“Oh, good grief,” Lana grumbled. “The man doesn’t hold a chair for me and I sit next to him at the judges’ table for months of every year. Do tell, Kat. How exactly do you and Jason know each other?”

Jason glanced at Lana. “If I held your chair for you, you’d just roll it over my foot. I’ve learned to keep my distance.”

Darla nodded in agreement. “Smart man.”

Kat cut her gaze from Jason’s to sit down and gain composure before facing the group, but it didn’t help. He was close, so close, and his all-too-familiar spicy masculine scent flared in her nostrils. He still wore the same cologne, and she remembered burying her nose in his chest to inhale that amazing scent.

He helped her scoot her chair forward and his fingers brushed her shoulders, sending a shock wave of sensations rushing over her, heating her skin.

A knock sounded on the door and a woman walked in. “Ms. Moore’s agent sent over her demo reel.”

“Oh, excellent,” Ellie exclaimed. “Please load it for us.” The woman moved to the end of the table where a pedestal held a television and various electronic equipment. Ellie looked at Kat. “You’re okay with that, right? I know your work, but not everyone else does.”

“Of course,” Kat assured her. “That’s expected.”

The lights went out and the demo began to play, but Jason wasn’t watching it. He was watching her. She could feel his stare, hot and heavy, impossibly hot and heavy. It was all she could do not to turn to him, not to tell him to stop, not to reach out and touch him. She was as conflicted about the man as she’d always been.

The demo ended in seven minutes, though it felt like an hour, and the lights came back on.

“That was fantastic,” Darla commented, and several of the other people in attendance murmured similar comments. “I knew you’d worked with some big names, but you’ve worked with a lot more than I thought.”

“I’ve been blessed with opportunities,” Kat said.

“And some big egos,” Darla said. “How do you manage to teach a routine to a famous pop star who thinks they have nothing to learn?”

“I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with stars who want to stay stars and want to deserve their hype,” Kat answered.

“Lucky is right,” Ellie said. “I haven’t been that lucky.”

“I’ve had more of the power-trip ego issues with dancers who resent a new choreographer getting the job they wanted,” Kat added.

“And how do you handle that?” Darla asked.

Ellie snorted. “Out-dance them and shut them up.”

Kat reluctantly agreed. “I’ve been forced into that position but I don’t like it. I try to enlist their help and stroke their egos.”

Darla studied her a long moment. “You’ve been all over the world. Are you going to be happy here in one place? We really need someone who will stick it out at least a year. And even when we do travel, right now it’s all in the States.”

“Vegas is my home,” Kat explained. “I grew up here. My parents are here. I really am ready to be here as well. I want to put down roots and sleep in my own bed every night.”

“I told you this was perfect timing,” Ellie added, and to Kat, “And girlfriend, I don’t know how you did back-to-back concert tours. I did one and it almost killed me.”

“You have to be at the right place in your life to do it,” Kat said. “I was young and free and I saw the world. Now I’m home.”

“So that’s it?” Jason asked, his question forcing her to look at him. “No more traveling?”

“Not for me,” she said, unintentionally referencing the past history between them, of demanding careers that had separated them, then tore them apart. Kat could have kicked herself for the slip, watching his eyes narrow with understanding. He couldn’t have known she was coming today because he knew, just as she did, that the past was never the past. She just had to survive this interview and get out of here and let Jason deal with how he told everyone she wasn’t the right choice.

“Kat,” Darla said, drawing Kat’s attention back to the present. Darla then led her into the first of a series of questions that seemed to come from everyone but Jason. As a former casting director, Darla was tough and detailed, but Kat liked her quite a lot and they hit if off quickly.

A good forty-five minutes later, Darla leaned back in her chair and said, “You have my vote, honey. You rock.”

“For once we agree,” Lana said. “I’m sold. We obviously need to talk amongst ourselves but I’m going on record as a ‘yes.’” Murmurs of agreement followed around the table.

“Thank you, ladies,” Kat said, feeling her stomach twist with regret. She liked these people. She could get excited about this job.