the-charmer

by Myra Scott

  “Touch wood when you say that, dear!” We laughed, but I couldn’t help from drumming my fingers on the wooden bar counter. I wasn’t superstitious, but I wasn’t about to tempt fate, either. “Anyway, we were wondering, do you know if you’ll have time to break away from all this and come see us in time for Christmas?”

  “Mom,” I groaned, “it’s not for another four months! I haven’t had time to give it the first thought.”

  “Well, give it a thought, why don’t you,” she said with a gentle laugh. “If you don’t, your father and I might just have to come see this nightclub of yours for ourselves.”

  It took everything I could to hold back a laugh at the thought of my parents tottering around a hip Vegas nightclub. “I know that’s supposed to be a threat, but you both know you’re welcome here whenever you want, Mom.”

  “Oh, I’m teasing, dear,” she said. “Anyway, I’ll let you go now. You sound stressed, though, so get some rest. Even a CEO needs some downtime.”

  “Will do, Mom. Tell Dad I said hi,” I said. “Love you.”

  “Love you too, dear,” she said, and we ended the call before I poured myself some straight vodka on the rocks and made my way over to the guys.

  “How’s the family?” Gage asked with a sincere smile as I approached them, sitting on the back of the couch.

  “They’re good, Mom was just asking how things are going with the new project.”

  “Hope she couldn’t hear your hangover,” Burt joked with a chuckle, and Gage grinned along with him. Mike smirked, but he was always less inclined to joke around as the others. His stress showed a lot more than theirs, probably because he had more to deal with.

  “I’m good,” I assured them, taking a drink of my vodka and holding it up as proof. “Anyway, let’s get down to business. I wanted a quick operations brief on how things have been going since we announced the collaboration with La Torre, as well as some ideas on where we need to move forward from here. Am I imagining things when I say it seems like we’re getting an increase in foot traffic since the announcement?”

  “Not at all,” Mick said, happy to get to business. “Reception has been having to hire more help to keep up with the influx.”

  “It shows down in the casino, too,” Gage reported proudly. “I wanted to tell you last night before things got out of hand, but I’m proud to announce—at the risk of making Diego’s casino sound like a natural disaster—that the past few days’ profits have been back to pre-La Torre levels.”

  The men all exchanged murmurs of approval and optimistic smiles with each other.

  “Well, if Hurricane Diego turns out to be as good for business as it’s seeming, I can deal with that,” I said brightly. “Bart, how are things on the security end of things?”

  “There’s been an uptick in minor incidents,” he said, scratching his chin. “And that speaks to the higher number of people coming in and out of the casinos, more than anything. The first thing I’d like to use some of that extra cash for, if I had my way, would be new security cameras to cover up some of our coverage gaps and more bodies on the security staff. Otherwise, I might have to start putting up scarecrows and dressing them in security uniforms.”

  I chuckled. “Not a bad idea, put a pin in that for now. Mick, have you run Gage’s numbers on the profits yet? Tell me honestly, do you think we’ll be able to swing this project in the long run?”

  “Honestly?” he said, and that always had an ominous undertone to it. “As long as we don’t lose momentum, yes. People seem to be responding well to the collaboration. If we keep building metaphorical bridges as well as the literal one, this might be the start of a wave of profits we definitely want to catch.”

  I grinned. “Music to my ears, Mick.”

  “Don’t get too excited, though,” he warned all of us, ever the pragmatist. “It’s too early to call the game.”

  “Maybe, but we’ve at least earned a moment to breathe,” I said, and the group nodded in agreement. “Speaking of, I hope the three of you got on fine after I decided to vanish off the face of the earth.”

  “You could have texted one of us,” Gage teased, but I knew there was some real concern veiled behind his words.

  “The tequila shots between dances made me forget I had a phone, I think,” I said.

  “Very close dances, we noticed,” Bart pointed out. “So, you gonna just leave us hanging? What happened?”

  I arched an eyebrow and glanced between all of them. I knew damn well what they were getting at, but I wasn’t going to give that to them so easily just yet. “What do you mean?”

  “You know what he means,” Mick said bluntly. Bart gave me a knowing smile and gestured for me to say more. I rolled my eyes.

  “What happened?” he repeated. “Details, man.”

  “Nothing interesting,” I lied, but the way I looked away as I spoke was a dead giveaway, and I knew I wasn’t fooling anyone.

  “Didn’t look like nothing,” Bart retorted with a snort. “You two were off on your own together the second you had a chance. You tellin’ us we’re supposed to believe the two of you just went somewhere and talked business while you sobered up for the rest of the night?”

  I had the story Diego and I agreed on in my head, ready to go. I’d agreed with him not to say anything, but the way the guys were looking at me told me they weren’t going to let this one go so easily.

  Besides, I was already hiding this all from my family, and the shame of that alone was a crushing weight. If I tried to hide it from the guys as well…

  “Just tell us, did you two do it?” Mick asked in a tired tone, not interested in beating around the bush. “We need to know for business purposes. If things go sour between you and Diego, I want to be able to see it coming. It would have a huge impact on this project. You know I don’t like surprises.”

