I felt my gut knot as Dean and I were left alone. He crossed over to me and pulled me into his arms. I don’t know why I’d been expecting anything else, but for some reason, I had been. My arms wrapped around his neck as I leaned on him, letting him support me.
“How are you doing?” he whispered.
“I’m alright.” I wasn’t going to admit how I really felt, or he’d try to send me home.
“You know, if you need to go home …”
“No!” I took a deep breath and shook my head. Even my therapist thought it was a bad idea to be here this soon after everything that had happened, but I couldn’t just sit around and wait at home to be magically fixed—plus rent was coming due. “I’m fine. Really, I’m fine. I’ll be back to normal after the end of the day.” Okay that was a lie, and he knew it, but thankfully, he didn’t call me on it.
“If you need to leave early, all you have to do is tell Melina or me, okay?”
“Yea.” We’d been over this a couple dozen times already, and I knew the speech off by heart. He was worried about me, and although he respected that I was pushing through, he didn’t want me to do more harm than good. I knew it all.
“And um … there is something else you should know.”
“What?”
“Well, the girls here know I have a girlfriend … and I’m guessing it won’t take them a long time to figure out it’s you. I know a couple of them have been asking Melina questions. She hasn’t heard your name per say, but it’s only going to take so long for them to all know it’s you.”
Feeling dread fill my stomach, I closed my eyes and focused on my breath. One, two, three. I counted each breath that I took. Something my therapist had taught me to do last session. I forced my eyes open, realizing that he was still waiting for me to say something.
“Okay. It’s not a big deal.” I don’t know if I was trying to convince him or myself, but I didn’t feel any better. “I’ve been there before; I know how to deal with them if they are rude.”
“Babe …” He touched my arm gently. “If anyone is rude to you, just tell me.”
“No,” I snapped. “Sorry, it’s just … I can’t. I can’t come crying to you if there is an issue. What are you going to do? Threaten them? I’m not going to be that girl.” It was bad enough I was already the one dating the boss—again. I swallowed dryly, trying to collect my thoughts. “Whatever happens, I’m sure it won’t be bad. I’ll deal with them.” I paused. “But um, if I do anything that you’d fire another employee for, you damn well better fire me.”
Dean looked scared for a fraction of a second. I could have sworn a little color from his face drained. “What do you plan on doing?”
“Nothing,” I admitted. “But I’m not promising that I won’t do something stupid, so if I do, you’ll have to fire me.”
“Don’t talk like that.” Dean closed the distance between us and pulled me into his arms. “It’s going to be okay. It might just take a little while for the girls to warm up to it.”
Oh, Natalie was going to fucking kill me when she found out I was dating Dean. And for some reason, part of me was scared of her. I closed my eyes. They were bound to find out about it, though. Forcing the smile back over my lips, I opened my eyes. Dean looked at me carefully.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go home?”
“I’m sure. No point in putting it off.” I pointed to the clock. “Anyways, people are going to be coming in anytime now. I’d better go get ready for my shift.” I wanted to get in the change room before anyone else got there, not being ready to face them all alone in a room like that. “I’ll see you later.”
“You’re still coming over after work, right?”
“Yup, we’ve still got dinner plans with my mom.”
“Right. And how’s your dad doing?”
“He’s getting out of the hospital today. They wanted to keep him another day, but he’s not going for it.”
I turned on my heel and headed for his door.
“Becca, I love you.”
“I love you too, Dean.”
“Come see me at any point during the day, okay?”
“I will,” I promised, opening his office door and stepping out. I was learning from my therapy sessions that apparently I was a bit of a control freak and needed to start giving up that control and letting people help me. I thought it was a stupid idea, and that I could just do it all on my own, but I had to admit that the therapist hadn’t been wrong yet, so if necessary I was going to go see Dean during work today.
I made my way to the change room, opened the door and froze, staring at three other girls who looked at me with wide eyes.
