I gaped back at him.
"You're the only woman I've met who can keep a secret," Reddy said, then huffed and growled. "No, I suppose that's not true now. Myra managed it well enough till you caught her."
"Are you saying you don't care?" I asked, breathless.
He blinked at me and then shrugged. "It's your personal relationships you're talking about, not your business ones. And hell, two weeks ago, I thought we'd never sell shows where human girls were leading monsters about on a leash, but the crowd went wild. Maybe I'm wrong about us halflings too."
I sucked in a rough breath and let it out slowly, staring hard at Mr. Reddy's heavy, leather-bound ledger, wondering how much damage I might manage if I beat him over the head with it. But he was right. I'd kept the secret as much out of habit, and the fear my father'd instilled in me, as I had because Reddy told me to.
Because my father had been unable to love me. He'd blamed my mother's blood, and thus so had I, when really it was his own fault.
"Maybe you are," I said in a small voice.
"A few more girls and boys like you, and we'd have quite a pretty show on our hands," Reddy mused. "You're not leaving?"
"Not yet," I said, blinking, my eyes drifting aimlessly somewhere north of his head as my thoughts spun.
"That's a boon, Nix. You don't know how glad I am to hear it. And I'll tell you what. Think of another clever theme, a few more standing ovation acts, and I will put it up on the marquee," Reddy said. He was leaning back in his chair, his pointed boots rising up to rest his heels on his desk, and the gears were turning in his head. Damn. Now if I wasn't quick, he'd spread the news before I got a chance to talk to my men.
Money-minded, miserly bastard.
"Are you angry with Myra?" I asked.
Mr. Reddy stared back at me with his hard, calculating gaze. He could easily lie to me one way or the other. He didn't. "I'm mad I didn't think of it first."
I snorted and pushed my chair back. I needed to tell Nireas. No, Ronan should be first. Or Hunter? Perhaps it would be best to gather all three of them together at once.
"If you make money off us, we get a cut, you unscrupulous twat," I said. "And not me. I work on the stage, and that's it. The rest is selfish."
"You're selfish on the stage too," Mr. Reddy said with a laugh, but he nodded in agreement. "S'pose your evenings are already spoken for anyway."
I certainly hoped they would be. I waved my hand at him as I turned for the door.
"You're a good girl, Hazel Nix. You deserve the lot of them, and however many more that please you."
"Five should do the trick, I'd think," I huffed. But I grinned at Mr. Reddy over my shoulder as I opened the door wide. "And a raise, perhaps."
"Out!" he barked, but I heard him laughing as I hurried down the hall.