“I see some of that same drive in Maverik, but not Kingston,” Richard admitted. “Maverik has a high level of intelligence that makes him see things that others don’t. He’s extremely perceptive of people and uses that to manipulate those around him.” Richard chuckled. “But he doesn’t quite know what to think about you. You don’t fall into one of the neat little boxes that we like to fit people inside of, and you’re unpredictable to him.”
I snorted. “I doubt that. I’m a pretty typical dancer. He probably just doesn’t have enough experience around us common folk,” I joked.
“That’s one of the reasons I wanted you here,” Richard confessed. “I’ve tried to give my boys the best of everything, but I’m afraid that I’ve spoiled them. They’ve never really known struggle, never had to fight for anything on their own.”
“And you think they’ll change by being around me?” I asked dubiously.
Richard shook his head. “I think you’ll give them a reason to start looking at the world a little differently. Hopefully, you’ll open up new viewpoints to them.”
“You do realize they hate me, right?”
Richard smiled in amusement. “They’re testing you and trying to push your buttons, and it’s throwing them off that you’re different from the other students they know. They’re used to dealing with either sycophants or enemies, and you don’t fall into either of those categories.”
“I’m pretty sure they consider me an enemy,” I said dryly.
At least Maverik did. I couldn’t figure out how Kingston felt. One moment he would be calling me sister and patting me on the head, but the next, he would be trying to undress me. I had a feeling that a lot of Kingston’s jovial persona was an act that he put on for the public. I wasn’t even sure if I had actually met the real Kingston yet.
“Mav and King are both smart enough to have figured out by now that you’re not their enemy. And I do not doubt that you’ll win them over once they spend some quality time with you. That’s why I keep trying to push you together,” Richard explained.
I frowned. “Do you know how upset they were that you invited me here? I think that action alone set us back ten steps after I’d only made one or two forward.”
“I realize I can be hard on them at times, and critical. But I’m the only person who will. Their teachers and coaches are too concerned with keeping parents happy to push them as far as need to,” Richard said as he opened a bottle of water.
“It was more than that,” I insisted. “It was like something they’d strived for and had been denied was easily handed over to me. They were hurt and resentful.”
Richard rubbed his face. “They haven’t shown any interest in coming here since they were kids.”
“Kingston said he asked for an internship,” I said as I pointed my fork at him.
“Kingston just wanted a hot assistant who would make him coffee all day. He’s not ready for the responsibility of leadership. He thinks that everyone is here to serve me, when it’s the opposite,” Richard said with a sigh.
I looked at him in confusion.
“I have a responsibility to everyone who works here - they depend on me to guide this ship. If this company goes under, thousands of people all over the country will lose their jobs. As a leader, you have a responsibility to take care of everyone below you.”
“Maybe you should spend some time with him to show him that,” I suggested. “He won’t learn it on his own if he doesn’t have a solid example. He seems like the type of guy who learns more by watching people in action than hearing the words.”
Richard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You might be right. I’ll see if I can schedule something for after they get back from their trip, but before school starts.”
My ears perked up. “Trip?”
Richard nodded. “They go to an intensive hockey program every summer to hone their skills. This year the host school got some impressive current and former NHL players to come on board certain days, so they’re both excited about that.”
My eyebrows rose. They were going to a special hockey school to be trained by NHL players? How expensive was that?
I tried to act casual instead of excited. “When do they leave?”
“Next week,” Richard said with a smile. “So you’ll have peace and quiet in the house to work with your tutors.”
I groaned, which got an even bigger smile out of Richard. “I already know that failure is never an option for you,” he told me seriously, and I nodded reluctantly in agreement. “I have every confidence that you will be able to catch up to where you need to be academically.”
I was almost relieved when Richard left me alone with one of the teams in the afternoon. I was exhausted, and it was only two o’clock in the afternoon. I had no idea how he could do this for twelve to fourteen hours a day. The team was polite to me, but they were all giving me ‘why are you here?’ looks. I guess Richard hadn’t warned them ahead of time that he wanted me to sit with them. I didn’t have a lot of feedback to give them, because it looked like they had everything worked out. But I did mention some potential problems with how they were categorizing pointe shoes. Not all brands were created equal. Dancers had to be specially fitted with shoes at least once a year and were very particular about what went on their feet. Most professional dancers even preferred to get their shoes from the same maker for consistency.
They were willing to listen to my suggestions for products that people didn’t usually think
