Betting on Both

by Sheryl Nantus

  “Ah.” Julien nodded, conceding the battleground for the time being. “Consider your warning delivered. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He didn’t wait for an answer, turning to walk back toward the club’s exit door.

  Someone’s running hot under the surface, he thought to himself as he readied his apology to the club manager for starting the fight.

  This renovation might be about more than just a building.

  Cole knew there was going to be hell to pay when he got back to the hotel.

  The taxi dropped him back at the entrance to the Majestic, the empty lobby reminding him again of the reason they were there in the first place.

  He wasn’t going to begrudge Kat a chance to relax and have a good time away from the hotel, but he’d be damned if he let her run wild and risk getting into trouble.

  His cell phone had chimed during the trip back, informing him that Kat McMaster was safely locked away in her suite with no issues. The security team had returned to their posts and Cole sent them a note on a job well done.

  Now he had to reap the whirlwind.

  He nodded at the guard in the hall as he stepped out of the elevator, heading for his room.

  Phil smiled and gestured at the door. “She wasn’t happy when she went in. Consider yourself duly warned.”

  Cole chuckled. “I figured that.” He paused in front of the door leading directly to his room. A few steps brought him to Kat’s door, bringing a low whistle from Phil.

  “Running with the bulls tonight?”

  “Probably. But she’s owed a shot.” Cole unlocked the door with his card key. “I don’t have to tell you to call housekeeping and make sure they’re here in the morning.”

  Phil shook his head. “Can’t be worse than when we had that whale in Atlantic City. Remember him and his ‘friends’? Still don’t know how they didn’t get arrested.”

  Cole grinned as he tugged on the handle. “Duck and cover.”

  He pulled the door open and stepped to one side as the glass flew by his head and out into the hall.

  The sound of shattering glass followed as he walked in and shut the door behind him.

  “You.” Kat glared at him. “You’re fired.”

  Her eyes were red, either from the cigarette smoke in the club or from crying. He suspected the latter. They matched her cheeks, tinged with scarlet as she jabbed a finger at him.

  “Get out. You’re fired,” she repeated.

  Cole sat and tugged his tie loose. “You’re not my employer, as I stated before.”

  She moved to stand in front of him, hands on her hips. “Is this the way it’s going to be? You getting in my face every time I want to have a good time?”

  “Your ‘good time’ doesn’t have to be dangerous.” Cole leaned back. “What if you’d gotten mugged on your way to another club? Or kidnapped?”

  “That wouldn’t have happened. Julien . . .”

  “Julien may be a nice guy, but he’s not trained for this sort of thing.” He eyed her, forcing himself to keep his voice at a low, calm level. “And it’s unfair for you to put him in that sort of position if someone decides to make a run at you. He’s a manager, not a trained security professional.”

  “Maybe I should be dating you,” Kat shot back.

  Cole couldn’t hold back a smile, staying silent.

  She let out an annoyed cry and threw up her hands before retreating to the bedroom with a loud door slam.

  Cole helped himself to a bottle of cold water before sitting back down in the chair.

  She’s a hellcat, that one.

  As he snapped the top off and sipped the cool liquid, his mind went back to the last sentence she’d yelled.

  Maybe I should be dating you.

  The bedroom door flew open and Kat strode up to him, her face still flushed.

  “You are—” She threw her arms open. “Stand when I’m yelling at you, for God’s sake!”

  Cole stood, noting how he stood a good half foot taller than Kat.

  “I will not have you dictate my social life. If I want to go to a club, I’ll go to a club. If I want to fuck Julien, I’ll fuck Julien. If I want to have a full-fledged orgy right here in my room, I’ll do so. And you can’t stop me.” She was breathless now, gasping for air.

  “I can’t stop you,” he conceded. “But I’ll sure as hell keep you safe.” He reached out and touched a long, dark brown lock of hair, running it through his fingers. “Because that’s what I do.”

  She stopped still, held in place by the gentle gesture.

  “I’ve lost people. Important people in my life.” The words burned his throat. “I don’t want you to be one of them. I won’t let you be one of them.”

  Her tongue flicked out to wet her lower lip, and his heart ached to pull her into his arms, kiss her angry tears away, and lose himself in those eyes.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Cole felt himself start to move forward, the temptation growing.

  No.

  She’s vulnerable and angry.

  And you’ll both regret it.

  He took a step back, away from her. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Before she could reply Cole went into his room and closed the door. He leaned on it, trying not to think about what could have happened if he’d remained a second longer.

  It was a long, sleepless night, the mattress groaning as Kat tossed and turned, her mind spinning with the evening’s events.

  She’d never thought of herself as the typical spoiled rich girl. True, she’d never wanted for anything, but her grandfather had always been there as a voice of reason, tempering her urges to respectable levels. He’d spoiled her but kept it on this side of decency.

  Right now she wanted to be indecent.

  Kat flipped over again and punched her pillow, very aware of the man only two doors away.

  It’d be taking advantage of your position as his boss, her inner voice grumbled.

