BOSS_Hard Deal

by Jolie Day

  “A Miss Brooke Abernathy is here to see you. Shall I send her in?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Go right in, dear,” Jeannie said, pressing a second button. Brooke heard a slight buzzing and she headed in the direction that the secretary motioned, reaching for the knob on a heavy oak door. The buzzing stopped as she slipped into the inner-office and gave her eyes a moment to adjust to the low lighting.

  The room had an ornate desk on one side and a long conference table on the other. The wall across from the door was made almost entirely of windows and Mr. Dunham stood in the middle, holding a glass of clear liquid as he gazed out at the city below.

  Even from behind, Brooke thought, he was devastatingly attractive.

  “Take a seat, Miss Abernathy,” he said, making her jump. “We have a few things to talk about and not a lot of time in which to do it.”

  Brooke swallowed thickly and took a seat in one of the plush chairs at Mr. Dunham’s desk. She took a deep breath as she heard the deliberate steps he took toward her and watched, out of the side of her eye, as he closed the curtain before setting his glass down on a coaster and taking a seat across from her.

  They were silent for several moments and it occurred to Brooke that Mr. Dunham might have been waiting for her to start talking—or to even thank him for all he had done the other night. She cleared her throat.

  “Thank you,” she started. “For what you did the other night, both times. I just—”

  Mr. Dunham put up a hand to stop her and shook his head. “Please,” he said. “It was nothing. Like I said, I take care of my own. My only concern right now is that you are okay.” He paused. “Are you?”

  Brooke nodded. “Thanks to you,” she said, feeling her face heat up. She wondered if it was a little too obvious how she was fawning over him.

  “Again, it was no trouble. However…”

  Brooke grimaced at that. Here it comes.

  “In the future, Miss Abernathy, it would benefit you to keep your head in the game and keep aware of your surroundings when it comes to putting yourself in precarious situations. If you had been just a little bit more vigilant, then perhaps the gentleman from the other night wouldn’t have been so successful in sneaking up on you.”

  “Are you…are you blaming me for getting attacked?” Brooke gasped. Feeling a bit incensed.

  “Not at all,” Mr. Dunham replied, coolly. “I am merely suggesting that you be careful when dealing with the clientele here. Many of them are high-rollers and have incredible tempers and impulses. The impulses keep them gambling and giving their money to Alenna, but they can often become violent and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to one of my employees. Do you understand?”

  Brooke nodded, feeling a burning anger rise within her.

  “Good. Now, might I suggest you carry protection of some sort? Nothing lethal, of course. Perhaps a small can of pepper spray.”

  “I…I actually have one, sir,” Brooke informed him.

  “Very good,” Mr. Dunham said with a nod. “You might want to keep that on you when you walk to your car from now on. It could prevent any future injuries. After all, I won’t always be able to stop an attack… not that I think it will happen again soon. It’s just a precaution. You’re going to have to start defending yourself from now on.”

  “Yes, sir,” Brooke said. They were silent for another long moment. “Is there anything else you wished to talk about, Mr. Dunham?”

  The man shook his head. “I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

  “I am,” Brooke confirmed.

  “Good,” Mr. Dunham said, looking her in the eye for a long moment, before turning his gaze down to the papers on his desk. “That’ll be all for now.”

  Brooke nodded and stood up, making her way to the door. Before she exited, she looked back to him, opening her mouth as if to say something else. When she found him looking out the window again, she closed her mouth and just took a moment to gaze at his profile. His face was illuminated by the city lights, neon flashing across his features as his brown eyes seemed to glow. He took a sip from his drink and she watched the way his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. His hair was stylishly mussed and a small strand hung in his face, just over his left eye. It was then that Brooke noticed the slight scar over his eyebrow and she wondered if there was a story there.

  Instead of asking, she opened the heavy oak door and quietly slipped out, feeling something begin to flutter in her chest as her cheeks burned all the way to the elevator. She could swear that Jeannie the Secretary could read her thoughts and she did her best to ignore the woman’s gaze.

