His Private Dancer:

  Twelve Drummers Drumming Bonus Story

  By

  International Bestselling Author E.S. McMillan

  His Private Dancer: Twelve Drummers Drumming Bonus Story

  Copyright 2023 © E.S. McMillan

  Cover Designer: Whimsy & Whiskers Designs

  Editor: Samantha Talarico

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the Author/Publisher.

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Synopsis

  The sins of the father should not fall upon the son!

  Axel Bryant had it all, including the girl, until his father stepped in and ruined everything in a misguided attempt to rebuild their relationship.

  Will a grand gesture be enough to repair the damage done and get his girl back?

  *Author’s Note*

  This story can be read as a standalone.

  It is a bonus story featuring the characters from the novella ~ Axel’s Anchor. It is suggested that you read Axel’s Anchor by E.S. McMillan & P. Sawyer to fully understand and know Axel & Bella.

  Prologue

  “Bella!” Axel’s voice called out after me as I ran out of the room. “Bella!” The pain in his voice was evident but I didn’t care. I couldn’t care! Not after what I had just learned. He had been lying to me since the very beginning.

  All the sounds seemed to amplify around me and my head started to pound. I suddenly felt as if I had been hit with a hammer. This headache was definitely going to need something stronger than aspirin to soothe it. I didn’t know what my next move was but I knew I needed to get as far away from him and this place as soon as I possibly could. Willing myself to hold it together for just a little while longer, my tired feet carried me down the brightly lit hallway as fast as they possibly could. Everything around me had become a blur. I didn’t recognize anything anymore. The events of the past few hours replayed through my head like my favorite song on repeat and I needed it to stop. I needed everything to just stop! Tears ran down my face and clouded my vision but I did not let them slow me down. I had to get out of here.

  “Miss Bella! Is everything okay?” the security guard questioned as I ran past his desk. If I stopped to explain what had happened, I was going to fall apart. The bag holding my belongings slipped from my shaking shoulders, hitting the floor by my feet and I almost tripped over it. “Miss Bella!” The worry in the voice calling my name made my already broken heart shatter more. I took a deep breath while my feet continued to carry me towards the exit of the building. I needed to get as far away from Axel Bryant or whoever he was. I knew someone would pick up my bag and make sure it got back to me. Jumping up from his seat, the man chased after me as I tried to put as much distance between Axel, this whole situation and myself. “Miss Bella, you dropped something.”

  “Bella! Wait! Let me fix this!” Axel called out as he chased me through the building that once provided so much comfort and peace for me.

  “What’s going on?” the security guard demanded.

  “I just need to talk to Bella,” Axel responded. “I can fix this if you will just give me a chance.”

  “Miss Bella?” the guard asked. I could hear the concern in his voice. Guilt exploded in my stomach for making my friend worry about me but I couldn’t ease his concern right now. I just had to get away.

  “Bella!” Axel called out as I pushed the door of the building open and stepped outside. The cool New York night hit me. Taking in a deep breath and wiping the tears from my eyes, I ran towards the only place that I knew I would get any peace.

  *****

  Standing outside of the empty building, I tried to calm my pounding heart. “How?” I said out loud to no one in particular. The chill in the air settled around me and I instantly regretted running out of Juilliard like I did. I should have at least grabbed a jacket if I wasn’t going to change out of my dance recital costume.

  “Bella!” Sabrina, my best friend, called out from across the street. The sound of her voice snatched me from my pity-party and I searched the almost empty sidewalk for my friend.

  Turning around and coming face to face with her, a fresh wave of tears started falling from my eyes. I couldn’t believe that she had found me. “How?” The simple word tumbled from my lips as my tears continued to fall.

  “You’re my best friend,” she said as she rushed across the street to me. Thankfully there were no cars zooming down the street she had to dodge. Wrapping me up in a warm hug, she held me tight as she let me have a moment and cry. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “It’s over,” I sobbed as my heart broke all over again at the realization. There was no going back to the way things were between Axel and me. His lies and his father’s threats were too much.

  Taking a step back and looking at me in the streetlamp’s light, Sabrina let out a deep sigh. “Bella, that boy loves you and I think you love him too.”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore; too much has happened,” I whined as I turned my back to her and went back to staring at the building in front of me. Visions of my name on the front of the brick façade danced in my head and I held on to the only dream I had left.

  “It’s not Axel’s fault his father is an ass!” Sabrina insisted as grabbed my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

  “I love him so much but can’t let him hurt me anymore. He already took away part of my dream.”

  Turning me around to face her, Sabrina stared directly into my eyes. “You can’t really believe that!” I knew that she was about to tell me about myself and I really wasn’t in the mood to hear it.

