Page 98 of Take the Lead
Twenty-Seven
Donna’s office was tiny. Stone sat on a folding chair and hunched his shoulders, trying to take up less space.
Tapping a pen on the edge of her desk, Donna raised her dark eyebrows in invitation.
Stone fought the urge to fidget. Donna’s direct gaze and her silence unnerved him. But he was here for a reason. He had to find out if she knew about the kiss.
“Have you gone over the footage from Alaska yet?” he asked.
Without taking her eyes off him, she nodded. “Most of it.”
Stone scratched the back of his head. A nervous tell, but he couldn’t help it. “I guess you saw our rehearsal at the inn.”
Again, Donna nodded. Her expression didn’t change.
“Are you planning to air it?”
Now, a cold, calculating smile spread across Donna’s face. “Of course I am. Jordy interfered the last time you two gave me something good.”
Fuck. “Is there anything I could say to persuade you not to air it?”
“No.”
“It will really upset Gina. And we were told we weren’t being filmed.”
“Gina knows this business. Nothing stays secret here.” Donna tilted her head. “Are you going to tell her?”
That was the big question, wasn’t it? The one he’d been grappling with since they’d left Alaska. There had been plenty of opportunities to come clean, but he’d convinced himself that he was wrong about what he’d seen. No point in upsetting Gina over something unconfirmed.
Now he knew the truth. Donna was going to air the footage.
If he told Gina, she’d be hurt. Sad. She’d pull away from him again, and it might affect their dancing. They were so close to the end and he wanted them to win.
“You told Gina you’ll fire her if she doesn’t make it to the finals.”
Donna nodded. “I like Gina. She’s been assigned to me since she joined the show. I want her to win. But even if she makes the finals, nothing is guaranteed.”
Stone narrowed his eyes. “What would guarantee her spot next season?”
“I think you know.”
“First place.” He asked the question he didn’t want to know the answer to. “Do you really think this footage, this storyline, will help Gina win?”
“I’ve thought that since the beginning. It’s why we paired her with you.” Donna dropped the pen onto her desk and folded her hands. “Look. I’m not the enemy here. You, Dwayne, and Twyla were my charges. I’d hoped Natasha and Dwayne would be the showmance backup if Gina refused, but Natasha’s messing around with someone else on the cast, and Dwayne was never a good enough dancer to take the trophy. You’re the only one left. I want you to win, to beat Lauren and Kevin. I’ll never hear the end of it from Kevin’s producer if he wins again.”
Stone didn’t care what Donna wanted. He only cared about what would help Gina. “And you think showing a clip of me kissing Gina will make us win?”
“I know it will. The viewers love a story with a happy ending. You have four dances left in the entire show. The data proves youcould screw up at least one and still win, provided you have the viewer votes.”
It wasn’t how Gina wanted to win. But at this point, wasn’t it more important to make sure she did? Her career was on the line, and that meant more to her than anything else.
Stone had started this journey for the money, and while he stood to take home a good chunk of change for winning, the money meant less to him now than Gina getting what she wanted. What she deserved.
Gina deserved to win.
Besides, Donna had the footage, and she’d already been thwarted once. She wasn’t the kind of person to let it happen again.
His options were to either tell Gina about it, or not.