  As soon as the elevator doors were closed, she let out a low groan and shook her head. She was in deep and she had no idea how she was supposed to climb her way back out.

  Or if she even wanted to.

  Chapter Five

  Brooke felt the flutters in her stomach all the way back to her table on the casino floor. Anthony Dunham was as tough as everybody said, both physically and personality-wise. But there was also compassion in his tone and behind his eyes. Brooke had never had another job before, but she was certain that that couldn’t be said for a lot of bosses and owners of large properties like this. She had heard some horror stories from her college friends and she had been worried that this would be no different.

  She was glad that it was.

  Tessa greeted her with a wide smile as she returned to the table and just before Brooke could ask what was going on, she spoke.

  “Good news, rookie,” she said. “I just got word that your basic training period is officially over. You’ll being assigned your own table for the remainder of your work week. Congrats.”

  “Oh!” Brooke blushed deep red. “Wow, that was quick.”

  Tessa shrugged. “My table dealing training was done in a few days,” she said. “But, then again, the casino wasn’t as packed, then, as it is now. But you’ll be fine, trust me. You know the games inside and out. Just make sure you keep your cool and don’t give in to their anger, alright? I’ll be here for the rest of the night if you need me.”

  “Okay.” Brooke took a deep breath. “Thanks, Tessa.”

  “Don’t mention it, rookie.” Tessa winked and Brooke chuckled as the manager pointed her out to her newly assigned table.

  “You’ll be taking over the Texas Hold’em for the rest of your shift,” he informed her. “Tomorrow might be a different assignment since these are typically made in advance, but we had our usual Saturday night dealer call in sick. Each week, you get a different assigned table.”

  “What about Tessa?” Brooke asked.

  “Trainers like her move around a lot when they have a trainee, so that they can get the swing of things before getting their own table. Tessa is our most popular dealer, so she’ll typically be the go-to trainer. We only hire once every month or two, so she’ll be available whenever you need help until the newest recruit comes in.” Brooke nodded in understanding. “Okay, you ready to start your job for real?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” Brooke laughed, sitting down and reaching for the deck.

  The manager chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. “Call me for the key when you need it. Do you know how to turn on the red light?” He pointed to the small light in the center of the table that let their patrons know that the game was open.

  “Yeah,” Brooke said. “I did it the other night.”

  “Good. Then go ahead and do your thing, rookie.”

  “Oh God, that’s gonna stick now, isn’t it?”

  “Just until the next rookie comes along,” the manager said as he walked away from the table to give the key to another dealer a couple of tables away. “Good luck!”

  “Thanks,” Brooke muttered under her breath as she flicked on the red light and smiled as the first patron—a lovely middle-aged woman with a fur coat and several piercings—sat down and placed down a couple stacks of cash. Brooke got to counting as two more patrons sat down with ch
ips. She was quick about it and doled out 200 grand in chips to the lady in the fur coat.

  “Thanks, dear,” she said, with a smoky voice. Brooke smiled back at her and started to shuffle the cards, trying to think of something to say.

  “So,” she said, “is everybody from around here?”

  “I’m not,” the man on the lady’s left said. “I’m in town for business.”

  “Oh?” Brooke said. “What do you do?”

  “Investment broker,” he revealed. “Just got a big bonus. Thought I’d celebrate with a little booze and gambling.”

  “The best way to celebrate, in my opinion,” the fur coat lady said. “I’m from Hoboken. Not too far from here. I usually come with my husband, but he was feeling a bit sick tonight, so I’m here alone, betting for the both of us.” She smiled wide. “Our daughter just had her first baby.”

  “Congrats,” Brooke said, dealing out the cards the way she’d been taught.

  “Thanks, sweet,” the lady said, checking her cards. Her face turned to steel and Brooke turned to the next man.

  “I’m from here,” he said, shortly. She nodded and called for the bets.

