“Well, she won’t ruin me. At least not business-wise.” I gave her a flirty grin. I wouldn’t mind being ruined by her in bed, but I was smart enough not to say that out loud.
“What makes you think you’ll be successful?”
“Well, for one, my brother and I already have three successful clubs. Two in Manhattan, and one out in the Hamptons.”
“And two?”
“And two, our clubs are a little different from most.”
She smirked at me skeptically.
“No, really.” I pulled out my phone, going to the website for one of our clubs in Manhattan. “My brother and I like to combine business and technology, along with a whole lot of fun.” I handed her the phone to look at the club’s website. “My brother, right now, is scouting locations in Los Angeles. We’re looking at putting in a noir prohibition-type club there.”
She handed the phone back to me, and the skepticism was gone. She almost looked impressed. “They didn’t have much technology back then.”
“No, but we have some interesting ideas. I was thinking of doing something similar to that here, but having a prohibition gangster theme is a little on the nose for Las Vegas, don’t you think?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
“What about old Hollywood? You know, the glitz and glamor and music of the Rat Pack.”
She shrugged. “That’s not hard to find here, either.”
She was probably right, but still, I felt Sam and I could put an interesting twist on it. I could already envision having our guests doing karaoke with a hologram of Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. I wondered what the licensing fees for that would be.
“It’s your turn, Amelia Dunsmore, from Las Vegas. What sort of business do you do?”
“I have a social media marketing agency.”
“No kidding?” I pulled out my phone, opening Instagram to see if I could find her on it. Sure enough, she was there and clearly knew what she was doing. She had all the coordinated colors and filters that professional Instagrammers used. I stopped and poked one photo to get a larger view of it. In it, she wore a deep purple bikini with a large, brimmed hat and fifties-style glasses while lounging in a chaise by a pool. I shifted in the seat as my dick took notice of her fantastic curves as well.
“Is that the only thing that interests you about me?”
I shut the app, feeling like an asshole lecher. “No. But I won’t deny that you’re very attractive. What sort of businesses do you work with in your social media agency?”
She smirked, clearly enjoying that she had caught me being a base, primal male. “I work with boutique hotels and a few clubs. In Los Angeles, I just signed a contract with a celebrity-owned restaurant.”
I grinned. “Congratulations.” Seeing that we were about to pull up to my hotel, I knew I had to make my move. “We should celebrate. Why don’t you let me take you out for dinner?”
“You don’t need a tour, then?”
I nodded. “I’d very much like a tour, but I didn’t want to push my luck, especially after my ogling faux pas.”
She laughed, and it was light and lovely. I felt it flow through my chest in the oddest way.
“I'll tell you what, Max Clark from New York. I need to go home and check on a few things, but I’ll meet you back here at your hotel at, say, two o’clock?”
I looked at my watch. It was barely eleven. Two o’clock seemed like an eternity away, but it was closer than dinnertime. “I’ll be ready.”
In the hotel, I rebooked a suite and headed up to take care of my own business. I started by checking in with our New York office to make sure all the clubs in New York were running as usual. Sam and I had business educations from college, but the most important parts of our knowledge came from our dad and uncle and other members of the family who were in business. From them, we learned how to hire the best people, so I wasn’t worried that something would be going off the rails while I was away.
Next, I tapped into our network to get a referral for a commercial real estate agent in Las Vegas. Once I got a name, I called her up, told her what I was looking for, then made arrangements to meet her tomorrow to preview possible club locations.
When I was done with that, I thought I should call Sam and tell him I changed my plans, but hopefully, his plane was landing in Los Angeles and he was on his way to make another bid for the woman he loved. I prayed she would finally forgive him.
At two o’clock, I was standing in front of the hotel like an eager teenager going on his first date. I laughed at myself for feeling like that. I enjoyed women, but it’d been a long time since I’d been excited about spending time with one. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was about Amelia that was drawing me in. Yes, she was beautiful and sexy, and she clearly was her own woman. It had to have been more than her musical laugh, but damn if I could figure it out. The reason didn’t matter. I hoped we would have an enjoyable afternoon and evening, perhaps even night, then tomorrow, I would do my business and plan to return to New York.
As Amelia approached, I felt a whoosh of excitement. Her long red curls were blowing in the wind as she pulled up in a Mini Cooper convertible. I’d never been in a Mini Cooper. I hoped I could fit my large frame into it.