RISK

by Deborah Bladon

  "What is there to understand, Ellie?" She peers down her nose at me. "You're no longer employed here. You can collect all of your things from your locker tonight."

  "Tonight?" I bark back. "I'm fired as of this minute? Now?"

  "Exactly." She taps the toe of her expensive shoe on the floor. The woman is dressed to impress tonight. The pink cocktail dress she's wearing shows off curves I never knew existed beneath her typical outfit of choice. I've never seen her in anything that wasn't navy blue or white. Sometimes it's a skirt with a blazer. On the breezier days, she changes the skirt out for a pair of slacks. A white blouse is always part of her ensemble. If it has ruffles down the front, she's feeling adventurous.

  Tonight must be an all-out circus based on the fact that she's wearing makeup and her hair isn't tucked into the tight braid it's usually in. It's a wild, blown-out mess.

  "You're firing me because of what I did to Jerry?"

  "Jack-off Jerry?" she volleys backs. "What did you do to him?"

  Wait. What? Who calls him that other than himself?

  I point at the pool of Jerry's blood that is now surrounded by four yellow caution signs that were placed by one of my co-workers. The resort is committed to cleanliness, so I have no doubt that someone with a bucket and a wet mop is on their way. "That."

  She looks down at the floor, shaking her head. "Jerry deserves worse. He's the scum of the earth, that one. "

  My forehead scrunches as I try to piece together exactly what's happening. I see Adley standing behind Ms. Griffin. She's listening intently to our conversation. She's not alone. Crew Benton, the man who just introduced himself to me before I was promptly kicked to the curb, is also within earshot, as are Nolan Black and Lacy. If my humiliation wasn't off the charts before, it's launched into the stratosphere now.

  "Why am I being fired?" I ask calmly, smoothly. If I'm going to have any chance to salvage my job, I need to appear rational, even though I'm in full panic mode inside. "I haven't done anything to warrant termination of my employment. My last review was stellar."

  "I didn't say you weren't great at your job, Ellie." Her eyes drift from my face to where Nolan and Crew are standing. "There is security camera footage of you taking a picture in the casino of two guests. You're well aware that's not permitted on the casino floor, yet you took the male guest's phone from him and happily took the picture while they posed. It's a clear violation."

  I rest my palm on my cheek. I know that rule. It's one of the obscure rules that virtually every guard breaks in some way. Most of us look the other way when a guest visiting Las Vegas from out of town takes a selfie or poses next to the screen of a slot machine they've won on.

  I've only requested once that someone stop taking pictures when I noticed he had a high-end camera in his hands and an agenda that seemed to be outside the norm for a regular casino patron. I escorted him to the central security office and they took it from there.

  "You're talking about the elderly couple from two nights ago, aren't you?" I question. "It was their first time in Vegas and it was her eightieth birthday. I was careful to position them away from any tables or slot machines. I made an exception because they asked politely if I could take the picture instead of just taking it themselves."

  "An exception?" She shakes her head. "You're not authorized to grant exceptions, Ellie."

  The finality in her tone is unmistakable. I'm not going to win this battle. I'm not sure I want to. This job pays shit. I live in a bachelor suite with no air conditioning, intermittent hot water and a neighbor who plays a medley of classical music early every morning. I love Mozart. I'm a big fan of Beethoven. I just don't want to hear it as soon as I come home from my shift when all I'm seeking is a few hours of sleep.

  "Why fire me tonight?" I ask because Ms. Griffin doesn't strike me as the type to publicly shame people if it can be avoided. "Couldn't you have done this tomorrow? In private?"

  "That was my original intention," she says with a half-grin. "I was going to have my assistant call you in the morning so we could handle this then, but I noticed you on my way into the club. I thought why not get it over with now?"

  I sigh, heavily. Instead of enjoying Adley's last night in Vegas, I now have an unemployment cloud hanging over my head.

  Way to rain on my party parade, Ms. Griffin.

  "It looks like I'm heading to New York with you, Adley." I look right at my best friend. "If you know where I can score a job, I'm there."

