Masquerading With the CEO

by Dawn Chartier

  He’ll give her everything…except his true identity.

  After catching her fiancé cheating on their wedding day, interior designer Kylie Edwards swore off high-powered men. But before she can drown herself in wedding cake, she’s dragged to a Vegas romance conference by her friends. At least she’ll be able to meet the hotel’s owner and pitch her new design idea. And maybe attend the elaborate masquerade ball, where business unexpectedly becomes pleasure with the hotel’s oh-so-hot head of security.

  Jake Royale’s no security guy—he owns the hotel and casino. The masquerade ball gives him the perfect opportunity to drop his high-profile identity and blend in. To be seen as a man, not his money. But when one hot night with Kylie becomes more, Jake knows he’s screwed. Not only will his fake identity cost him the design that will catapult his casino back to the top, it might just cost him the one thing money can’t buy...

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Discover the What Happens in Vegas series… Tempting Her Best Friend

  The Makeover Mistake

  A Change of Plans

  Bewitching the Enemy

  Find love in unexpected places with these satisfying Lovestruck reads… Tempting Her Best Friend

  Flirting with the Competition

  Sleeping with the Boss

  Drunk on You

  His Millionaire Maid

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

  Copyright © 2015 by Dawn Chartier. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

  Entangled Publishing, LLC

  2614 South Timberline Road

  Suite 109

  Fort Collins, CO 80525

  Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.

  Lovestruck is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.

  Edited by Suzanne Evans

  Cover design by Heather Howland

  Cover art from 123RF.com

  ISBN 978-1-63375-353-2

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  First Edition July 2015

  I dedicate this novel to my family, friends and readers. I hope you enjoy this Vegas story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Chapter One

  With her three best friends by her side, Kylie Edwards sat in the back of the white stretch limo, excited that her life was about to change forever.

  Her fingers brushed against her ivory silk wedding gown, designed especially for her by the Vera Wang. Compliments of her fiancé.

  The gown was striking and sophisticated, yet simple in design—a description she’d always thought fit her. Striking and sophisticated also described the wealthy CEO of Trident Industries, her soon-to-be husband, Brett McAllister. But he was far from simple. He was so much more. She couldn’t believe it. In only a few moments, she would be Mrs. McAllister.

  It still felt like a dream. Millionaire playboy Brett McAllister had fallen in love with her. She had no idea why—but he had. The old saying “opposites attract” couldn’t be any closer to the truth. The only flair she had was for interior design, thanks to an eye for color and details she’d inherited from her dad. Otherwise, there was really nothing special about her. Not until Brett. He made her feel special. Especially today.

  She lifted a colorful pink, purple, and white bouquet of carnations and sniffed. The scent immediately made her think of her mother, who had died two years ago. Your favorite, Mom. A faint pang of heartache rose as it did often when she thought of her mom, but it was especially painful today. Kylie had refused to carry any other flower in her hands on this magical day. Everything was perfect, with the exception of her mother not being here to witness her only daughter getting married.

  She sighed and shot a glance at Jan, who hadn’t said much all day. Her best friend and maid of honor stared out of the tinted window, fidgeting with the ends of her lilac satin sash.

  “You feelin’ okay?”

  Jan nodded but still didn’t look in her direction.

  Puzzled, Kylie faced Sara and Ashlyn on her other side, and they shrugged in unison.

  She swiveled back toward Jan. “I’m the one who should be nervous. What’s with you today?” Now that she thought about it, her friend had been acting a little strange for the last few weeks.

  Jan shook her head. “Nothing.”

  Even though the absence of Kylie’s mother was the most powerful thing in the car right now, Kylie wouldn’t let it drop. “It’s obviously something. Fess up.”

  Jan’s gaze dipped to where her fingers fidgeted in her lap. “There is something I think you need to know before you marry Brett.”

  Kylie’s glare shot to Jan’s downturned face, trying to look her in the eye as a slice of fear cut across her chest. “What?”

  “I hoped he would tell you, but—”

  “Tell me what?” Her temple throbbed, and she stilled.

  Jan raised her chin. Her mouth opened, closed, then opened again. “I slept with Brett.”

  Kylie flinched. Pain splintered deep into her temple, and her stomach twisted. With four simple words, her world stopped, tilted, and turned upside down.

  Jan’s eyes filled. “I’m so sorry. I begged Brett to confess weeks ago. I’m only saying something now because I’m your friend. I don’t want you to marry that snake.”

  “You’re her friend?” Ashlyn coughed. “Right.”

  “Back-stabbing bitch,” Sara snapped.

  The bickering began, but their voices sounded distant. Kylie slid deep into her inner hiding place. No. She had to have misunderstood. Brett wouldn’t do that. But why would Jan lie? Did Jan want Brett for herself?

  “Look. I didn’t have to tell her, but that man doesn’t deserve either of us.” Jan wrapped her arms around her waist, pretending to be the victim.

  How dare Jan act innocent when she was clearly the villain? Kylie could easily open the car door and push Jan out.

