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David Powell
I understand. If you need to leave, let me know.
Emily Dawson
I’ll be okay.
She wanted to stay for the concert. She desperately wanted to hear Mark play.
Maestro Holden gave a small bow with a charming smile and then glanced at the two men before stepping onto the platform and holding up his baton.
The first strains of the Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D-Minor1filled the hall and Emily was entranced.
She stared at Mark as he played, his dark hair bouncing against his forehead as his body moved with the music. He smiled, he frowned. But he didn’t look at Rafael. Mark had given the other man a tight smile before they started playing, but ignored him once the music began.
The two of them were masters of their art, and together, they were breathtaking. Despite the monster that was Rafael, he was an amazing musician. He could bring a tear to the eye of the listener if he wanted to.
But Mark...
Oh, Mark could bring a listener to their knees to worship him.
Though she wasn’t feeling his playing tonight. He played beautifully, but it didn’t capture her like it usually did.
Once the three short movements were finished, the audience applauded and the two soloists retreated backstage. Maestro Holden introduced Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B Minor. Emily leaned back in her seat, her heart full. Seeing Mark play in person, with an orchestra, was a dream come true.
She flipped through her program and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the second half of the program. First a short Shostakovich overture and then her very favorite concerto of all time: Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor. Now she knew why Mark had been practicing it so much. He’d been getting ready for this concert.
Her phone buzzed in her purse and she glanced at David, but his phone wasn’t in his hand. Who was texting her?
Her heart stopped when she saw it was from Mark. She tapped the screen wondering why he was texting her.
Mark Pierce
Stay away from Alvarez.
Emily frowned. Why was he—
Oh, no! He must have found out she was in LA. How? Her dad must have told Rafael and he... told Mark? Why would Rafael tell Mark she was there? No one out here knew they knew one another.
Why would Mark feel the need to warn her? Did he think she would seek Rafael out? She wanted to see Rafael even less than she wanted to see her parents.
She put her phone into her purse and smiled as Maestro Holden began the next piece, Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony.”2She did her best to listen and lose herself in the beautiful melody, but her mind kept circling back to the fact that Mark was at the conference and that he knew she was there too.
How could she face him now? He would be disgusted with the reason she came out in the first place, regardless of her “position” at David’s company.
At last, the final, gentle chords of the Schubert poured out across the audience and Emily pressed her lips together as she applauded. It was a beautiful piece but she was too distracted to fully enjoy it.
Once the lights came up, she made her way to the spot where she and David had agreed to meet. He was scanning the crowd and let out a small exhale when they made eye contact. She hurried to his side.
“I was worried,” he said, searching her face.
“I’m okay. Really.” She didn’t like the doubt in his expression. She would force herself to be okay. For his sake.
“Let’s get some fresh air,” he said, nodding toward the open doors across the hall. Once outside, he sighed. “This is going to be a long week.”
“Why?” she asked, looking around as they headed toward the garden around the side.
“Well, I don’t think your father will do business with me since I told him off.”