Crap. Crap. Crap. I forced myself to step into the room and head for the corner.
“Hey.” It was Natalie who spoke to me.
“Um, hi.”
“How are you doing after everything?” She actually sounded like she cared. I wasn’t sure if it was fake or not, but I appreciated it.
“I’m okay. In therapy due to Dean’s demands, which I guess could be worse.”
“As long as it helps.” Nichole paused. “And you know, if there is anything we can do … just let us know, alright.”
“Thank you.” I couldn’t tell her how much it meant to me that she would offer to help; I wish I could. I wish she would have some idea how much it meant to me, but I doubted she’d ever realize.
I changed quickly, not wanting to stay around them in case they were just fucking with me and headed for the bar where I was going to start my shift. On the way through the lobby, Dean caught my eye. He was talking to Melina about something, but he was staring at me. Melina didn’t seem to mind.
I heard the girls giggling behind me as they came out of their change room. My heart skipped a beat as I strode towards Dean, not even realizing what I was about to do. Coming to a stop in front of him, I knew it was a dreadful idea.
“What can I do for you?” I could tell he was still trying to pretend that we weren’t a couple. I closed the distance between us, moving into that ‘personal space’ level of distance and wrapped my arm around his neck.
“I just wanted to tell you to have a good day.” Without another word, my lips were on his. The kiss was soft, and it lasted just a couple of seconds; after all, I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. I wasn’t going to have a full-on make out session with him, but I also wasn’t going to play the victim here. They wanted to know if Dean and I were together; well, there was their answer. I was fucking my boss; if they didn’t like that, then it was their issue. I pulled away and gave him a soft smile. “I’ll see you after work, right?”
“Of course.” He sounded a little shocked still and cleared his throat. “My house, right?”
“Yup.” My eyes sparkled as I turned on my heel and headed for the bar with a wide smile. Taking a risk, I glanced over my shoulder right before entering the bar. Dean and Melina were talking again, and Natalie was still standing there with those two other girls I’d never met. The thing that surprised me was the fact that she was smiling.
She caught my eye for a fraction of a second before striding over to the slots. I glanced down at the time on my phone—we’d be opening in a couple of minutes, so I’d better get ready.
Chapter Two
I mostly worked on my own today, which was fine with me, but that didn’t mean I didn’t notice the way everyone looked at me when they came to get something from the bar. Around noon, Melina joined me. Midweek, the casino was pretty dead this time of day. We had the early morning goers who had already left with either empty pockets or their winnings, and then around 3:00 we’d have people either skipping out on the last hour of work or getting off early. Either way, we were left to ourselves other than a few people at the slot machines.
“Hey ...” I gave Melina a smile. “How’s it going?”
“Oh, not too bad; you’re quite the topic today.”
I snorted. I was sure there were a lot of rumors going on about me right n
ow but didn’t care all that much. There was something else I wanted to talk to Melina about. I bit my lip. She hadn’t looked happy, but honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was in my head or not. Before I could say a word, someone spoke behind us.
“Hey ...” My heart did a backflip as I turned to see Nichole there. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was the one who showed up at Dean’s house that day. I knew it was her. There was no way it couldn’t be—so why would Dean have hired her?
“I just wanted to stop by … I’m a little insinuative sometimes; I didn’t mean to be totally rude. I just wanted to say I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“Thanks.”
She gave me a warm smile and turned to Melina for a fraction of a second then to me. “I’m really glad I get to help you guys with this. Dean’s a great guy, and I’m sure he’s hired lots of amazing people. I hope I can get to know you guys better soon, and that we can actually be friends. I know you guys don’t trust me all that much, but I’m going to earn your trust.” She beamed.
“Uhh …” I honestly had no clue what to say.
“I’m sure we’ll be friends in no time,” Melina spoke up for me, giving a wide smile and clearing her throat. “But, I’ve got to get back to work. Thanks for stopping by, though; I know it can be hard being the new girl, but I’m sure the girls will warm up to you soon.”
