Stripped Bare

by Heidi McLaughlin

  “I love you, little miss. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Bye, Mommy. I love you too.”

  She hangs up and I let the tears flow. I hate my life and everything it’s become. I know it’s not Morgan’s fault, but I’m always wondering what it’d be like if I didn’t have her, if I had made a different decision. The stark reality of my situation is that she saved me. I could’ve easily ended up like my mother or worse. And I love her too much to let her go. She’s the reason I take my clothes off for men who want entertainment. Morgan is my everything.

  All week I have avoided the casinos. The temptation has been there, though. When I was fifteen my mom’s boyfriend taught me to play blackjack and would sneak me into the underground tournaments he was invited to. He taught me how to be smart with my hand and when to go all in on a bet.

  But I have refrained. I’ve kept my tips buried deep in my bag and told myself that I don’t have enough to even consider gambling…yet. That I haven’t earned enough to place a single bet or to even step into one of the hotels and sit down at a table.

  Except, my conscience is nudging me to give it a shot, as I know that I could make more. I could take a portion of my earnings and place a bet and double, maybe even triple what I have now.

  I’m telling myself this as I get dressed to go to work. The heels are far too high to walk in and my dress is short, my boobs all but sticking out of the top. Not my normal attire, but when I was packing to come here I couldn’t afford to check a bag so I had to cram what I could into a carry-on, which didn’t leave much room for my normal clothes.

  Inside the back of the cab I take to work a video plays for Allure, one of the newest casinos in town. From where we are currently at on the Strip, I can see the blue neon sign, beckoning me to check it out.

  “Stop here,” I tell the driver, who quickly pulls up to the valet. I pay the fare and greedily take the hand of the attendant who is helping me out of the car. He eyes me up and down with a smirk that tells me exactly what he wants. I drag my finger over the top of his chest as I walk away from him, never looking back to see if he’s watching.

  The minute I step into the hotel and hear the slot machines ringing, my mind is made up. I can double my earnings quickly, make it to the club for my last shift and catch my flight home. I’ve got almost an hour before my shift and the amount of money I stand to make will definitely upgrade Morgan’s life and mine if I win.

  Scanning the room, I see my targets: two men in business suits who have a stack of chips in front of them. I swap my cash for chips and slide between them. They seem to be big spenders without being at the high-rollers tables. They’re exactly the type of gamblers I need to increase the pot. I can feel both of them staring at me, but I focus on the dealer. I don’t need to look at either man to see their expressions. I have a good feeling both are eyeing my clothes and wondering how much they have to spend to get me in bed.

  My ante is placed and cards are dealt. I win. I lose. I win. And I win again. The more I win, the more confident I become. Cashing out would be the best thing right now, but I haven’t doubled my earnings and that’s what I came to do. Losing is not an option. After a bit, I lose count of my win-loss ratio, but know that I’m still well in the game.

  The man on my left, the one whose thigh is touching mine, pushes all his chips forward and I do the same. Winning this hand means I’m set. I could go home early and forget my last shift of having my ass slapped for an additional twenty bucks.

  Sweat starts to build at the nape of my neck as my hands rest on my chips. The dealer is waiting for me to make up my mind. The voice inside my head is telling me to pull them back, to cash out and go home to my little miss, but the devil on my shoulder is telling me that she wants the toys and electronics that the other kids her age have and if I win I can do that for her without question.

  Pulling my hands back, the cards are dealt. My stomach drops when I get a king and a five. The odds of hitting twenty-one from this hand are slim and right now I know I made a huge fucking mistake. Panic slips in and tears cloud my vision when the dealer asks if I want another card. I nod because I have no choice and that is when I see him in all his glory.

  Finn McCormick—the hottest guy to ever cross my path—is standing behind the dealer, staring at me. I catch my breath at the sight of him. I never thought I’d see him again. The dealer taps my hand trying to get my attention, but I continue to focus on him. Just as I tear my gaze away from him I see his hands push deep into the pockets of his slacks, pushing his suit jacket up, giving off that casual yet dangerous look. The last time I saw him he had, as I’d written in my journal, “steely blue eyes that anyone could easily get lost in.” I would know because they swallowed me whole every time I saw him.

  My world starts to spin as I look at the dealer who is putting down my card. When I see the eight, all the air suddenly leaves my body and I let out a sob that would rival someone going through massive heartache. The man on my left tries to console me, but all I can do is cover my mouth and vacate the table as quickly as possible while the dealer stacks my chips into her tray.

  And just like that it’s all gone.

  Pushing my way through the people who have gathered behind me, I feel my ass being pinched and my boobs grabbed. I shove bodies out of my way, but not many move willingly. Once I break free, he’s there waiting for me as I round the corner of the table.

  “Get out of my way,” I seethe, making sure I put my full force behind my hands as I push on his shoulders.

  Before I can get out of the casino, hands grab my arms while another set pick up my legs. I kick and scream, knowing full well that I’m making a scene, but I don’t care. I don’t give a shit that every person in the casino can see my vagina on full display. They might as well know what it looks like because most will be seeing it tonight in their VIP rooms. I have no choice but to bare all for more money.

