The Bargain Undercover

Scheming Liar

Eliana slowly walked to her locker. Everyone around pretended not to be watching her, but as she walked by, they still glanced up with a hint of gloating on their faces.

Eliana appeared calm as if unaffected by their scrutiny even though her heart was already in her mouth. Stopping in front of her locker, she reached out, removing the photo stuck to the locker door.

It was a photo of her and Xander.

Alone.

Privately.

At night.

It took her a while to realize where this photo was taken.

It was on the night when they talked to Delbert about the sponsorship. After their unpleasant conversation with Delbert, Xander took her to a big dinner, and this photo was taken when they parted ways in front of the cafe afterward.

However, it seemed strange somehow.

The photo was blurred as if it had been zoomed out from another picture where the two of them weren't the main focus. In the image, Eliana was smiling and waving goodbye to Xander, who was standing beside her, facing her. They weren't doing anything intimate, but the mere fact that the Artistic Director and a ballerina were meeting privately late at night could easily fuel gossip, especially with Eliana's career skyrocketing recently.

"It was a business talk. I brought Director Lane into contact with a potential sponsor," Eliana said as she slowly looked around at everyone, eager to see their reactions.

However, nobody looked at her or said anything as if they didn't believe her words at all, although she was telling the truth.

Eliana suddenly understood what "rumors spread faster than explanations" felt like. Actually, no one wanted to hear her explanations. They just wanted to believe what they wanted to believe.

Roselyn came over and put her arm around Eliana's shoulder, trying to smooth things over. "Alright, Ellie, get yourself changed. The training starts in one minute."

But Eliana didn't move, holding up the photo in her hand. "Who did this?"

Deafening silence.

Sure enough, the culprit wouldn't come forward to admit it. Eliana did her best to stay calm under the pressure, trying to make sense of the situation. That dinner happened months ago, but whoever shot this photo chose to expose it now. It seemed likely that the culprit was someone jealous of her recent accomplishments.

And that narrowed it down to almost everyone in the company.

So many people wanted to drag her down. That thought almost crushed Eliana.

Ophelia couldn't stand the silence anymore. She stepped forward and grabbed Eliana's wrist. "Ellie, let's go. It's just another pathetic clown who's jealous of you. Don't bother."

Eliana knew the best choice now was to ease out of the situation by agreeing with Ophelia. The culprit wouldn't reveal themselves, and there were no surveillance cameras in the changing room for her to check. She would just be making fun of herself if she kept asking. She turned around to unlock her locker and change her clothes. As she entered the passcode, each button press emitted a sharp, unpleasant sound that seemed to cut through her eardrums like a knife. However, it was a pain that she couldn't show.

And the stalemate lasted like torture.

During the lunch break, when she was about to come out of the stall in the restroom, she heard a few ballerinas come in.

"Hey, Roselyn!" someone said.

She heard Roselyn greet them back, and they asked in a low voice, "Do you think Eliana hooked up with Director Lane?"

Roselyn sounded hesitant, "Well, the photo seems ambiguous, but..."

Before Roselyn could finish, she was interrupted by a babble of opinions.

"She said it was a business talk with a sponsor, but where is the sponsor?"

"She must be lying."

"But isn't she dating Tyler?"

"Tyler is gay."

"Oh! So it's a hype."

"What a scheming b***h! She sleeps with Director Lane for resources and fakes a romance with a gay for visibility!"

The ballerinas exchanged ridicule, each of their words slicing through Eliana's skin like a knife. But on second thought, she realized that she couldn't blame them. Even though the photo was indeed a business talk, the thing between her and Xander was true. She chose this dangerous path, so she had to face the consequences.

She took a deep breath and absorbed their ridicule silently.

Roselyn laughed dryly, trying to ease them, "We're not sure about it yet. Alright, girls, let's go back."

Eliana hid in the stall until their voices faded away. When she finally came out, she only saw the lonely reflection of herself in the mirror.

For the rest of the day, Eliana tried her best to act normal, but rumors seemed to have spread out of her control. No matter where she went, people around her would cast scrutinizing glances. It made her uncomfortable and unable to focus. When she practiced her Fouette, she immediately lost her balance and fell off.

She cursed quietly in her heart, trying to focus.

