by Nell Stark
As she left the room, she heard the scrape of another chair across the floor. “I need to piss like a racehorse,” Biz announced. “Be right back.”
A sense of dread made Vesper’s chest tighten. Was he really going to use the facilities, or was that an excuse for him to pursue her? Walking briskly, she turned into the empty corridor and hurried toward the dining room and kitchen. She was probably just being paranoid, but the sooner she was back in a room full of people, the better.
“Vesper, wait!”
Damn it. Her instincts screamed at her to break into a run, but she mastered the impulse and spun to face him. At least if they had it out here, she could give him a piece of her mind without humiliating him in front of the Hamiltons or their guests.
“Mr. Deloreo,” she said, leveling a finger at his chest as much for emphasis as to ward him off, “your conduct tonight has been completely inappropriate. I am your host, not your call girl. We have a professional relationship, nothing more. If you cannot respect that, I will find you another host.”
He held up both hands and offered her a wide, white smile that he probably thought was charming. “Look, babe, I didn’t mean to offend you. I apologize.”
Vesper almost called him on his use of “babe,” but decided to focus on the apology instead. “Thank you.”
Biz took a slow step forward. “You gotta lighten up, though. You’re wound so tight.” He shook his head. “I can show you a good time. Get you to relax. You’ll thank me later. Promise.”
“I am not interested.” Adrenaline brought Vesper to the balls of her feet. Her raised arm trembled. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I—”
With surprising quickness, he moved closer and closed his hand around hers. She had nowhere to go but backward, and her teeth jarred together as her back hit the wall. Still smiling, he loomed over her, his heavy, liquor-stained breaths puffing against her face. In that moment, a wave of pure terror paralyzed her. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t think. Her brain was trapped between the past and the present, and she had nowhere to go.
And then the wave passed. Beyond it was the memory of her training. As his thighs pressed against hers, she let her body go limp beneath his touch. His smile widened.
“There, that’s better,” he crooned, leaning in for a kiss. “I know you want—”
Silently, and with every ounce of force she could muster, Vesper smashed her left knee into the space between his legs. The sound that burst from his chest was half a scream, half a shout. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever heard. As he slumped forward, she slipped beneath one arm and raced for the door. Out. She had to get out, before he could—
“Whoa!”
She collided with something—someone, she realized from their exclamation—and was thrown off balance. Strong arms came around her waist and she pulled at them, clawing with her nails, refusing to be trapped again. Every breath felt like fire in her lungs.
“Vesper!”
The voice was feminine. Familiar. She stilled, blinking hard against the moisture in her eyes. Other voices, most of them male, were shouting questions. Someone was moaning. From somewhere nearby, a different female voice announced in trembling tones that she had called security.
“It’s me. It’s Nova.” The words were soft against her ear. “You’re okay. I’ve got you. You’re okay.”
Vesper blinked again, and her vision cleared enough to make out the blurry outline of Nova’s face. The commotion went on around them, but here, in the circle of her embrace, she felt untouched.
“Nova.” She shuddered as the haze of panic subsided. Memories rushed to fill the gap: Biz’s unwanted advance, his hand gripping hers, his body trapping her against the wall. Suddenly, even Nova’s hold on her was more than she could bear.
“Please,” she said hoarsely, gripping Nova’s wrist where it lay against her stomach. “I need to—”
She let go immediately. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” Nova looked over her shoulder. “Did he hurt you?”
Swiping at her eyes, she fumbled for the words. “He…”
“What did you do to her? What the fuck did you do?” The voice was TJ’s, deeper and angrier than she’d ever heard it. When she focused, she saw him standing over Biz, hair disheveled and fists raised. His friends had filtered into the corridor.
“N-nothing!” Biz’s voice was high and thin.
“You’re lying!”
Slowly, wincing and groaning, Biz pushed himself to a kneeling position. As he braced one arm against the wall in an attempt to stand, Theodore Senior emerged at the end of the hall, shirtless except for silk pajama pants. The muttering and murmuring trailed off.
“What is going on here?” he asked in a tone that made it clear he expected to be obeyed.
