Dual Hearts (Seduction Series Book 1)

by Emily Vincent

  “Why did you come to Vegas?”

  I shrugged, “I spent year in L.A. trying to get into acting. That was a bust though and I was spending more money going to auditions than I was making it -”

  “What were you doing for work there?”

  “Small jobs here and there. Cafes, glassy in clubs, cleaning, waitressing, even a couple fast food places here and there.” I grabbed one of the waters on the table and took a sip before sitting back to continue my sad, pathetic story. “Eventually it got to a point where I was barely scraping by. I was told about Class Enterprises and thought ‘why not? Can’t hurt’ and I have always been good at dancing, surprisingly. So I signed up for the audition, started working as many hours I could to bank as much as possible before jumping on a bus to Vegas.”

  “Not getting the audition must have sucked,” Chris sounded sad.

  “Yeah, it did. Especially since me flying off the stage wasn’t even my fault.”

  “What?”

  “You don’t know?” I raised my eyebrows. How could he not know? Surely Xander would have said something?

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Elisha.”

  I was about to open my mouth and tell him everything that Mercury did, then I realized it wasn’t the right thing to do. She shouldn’t have sabotaged my audition, that was wrong and very serious, but me telling on her now wouldn’t change anything other than getting her fired. After it happened and I went home, I tried to reason with myself that there was a reason for Mercury doing what she did. She needed the job, clearly, and so she thought there was no other way to get it if she didn’t kill my audition.

  I wanted to believe that it wasn’t her fault. I wanted to believe she was desperate, and I knew what that felt like.

  I smiled and shook my head, “I brought the wrong shoes along,” I said. “I brought my old shoes that had a bung heel instead of my new ones. I didn’t actually realize until after the audition.”

  We talked for a little while longer about me and my childhood. The hardest part of the conversation was also the easiest part because I was able to tell Chris, without uncertainty or nervousness, about my parents dying and the time I spent in foster care, and how it made me who I am today.

  He said it was admirable and I have done very well with myself considering the ‘challenging hand’ I was dealt. I liked the words he used to describe my past, it was refreshing in comparison to how people usually said it ‘such a hard life,’ ‘issues,’ ‘at least you got through such a hard time.’ I wanted to slap every person that’s looked down on me and talked about my past in a pitying way.

  “I wanted to be a social worker,” I told him. “Unfortunately, my grades didn’t make the cut for a scholarship of any kind and I could not afford a loan of any kind for the education.”

  “So acting was your second choice?”

  “Yeah, I guess you could say it was.”

  I was happy when Chris went into more detail about his upbringing. I hadn’t been expecting it at all, so it was a nice surprise. I realized, when he was talking me about his dad raising him after losing his mother, just how much he cared for him. Chris idolized the man more than anyone else. That much was clear. I was happy for Chris that, even after the death of his mother, he and his father were still close until the day he passed away. At the same time, I couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous. I never got to have a relationship with either of my parents.

  I was fifteen when the accident happened, so I was old enough to understand everything, but that didn't change the feeling of abandonment after their funeral. There was no one else to take care of me, no family, close friends, or anyone else. I was put into the foster system and I bounced between homes for the first six months. In the first year, I had lived in eight different houses, each of them more different than the last. The homes weren’t all bad though, there were good times, but there were also bad times.

  The worst home I ever stayed in was when I was 17 years old. I lived in a three-bedroom cottage house with six other kids aged between eight and fourteen. I was the eldest which meant I took on most of the responsibility; I cooked almost every night of the week and cleaned up afterwards, I also took care of all the laundry. Mary and Stephen were the foster parents, and although they liked all of us the same and treated us all with respect, they were very alcohol-oriented people. They were always drunk, but never violent, which I suppose was something to be grateful for. They took care of us, the bills were always paid, we always had food and clean clothes to wear, and they were never around

  “So, the reason why I called you up here today was to talk to you about your future.”

