On Fire (Seduction Series Book 3) Read online

  On Fire

  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

  Free Gift

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue

  BONUS CONTENT

  Meeting A Stranger

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Also by Emily Vincent

  Free Gift

  CLICK HERE to get a copy of my book ’SEX, MONEY & ME’ for FREE!

  Prologue

  It was a simple application that I had filled out, but as I looked over the invitation, I realized it wasn’t all that unexpected.

  Dear Krystal Caverly –

  We are pleased to invite you to open auditions for Class Enterprises.

  I stared at the invitation, shocked beyond words. It had been on a whim and now I was set to be in Las Vegas in just two weeks. It would be a dream come true career change. Yet, fear riddled me. I didn’t know how I could give the news to Trevor. We had only been dating for less than six months, but things were going great. Amazing, in fact. Was I really willing to give it all up, just to follow a whim?

  A knock on the door signaled that he was there. I quickly folded the note up and put it in my pocket. Depending on how the night went would determine if I told him. You can’t exactly wait too much longer. He needs to know. Of course, my conscience would have to pipe in. It always chose the most inopportune times to voice its opinion.

  I hurried to the door of my apartment and opened it up. He grinned. “Hey, baby!” He leaned in and we kissed. I could feel my insides already telling me that love with Trevor was better than any opportunity out there. Yet, how could I pass up the chance? It wasn’t going to be an easy decision.

  “Hey!” I said, pulling back from the kiss. “Wanna come in for a bit?” I asked.

  “Reservations are at seven. We should probably head.”

  “Of course,” I said. I took a deep breath and went to grab my purse. When I turned around, he was giving me a peculiar look.

  “Everything alright?” he asked.

  I nodded quickly. “Why wouldn’t it be?” I asked.

  He shrugged and smiled. “Guess I’m just in my head.” He laughed lightly. “Ready to go?”

  I nodded and we left my apartment. When we got down to his car, he opened up the passenger side door and waited for me to get in. “Thanks,” I replied.

  I waited for him to come around and get into the car. His car, a brand new red Ferrari, was something that he bought, just because his other vehicle was ready for an oil change. Well, perhaps that was a little melodramatic, but in my eyes, he didn’t need another vehicle. Of course, where I came from, you worked paycheck to paycheck, and very rarely splurged with your money. Trevor and his family were from a different world. They were wealthy to begin with, then Trevor got a bank manager promotion and that shot him into a six-digit annual income. Sometimes, it made my head spin, the money that he talked about.

  The drive to the restaurant was spent with Trevor talking about sports and cars and me just nodding and acting like I had a clue what he was saying. I found my thoughts going back to the letter that was tucked away in my pocket.

  He pulled into the parking lot and jumped out, then ran around to let me out of the car. He liked to show me off like I was some trophy and I liked that, but sometimes it made me a bit uncomfortable. “Thank you!” I said. He kissed me softly on the lips and grinned, then looped his arm in mine and we headed towards the door of the restaurant.

  When I moved to New York City, I had to get accustomed to lights and glamor. Now, going to Las Vegas, it wouldn’t be quite the change, but I grew up in a small city. The city consisted of two stop lights, a drug store, a bargain outlet, and about three thousand people. It was a far cry from the land that I lived in now. It was shortly after the move, I met and started to fall for Trevor Marx.

  He held open the door for me and I looked at him. He seemed to be falling for me every day and the thought hit me that maybe he would suggest marriage. After all, he could work in financing anywhere. We could be married and live happily ever after in Las Vegas. I had high hopes that it was true.

  When we got in the restaurant and to the hostess podium, the woman looked at us. “Good evening, Mr. Marx,” she said. “Your table is ready, so follow me.”

  I was slowly getting used to the fact that he was so popular in the big city, that people knew him by name. It was something foreign to me, but of course, everyone knew each other by name in my hometown, too. However, it was for different reasons.

  We were led to a table, where the woman smiled and pointed it out to us. I tilted my head and frowned at the table. It was set for four people, a confusing realization when I thought we were having a romantic night set for two. I looked at him. “Four?” I simply asked.

  He grinned. “Patience, my dear. Patience.”

  I nodded and took a seat, but I was still confused as he took the seat across from me. I looked in the menu, but all the while I was looking at the other two chairs wondering who the intended guests were. After a moment, I closed the menu and looked at him. “So…when will I find out who is gracing us with their company?” I asked.

  He looked up from the menu and his eyes lit up. “Right now, in fact.”

  I turned around and saw Mr. and Mrs. Marx heading our way. My face fell. That wasn’t quite the company I would have hoped for. Trevor stood up and greeted his parents.

