Taming Vegas by Nadene Seiters Read Free Book Online

him
know that I’m on my way out, and smile when he tells me to have fun.
    I still feel a little guilty not telling him exactly where
I’m going and why, but sometimes things need to be kept under wraps. They need
to remain hidden especially if a woman is going to get married to a man that
has some clout in the political and business industry. The guilt I feel is
compartmentalized immediately and pushed to the back burner as I hail a cab.
    “The JFK Airport please.” I tell the driver as I check my
purse to make sure that I have the printed boarding pass. The taxi pulls out
into the morning traffic of New York, which is mayhem from block to block. From
my apartment, it takes forty five minutes to get to the airport, but it only
takes me about fifteen minutes to board.
    I settle down in the seat near the window and stare at the
tarmac as the plane prepares for takeoff. It takes another half an hour for
everyone to board and the plane to be ready, and then we’re off to Vegas.
Sometime during the flight I take a nap with a pillow and end up leaning my
head on the shoulder of the passenger next to me. He just happens to be a
large, hulking man with dark as night skin and a winning smile. My stomach does
a tiny flip flop when he turns that delicious smile on me, and I hurry from my
seat with embarrassment as soon as we’re able.
    As soon as I walk through the revolving, glass doors out to
the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada, I can feel the dry heat surrounding me. There
is always something so different about Vegas than New York and central
California. I’ve heard people say that it’s the dry heat, which can be
dangerous to an unsuspecting tourist due to dehydration, but I think there is
something more to Vegas than just the dry heat. It’s the shimmer of excitement
in the air from all the visitors and knowledge of the casino owners that
they’re going to be getting lucky tonight with more and more gamblers pouring in.
    I hail a cab and the driver helps me with my bag. Once I’m
settled, I tell him to take me to the Obsidian Nightclub.

Alexander
    “I don’t understand why we can’t come to an agreement, Yatzi.”
Oh, I know. I said I’d never make a deal with this man, and I’m not. I’m making
an agreement .
    “Alex, my boy, we cannot come to an agreement because you
are not offering me anything I really want.” I know what he wants, but I’m not
forking over half my profits just so this guy will leave me alone for a few
months. I know him; he’ll be back before I can even say ‘Yatzi’ and he’ll want
more money.
    “Look, it’s not my problem that your associate, Hector,
cannot run a nightclub properly. It’s dank. It smells sour, and he sucks at
management. Just because I’m a better businessman, does not mean that I should
have to pay.” I lean back in my chair and stare out the glass windows to my
left as I listen to the silence on the other end. Then the chuckle begins that
turns into laughter, and I wonder if Yatzi is truly insane, or just one hell of
a greedy son of a bitch.
    “Everyone has to pay, Alex. Consider me like the government.
I’m collecting my taxes while I allow you to run a club in my turf.” I wish he
sounded more like the Godfather. If he did, this would all be much more amusing.
    “You’re not the government. I don’t have to pay your taxes. And
if I ever catch one of your scumbags in my club again, they’ll land their asses
in jail. I’ll start with them, and I’ll end with you .” My voice remains
the same level of calm that I’ve been holding this entire conversation, but the
last word comes out more like a hiss. I hear the man on the other end about to
say something after he inhales, and I serenely pull the phone away from my ear
and press the end call button.
    I may have just signed my death certificate.
    The man pushed me to the brink last night by sending five
men into my club to stir up trouble. Two of them sold some heavy drugs that
killed a few patrons, and