  I nodded. “Okay, what would you like to know?” I replied.

  “It’s not so much what I want to know, but what I want to give you,” Chris replied.

  “Alright, what do you mean?”

  “What I mean is to ask if you'd like to come to a party on Saturday night next week?” My eyes widened. “Don’t be alarmed, I'm throwing a party this coming Saturday to welcome the new talent crew in, and amongst this crowd will be some big names and faces in the film industry, and music too.”

  What?

  “So I would like to invite you to come along as a guest, just like everyone else there. You will not be working. And I can introduce you to talent scouts, modeling and film agencies, music companies,” he threw his hands up. “Anyone who means anything will be there and it will give you a great opportunity to meet some people.”

  I didn't know what to say. Was this really happening?

  “Of course, I do understand if you don't want to come, but the opportunity is -”

  “No!” I almost screamed. “I want to come, I really do. But I don’t know what to say. And how can I ever thank you enough?”

  Chris smiled, “You don’t need to thank me or repay me.”

  I shook my head. “I don't understand why you’re doing this though, it makes no sense when you don't even know me.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, that’s a fair call.” He reached over and took my hand in his then. “You’re right to say that I don't know you, but I am starting to get to know you and to say that I'm not interested would be a lie.” He gave me a small smile. “And if you would give me the chance, I would really love to take you out to dinner sometime.”

  My eyes widened instantaneously, and I felt a warm blush rise on my cheeks. This is actually happening, Chris Pierce, my billionaire boss, was actually asking me out on date. I turned to look at him then gave him a sharp look, “Is this a trick?” I asked. “Because if it is, it’s not very funny.”

  Chris stared at me for a long moment before he leaned forward. His hand went to the back of my head and he stroked the back of my neck gently before running a hand to my cheek and gently stroked my jaw line. “No, Elisha, I am not tricking you.”

  I couldn’t reply to that, I couldn’t even breathe in that moment. It felt like the whole world around me stopped. A nervous flutter drove my stomach insane and my pounding heart went into overdrive. We stared at each other for a long moment, my brown eyes locked with his gray ones. My face started to warm as a blush slowly rose to my cheeks. He made me feel so nervous, excited, and scared at the same time. Did he like me more than just someone who worked at his company?

  It was another minute before we finally looked away from each other and I looked around the room from my nerves, trying hard to calm my racing heart. I bit down on my lip when I finally looked back to see him smiling at me. I felt like a virgin again for the first time, crushing on a boy I liked. I was not eighteen, and Chris was not a nineteen-year-old indie band singer/bartender.

  He chuckled, “Do you always bite your lip like that?” he asked.

  My blush deepened, and I nodded. “Yes, it is probably one of my worst habits.”

  I spent the entire time until I had to start work with Chris in his office. Our flirting didn’t amount to anything more than a warm hug on my way out the door, but it was enough to put me i
n a magical trance for the rest of my night. When I finished work I went home, had a shower, and fell asleep thinking about Chris and who he was. We were still just getting to know each other, but already I felt like I couldn’t be with a nicer guy.

  It wasn’t just the fact that he was a very rich man, and every man and his dog wanted the opportunity to work for him. No, it was more than that. He was kind, relaxed, and funny. One minute we could have a serious conversation, and the next we could laugh about something. I felt relaxed and safe with him, and I wanted him to know that. I wanted him to know that I was starting to like him more than I probably should, and I wanted to ask him if he felt the same. But I wasn’t sure how to go about bringing that up.

  Relationships have never been a strong point for me. I’ve had a couple boyfriends, but nothing has ever lasted more than six months. I didn’t want to start anything with Chris if the possibility of us not being together after a few months, or even a year, was a possibility. And there were also rumors about his infatuation with women.

  Chapter 6

  Between working ridiculous hours and saving as much money as possible, I managed to get some time to myself and catch up Krystal on Tuesday, and made plans with Xander on Wednesday. I got three days off this week: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and I couldn’t have been more surprised or happy.

