Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
“No problem. I can cover here.”
He put his head back. “If I’d had any idea he’d pull this shit, I would have taken her to the galleries myself.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” I scoffed. “You wouldn’t begrudge him being happy.”
“As long as she keeps making him happy.”
“Roman,” I said. “I saw how they looked at each other. Neither of them was faking it.”
He smiled grimly. “I know.”
“If there is trouble, we’ll have his back.”
He nodded. “Yes, we will.” Then he smirked. “But the bastard is paying for the suite. He caused me a lot of shit, and he can afford it.”
I laughed. “Noted.”
CHAPTER 7
ALDO
Iwas tired later that evening. Between the drama with Luca and a busy day at the hotel and casino, I was ready to pack it in. But my stomach growled, and I needed to eat. I headed to Rolling Dice, walking in and scanning the place. For a moment, something in my chest tightened then relaxed as Vi came into view. She wore a new uniform today—red pedal pushers and a black-and-white polka-dot blouse that hugged her curves. The outfit showed off her legs and sexy cleavage to perfection. My pants suddenly felt a trifle tight, and I sat down before anyone noticed. Vi came over, frowning. “Don’t you want to sit in the staff area?”
“No. It’s quiet. No one will bother me.”
She tilted her head, studying me. “You look tired.”
“Long day.”
“You want the usual?”
“Please.”
I took out my phone, pretending to look at it, but covertly watching as she walked away.
Dammit, she was as sexy leaving as she was coming.
The thought of her coming another way filled my head. Her wrapped around my cock as I drove into her, her screams of pleasure filling the air.
I shook my head to clear it.
I needed to stop thinking that way. She was an employee. A woman looking for her life. She wouldn’t be here long, and I had nothing to offer her to help her with her decision. I wasn’t partner material. I was a one-time thing.
And somehow, I thought she deserved more than that.
I watched her bustling around. Taking orders, helping serve other sections. She was constantly busy. She was a pleasure to watch—graceful and elegant. Sexy. So fucking sexy. She had a scarf tied around her slender neck, jaunty and cute. She wore sneakers, the laces red and white, matching the scarf. I loved her attention to detail.
She brought over my Reuben and milkshake, sliding it in front of me.
“Salad?” I asked. “Where are my fries?”
“It would do you good to eat a salad,” she informed me. “You need the vitamins.”
Her concern warmed something inside me, but I didn’t show her. “I’m in perfect health. I want fries.”
“Eat your salad, and maybe you’ll get some.”
I picked up my sandwich, hiding my smile. No one else would dare speak to me that way. I liked it.
“I passed my trial period,” she told me with a smile. “I was given two more uniforms, so I guess I’ll be around for a while.”
I wasn’t surprised. Wanda had given her glowing reports.
“Good to know,” I replied. “The uniforms work on you.”
She grinned and winked. “I know,” she replied, walking away with an exaggerated sway to her hips.
I liked it.
I liked her.
Far too much to be happy about it.
I ate, my phone mercifully silent. I surreptitiously stalked her around the deli, eating the damn salad and trying not to laugh when she brought me a small order of fries, informing me I had done well. She assured me I would thank her later. Her cheek and feistiness amused me. I was used to being treated with kid gloves. She didn’t give a shit. It was refreshing.
I wanted to take her somewhere and thank her by showing her how healthy I was. The idea of using that jaunty little scarf to muffle her gasps of pleasure filtered through my head more than once. But I knew that wasn’t a good idea.
I wiped my mouth, stiffening as I saw her lingering at another table where a man sat, alone. He had been there for a while, and more than once, I had noticed how his eyes followed her. How often she stopped by his table to check on him. The way his gaze lingered on her as she walked away.
I felt something angry and red drip into my chest at his obvious attraction. It bloomed and deepened when she brought him his tab, and he chatted at her, offering her his phone for her number. She shook her head, and he wrote something on a napkin and handed it to her, holding her hand longer than he should have as he pressed it to her palm. Fury began as she slipped it into the pocket of her apron. He left with a self-satisfied smile on his face. It took everything in me not to go after him and tell him she was off-limits.