“Biz hurt Vesper!” TJ’s gaze never wavered.
“I didn’t.” Biz dragged himself upright, one hand still covering his genitals, and looked between TJ and his father. “We were just talking, and then that…that bitch attacked me!”
TJ pulled his right arm back and punched Biz squarely in the face. It happened so quickly Vesper thought she had imagined it, until she blinked again and saw Biz back on the ground holding his left cheek. As she watched, blood trickled from his nose and dripped onto the carpet.
The sound of a commotion drew her attention away. Theodore Senior was restraining TJ with both hands on his shoulders, telling him repeatedly to settle down and back away. No one was attending to Biz.
“Motherfucker!” Biz shouted. “You fucking bastard!”
“Enough!” Theodore’s voice cracked through the air. He looked around at the people milling about in the hallway. “We need hand towels, a bowl of water, and ice. Now.”
As several of TJ’s friends scurried off, Theodore turned to look directly at Vesper. “Biz had his say. Now I’d like to hear your side.”
Vesper nodded, feeling dazed. Why would he believe her over the testimony of one of his Sphinx brothers? Was this it—the end of her relationship with the Hamiltons? Had she just jeopardized every business partnership she had cultivated for the past several years?
The first time she tried to speak, no sound emerged. She swallowed hard, cleared her throat, and tried again. “Biz has been making sexual innuendos all night.” Her voice was hoarse, and it trembled a few times at the beginning, but hearing her own words out loud somehow made her feel stronger.
“When I left the poker game, he followed me out here and offered to…to ‘show me a good time.’” Out of the corner of her eye, Vesper saw Nova’s fingers curl into her palms. The visceral response surprised her enough to make her pause. Did she need to worry about Nova becoming violent, too?
“Vesper?” Theodore asked.
“I’m sorry.” She tried to swallow again, but her mouth was dry. Where had she been? “I told him I wasn’t interested. He came closer, grabbed my hand, and tried to kiss me. My back was to the wall.” She shivered. “That’s when I…reacted.”
Biz staggered back to his feet, a towel filled with ice held to his cheek. His other hand, stained rust-red with his own blood, was gesticulating at her. “Attacked! You fucking attacked me!”
Theodore rounded on him. “I said, enough.” The cold anger in his voice gave Vesper a glimmer of hope. Was there a chance that he would take her side?
The two-tone chime of the doorbell drew her attention to the door. Casino security. She wondered which of the night shift officers was standing outside. Over the past few years, she had worked with them all, but only as a liaison—never as someone involved in an altercation. Vesper felt her cheeks grow hot. Would this change the way her coworkers looked at her? More importantly, would she even have a job tomorrow?
Theodore answered the door and admitted Shaun, an ex-Marine who kept his head as bald as an egg. He rarely cracked a smile, but he was fair and efficient. “Vesper, TJ, Bizmark, and I will speak with the security officer,” Theodore announced. “The rest of you: good night. This party is over.”
>
Feeling as though she was going to her own trial, Vesper turned to follow them. A few feet away, Amelia was cradling TJ’s right hand in both of hers as she held ice against his knuckles. “Keep the ice on for ten more minutes,” Vesper heard her say just before she rose onto her toes and kissed him on the cheek.
At the sound of her own name, spoken softly and urgently, Vesper realized Nova had come up next to her. Nova stretched out one hand as if to touch her shoulder but then apparently thought the better of it. Vesper was about to say something inane about how she wished Nova hadn’t had to witness the conflict, when she spoke.
“I want to wait for you, and then I want to see that you get home okay.”
Automatically, Vesper shook her head. “That’s really not necessary.”
“I know. You’d be fine on your own. But I just…” For a moment, she looked away, grimacing. “Think of it as a selfish request. Another favor I owe you. Please.”
She looked so earnest, so serious, and Vesper realized she wanted to say yes. When this discussion was over, no matter what had been decided, one thing was clear: she wouldn’t want to be alone.
“Mr. Hamilton,” she called, tearing herself away from the stormy, blue-gray depths of Nova’s eyes. “Would you mind if Nova waits in the sitting room for me?”