  “Mom…Dad…so glad you could come,” he said. He got up and kissed his mom’s cheek, then shook his dad’s hand, while I just sat there. It wasn’t that I hated his parents. I never really got the opportunity to get to know them. It was me that they didn’t like, or so it seemed by the way they would always look at me in the most intimidating of ways.

  “Son…glad you called us,” his father said. They glanced at me and nodded, but neither one said a word. I just smiled. I didn’t know why they didn’t like me all that much, other than maybe they didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t worth billions of dollars, but this was going to make for an uncomfortable dinner and I hated surprises, so this was a very unpleasant surprise.

  When the three of them all were seated, his parents looked at their menu and I glanced across the table to Trevor. He was beaming, so it was a crazy situation. I questioned what he wanted his parents there for, but I had to go through the whole dinner before getting that response.

  During the meal, he conversed with his parents about financial annuities or stocks and bonds and I was lost, so I just listened and thought about how it would be nice to know what we were there for. When the meal was finished, Trevor proposed that we got a bottle of champagne, so we could have a toast.

  “A toast?” I asked, with some caution as my backing.

  He smiled and nodded, then motioned for the waiter to come to our table. “I would like a bottle of champagne please,” he said.

  The waiter nodded. “I’ll be right back sir!” He left us and it was his mom that spoke up.

  “What’s the
occasion?” she asked.

  He grinned. “You will soon find out.” He then cast me a look and winked at me. In the moment, I wondered if he was about to pop the big question, but I was surprised that he would have his parents here. If that was the occasion, then I would think that it would be my parents at the table with us.

  The waiter came back and poured us each a glass of champagne, then left the bottle. Once he was gone, I looked at Trevor. I swallowed the lump in my throat, questioning if maybe I was on the right track. He picked up his glass, as did the rest of us.

  “Things are going amazing at the firm and with my girl beside me,” He turned to me and gave me a wink. I smiled, but then he continued. “I know that anything is possible. So, I am toasting to new beginnings and years and years of happiness, both personal and career wise. Cheers!” I lifted his glass and we clinked it together, then took a drink. He put the glass down and smiled wider. “Now, for why we’re all here,” he started. “Today I just signed a major deal at the firm, where we’re going to be acquiring fifty new buildings over the next five years. These buildings are going to be both in and out of the US.” My mouth hung down slightly. It wasn’t quite the news I was expecting. “In the next two months, I’m going to be travelling to Germany to open the first Marx Finance Corp., internationally.”

  His parents were the first to eagerly congratulate him. I stared at him. He was going to be heading to Germany? I couldn’t even grasp onto the news. “That’s my boy,” his dad said like a proud papa would.

  He turned to me, where I hadn’t even uttered a word. He looked at me like he was waiting for me to congratulate him or something, but I was stunned. “Wow…that’s great!” I said.

  He beamed. “I knew you would be happy for me baby,” he said.

  I didn’t know exactly what he thought I would do or say. It was really the only response I could give him at the moment. However, I knew for sure that I needed to have a serious conversation with him the minute we were away from his parents. Now, there was no way out of that.

  I actually couldn’t wait for the dinner to end and for us to be back in his car. Yet, when we got in the car, I started off being stunned, unsure where to begin. “You were quiet at dinner,” he said, starting off the conversation, so that led into the conversation we needed to have.

  “I guess I was a little thrown for a loop,” I admitted.

  “Okay. Then what’s going on in that mind of yours?” he asked, laughing softly.

  “Um…well…you didn’t even talk to me. You thrust your parents into dinner and you know how they feel about me,” I said.

  “Babe, they love you,” he said.

  We both knew that was a lie. I glanced at him. It was pitch black outside, but I had to see if I could judge whether he was kidding or just thought he was being funny. I turned away from him. “We both know that’s the furthest from the truth,” I said. “But you seriously didn’t think you should mention that we were having this impromptu dinner with your folks?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  I heaved a sigh and looked out the window. “It’s fine, but that was a lot of info you threw at us. Germany? For how long?” I asked.

  “Well, I don’t know…a couple months, perhaps six, maybe a year.”

  A ton of bricks hit me. That was a long while to know that the man you loved was going to be several thousand miles away. It could have been a million miles away, for all I cared. It was all about the same. I silently thought about the distance between Las Vegas and Germany and it reminded me that there was no guarantee what our future would hold.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked softly.

  “I don’t know. I guess it’s just a lot to take into consideration,” I said.

  There was a long pause before he replied. “Are you worried that you won’t be able to find a job? I’m sure there are a ton of gigs you can get dancing or doing whatever you want there?”

  My mouth fell open and I turned to him. “What?” I asked.

