Dual Hearts (Seduction Series Book 1) Read online

  Dual Hearts

  Emily Vincent

  Copyright © 2018 by Emily Vincent

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Elite Members Club

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

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  Prologue

  Tuesday, 6:30 P.M.

  “How can your day go from: Good to average. Average to excellent. Excellent to nervous. Nervous to annoyed. Annoyed to confident. Confident to failure. Failure to hopeful. Hopeful to lost. And then lost to relieved?”

  I shrugged at the question. “You saw, so you should know.”

  “No, I saw part of it, I need you to fill in the blanks.” He clarified.

  “What is blank?” I asked.

  “Everything that happened before I met you.”

  “Fine.” I sighed. “Listen carefully though, because I’m not going to repeat myself.”

  He drank greedily from his cocktail glass, “If this really is your day, I’m not sure if I want to be told about it again.”

  I laughed before downing the rest of my drink.

  Chapter 1

  Tuesday, 3:18 P.M., earlier in the day.

  Good to average. Average to excellent. Excellent to nervous.

  That was how my day went up until now. And it was only one in the afternoon, there were still plenty of hours left in the day to end it on a stellar note, or on a flop, the next hour or two would determine that.

  “… And the clients, they can get a little hands-on. If there is trouble, call security…”

  Sigh.

  For the past thirty minutes, I stood listening to the security guy talk about the clubs, what was expected of us, what to do, what not to do, how to handle situations, and so on. It dragged on.

  Who was this guy anyway? I wondered as I watched him walk back and forth in front of us thirty odd women, barely looking at us long enough to actually remember our faces. I would remember his though, he was gorgeous. And it wasn’t just his face, it was everything about him.

  His hair, eyes, height, muscles, and the suit. The black suit he wore looked like it was made for him, but there was something about it that didn’t seem right on him. Like he was uncomfortably-comfortable… if that was even possible?

  Hmm.

  He was intriguing though, and I am not even sure why. Maybe it was his deep voice or the way his eyes seem to catch mine every few seconds. I started to watch him closely, noticing that his gaze seemed to drift over and past everyone, but it felt like our eyes met more than once. I told myself it was just nerves.

  “But what if they tip extra?”

  I rolled my eyes at the blonde next to me, this was now the fifth time - or maybe it was the sixth - that she had interrupted the security guy as he spoke about the club. I looked at him and then to the four other security guards standing behind him. They were all getting frustrated with the questions she kept asking.

  The questions literally contradicted everything that had already been said.

  “What’s your name, love?” he asked.

  She smirked, a proud look on her face as she squared her shoulder and back before answering him. “Mercury. Mercury Jones,” she replied.

  She nodded her head as she answered and I wondered if she was sizing him up. It was my first time in Vegas and it seemed like Mercury had been around for a while, but surely a move like that wouldn’t go down well?

  “Mercury, would you mind writing down all your questions and saving them until the end?” he asked, a pleasant smile on his face, but the annoyance was clearly present as he spoke.

  I looked at her out the corner of my eye and watched her eyes go wide, mouth gape open, and heat rise to her cheeks. She hadn’t been expecting him to say that, that was obvious.

  She brushed it off quickly and nodded though. “Sure thing,” she smiled.

  He didn’t reply, and instead continued on with what he was saying for a few more minutes, his eyes continued to catch mine every now and then before he asked the other guards if there was anything else that needed to be addressed. They all said no, and right then was when things started getting real and the nerves I was feeling before tripled.

  “Welcome!” A booming voice greeted from behind us.

  We all turned, seeing a flamboyant looking man enter, followed by another who was dressed in a sharp suit. Mr. Flamboyant introduced himself as Grayson, but the one behind him, tall, dark, and handsome, said nothing and instead walked over to talk to the security guard that had been talking us through everything.

  They talked quietly to each other for a few moments before Mr. Sharp-Suit waved a hand at Grayson and walked to the back of the room when a group of two women and four men, all dressed in equally sharp attire walked in and sat at the back of the room. And Mr. Security, he didn’t sit with the sharp suits or go back to the rest of the security. Instead, he stood behind the suits, keeping close to Mr. Sharp-Suit, who looked like he could string any person in this room along at the click of a finger.

  “Ladies, you will have one chance…”

  My mind was brought back to the task at hand when Grayson, Mr. Flamboyant started.

  “Just one chance,” he smiled. “Three minutes and nothing more to show us,” he touched a hand to his chest. “Myself especially,” he pointed out to us. “What you have, and why you deserve to be here.”

