Beck
“Openly carrying?” Beck breathed. “As in, Felicity is carrying a gun? Does she have a permit? Openly carrying isn’t a crime in Tennessee, not even on private property.”
“According to my friend down at the courthouse, she got her permit to carry. The casino has a strict, “No weapons” policy while on our property,” Knox said.
“Won’t hold up in court,” Beck said, shaking her head. “Trust me, laws to carry, both concealed and openly, trump private corporate rules. If you call the cops, they will make her leave the property, but won’t arrest her.”
“Shit,” Knox said. “So, there’s nothing we can do then? She can just walk into my casino and terrorize not only my guests but also my employees wearing a gun on her hip?”
“Not exactly,” Beck said. “Just hear me out because I haven’t thought this all completely through, but she’s breaking private policy for the company.”
“Right,” Slater agreed
“Well, that opens a whole can of worms for you,” she said, pointing to Knox.
“How so?” he asked.
“If Felicity is blatantly breaking company policy, then you can fire her outright, no questions asked,” she said, feeling rather proud of herself.
“Even if she’s not breaking the law?” Knox asked.
“Correct,” she agreed. “Do you have a copy of her current contract with the casino? If I’m correct, her contract would have a stipulation in it that no weapons could be brought on the premises and doing so would be punishable by termination of employment. I know for sure that it was in my contract that I signed when I became Knox’s assistant.”
“I think she’s onto something,” Slater said. “It’s kind of brilliant, Beck,” he praised. She thought so too and the idea of not having to live under an arm guard’s watch sounded pretty good to her. If Felicity was removed from the casino, and they didn’t have to deal with her presence every day, maybe life could go back to normal. Or, at least as normal as possible, given the news of her pregnancy.
“Give me a minute, I’ll have HR send me over her contract,” Knox said. “Thanks for the idea, Honey,” he said, dipping his head to give her a quick kiss.
Slater watched Knox walk over to his desk and sat down next to her on the giant sectional sofa, looking over the unused pregnancy tests.
“Should I ask?” he whispered.
Her face felt as though it might split in two from her unyielding smile. “I’m pregnant,” she said.
“From that smile on your face, you seem pretty damn happy about it,” Slater said. “Are you?” he asked.
That was a very good question. She had barely had time to let the news sink in that she was going to have a baby, but Beck was pretty sure that she was happy. “I think that I am,” she breathed. “Knox and I are still so new to each other, but I think that this is a good thing.”
“I’m happy for you both,” Slater said. “How did Knox take the news?” he asked.
“I’d say well,” she said. “He asked me to marry him,” she whispered.
“Wow,” Slater breathed. “What did you say?” Beck looked over at where Knox sat behind his big desk and giggled. “I said yes,” she said. “I figured that I’m in love with him and all, so why not.” Knox looked up at her and Slater and smiled.
“Pretty good for a woman who didn’t want to admit that we were even in a relationship, right?” Knox teased.
“You tell Rainey yet?” Slater asked.
“No,” Beck admitted.
“I just realized this morning that I had missed two cycles and could be pregnant,” she said. Slater made a face and she couldn’t help her giggle. “Sorry—too much information?” she asked.
“Um, yeah,” Slater said.
“I’ll go over to her place tonight to tell her about the baby and Knox’s proposal. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled. She’s been bugging me for a very long time to let someone in and settle down.”
“Do you think your sister will ever do that again? You know, let someone in a settle down again?” Slater asked. Beck eyed him suspiciously. She knew that he had personally volunteered to guard Rainey and the kids, but she believed that was out of a sense of obligation to Knox. Had she been so caught up in her own world that she missed something happening between Rainey and Slater?
“You have something you want to tell me, Slater?” Beck asked.