by Ciana Stone
Once onboard, Kal directed the flight attendant to let the pilot know they were ready. After they reached cruising altitude, the attendant brought chilled champagne and canapes. Kal asked her about her week, they talked about current events and even shared a couple of chaste kisses.
Cici had forgotten how nice it was to be with someone who was smart, in touch with current affairs, possessed an acute acumen for business, had a good sense of humor and was sexy as hell. She drank a bit more champagne than she normally would have allowed herself but didn't give it much thought. She couldn't remember when she'd enjoyed herself this much.
The attendant appeared. “Excuse me, sir. The pilot has informed me that we'll be landing shortly, so if I may collect the glasses and dishes?”
“Certainly, and thank you.”
Cici was impressed at the way Kal thanked the attendant and the fact that his manner was genuine and he didn't give attitude like he saw her as less. Once they were buckled in and alone again, she asked. “Okay, so spill. Where are you taking me?”
“Look out the window.”
She did and then looked at him. “Vegas?”
“You don't like Vegas?”
“Are you kidding? I love it.”
“Then I chose well?”
“Absolutely. This is great.”
“I'm glad you approve.”
Boy, did she ever. Cici loved everything about Las Vegas. The lights, the noise, the smells, and sounds. It was a place where everyone's desires were out in the open, where people risked it all on the roll of the dice or drowned their woes in cheap liquor and slot machines. It was a place where you went to indulge in your own vice and peccadillos, and it was true, at least for the most part, that what happened in Vegas, stayed in Vegas.
Unless, of course, you were someone the media had an eye for, and then… well, then you better either behave or misbehave behind firmly closed and locked doors.
“Oh, I wholeheartedly approve. Where do we start?”
“I booked a villa for the weekend. I thought we could have dinner and then hit the casino. If you're up for it.”
“Just try and stop me. And which Casino?
His answer surprised her. Cici didn't tell him she was impressed, but he was smart enough to know that just about anyone would be. Few people could afford a $35,000 a night suite.
Cici had never seen the inside. It was huge, over ten thousand square-feet. The Japanese-inspired rooftop palace was complete with spa services, a private Zen Garden, a sky deck with water and fire features, a bar and an outdoor dining area that overlooked the Strip.
By the time their luggage was brought up, dinner was delivered and served to them in the outdoor dining area.
“This is amazing,” Cici admitted when they finished eating and rose from her seat at the table to walk around the sky deck. “I can't believe you did this. It's crazy expensive.”
“Nothing's too good for a woman as special as you.”
“Wow, you're good.” She wasn't lying. Kal said it like he meant it and she kind of wished he did.
“Just honest. You have to know how incredible you are.”
“Not really, but I'm certainly enjoying being treated like I am. So, what's next?”
“Dancing? Gambling? See a show?”
“Gambling.”
“Ah, you have the fever.”
“I do.”
“Fine, but I have one rule.”
“Okay, what?”
“Whatever we win, we take out on the streets tomorrow and give away.”
That shocked her speechless. Was he for real?
“Is that a problem?”
Cici shook her head and found her voice. “No, not at all. It's just so–unexpected. What if you win a lot?”
“The last time I was here, I won nearly two hundred thousand.”
“And you just gave it away?”
“Yes.”
“To who?”
“Anyone I saw who looked like they could use it.”
“You mean like people who gambled away their grocery money?”
“Not even close. Look, what you and I see is the game. We're wealthy, and we can afford to lose a hundred thousand dollars in a night. But that's more than what most of the people who work here, keeping these places clean and operational, make in a year. So, I find those people. The ones who show up every day, driving a car that needs a new alternator or has threadbare tires. The mothers who work nights waiting tables so she can put food on the table for her kids. The young people who work two jobs and have three roommates as they try to move from the chorus to the spotlight. And what about the doorman who's been on the job for thirty years and will be lucky to draw enough retirement and social security to eat out once a quarter and cut coupons the rest of his life?
“We're lucky, Cici. Life blessed us by delivering us into wealthy families, and by granting us the ability to learn and become educated and take what we were given and multiply it. Giving away winnings on money we could easily lose and not miss, is a small–very small way of giving back to people who aren't so fortunate.”
She forgot the resolve she'd built about waiting for him to make a move and pulled him to her. “I think you just became the sexiest man I've ever known.”
Kal laughed. “Then we better get to work and win like mad because tomorrow I want to make sure I live up to that and give away at least a quarter of a million.”
Cici smiled then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She wanted more than anything to experience what he spoke of, to see how people reacted when they were suddenly presented with money that could change their lives.
The problem was the meeting at Heritage. How was she going to make it back in time and if she didn't, would her father really kick her off the Board? She didn't know and didn't really want to find out, but she also didn't want to cut her weekend with Kal short.
So, what would she do? Cici decided that for now, she'd enjoy the night and tomorrow she'd figure out what to do about her father.
*****
The house was quiet now that the family had left. Delaney opted to spend the night with Dillon and Josie rather than stay at Heritage. Since Dillon and Josie married, Delaney had become very close to Josie, and now it was as if they'd been best friends their entire lives.