  Over half the girls smiled and nodded, some even giving an excitedly nervous giggle at what he said. Even Mercury, though her arms remained crossed over her chest, looked pleased at the prospect of becoming part of Class Enterprises Elite Talent.

  Actually, everyone but me seemed overly enthused.

  I was excited, the chance to dance here in the cabaret was a huge opportunity and would certainly open up a world of opportunities, but I wasn’t anywhere near excited as everyone else here. It wasn’t Hollywood, and it wasn’t Social Services. But it was a few steps behind my second dream job.

  Foot in the door, this job is a foot in the door, I chastised myself. I had been saying this over and over the entire bus trip from L.A. If only I had the money for a plane ticket; I would have been here faster, and had less time to work myself up into a fit of nerves.

  Grayson and a gorgeous blonde assistant in a tight black skirt and blouse that could do with at least one extra button walked around taking names and handing out numbers to pin on the front of our shirts. “Name?”

  “Elisha,” I answered more seriously than I would have liked.

  Grayson chuckled, “My
stoic princess, Elisha. Do you have a surname?”

  I nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed over the nickname. “Elisha Lornal.”

  “Lornal? Strange name.” He gave me what looked like a forced smile and handed me a number. “I love it!”

  “Miss Elisha Lornal!” He shouted clapping his hands. I blushed again feeling multiple pair of eyes on me. Some jealous, some uninterested, and few curious, and two pairs intrigued. “Good luck, sugar.”

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  A few minutes later we all had our numbers and were preparing for our routines. ‘Arrive early and arrive ready,’ that was what the audition sheet said. All I had to do was take my sweat pants and jacket off, check my hair and make-up, put my shoes on, stretch, check my music, and breathe, and I was good to go. I didn’t seem like much, but it felt like it took hours.

  I checked the time on my phone. Ten minutes, it took no longer than ten minutes. I wish it took longer though, because I was third from last to audition out of the 34 women.

  “First lady, please.”

  My heart started beating faster, it would be a while before they got to my audition, but the nerves I’d been feeling since I walked into the building increased at a rapid pace. I put a hand over my fast beating heart, hoping it wouldn’t jump out of my chest the moment I got my chance and stepped onto the stage.

  I smiled to myself, trying not giggle at the thought. It wouldn’t be pretty, and I certainly wouldn’t be hired.

  “What are you smiling at now?”

  I took no notice of the question for the reason being, why would anyone be talking to me?

  “Hey,” I felt a rough shove to my shoulder. “I’m talking to you.”

  “What?” I asked, harsher than I would have liked, but the need to get up and knock the person back was brimming on the surface. Snapping was the better option, I told myself.

  “What are you smiling about?” Mercury asked.

  I shook my head, my brows furrowing in confusion, before I shrugged and turned away. I wasn’t going to get into it with her or anyone else here. I was here for one reason and that was to land a job in the Elite dancing crew. Getting into an argument with a contender was not on the list of priorities.

  “Hey, don’t be rude, I’m trying to be your friend.”

  I whirled around sharply. Her sweet tone took me back a little, reminding me of a time that I didn’t want to think about. High School. It wasn’t her, and I wasn’t there. I blinked a few times before turning away from Mercury again. “They look at you, why?”

  I heard her whisper in my ear. My brows furrowed again before I sighed and turned back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I replied, all nerves gone and annoyance sinking in. That poor security guard. “I’m here to audition and that is it.”

  She scowled, “You won’t get the job, give up now.” She chuckled. “Besides, you barely look eighteen, jail bait.”

  I slipped my heels off and slid my slippers on. I stood and made my way over to the open door where we could go for fresh air during the auditions. I wasn’t going to get into it with her or any other in this place.

  I leaned on the railing that over looked the street below us. We were high up, roughly fifteen floors, and though I wasn’t a fan of heights it did give me something else to think about as I pushed thoughts of the audition and Mercury Jones out of my mind.

  I scowled to myself, Mercury Jones. The name sounded so ridiculous I realized it was likely fake, and she was a stripper. She certainly dressed like one in the shorts that sat so high up on her hips and were cut in a way that it made them look like underwear. And that top, see through and two sizes too small.

  Thinking that didn’t make me any better than her though, we were both here for the same reason and it would be wrong, and contradictory, to think less of her than I would myself. I didn’t approach people the way she did though, and who was looking at me?

  “You shouldn’t let her bother you.”

  Startled, I turned around to see one of the other auditioning ladies standing in the doorway. She was tall, thin, with jet black hair and the most piercing green eyes I have ever seen.

  “The blonde?” I asked.