  His voice is smooth and ridiculously sexy as he commands the goons to let me go. They drop me, making sure I hit the ground hard. I’m lucky my ankle doesn’t roll or break from the force of their release. When Finn tries to help me, I yell at him not to touch me. I don’t want his help.

  He straightens his jacket and reminds me that I pushed him first.

  “You deserve it,” I tell him, even though he has no idea why.

  “How are you?” he asks, but I roll my eyes and bite the insides of my cheeks. He doesn’t need to know shit about me.

  “What do you care?”

  Finn shrugs as if this…as if I’m a waste of his time. “I always care when I see someone from my hometown in my hotel, losing thousands of dollars.”

  What’s left of my heart and pride hits the ground and shatters. Of course, he owns the one casino I finally decide to venture into. I can’t help the tears that drip down my face, ruining my makeup. To him I must look like a clown right now. One simple act of desperation…no, it hasn’t been one, it’s many over the years, but this one takes the cake. This one is the mother lode. I was stupid to think I could double, even triple my money because a boyfriend of my mother’s taught me the game. This is fucking Vegas, you either win or you lose and I’ve lost it all and whatever dignity I had left is now gone.

  “It was nice seeing you, Finn, but I have to go.”

  He reaches for my hand, halting my steps.

  “Let me help you.” His voice is soft and for a minute I think about it until I realize what that could mean.

  “Excuse me? What makes you think I need your help?”

  His eyes roam over my body and he smirks. I don’t even need his words to know what he’s thinking.

  “I have a proposition for you,” he blurts out before I can tell him to fuck off.

  I stand tall, but even in my five-inch heels I don’t reach his height. I try to square off against him, but I know I’m not scaring him. He tilts his head to the left, waiting for me to say something, and all I’m doing is thinking about kicking him in the nuts. Seeing him ben
t over and in pain would be a satisfying way to end this epic moment. Instead, I walk away as fast as I can.

  Chapter 4

  Finn

  The second floor of Allure, where our offices are located, has a panoramic view of the main level, enabling me to see everything that happens in the casino, hotel check-in and who is waiting in line for which restaurant. I have people employed simply to stand at the windows and watch. They more or less take notes on which machines are being played and what people are doing. What started out as a security precaution quickly turned into a way for me to make more money. This also affords me the ability to know which of my employees are exceeding job expectations and which aren’t. The casino business is cutthroat and the minute I let my guard down I’m going to get burned. There are many in town who would like to see me fail.

  This isn’t my only hotel and casino, but it is my first and it’s where I do most of my business. The setup at Fick’s is the same, but the focus is on people who want to come to Vegas and have fun and do it cheaply. Rates at Fick’s are affordable and that means it’s always booked, whereas with Allure, it’s the best of everything.

  With my hands pressed down on the rail so that I can avoid leaving my handprints on the tinted glass, I watch as a group of drunken women stumble into the casino. One wears a tiara and sash that says either BIRTHDAY or BACHELORETTE, and all of them have on the shortest dresses possible, giving off the impression that they’re looking to hook up.

  “Easy prey,” Lamar says, stepping up next to me. Lamar Johnson is my right-hand man. At first he was hired to be the head of my security team, but became so much more during the first few months of employment. Being a former linebacker for the Running Rebels makes him a big-ass motherfucking dude and scary as shit. We clashed my freshman year in college when I hit on his girlfriend. He was going to beat my ass when I pointed out that his girl was all for it, and because I saved him from a doomed relationship we became friends. He was drafted into the NFL, but one concussion scared the shit out of him and he quit. Lamar was the first person I hired when I bought the hotel.

  “They’re drunk too. It’s not even nine in the morning and they can barely walk straight.”

  “I’ll make sure Tracey is watching out for them.”

  I nod as I watch the group of women head toward the slot machines. Lamar radios Tracey, the floor supervisor, and lets her know what we’re seeing. Last year a series of rapes happened in the hotels along the Strip and since then we’ve fought hard to make sure it never happens again. Lamar implemented a plan to keep men and women safe from each other and to keep the hotel free from unnecessary negative attention.

  “She’s on them.”

  “Thanks. Can you send someone over to pick my Benz up from the Ferrari dealership? I left it there yesterday.”

  “On it.”

  Lamar disappears, leaving me alone to watch over my casino. Being one of the youngest millionaires in Vegas has its perks, this being one of them. I can spy on people without them knowing, and I’ve used it to my advantage. Many times I’ve spotted someone that I wanted to get to know better.

  Finally making it to my office, my view overlooks the atrium. For the most part it’s meant to be calming, but is often distracting, especially when there’s a wedding taking place. I always wonder what the guy is thinking when he stands there staring at the woman he’s going to be with until they both give up or one dies. Marriage isn’t for me, not after I watched my dad move on with my mother’s nurse, who happened to graduate from high school two years before me and sucked every dick that passed through the locker room. My mom wasn’t in the ground a week before the naughty nurse moved in and the moans started echoing down the hall. Thankfully, I had a dorm to go back to and bailed the next day. I thought my dad would need me after my mom passed, but I was wrong. I love my dad, but my new stepmommy not so much. Gold digger doesn’t even come close to describing her.

