Love's Wager

by J. M. Jeffries

Anastasia threaded her arm around his. “Let’s go upstairs to my suite and talk where it’s more private.” Her glance included Scott and Nina with a tiny nod of her head.

  He stepped into the open elevator followed by Nina and Scott. Scott punched the close-door button before any of the senator’s staff could push their way inside.

  In her suite, Anastasia sat down in a chair. She looked calm and ready for battle, but Scott saw a slight tremor in her hands.

  “Do you really want to have this out in front of people who aren’t family?”

  “They’re my friends.” Anastasia’s voice was steady, but her eyes showed the beginnings of panic.

  Scott stood by the door. Nina sat down opposite Anastasia while her father paced back and forth.

  “How could you embarrass me so?”

  Anastasia smiled. “Actually, it was pretty easy to do.”

  “And what about your mother?”

  “I talked to Mom and told I was sorry if I hurt her. She’s okay with it.”

  Scott had the feeling the ex-Mrs. Parrish understood exactly why Anastasia had done what she’d done.

  “Do you know what kind of damage this is going to do to my campaign?”

  “Do you know what kind of damage it’s going to do to my acting career?” Anastasia countered. “Nothing.”

  “Acting career!” the senator thundered. His brown skin went gray as color leeched from his face.

  Scott glanced at Nina and mouthed the word acting. She nodded slightly and mouthed back, later.

  “Do you think you can act?”

  “I’ve been acting all my life.” Anastasia’s face was set with determination.

  The senator turned on Scott. “Why didn’t you stop her?”

  Scott grinned. He was enjoying this way too much. “Number one, I wasn’t there. Number two, not my job. Number three, she’s a grown woman.”

  The senator whirled around to glare at Nina. “Why didn’t you stop her?”

  Nina shrugged. “Not my job, either?” Nina smiled, but Scott could tell she was trying not to laugh. Hell, he was trying not to laugh.

  “You’re the big media guru.” The senator rubbed his face in frustration. “How do I spin this?”

  “Number one, I’m not on your payroll. Number two, I’m not on your payroll. Number three, I’m not on your payroll.”

  The senator looked like he was going to blow a fuse. “How much? How much would it take for you to repair this...this intolerable situation?”

  Nina pursed her lips as though thinking. “You don’t have enough money to pay me. Besides, I’m busy and I don’t want to work for you.”

  Scott grinned. The poor senator was having one hellacious day. No one was giving him any love. This man had no problem messing with other people’s lives, but his own daughter had just thrown a monkey wrench into his future political plans. All his political maneuverings were designed to someday get him into the White House or as close to it as he could get, and his daughter had scuttled him. Life was good.

  The senator tried to say something, but sputtered instead. He shook his head and sputtered some more.

  Anastasia stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to pack. I have to catch the three o’clock plane to LA for my guest-starring role in Sunset Cop.” She headed for her bedroom and opened the door. Her little dog barked once and leaped at her. She leaned over to pick him up and closed the door behind her.

  The senator was still spewing out inarticulate sounds of fury. Nina looked amused and Scott almost felt sorry for him. Senator Parrish’s world was one of political backstabbing. He’d never been thwarted before. He might wear expensive suits and handmade shoes, but nothing had prepared this man for his only child’s rebellion. This was virgin territory for the senator.

  Scott wanted to see how he would handle it. He leaned against the wall and watched the senator continue to pace until he stopped in front of Nina.

  “Do something,” he demanded. “Help me.”

  “I’m going to give you the best piece of advice for this situation. Whether you take it or not, I don’t care and I won’t even bill you for it.”

  “What?”

  “When you talk to the press, you look them straight in the eye and say, so what. This is your daughter. Do you want what’s best for Anastasia or what’s best for yourself?”

  “My daughter is not going to be an actress. She is not going to flaunt herself to public.”

  “News flash,” Nina said with a laugh. “Already done and got the T-shirt.”

  He glared so angrily at Nina that Scott thought his eyes would bug out. Senator Parrish then turned and stormed out of the suite.

  “You can lead a senator to reality, but...” Nina shrugged. In the next second, she started to laugh, doubling over.

  Scott joined her, the sound echoing off the walls.

  The door to the bedroom crept open. “Is he gone?” Anastasia said with a fearful look around the living area.

  In between guffaws, Nina said, “He got on his broom...and took...his flying monkeys...home.”

  Anastasia stepped out of the bedroom. She shook so hard Scott grabbed her and helped her to a chair.

  “I wish...” she said.

  “Anastasia,” Nina said coming to kneel in front of her. “You defied him and now go out there and live your life.”

  “I talked to Carl and he’s okay with the publicity dating,” she said, “and I think I’m going to have a publicity baby, too.”

  “Sweetie,” Nina said seriously. “A baby is not an accessory. Just stick with the sex tape.”

  “Okay,” Anastasia said. “I need to finish packing. Thank you for your support. Can I call you if I need advice?”

  “You can, but you’ll be fine.” Nina grabbed Scott’s hand and drew him to door. “Bye, see you on TV. And no more sex tapes.”

