Devotion - Billionaire Contemporary Romance Novel by Aria Hawthorne Read Free Book Online Page A

car.  With polite chivalry, he guided her to the curb and passed her off to Phillip, who enveloped her hand within the crook of his arm and led her through building’s revolving door.  She had accompanied him to functions in the past, but his physical embrace of her hand and the solid pace of their unifying gait towards the elevators told Isabel that Phillip was interested in keeping her closer to him than usual.
    “There’s a private casino at the top level,” Phillip said, nodding to the tacky décor of the elevator cab’s interior, trimmed with blue neon lights reflecting off the flashy metallic panels of brushed gold.  He peered up at the conspicuous security camera, encased in tinted plastic in the corner of the cab. “Only a megalomaniac bastard like Eliot Watercross would exploit the only loop hole in the City of Chicago’s ban on downtown casinos by building it above the City’s official air space rights.” 
    Phillip pressed the call button for the ninty-ninth floor.  The glittering metallic doors closed and the cab shuttled them upwards to the top of the world.  Isabel knew that Eliot Watercross was one of Phillip’s biggest competitors.  Phillip valued original and vintage—form follows function—while Watercross preferred modern and ostentatious—the tallest and most expensive building wins.  But unlike Phillip’s real estate empire, which had been built upon partnerships of investment equity and solid cash flow from commercial lease deals, Phillip had told her that he suspected Eliot Watercross had built up his entire real estate empire on pyramids schemes of leveraged debt.  And pyramid schemes—no mattered how flashy and impressive—always led to bankruptcy.
    The elevator chimed and its doors slid open.  They were immediately greeted by a pair of men in black catering suits.  The younger one with an attentive boyish face approached Isabel.
    “May I take your coat, Miss?”
    She complied and slipped off her mink.  Phillip removed his own black trench coat and passed it off to the second attendant.  Phillip offered her his arm as they crossed the grandiose sky-level casino, its sweeping reflective ceilings and vibrant illuminated floor panels reminded Isabel of her son’s favorite carnival ride at the zoo.
    Phillip turned up his nose and surveyed the surreal atmosphere of purple neon lights and bubbly inebriated cheer. “It’s a perilous pair of Jacks he’s flaunting at the poker table, and one day, someone is going to come along and call his bluff.” 
    Elegant men huddled over the blackjack and roulette tables, waiting for their next capricious win between their boisterous exchanges and bursts of laughter. 
    Isabel unexpectedly felt a hand slip around her waist and force her away from Phillip.
    “Hello, lovely lady. You might just possibly be the most attractive thing in the room.”
    Isabel relaxed in his embrace. “Good evening, Gary.”  She was relieved to see it was a familiar face rather one of Phillip’s more presumptuous business colleagues.
    “Good evening” he playfully purred at her while releasing her from his grasp.  “Are we going to get some business done tonight?”  He eyed Phillip before sweeping up two champagne flutes from the tray of a server darting by them, and handed off the first flute to Isabel with flirtatious chivalry.  “My lady.”
    “There’s definitely no shortage of egos here,” Phillip remarked, accepting the second champagne flute from Gary while scanning the casino.
    “Yeah, I’m fairly certain every man, woman, or child who owns a building east of LaSalle Street is here tonight,” Gary confirmed.
    “And Watercross?” Phillip asked.
    “Negative,” Gary replied, attempting to adjust the asymmetrical cream pocket square accentuating his shimmering royal blue Brioni suit. “Watercross is the only businessman I know who waits until everyone is drunk before arriving to his own party.”
    “Here…let me help you with