  There’s a knock on the door and by the time I turn in my chair, Lamar is walking back in. Rarely will any of my employees find my door closed. I don’t believe in hiding. That’s how my dad runs his business and people are afraid of him. I want my employees to feel comfortable around me, especially when they see me on the casino floor or behind the hotel desk. They shouldn’t be nervous when I’m around.

  “Here’s the report on Fick’s.” Lamar hands over a stack of papers. The numbers tell me that we’re booked solid for the next six months. The restaurants are thriving as well.

  “This is good.” Fick’s was a run-down hotel that was on the verge of bankruptcy. I bought it and shut it down for about six months so I could do some minor renovations. Fresh paint, clean carpets and new mattresses make all the difference. The biggest thing I did was lower the price of the rooms and within days of reopening, the hotel was fully booked and has been ever since.

  “Damn good. The concept is something you should think about for the new one.”

  I push these papers aside and pick up the photos of the hotel I’m buying. It’s next to Allure, which offers me the ability to connect them, making Allure larger, or going the novelty route and making it a themed hotel. The problem is the price tag and Fick’s concept doesn’t mesh. I’d lose money and I hate losing money.

  “How long would it take to book the hotel if we went that route?”

  Lamar shrugs. “Depends on what you decide to do.”

  “Right,” I say, knowing that he’s referring to options I have. “What else do you have for me?”

  “Your car is on its way back. Tracey is keeping an eye on those women. And you have some high rollers who are starting to make waves at table twenty-seven,” he says, scrolling through his phone.

  Pressing a few keys on my laptop I bring up the camera above the blackjack table. Sure enough, there are two guys sitting there with a seat in between them. They both have a pile of chips in front of them. I study them for a minute before I realize they’re counting cards. I should know because I used to do the same thing in college.

  “They’re counting.”

  Lamar doesn’t wait for instructions. He stands and is on his radio barking out orders before he’s out of my office. I watch as the pit boss appears out of thin air with a new deck of cards for the dealer and observe as one of our undercover employees sits between the two guys. The men look pissed, but that’s okay because they’re about to meet Lamar and will likely shit their pants. Unfortunately for them, their winnings are no longer theirs and Lamar has someone going through video right now to see how much the men walked in with.

  As soon as Lamar has the men headed toward security I clear my screen and start to work on my email, answering each one. Most are about the purchase of my third hotel and whether the investment will be beneficial. I have no doubt it will be, but that will depend on what I do. The current owner had approached me about a partnership. That’s not something I want. I like my investors to be silent, putting their money where their mouths are, so to speak. The setup I have now works and the last thing I want to do is answer to someone. It’d be like being married and like I said, marriage isn’t for me.

  It’s after lunch when I pull up my social calendar and groan loudly. My assistant, Hannah, hollers from her desk, “I heard that.”

  “What is all of this?” I ask, as my eyes cross when I see all the fundraisers and galas that are on my calendar for this week. Money, in the form of donations, is all these events are after. I open a few and see that I’m being asked to give a speech and drop my head onto my desk. I hate public speaking.

  “Finn, I can’t help it if you’re the most sought-after keynote speaker in Nevada.” Hannah stands in my doorway, smiling.

  “You can tell them no.”

  She laughs and walks in, taking a seat. In her hand is a full-size calendar and pencil. Everything she does is in pencil because I change my mind frequently.

  “You’ll need dates to take with you.”

  I eye her out of the corner of my eye, but she doesn’t balk
.

  “Which one doesn’t appeal to you?”

  “Only one?” I ask.

  Hannah ignores me and looks at my date book. She’s been my personal assistant since I opened and everyone knows that if they want me, they have to go through her. It gives her power and I think she loves it.

  “It’s two fundraisers and one gala. The gala, you need to be at. I can call Brandy and see if she’s available.”

  Sighing, I turn and look out the window. Walking through the atrium is another brunette, in another short dress with all-too-high heels that are no doubt meant to attract the wrong type of men. Before she disappears into the casino, she turns and looks. I lean forward and try to get a better look. I’ve seen her before, but can’t place where.

  “Finn?”

  “Call Brandy. She’ll be available. I’ll do all three events,” I tell Hannah as I turn back around, but not before taking another glance out my window.

  “You won’t regret it.”

  “You say that every time, Hannah, and you know I regret each one of them.”

  She winks and leaves my office as I pull up the security feeds looking for the brunette. I find her after a few minutes, sitting at a blackjack table. The men sitting next to her are all too friendly. I can’t tell if she’s cringing when they touch her or if she’s enjoying it.

  Leaving my office, I go to the window so that I can get a better view of her. When I find her again, realization hits me square in the chest. I know her, but can’t remember her name or where from. I quickly leave the office and head to the floor, hoping she’s still there when I reach her table.