  *****

  An hour into her solo shift, Brooke really thought that she was starting to get the hang of things. She learned when a little conversation would soothe her patrons and when it might aggravate them to the point of making mistakes that just made them even angrier at themselves. She tried to keep the peace with a calming voice and the manager even came over every once in a while to see that everything was okay. When that happened, the patrons usually lost steam and stayed quiet, which Brooke was thankful for; it kept her out of trouble, anyway.

  But then one man began screaming so loud in her face that Brooke was stunned into silence. She was like a statue, sitting petrified in her seat as the man’s face began to turn red, all because he believed that she miscounted his bet. Brooke had tried to explain to him that she had counted through it twice, but he just continued to scream over her until tears began to filled Brooke’s eyes and she felt a lump start to form in her throat.

  Her face was starting to get uncomfortably hot when Brooke felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Tessa standing there, with a comforting smile on her lips.

  “Hey, rookie,” she said. “Why don’t you go take fifteen, okay? It’s been a long night. I’ll deal with this guy.” She glared up at the screaming patron, pulling Brooke up from her seat and shooing her away. “Shut it!” she barked at the man, who faltered. “Calm down before I call security and have your ass thrown out without any winnings. Got it?”

  Brooke watched over her shoulder as Tessa miraculously got the man to calm down and sit in his seat. He was still fuming, but at least he was no longer screaming in anybody’s face.

  She took a deep breath as she headed toward the break room. Before she could reach it, however, one of the security guards stopped her.

  “Hey,” she said, “you’re wanted in the security room.”

  “Oh,” Brooke said, her eyes widening in surprise. “Um, thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Is that some kind of catch phrase here or something?

  Brooke headed in the direction of the security room, flashing her employee badge at the guard standing outside and she caught the way his eyes scanned her body before he unlocked the door and let her in.

  Inside the security room were about a dozen high-tech monitors with various images and angles of the casino flashing across them, in high definition. The room itself was rather dim, but Brooke could still make out the man sitting at the monitors in a rolling desk chair. But he wasn’t facing the monitors.

  He was facing her.

  “Hello, Brooke,” Mr. Dunham greeted, with clear disapproval in his voice that made her swallow nervously.

  “Hello, Mr. Dunham,” she replied, summoning up all of her confidence and holding her shoulders back. “You wanted to see me.”

  He nodded, slowly, then stood up, towering above her in the cramped space of the room. “I wanted to ask you a question,” he said. “Do you take this job seriously?”

  That surprised Brooke. She blinked at him for a moment.

  “Well?” Mr. Dunham said. “Do you?”

  “Y-yes, sir,” Brooke said, her face beginning to flame in his presence.

  Why does that always happen?

  “Then, pray tell, why don’t you treat it that way?”

  “Excuse me, sir?” Brooke asked, her eyes going wide. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Don’t play coy with me,” he practically growled. “I’ve been watching the floor for the last hour. I saw what just happened out there with that patron. He got up in your face, screaming and causing a scene and you did nothing. You didn’t yell back, you didn’t call for security. Nothing. How am I supposed to trust you to take care of yourself and run your own table when you can’t even speak up in these kinds of situations?”

  “I, um, I’m sorry, sir. I just—”

  “Tessa, on the other hand,” he continued, talking over her, “had the man calmed down and sitting back in his seat within seconds of getting there. She’s now covering your table when she should be taking her fifteen-minute break. She’s doing your work for you. Does that make you feel proud?” Brooke was silent, that lump in her throat starting to grow and making it harder for her to breath.

  She shook her head, unable to speak. Tears began to roll down her cheeks and Mr. Dunham stepped toward her. As a reflex, she stepped back, fearful for a reason she couldn’t name. He backed off slightly, tightening his tie and sighing.

  “Get yourself together,” he said. “Take a few deep breaths and dry your tears, then go back out and do the work we both know you are capable of.”