  But he said it himself. He’s not my employee. He works for the company. If you can’t fire him, you can’t order him into your bed.

  A heated rush surged through her blood at the memory of Cole standing there, fondling her hair. The simple action making him seem vulnerable, likable.

  Edible.

  Her conscience snapped back with a vengeance.

  And what about Julien? You remember, the guy you actually went out with tonight? What about him?

  She flinched inside. It was hard not to be attracted to Julien with his devil-may-care attitude. He was the man your mother warned you about, the bad boy everyone wanted to be with.

  Almost the direct opposite of Cole.

  Kat punched the mattress under her, physically tired but her mind running a mile a minute, running both men down separate lanes.

  Inter-office romances happen all the time. As long as no one gets hurt and the Majestic makes a profit—

  Except the problem wasn’t about abusing her position as a boss.

  The problem was she liked them both.

  She shifted under the sheets and considered turning the air conditioner higher.

  Julien was a good man who knew what he wanted, and if he was right, he would bring the Majestic back to its former glory. He was also sexy as hell, those long, slender piano-playing fingers offering her pleasure; her body becoming his keyboard to stroke and play. She shivered, thinking about what he could and would do to her if given the chance.

  And he wanted her.

  He’d made that abundantly clear.

  But Cole . . .

  Kat frowned in the darkness.

  Cole was a whole different matter.

  She kicked off the sheets, remembering how he’d last looked at her. No condemnation for her trying to break the rules, no judgment for wanting to be with Julien. Just an overwhelming concern for her safety.

  His eyes told her it was much more than just his job. He took this seriously, painfully so. But there was a need inside, the desire evident in
his body language.

  He wanted her.

  And damn it, she wanted him as well.

  She wondered what it would be like to see him run wild, letting his emotions run free. The professional disappearing; the warrior coming out and taking charge of the situation.

  Of her.

  The two men flitted in and out of her mind, each presenting his own pros and cons.

  Every time one edged ahead of the other, something would come up to draw them equal, and she’d begin the argument all over again.

  She slipped into a listless sleep, her mind racing in circles around an imaginary track, a single thought floating overhead.

  Why not both?

  Chapter Four

  Kat hit the ground running the next day, pushing her personal conflict to one side.

  Nothing could or would happen as long as the Majestic kept bleeding money. She’d come to New Orleans to rebuild the old lady, and she’d be damned if she didn’t do her best to restore her. Any personal desires or decisions about Cole or Julien would have to wait until she at least had set events in motion for a successful reopening.

  Then, well . . . things were guaranteed to get interesting.

  She threw herself into her work with a newfound passion, eager to gain enough breathing space to consider her options.

  The next few days flew by in a frenzy of building, rebuilding, and utter destruction in some areas. It was as if a creative storm had descended on the Majestic, wiping out all of the previous owners’ mistakes and leaving a brand-new world for both staff and guests.

  Kat winced as she saw the gaudy lights come down in a long snake line; grimaced as the construction workers yanked out the half-dead trees at the front of the hotel and scraped the shoreline clean. She watched as new employees went through the paces of being trained, and the old guard being retrained in areas from housekeeping to blackjack dealing and back again; everyone under the microscope.

  Including her. The phone calls and e-mails from Jacob were short and curt, businesslike from start to end. She could hear him frowning in New York as he looked over the receipts, marking down the increasing investment in the Majestic and worrying if they’d ever make it back.

  But she was going to make this work. Because she had her two men, her two pillars of strength through the entire ordeal.

  Julien was here, there, and everywhere, dashing from one end of the property to the other with a constant grin, smiling and joking with the workmen as he directed them to strip the paint off the walls down to bare wood. He hadn’t asked her out to dinner again—there hadn’t been any free time for either of them. But there was always the sly wink and a naughty smile, the promise of something wonderful after the insanity subsided.

  He was an insufferable tease.

  Cole was there as well, always at her side. From sunrise to sunset, from the moment she stepped out of her suite until she collapsed back into bed, feeling painfully alone some nights but mentally and physically exhausted from the day’s events.

  He was with her as she went to the local television station to tape an interview, then back to the hotel to wait for a reporter and a national magazine shoot, all courtesy of McMaster’s excellent promotional department. He was with her as she oversaw the retraining of the housekeeping staff, the front desk, the valets learning the proper way to take a guest’s car key and deliver the quick, efficient service a McMaster facility was known for.

  Always with Cole by her side. A silent, strong guard except when he took a break and was replaced by one of the generic men from the security team.

  She always felt better when Cole was back.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t feel safe with the others; their credentials were valid and if Cole trusted them, she did too.

  But there was a certain . . . a certain change in the atmosphere when he was standing around, watching her.

  Kat caught herself wondering more than once what he was thinking about when he was there, standing silently in the corner. She sensed it was something far, far away from security procedures and safety drills for the staff.

  Every once in a while she’d catch his eye and he’d give her a sheepish smirk, sending her pulse into triple digits.

  Definitely not thinking about security.

