First Chair Read Online Free

effort to focus on the task at hand.
    She’d a lot to do; the least of which was figure out a way to beat Felix at his own game. 
     
    ~~~
    Christina emerged from the shower. Picking up her moisturizing cream, she slathered it on with a generous hand. Sitting on the bed, she applied the fragrant cream on her feet, legs, and even her back. Finally, she donned her robe and went out into the living room. Her gaze fell on her cello that stood in one corner. Tears pricked in her eyes.
    Determined to not waste any more time lamenting about the state of her career, she walked over to the bookcase. Perhaps she could take pleasure in reading something? Her finger traced the spines of various books, but nothing intrigued her. The morbid thoughts plaguing her refused to give her any respite.
    How could she have trusted Felix so blindly? If anything, she blamed herself for being in this precarious condition. The manager had told her about the audition, but she wondered if there was any point in going for it. Felix was determined not to give her the job. Why humiliate herself further by going up on the stage, playing for him, and then getting rejected?
    She sighed. The doorbell rang, breaking into her thoughts. Christina walked over to the door, peaked into the hole and was shocked to see Count Van Bower standing outside.
    “What is he doing here?” she muttered, feeling self-conscious. She wasn’t dressed for company. Should she take a moment to throw on something more appropriate? What the hell? He was the one who came in unannounced.
    She squared her shoulders and opened the door. “Count Van Bower, what a pleasant surprise.”
    “The pleasure is all mine.” His gaze traveled from the tip of her curly hair to her face scrubbed clear of any make-up, down to her body clad in a silky, white robe, and her toenails painted with a soft peach nail polish. “You look beautiful as always.”
    That should have been her line. Up close, he was devastatingly handsome. Dressed in black pants, a white shirt, he looked as if he had just stepped off the cover of a magazine. Good enough to eat, she thought.  
    “Please come in.” Belatedly, she remembered her manners. Stepping aside, she allowed him to come inside.
    Seeing as how his gaze traveled to her living room, the neat rows of books on her bookcase, and the gleaming counters of the open kitchenette, Christina was glad she’d taken the time today to spruce up her apartment.
    “You’ve a lovely home.” His voice was gravelly, masculine.
    Feeling conscious, Christina gestured for him to take a seat. “Please sit. I’ll go and change.”
    “Actually, for what I had in mind, you’re perfectly dressed,” he announced as he walked over and took a seat on her couch.
    “Oh!” She ran a hand over her hair, not sure what he meant. “I don’t understand.”
    “Come and join me.” It wasn’t a request, but a command.
    To her surprise, Christina found herself walking over to sit beside him. All thoughts, and the capability of lucid reason, seemed to have fled her mind. All she could do was gaze into his eyes, hypnotized by his mesmerizing stare. He appeared to exude a charisma she couldn’t fight.
    “What can I do for you, Count?” her voice was a little breathless.
    “I’ve heard about your little problem, Christina. And I was hoping to offer a solution.”
    Why couldn’t she think straight? Her gaze glided down his face to his muscled chest. Her hands itched to open the buttons of his shirt and run her fingers on the smooth skin. She licked her bottom lip. “A solution?”
    “It has come to my attention that you wish to win the position of the first chair.”
    “Felix has said no,” she muttered.
    “What if you had the power to make him say yes?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Do you know who I am, Christina?” He raised his hand and touched the edge of the robe at her collar bone.
    “You’re Count Van Bower,” she said, acutely aware of his fingers that were easing