Seven Guilty Pleasures
Jeannette Winters
An original work of Jeannette Winters, 2018.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, events, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
About the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
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Seven Guilty Pleasures
Drake Fletcher made his own luck; always making sure the deck of life and business were stacked in his favor. Teaming up with the Hendersons requires him to change his game entirely.
* * *
Isa Grzyb never let the demons of her past define her future, but she’s forced to take a job that brings all those nightmares back. Is she not the survivor she thought she was? Will this be what finally breaks her?
* * *
When Drake and Isa cross paths, their connection is explosive. Their worlds collide. Will Drake bet it all on Isa, or will his lifestyle derail their one shot at true love?
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all my readers. Your comments and email’s requesting book seven worked. Hope you all enjoy the story!
* * *
Karen Lawson, Janet Hitchcock, E.L. King and Marion Arche, my editors you are all amazing!
* * *
Also want to thank Jade at jwauthorservices.com for all the support you give me through some amazing graphics. I think my readers are enjoying them as much as I am.
* * *
Always make time for romance.
Chapter 1
“Damn you, Henderson, I’m not sitting here on my ass. I have a business to run.” Drake Fletcher couldn’t believe Dean had blown off the meeting for the second time. High View Falls Casino and Hotel needed to be managed closely. He had reports and graphs, but he liked things done a certain way—his way. Drake hadn’t been looking to expand, but when Dean approached him on this new business endeavor, it sounded . . . intriguing. He’d done very well in the state of Connecticut . Expanding into a foreign country in order to build their economy was risky, but the Hendersons weren’t ones who leaped without calculating everything to the last penny. None of it mattered if Dean wasn’t all in. I don’t have time to waste. It’s either a go or not. He didn’t need to expand, but from a humanitarian perspective, he genuinely considered doing this.
“When you have kids, you’ll know what I’m talking about. I’m not leaving her when she’s this sick,” Dean explained.
Drake wasn’t all that cold-hearted. He might not have children of his own, but his employees did, and he tried to accommodate them whenever he could. Who am I fooling? I’m an ass. I don’t care how they get the job done, as long as it’s right.
“That’s not happening. I’ve got a business to run. Or have you forgotten what that’s like?” If you have, you’re not the shrewd businessman you used to be.
Dean snarled. “Don’t think I’ve lost my edge just because someone calls me daddy. If anything, it’s made me sharper than ever.”
Drake bit back his snappy retort. It wasn’t going to help move this conversation along. “Is this a go or not?”
“It is. My brother Alex and his wife should be at your hotel already. They have all the information you requested. From there, all you need to do is decide if you’re still interested.”
He didn’t really care which Henderson he dealt with, but he knew Alex’s reputation wasn’t as hard as the rest of them. Meeting with him might make negotiations go smoother. “I expect him on time. Otherwise, tell him don’t bother.”
“He’ll be there. Look over the contract and the draft of the blueprints. I think you’ll be ready to sign.”
We’ll see. “I’ll be in contact once my attorney looks over everything.”
Even as he ended the call, he debated if this was a waste of time. He had enough of his own shit going on now. Getting involved with the Hendersons might be lucrative, but not many people could do a joint venture with them and come out on top. If they thought he was a sit-back-and-be-quiet type of partner, they were mistaken. He was hands-on for a reason. Control.
Slipping his cell phone in his pocket, he decided to attend to an issue that arose shortly before taking Dean’s call. An employee had been caught stealing a few poker chips. Security still had him in their office, but the police were going to need to be called and the surveillance tapes turned over. This man was the third one in four weeks. He was glad the bastards were getting caught, but what had changed? He was careful who he hired to work on the floors, yet there was an uptake on in-house theft. Had Human Resources not been diligent on their background checks? Were these employees intentionally coming to work just to steal? They had to know they’d get caught and be dealt with.
As Drake headed to the HR office, he already wished he could take matters into his own hands, sending a message that would let others know he wasn’t one to be fucked with. But behind bars wasn’t the best place to run a business, so he’d have to let the authorities handle it.
His patience had vanished, and he pushed the swinging door to the HR office open with more force than necessary. He’d been concentrating on the asshole thief so intensely he hadn’t noticed someone had been on the other side trying to exit the office. He felt the resistance as it made contact then heard a high pitched scream. Shit!
Drake reached out and tried stopping the door, but it was too late. The momentum had already taken down whoever was on the other side. He stepped forward and peered around it, not wanting to do any more damage to the unfortunate victim. The first thing to catch his eye was a pair of bare slender legs attached to a dark-haired beauty. She didn’t look familiar; if she worked for him, he’d remember.
