“He’s a hooker hound!” Danny exclaimed, deciding that this little investigation certainly made up for missing the board meeting. Danny was so into a bit of intrigue, it made his day.
“He certainly is,” Lucky agreed. “Obviously one of their best customers.”
“Not a huge surprise,” Danny sniffed. “After all, he ordered up girls here, so it’s his pattern.”
“Do we know which madam he used?” Lucky asked, her curiosity on full alert.
“I’ll find out,” Danny said, deciding not to mention that during his adventures on the Internet, he’d come across Lucky’s Ferrari being driven by Billy Melina. What was that about?
“Do it,” Lucky said briskly. “And get me in touch with the New York madam. I think I want to find out more about Mr. Jordan.”
* * *
“I gotta go see M.J. before dinner,” Bobby said when they finally arrived back at the hotel. “You okay for an hour?”
“Bobby,” Denver assured him, “you do not have to babysit me. I’m perfectly fine on my own. Actually, it’ll give me some time to work on my laptop.”
“Anybody ever told you you’re a workaholic?”
“And you’re not?” she responded lightly.
“Touché,” he said, grabbing his jacket. “I’ll see you later. Dinner. Just you and me. We’ll make it even more romantic than lunch.”
“I thought we were getting together with your family?”
“Not tonight, sweetheart. Tonight is all ours.”
“How come?”
“’Cause I reserved tonight for us.”
“I like it,” she said, secretly delighted that she wouldn’t have to deal with the Santangelo/Golden clan until tomorrow.
“So … beautiful,” he said, bending down to kiss her. “Wear something sexy.”
“Only if you do the same,” she teased, affectionately touching his cheek.
“A black thong do it for you?” he joked.
“Get out of here,” she said, the thought of Bobby in a black thong putting a smile on her face.
As soon as he was gone, she pulled out her BlackBerry and scrolled through her messages. Among them was a text from Sam. It was apparent that he now considered himself back in her life, and he was not giving up easily.
Having a fine time on set being ignored by actors and director alike, except when they need an instant rewrite on a line. Then I’m king of the hill and they kiss my skinny ass. As an observer of the human race, you would enjoy every second. How’s Vegas? Do u miss my eggs?
Denver grinned. The Do u miss my eggs? line was a reference to the delicious scrambled eggs he’d made for her in New York the time she’d ended up spending the night in his apartment. It was his not-so-subtle way of reminding her that they had shared a bed. And had sex.
She quickly texted him back.
Vegas fun. Given up scrambled, moved on to poached. Good luck with being ignored.
Then she clicked Send before she changed her mind. They were friends, nothing more, and Bobby wouldn’t mind a touch of banter between friends. Or would he?
Too bad if he did. It wasn’t as if they were married or anything.
Wow! she thought. Where does marriage enter into this equation? It’s certainly not on my mind.
Leon had also texted her, but his text was all about work. She appreciated him giving her a heads-up on what she’d be getting involved with the following week. Leon was dedicated to getting drugs off the streets—especially the small-time dealers who set up shop near high schools, targeting kids as young as ten and eleven. Leon was a solid guy, and after working at a top level Beverly Hills law firm defending the probably guilty, it was refreshing to know she was finally getting into something that really mattered.
* * *
So there he was. Ace. Her boyfriend. Standing in front of her with a big proud grin on his face, which meant she wasn’t about to be alone on her birthday. Ace had apparently skipped out on his job and driven all the way to Vegas to be with her. Ace was fully present. Ace loved her. Yippee!
Then why wasn’t she happy? Why was she suddenly suffused with guilt? Why was she wishing he hadn’t made the trip?
“Wow!” Max exclaimed as he moved forward to hug her. “This is crazy. What are you doing here?”
“What do you think I’m doing here?” he responded. “Making sure I’m with you for your birthday. Wouldn’t miss it.”
“That’s so cool,” she managed, extracting herself from his hug.
“Yeah,” he said, still grinning. “Had a feeling you’d want me to be here.”