“Thanks!”
Melina gave me one last look before exiting the room and leaving me alone with Nichole, something that felt close to being left alone with a wild wolf—then again, maybe I was just being paranoid with her. Maybe she was actually sorta nice. A girl can hope, right?
I stood there trying to figure out what to say. She didn’t seem to mind watching me squirm. Her eyes sparkled.
“So, how did you meet Dean?” What I actually wanted to ask was how she’d managed to snag the job, but I wasn’t going to be that rude.
“Oh, I just walked through the door and offered him a free test taste.”
I could have sworn I heard sexual innuendo behind that, but I tried to brush it off; anyways, I was probably just being jealous. I mean, how could I not be? She was uber gorgeous, and she was obviously successful. I’m sure Dean would love a girlfriend who made as much—if not more—than he did, or at least didn’t have to worry about making her bills on time. I bit my lip, trying not to have a reaction. “Dean is really great at giving people a shot.”
“Like he gave you one?”
“Yea.” I couldn’t quite tell if it was a hit or not, or if it was about me and him dating, but I decided to expand on it. “I mean, I had no experience working in a casino, but I made a case for myself, and he was kind enough to give me a shot and let me prove to him that I deserved it.”
“I’m sure he’s glad he hired you.” She stepped closer to me. “I mean, with you two dating and all.”
I wasn’t surprised she knew about it, being sure the whole casino knew. I glanced over her shoulder and cleared my throat as a group of men came in, looking for the bar.
“If you’d excuse me.” I watched them head over to a bunch of tables. “I think I’ve got some work to do, but I hope we see each other again soon,” I lied before walking away—not bothering to wait for her response.
*
The second we were in Dean’s home, I felt so much better. “So, how was it?”
“Honestly?” I let out a deep breath. “There were a few not so great points during the day. There were a couple guys getting drunk and making loud noises that triggered a little bit of panic.” Okay, maybe more than a little bit of panic, but I didn’t need to tell him exactly how much it had bothered me. “But overall it wasn’t that bad.”
It had been three days since we got back from Italy, and I was beyond sick of sitting at home; if Dean knew how much it had actually bothered me, he wouldn’t let me go back tomorrow—and then there was that whole case with the new girl.
“So … Nichole seems nice.”
Yea, nice. That’s what I thought she looked.
“She’s already been such a huge help to the business!” Dean seemed beyond pleased as he spoke. “What do you want for dinner, by the way?”
“Oh, how about just grilled cheese or something simple? You know, I could swear she is the girl that showed up at your place that one day. The one I thought was at the casino with …” I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I couldn’t bring myself to say his name.
He was in jail, he’d never hurt me again, and Dean was going to speak at the trial. The lawyers were sure he’d be going away for years, but I couldn’t stop being just a little bit scared of him.
“You know, I was thinking about that; she was probably just stopping by to try and talk to me. To try and sell me on hiring her. You know how hard it can be to get a hold of me!”
I nodded. Seemed like a lame reason to me, but I wasn’t going to say it. I didn’t want to start anything with Dean tonight. There was just something off about her.
*
I knew Becca didn’t like Nichole; maybe it was because she’d been there the day Keith had been there; maybe it brought back memories, or maybe she was just being jealous. I had no clue what it was, but I gave her a smile.
“Anyways, I’m just glad I get to come home and spend the night with you.”
It had been the main reason I decided to hire Nichole for some time, because right now, Becca needed as much of my attention as I could give her. She returned my smile but looked away. I frowned. Come on, Becca, don’t act like this, please.
“She’s actually kinda nice once you get to know her.”
Sure, she might come off as kinda bitchy, but that was just at first. She was actually really nice. I liked her; that had to count for something, right? But I didn’t dare say it.
“I look forward to getting to know her.”
