Page 18 of Stuck With the Best Man

A long beat of silence passes. For a heartbeat, I’m worried that she’s not going to tell me, but then her pouty lips part and, even if what’s about to come out of them is scathing and poisonous, my heart leaps with anticipation.

“You cancelledGiselle.”

I feel my face drop into a frown before I can master my confused reaction.

“Pardon?”

“Giselle,” she repeats. “It was supposed to be part of the summer season if you’ll recall. Then you came in with your family influence and decided to change everything at the last minute, just because you think you know so much better.”

“Oh.” I’m still trying to figure out why that would make herthisfurious. “And you… enjoy dancing inGiselle? You were looking forward to it?”

Ruby throws her hands up in exasperation. “Yes, I was looking forward to it! Because I was going to have the titular role! Don’t act like you had no idea Katia Nikov had to take the season off.”

I blink fast as I try to process this realization. “Well, yes, I knew that, but I didn’t know that you were her replacement. I thought another principal—”

She barks out a harsh laugh. “Yeah, exactly. Youthought. You didn’t bother to know the facts. You didn’t take the time to realize that a soloist had been given a once-in-a-career opportunity to prove she’s worthy of principal status. You just wipedGiselleoff the schedule in favor of something more modern and trendy, and probably didn’t even think twice about the fact that you messed up not only my upward trajectory, but plenty of other dancers’ careers too!”

“But, I—”

“BecauseGisellealso has a lot more opportunities for stage visibility if you’re in the corps too. Tons of lower-level dancers were looking forward to their chance to perform a classic on one of the most famous stages in the ballet world.”

“Ruby—”

“Not to mention that I would have had an understudy.Twounderstudies, most likely. Those girls had the chance ripped from them too. Do you have any idea how damaging that is? The entire reason I was promoted from the corps to a soloist three years ago was because I got to be Katia’s second understudy in a production ofSleeping Beauty.Just one random matinée performance when both her and the first understudy were sick with the stomach flu, andboom, I had a promotion. That could’ve happened again withGiselle. It could’ve happened for more than just me.”

I gape at her like an idiot. When she’s done speaking, her hands are clenched into fists at her sides. Her cheeks are flushed pink with anger, her eyes bright with righteous fury. I hate to admit it, but she’s somehow even prettier when she looks like she’s about to breathe fire.

White-hot shame licks down my spine.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem, Ben. You had no idea. You waltzed into the company and made decisions based on whatyouthought, not based on what might actually be best for the dancers. Do you even realize how little opportunity this upcoming summer season has?”

I let out a frustrated sigh, unable to stand the heat of her anger. I feel like I’m burning alive. “I guess I was thinking more about the audience and what they might want to see.”

“The majority of the audiences will clap for any halfway decent spectacle,” Ruby scoffs. “And those who are content spending their entire careers in the corps will be fine this summer, but I have less than thirty seconds of solo stage time for the next two months once I return to the city, and I’mluckyfor that. There’s only one principal role in the entire ballet, Ben.”

“I see.” I take a deep breath. “Yes, I—I understand why you would think that I’ve made a bad choice in that regard.”

Ruby purses her lips. “Oh, can you?”

“It’s just that running the NYC Ballet isn’t just about making sure everyone has their time in the spotlight. It’s a business, Ruby. We have to sell tickets, and we have to make sure that we remain one of the top companies in the world, especially since the American Ballet Theatre is our neighbor and constantly attempting to outdo us. We need to be at the forefront of the ballet world, and to do that, we need to be cutting edge. We need to be interesting.”

“That’s a lot ofwefor someone who wouldn’t ever deign to put on a leotard.”

I snort. “Trust me. Nobody would want to see that.”

Her eyes flare with annoyance again. “Whatever. You can make the NYC Ballet asinterestingandcutting edgeas you like, but if you’re not giving the dancers the opportunities they need to flourish, the company will become stunted.”

It’s a fair point.

“I’ll take that into consideration as we work to confirm the autumn season,” I tell her, hoping that I sound reasonable and diplomatic. “But I’m not the only one with decision-making authority, Ruby.”

She rolls her eyes. “The fact that you believe that is laughably naïve.”

I straighten to my full height. If there’s one thing I won’t stand for, it’s being called naïve. I get enough of that from my father, and my own siblings have underestimated me for my entire life too.

“I’m not naïve. I’m pragmatic.”

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