Nash took Rusty home, and Mace decided to stay at Nash's house. There was a ballgame Nash had recorded they wanted to watch. Riggs said he was going to help Naomie rearrange some stuff in her lab and then he was going to head over to Nash's as well. That left Russell and his parents, who were now sitting in the family room enjoying a glass of bourbon and watching the flames flicker in the fireplace.
“I was looking forward to seeing Naomie today,” Robert commented.
“So was I,” DeLyn added. “Why was she not here?”
“Since it was a family gathering, I didn't think to include her.” Russell could taste that lie on his tongue as he spoke it.
“Well, maybe we'll get a chance to see her before the Board meeting tomorrow.”
“Maybe.” Russell didn't want to talk about Naomie or the Board meeting. His parents both still held seats on the Board, but they typically let him vote their proxy. He'd discovered two things about them being present at a meeting. First, it took longer because they wanted to be brought up to speed on the agenda and often that involved giving them quite a bit of information and data. Second, they were not above trying to alter the course of a plan that had already been set into motion.
Russell understood that his father possessed a lifetime of knowledge about the land and raising cattle and knew a lot of history of weather patterns and changing markets and a host of other things. But it sometimes frustrated Russell when his father showed up and wanted to change things since he put in little to no time with the actual work of keeping Heritage going.
Maybe it was just a father-son dynamic thing like Naomie said. Naomie. Damn, couldn't she stay out of his thoughts for five red hot minutes? He turned t
he conversation to Rusty. Nash had agreed to let Rusty compete in an upcoming rodeo.
“Do you think he's ready?” Robert asked.
“Oh yeah. He's one hell of a little cowboy, that one. Can out-rope most of the hands working here and that dog Nash got him last year is becoming damn good at herding cattle.”
“You're so proud of him,” DeLyn commented.
“I am. He's a damn fine boy.”
“I couldn't agree more,” she said. “And sweet as the day is long. Just like his daddy.”
“I wouldn't call Nash sweet.”
“Of course not, you're a man, but he's as sweet and kind as a person can be to women and children and I pray every night that he'll find a woman who will recognize that in him.”
“I don't think he has a problem finding women,” Robert said. “Like Riggs.”
“I think they find him,” Russell added.
“You think he has eyes for Naomie?”
“I think he has an eye for every good-looking woman he sees.”
“Well you know there won't be anything happening between her and Riggs,” DeLyn said.
“That’s a damn shame,” Robert said. “They're both, young, good-lookin' and single.”
“It is, but Riggs isn't about to settle down, you know. And he probably had five women hoping to get a call from him. And,” she looked at Russell. “Everyone on Heritage knows Naomie only has eyes for Russ.”
“Ain't that the damn truth?” Robert added. “Boy, I know I'm old, but I'm not blind or stupid so why the heck is it that you and that gal haven't gotten together? It's clear as can be that you've got eyes for her.”
“Some things aren't supposed to be, Dad. And besides, she's young enough to be my daughter.”
“You're playing the age card?” Robert scoffed. “Boy, that's a feeble excuse. She's not some child. She's a grown woman with enough degrees to crowd a wall and plenty old enough to know what she wants.”
“It's not a feeble excuse. It stands to reason that she might want to have children and I'm too old to start another family. Besides, another ten years and I'll be looking at seventy rushing up at me. She'd wake up one day and think what a damn mistake she made.”
“Russell Jackson Walker, I am insulted.”
The tone of DeLyn's voice told Russell she was pissed. The fact that she'd used his entire name brought back memories of childhood. When she used all three names, he knew he was in for either a butt whooping or a scolding that would hurt every bit as much.
“Mama, I–”
“No, you can't excuse what you said, and it pisses me the hell off because that's like saying you think me marrying your father and becoming your mother was one big fat mistake.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant–”
“That love is predicated upon age equivalency? Did it ever occur to you that there are women–young women–who are more attracted to mature men? Some of us are old souls, or like Naomie, educated and savvy about the world and the people in it and quite capable of choosing who she wants to spend time with.
“And one more thing, Russ. I fell in love with your father knowing all his short-comings and quirks. I knew he could be ill-tempered when he was tired or hungry and that he'd fly off the handle if I shoved his mistakes in his face. But I also knew that he loved me and would lay down his life for you boys or for me. And just so you know, he was still plenty young enough to have more children, but I couldn't. But I didn't miss out on being a mother, because he gave me free reign to be yours. Yours and Richard's. And that was the biggest gift of all.
“So please, come up with any excuse you want, son. But don't ever play the age card with your dad or me because we don't buy it for one minute. I know better than anyone the bad choices you've made with women, and the price you've paid. I hate it because every mother wants to see their children be happy. But you chose the wrong women, time and again and now that the right one has shown up, you're just too damn scared to take a chance.”
DeLyn set her glass aside and stood. She walked over, leaned down and kissed Russell on the forehead. “I love you, Russ and I want you to be happy, so maybe you could just think about it?”
