by Amy Brent
The bartenders were on their game. There were eleven drinks all lined up in a row, yet none of them were watered down by the ice melting yet. One by one, we picked up the drinks on our profile until I grabbed my gin and tonic.
Sure, it wasn’t the most exciting drink, but I didn’t need some fruity, elaborate cocktail. If I was having alcohol, I wanted to taste the alcohol. After all, what was a drink without a little burn?
We made it to the auditorium without any other shenanigans, and I saw there was indeed a line down the hall and out the door, but we breezed right past it, and our guide lead us down to the comfy, recliner seats where we all filed in to sit down.
“Now you’ll notice on the side of your seat that there’s a call button. Feel free to press that if you need anything! After the show, just stop by the front desk and you will be given your room assignments, key cards and anything else you might need! My name was Becky, and I hope y’all enjoy the show!”
She gave us a cheesy little salute then hustled off, no doubt just in time to greet another group.
“I cannot thank you enough for this!” Missy said, turning and looking to me with big eyes from her seat.
“Don’t worry about it. You earned it.” I gave her a short smile, but that was it. I had long since learned that I needed to walk a fine line with some of my employees. Not because they were scheming or dangerous, just that some of them developed crushes far too easily and relationships were the last thing I was interested in. It just so happened that Melissa was a hopeless romantic, and had probably cycled through everyone in the office at least once for her crush du jour.
Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about that for long, because the lights were dimming and the show was underway.
It wasn’t half bad, but it also was wholly not my thing. I gave it a solid twenty minutes to see if it could catch my attention, but after the good ol’ college try, I told my crew I was going to head to the bathroom and ducked out.
Once I was safely in the hall, I pulled out my phone and checked it. Nothing peeved me more than people who let their bright screens ruin other people’s experience in a movie theater, so between traveling and arriving, I hadn’t had time to check it in ages.
There were still quite a few emails from work, but all of those could wait until tomorrow. I saw I had a couple of text messages, so I clicked on that first.
One was from the local burrito joint telling me about a special. I realized, given my net worth, using a coupon on a ten-dollar burrito bowl wasn’t going to affect me one way or the other, but my frugal nature had been passed down by my mother so I wasn’t going to shake it anytime soon.
But the second text was from Clarissa.
Great.
Clarissa was a beautiful, intelligent and capable woman that I had met in a conference about five years back. Unfortunately, she also happened to be madly in love with me.
She often tried to hide it, and I certainly didn’t do anything to encourage it, but sometimes you couldn’t help what you felt. Once, long ago, she had been my booty call, and while she still tried to reconnect every now and then, I always refused her.
I quickly messaged her that I was in Vegas and I hoped that she was doing well then tucked my phone away.
But her message had me remembering all the nights we used to spend together, entangled around each other’s bodies. Sweating, moaning, exploring.
Shaking my head, I decided to head to that same overwrought bar. My gin and tonic was almost empty anyways.
I stopped as I headed into the casino side of the building, looking around and taking it all in. The lights, the smells, the sounds. I could see how people were taken in and left with nothing by its unforgiving bosom.
I, however, wasn’t really interested in gambling tonight. Instead, I was much more about getting my drink on, so I continued my trek back to the bar.
All was going well, no surprises or anything like that, but as I approached the old watering hole, my eyes caught on a particular woman sitting there.
She was in a nice white blouse and a black pencil skirt, sensible heels on her feet, although one of them had fallen to the floor behind her stool. Her jet-black hair was done up in a braided crown around her head, and while I couldn’t see her full face, I could tell that she was looking into her wallet furtively, counting something while the bartender waited there somewhat impatiently.
I didn’t know what struck me about her, but there was definitely something. Maybe it was her round ass as it perched atop the stool, maybe it was the proud but somewhat defeated slump to her shoulders. Either way, without even deciding, my body took me over to the bar, where I leaned on the counter and addressed the bartender.
“I’ll take care of what she’s having,” I said, placing my empty glass on the bar. “And I’ll take a refill on the gin and tonic.”
The woman looked up at me, surprised, her almond eyes blinking slightly. She was wearing minimal, professional-esque makeup, but her cat eyeliner emphasized the interesting shapes of her features. If I had to guess, she was most likely mixed race, maybe Asian or Latina and definitely Caucasian.
“You looked like you could need a change of luck,” I said simply, giving her a bit of a shrug.
For a moment, I was sure that she was going to tell me to step off, but instead she sighed and gratefully took the drink the server slid to her.
“You’re more right than you know.”
Chapter Three
~Nicole~
Of all the things I had expected to happen at the Casino, it was not a tall, devastatingly handsome man approaching me and buying my drink when the magnetic strip of my card gave out.