  But more so, Kylie wanted out of the limo. She wanted to run. She wanted to die.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. How could they betray me? She tried to inhale through burning lungs. I was so sure he loved me.

  I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. God help me.

  She stared at her mother’s favorite flowers, now lying by her feet in a taunting, multi-colored pile. “Pull over,” she said. The carnation scent was now sickeningly sweet.

  The limo continued rolling.

  “Pull. Over.” The driver finally noticed her in the rearview mirror, and she mouthed again, “Pull over.”

  He squinted as though he hadn’t read her lips correctly, but she nodded, confirming the words.

  It seemed like an eternity before they stopped. She stared out the front windshield and almost pitched her breakfast when she saw the chapel only a hundred or so feet away. Friends and family entered the church, and judging by the long line of parked cars, more were inside, waiting on her arrival. Waiting to share this special moment of her life with her. How can I face them? How can I face my dad? How can I disappoint him again? He’ll never let me live this one down. Ever.


  She swallowed hard, and her heart shriveled like a dried prune.

  Now it was she who couldn’t look at Jan—not without losing the yogurt and cup of fruit she’d forced down hours ago.

  A lump of fear mixed with hatred clawed its way up her throat.

  “Get out.” Her voice sounded hard and raw. Devastated.

  “I’m sorry, Ky.” Jan picked at her sleeve, her face a pale shade of green. “Brett wouldn’t leave me alone. I tried to stay away, but you know how persuasive he is when he wants something.”

  Kylie’s insides ignited, and if she could have shot fire out of her eyes, she would have. Instead, she glared straight ahead. “I. Said. Get. Out.”

  …

  “Get out of bed, Ky,” a voice called out.

  Kylie lifted her head slightly off the pillow. Damn it. She’d finally fallen asleep a half an hour ago. What day was it? Had it already been a week since her wedding day? No matter. She still wasn’t ready to talk to anyone. Whoever it was could wait, especially Brett, but the voice was too soft to be Brett’s.

  Ring. Ring. Ring. Kylie lifted the receiver to her mouth. “Go away,” she said into the phone and placed it on the nightstand. She only wanted sleep. No. Not true. She wanted to die.

  She raised her head again. Hell. It wasn’t the phone ringing, but someone ringing the buzzer on the door. Yep, that’s what happens when you only sleep a few hours each night. The incessant ringing and pounding yanked her from her sleepy state. Reaching for the lamp in the dark, she knocked Ashlyn’s manuscript off the nightstand. “Dammit.”

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  “We know you’re in there, Ky,” Ashlyn’s voice came from the other side of her front door.

  Ash needed to get a clue.

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  Fine. Kylie slid out of bed and walked down the hall, her too-long sweatpants dragging along the carpet. She yanked the door open and glared at her friends.

  “Go away. I’m fine.” She started to close the door, but Sara’s foot slid into the doorway, stopping it from closing.

  Sara and Ash glared at her. “The hell you are,” Ash said.

  I look that bad? Probably worse than bad. Before she could force the door shut, they pushed past her to the table with a bag and three cups of what smelled like coffee.

  “I bet you haven’t eaten in days.” Sara dropped the bag on the table and reached in, pulling out a bagel. “You love breakfast, so sit. Eat.”

  Kylie glared at the bagel. She couldn’t touch food. The coffee smelled like her favorite mocha-mint, though, and she sort of wanted it. “I can’t.”

  “We aren’t leaving until you eat something. This isn’t you, Ky. You have to get out of this slump. At least get out of those pj’s and bathe!” Sara leaned over the table and pushed a coffee cup toward her. “I miss my sappy-go-lucky friend.”

  “Sappy?” She dipped her head to her arm and sniffed. She had bathed, maybe…okay, twice since that day. Hygiene wasn’t her utmost priority right now anyway. She couldn’t see much through the anger and hurt.

  Ash patted her hand. “Exactly. Don’t let that bitch and the CEO dick-wad ruin your life.”

  “Too late. My life is ruined.” She sank into the chair and took a grudging sip of her latte.

  “You still have lots to be thankful for. One, you didn’t marry that asshole. Two, you have a great job at your dad’s design firm. Three, you have this freakin’ awesome condo in the heart of Phoenix.” Ash turned in a circle. “Look around you.”

  All of it was true. But what did it matter if she had no one to share it with? She knew she was wallowing, but damn it, she deserved a pity party right now. “Y’all don’t get it. I thought he was truly the one. Instead, he betrayed me with one of my closest friends.”

  “You still got us,” Sara said, “and that’s why we’re here.”

  “You know what I mean. I want someone to wake up with every morning. I want someone to truly love me.” This was what she’d always dreamed of. Now what did she have left to dream about? God, she was pitiful. Still. She didn’t want to end up like her father. All he cared about was money and power. Well, look where that got him. Look where it got Brett. Asshole.

