Perfect Harmony Read Free Page B

it
terrifies me at the deepest level.  How every moment I’m with him makes my body
shiver and pour with sweat and burn hotter than the sun.
    No man has ever had this effect on me.  It’s scary and
frightening and all I can think to do is flee.
    “Is it your boyfriend?” he asks.
    “Uh, yes,” I stammer out.  “He...he’s going to be there, at
the ball.  Tonight.”  I sigh.  “With my roommate.  I can’t face them, not
together.”
    Chase’s eyes fill with anger.  “This man , do I know
him?  Does he work for me?”
    “He’s a cover designer.  He works in the art department.”
    “Makes little drawings for my CDs, does he?”
    “Yes.”
    “Hmmm.”  He muses, scratching his chin.  “Then he’s bound to
be stricken with jealous rage when he sees you dressed like a princess and on
my arm.”
    “You...you think so?”
    “Of course.  I am a powerful man, who makes it my sworn duty
to possess anything of great value.  To see I have chosen you, he’ll come to
you on his knees and beg.  And this woman of his, she’ll see me as your date
and her jealousy will consume her.”
    “Wow.  You think quite a lot about yourself, don’t you?”
    “I’ve never had any reason to question it.”
    He’s right.  I hate to admit it, but if I went as the date
to the Chase Strong - I’d be the most envied woman in the state.  Maybe
even the country.
    And if it caused Richard and Liz to be filled with jealousy
then it would be even sweeter.  All the times I’d left them alone in the
apartment, begging Liz to look after Richard for an hour here and there whilst
I worked late, and she was too polite to say no.
    All this time, I thought she was doing it as my friend.  Not
as a rival.
    And then, for them to betray me like they did, and who knows
how often it’s been going on...
    I have no one, now.
    No one except Chase.
    “I can’t dance,” I say.
    His scans me with his intense gaze.  “Impossible.  Look at
you.”
    “When I used to have singing lessons, I had one teacher who
was so adamant about being able to dance as well, like a singing dancing all
package deal.  The singing I always loved, still do...but the dancing...  If I get
on that floor, I’m going to be treading all over your feet.  All my past
boyfriends certainly complained.”
    His smile reappeared.  “You just haven’t had a man who was
able to lead.”
    “Maybe,” I murmur.  “But when that many guys-“
    “How many?” he interrupts.
    “I’m sorry?”
    “How many boyfriends has there been?”
    “I don’t think...”
    “You’re a young woman.  Nineteen, at a guess.”
    “Yeah, that’s right.”
    “I find it hard to believe that such a young lady as
yourself would have had that many boyfriends.  How many? Eight?  Ten?”
    I couldn’t tell Chase my number.  This man is so suave he
thinks ten is a small number.
    “Three,” I say.
    “Only three?”
    “Well, technically four, but one was Jim Jonson, the
neighbour’s kid, when I was five, so I didn’t think that really counted.  Plus,
we only went out for an hour before he broke my Barbie.”
    Chase lets out a light chuckle.  “And the others?”
    “One guy in high school, lasted a week.  Then a guy in
college.  Four days.  And then Richard.  Which has...had been three months. 
Until he...you know.”  My cheeks burn red.
    “Betrayed you and broke your heart?”
    “Something like that.”
    He takes in a sharp breath.  “So, you sing?”
    “Yeah, since I was a kid.”  A full smile beams across my
face.
    “How fortunate.  The charity organisers wanted me to coral a
woman from the label’s talent pool to sing a number to the guests.  I had someone
booked but she...she wasn’t able to make it.  Maybe you could take her place?”
    “Oh no, not in public.  No way.”
    His face softens.  I expect him to ask further questions but
he lets the matter slide.
    “You own a record label, I mean, can’t you get someone else
to sing?”
    “Not