Page 10 of The Vegas Bluff

He held his hands up in surrender.

"And second, keep your voice down. That’s just the sort of thing I don't want our father to know about."

James nodded. "No doubt, he’d try and find a way to take advantage of that."

I nodded. "So, mum’s the word."

"Do you suppose he and his brother will need any money for this club?" James asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I doubt it."

He nodded and shrugged. "I had to ask."

The door opened, and my father walked in with a smarmy smile. My guard went up immediately. It was no fun to be around my father when he was his usual asshole self, but the smarm scared me the most. That was when he was in manipulation mode.

"How come I'm never told when you two are meeting? I don't get to see you two together nearly enough."

I wanted to barf. My father didn't give a fig about seeing my brother or me. For a moment, I worried the sudden act of paternal attention meant he'd overheard me talking to James about Max. If that was the case, I would have to cancel our date. It wasn't that I didn't think Max could handle any antics from my father, but he shouldn't have to. Not for a two-night stand.

"Why don't you come over for dinner tonight? I’ll have Alice make both of your favorite dishes."

It was just like my father to force his cook to make two different meals for us, three if we counted Dad who didn't like my favorite, fettuccine Alfredo, or James's favorite, sushi.

I stood, ready to make my exit. "Sorry, I have a prior engagement tonight."

My father arched a silver brow. "Oh?"

"Yes, she's having a business meeting with a club owner out of New York."

I wasn't so sure I liked James sharing that much information about Max, but at least he said it was a business meeting, not a date.

"New York, eh? Your business must be doing really well, kiddo."

There might be some twenty-six-year-olds who found their fathers calling them kiddo endearing, but I hated it. I knew it was his way of dismissing me as being a child.

"Speaking of which, I need to go get ready for my presentation." I turned to my brother. "I'll let you know about those changes in the campaign.”

“Good luck tonight.”

I hurried out of James's office and to my car as quickly as I could. Once I was on the road heading home, I let out a breath. I’d just dodged a bullet.

CHAPTERTHREE

Max

I wanted more than anything to take Amelia back to bed and drown myself in her body one more time. After the first time, it was clear that once wasn't enough, but even after the second and third times, it still wasn't enough. If she hadn't walked out of the bedroom fully clothed, I definitely would have tried to take her back to bed.

But she was dressed and ready for the day and perhaps that was a good thing. The fact that I couldn't seem to get enough of her could be problematic if I continued to indulge myself. But even with that kernel of concern, it didn't stop me from asking if she would spend tonight with me. I was leaving tomorrow, so I'd be safe from getting entangled with her beyond just enjoying her company and the physical aspect of our relationship. I got the feeling she felt the same as I did, wanting to indulge the attraction but not wanting to get emotionally entangled.

When she left, I did my best to focus on the whole reason I was in Las Vegas. The real estate agent that I had contacted picked me up outside the hotel to show me a few properties that might work for the club Sam and I planned to build in Las Vegas. Thinking of Sam, I wondered how things had gone with him and Kate when he returned home yesterday. I hadn't heard from him, and I decided to go with the old adage that no news was good news.

My agent, Carlyn, was a thirty-something professional woman. She reminded me of my uncle Zack's wife Eleni, who exuded power and fierceness when she was in work mode. Carlyn was attractive and clearly spent a lot of time and money to get that way. It made me think of Amelia who dressed nicely and wore makeup, and yet came off as natural. Maybe it was because she let her hair hang with all those wild curls. My hands definitely didn’t get to spend enough time tangled up in all that lovely hair.

As Carlyn drove us to the first location, she went through the list of prospective properties that she’d selected for me. As she rattled off all the features and benefits, I looked over the paper with the same information that she'd handed to me when we got into her car.

When we arrived at the first spot, I felt certain that it would not be the place for us. It was too far away from where I believed our market would most likely congregate. But I toured it anyway on the off chance that it provided something in the building that would make up for what the location lacked. It didn’t.

The second location was much improved, closer to all the action in Las Vegas. Sam and I weren't looking at building a club for locals. We liked to create places that were destinations in and of themselves. Putting them close to other destination spots ensured that we would be where the market could find us. At the same time, I didn't want to compete with the hotel casinos. Too many of them were like all-inclusive resorts, where everything and anything a visitor would need was provided on the spot, which meant they didn't venture out. This second location seemed to fit the bill.


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