Living the Dream

Four - Riley

I entered the studio again a couple of minutes later after telling Nate to stay with the construction workers. I was hoping James would still be in there so he and I could talk properly but instead I entered to find he was gone and all that was left were two bracelets on the desk.

I raise an eyebrow and take hold of both of them, knowing one belonged to Piper. She must have dropped it somewhere and James found it laying around.

I look out through the window to see he had only just left and was walking towards the front gates to exit entirely. I quickly grab my bag, stuffing the bracelets inside my purse as I head out, walking quickly to catch up to him.

"James," I call out when I was a couple of steps behind.

He turns his head around to face me and then smiles a little when our eyes meet. He waits for me to catch up and then once I was by his side we come to a halt.

"I'll give you the job," I say to him, to which his eyes practically light up. "You want to be head choreographer, right? You can take it," I say with a grin.

I had been slightly hesitant at first but he was right. I did need some more staff and James would be the perfect person to get me started. I don't know why he was so desperate for a job since the last time I checked with Piper, she said he had left to go on tour with the band, but I wasn't going to be nosy by asking questions now.

"Really?" he asks me as I nod my head before he smiles widely and pulls me in for a hug, making me chuckle, instinctively wrapping my arms around him. It had been so long since we were lost in contact with each other that I forgot what it was like to simply hug him.

"Thanks, Ri. Really, I appreciate it," he says with a smile when we pull apart. I smile at him, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Has Piper texted you at all?" he asks me.

I furrow my brows, slightly confused. I take my phone out of the back pocket of my black jeans but I shake my head when I don't come across any texts. I turn it around to show him and he only looks as confused as I did.

"Why would she have texted me?"

"She flew to New York all on her own without actually arranging where she was going to spend the night. I think she's aiming to sleep at yours though, even though she never actually asked."

I chuckle as he rolls his eyes, but it was typical Piper. She had gotten so used to spending time with me when I was in Toronto that she eventually stopped asking. I can't blame her.

"That's okay. I'll just text her and let her know it's fine for her to spend the night." I scroll through my contacts before finding her name and then I shoot her a quick text.

"She's actually at the ice-cream parlour right now. I don't know, did you maybe want to grab a quick dessert from there?" he asks as he puts his hands in his pockets.

I chew my lip, softening. As appealing as it sounded, I couldn't just up and leave when Nate was still at the studio. It would look selfish and cruel. And I don't know what James's intentions were but Nate had a point. I told myself I wouldn't face any distractions anymore.

Giving James a job at my studio was a big step already. We need to take things one step at a time.

"I would love to, James," I whisper before drifting off when I look down.

He sighs. "I'm sensing a but..."

"But I can't," I sigh. "I'm really busy and I've still got so much work to do. They're literally putting the chandeliers up right now and after that I've got to sort the dancers into troupes. It's just a lot," I tell him.

"Yeah, you're right. It was a stupid idea anyway-"

"No, it wasn't," I say softly. "It's just not a very good time. Maybe another day?" I suggest to which he nods, but I could see the hurt in his eyes.

I bite my lip, feeling guilty, but I reach into my purse and pull out Piper's bracelet. "If you pass there and see Piper make sure you give it to her for me. And tell her to come to mine. Where are you currently staying?"

"My car?" he responds sheepishly, raising his shoulders.

I look over him in complete shock. "What?"

"Yeah..." he mumbles, scratching the back of his head. "I don't have a job so I don't have anywhere near enough money to rent a room."

I sigh, shaking my head at him. I don't know what happened in these last four years with him but it didn't seem pretty. Whatever it was, I didn't care. I wasn't going to let him sleep in his car this whole time.

I rummage through my bag again and give him a pair of keys with a keyring on it which had a picture of my kitten, Harper, inside. "Go to mine. I'll text you the address," I tell him. "You're welcome to stay for as long as you like, just no sleeping in the same bed as me, got it?" I tease.

He smiles a little before nodding, taking the keys out of my hand. "Aye-aye captain," he winks before turning around and walking in the opposite direction to me.

I don't know what I just got myself into, but only time can tell if it was a good decision or not.

I go back inside and to the main studio where Nate was instructing the construction workers. He turns to face me at the sound of my heels against the marble flooring and then he steps aside to approach me, placing his hand on my arm.

"What do you think you were doing out there?" he asks under his breath, making me frown. "Are you trying to fail again? You vowed to not let yourself get distracted again, Riley."

"I was talking to a friend, Nate-"

"You don't have time for friends right now. You need to get things under control and focus on yourself."

I roll my eyes at him, shaking my head. "I was focusing on myself. I got myself a new employee."

"Don't tell me you gave that unmotivated hip-hop dancer a job."

"I did, actually," I quip back. "And he's going to be head choreographer so you'll need to play nice." I give him a stern look before stepping aside to go and talk to the workers.

"It's looking good. I was hoping you could install a similar one in the room upstairs? The silver ones are nice, they match the flooring," I tell them all as I heard Nate scoff in the background, but I wasn't going to pay attention to him right now.

I had more important duties to care about than worry about him.