“I do,” she insisted. “Only we’re not alone. Harry’s downstairs with some new friend. And Cookie’s hanging out somewhere, and I know you’re not wild about being around either of them.”
“Thanks for the heads-up,” Ace said. “But we can sneak off somewhere by ourselves, right?”
“Can’t do that,” she said. “They’re here for me, so it wouldn’t be cool to desert them. Anyway, you know they’re my best friends.”
“And what does that make me?”
“Uh … my boyfriend,” she said, almost choking on the word.
“That’s exactly why I’m not into getting caught up with the crowd,” he said restlessly. “Haven’t seen you in weeks; don’t wanna share you.”
Thoughts were flying through her head. Thoughts of Billy, and the offhand way he’d treated her. Thoughts of their one night together on the sand. The way he’d touched her, the blue of his eyes, his kind of half-crazy laugh, and his hard abs.
How could she tell Ace that she wasn’t a virgin anymore? Oh man! He’d be so bummed that she’d done the deed with someone else after he’d waited forever.
Bad girlfriend.
Cheating girlfriend.
She wanted to cry.
“Look,” Ace said, touching her arm. “Dump the miserable face. If it means that much to you, we’ll hang with Cookie and Harry, ’s long as they don’t start doing drugs in front of me. You know I’m not into that crap.”
Her boyfriend, Mister Straight. He wouldn’t fit in with Frankie for sure.
“You know what?” she said. “Since we’re gonna see them all tomorrow night at my party, I guess we can escape an’ do something on our own.”
“Now that’s my girl,” Ace said. “Knew you’d see it my way.”
* * *
Lying on the bed, smoking yet another joint while thumbing through a Vegas magazine, Frankie was startled to see that Gerald M.—Cookie’s dad—had a one-night engagement at the Cavendish that very evening. “Shit!” he exclaimed, sitting up, wondering why Cookie hadn’t told him.
“What?” Cookie asked, entering the room with her key card, fresh from a four-hour session at the hair salon, where she’d had them remove her dreadlocks. A lengthy process but hopefully worth it.
Frankie barely glanced up. “Didja know your old man’s appearing at the Cavendish tonight?” he demanded. “A one-off sold-out performance.”
She marched over to the bed, stood in front of him with hair that curled softly around her pretty face, and said, “Screw my old man. Whaddya think of my new hairstyle?”
“Oh yeah, your hair,” he said vaguely, giving her a cursory once-over. “It’s lovely, doll. Told you, no regrets.”
“It took forever,” she complained, flopping down on the end of the bed.
“I bet it did.”
“Do you really love it? Are you wild about it? Do I look awesome?”
“Course you do,” Frankie lied, because he wasn’t sure he liked it. Now she looked like every other pretty young black girl instead of standing out as one of a kind. But at least it had given him a free afternoon to play the tables. He’d taken a beating at craps, although he was confident that tonight he’d win it all back.
After all, he was Frankie Romano. He always came out on top.
“So about the concert?” he said. “I think we should go.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, se
riously.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Lucky had major connections. She could pick up a phone and get through to almost anyone, and if she couldn’t, Gino certainly could. After she’d talked to the New York madam who supplied girls for Armand Jordan, and the Vegas madam, Yvonne Le Crane, a pattern emerged. He booked girls to be seen with, and if sex was involved, his preference was to humiliate and debase them.
I knew he was an asshole, Lucky thought. Probably can’t get it up.
Then she suddenly decided that she was wasting too much time investigating Armand Jordan’s dumb ass; it was getting boring. He was a sick joke, not someone to be concerned about. She informed Danny to cut off any further digging, adding a terse “Just make sure he never gets into my hotel again. Okay?”
“Got it, Lucky,” Danny agreed. “I’ll have Jerrod circulate his photo.”
“Good plan. Did you hear if Max and Bobby got here yet?”
“They’ve both arrived. And according to Betty, Max’s boyfriend, Ace, turned up unexpectedly.”