  “I need to go shopping,” Kat announced as she ate lunch in her office. It’d been two weeks since she’d arrived and she was, for lack of a better word, going stir-crazy.

  It wasn’t as if she hadn’t left the hotel. She’d run out almost daily, attending to some crisis or another that constantly cropped up when dealing with multiple contractors and refurbishing not only a hotel, but a riverboat casino. Hell, she’d almost fallen off the wharf in one frenzied rush to stop a worker from dripping paint on the new wood.

  Cole had snagged her arm in the nick of time, pulling her back against him. She’d spent a minute in his arms, relishing the comfort and warmth despite the killer humidity, before moving away to berate the worker who stood there and gaped at the mess.

  “I need to get out,” she repeated.

  Cole looked up from his meal. They’d ordered muffulettas, the monster sandwiches combining Italian meats and marinated olive salad, both delicious and filling. He mopped his mouth with the cloth, catching her attention with the simple and effective move.

  It drove her crazy. All she wanted to do was kiss him, drag her tongue across his damp chin, and . . .

  “For what?” he asked.

  She caught herself, banishing the daydream. “Clothing. Stuff.” Kat swept her arm out. “Fresh air.”

  “We can go and stare at the workers if you need some fresh air.”

  Kat wrinkled her nose. “If you want to go sweat out a pint while watching them dig up dead bushes and spread manure, go ahead. I’m going to go shopping.” She finished the last of her massive meal. “You can stay here if you want. Send along Phil; I like him. Just make sure to tell him he’ll have to pretend we’re a couple. I don’t want people staring because he’s staying three paces behind me, slinking in the shadows.”

  Cole pulled out his cell phone and tapped on the screen. “Fine. I’ll have the car come around in ten minutes. Give us enough time to finish eating.”

  She kept her smile to herself.

  Us.

  There was no way he was going to let anyone else play at being her boyfriend.

  Her mind went to Julien, weighing whether she should bring him along or not. The man needed a break; he’d been working as hard, if not harder, than she had from the constant reports.

  But it’d be difficult to find a professional reason to take him out shopping. And there was Cole to consider.

  Kat shook her head, ignoring the odd look from Cole.

  The last thing she needed was both men verbally brawling with each other when all she wanted was to have a nice afternoon shopping and relaxing.

  She’d deal with Julien later.

  “Then you press this.” Julien tapped the computer screen. “See?”

  The young desk clerk nodded, her eyes already glazing over. He’d spent the better part of the last hour showing her the new check-in system, the newest addition to the Majestic.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll get it when we start taking in new customers,” he reassured the woman. “It’s going to make our lives a whole lot easier.” Silently he sent thanks to McMaster Industries for approving the upgrade from the sluggish, archaic computer they’d been dealing with before.

  He frowned as the black sedan pulled up to the front of the hotel and sat there, idling.

  Kat came around a corner and walked through the lobby, laughing. There was a lightness in her step, reminding him of when he’d skip class to go hang out with his friends.

  She didn’t see him behind the desk, all of her attention on the waiting car.

  Cole strode behind her, automatically sweeping the room for possible dangers.

  He caught Julien’s eye and gave a slight nod, his mouth turned up in a tight smile.

&nb
sp; Alfred, the doorman, opened the door for her to exit, earning a playful salute from Kat as she strode through into the bright sunlight. She fumbled in her purse for sunglasses and put them on as Cole caught up with her. He barked something at the driver before opening the back door for Kat to get in, taking his usual position in the front seat.

  Julien watched them drive around the circle at the front of the Majestic and out to the main road, heading into town.

  “Where’s she going?” the desk clerk asked.

  “I don’t know,” Julien answered. He turned back to the monitor. “Now, show me how you’ll deal with someone coming in off the street without a reservation.”

  He watched the woman work through the various tests until he was satisfied she had a good grasp of the system. It was hard not to look at his watch every few minutes, wondering where Kat and Cole had gone off to.

  A courier came in through the front door, nodding to Alfred. He spotted Julien at the front desk and trotted over.

  “Delivery.” He tapped the bottom of the clipboard with the attached pen. “Sign here, please.”

  Julien remembered the man from previous visits. It only took a minute to scribble his autograph, tip the courier, and send him on his way.

  The desk clerk busied herself with the computer as Julien opened the package and pulled out the file folders. He studied the pages, skipping through to the important numbers at the end.

  “Merde.”

  He couldn’t help looking at the front door and the patient doorman, waiting for Kat to return.

  Julien noted the time stamp on the package. In theory he could hold on to it until she returned. Their carefully crafted renovation timetable had some give factored into it, some space to allow delayed shipments and the like.

  But . . .

  Julien smiled.

  He would be remiss in his job as manager if he didn’t immediately find Kat and discuss the figures with her. After all, technically she should still be on-site and available to deal with this.

  “Alfred,” Julien called across the lobby. The doorman came to attention and turned to him.

  “Did you happen to hear where Kat was going off to?” Julien stuffed the files back into the courier package.