“That’s fine.” Theodore’s tone was as perfunctory as the hand gesture he used to beckon her forward. “This way.”
Vesper swallowed hard against a fresh surge of dread. She didn’t look back as she followed him down the hall, but she could feel the weight of Nova’s gaze—like a massage between her shoulder blades—until the office door closed behind her, severing the connection.
Chapter Nine
Nova balanced the tray on one hand, her other clutching the necks of several empty sake bottles. As she walked carefully down the hall, her eyes were drawn to the small splotch of red that marred the bone-white carpet—the only tangible sign of the evening’s violence. Unbidden, her mind replayed Vesper’s narrative. When the glasses on the tray began to clink together, Nova realized her hand was trembling.
Vesper’s voice had trembled too, as she told them how Biz had cornered her. She had been remarkably self-possessed in the wake of that insanity, but hearing the quaver behind her words had made Nova see red. If TJ hadn’t already knocked the bastard down, she might have been tempted to try.
She turned into the kitchen and set down the tray with a sigh of relief, briefly shaking out her arm before loading everything into the dishwasher. Alone in the sitting room, surrounded by empty glassware, she had quickly gone stir-crazy. The housekeeping staff would have cleaned everything up in the morning, but staying in motion helped to keep her anxiety at bay. Even so, as she rinsed out the sink and wetted down some paper towels, she couldn’t help but wonder what was happening in that office. Was Vesper in trouble? Would Biz press charges against her and TJ?
The sound of a door opening made her drop the sodden towels next to the sink. When she emerged into the hallway, Vesper was having a tête-à-tête with Mr. Hamilton. She hung back, wanting to give them privacy. Surely, the Hamiltons didn’t blame Vesper for the fracas, did they? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him briefly rest one hand on her shoulder before disappearing back into his office. Vesper bowed her head and took a long, deep breath. She seemed overwhelmed, and in that instant, Nova wanted nothing more than to hold her.
Instead, she cleared her throat. “Hi.”
Startled, Vesper looked up. Almost immediately, the professional mask slid into place, erasing the lines of fatigue around her mouth and the furrow between her brows. It was an impressive defense mechanism. “Nova. I didn’t see you.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to sneak up.” The moment was quickly becoming awkward. She wanted to ask how the conversation had gone, but not here. Instead, she glanced at her watch. “It’s past one. You must be exhausted.”
“I’m a little tired.”
Nova wanted to grab her by the shoulders and lean in close and tell her to stop dissembling, but this wasn’t the time or the place. “How do you usually get home?”
“The city bus.”
“It’s stopped running by now.”
“I’ll call a taxi.” Vesper mustered a forced smile as she moved toward the door. “It was nice of you to offer to see me home, but I really am fine.”
Nova waited until they were outside the suite before calling her bluff. “Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
She knew Vesper meant to sound affronted, but her retort mostly came off as defensive. Nova looked to both her left and right before replying, and when she found the corridor deserted, she leaned in close.
“You were sexually and verbally assaulted tonight by one of your clients. You are not fine.” As she spoke, Nova watched closely for any sign of a chink in Vesper’s armor. It came as a quickly suppressed quivering of her lips. Nova wanted so badly to slide her arms around Vesper’s waist in comfort, but she also didn’t want to touch her in any way without an invitation. Especially tonight. To keep herself honest, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants.
“Vesper.” She softened her voice. “You’ve had a long, difficult day. Stay in my suite tonight.”
Nova knew Vesper was considering the offer when she didn’t reply right away. She drew herself up to her full height, eyes narrowed. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
Nova felt like she’d been punched in the stomach, and a haze of red tinged her vision. “Are you kidding me? Do you think I’m some kind of predator, like Biz?”
Visibly chagrined, Vesper held up her hands. “I’m sor—”
“I know I’ve been flirtatious. But for fuck’s sake, Vesper, what kind of monster would I have to be to want to coerce you into sex after the night you’ve had?” Head throbbing, she took a step back. “We don’t know each other well. I get that. But it kills me to think I’ve given you that kind of impression.”