“Nice surprise for her,” Lucky said, pleased, because she liked Ace a lot, and he seemed to be a good influence on Max. “Any of them requesting reservations tonight?”
“I’ll check with everyone shortly.”
“Thanks, Danny. You’re always on top of it. I know you’ll make sure they’re all taken care of.”
Danny appreciated getting praise for a job he knew he handled well.
“Well,” Lucky continued. “I’m about to throw myself into a sauna, so I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You certainly will,” Danny said, still unsure about whether he should mention Billy Melina being spotted in her car.
Best not to, he decided. His boss was getting ready to greet Lennie. Why ruin her evening?
* * *
Being a star, in Vegas, with nobody around to protect him except Kev—who was about as helpful as a teenager on crack—was turning out to be a bad idea. Everywhere Billy went, fans surrounded him. Girls with longing and hero worship in their eyes. Couples from middle America who requested he pose for a photo with them because their granddaughter was his biggest fan. Gay guys who simply gazed adoringly. Autograph hounds. And predatory middle-aged women who thought that since he’d been married to Venus, he must be into older women.
Kev got off on every fan-filled minute. He was even collecting digits from the fans with the biggest attributes. “Didn’t realize you was this popular, dude,” he announced, happily taking advantage of it all. “They’re treatin’ you as if you’re Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt.”
Billy was aware that Kev did not understand the price of fame. The loss of privacy, the way people treated him as if he were simply there for their viewing pleasure, the demands they made. It was all too much.
And then there was the touching. Billy loathed the touching. Random strangers throwing their arms around him as if it was their right to do so. Girls trying to feel his hair. Clammy handshakes. Every personal interaction turned him off. It was an intimacy issue he could well do without.
Venus had always surrounded them with bodyguards when they were out in public, and now he realized why. When it came to the PR game, Venus was way more savvy than he was.
After attempting to play blackjack at the casino in the Cavendish, he finally gave up and went back to the suite, where he played with the remote until he found a sports channel on TV, settled on the couch, and attempted to recover from the fan-fest.
Kev stayed in the casino, basking in Billy’s fame.
After fifteen minutes of college football, Billy tried Max’s cell again. His call went straight to voice mail.
This street was turning out to be a dead end.
* * *
“So?” Bobby said, joining M.J. in the coffee shop.
“So?” M.J. retaliated, stirring his coffee, a blank expression on his face.
“You know what I’m asking,” Bobby said, signaling the waitress, who came hurrying over.
“Yeah,” M.J. agreed. “But I don’t got an answer yet.”
“Are you telling me you haven’t talked to Cassie about keeping the baby?” Bobby said as the waitress filled his cup with strong black coffee. “You know you gotta do it.”
“Uh … you could say we’re kinda at an impasse,” M.J. admitted, staring miserably at the table.
“Impasse not good,” Bobby stated.
M.J. gave a weary sigh. “Tell me about it.”
“You gotta grow a pair,” Bobby insisted. “It’s time.”
“Comin’ from you, that’s sweet.”
“What does that mean?” Bobby said, a frown creasing his forehead.
“Since you hooked up with Denver, the clubs have taken second place,” M.J. complained. “You’re never here. An’ you’re sure as crap not in New York.”
Bobby could not believe what he was hearing. “You gotta be shittin’ me,” he said, still frowning.
“Just tellin’ it like it is,” M.J. responded.
“Goddammit, M.J. I was here three days ago jerking off the Russians. You got a short memory.”
“Big of you to drop in.”
“Fuck you. What’s with the attitude?”
“So now I got attitude?” M.J. said, losing his cool. “I’m here every night bustin’ my stones, while you’re camped out in L.A. cozyin’ up with your girlfriend. We’re supposed to be partners.”
“Jesus,” Bobby said, annoyed that M.J. was taking his problems out on him. “Where the fuck is this coming from?”
“I dunno,” M.J. admitted, shrugging helplessly. “I’m gettin’ buried here. Don’t mean to rag on you.”