I couldn’t believe it, and I had to blink multiple times to be sure that what I thought was happening was indeed happening. But sure enough, the guy was taking care of my drink and getting one of his own.
At first, I thought he was going to proposition me, or tell me that I owed him or something, but instead he just turned to me with an understanding look and said that I looked like I could use one.
Who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth. I agreed, and hastily started drinking the beverage before he could try to change his mind and take it back.
“Huh, I didn’t know you needed it that badly,” he said, a wry smile on his face.
It was funny, his voice was low and borderline threatening, but his tone was jovial, and his expression was inviting. It was like when professional fighters or wrestlers were polite. You could see that they were being sweethearts, but their intense muscles and scars often spoke otherwise.
“It’s been that kind of day,” I said, slamming the glass onto the counter once I was done.
“I’ve had a few of those,” he laughed gently and looked to the bartender. “Her drinks are on me tonight. All of them.” He gave me a wink on the last part. “As long as you drink responsibly, that is.”
“You serious?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Almost always,” he shot back.
“Alright then,” I turned to the bartender and batted my eyelashes. “I’ll take your pink sapphire martini with all top shelf ingredients.” I quickly flicked my gaze back to him to see if he was regretting his decision, but he looked just as nonplussed as when he offered.
Huh, I thought that would have phased him. I was old enough where I’d encountered men who tried to impress me with how much money they were willing to spend on me only to balk when I ordered anything above six dollars. And the pink sapphire was somewhere around forty to a hundred dollars depending on which casino you were in.
“Good choice,” he said, sipping his own gin and tonic. I had to take in his whole aesthetic while he stood there.
He was tall, well over six foot, and his shoulders were quite broad. Even with the expensive suit he was wearing, I could tell that he was muscled for the gods. His face was quite handsome, angular and framed with blond hair, highlighting his angular, intense eyes.
All in all, he was the kind of guy that
I would normally watch out for. There was a certain group of people who tended to say they were suffering from “yellow fever” to me, and they tended to be businessmen who were used to everyone kowtowing to them. But so far, he hadn’t even tried to hit on me. Was he trying to, dare I say it, have a real conversation?
Unheard of. And yet, he had definitely caught my interest.
“So, do you do this often?”
“There are a whole lot of variables in this situation for me to know what ‘this’ means.”
“Buy strange women fifty-dollar drinks in bars.”
“Oh, so you’re strange now? Do tell me how.”
I laughed at that. I was not used to someone bantering back with me, in fact I was pretty sure that this was the longest conversation I had had with someone since I had arrived in Vegas, but I definitely appreciated the change.
“Well, why don’t we start with names?” I asked, smiling wryly. “I’m Nicole.”
“James,” he responded, offering his hand.
I shook it, trying not to marvel at how my small, tanned hand completely disappeared within his pale, large one.
“So, what brings you here?” I asked.
“Celebrating a business milestone. You?”
“Trying to create a life milestone.”
“Sounds intense.”
“You’d be right again,” I said, taking the new drink that the bar tender automatically left in front of me and sipping at it. Man, it definitely made a difference to have money; the treatment was like night and day.
He chuckled lightly, and the conversation went on. I was surprised by how entertaining and respectful it was. Even as I was getting tipsy, he didn’t try to make a move or be a creep. It was so refreshing that I was disappointed when my phone alarm went off, telling me I needed to leave now if I wanted to catch the last bus.
“Are we having a Cinderella moment here?” He asked, laughing lightly.
“You could call it that,” I said, blushing ever so slightly. “I need to make sure I make it to the bus stop or I’ll be stranded here all night.”
I didn’t miss the disappointed look that crossed his face, but he straightened and gave the smallest of bows. “Then by all means, perhaps I can walk you to the door?”
“Really? You serious?” I knew it was the second time that I had asked him that, but it wasn’t my fault that he kept surprising me!
“Isn’t that the gentlemanly thing to do?”
“I suppose it is,” I said, wiggling out of my seat and putting my heel back on. “Well, if you are offering, I am more than happy to accept.”
“Perfect.” He turned to grab his drink from the counter and I just kept walking, figuring he would catch up to me in just a few small steps considering his long legs.
But I barely made it a couple of steps before a shadow suddenly loomed in front of me and I was looking into the red eyes of a clearly inebriated stranger.
“Hey there, beautiful! What are you doing tonight?”
Ugh, now this was what I was used to. I tried to step away, but they threw their arm over my shoulders and hung heavily from my frame.
“I have to go.” I said, attempting to push him off.
