Page 15 of One Night Gamble
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Casey had been surprised to discover that Talia’s name was on the list of candidates, but he hadn’t really put it together—realized what it meant—until she’d walked in the room. He had a hard time concentrating on anything other than remembering how she’d felt naked in his arms the night before. But he had seen the horror in her eyes when she recognized him and then the way all the color had left her face.
So he’d played it cool.
Using all the skills he’d honed over the years as a poker player, he’d bluffed for all he was worth. He was even careful to hide his tells, which he knew Nicholas would recognize. Thankfully, Nicholas had been focused on his list of questions, so Casey did his best to put that incredible night out of his mind.
That was one of the downsides to doing business with men he’d known since they were all ten years old. They knew each other very well. Understood each other’s hot buttons.
Still, every once in a while, he’d catch a whiff of her jasmine-scented perfume and when she spoke, that low husky timbre of her voice brushed over his senses and reminded him of the moment when she’d said his name against his abdomen before moving lower.
He shifted his legs as his body reacted to the erotic memory.
If he needed a reason not to hire her, it was that.
But as she left, he knew he wasn’t being fair to her. They’d met in the club as two strangers, neither of them knowing their paths would ever cross again. She had told him of her plans to get out of Vegas, to take a job to get the experience she needed and then move to Los Angeles. That was her goal.
And that was another mark against hiring her. They wanted to build a solid relationship with the people they hired, hoping that they would be lifelong employees of the Jokers Wild Casino. But Talia hadn’t told her plans to her possible employer. She’d told the guy she had slept with the night before.
He knew there was a moral line here. Something that he had to be very careful not to cross. But how could he do that?
“I liked her,” Rio said. “She’s got some great ideas. I could see implementing a few of them into the Mitchel Stunt Spectacular. Hell, if you guys don’t hire her for the casino, I’m tempted to ask her to come and work for us.”
Was that the solution? Let her go and work directly for Darien and Rio? Keep himself out of the picture? He hated that idea. He wanted her here. In his casino. In his world. In his bed. He knew that he had to be careful with that last part.
“She is really well qualified,” Casey said. He would see what Nicholas’s opinion was, then go with the majority.
“I liked her, too,” Nicholas said. “Why don’t you go and call Darien, Rio? See what he thinks.”
“Good idea,” Rio said, then walked out of the room.
“Okay, so what is there between you?”
Of course Nicholas would pick up on that.
“What?”
“You and I have always been straight with each other. I don’t use my mind tricks on you and you don’t bluff me,” Nicholas said.
Fuck.
Just fuck.
“We hooked up at a club last night,” Casey said. “But I like her for this role. I mean if we hadn’t, well, got together, she would be my top pick.”
“I like her, but this is a big investment for us, Case. I don’t want to take a chance on a lawsuit or anything like that,” Nick said.
“It was one night,” Casey said, feeling a tightness in the back of his neck as he said it. He was trying to bluff Nick, trying to convince his old friend that Talia meant nothing to him.
Why did he do this? What was it about him that made it impossible for him to ever be straight with anyone when it came to emotion?
His mom.
He didn’t need a therapist to tell him his own story. He knew the answer and as much as he always liked to think he wasn’t like her, he knew there was more of her in him than he let on.
Nick put his hand on Casey’s shoulder. “It won’t be. If I didn’t know you, I would almost believe you were done with her, but she’s different. She’s funny and cute and exactly what you need.”
“How do you figure?”