  Monday was spent checking out a strip mall a short walk from the crappy apartment I was renting. There, I managed to buy some casual clothes, a casually-nice dress, a pair of flip flops, and I got my mop of brown hair trimmed. I was well overdue for a haircut, and the few centimeters the hairdresser cut off really did wonders.

  Tuesday, Krystal and I got up early and took a drive outside the city to a day spa. I kept telling her - without feeling embarrassed because she knew how careful I was - over and over again that I didn’t have the money to spare because I needed to save, but Krystal reassured me that we wouldn’t be paying for anything. At the time, I didn’t know what she meant, but I was happy and surprised to see that a lot of the people from work were there.

  Xander was there! And, Oh My God, he looked sexy sitting by the pool in his shorts. The sight of his tattooed, tan skin holding all his muscles in place was enough to take my breath away. And then he turned, and I was in complete awe. I stared at him like a deer in headlights, there were several small tattoos on his chest and arms, and a small one that - along with a patch of hair - trailed into the waist line of his pants.

  “Elisha, what are you doing?”

  “Huh? Say, what?” My trance was broken and I looked at Krystal.

  She burst out laughing. “Oh, you’re in so much trouble. I know that look.” She kept laughing and walked away, shaking her head. “Hello, everyone!”

  I had yet to notice anyone else, and when I looked around I was surprised to see a lot of people from work. So this is what everyone did during the day? The area we were in consisted of a large pool, two smaller ones, two hot tubs, a bar, dining area and so much seating space I couldn’t work out how this place would ever fill up.

  “Elisha?”

  I nodded to Krystal and walked over to where she stood by the pool talking to a group of entertainers. I wasn’t exactly in with that crowd, so I wasn’t expecting to make close friends with them anytime soon, and Xander wasn’t with them… unfortunately. I did see a couple of the other waiters, waitresses and bar staff hanging around by the bar area though, so I would go over and say hi, and do the whole ‘social butterfly’ thing that I very much sucked at.

  I sighed, socializing was not my forte, and I didn’t expect that to change anytime soon.

  I made my way over to Krystal and the others, after quick introductions we went to change into our bikinis. I hate this, I thought, I do not like this at all. And everyone is going to laugh.

  Krystal laughed. “What are you whining about?”

  I hadn’t realized my internal thoughts were actually external. “I hate this, bikinis, pool parties, talking to people. I am not good at it.”

  She tilted her head and looked sadly at me. “What do you mean? You’re great!”

  “I’m really not. Trust me on this, I am not good with people. Small crowds are fine, but not big ones like this, and not in what I’m wearing.”

  She raised her brows. “You cannot tell me you’re self-conscious of the way you look? You’re damn sexy and I’m not the only one who sees it.”

  I shook my head. “See that’s the -”

  “Nah-ah,” she held up a hand to stop my protests. “You’re going to enjoy the day. Have some fun, meet more people and flirt a little. Xander is single -”

  “I don’t like -”

  “Shut up, I see how you look at him. And you can wear my hat and sunnies until you feel confident enough to take them off and really show yourself off.”

  Relief flooded my body when Krystal pulled out big white sun hat, and sunglasses that were big enough to conceal me. Confident, be confident! I chastised as I finished dressing.

  I pulled my hair out of the loose bun I pinned it up in this morning and shook it out before arranging it as best as possible into its natural waves. I dropped the hat on my head, slipped the glasses on and looked at myself for a minute before Krystal came over, her mouth gaped open like a fish out of water. “Oh, dear God.”

  “What?” I turned around fast. I groaned, “Is it seriously that bad? I bought the bikini and I thought it would work well because Gray kept saying how I wasn’t as tan as the other girls but my hair was the perfect shade and the electric blue color would work well.” I shook my head. “I knew this was a bad choice, I should’ve stuck with the one piece.”