  She nodded, “Yes, Mercury, she calls herself.”

  The woman rolled her eyes, obviously having the same thoughts as I did about the name Mercury. “I’m Krystal,” she introduced herself as she came to stand next to me, looking over the side of the balcony.

  “Elisha, nice to meet you.”

  “You too, girly.”

  I crunched my face up a little, “What is with all the nicknames in this place?” I huffed in exasperation.

  She laughed, the sound high like a wind chime. “You don’t like nicknames?” she asked.

  I shrugged, “I have nothing against them, but does everyone need one?”

  She nodded, “Yeah, around here you do. Need to give the people something to remember you by.”

  “I don’t want to give anyone anything to remember me by though, I just want a job!”

  Is the day going to get better?

  “Good luck, and I mean that.” There was a solemn tone to Krystal’s voice as she spoke, and I knew she meant what she said and she wasn’t just trying to be nice or bait me like Mercury.

  “Where is my diamond Krystal?”

  I chortled at the exuberance in Grayson’s voice as it boomed out onto the balcony. Krystal laughed at the same time. “See, nicknames. You want one, trust me. Catch ya soon.” And with that, Krystal was gone and I was left to my own solitary thoughts again, but how long would that last?

  “You can do this, you have to do this,” I whispered to myself.

  I had no choice but to do this, everything else prior has failed and this was my last viable option before I started looking for an office job, but would I even be qualified for that? I had to get this job, there was no choice after Hollywood was a bust. The marks I received at acting and performance college would be a complete waste if I failed this audition today, and that wasn’t an option because I’d have nothing else to hope for… aside from an office job, or McDonalds for the rest of my life.

  I could study distance ED, I told myself. I could study the course I’d wanted to since I was seventeen and I would pass. I would concentrate and work hard to get the job that I deserved and would make a difference to mine and someone else’s future.

  I needed to pass this audition first though. No job means no money, and no money means no education, or anything else.

  Why is this place so hot! It has to be worse than L.A., I decided. I know it is worse than the tiny cold town I grew up in. When people think California, they think warm and sunny, but they forget about the areas at the top of California where the mountains blocked out a lot of sun.

  “Where is my stoic princess?”

  My thoughts were broken again and I rolled my eyes at the nickname. “Nicknames, gotta have something for people to remember you by," Krystal’s words ran through my mind, and right before I entered the room again I wondered if Krystal was her real name or a stage name.

  “You’re up next, my princess,” Grayson winked at me.

  I fought back the eye roll, reminding myself again of what Krystal said and that a nickname might not be such a bad thing.

  Need to be remembered.

  While the other girl was just starting her routine, I walked over to slip my heels back on. Mercury was still sitting where she was before - too close to me for my liking. People like her craved attention and I wouldn’t give her any of it. Why waste my breath?

  I stretched one last quick time after putting my shoes on. I was about to stand when a hand was placed on my shoulder. “Hey,” Mercury said softly. I turned to look at her. “Sorry about before, I was just nervous, good luck and I hope you do really well.”

  I couldn’t fault that, I was nervous too. We all were. I smiled and accepted her apology before I stood.

  Annoyed to confident, my mood shifted again.

 
I smiled as I made my way to the stage.

  “Elisha Lornal, my stoic princess,” Grayson greeted. “Three minutes, one shot, good luck and begin whenever you are ready.”

  I nodded, took a deep breath, and looked to the back of the room to nod at the DJ. Before I could give the nod though, the man pairs of eyes at the back of the room, but there were only two pairs that held mine with an intensity I couldn’t place; Mr. Security Guard, and Mr. Sharp Suit. I looked away quickly and took another deep breath before finally looking up and giving the DJ a nod.

  The cabaret music started with a bang, and before I knew it - despite the thirty-plus eyes throughout the room pinned on me - my feet carried me through the first few steps of the carefully choreographed routine that took me over a week to perfect. Some dancers had the talent of creating a routine and mastering it within a few hours, but for me it was progress and couldn’t be rushed. Every step, movement of arms and hips, every facial expression was carefully planned and executed. Or at least it was for the first 43 seconds of the music and routine before my shoe snapped and my foot came out from under me.

  I crashed twice, once when I hit the stage and once when I rolled off the stage and hit the floor. And I rolled three times before coming to a stop. I stared up at the ceiling hearing the multiple gasps throughout the room, and the odd stifled laugh from males and females.

  I didn’t have to be told, or even check, to know what happened. I slipped on my heel before it snapped and I fell off the stage. The words one chance rolled around in my mind several times before the person who said them loomed over the top of me, a furrowed look on his face.