I could hear the lie in her voice; she didn’t even try to hide it. My brow furrowed, but I didn’t say anything as I headed for the bedroom. I’d promised we would go out to dinner with her mom, and as much as I didn’t want to do it, I was getting the feeling that Becca was being pressured into it by her mom, and the more I put it off, the less her mom would like me.
I slipped out of my shirt as Becca followed me into the bedroom. “I just can’t shake the feeling that she was there when …”
I knew where she was going with it, and I knew that it scared her thinking of that day, but a lot of people had been there. If she was scared every time she saw someone who might have been there that day, it wasn’t going to work. I would have to let her go.
I didn’t dare say it, though. I knew that wasn’t going to get us anywhere.
“I know babe, and maybe she was. Maybe she was trying to seek me out and talk to me about a partnership. You never know, that kind of stuff is hard to tell, even more so when …” When you’re looking for a reason not to like her. But again, I didn’t say it. I wasn’t a total idiot.
I slipped out of my shirt and turned to face her. She stared at me with her arms crossed over her chest in the doorway. It looked like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out, and for that, I was thankful.
I gave her a smile before reaching for the clean white shirt I’d set out before leaving. I slipped into it, buttoned it up and debated on whether or not to wear a tie.
“Would it be too formal to wear a tie?”
“For my mom? Yes.”
I nodded. Alright, so formal wasn’t really their style, good to know. “When are we meeting her?”
“6:00. At some place on Brock Street.”
“Alright.” I nodded and took a deep breath. I’d never been good at meeting the parents. Nervousness twisted in my stomach as I sat down on the bed and inhaled deeply.
Becca padded into the room. “Relax ...” She sat down beside me, touched my arm and leaned towards me, resting her head on my shoulder. “It will be fine; my mom will love you. You’ll win her over in a fraction of a second, and then she will spend the next few years telling m
e that I should try to marry you as soon as I can so I don’t lose you.”
I snorted. “I really hope that is the case.”
“It will be,” she promised as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to me. I knew the day had been harder on her than she was willing to admit, but I didn’t want to bring it up. Instead, I just pulled her as close to her as I could and held her tight, trying in some lame silent way to let her know that I was there for her, and I didn’t plan on going anywhere. We were in this together, and we were going to make it work.
*
I closed my eyes, leaning against Dean’s shoulder. It felt nice for a couple of seconds as I took a few deep breaths of him. I knew we had to head out soon to meet up with my mom. She’d ended out deciding on coffee, not dinner, because of dad being in the hospital recently and her wanting to spend more time with him, which I don’t think he really wanted, but at this point there wasn’t much he could do about it. Which meant my mom had full control.
I pushed myself up, headed into the bathroom and reapplied my make up quickly—just a touch up to make it look like I wasn’t half as tired as I felt. The truth is I felt like I could just go to sleep right now and not get enough sleep before I had to get up tomorrow and head to work.
“Are you sure about this? We can still call it off?” Dean called from the bedroom.
“Are you that scared of my mom?” I joked. But I would have loved to call it off; however, I didn’t think my mom would be happy with it, so we were stuck going out tonight. Which meant I didn’t put my pajamas on.
Instead, I fixed my hair and headed for the door, slipped into a pair of my black pumps, grabbed my light leather coat more for fashion than for actual warmth, and Dean joined me, grabbing a set of keys. He handed me my leather purse from Italy, and we made for his car.
“Is there anything I should know before I meet her?” he asked as we reached the car. I bit my lip, mulling it over as I opened the passenger side door and sat down, buckling myself up.
“Well, you know how my dad had the heart attack recently? My mom was called because she was on the paper as his next of kin, but they’re not actually married. So yea, you shouldn’t think they are married or anything. My mom doesn’t like swearing very much. So as long as you don’t swear, you should be fine. But swearing is a sure-fire way to make her hate you.” I shot him a grin as he gunned the engine.
The Billionaire's Casino - The Complete Collection: Billionaire Romance Box Set Page 19