  “I don’t like mixing business and my professional life,” I said, and that much was true, usually. “Neither does Diego.”

  “Is that why he invited you out to dinner with no intention of taking your deal?”

  Damn, he had me there.

  I let out a breath and frowned. Bart’s eyes widened.

  “Oh my god, you did do it.”

  I didn’t deny it. Gage’s jaw fell open.

  “What the hell, Zane?” he snapped, to my surprise. Gage was emotional, but it was hard to get a rise out of him. Now, he looked downright angry.

  Bart just rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s another thing to worry about. Work relationships are just a mess waiting to happen.”

  Gage looked like he wanted to say more, but he just got up and stalked to the window to stare out of it.

  “Let’s be practical about this,” Mick said, holding his hands out. “We’re all humans, guys, this kind of thing happens. Right now, it’s good for business, and it might stay good for business. We can just be ready for all possible options now.”

  “Thanks a lot, guys,” I groaned, rubbing my temple before finishing the rest of my vodka in a single shot. “Your ‘support’ is noted.”

  “We just want to keep our heads wrapped around it all, Zane,” Mick assured me, even as my headache throbbed back. “Your personal life is your own, but your professional life affects us all.”

  The guilty load weighing on my spirit felt like it had gained about fifty more pounds.

  “Right,” I said, trying to move on from the subject. “And the two of us have agreed to keep things professional from now on, so I’d prefer if you could all do like we’re doing and not bring this up again. We’re about nothing but business from here on out. Speaking of, we have a business meeting with La Torre here shortly, so let’s all get ready to make an impression. It won’t be just Diego there this time.”

  CHAPTER 15 - ZANE

  “I could count the blind spots on these cameras on two hands, is all I’m sayin’,” B
art said as the four of us made our way through La Torre’s fiftieth floor toward the construction site. The whole floor was already blocked off, and we’d been issued hard hats and vests to wear on entry.

  “Let’s keep the constructive criticism on hold for now,” I told him. “We’re just here to discuss the details so we can try to ensure the designs are mirroring each other. No need to nitpick.”

  “I wouldn’t call a security compromise waiting to happen a ‘nitpick,’ but you’re the boss,” Bart half-joked, and I rolled my eyes.

  We reached the construction area, where things were already underway, and it was an exciting sight to see. The floors were already being ripped up and walls were knocked down, but most conspicuously, part of the demolition was already underway in the building’s exterior wall. There was a large, open-air hole to the outside air at the far end of the floor marked off by large plastic barricades and plenty of warning signs.

  The smell of wood, metal, and sweat was in the air, even though the laborers were all on lunch break right about now. The floor was empty except for us and Diego. In contrast with the rest of the sleek casino, the fiftieth floor was half torn asunder, many of the floors ripped up and replaced with plywood walkways, the smell of wood and metal and sweat in the air. The site looked almost derelict, if it weren’t for the sounds coming from the street outside.

  The exterior wall that would soon be where the connecting bridge extended from was knocked down, leaving a large portion of the floor open to the air. It was partly closed off with tarps and generous plastic barricades for safety purposes.

  Diego was waiting for us near the edge of where most of the construction was visible. He stood over some exposed piping, muttering to himself while squinting his eyes and jotting a few things down on a clipboard.

  “Couldn’t find us something more stylish than hard hats and jackets?” I teased him as we approached, and he looked up to me with a wry smile. “Come on, I was expecting higher standards from La Torre.”

  “Hush, you. I bet you let the workers on your side just run around getting nail-gun injuries.”

  “So,” Mick said as we gathered around, “has everything gone smoothly so far?”

  “It is never easy seeing your pride and joy gutted, even if it’s to make room for something new,” Diego said with a wistful glance around at all the unsightly construction, “but there have been no major delays so far.”

  “No major ones?” I asked. “That makes it sound like there have been minor ones. Care to fill us in?”

  Diego looked hesitant for a few moments. “Well, that’s not entirely the case, but—”

  Both in answer to my question and interrupting Diego’s words, we heard footsteps approaching from one of the hallways off to the side of the construction zone.

  Out stepped a tall man with dark eyes and darker hair slicked back, his impeccably tailored suit hanging off his body so perfectly you’d think he was stepping onto a movie set instead of a construction site. The way he carried himself, you would have thought he owned the place instead of Diego. His stride was long and commanding, and he held himself with perfect posture. The rings on his hands glinted in the sunlight from outside. On his face was a frown of disapproval that looked like it never left.

  One look at him told me this was Alvaro, and I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  “Who are these people, Diego?” he snapped as soon as he was in sight of us. All the guys, even Bart, looked a little taken aback by his entrance. “We are behind schedule already because of your complaints about the piping. This is not the time for visitors.” He cast a glare at all four of us, but it lingered on me a little longer than the rest.

  “Alvaro,” Diego said in a calm, placating tone, “these are my business partners from the Sentry who are co-funding this project. I told you they were coming at—”

  “You told me no such thing, but okay,” Alvaro interrupted him with a frustrated sigh. He then turned to us with his hands on his hips. “Come to see how things are progressing despite my boyfriend’s muddling things up, yes?”