“Look,” Bobby said understandingly. “I get it. You’re under pressure, you need a break.”
“What I’d like to do is take Cassie on vacation, get into her head an’ convince her to do the right thing.”
“Then you gotta do it.”
“I want this baby, Bobby, an’ I know I hav’ta tell her exactly how I feel before it’s too late.”
“Then like I said—do it.”
“I was thinking we could take off after Max’s party. Maybe hit the Bahamas.”
“Cool with me.”
“You’ll handle things here?”
“Sure,” Bobby said, mentally canceling all his next week’s plans. “And as a bonus, you can even use my plane.”
“Shit!” M.J. said. “You certainly know how to throw it back.”
“Oh yeah,” Bobby said, with a wry grin. “I certainly do.”
“Thanks, man,” M.J. said, relieved. “I’ve been going crazy.”
“Once again, I get it.”
“How about dinner tonight?” M.J. suggested. “Just you, me, Cassie, an’ Denver.”
Bobby hesitated for only a second. M.J. was going through a personal crisis, and when a friend was in any kind of trouble, he was there.
“Sure,” he said, wondering how Denver would react to this sudden change of plans. “How about eight o’clock at the steak house?”
“We’ll be there.”
* * *
Enjoying another brief casino visit, still closely followed by her bodyguards, Venus ran into Alex on the casino floor. They had worked together in the past and enjoyed a cordial relationship, even though they’d fought like lions on the set of the movie Alex had directed her in.
“Alex,” Venus said, throwing him one of her cultivated sultry looks. “Meet my friend Jorge. He’s from Brazil.”
“Your what?” Alex said rudely, his eyes raking over the studly young Brazilian. “Who is he—your son?”
“Alex!” Venus scolded, mock cross. “Behave yourself!”
“I would if I could, but you always bring out the bad in me.”
“Do I now?” Venus replied, flirting slightly because Alex was such a brilliant director and she wouldn’t mind working with him again.
“You know damn well you do. Remember our fight-a-minute movie?”
Alex gave a twisted grin. “Sorry about that.”
“Well,” she said, with a half smile, “I suppose you weren’t to know I’d be foolish enough to turn around and marry him.”
“Jesus Christ!” Alex said, shaking his head at the many memories he had of dealing with Billy. “That kid was a pain in the ass to work with, but I gotta say—a talented little prick.”
“‘Little prick’ is about the right description,” Venus murmured succinctly.
Why is it that whenever a woman gets mad at a man, Alex thought, the first thing she goes for is the size of his dick?
Growing impatient, he glanced across the packed casino. “What’s your game of choice tonight?” he asked.
“I was thinking roulette,” she said as her bodyguards blocked a steady stream of excited autograph seekers.
“Of course you were,” he replied. “Nothing like a game of chance to get the juices flowing.”
“Hmm … don’t think I need a round of roulette to do that,” Venus replied, with an almost imperceptible nod toward Jorge.
Alex gave a low chuckle.
“I think the three of us should have dinner tonight,” Venus said, fluttering her hand on his arm. “Since Lucky is all tied up with Lennie, the least we can do is try to amuse ourselves, don’t you agree?”
“What about the boy from Ipanema,” Alex asked, motioning toward Jorge. “Does he speak?”
“Not a lot,” Venus replied. “But then again, he doesn’t have to.”
“Will he be joining us?”
“I promise you he’ll sit quietly.”
“Okay, Venus, we’ll dine. I got nothing better to do.”
“Where?” she asked, delighted she’d convinced him.
“Asian.”
Venus smiled knowingly. “Naturally.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Peggy was big on charm. She’d used it all her life to get her own way. The king had fallen under her spell, and then poor old Sidney Dunn, who’d given her the lifestyle she’d desired. Sidney had worshipped her. Peggy’s little secret? Lots of flattery and charm mixed with excellent oral sex could keep a man very happy indeed. Sidney had never had cause to complain or look at another woman, Peggy had made damn sure of that.
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