  For a short while, soon after her mother died, her father had been so distraught. No amount of money could stop her mother’s cancer. So Kylie invited him over a few times to visit with her. She tried to break the ice between them, but he never had anything good to say, and most of the time he was half-drunk. He found a quick replacement for her mother, and he didn’t care if the woman loved him or not. He could control her, and she used him. The sad part was that neither of them cared. He spoiled his fiancée and blew money on more plastic surgeries than anyone could possibly need, but in return, she kept him company in bed. A loveless marriage eats at the soul. I won’t be like him.

  Brett had just proved that all CEOs must be emotionless like her father.

  But she couldn’t go through this pain again. The ache ate a hole in her heart. “I’m pathetic,” she said and dropped her head in her hands.

  “Exactly. And we are here to fix that.” Sara cast a sly smile in Ash’s direction. “Tell her.”

  Chapter Two

  Jake Royale sat behind his desk at his hotel and casino, Masquerade, reviewing the financials with his advisor. A headache grew by the second. “This doesn’t look good, Pat.”

  “Jake, it’s not bad.” Patrick crossed his legs and eased back in the chair across from him. “It’s to be expected when a new casino opens next door. It will pick up again. Plus, we are booked solid this weekend for that conference.”

  His jaw ached. “Expected or not, I don’t like it.” He shoved the reports across the desk. “When do our renovations begin?”

  “I knew you’d ask, so I checked with Tad. You’ll be glad to know the new design firm called half an hour ago and wants to meet this weekend.”

  “Good. I’m ready to do whatever it takes.” Jake never liked coming in second, and with the brand new casino next door, Masquerade needed refreshing. He’d already approved the budget.

  Though he worried about the competition, there was something else nagging him. Something that had been nagging him for a long time. Like a part of his life was missing. He pushed the thought to the side.

  Jake leaned back in his leather chair after Pat left and glanced at the monitors on the wall. He watched the live feed from the front entrance. “Is that…?” He squinted, then leapt from his chair. His seat flung backward and bumped into the credenza. “Fuck. Me. He’s back.”

  …

  “You don’t have a say in this.” A slow smile eased across Ashlyn’s lips. “We’re taking you to Vegas, baby.”

  “No. No. No. I’m not going to the biggest elopement city in the world.”

  Less than six hours after she’d said those words, Kylie grabbed her luggage off of the carousel at the Vegas airport. Her friends hadn’t given her a choice. They’d packed her clothing, and she’d thrown in her design charts and samples after her “so-called” friends called her dad and begged him to give Kylie the casino job. They’d known it was the only way she’d agree to go. Shockingly, their plan worked.

  So here she stood at the airport in Vegas. At least she had her work and her father’s reluctant blessing to try impressing their new client with her designs. He’d already been planning to meet this casino client later this week, but allowed her to go in his place—something that had never happened in her entire life. She wasn’t sure why he’d never given her a chance to prove herself before with big clients. Other than a few tiny flooring screw ups, she’d been a pretty good employee overall. She’d show him this time. She’d make him proud.

  Ash was there for a romance writers’ conference, but Kylie had a job to do.

  She couldn’t miss this chance to prove she could handle a job by herself. He’d made her work harder and longer than any of his other employees, always saying he couldn’t let anyone think she was getting special treatment
from the boss. Hell, the last four years she’d gotten just the opposite. Maybe he’d give her the promotion to senior designer after this. In your dreams. Dreams were all she had now. Kylie lowered her sunglasses from the top of her head, but she still had to shield her eyes as they walked out of the airport. The dry heat sucked all the air from her lungs and the moisture from her skin within seconds.

  “What happens in Vegas…” Ash said.

  “Stays in Vegas,” Sara finished.

  Kylie nodded, faking interest. While Ash and Sara were here to party with a bunch of authors, readers and cover models, she would, instead, bury herself in work so she wouldn’t think about—

  A horn blew, and she jerked around. Her eyes widened and her hands clamped over her mouth as she stared ahead at the white limo rolling to a stop directly in front of her. The same kind of limo I used for my wedding. Her breath came out in short bursts, and memories of that horrifying day began to suffocate her. Of how the limo driver had dropped her off at home while Sara and Ashlyn informed everyone at the church, including her dad, that she wasn’t coming. “Um. Ash? Sara?”

  Sara spotted the limo and then glanced at her. Sara must have understood that seeing the white limo made her think of the moment when she discovered how life could change in a split second. “Shit.” She searched the pickup area. “It’s okay. We won’t take a limo. Look.” Sara pointed. “There’s a shuttle bus for the hotel pulling away. Run.”

  Kylie barely noticed the Cinderella carriage spectacle rising out of the fountain in front of Masquerade Hotel and Casino before she hurried inside. The sweat that formed on her back dried before it had time to soak her shirt. She removed her large sunglasses, instantly eyeing the massive poles with ribbons and beads flanking the registration area, and then the huge jester hat that occupied the center of the lobby caught her eye.

  Somehow the Bourbon Street decor didn’t appear as gaudy as her father had warned or the pictures had shown, but it still needed some serious updating, and she was just the girl to do it. The new plan was to bury herself in this project for the next six months—that is, if the owner liked her designs. He will. He has to.