He watched as she struggled to no avail to pull down her tight black skirt. “Are you okay?” Drake asked.
“Do I look okay?”
Drake assessed the situation; she was stunned, for good reason, but overall appeared to be unharmed. Bending over, he reached out to her. “Let me give you a hand.”
She looked at his hand and then up at him. In an accent he didn’t think he’d ever heard before, she snapped, “I think you’ve done enough. Thank you.”
Drake found her spunky attitude as appealing as h
er looks. But at the moment, neither were a priority. She was annoyed, but he hadn’t intentionally knocked her over. I’m an ass, but not that big of one. The only thing equal to an injured guest was a hurt employee. Whether she liked it or not, Drake wasn’t leaving her sprawled on the cold tile floor. Since she ignored his hand, he was forced to resort to more drastic measures. Her opportunity to do it the easy way had passed, and he wasn’t about to take no for an answer. Squatting down, he slipped one arm beneath her legs and the other behind her back. Scooping her up into his arms, he stood, holding her close to him. He could feel her tensing.
“Put me down,” the woman demanded and slapped his shoulder. “I told you I don’t want your help.” Then she rattled off a string of strong, strange words that was clearly her way of cussing him out in her native tongue, whatever that was.
If his day hadn’t already been crap, he might’ve taken a moment to enjoy this feisty one. His reason for coming to HR wasn’t to inhale the sweet scent of flowers coming from her as her long dark hair shook freely around her shoulders. Drake had a thief to deal with.
He had no idea who this woman was, or why she was in his HR office. No matter how enchanting you are, no woman is worth the risk. Although he didn’t want to release her, a sexual harassment case wasn’t all that appealing either. He might own a casino, but he didn’t gamble. Especially when it came to business. Doing as she asked, he gently let her slide down until she was standing on her own two feet. Drake was about to ask her name, but once free she huffed and scurried out the door. Another time. Another place. He could see she favored her right ankle slightly, and he was about to make mention she might want to have it looked at. But as he opened his mouth, the HR manager came out of his office.
“Mr. Fletcher. You’re early. We haven’t had a chance to finish copying the tapes yet for the police,” Scott Townsend stammered.
Drake wanted to ask about the mystery woman, but Scott’s behavior was odd. They met on a regular basis, and he was always on top of his shit. At this very moment, he seemed . . . jittery. What don’t you want to tell me? “What’s wrong? And don’t waste my time. Give me the short version.”
Scott cleared his throat and said, “We might want to have this conversation behind closed doors.”
Drake didn’t see any of the other HR staff lingering around. Scott usually wasn’t overly dramatic. Whatever Scott had uncovered, he obviously didn’t want anyone, including his own direct reports in HR, involved. Drake followed him into his office and closed the door. Even before Scott sat behind his desk, Drake asked, “What the hell is going on?”
Scott opened the top right drawer and pulled out a manila folder. He slid it across the desk. “I’ve been doing some . . . digging, and I don’t like what I’ve found.”
The file was quite thick, which meant there wasn’t a short version. Something big was going on, and somehow Scott figured it out. Without opening it, Drake asked, “What exactly is it?”
“You are the only casino that’s known for the longevity of their staff.”
“I’m aware of that.” It was easy. He paid them a fairer, higher wage than the others. That bought loyalty.
“The employees who have been . . . terminated for . . . misconduct . . . have never had a black mark on their record. Why would each of them risk everything, including prison, for a few hundred dollars in chips?”
If Drake had the answer to that question, he’d have put a stop to it immediately. All he could do was turn them in to law enforcement and press charges. “Scott, I don’t know why; all I know is they did. You, yourself, were witness to the search of their personal property.”
Scott nodded. “Yes, and each time it was because of an anonymous tip. If we hadn’t gone back and looked at the security tapes, we never would’ve known.”
“I’m glad someone had the balls to turn them in. No problem with that on my end.” I’m more concerned with the ones who haven’t been caught yet.
“I’d feel better if we knew who that person was. Maybe offer them a reward of some type.”
“No reward is worth being blackballed.” This business wouldn’t forget the rat amongst them. “You think it’s more than just theft don’t you?”
“It just doesn’t make any sense to me, Mr. Fletcher. All three of these employees have exemplary records. Not only working for you, but for their past employers as well. They all have families to support. Why risk that? Why throw it all away?”