  "I have a job for you." Crew Benton steps closer, his open hand reaching for me. "It's nice to meet you, Ellie Madden. You're officially hired."

  ***

  I shake his hand again, not sure if this time it's a simple hello, nice to meet you, or if I'm making a deal with the devil. The man looks like sin. I can't even imagine what the job he's offering entails.

  I draw the line at pet sitting an iguana or wearing a sandwich board while walking around Times Square. I've done both of those things and I know when repeating history is a mistake.

  "It looks like you're all set, Ellie," Ms. Griffin says, obvious relief in her tone. "I can offer a recommendation if need be. Ellie is an exemplary employee when she isn't writing her own rule book."

  I smile at her. I sense she's done me a favor. The only reason I'm still in this city is because there's a very slim chance that I might land a job with the Las Vegas Police Department. It's looking increasingly less likely that will ever happen. I have no ties left here. My life is back in New York City. It's where I belong.

  She nervously murmurs an awkward goodbye before she darts toward the entrance of the club.

  "When can you start?" Crew watches Ms. Griffin walk away before he turns to me with a smile. "We'll cover the cost of your flight back to Manhattan and we'll supply a moving allowance."

  Generous, maybe too generous considering I have no idea what I'll be doing once I land in New York.

  "What kind of job is it?" I rub my chin. "I appreciate the offer, sir, but I need to know what you'll want me to do for you."

  "My name is Crew. You'll call me Crew. No sir bullshit."

  I nod. "No sir bullshit. Got it."

  "We need a head of security at our flagship store. You'll be setting new protocol in place for our loss prevention team. You're perfect for the job."

  "What store?" I raise a brow.

  He bites back a smile. "I'm Crew Benton, Ellie. I'm the Chief Operating Officer of Matiz Cosmetics. Nolan is the CEO. We want you to work in our store on Fifth Avenue."

  Chapter 6

  Nolan

  What the fuck just happened?

  Crew just offered the sexy redhead a job. Not just any job. The job we've been trying to fill for the past four months. He gave the almost six-figure-a-year job of head loss prevention officer to a casino security guard who just got her ass fired.

  "Hold up." I raise my hand in the air. "Wait."

  I own the goddamn company. Crew has a small percentage of Matiz Cosmetics shares in his pocket. He handles the front-end of the business, putting himself out there for the press when they want an exposé on what our new product line entails. I'm running the entire show behind the scenes.

  I don't handle new hires. Crew doesn't either, but he witnessed the same thing I did. He saw Ellie take control of a man who towered above her. She wasn't taking any shit from that asshole. There was no way in hell she was going to let him mistreat another woman. It took balls to do what she did. The fact that she did it while wearing a skin tight black dress, only makes it that much more impressive.

  I scrub my hands over my face, desperate for the clarity I possessed a mere three hours ago. Since Ellie plopped her firm round ass in my lap at the restaurant, my brain has ceased to function in any manner that's the least bit helpful to me. That has to stop now. Matiz is my company. This is where I take back control of this fucked up night.

  "We need to discuss this, Crew." I step toward where he's standing with Ellie. "Let's not offer anything before we find out if Ellie
is qualified."

  Ellie's back stiffens at my words. The more I stare at her profile, the more I doubt she's the girl I've been looking for.

  "Are you fucking serious?" Crew asks with a smirk. "You saw what I saw, Nolan. She took that guy to the floor. You're the one who called me when you left the restaurant because she caught Shelby red-handed with a stolen wallet."

  I called him because I wanted him to get his ass to Meadow so he could catch a glimpse of Ellie before she left. I needed him to confirm the same thing he does every time I see a gorgeous redhead with beautiful blue eyes. He tells me it's not the girl I've been searching a third of my life for and I tell him I'll let it go. I never do. I can't. The scenario plays out the same way every goddamn time. It never ends with Crew handing a high paying job to an underqualified applicant.

  "I admit it's all impressive." I focus on Ellie, but she's looking right at Crew. "We need to be prudent about who we hire, Ellie. We'll need to know your background."