  He stepped around her, heading for the door, while Brooke continued to look at the floor, trying to stem the flow of her tears. Before he exited, however, Brooke was surprised to feel a hand on her jaw, lifting her eyes to lock on his. The deep brown made her heart skip a beat as it felt as though they were just inches apart.

  “Brooke,” he said, her name on his lips sounding like some kind of gospel, “I wouldn’t have hired you if I didn’t think you could handle the job, alright? You just have to have more confidence in yourself and you’ll do incredible things. Understand?” Brooke nodded, her eyes still wet, but quickly drying as her heart rate sped up. “Good.”

  He took his hand off of her face and Brooke could swear she still felt the burn of his fingers on her skin.

  When he was gone, she angrily swiped the tears from her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her heart and keep herself from breaking down again. She sniffled slightly and made her way out, bee lining for the bathroom, where she splashed her face with some water and dried her eyes with a towel. When Brooke was certain that she could stay calm and focused, she headed back out onto the casino floor to relieve Tessa.

  You can do this, she repeated like a mantra in her head. You. Can. Do. This.

  *****

  The rest of Brooke’s shift was rather uneventful and, for that, she was grateful. By the time she had to clock out, she was practically dragging her feet. She yawned as she retrieved her things from her locker and waved goodbye to the staffers just starting their own shifts. Tessa was still out on the floor and Brooke wondered how she was able to take such long shifts, even if she was one of the original dealers for Alenna. She waved goodbye to her friend as she shuffled to the exit, remembering what Mr. Dunham had said and slipping her pepper spray from her bag.

  She held onto the small canister in her hand as she confidently headed toward the car, keeping her eyes out for the man that had been screaming at her earlier. She hadn’t seen him when she got back to the table earlier and Tessa had informed Brooke that he left of his own accord, but she was still more aware than before.

  At nearly four in the morning, the sky was a deep, dark blue, lit up only by the scant stars that could be seen beyond the lights of the city. Ther
e was a slight breeze that blew through Brooke’s hair as she walked to her car.

  She almost had the door unlocked when she heard the roar of an engine from behind her and she turned around just in time to see a man on a motorcycle pull into the spot next to her. He had a helmet on, so she couldn’t see who it was, but he had on a leather jacket that was pulled tight across his shoulders.

  On instinct, Brooke lifted the pepper spray and aimed it at him, threateningly. The man put his hands up in surrender, almost sarcastically, tilting his head to the side.

  “I’m not gonna hurt you,” he said, his voice muffled under the helmet. Slowly, he reached for the strap under his chin and undid it, before pulling the helmet over his head, revealing his identity to Brooke.

  She gasped, the canister of pepper spray dropping from her hand and took a step back at the sight of her boss, Anthony Dunham, sitting on a motorcycle, clad in leather, with a black helmet tucked under his arm. She felt her entire body burst into flames at the sight.

  “M-Mr. Dunham?” Brooke gasped and he nodded with a small grin.

  “You can call me Tony now, Brooke,” he replied, chuckling. “We’re outside the workplace.”

  She flushed, shaking her head. “I couldn’t,” she said. “It’d feel too…weird.”

  “Well, to each their own, I guess,” he said. “Hop on.” He reached into his saddlebag and pulled out another helmet, holding it out to her.

  “But, I…my car,” Brooke stuttered, taking the helmet anyway. “I can’t just leave it here.”

  “Sure you can,” Tony insisted. “It’ll be fine here. We’ve got the best security around. I’ll bring you back to pick it up later.” He lifted one eyebrow, as if daring her, and Brooke laughed. Finally, she placed the helmet on her head and picked up her spray, tucking it back into her purse. Tony lifted it from her and placed it into the saddlebag, before offering his hand to help her onto the bike.

  The second their skin touched, Brooke felt a spark run up her arm and then down her spine. She took a deep breath as she sat down on the seat behind him and wrapped her arms around Tony’s waist.