“You haven’t,” Vesper said quickly. “It’s me. My…issues. And what happened tonight.”
Heart pounding, her chest rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths, Nova struggled to master her emotions. She had to calm down. Whatever Vesper thought of her wasn’t important. Not right now.
“I overreacted. I’m sorry. I just want to help, okay? My suite has a sleeper sofa.” She tried to smile. “Which, of course, you know. I’ll sleep there. You can take the bed.”
Vesper’s eyes flickered as she searched her face—for what, Nova couldn’t guess. “Okay,” she finally said, the word barely above a whisper.
The elevator ride down was quick and silent. Nova wedged herself into the corner, wanting to keep plenty of space between them. Vesper remained near the doors, looking straight ahead. Her dress—a deep, navy blue that fell to just above her knees—was complemented by matching heels that showed off the contours of her shapely calves. When Nova caught herself staring, she closed her eyes until the elevator came to a halt.
Once they were inside the suite, she moved quickly toward the bedroom. “Let me just grab something to sleep in, and then it’ll be all yours.”
“I can take the sofa,” Vesper said, trailing behind her. “Really.”
“No way.” Nova fished around in her duffel until she found a T-shirt and a pair of boxers. On second thought, she grabbed a tank top and pair of mesh shorts and set them on top of the dresser. “Okay. These are clean, if you want them. The door locks, by the way. And the bathroom’s around the corner. Which you probably also knew.” Realizing she was babbling, she beat a hasty retreat toward the door. “Good night.”
If Vesper replied, Nova didn’t hear it. She went first to the fridge for a bottle of beer, and then to the couch. Exhaustion was making her eyes burn, but she could still feel her heart fluttering quickly against her ribs. Too keyed up to sleep, she reached for the remote. It didn’t take long to find a terrifically awful B-movie about sharks, but even that couldn’t hold her attention.
Above the
sounds of the film, she heard the bathroom door close and the water begin to run. What was Vesper thinking? How was she feeling? Nova tried to imagine herself in Vesper’s place, but it wasn’t easy. Was she angry? Frightened? Worried? Their mentalities were so different. She would be terrible at Vesper’s job—at anticipating the whims of the wealthy and catering to their every desire.
The water shut off. Nova held her breath but remained facing forward, part of her hoping Vesper wanted company instead of sleep. A moment later, the sound of the bedroom door being closed dashed that hope. That was all for the best, of course. Instead of moping about it, she should follow Vesper’s example and sleep. She stood, intending to transform the couch into a bed, but decided in favor of just crashing on it as-is. The closet yielded a pillow and blanket, and she settled in to let the film bore her into sleep. But as the minutes ticked past on the TV clock, her thoughts continued to race.
And then the door reopened.
“Nova?” Vesper’s voice was quiet. Had Nova been asleep, she wouldn’t have heard a thing.
“Hey.” She sat up so quickly her head spun. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“No.” Vesper stopped near the armchair, but didn’t sit. She had looked amazing in that dress, but she looked even better now. The tank top was a little too big for her, but from the way it draped over her breasts, Nova could tell she had forgone a bra. The shorts were a snugger fit, though she had rolled them once at the waist. Her hair hung down past her shoulders in auburn waves that were slightly disheveled where her head had rested against the pillow. This slightly rumpled, very human version of Vesper was even more attractive than the assertive, professional woman who had first caught Nova’s attention.
“My brain won’t turn off. Would you mind if I raid your mini-bar? I’ll have the staff comp it all tomorrow.”
“No need for that.” Nova heard the hoarseness in her own voice. “Take whatever you like. Actually, wait—I’ll help.”
The bar revealed several small bottles of middle-shelf vodka, whiskey, and rum. Together, they carried them to the coffee table. Nova returned to the fridge for a half-full bottle of orange juice and a few cans of Diet Coke. She watched as Vesper emptied one of the rum bottles into a shallow glass and then filled it with orange juice. The efficient movements of her arms made her breasts sway slightly beneath the shirt. Nova’s mouth felt as dry as the desert outside her window, and she reached for the whiskey.