  “Everything is ruined,” I said. I needed my friend to be on my side.

  “Bella, this is just a bump in the road,” she said softly as she started to guide me away from the building we were standing in front of and towards the direction of my apartment.

  “I wish it were just a simple bump in the road,” I sighed as I followed her. I was cold and tired and just wanted to hide underneath the covers on my bed for a few days.

  “Come on, Bella. You have worked so hard to get where you are right now. Don’t let Nelson Catherwood win!”

  “It’s over,” I said softly as my eyes fell closed and my tired legs carried me home.

  Chapter One ~ Nelson Catherwood

  “What have I done?” I cried out as my fist pounded on my desktop, knowing no one was around to hear me. My regular secretary was long gone, and the temp that sat at her desk was clearly scared of me. I only saw the poor woman when I needed her to do something and buzzed her through the intercom. Our conversations were very short and straight to the point. There was none of the usual flirting that I used to do with my female employees, or even polite conversation. It served me right. I’d treated Elena, my former secretary, like crap and was honestly surprised she’d put up with me for as long as she did. I mean, I paid her well, but it wasn’t like I was really offering her what she deserved. Not only was she hot, but she was smart. She knew more about my business than I ever gave her credit for. When she had had enough of me and left, I thought I was fine. Yet again, I was wrong. I missed her, not only in my bed, but most importantly by my side.

  My eyes were glued to the picture that had taken up space on my desk for as long as I could remember. My sweet little boy stared back at me, and all I wanted to do was have him materialize in front of me so that I could hold him in my arms. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry for everything I had ever done to cause him any pain. I just wanted my boy back.

  It was all my fault, and I didn’t know what to do to fix this mess I’d found myself in. I couldn’t take my eyes off the smiling face of my boy. I remembered the day I took that photo and was so glad I’d snapped the picture when I did. At the time, I knew I’d given his mother a hard time for making me forget about work for a little bit and spend some time with them. I’d yelled and screamed at her for making plans without my knowledge. In hindsight, I wished she’d done it more often.

  The constant blast from my past stared back at me with an innocence and sweetness that reminded me of the only woman I had ever loved. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I willed them not to fall as countless memories of me doing what I always did flashed through my mind. I took a deep breath to try and clear my mind to no avail. There was no denying, I’d messed everything up with my relationships with my family. What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I just be happy with what I had? It seemed I had to destroy everything good in my life.

  The realization that I couldn’t just go back and undo all that I had done hit me like a ton of bricks, and tears started to trail down my face. I didn’t care that I was breaking my own rule and crying. I needed to let everything go so I could take whatever time I had left and try to fix things with my son.

  “Mr. Catherwood? Is everything all right in here?” a timid voice asked f

rom the doorway of my office.

  Looking up from the picture, I came face to face with my Ester, my secretary. The look on her face was a mixture of confusion and fear. She took one step into my office but made sure to keep one hand on the door. “Yes, everything is fine. I think my allergies are acting up,” I lied as I wiped away my tears.

  “Oh, do you need me to get an appointment with your doctor on your schedule?” she quickly followed with.

  Standing up and walking to the large window that overlooked the bustling city below, I took a deep breath. “I wish it were that simple,” I whispered.

  “What was that?” she inquired as she took another step into the office.

  “Nothing,” I answered as I turned around to face her. I offered her a smile as my eyes darted back to the picture of my son.

  “Forgive me for saying this, but you don’t look well. Is there anything that I can do to help?”

  “Can you get my son to forgive me?”

  An audible gasp escaped Ester’s mouth as her eyes went wide. I couldn’t help but notice the deep blue orbs that stared back at me. “I don’t think that is in my wheelhouse,” she replied with a sad smile.

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “Can I offer a bit of advice?”

  “What?” I asked. Her question surprised me, and I was suddenly curious to see what she had to say.

  “Can I offer a bit of advice?” she repeated.

  “Sure,” I said as I made my way back to my desk and sat down in my chair. I shot a quick glance at the picture of my son and then focused my attention on the small woman who was walking towards me.

  “Life is short. Call your son and apologize. A simple ‘I’m sorry’ may be just what he needs to hear.” She stood in front of my desk, staring at me, while her words hung in the air between us.

  “Do you really believe that?” I asked, wondering if it was really that simple.

  “I don’t know, but it doesn’t hurt to try.” With those words, Ester turned around and walked back towards the door. Stopping before she crossed the threshold, she turned back to me. “All I ever wanted was for my father to realize and acknowledge the pain he caused me. I would have forgiven him in an instant if he had at least tried to make amends.”

  If only it were only that simple! The thought screamed in my head as I looked at the down at my phone laying on the desk.

  Chapter Two ~ Axel

  “Hey, boss! You in here?” Asher called out from the other side of my office door.

