Page 108 of Mafioso's Muse

The soft sound of feet padding on the carpet had her looking over her shoulder. Nigel was making his way towards her, a questioning look on his face.

‘Willow.’ His voice reverberated in the quiet theatre. ‘What are you doing here? You’re not due back for another two weeks.’

She shrugged. ‘I got tired of looking at my walls. Thought I would come and stare at these walls instead.’

He stopped next to her, looking beyond the tape. ‘I get it. It’s not easy for a dancer to sit still for long periods.’ He glanced sideways at her. ‘How are you holding up?’

‘Better than others, I imagine.’ Her expression turned serious. ‘I heard Piper was discharged.’

He nodded. ‘She has a long road of rehab still ahead of her, but she sounded somewhat brighter when I spoke to her yesterday.’

‘Good.’

‘The insurance money means she can take all the time she needs to heal and figure out what’s next.’

It was those moments, having those kinds of conversations, where Willow felt most confused. If DeLucawereto blame, then the correct response from her was anger. ‘Are they any closer to figuring out what happened?’

‘The investigation is still underway.’ He squinted straight ahead. ‘But everything points to DeLuca. It’s really just a matter of whether the police can make the allegations stick.’

She pressed her eyes closed.

‘He assured me this kind of thing would never happen,’ Nigel said quietly. ‘And I believed him. I wouldn’t have signed that contract if I thought for one moment…’

Willow reached out and squeezed his hand. ‘This isn’t on you.’

‘It is,’ he said. ‘And now I have to figure out how to live with that.’

She felt only sympathy for him, because she had also believed Vaughn. ‘For what it’s worth, you’re not the only person who trusted him.’

Nigel searched her eyes, then cleared his throat. ‘Since you’re here, instead of resting like you’re supposed to be doing right now, there’s something I need to tell you.’

She turned to him and waited for him to continue.

‘There’s going to be a board hearing. They’ve asked that you attend.’ He crossed his arms and released a heavy breath. ‘I told them it would have to wait until you’ve returned to the studio. So if they ask, you were never here.’

Willow felt hot suddenly. ‘Why do they want me there?’

It was clear by Nigel’s expression that she wasn’t going to like his answer. ‘Because of your romantic involvement with Mr Gallo.’ He watched her carefully. ‘They believe it’s relevant to their investigation.’

‘Theirinvestigation? I thought it was a police matter.’

He nodded slowly. ‘It is, but it’s the board’s job to decide whether any disciplinary measures are required within the company.’ He swallowed. ‘If my decision to sign that contract was ethical, for example.’

Willow swallowed. ‘Of course it was. There was no personal benefit for you in signing that contract. You only had the company’s best interests at heart.’

‘I’m not sure the board sees it that way.’

Sighing, she looked around at the empty space. ‘Have you heard from him?’

Nigel knew exactly who she was enquiring about. ‘We’ve had a few conversations on the phone.’ He hesitated. ‘He offered to make an anonymous donation to help us through this period. Naturally, I had to decline.’ There was a long pause. ‘It was all for you. You know that, don’t you? The money, the help. It was all in order for you to succeed here.’

Guilt tore through her. She nodded in the direction of the stage. ‘Then I guess I’m also to blame.’

A long silence stretched out between them.

‘I told him not to go in, you know,’ Nigel said eventually. ‘I told him to wait for the emergency workers to arrive and let them do their job. But he wasn’t having it. I never thought I’d see Vaughn Gallo afraid of anything, but he was afraid that day.’

Willow dropped her gaze.