Dual Hearts (Seduction Series Book 1)

by Emily Vincent

  She tossed a look over her shoulder, followed by a wave and then was gone. I shook my head and headed back to my table, where only a couple of the guys remained.

  “Wow!” Dustin said.

  I snickered and shot him a look, then tossed a punch to his shoulder. “Don’t be jealous, Man. It’s not a good quality on you.” I took a drink of my beer, and it was no longer cold.

  “How’d you do it?” he asked.

  “How’d I do what? Get a hot girl to dance with me? Easy as taking candy from a baby.”

  Dustin snickered. “I was actually referring to the fact that you just got Cammy Jaymes to dance with you and literally hang all over you. Do tell me your secrets.”

  I looked at him. “You’re sadly mistaken,” I said. “That’s not Cammy Jaymes. That’s Chakira Johnson.” The minute I said that, my mouth hung down. Was it possible I was duped?

  Dustin and Rodger were both having a hay day laughing on my account. “You’re kidding, right? You don’t even know who you’re going to be working for?” Dustin asked.

  “I looked her up a month ago, and she has red hair,” I argued.

  Rodger shook his head. “Don’t you keep up with the internet gossip?” he asked. “She had red hair, but that’s old news. She went blonde.” He worked his fingers on his phone and then thrust his phone out to me. I looked at the picture on his screen, and my mouth hung open. The woman that I knew as Chakira appeared before me. It also made sense why Chakira didn’t seem to fit. She was just using an alias name, clearly surprised to know that I didn’t even know who she was. I felt like a fool. And as far as reading up an internet gossip, I had stopped that the minute things ended with Elisha. It was easier that way.

  “Wow!” I mumbled.

  “You made a clear impression man because she was loving you on that dance floor.” Dustin laughed and stood up. “I gotta head. I have a busy day tomorrow. See ya boys!” He waved, but I barely acknowledged that he was going.

  “I should be heading too,” Rodger said. “Are you going?” he asked me.

  “Uh yeah… I guess I am.” I stood up, my mind racing to decide what I could possibly do about it now. I just danced with the woman that I was there to protect, and nothing could ever come of that. It was a little disappointing, but I had to make a vow not to let it get to that point, no matter how difficult it might be.

  The meet and greet were upon us. I couldn’t wait to get to the hotel club to talk to her and start off by scolding her that she lied to me about who she was. When I got there, the only things there were the band equipment and some groupies. I held back, just waiting for her to show up. After a moment, a few other women arrived. They went to the stage and started practicing with the microphone, doing a sound check for them, I assumed that they were either stand-ins or backup singers.

  I kept checking my watch, and after fifteen minutes had passed and then thirty, I decided that instead of standing there looking like an idiot, I should make my introductions with the rest of the band and maybe in the process find out when I should expect the start to arrive.

  I approached the stage, and one of the women looked my way. “Hey!” she said, nodding.

  “Hey! Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Xander, and I’ll be head of security for Ms. Jaymes,” I started.

  The woman stared at me long and hard, before clearing her throat. “Listen up team!” she called. “This is Xander. You’ll be seeing him a lot. He’s heading up security for Ms. Jaymes.” She laughed, and I wondered if I said something wrong. She turned back to me and explained. “Most people know her by C Jay or Cammy if you’re one of her closest peeps,” she said. “Hearing you say Ms. Jaymes, makes us think you’re referring to her mother or something.”

  I laughed. “Got it! I’ll remember that.” I hesitated, before asking. “And you are…”

  A hint of red hit her cheeks. “Oh right… the name’s Desiree. You can call me Des... or… Desiree.” She laughed as she held out her hand. I took it and shook it.

  “It’s a pleasure.”

  She smiled. “I’m one of the backup singers.” She then tossed a motion in the direction of the other two women. “That’s Joy and Sadie. They, too, are backup singers.”

  “Well, Sadie likes to think she can sing,” Joy said, which got them bickering back and forth, but Desiree just laughed and rolled her eyes.

  “The excitement never ends in a group full of women,” she said.

  I snickered. “It’s nice to meet you Des,” I said. She smiled and then things got a bit awkward before I looked at her and inquired about the lead singer. “Any idea where Ms., I mean, C Jay might be?” I asked.

  She glanced at her watch. “Well, she’s probably rolling out of bed right now,” she said. I thought maybe she was teasing, but there was no sign of that. “She doesn’t really play by anyone’s time or rules, but her own. I’m sure she’ll be walking in shortly though,” she said.

  “Okay. Thank you!”

  “Yep…so, I best get back to work,” she said. “But I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other around.”

  “I’m sure we will,” I said. I stepped back, so that she could get back to it and made my way to the back of the club. After another twenty minutes, I finally spotted her coming in.

  She went up to the sound guys and was chatting up with them, and I watched her for a moment before she could make her getaway, I headed over to her.

  “Chakira, right?” She turned, and her face lit up and she chuckled.

  “Well, if it isn’t Xander Wolfe, my security guard.”

  I shook my head. “Was a dirty trick you played last night.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Me? I swore you were kidding when you asked me my name. Who doesn’t know C Jay? Besides…why would you sign on to work with someone you know nothing about?”

  “Well, to be fair… I did do some research, but from what I’ve been told… it was pre-blonde,” I said. You look good as a blonde.”

  She laughed. “And I didn’t look good as a red head?” she asked. She crossed her arms in front of her and gave me the evil eye.

  I laughed. “I didn’t exactly say that.” There were some heavy glances between the two of us, and they were heated until she looked away.

  “Well, we both know that nothing could come of this between you and I, so that’s why I stopped from celebrating with you last night. So, we’ll stay professional and just leave it at that.” She held out her hand. “The name’s Cammy Jaymes or C Jay as I like to be called.”

  I reached out and shook her hand. “It’s a real pleasure C Jay.”

  She stepped back and put some distance between us and then winked. “The pleasure’s all mine.” She turned away and headed up to the stage, where I watched her every move. It was good that we were on the same page, but it was also a bit sad to know that the chemistry I already felt, was coming to an end and we were being left as boss and employee.

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