The Sweethearts & Jazz Nights Series of Sweet Historical Romance by Jessica Eissfeldt

Author:Jessica Eissfeldt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, 1940s, Jazz
ISBN: 9780993689888
Publisher: J&J publishing
Published: 2021-01-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

Violet shifted her weight away from Henry—No. Mr. Parker—and put her hands on her hips. She saw that Mr. DuPont had plucked the record from the phonograph. He leaned against the record cabinet with one arm, his other hand on his hip, holding the disc of black vinyl between his fingers. He said nothing.

Violet watched Mr. Parker’s eyes dart around the room. “Sir,” he said, “I was wasting company time. I apologize because I know you always say—”

“Damn what I always say, Parker. You always had that talent of yours hidden away?” DuPont twirled the record between his fingers.

Mr. Parker’s jaw looked in danger of falling open. Violet stifled a giggle.

Which turned into a gasp when DuPont turned to her, his eyes narrowed. “You know, Miss Swanson, I kept thinking you seemed familiar. Now I know why.”

Violet put a hand to her throat and took a step back, bumping into Mr. Parker, who clasped her elbow. “He’s right,” Mr. Parker murmured, his lips far too close to her ear. “I was thinking the same thing now that I’ve seen you dance.”

Violet’s gaze darted from one man to the other, and then to the door. Her hand at her throat clenched.

“Because you dance just like Gloria Dare in Dancing At Midnight.”

Violet forced a light laugh. “I know!” But she breathed a sigh of relief. So they hadn’t read that terrible write-up in Silver Screen magazine about her awful on-set accident. Yet.

“Which is perfect,” DuPont continued. “Because I want the both of you to headline this talent show idea that Parker’s cooked up at The Blue Mirror Club. With a swing dance number. Something big and flashy.”

“Sir, I didn’t think you knew anything about that. I was planning on telling you at the—”

“Word gets around, Parker.”

“Sir, I—” Mr. Parker tried again. He shot Violet a look she couldn’t quite read.

Violet pleated and un-pleated the fabric of her skirt between her fingers. She couldn’t do this, could she? What if she screwed everything up for Golden Gate Records like she had for MGM?

DuPont’s raised hand silenced Mr. Parker. “It’ll be great. The audience will love it and it’ll boost our record sales.”

And maybe in this case, she wouldn’t nearly burn the place down? She shook her head and grimaced, remembering: tripping over lighting, which lit the movie set curtains on fire, that somehow managed to shatter two movie cameras, before melting a master reel, injuring three cast members, causing thousands of dollars in expenses, and snarling everyone up in red tape for weeks afterward…

“The show’s only a few weeks away. Miss Swanson, what do you say?”

Who knew? Maybe this would help her dance studio gain customers? Even if it meant she’d have to dance in public and risk being recognized.

This could be a way to keep a closer eye on Mr. Parker, too. See if he slipped up. Violet took a deep breath, then nodded. “All right. I’ll do it.”

“Good.” DuPont nodded. “Now, you two had better get busy practicing.”

* * *

Violet slipped out of her pale pink camisole and into the smooth satin of her favorite polka-dot pajamas.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.