Red Roses in Las Vegas by A.R. Winters Read Free Book Online

dating?”
    Stone turned away and stared straight ahead wordlessly. He reached over to his seatbelt buckle, but I couldn’t just let him leave.
    “What makes you such a dating expert?” I asked. “You’re not even dating anyone now, are you?”
    He looked at me again, his eyes darker than before. “No, I’m not. Because I actually care about people and wouldn’t want them getting into trouble because of me.”
    “Why would people get into trouble because of you?”
    “You do my kind of work, people close to you get hurt. That’s just the way it is.”
    We stared at each other for a few more seconds, and then he undid his seatbelt and got out of the car. I followed his lead, and we headed over to the gun range counter to pay the fees.
    We practiced our shots silently, and on the ride back to The Treasury, we didn’t bother to chat.
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    I got to The Treasury an hour before my shift started, so I helped myself to the cheap, all-you-can-eat buffet. I stood in a mile-long line with groups of obese tourists who seemed to have come all the way to Vegas just for the inexpensive, plentiful food. I imagined them collecting two-for-one vouchers, trawling the buffets, and trying to get comps for free food and drinks. And, of course, they’d just go back home and complain about how terrible Vegas was and how the food stinks.
    As I waited in line, I sent Jack a text. I’d just finished my dinner when he called back.
    “I’ve set up the meeting with Clark Morsely for you,” he said. “He’ll tell the staff to co-operate, and he’ll talk to you at 7:30, before he starts work for the day.”
    “That’s great!” I said. “I know it was really short notice, and he’s a busy CEO and all. I was expecting maybe he’d see me sometime next week.”
    “I did him a favor, once,” Jack said, “So now he owes me. Verdant Wealth might not be around if I hadn’t helped out.”
    “Well, thanks, I really appreciate it.”
    We were silent for a few seconds, and then Jack said, “I know our date went really badly, but maybe we could have a do-over?”
    I smiled. “I think I’d like that.”
    “Would you like to come round to The Tremonte for drinks after your shift ends? Or we could somewhere else, if you’d like”
    My heart sank. “Uh, thanks. But I’ll probably be too tired by then.”
    “Oh.” He sounded a little surprised by my sudden rejection. “I’ll see you later?”
    “Sure.”
    We hung up, and I changed and headed over to start my shift, knowing very well that I was using “tiredness” as a lame excuse.
    As I tapped out the previous dealer and clapped my hands out behind a blackjack table, I thought about my relationship with Jack.
    I’ve always known that Jack was a mega-millionaire casino owner, and till today, it hadn’t really bothered me. But he was part owner of The Tremonte, next door, and here I was, just a lowly dealer at The Treasury. It was the stuff of fairytales and Cinderella stories, except Cinderalla never had to worry about her prince finding someone more “appropriate.” And Jack certainly had many “appropriate” women fawning over him – models and starlets beside whom I was just a slightly chubby, slightly clueless casino dealer.
    I really liked Jack – I had from the very first, strange moment that we’d met. But I realized, as though for the first time, that his wealth put him solidly out of my league. Sure, he might be interested in me for a bit, but pretty soon he’d understand that I was all wrong for him, and that would be the end of us. He would move on to some gorgeous, Amazonian beauty, and I’d be stuck with my same-old, same-old life.
    I reminded myself that I didn’t have the luxury of wallowing in self-pity, and turned my thoughts to tomorrow morning’s appointment instead. I needed to plan out what I’d ask Clark Morsely and his employees. With any luck, I’d be able to find out something – anything – that could get Nanna off the