  Scott opened the door and they stood in the hall for a moment. “A marriage made in TMZ heaven.”

  “What do you mean?” He led the way to the elevator. He needed to get back to work.

  Nina sighed. “My prediction. Anastasia and Carl are going to really hit it off, get married and end up ruling Hollywood and I’ll be knitting baby booties for them within a year. Carl will be thrilled no end.”

  Scott laughed. “You enjoyed all that, didn’t you?”

  She twirled around and grabbed him around the shoulders. “I know it’s bad, but that is why my job is so much fun.” She kissed him.

  Scott gripped her tightly and kissed her back. Kissing was a lot of fun, too.

  * * *

  Nina straightened Scott’s tie. He enjoyed having her fuss over him. In the last few weeks, he had looked forward to each night he could manage with her, the feel of her body next to his, and the way she looked at him with her sleep-filled eyes in the mornings.

  “It’s just a press conference,” he said as she brushed lint off the sleeve of his jacket.

  “This is the first major press conference the hotel is doing since the change of ownership. You have to set the tone for how the hotel is viewed by the outside world.”

  “I know how to act professionally.”

  Nina clicked her tongue. “The press is looking for salacious details in order to make us look stupid. The press needs to fill inches in their newspapers and sound bites on the TV news. They want to see how far they can push you, because prostitution, in their minds, is a victimless crime. You did something most hotels turn a blind eye to.”

  Scott closed his eyes and counted to ten. The police had conducted a very successful sting operation arresting two bartenders and several waitresses who worked as hookers on the side. Other hotels may turn a blind eye, but he couldn’t.

  “Can’t we just skip the conference and have an early lunch?” He w
inked at her and she chuckled.

  “Go out there and do your grandmother proud. Don’t forget the chief of police’s name is Luis Mendoza and the DA’s name is Porter Atwell. This was a major operation for them, so make nice. And you’ll have two new friends.”

  Scott shrugged. The press conference was being held in a conference room on the second floor. Already the press had dragged in all their equipment. Cables crisscrossed the corridor and made walking a nightmare. Several news reporters were already talking to the cameras setting up the intro to what was happening.

  “You know the questions they’re going to ask,” Nina continued, “and you have your answers. If they ask something you don’t want to answer just say you can’t comment on that now.” After one last tug of his tie, Nina pushed him toward the podium and the other men waiting there. “Have fun with this.” She withdrew to stand to the side out of the cameras’ viewing field.

  Luis Mendoza wore his full dress uniform and looked official. He was a tall man with a military-straight bearing, black hair going silver at the temples and cool blue eyes. Porter Atwell was smaller and slim. He wore a dark blue power suit and looked ready to take on the world. He greeted Scott with a handshake.

  “Ready for this?” Porter Atwell asked with a nod at the restless reporters.

  “I don’t much care for press conferences. Reporters never get the facts straight no matter how many times you correct them.”

  Atwell nodded. “They’re just looking for the sensational.”

  “I lived in DC for three years and it wasn’t any different there,” Scott said. Actually, it was probably worse. Reporters salivated over the most minor misdoings of anyone in government.

  Chief of Police Mendoza stood in front of the row of microphones arranged across the front edge of the podium where he spoke about the sting operation and how it had been conducted. He then turned the mics over to Atwell who spoke briefly about how the laws of the city had been upheld. Finally, it was Scott’s turn.

  “Mr. Russell,” a woman shouted at him. She was sleek and polished-looking in a gray suit and purple scarf loosely draped about her neck. “Don’t you worry that people aren’t going to want to stay in this hotel because they can’t have ‘fun’ considering the heightened security?” She punctuated the word fun with clawlike fingers.

  “Having fun isn’t against the law. Breaking the law isn’t having fun. Especially when you get caught.”

  “But Mr. Russell,” the woman pushed, “this is the price of doing business in a city like Reno.”

  “Things change and as a law-abiding citizen I’m sure you understand that the laws apply to everyone.” Maybe not as equally as they should, but the law was the law.

  “But these situations always happen here.”

  “Tradition isn’t necessarily a good thing.” Scott caught sight of Nina nodding in agreement. She smiled encouragingly at him. “Robberies happen, people are conned. Those are traditions we’d like to get rid of. Correct?”

  The woman nodded.

  “You run a clean house or you don’t. There’s no gray area in between. Casa de Mariposa wants to be a hotel where the safety and protection of guests is paramount. As director of security here, I’ve put into place a number of new programs designed to keep this hotel as safe as I can make it.”

  “Does that include increased security around that ten-million-dollar jackpot guests can view in the casino?” a man at the back of the room shouted.

  “Of course.” Scott didn’t want to go into that headache, but he had to admit the casino had been hopping with tons of new business simply because people wanted to see what ten million dollars looked like. And with each million shrink-wrapped to the size of a box large enough to hold a dozen bottles of wine, people couldn’t help crowding around to dream about winning it.

  “We invite you to take a tour of the casino,” Scott continued, “and check out the increased security for yourselves.” Just don’t drool on the glass casing.

  Chief Mendoza stepped up. “Thank you all for coming today. Any more questions can be directed to my office. You all know how to get ahold of one of my assistants.” He efficiently shut the conference down.

