Page 39 of Exactly What I Needed
I stared at the keyboard momentarily, before slowly raising my heavy gaze to Nina. Her mouth was hanging open in excited disbelief.
“Thank you, Cosette,” Carl said through the microphone. “Nina, if you’ll come out here, there’s a few people waiting to speak with you about the audition.”
Grinning, I rose from the piano and turned to follow Nina out to meet Carl and her mom when an unexpected figure standing in front of the door caught my eye. As Nina’s hand grabbed the handle, she too halted in place.
Both of us focused our attention through the glass panes, and my jaw dropped open. Asher was standing in the studio, his arms crossed, and glaring directly at me. I slunk back down to the piano bench, trying to hide from his gaze.
The microphone crackled, and Carl spoke again. “Uh, Cosette. Someone’s here for you. I am told you weren’t supposed to leave the couch.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know.”
Nina glanced between Asher and me, curiosity filling her face.
Asher stood menacingly in the corner, quiet and unwavering in his piercing gaze through the glass. Directly at me. I knew there was no hiding, and I needed to make my exit so Nina could finish her audition.
Sighing, I cracked my neck and stood up from the piano. Nina stepped away from the door and walked directly toward me as I pushed the bench under the piano. I lifted my brows as she paused in front of me.
“Why is Asher Stone here for you? As in,theAsher Stone?” she whispered.
“It’s a long story. And please don’t say anything. To anyone,” I replied, gritting my teeth. “Technically, I’m notreallyhere.”
“But you are,” she hissed.
“Nina, please. I made a deal with my students, and this is how I can keep my end of the bargain,” I briefly explained. Not a total lie.
“Students? You’re a teacher.”
I nodded. But didn’t explain that it wasn’t for music but for English. That wasn’t a detail she really needed to know.
“Oh, that makes sense. Okay, I won’t say a word. My lips are sealed.” She smiled. “Oh, and thank you! You’re an incredible pianist.”
“No problem. I hope things work out for you,” I replied, and walked around her. Passing the microphone and a few instruments, I opened the door and stepped out of the sound box and into the booth.
“Thank you!” Carl and Margaret gushed over and over. “Thank you!”
I quickly bid my farewells and followed a frustrated Asher out of the studio. The moment we were in the waiting area again, his hand clamped around my wrist, and he dragged me halfway across the floor, shoving me inside studio three without care.
The door snapped shut behind us, and we were alone. The lights were off, the plush couch along the wall hidden in shadows until he flicked the switch and the yellow blare illuminated the space.
“I told you to stay put,” he snarled, taking a threatening step toward me.
I crossed my arms, not backing down. “They needed help, and I could provide it.”
“By playing one of the most difficult Concertos of the twenty-first century? Hell, ever written?” His gaze narrowed, and I shrugged my shoulders.
“Did you forget that I can play the piano because all you care about is getting in my pants?”
“I care about more than that, and no, I didn’t forget. I just didn’t think that’s what Sydney meant when she said you could play the piano.”
“What’d you think she meant? That I play something like ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and that’s it?” I was angry, frustrated.Why was he so upset at me?
“No.”
“Then what the fuck did you think she meant?”
He stepped into my body and wrapped his hand around my throat. Not tight, but enough that he could tip my chin up to meet his face that was an inch from mine. “Why would you not tell me that you could play like that? A Duvaldi piece? And you barely looked at the sheet music?”
“Because I don’t tellanyoneI can play Duvaldi,” I hissed.
