The Billionaire's Authentic Daughter ▶️

7 8 | J U L I A

"The others are here today. We're practicing," Braxton said.

I couldn't concentrate on his words as all I could think about was his warm hand engulfing mine and pulling me gently along with him through the hallways of one of TalentNest's studios where they usually made their music.

The building was huge and spacious. The furniture was artistic. Everything looked so sophisticated there that I instantly felt small.

Today when he was about to leave, he had unexpectedly asked me if I wanted to tag along and although I said I didn't want to disturb him at work he had insisted me to go with him. He wanted to show me their studio and that was where we were headed.

He pushed open a door with his back as he talked to me about why they felt the most comfortable in the most isolated part of the building. Nobody was around which also put me at ease. I pulled off the scarf from around me, no longer fearing that someone would mistake me for Juliet.

As I was putting it away in my bag, I felt fingers in my hair flattening the wisps of hair against my head that had broken free from the ponytail because of the scarf. I would never get used to him touching me. It wasn't anything unpleasant or even unwelcomed or inappropriate. It just startled me everytime he reached out and made skin contact.

The door opened to a wide lounge area, a long couch curved along the wall in a control room where Imani sat with a couple of papers in her hands. It was massive, with a vast panel having various buttons and controls where Darius Wells was sat with another man. The walls had the band's photos all over and it had a music inspired interior.

I gaped around at the lavish space. The control panel looked out into the live room through a glass window where I could see a mic stand. In there stood Park Geun with his eyes closed, no doubt singing.

Upon seeing him, I stopped and turned to Braxton. "I am interrupting your work. Maybe I should come back later," I whispered in his ear because I didn't want the others to notice me and get annoyed at my presence.

"No, it's all right. They could use a break anyway. Come on," he assured and pulled me forward with him. "Hey guys," he said to them and at once their attention was on us. The man next to Darius signaled Geun to stop. "I brought Julia along today."

"Hi, Julia," Darius said in greeting while spinning in his chair to face me. "It's your first time here, isn't it? Welcome."

"Thank you," I rushed to say. At least he didn't look unhappy at my interruption. "It's so beautiful. Making music here must be such a joy."

"I know. I thought the same when I saw it for the first time," he said, then gestured to the man next to him. "This is Tito Sanz, our sound engineer."

"Hi," he said. "I'm Tito."

"But we call him Tits," said Park Geun as he exited the vocal booth.

Imani grunted from where she sat on the couch.

"Which Imani doesn't like but we don't care," he added. "Nice to see you here, Julia. Are you here for the first time?"

"Yes," I said.

"You want to try singing in the live room?" Darius asked.

That left me speechless. "I–I don't want to impose."

"It's all right. We could use a break anyway," assured Darius. "Braxton goes on and on about how you'll be a great singer one day and yet we haven't heard you sing yet. Come on, get behind that mic."

The thought of singing in front of the whole band plus the sound engineer, Tito made cold sweat break out all over my skin. I dabbed at my moist temples with a handkerchief. "Maybe some other day."