  Nina curled a hand around Scott’s. “Not bad.”

  “A part of me thinks you felt I couldn’t make a sentence.”

  “You get so scowly-faced sometimes and people stop talking.”

  “That never works with you.”

  “I’ve dealt with temperamental tween stars. They’re great training ground for anything.” Nina and Scott walked out of the conference room, staying away from the news people who looked like they had more questions.

  “Now I have to deal with another situation.” Gary White had become a real thorn in his side.

  “Are you going to give him a stern talking-to? Can I watch?”

  “You sound a little too excited.”

  “I’m just trying to be a part of your world.”

  “You’re a scary woman, Nina.”

  She smiled smugly. “I know. But in a fun way.”

  He shook his head as he headed back toward the security control center. She kissed him. “I’ll meet you for lunch. I make a mean meat loaf sandwich.”

  Two detectives waited for him in his office.

  “Detective Logan,” Scott said. “I assume you’re ready.” They had one more arrest to make.

  Logan nodded. Scott opened the door between his office and the control center. Gary White sat at the monitors looking bored.

  “Gary,” Scott said. “My office.”

  Gary glared at Scott, but stood and walked in. He stopped when he saw the detectives.

  “Sit down, Gary. This is Detective Logan and Detective Greene. They have some questions for you.”

  “About what?” Gary looked relaxed yet wary.

  Detective Logan smiled. “I believe you know a bartender named Bart Olsen.”

  Gary nodded. “He works the night shift in the casino bar.”

  “Mr. Olsen has been telling quite a story and you’re the lead character.”

  “I hardly know the guy,” Gary sputtered. “I see him in the halls and say hi, but that’s pretty much all.”

  “I think you know him better than that. We’ve been looking into your finances. You seem to have a lot of stuff for someone who makes a relatively modest salary.”

  Gary shrugged. “I’m a good saver. My wife works.”

  “Enough to afford a Corvette, a Harley, an RV, a Jet Ski and a number of other little luxuries. You have a sweet little hideaway in Tahoe...”

  “Great for family getaways,” Gary replied.

  He continued to look relaxed, but Scott noticed his hands stiffened.

  “You paid cash for your little getaway. Nobody has that kind of money just lying around doing nothing.”

  Gary frowned. “I said I’m a good saver.”

  Detective Logan crowded him. “All in all, Gary, we just think you’re guilty of taking a little on the side. We don’t think you’re the mastermind. If you have anything you want to say, say it now and we’ll talk to the judge for you. Get you a light sentence.”

  Gary laughed harshly. “I know my rights. I want a lawyer.”

  “We can’t do anything for you then.”

  Gary’s face went hard. “I want a lawyer.”

  “Okay then.” Logan pushed himself to his feet and smiled benevolently at Gary. “Gary White, you’re under arrest. We have a long, long list of charges.” The detective rattled off the Miranda warning while he cuffed Gary.

  Scott had been wanting to say this for weeks, but couldn’t until the detectives completed their investigation. “And I’d like to add, you’re fired. I’m going to get lunch now.”

  Gary grinned. “I’ll be out in a couple hours, boss. Ha
ve my final paycheck ready for me. I’ll be picking it up.”

  “You do that,” Scott said.

  Detective Logan grasped Gary by the arm and pushed him out the door. “On behalf of the Reno police department, thank you for cooperation, Mr. Russell.”

  “Anytime,” Scott replied. “Anytime.”

  Scott felt good. He could cross another item off his to-do list. He closed his office door and headed for the elevators and Nina.

  Chapter 11

  The music was loud and infectious. Scott’s foot tapped to the beat. He sat in a booth, a bowl of pretzels in front of him and a Long Island Iced Tea that he’d barely touched. Nina bounced around the dance floor teaching Miss E. the samba, her hips swaying back and forth as she twisted and turned. Miss E. tried to copy the movement, but her seventy-eight year old body wasn’t as agile.

  Nina looked particularly alluring in a little black dress that set off the slope of her shoulders and revealed her long, shapely legs. She’d pulled her hair severely back from her face and secured a bright red spray of flowers behind one ear. He waited patiently for his turn on the dance floor with her.

  Her parents partnered with Lydia and Maya while Kenzie taught Jasper. Hotel guests circled the dance floor watching; a few stood a bit away, following the steps by watching the other dancers.

  “Congrats, bro,” Hunter said as he slid into the booth to sit across from Scott. “I heard you and the police broke up the bookie ring working here in the casino.”

  “Yeah, and I’m down another four security people.” Not that the security guards were implicated in the illegal bookie ring. They’d known all about it and done nothing, nor had they apprised Scott of what was going on, because they didn’t want to completely endanger their little cutbacks. Scott was deeply concerned about the widespread corruption in his security personnel. “I’ve been contacting as many of my old army buddies as I can find and having them come in for interviews.” At least, he’d have people around he trusted.

  “Who knew all this was going right under Jasper’s nose.”

  Scott shook his head. “Jasper’s not a bad guy, but he is all about having fun. And Louisa was no help. Do you think she knew what was going on?”