  She nods, but doesn't turn from Crew to look my way. "I have a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Mercy College. I attended on a full scholarship. Before I moved to Las Vegas, I worked in Manhattan as a security consultant for Foster Enterprises in their Fashion Division. During my contract, I was able to help lower loss due to theft in their stores to less than one percent across the board. I did that without using security tags on any of their products."

  Jesus Christ. A fucking full scholarship?

  I limped through college on a ticket paid for by my father.

  We're consistently losing three percent in annual sales to theft by customers and our goddamn greedy employees. Lowering it to one percent would mean more than twenty million dollars saved a year.

  Ellie takes a deep breath before she continues. "I should also mention that I'm a recipient of the Jane Bishop Medal from the Mayor of New York for civilian bravery. It took getting a bullet in my thigh but it was worth it and yes, it hurt like hell. "

  "Good enough for you?" Crew crosses his arms over his chest as he shoots me a look that says wake the hell up, idiot, this woman is our savior.

  I don't say anything because fuck me, there are no words. A bullet? A medal for bravery? I'm scared of spiders, and this woman is getting awards for her courage.

  "I get that you need to check out my credentials." Again, she stares at Crew while she talks. A smile brightens her face. "If you need me to fill out an application or submit my resume when I get back to the city, I'll be happy to come in and do that."

  "Give me your number." He tugs his phone out of the back pocket of his pants. "I'll need a few other details too."

  She steps away with him; her phone clutched in her delicate hands. They're the same hands that most likely could snap a man's neck in two with one quick twist.

  "Are you coming home with me or not?" Lacy bumps her hip against my thigh.

  Shit. I forgot about her. Her voice, her irritatingly high-pitched, tinny voice had trailed off when I walked over to speak with Ellie and Crew. I assumed Lacy had wandered away after someone else, but that didn't happen. She's still here.

  I look down at her, expressionless. There seriously are no words.

  "In case you can't take a hint, you're not Ellie Madden's type. The looker with the black hair is." She smirks. "It's fate. The two of us are destined to happen."

  I circle my index finger in the narrow space between us. "The two of us? You think this is fate?"

  "You haven't been able to take your eyes off of me since we met." She flutters her now chalky eyelids causing flecks of bluish, lime green shimmer to rain down on her cheeks. "We're wasting time standing here when we could be back at my place."

  Destroying this woman's ego is tempting, but the fuel of my frustration would be wasted on her. She may be right. I may not be Ellie's usual type, but that unspoken exchange between us, when she was in my lap, was undeniable. I know she felt it too even if she acted like I didn't fucking exist when she was talking to Crew.

  "Are you ready to go?" Lacy snaps. "Time is wasting."

  "Time has run out." I gesture at my watch with an exaggerated sigh. "It looks like fate has other plans for us. I have an early flight in the morning."

  "We'll just pull an all-nighter." Her eyes drop to my wrist. "Jesus. Is that a Rolex? How much are you worth?"

  "This? A Rolex?" I tap the face of my watch, one of the three Rolex watches I own. "I wish. I got this from a guy working a street fair in Toledo. It keeps time, but the rash it gives me rivals the one on my dick."

  "What?" she asks tightly. "You have a rash on your dick?"

  I nod. "That's what my doc says it is. He doesn't think it's contagious. My ex-wife disagrees."

  "She has the rash too?"

  If I actually had an ex-wife, she'd be rash free, just as I am. I'm clean as a whistle and have the monthly test results to prove it. "She's got the rash, the open sores and the non-stop itching. At least, that's what she claims in her lawsuit."

  She takes a step back. "She's suing you over the rash?"

  I reach down and scratch my dick through my pants, shifting from one foot to the other. "She has to prove I gave it to her. Since my doc says my rash isn't contagious, she can't win."

  Her attention is laser focused on the movement of my right hand. "I forgot that I need to give my dog a bath. He needs a good scrub. I'll go home now and do that."