"You lost the strength of your core," Fiona reminded her as she walked by from behind.

"I know. I'm sorry." Eliana felt embarrassed that Fiona had witnessed her awkward movements.

Fiona didn't leave. Instead, she walked to the front, facing Eliana. "Are you distracted by anything?"

She was asking, but her tone and expression suggested that she had already heard about the rumors. Eliana hesitated, wondering what to say.

Fiona added, "You can talk to me about anything."

Eliana saw concern on Fiona's face, but she knew that Fiona was concerned about the rumors instead of her. Fiona wanted to know if the Artist Director really hooked up with a ballerina, which was not prohibited by company policies but discouraged with no doubt to avoid abuse of power. Fiona sided with the interests of MBT, not her. So, it seemed unnecessary for her to explain anything.

Eliana took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, I'm not distracted. Sorry, Mrs. Morse. That won't happen again."

Fiona stared at her for a few seconds with no expression on her face, and then, she nodded and left.

It gave Eliana a pang of fear.

Fiona would definitely question Xander about the rumors as well if she hadn't already. Of course, Xander would deny it just like she did, but what would happen later?

Would the rumors blow away on the wind or spread like wild grass? Would Xander still give her good resources or throw her under the bus?

So many uncertainties lingered in Eliana's head, giving her endless worry.

But there was nothing she could do about it now, except keep refining her technique.

No matter what awaited, as long as she had technique, she had hope.

She took a deep breath and focused, straightened her supporting leg, and started whipping around.

It felt like a super long day.

When the training ended, everyone went back to the changing room, chatting and laughing. However, when they saw Eliana enter, they went silent just like in the morning.

The low pressure almost suffocated Eliana. She changed her clothes as fast as she could and left. When she stepped out of the company building, basking in the fresh air outside, she could finally breathe.

"Ellie!" Ophelia caught up from behind.

Eliana turned around. Facing her best friend in the company, she suddenly felt a trace of guilt.

If Ophelia asked her about her and Xander, she had to lie. It made her feel bad because she didn't want to lie in front of her best friend, but she also couldn't tell the truth because she didn't trust anyone other than herself.

She felt her throat dry, unable to say anything. But Ophelia grabbed her hand before she uttered a sound. "That's my girl!"

Eliana didn't get it. "What?"

"I was worried, so I peeked at you when we were training just now, and you were so focused, not affected by the drama at all!" Ophelia squeezed her hand, beaming. "I'm so proud of you! Just ignore those haters. Don't let them drag you down with dirty tricks."

Eliana was stunned.

Ophelia didn't even ask. She chose to trust her friend.

Eliana felt a lump in her throat. A scheming liar like her didn't deserve a perfect friend like Ophelia.

"Thank you." She squeezed Ophelia's hand back gently.

"Alrighty, see you tomorrow!" Ophelia patted Eliana's shoulder and then walked toward the parking lot for her car.

Turning around and heading toward the subway station, Eliana felt as if she were emerging from the mud into the clear blue sky. Although everything was still a mess, with her friend's support, she suddenly had the strength to carry on.

In the following few days, she put everything behind her and focused only on her training, more devoted than before. Xander showed up in the classroom a few times, instructing their movements. Neither of them seemed to be affected by the rumors.

While Eliana was practicing her Arabesque Derriere, Xander walked by. "Turn out your foot harder," he instructed her.

Eliana followed his instructions. As she turned out her foot, her leg began to shift inward. Xander reached out to reposition her foot to the center. "Keep it in the middle. Don't overdo it," he said.

Eliana nodded in earnest. "Got it."

Xander let go of her foot and walked away, and she kept practicing, not distracted at all. She knew all eyes in the classroom were on her, searching for any hint to confirm the rumors. But she focused on her technique rather than on them, as it was the only way she could survive.

However, something still disturbed her.

On Friday afternoon, she got a call from the dry cleaner.

"Miss Carey, your dress is ready to be picked up." The female voice sounded polite at the other end of the phone.

Eliana paused for a while and then replied, "Thank you. I'll pick it up tomorrow at noon."

The morning after Xander promised to take her to the banquet, she took her only black gown to the dry cleaner.

Now, the gown was ready, but she wasn't sure if Xander would still take her.