  “Yup,” I replied as I closed the laptop I was working on. Looking up as the door creeped open and Asher’s head poked into my dark office, I noticed the stack of papers in his hands. “Is that what I think it is?”

  “Yeah, the courier just dropped them off. All they need is your signature.”

  “Well, give them here.” My excitement was building, and I couldn’t hold back the smile that spread across my lips. This was my chance to make things right, and I hoped everything worked out the way I imagined. I needed to make things right and get my girl back.

  Walking into my office, Asher hit the light switch on the wall and illuminated the small messy space. I knew I needed to clean up in here, but there were just not enough hours in the day to get everything done that I needed to. “I knew you were waiting for these,” Asher explained as he dropped the papers directly in front of me.

  “You have no idea,” I replied as I reached for the papers and started skimming through them. I held my breath by my eyes scanned the papers in front of me.

  “Everything okay?” Asher asked with a concerned-laced voice. I was lucky to have him as one of my best friends and a member of my band. I knew that he always had my back, no matter what the situation.

  Averting my eyes up to his, I took a deep calming breath. “I just want to make sure that every I was dotted and T was crossed. I can’t have any issues with this transaction.” I knew Asher really had no idea how important my plan was.

  “Bella is going to love it,” Asher assured me as he dropped into the chair in front of my desk.

  “Is everything all set?” Sabrina asked as she breezed into my office like a spring day, shutting the door behind her.

  “Hi, Sabrina,” Asher said as he looked up at her. There was no hiding the red that colored his face, and I knew exactly how he felt. Hell, I felt the same way about my girl.

  Ignoring the man who was head over heels in love with her, Sabrina rushed over to my side. “Is that what I think it is?” Pointing to the stack of papers Asher had just delivered, she leaned over my shoulder to start reading. “Have you signed them yet?”

  “I was just looking over them to make sure everything was in order.”

  “You better hurry up! It’s almost five o’clock.”

  “Shit!” I exclaimed looking up at the clock on the wall. “Where did the day go?”

  “I don’t know, but if you don’t hurry up and sign these papers…”

  “I know! I know!” I groaned out as I flipped through the stack until I reached the final one. Grabbing a pen from my desk, I pushed the cap off with my thumb and signed my name on the dotted line.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to look over these a bit closer?” Asher asked as worry painted his face. He was always a voice of reason for me.

  “This has to be filed today,” I explained as I stood up and reached for the papers on my desk. Making my way across my cluttered office to the fax machine, I felt Sabrina moving around behind me.

  “Bella is not going to know what to do with herself,” she said. Her excitement was just the confirmation I needed to know I was doing the right thing.

  “I hope she loves this surprise,” I said as I started to load the papers into the machine. Punching in the number to my lawyer’s office, I waited with bated breath for the machine to start scanning the papers.

  “Love it? She is going to be blown away by this. Axel Bryant! You are making her dreams come true,” Sabrina exclaimed as she clapped her hands together and collapsed into my chair.

  “After what my father put her through, I owe her this.” Memories of my father’s deceit floated through my head, and I could feel my hatred for the man start to build up in the pit of my stomach.

  “He did it because he wanted you back in his life,” Asher started.

  “That was not the way to go about it,” I spit out as the final page was sucked into the machine. Collecting the scanned pages, I waited for the confirmation to print out.

  “I know,” Asher whispered. There was a sadness to his voice, and I wondered where it came from. There was no way he could be feeling any type of sympathy for my father. He knew the old man went too far this time! He didn’t only mess with my band, but he hurt my girl. There was no excuse for that.

  “It’s been over a year since all that mess,” Sabrina pointed out as she stood up from my chair and made her away around the desk. “Don’t you think it is time to let it go?”

  “Let it go?” I hissed as I turned to face her. I had to see with my own eyes if she was serious. A look of fear flashed across her face as pure rage contorted mine. “Let it go? That man almost took everything from me. I don’t know if I can ever let it go!”

  “Time.” The single word fell from Asher’s lips as he looked over at Sabrina and placed a hand on her trembling knee.

  Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I looked down at the now crumpled-up papers in my hands. Quickly trying to smooth them out, I walked back over to my desk and dropped down into my chair. “I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive that man for what he did to me and threatened to do to Bella. There are some lines that should never be crossed, and he jumped over all of them.”

  “Axel, he’s your father,” Asher said as he looked at me with sad eyes.

  “And I am a grown man who should be able to choose my own path.” I was done with this conversation and wanted to focus on the most important thing right now: Bella Armstrong. I needed to make sure that everything was perfect for her surprise. This was my one chance to really make things right with her, and I was not going to be distracted by thoughts of my father.

 

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