Page 13 of Wicked Temptations

“Your job was to follow my lead, not rewrite the entire show.”

I shoved him again. He caught himself against the lockers with a metallic bang that echoed through the room.

“Maybe if your choreography wasn’t stuck in 2022, I wouldn’t have to fix it.”

Jude came at me fast, getting his forearm across my chest and driving me back into the gear rack. Straps and buckles dug into my spine.

“What choreography? It’s amazing I haven’t broken my fucking neck; you can’t stick to a routine for more than thirty seconds without going rogue.”

“Because your routines are boring as hell.”

His forearm pressed harder. “They work. They’re tested. They’re safe.”

“They’re predictable.” I grabbed his arm, trying to push him off. “Just like you.”

The muscle in his jaw flexed. “At least I’m reliable. You’re just chaos looking for a place to explode.”

“Better than being a control freak so far up his own ass he can’t see past his ego.”

We were nose to nose now, both breathing hard. The hatred coming off Jude was palpable, a living thing that filled the space between us. His eyes were dark with it, his whole body rigid with barely contained rage.

What had I done to make him hate me this much?

I’d wanted this job for months before Parker hired me. Wanted to work with Jude, learn from him. Maybe more than that, if I was being honest with myself. But standing here with his forearm crushing my sternum and nothing but disgust in his eyes, I finally understood.

He didn’t just dislike me. He despised me.

“Break it up.” Riley wormed her way between us, one hand on Jude’s chest and the other on mine, physically pushing us apart. “Both of you, back off. Now.”

Jude stepped back first, his chest still heaving. I stayed against the gear rack, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.

“Are you two out of your minds?” Riley looked between us, her expression fierce. “Half the crew just watched you nearly throw down in the middle of the staff area. You want Parker to fire you both? Because that’s exactly where this is heading.”

Jonas appeared behind her, tall enough to loom even without his stilts. “She’s right. You’re making a scene.”

Jude straightened his shirt, his movements sharp and controlled. He didn’t look at me.

“This isn’t over,” he said quietly.

Then he turned and walked out.

Chapter 6

Jude

I’dcalledhimacheap replacement. Told him he was nothing but convenient.

The words played on repeat in my head as I stalked through the backstage corridors, my hands shaking with residual adrenaline. Half the crew had watched me nearly throw down with Ash in the middle of the staff area, and I couldn’t even remember walking away.

You’re a knockoff, Ash. A cheap replacement trying to wear someone else’s skin.

The look on Ash’s face when I’d called him a knockoff had been satisfying for exactly three seconds before guilt twisted in my gut like a knife.

He deserved it.

Except he hadn’t. Not really. And we both knew it.

Christ, what the fuck was wrong with me?