"Charlaine Harris - Dancers in the Dark" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harris Charlaine)

Rue couldn't afford that, but she nodded, hoping her face didn't reflect her thoughts.
"We have personnel meetings once a month, Blue Moon and Black Moon together," Sylvia said
briskly. "You have to come to those. If you don't show up for an engagement, and you're not in
the hospital with a broken leg, you're fired. If you fight with Sean, it better not show in public."


"What are the meetings for?" Rue asked.


"We need to know one another by-sight," Sylvia said. "And we need to share problems we have
with clients. You can avoid a lot of situations if you know who's going to be trouble."


It was news to Rue that there could be "trouble." She crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly
feeling cold in the plum leotard. Then she looked down at the contract and saw what she would
be paid per appearance. She knew that she'd sign; she'd have the contract in Sylvia's hands the
next day, so she could start work as soon as possible.


But after she'd gotten back to her cheap apartment, which lay in a decidedly unsafe part of
Rhodes, Rue did study the contract. Nothing in the simple language was a surprise; everything
was as Sylvia had told her. There were a few more rules, covering items like giving notice and
maintaining any costumes she borrowed from the company stock, but the contract was basic. It
was renewable, if both parties wanted, after a year.


The next morning, Rue bundled up in the brisk midwest spring morning and set out early to the
campus so she would have time to detour. There was a mail slot in the door of the old building
that housed Blue Moon/Black Moon. Rue poked the folded paper through the slit, feeling
profound relief. That night Sylvia called Rue to schedule her first practice session with Sean
O'Rourke.




CHAPTER TWO

2 2




Wearing cutoff sweatpants and a sleeveless T-shirt, Sean waited in the studio. The new woman
wasn't late yet. She would be on time. She needed the job. He'd followed her home the night she'd
auditioned. He'd been cautious all the years he'd been a vampire, and that had kept him alive for
more than 275 years. One of his safety measures was making sure to know the people he dealt
with, so Sean was determined to learn more about this Rue.


He didn't know what to think of her. She was poor, obviously. But she'd had years of dance