  I stop scratching and raise my hand to her shoulder. "I'll help."

  Tension tightens her body. She looks at my hand, panic chasing away anything else in her expression. "No. You can't help."

  "Why not?"

  "He'll bite you?"

  "Is that a question?" I quirk a brow. "Dogs love me. What kind of dog is it?"

  She retreats so quickly she bumps into a woman walking behind her. "He's a really big dog. You know the kind with the floppy ears and the long nose."

  I force back a smile. "What's the name of your big dog, Lacy?"

  Her eyes search mine as she scrambles to think of a name, any name that will give her the out she needs to get away from me and what she thinks is my rash covered cock. "Lacy."

  "Your male dog is named Lacy?" I ask as she slowly backs away from me.

  "That's right. Yes," she calls with a brisk wave of her hand. "He's named after me."

  With that, she turns and sprints to a run, racing to the nearest exit. I adjust my suit jacket, smooth my hand over my hair and walk over to where Ellie is still talking to Crew.

  Chapter 7

  Ellie

  What the hell crawled up Nolan Black's ass?

  The man was doing everything in his power to dissuade his business partner from hiring me. You'd think after what I did in Meadow Grill that he'd want me on his team.

  He was there when I took Jerry to the floor for touching that woman, yet Nolan seems completely unfazed by my drive to do what's right.

  After hearing Crew tell me about the job at Matiz, I know I'm a perfect fit. I would do the job well and make the company proud. They're one of the most recognized makeup brands in the United States and also one of the most expensive. It's not my ultimate dream job, but I'll happily take it.

  While Nolan was talking to Lacy, Crew explained that the biggest challenge they currently face is theft, by customers and employees. I have the skills and knowledge they need to halt that in its tracks. I conveyed some of that to Crew, but I know he's already on board with hiring me. It's Nolan that I need to convince and I sense that he's the one with the final word.

  "Where's your date?" Crew chuckles as Nolan approaches us alone. Lacy is nowhere in sight. "Are you two kids calling it a night? Don't be too loud. My room is next to yours, remember?"

  I dip my chin to veil the smile on my mouth.

  "Fuck you, Crew," Nolan barks back with a chuckle. "Lacy had to go. She needs to wash her dog."

  "She's allergic," I point out. "Pet dander, strawberries, shellfish and soy, I think."

  "Either Lacy overshares, or you have too much
time on your hands if you're gathering useless intel like that." Crew smirks. "I'm all for having some shit to hang over your co-workers' heads for leverage, but that's information no one needs or wants."

  I laugh. "No. Lacy told me. She told everyone when she ate a piece of birthday cake in the staff room and broke out in hives."

  "Forget about Lacy and her allergies," Crew says dryly. "Let's get back to business, Ellie."

  "Business," I repeat, my gaze darting to where Adley is leaning against a pillar. She's been waiting patiently for me, and I'm eager to get back to her.

  I'm moving back to New York whether this job at Matiz works out or not. If there was ever a reason for the two of us to celebrate, this is it. The difference between now and an hour ago is that we're going to pick up a bottle of cheap champagne and toast to our reunion in my apartment while I pack instead of ordering expensive cocktails in Shade.

  Nolan clears his throat. "You should get back to your friend. Crew and I will discuss the job and let you know."

  I'm pissed. I know Nolan can sense that. I want this job, and right now, I feel like the only thing standing between me and my future as a Matiz employee is him. It's time to revise my approach.

  I extend my right hand. Call it an olive branch, if you will. That's how I want Nolan to see it. "Thank you for even considering me for this job, Mr. Black. I appreciate it more than you know."

  He looks down before he reaches forward with his hands. He softly wraps my hand in both of his. "I'd prefer if you called me Nolan. Please don't take my hesitation about giving you the job personally."

  How could I not? He's essentially discounting me for no good reason.

  I smile through that thought as I place my left hand on top of our still joined hands. I slide my gaze up to his face. His eyes search mine, looking for something there. I don't know what it is, but from the urgency in his expression, I don't think he's finding it.