Russell reached up to take her hand and bring it to his lips to kiss the soft skin. “I love you, Mama and I will.”
“You promise?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Good. Okay, I'm headed to bed. Rob, you ready to come up?”
“In a bit, hon.”
“Okay. Goodnight, Russ.”
“Night, Mama.”
After she left, Russell looked over at his father. “I'm guessing you share her attitude?”
Robert smiled. “Son, I learned a long time ago that when it comes to matters of the heart, DeLyn rarely misses the mark, so yes, I do. And speaking as a man who married a woman considerably younger, I do need to say that I understand your misgivings. I wondered if there would come a day DeLyn would look at me and that expression of passion I so cherish would be gone. Would she yearn for a younger man to share her bed and her desires? I thought about it, dreaded and feared it.”
“And?”
“And it never happened. That's how you know the love is real.”
Russ nodded. “I'm glad that you and Mama found the real thing. Our family has been blessed because of it. But what if that's not the way it would be for me?”
“Well, I guess you'll never know, will you son? Seeing as how you won't take a chance? Okay, enough said. I'm going to put it between the sheets. See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Dad. Sleep well.”
“And you, son.”
Russell watched his father leave and then stared at the fire. Did his entire family know that he was crazy about Naomie? And did the rest of them think like his parents? That he was a coward and afraid to make a move?
That was embarrassing to contemplate. Mostly because it was true and because he just couldn't let himself take the chance of having her for a little while and then her walking away from him.
Russell just didn’t think he could live with the broken heart she'd leave him with, so he'd live with the yearning and the dreams of “what if” and the assuredness he had already been granted, that even if there was never anything more between them, she always had his back and was his friend.
Until she gets tired of only having a friend and lets someone else in the door you're afraid to open. Russell wondered which of his parents he'd inherited that annoying damn inner voice from and why the hell it always had to remind him of the one thing he didn't want to see.
Chapter Four – February 9th, 2019
Cici woke with a start. It took a couple of seconds to remember where she was. She and Kal had stayed in the casino until 3 am and cashed out with over three hundred thousand dollars. Exhausted and more than a little buzzed from all the champagne, they returned to the suite, snuggled up together on a plush sofa on the sky deck and promptly passed out.
She pushed herself up on one hip, supporting herself with a straightened arm. Kal lay on his back beside her. She leaned down and kissed him and a split second later squealed as he wrapped his arms around her, rolled her over onto her side and returned the kiss, albeit more passionately.
When the kiss ended, he rolled onto his back and pulled her to his side. “It's almost eight. Are you still sleepy?”
“No.”
“So, how do you want to start the day?”
“Giving away the money.” Cici had not been able to stop thinking about it. She'd never even considered doing something like that, but now she couldn’t wait.
“Do you want to change clothes first?”
That's when she remembered. She was still in the clothes she'd worn last night. “Oh, yes. And shower.”
“Pick a bathroom. Your travel case is still in the foyer. I'll call for breakfast and as soon as you're ready we'll head out.”
“Thank you!” She climbed over him, stopping while she was on top to give him another quick kiss. Then she
hurried off to find her case and a bathroom.
As she showered, Cici thought about her night with Kal. It reminded her how long it'd been since she'd just let go and had fun. Last night there was no talk of work or family, there was just her and him, gambling for a goal, laughing and cheering when they won, sucking it up and refusing to give in when they lost.
She'd seen Kal slip an elderly couple some chips and noticed that he tipped generously and had a kind word for everyone he encountered. As much as she'd resisted it, over the course of the night, he wove a spell around them that had his appeal growing exponentially.
By the time she was dressed and ready for the day, breakfast had already been delivered, and Kal was sitting at the table on the sky deck waiting for her. Cici paused at his chair long enough to give him a kiss then sat down and loaded her plate.
“It's amazing that you're not twice as big,” Kal commented.
“I have a high metabolism. God help me if that changes. So, where do we start giving away money? I can't wait.”
“I was thinking about that,” he said as he poured her a cup of coffee. “I imagine there are a lot of people right here who could use a leg up, so what do you say we start behind the scenes?”
“Behind the scenes?”
“Yes. Kitchen, laundry, garage, maintenance? We have three hundred and thirty thousand dollars, so what do you think? Should we find thirty-three people and give each one ten thousand or divide the number of recipients in half and give them twice as much, or double the recipients and lower the amount of the gift?”
She didn’t' hesitate. “Thirty-three and ten grand each.”
“Okay, that was fast. Why?”
Cici finished chewing a bite, dabbed at her mouth and then answered. “Because ten grand is nothing to sneeze at, but I think it can be gifted without incurring a tax burden. So, it won't cause anyone a hardship with taxes and it's a sizable amount. Enough to pay off a car loan, or at least pay it down, to get a car repaired, or get your AC fixed, or put in the bank for a rainy day.”
“I like the way you think.”
“Why, thank you. Do you think it'll be hard to find thirty-three people?”
“I think it will be a challenge.”
