“Yeah, I’m kind of on the clock.”
“Thanks for humoring us, Chloe. I just thought it would be cool to introduce him to you,” Trihn said, unable to believe this was real life. “He has this remix of ‘Heartbreaker,’ and it’s my favorite of the tracks he’s put together.”
“Really?” she asked, reaching for the drink that Maya was handing her.
“It’s actually really good,” Bryna chimed in. “Quality. He knows what he’s doing.”
Chloe seemed to reassess Damon. She probably had people who wanted to make it in the music industry try to get close to her all the time. She’d seemed to tune out as soon as the conversation had shifted to her career. But Bryna’s words held a lot of weight.
Trihn hadn’t even thought that saying something about the mix would turn Chloe off. That wasn’t Trihn’s intention at all. She had just wanted to thank Chloe for the great music.
Chloe shrugged and took a sip of her drink. “Well, if Bryna approves, then I want to hear it.”
“You do?” Damon and Trihn said at the same time.
“Yeah. Can I hear it now? Is that possible?” she asked.
“I could cue it up for you in the booth,” Damon offered.
“Then, let’s go to the booth,” she said, standing and taking the lead even though she had no clue where she was going. “Come on, Mateo,” Chloe barked.
Mateo plopped a hat down on her head and forced the sunglasses back on her before departing. Trihn, Damon, and Jimmy followed close behind her. Damon looked at Trihn in astonishment, and she was sure that her face mirrored his, both unable to believe this.
She had just put Damon on the spot in front of a big name in the music industry, and now, he was going to showcase what he was good at in front of this celebrity. She hoped this would turn out to be a good thing.
As they walked through the crowd, it was clear the news about her appearance here had definitely spread. Damon and Trihn crowded in around Chloe as they made their way through the throng of people who was excited to find her in their midst.
When they finally made it up the stairs to the DJ booth, Chloe leaned back against the wall and was breathing heavily. She was counting under her breath, and Trihn could see her hands were shaking.
“Are you okay?” Trihn asked.
Mateo took a step between them. “Give her a minute.”
After a few deep breaths, Chloe took her hat off and seemed to regain her composure. “Sorry about that. After London, crowds freak me out. Last year, I had a panic attack while walking to my car after leaving the AMAs with all the people in the parking lot. Oh, shit,” she said, looking at Mateo with fear in her eyes. She glanced back at Damon, Trihn, and Jimmy fearfully. “Please don’t tell the press that.”
“It’s okay,” Trihn said. She took Chloe’s hand in hers. It was heartbreaking to see the other side of the confident girl from the stage. “We won’t say anything. Promise.”
“Thanks,” she said hopefully. “Let’s, uh…just go hear the song.”
Damon nodded his head at the bouncer. Seeing Chloe with her bodyguard, the bouncer widened his eyes as he swung the door open to the booth for them. Damon and the bouncer clasped hands before their group entered the booth and Jimmy shut the door behind them.
Cadence swiveled around at the commotion. She had her headphones on and seemed to have been jamming to the techno music in the background. “Hey, Damon. Super sorry about earlier. I’m all set to leave whenever you’re—shit! Is that Chloe Avana? If not, you’re a total doppelg?nger.”
“Nope. It’s me. Hi.” Chloe waved at the girl.
“Whoa. Can we get a selfie?”
Chloe laughed, as if the panic attack in the hallway hadn’t just occurred because of psycho fans. “Sure.”
Cadence jumped up and pulled out her enormous cell phone. She clicked a picture with Chloe. “This is awesome. So great to meet you.”
“You, too.”
“Cady, we’re going to cue up my remix of ‘Heartbreaker,’” Damon told her. “You’re free to go, or you can stay if you want to hear it.”
“I’d love to hear it, as long as that’s okay with your girlfriend,” she said, hesitantly looking at Trihn.
“It’s fine,” Trihn said automatically. “I’m Trihn.”
“Cadence.”
They shook hands, and Trihn promised herself that she would be the bigger person in this situation. Damon was falling for her, and they were exclusive. This was nothing. Just a blip on the radar.
Damon fiddled with the controls, and Chloe leaned against the table, staring at the computer he was syncing up. Trihn was so excited that this was happening. She would get to watch Damon work, and it was cool that Chloe would hear his talent.
“All right. Here is just a sample. I’m pulling it up to play in the club, but I’m going to let Cady’s track finish out.”
He flicked a few more buttons, and then “Heartbreaker” started playing in the sound booth. Chloe tapped her foot as she listened to her lyrics come through the speakers. Trihn could see the instant the beat really hit her.