  He caught my stare and shrugged. “I’m just saying if that’s what you’re concerned about. I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with something you love to do there.” He reached out and touched my knee. “As long as we’re together, right?”

  I was confused. During this whole dinner, he never once mentioned me coming along with him. “What are you saying? You want me to come with you?” I asked.

  He laughed. “Of course.”

  I shook my head and stared at him. “Of course? Nowhere did you mention that in the conversation.”

  He frowned. “I didn’t?” He then shrugged. “I guess I just assumed that you would realize that.”

  He pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building, as I remained stunned and silent. When he parked the car, he turned to me. “You do want to come, right?”

  Thoughts of Vegas played in my head and the uncertainty of what Germany could bring. I pulled the invitation out of my pocket and looked at it. “Trevor, we need to talk,” I said.

  I looked up at him and his eyebrows furrowed. He had to be thinking how those five words could mean so many negative things. I reached for my door handle and opened it up, then turned back to him. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  He nodded, but I sensed a sense of doom following after me. We went up the stairs, and I opened the door for us to enter. Once inside, I closed the door and turned to him. “You’re scaring me now,” he said, chuckling lightly.

  “Let’s have a seat.” We went over to the sofa and sat down. Once he was looking at me, I started. “So, I was going to have this conversation with you at the restaurant, but since that, all went down, I knew that it would have to wait. A while back I applied for this job, and today I got an invitation to come for the audition.”

  “Oh!” He frowned. “That’s good news, babe. I realize that if you get it, then Germany will seem out of reach, but where there’s a will, there’s a way, right?”

  I looked down at the letter. “Typically,” I mumbled. “But you see, the thing is…this job isn’t in New York. It’s in Las Vegas.”

  “Oh…wow!” he said. “Wasn’t seeing that coming.” He scooted back from me like he wanted to distance himself. “Well, you wanna go?” he asked.

  I snickered. “Of course I want to go. It’s a great opportunity. I would be crazy to pass it up. I mean, you are the only reason I would pass it up,” I finally admitted.

  “Well, I certainly don’t want you to pass up an opportunity on account of me,” he replied.

  I didn’t think he would, but that didn’t settle my nerves any. “So…what does this mean?” I softly asked, even though I knew what it meant. We both did.

  However, he started with something that made me believe he didn’t understand the issue as being that dire. “When is the audition?” he asked.

  “Two weeks,” I said.

  He shrugged. “Nothing says you’ll get it. Go to the audition and we’ll see what happens. If you don’t get it, would you consider coming with me?” I asked.

  I never really thought of myself as the type that would up and move out of town to appease a man, but I had never been in love like I was with Trevor. I found myself nodding. “I would consider it then.”

  He smiled. “Okay. Then that’s what we’ll do. You go to the audition and we’ll decide what happens next once we find out the outcome.”

  I smiled, still feeling unsure. “Okay.”

  “I love you, Krystal,” he said.

  I had no doubt he did. “I love you,” I said. I leaned in and we kissed, but while the kiss lingered, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was hoping that I bombed the audition. It wasn’t a nice thought when I knew that I wanted this and I was hoping for the best.

  Chapter 1

  Three Years Later

  The crowd, made up of mostly men, cheered as three of us left the stage. “Good show tonight!” Beka said as she disappeared into a changing room.

  Tonya, another dancer, grabbed her
things and looked at me. “Going out tonight?” she asked.

  “You mean this morning?” I asked, chuckling.

  She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, Elisha is meeting up with me when I get out of here.”

  “Sounds like fun. Hope you girls have a blast.” She smiled and then disappeared into her own room.

  “Sure will,” I mumbled, then headed off to my dressing room. I stepped inside and shut the door. I went over to my clothes and started shedding my layers as I dropped each piece to the floor. A yawn escaped and I knew that I could fall asleep in ten minutes, but when I got the call from one of my best friends, Elisha, I just couldn’t say no. It’d been a few months since we’d seen each other and I was looking forward to the late night. Plus, sleep was overrated. I grabbed my bra and slipped it on, then pulled a button down sheer white top over it. I was standing there in just my lingerie and shirt when there was a knock on the door.

  Knowing that Elisha was going to swing by the dressing room when she got there, I didn’t think much of it. “Come in!” I called out. I reached down and grabbed my jeans when I heard the creaking of the door as it opened. “I’ll be just a…” My words fell off when I turned around and saw it wasn’t Elisha standing there. My jaw dropped. “Trevor? What are you doing here?” I was so surprised to see him that I didn’t even remember that I had my pants still off until I noticed his eyes dip down and he was checking me out. I could feel the redness on my cheeks as I quickly put my jeans on. “Wow!” I breathlessly stated. I couldn’t believe it was him. His eyes went to mine.