Page 39 of Hayden's Stalker

“Oh, no. Blake is upstairs in the VIP area. This is Tatiana, she’s”—I look at the women with April. Her friends are less gossipy than Blake’s, but I still don’t want to have the stalker conversation right here—“a friend of ours.”

April’s cheeks turn bright red, and she says, “Shit, sorry. I just assumed. I shouldn’t have. Nice to meet you, Tatiana.”

April holds her hand out to shake Tatiana’s, and she shakes it before gushing, “I’m a huge fan. It’s so nice to meet you.”

I stare at Tatiana as she has this reaction to my friend. She’s got that stunned look I’ve seen on thousands of faces when people meet me, right before they tell me how many hours they’ve spent listening to my music.

“Oh, you’re a competition winner?” April asks.

Tatiana frowns at her and shakes her head.

I laugh at her reaction and grin at Tatiana as I tease her, “No, and Tati didn’t care at all about meeting us. You shouldbe honored, April. I get the feeling that Tati doesn’t fangirl over many celebrities.”

Tatiana’s embarrassment is obvious, and I’m starting to wonder if I have a humiliation kink because whenever she’s embarrassed, I struggle not to pop a boner. There’s just something sexy about this woman, who’s so strong, smart, and capable, but then gets embarrassed about things like meeting April.

“Well, maybe Hayden can bring you to one of my shows sometime,” April smiles at her.

I can see us in the VIP area at one of April’s concerts, with Tatiana singing along to the songs as she dances, and I think I’d be more than happy to do that.

“Of course I can,” I agree.

Tatiana whips her head around to look at me. “Really?”

“Sure, if you want to.” I smile at her.

Her beautiful face is lit up with excitement, and it takes my breath away. She looks so incredibly happy for just a few moments before her face falls, giving me a smile that looks forced instead.

“Cool. Sounds good,” she says in her coolly professional tone.

Whatever just happened, I don’t like it. Maybe she doesn’t want to attend a concert with me. Maybe she’s noticed me drowning in my own drool whenever I look at her. Maybe she’s remembered that this is a job and I’m her employer. Whatever the reason, I’m not a fan of her happiness vanishing like that.

Not that I should care about her happiness, except in regards to her employment, because I have a boyfriend.

So I look back at April and her friends before saying, “Well, speaking of Blake. I should probably get back to him. It was good seeing you, April.”

She looks between Tatiana and me with a confused look on her face, then hugs me again and says, “You, too. It was really lovely to meet you, Tatiana.”

Tatiana nods at April and leads the way past the group, then further into the club. When we reach the stairs to head up to the VIP area, Blake is on his way down.

He glares at us and says in an accusatory tone, “That was the longest trip to the fucking bathroom ever.”

“We ran into April on our way out,” I explain to him, as though he hasn’t accused me of cheating on him with April in the past.

“Hmph. Well, I’m going to the bar for another drink. Are you coming with me?”

I shrug because it’s easier to just go along with what Blake wants, and I could definitely use another drink. So we turn and head back to the bar instead of going upstairs.

We’re standing and waiting to order drinks when Tatiana’s body stiffens next to me, and she turns and says in an alarmed tone, “We need to go.”

“Fuck off, I want to get a drink,” Blake says coolly.

“No, we’re leaving now,” she tells him.

She puts her hand on my arm and pulls me away from the bar while positioning herself in front of me, drawing my attention to two men now standing behind her. They’re glaring at each other, and I think they’re about to get into a fight.

Blake snarls at her, “Don’t be a bitch. We just want to get another drink.”

“Hayden,” she says in a warning tone as she stares up at me, begging me with her eyes to move.

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