Drake knew times had changed and money was harder to come by for some. Several times a day, security had to escort people out of the casino for a variety of things, from stealing to brawls. The combination of alcohol and losing money didn’t bring out the best in people. There was a list of patrons who actually had to be banned permanently from entering High View Falls Casino and Hotel. Trouble brought unwanted attention to his business. He’d been able to keep the police out for the most part, but with these new developments, it wasn’t possible. Legalities kept him from taking matters into his own hands. Can’t fire the bastards without substantial proof. Damn HR rules. As far as Drake was concerned, they should count their blessings that he chose to let the law handle the theft.
But three calls to the police regarding staffing issues wasn’t the way to go about it. Damn it. He should’ve known holding them to a higher standard wasn’t realistic. But did Scott believe there was some crazy conspiracy to take him down? Scott has to be watching too much late night TV if he believes that. They were employees who’d gotten greedy. That’s all. If it was anything more than that, there were better ways to ruin his company than stealing a few hundred dollars at a time.
Drake wasn’t ignorant enough to dismiss Scott’s concerns. If there was anyone he could count on, it was Scott. “Dig deeper; I want to know everything about those three.”
“I’ve dug as far as I legally can.”
He picked up on Scott’s hint. Scott was a rule follower. Asking him to do anything remotely unethical was a waste of breath. “Have their files on my desk by the end of the day. If I find anything, I’ll let you know.” Unless it’s best you don’t know.
Drake looked at his watch and knew it was time to head back to his office. Alex Henderson should be arriving with a cut and dry contract. His gut said nothing would get resolved today.
When he arrived at his office, Alex had already arrived. “Wasn’t sure if you had changed your mind.”
“Haven’t made it up yet. Let’s see what the plans entail, and I’ll know if it’s worth taking to my attorney.”
They spent the next two hours discussing the cost of the project and the anticipated revenue. What he hadn’t expected was how dedicated Alex was to the rebuilding of the economy in Tabiq. It made no sense to him. The Hendersons were all born and raised in Boston.
“What do you get out of this?” Drake asked.
Alex arched a brow. “We reviewed the numbers.”
“You don’t need the money any more than I do. There’s a shitload of places we could do this. Why Tabiq?”
“My wife. It’s her home. Our home now.”
Drake was surprised. He’d heard Alex had married and had a child, but that was the extent. “You really relocated there? I hear it’s . . . unstable.”
“You heard correctly. Doing this hopefully will change that. Tabiq has had enough of the rich and powerful trampling over them. It’s time to show them there are people in power with integrity.”
Drake knew this was a humanitarian project, but he didn’t realize the Hendersons were so hands on. Their deal was personal, which made it an entirely different venture. Moving quickly wasn’t an option. He needed to rethink how invested he wanted to be. And why do they think I’m the right person?
He closed the file and slipped it into his desk. “I’ll look it over and let you know.”
“Dean thought this was a go. Is there anything you saw that concerned you?” Alex inquired.
As though the name Henderson wasn’t enough? “Nothing that jumped ou
t, but I’m sure you didn’t expect me to sign on the dotted line today.”
Alex got up and shook his head. “If you did, we wouldn’t want you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I promised my wife, Ziva, dinner and a show tonight.”
“How long will you be staying with us?”
“Two nights. Ziva doesn’t like to be away from our daughter, Charisa, long. If you need to meet again before I leave, I’ll try to squeeze you in. But I hope the next time we meet will be in Tabiq for the groundbreaking.”
Yeah. We’ll see about that.
* * *
Isa Grzyb-Bowen was glad that man knocked her down on the way out of the HR office instead of the way in. Or worse, during the interview with the cocktail lounge manager, Carlos. The last thing she needed was to demonstrate she was unstable on her feet. Clumsy was the last thing an employer wanted in a cocktail waitress. That and rude. If ending up in less than a ladylike position on the floor in the HR office wasn’t bad enough, the stranger was bold enough to take her into his arms without her permission. Making a scene that could bring the entire HR department out of their offices might address this man’s poor choice in behavior, but it wasn’t the impression she wanted to leave with them. Although, I wouldn’t have minded getting to meet with the HR manager, Mr. Townsend. Maybe I could’ve negotiated a different job offer.
But she was grateful for the one she did get. And whoever that rude man was, his fine suit said odds were he wasn’t about to be roaming the casino floors anytime soon. Either he was there for an interview as well, or he was upper management. They might want to reconsider hiring him or train him at least. No employee should be so cocky as to act like he owned the place.
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