Free Dirty Dancing (Audition With A Billionaire, #1) (Erotic Romance) by Trace Dex Page B

the auditions.
    I watched closely, being pleasantly surprised by a majority of the contestants — there were a few cringeworthy ones as well. They’ll probably get on TV for the joke segments at least.
    “Number 68,” blared the loud speaker. Danny stood up and I gave him a strong hug.
    “Good luck!”
    “You too. I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.” He walked towards the door to the judges panel, hopping on both feet while tilting his neck side to side like some boxer getting ready to fight.
    I watched intently at the screen during Danny’s performance. He was absolutely perfect and from the smile on his face, I could tell he knew it. The judges were speechless, it was one of those performances where they didn’t even have to say anything, he was in. He really did it.
    * * *
    “Number 69.”
    I took a deep breath, feeling confident but frustrated that I had to follow such a perfect performance by Danny. I was really happy for him but nervous cause I was next and my emotions weren’t sure which way to go.
    I giggled at my number. It really cheered me up which was exactly what I needed. I would get 69.
    As I made my way in, I paused at the center of the stage on top of an ‘x’ created with black tape as a beaming light focused on me. I felt the warmth of it and could barely make out the three judges sitting before me. I knew from watching the screen earlier that the left one was a producer named Bill, on the right was Anna, an old singer who was way past her glory days, and in the middle was the CEO of MK Entertainment, Michael Krinsen.
    Although I was actually nervous, I didn’t care too much about the audition like Danny did. I just wanted to make sure he had some company. Being a popular celebrity was never really a goal of mine.
    “Crystal?” asked Bill.
    “Hello.”
    “Ready when you are.”
    I started off with the dance bit that I’ve been practicing this past week. It was a little shaky but I knew I would get them with the singing. About halfway through, my performance was halted and the judges spoke. I always thought it was rude how they just cut people off, but I didn’t take it personally considering they had over a few thousand more contestants to go.
    “You have an amazing voice, Crystal,” said Anna, smiling bright. I liked her, she has a good ear.
    “Yeah, her dancing needs some work but her voice is on point,” said Bill.
    They both looked at each other, then back at me. I stood there fumbling my fingers, still slightly out of breath from the performance and feeling hot because of the light. It felt as if I was standing there for an hour while I awaited for their response.
    “I say you’re in!”
    “Yes, me too!”
    I smiled, wiping the sweat off my forehead while eagerly awaiting Michael’s response. His eyes were focused on mine, expressionless as he bit on a white pen. His dress shirt fit him perfectly and his wristwatch screamed money as the shine from it lit his vascular forearms. I didn’t really notice him on the screen earlier because he was so silent. In fact, I don’t remember seeing him show up at the other auditions from the past years.  
    He squinted a little and shook his head side to side. It was a no and just like that, everything was over.
    To pass, you need the approval of all three judges and that was final. I stood there silently, unsure of what to say. My dancing couldn’t have been that bad, could it?
    I felt myself tense up as the rage started to fill my thoughts.
    I glared at Michael, “Was it the dancing? What did I do wrong?!”
    He looked down and started writing on a small index card, not acknowledging me at all. I wasn’t sure if I was more pissed about not passing the audition or because he didn’t even bother to say anything about my performance.
    The man with the headpiece began pulling me away but I pushed him off of me and stomped towards the judges table. I slammed my palms on top of the desk.
    The other two judges backed up slowly