“What? Why! It’s Vegas baby! You should be having the time of your life!”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I’d-”
Out of nowhere, two large hands alighted on the man’s shoulders and forcibly removed him from my body. I looked behind me, completely gob smacked, to see none other than James standing behind me.
“Excuse you, but I believe the lady needed to leave.” He said, voice low and dangerous.
The drunkard cowered, his eyes wide, and he scuttled off, leaving me staring up at my savior with shock.
“Thank you,” I said breathlessly.
“It is no problem.” He looked at the expensive watch on his wrist. “Did you miss your window?”
I looked down at my phone and my stomach dropped. “Oh geeze… maybe. It’s gonna be close.”
“You know what?” he murmured, offering me his arm. “Why don’t we talk a little more, and I can hail you a cab?”
Wow, what a turn my luck had taken. “Why would you do that?”
“Because you’re beautiful and you make me laugh, so I’d enjoy your company a bit longer.”
Well, I certainly couldn’t fault him for being honest. Although it certainly wasn’t the first time that I had been called beautiful, there was certainly a matter of factness to his tone that tickled me in all the right ways.
How long had it been since I had connected with someone like this? Felt true, easy going chemistry and good conversation? Ages. And I couldn’t help but wonder if he was as thoughtful in between the sheets as he was out of them.
“I think I’ll take you up on that,” I answered, raising my chin to look up at him with half-lidded eyes. “Why don’t you show me to your room where we can talk without yelling over all the jackpot winners?”
“That sounds like a great idea,” he said, letting me loop my arm through his and leading me off towards the hotel half of the building.
Whatever happened, this was certainly going to be my first night to remember since I had moved here. I just hoped that they were good memories.
Chapter Four
~James~
It wasn’t until I was almost to the central elevators that dominated most of the hotel that I realized one incredibly crucial fact.
I didn’t know where my room was, nor did I have a key.
Whoops.
Quickly I turned and changed our direction back towards the front desk. If Nicole thought it was strange, she said nothing, and just followed along blissfully.
To be perfectly honest, while I had certainly hoped to find at least one beautiful woman to spend a night or two with on our trip, but I didn’t expect to find one on the first night. Let alone one so charming.
It helped that she was incredibly beautiful too. I had noticed it when I first walked up, of course, but after watching her laugh and emote and otherwise banter with me, I realized just how alluring she was.
She had a heart shaped face, complete with high cheekbones and full, plush lips. Her lashes were long, further exaggerating her enticing eyes, and her cleavage was just hinted at between the buttons of her nice shirt.
“May I help you?” The receptionist at the desk looked up, smiling with the same customer service grin our guide had.
“James Hines,” I said, handing over my ID.
She took it and typed for a moment, and I thought it was impossible, but her smile grew that much more broad. “Ah, Mr. Hines! I see you are in our presidential seat.” She did some things behind the counter that I couldn’t see, then handed me a business card and a small welcome booklet. “All you have to do is go to the center elevator, scan your room card, and it will take you up to the twenty fifth floor.
“From there, you are the first and only door to you right, where you can enjoy a clear view of the skyline over the city, your own aerial pool and of course all of our other amenities. If you need anything, feel free to call our twenty-four-hour room service where you will have priority as a thank you for joining our Presidential club.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said, taking the card and booklet from her then finally heading towards the elevator.
To Nicole’s credit, she stayed straight faced and didn’t say a thing until we were in the elevator and the overly polished doors closed in front of us.
“You have a Presidential Suite?” She asked, obviously impressed.
“According to the receptionist, yes.”
“You’re some sort of big deal, aren’t you?”
I smiled at that. “Well, it depends on who you ask. To most people, no. But to a very select few, maybe.”
She nudged me, shaking her head. “I don’t know if you’re being humble or cagey, but you know how many specials I’ve seen about these amazing suites that I can never afford? If you would have told me this morning that I
would be going into one, I would tell you that you were crazy.”
“That’s understandable. If someone told me that I would be spending the evening with a beautiful woman who’s had an awful day… well I would probably tell you that wasn’t very surprising.”
She huffed at that, but it was a good-natured sound. “Cocky.”
“But is it really cocky when my claims are corroborated by evidence?”
“…I guess we’ll have to find that out.”
I raised my eyebrow at that. True, while I was taking a beautiful woman back to my room, that in no way was a guarantee that my night would be ending in sex. “Will we now?”
“Maybe, if you play your cards right.”
My brain was quickly trying to think of a retort to that, but my mind already shot off in a dozen different directions, imagining her in about a dozen different positions. God, she was sexy, and I was sure that she would be even more delicious without that business professional outfit of hers.
But then the doors were opening, and she was already walking down the hall, a slight skip to her step.