  “Diego has kept things on track better than any business partner I’ve worked with before, actually,” I said, giving Alvaro a cool gaze that he met with an icy stare. I stepped forward and extended my hand. “Zane Anderson, a pleasure to meet you.”

  Alvaro did not shake my hand. Instead, he gave me a knowing glare and nodded slowly. “So, you are the one who put this idea in Diego’s head, yes? Well, I suppose I cannot blame you for the way he gets ahead of himself.”

  Diego was being remarkably quiet. This was not the assertive, sharp-witted man that I knew.

  “So!” Alvaro continued, stepping back over to Diego as if the rest of us weren’t present. “Have you fixed this piping problem, or whatever you keep talking about?”

  “I am concerned the water pipes running through this floor to the higher ones might intersect the construction site,” Diego explained calmly, and by his tone, I could tell he was repeating himself for the umpteenth time. “I want to consult with the engineers before—”

  “So many meetings, so much consulting, how did you not have all this planned out beforehand?”

  “I told you, I did not build this place from the ground up,” Diego said, “and I cannot see through walls to be able to predict repairs that may have happened under the last owners.”

  “And where are these engineers, hm? On lunch break as well?”

  “I’m going to contact them soon,” Diego assured Alvaro, but he was stubborn.

  “Well? What are you waiting for? I’m not going to call them up for you, go!”

  “I will send them an email detailing everything so we have it in writing,” Diego said calmly, but the tension under his voice could be heard.

  “And give them time to ignore you completely until the last minute when they can blame the delays on you,” Alvaro snapped, and Diego winced. “This is just like you, Diego, you cannot keep letting people take advantage of you like this. You practically open the door for these things to happen to you. Are you trying to make all your contractors walk out on you? Do you want to jump through all the same hoops as the last time you tried to renovate something around here?”

  Gage exchanged an awkward glance with Mick. Criticism was one thing, but Alvaro was just laying into Diego.

  “If I may interject,” I said the moment I saw an opening, “we came here exactly to discuss avoiding some of those hoops.”

  Diego looked a little relieved, but Alvaro crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. I didn’t miss a beat.

  “We’re planning to have a small set of fountains lining the sides of the lounge on the bridge,” I explained, pointing to roughly where the plans would have them located, “so it’s worthwhile to set up a meeting with the engineers in person so we can go over some of the technicalities. Diego’s concern could mean keeping the water running seamlessly throughout construction, so we can deal with two birds with one stone.”

  Diego gave me a warm smile, but Alvaro noticed, and his anger was practically tangible.

  “So, what, this is his project now?” Alvaro snapped at Diego, gesturing to me and planting his hands on his hips again. “One fancy press release, and you’re bending over backwards for all this competitor’s requests?”

  “I can assure you this is a collaborative effort, and both our companies are putting their full support behind the process,” I said quickly and firmly, trying to shut Alvaro down, but Alvaro wasn’t even looking at me.

  “Is this how you’ve been letting them treat you?” Alvaro kept railing into Diego. “Letting them drop in at a moment’s notice to check up on your progress and making wild demands that you just take sitting down? You are like a meek sheep, following whatever this wolf tells you to do.”

  The rest of the guys could not have looked more uncomfortable. The room had been filled with little more t
han Alvaro’s ranting since we first arrived here. Bart was nearly seething, Mick was checking his emails, and Gage just kept looking to me and fidgeting.

  “I am sorry,” Diego said to Alvaro, and those three words made my heart sink. “All I can say is that things are moving swiftly.”

  “Yes, you’re doing a fantastic job at being an inept lackey for everyone around you!”

  “Actually,” I interjected with a little more force, “one of the things I wanted to accomplish today was talk to Diego about his plans for the bar we’ll have in the lounge. The architects got back to me and gave the green light, and they wanted to thank you specifically for some of the considerations you made for them,” I said to Diego, and none of it was a lie.

  “Ah, excellent,” Diego said, taking a breath and stepping toward me. “I thought they would appreciate it, it’s a design I learned about from this one club in Madrid that—”

  “Another bar?” Alvaro interrupted with a callous laugh. “What are you turning your club into, one giant watering hole for the city’s drunks to pour into?”

  “Diego’s designs have been the difference that are going to set this collaboration apart from anything else the Strip has ever seen,” I said, stepping closer to the two and watching the fire in Alvaro’s eyes come out bright at being challenged. “I’m disappointed that you can’t see that, but I wouldn’t expect you to, considering you don’t have a share in any of this business arrangement.”

  Alvaro and I locked eyes with a ferocity that was electric.

  “No,” he admitted, “you are correct. Diego remains in lone control of this operation, despite everything I have done to keep him from running it into the ground or handing it over to American sharks like you.”

  “Alvaro, please,” Diego said, his voice subdued yet imploring. Alvaro rounded on him, and at the sudden, jerking movement, Diego winced.

  “Is this how it is, then?” he snarled, jabbing a thumb at me. “You will speak up for him, but you won’t stand by my side when I try to keep the world from walking all over you? Fine. I’ll leave you to it,” he said. With that, he stormed out of the room, muttering a string of foul language in Spanish that only Diego and I could understand.