  “Oh, no! Don’t you dare! No one-pieces, please!” Krystal was practically shrieking.

  “I don’t have another to wear” my mood and confidence deflated by times ten in the span of less than half a minute.

  “Babe, you look amazing, it’s perfect.” She smiled and handed me a fruity cocktail - I had no idea where she got them from, but I wasn’t going to complain. “How have you got no confidence in yourself when you are so amazing? And you’re kind and funny too?”

  “I’m not nice,” I quickly denied. “Or funny. And whoever told you that was lying, and you should be disappointed with them.”

  “I’m not saying anything in reply to that,” she sipped her drink. “Come on, let’s go have fun.”

  My confidence was pretty much back. I still felt a little unsure, but I made my way to the poolside with Krystal, painting a smile on my face as I went. This is convincing, right? I wondered.

  The pool party wasn’t so bad, I didn’t know what the occasion for it was, but it was actually kind of fun. I wasn’t usually such a big drinker, but I made the exception today and sucked down three of the fruity cocktails in a few hours. I was nowhere near drunk, or even tipsy, but I was happy and had a little buzz going. And it was enough of a buzz to finally have the confidence to go up and say hi to Xander.

  He’d spent most of the time by the big pool and hot tub with others on the security team, and others who I frequently saw walking around in fancy suits. I assumed they were part of the business side of things than the entertaining side.

  “I’ll be back, going to see someone,” I told Krystal.

  “And who would that be?”

  Her cheeky smile and wagging eyebrows made me blush. “Stop it!”

  She threw her head back and howled in laughter. “Go say hi, and have fun. Feel free to ditch the hat and glasses anytime.”

  “No, it’s sunny. Don’t want to get burnt and I have sensitive eyes.”

  “Bullshit.”

  I shrugged, “It’s a plausible excuse.”

  Just as I was about to walk over to the hot tub, I paused, Xander was gone and he wasn’t by the pool either. My brow creased, he was right there, not even two minutes ago, I looked around and couldn’t see him anywhere. Feeling deflated and confused, I decided to hurry back to Krystal before I made a complete fool out of myself.

 
; I saw Krystal first and then I saw Xander looking around holding two glasses in his hand. He was looking for someone and I had a feeling, judging by the crazed and excited look on Krystal’s face, that it was me he was looking for. His eyes locked with mine, and I caught one last glance at Krystal before I waved him over. She was clapping her hands excitedly.

  I ignored her as Xander neared closer to me.

  “Hi.” His voice was quiet, in a shy kind of way.

  “Hey, how are you?”

  He nodded, “Good, you?”

  “Mmm-hmm, I’m good.”

  We were both quiet for a moment, and I felt like a teenager in high school again, not knowing what to say to a guy I liked. And it seemed Xander was in the same position as me. But how someone as handsome as he could be shy I would never understand.

  “I got you a drink, and I thought maybe you’d want to hang out for a while?”

  It was a question, not a statement, and I felt my heart flutter in my chest from the sweetness in his nature. “I would love to, thank you.” I took the strawberry and cherry flavor cocktail he held out to me and eyed his drink, “What have you got?”

  “Just juice now, I’m driving.”

  “Sensible and handsome, I like it.” The words left my lips before I could stop them and my hand flew to my mouth from immense shame right after. “Oh, shit, I’m so sorry, I’m not crazy, I swear.”

  “Handsome?” He nodded. “Alright, I don’t mind. You hungry?”

  The question about being hungry sparked a rumble in my stomach almost instantly and I giggled. “Yeah, I could eat.”

  Xander and I spent the next several hours until the sun just started dimming under one of the cabana tents talking. We talked about anything and everything that we could think of. And it was a perfect conversation because it went on and on. There were no awkward silences or pauses, not even when more food and drinks came over, and no one disturbed us at all.

  “You need a lift home?” Xander asked once the party started getting louder and more people arrived.