Page 1 of Savage Romance
Chapter One
Ben Dennehy strode through the hotel lobby without altering his pace. Beside him, hotel manager Ronald struggled to keep up with Ben’s steps while continuing to fire questions. Ben bit back his irritation, keeping his impatience in check. Refraining from rolling his eyes, he kept his tone level while he replied, “Even I know that Gus takes care of the baby when his wife is working, so you should have taken his schedule into consideration when planning next week. I suggest you find a substitute instead of trying to convince Gus to work that shift.” Cutting his eyes to his employee, he added, “Or trying to convince me to fire him.”
The incompetent manager had made him late already and was keeping him from poker night with his inane questions, stupid decisions, and petty complaints.
As if finally understanding his manipulations were getting him absolutely nowhere, the idiot bid him good night, and Ben could start his own evening. He really hoped Ronald would do his job for once and leave him alone.
As he and the hotel manager separated ways, Ben’s shoulder muscles unknotted, and his strained polite smile relaxed into a real one. It netted him some interested stares from about every woman in the room and even one or two guys, but he wasn’t intrigued. Dudes didn’t heat his blood and he tried to stay clear of women—at least women without a clear agenda. Ben preferred his women upfront about their whoring ways and liked to negotiate terms and deal with the monetary exchange beforehand. At least with an escort both parties could be transparent about their expectations. By keeping his sexual escapades confined to escorts, he could be upfront about his more adventurous proclivities. Got to love NDAs. He wasn’t about to make apologies for his darker needs but recognized not everyone could handle them.
With a conscious effort, he relaxed his shoulders again. This was poker night, and he was determined to enjoy it. Although he hadn’t liked Randall and Connolly, who’d started the tradition, Ben liked the game. Playing with high rollers from Kansas City and with high stakes was so much more fun than playing in one of his own casinos with all its rules and regulations.
Turning the corner, Ben reached the door to what his friends jokingly called Dennehy’s Den, and he stepped inside.
His eyes did a quick sweep of the room as he entered. On his right, already seated at the table, Nash Hatfield, Conrad Bentley, and Jaxon Yates were enjoying their whiskeys from crystal tumblers along with some Danablu, a favorite blue cheese from Denmark while discussing the Royals’ chances this season.
At the floor-to-ceiling window at the far end of the room stood Ezra Stone and his business partner Mitch Hill quietly conversing with Doug Witherspoon. The first two were happily married real-estate moguls and a good ten to twenty years older than Doug. The young man was an eSports millionaire and YouTube celebrity and the latest addition to their group. Despite their differences in age and background, they appeared to be having an animated discussion.
Off to the left side, Tyler James Prosser and Byron Nolan seemed to be getting along well.
Marvelous.
Ben let out a sigh of relief just as the tall dark-haired man on his left spotted Ben’s entry.
“Finally!” With his distinctive limping tread, Nolan prowled forward with an outstretched hand.
Ben grinned and accepted the handshake. “Nolan, how’s Charlotte?”
The intelligent eyes in his scarred face lit up with pleasure at the mention of his wife. “Excellent. She’s gained a few pounds and is healthy and strong. She’s so much more relaxed nowadays.”
Ben bobbed his head as he listened. Byron’s wife had been through hell before she met Ben’s friend, and she deserved every piece of happiness she now had. “How is she coping with managing Randall’s estate?”
Liam Randall had been Charlotte’s husband, before his nasty character and poor choices had landed him in prison where he’d managed to get stabbed to death within days of his arrival, leaving his crumbling affairs to Charlotte. The woman Liam abused and humiliated for years stepped up to the challenge and turned things around. She was now CEO of her own company and had also recently married Byron.
A proud smile softened the billionaire’s face. “She’s doing excellent. Even better than I could have done in her place.”
“Married life seems to agree with you,” Ben remarked, and they exchanged a few pleasantries before heading to the card table.
As the others joined them, they cut the cards and Byron turned out to be the first dealer. Ben leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh as he studied those seated around the table. Although these men had different backgrounds and personalities, they had two things in common: they wielded a fuck ton of power in the Kansas City community, and they liked to play and played ruthlessly. This had the makings of a great night.
Ben took a sip of his sparkling water—only a fool lowered his guard by drinking alcohol during the game—and tried to hide his smile at the sight of the two aces in his hand when a knock on the door sounded.
“Enter.” Ben’s voice was cool and composed despite his displeasure at the interruption.
The door creaked open and light and chattering from the hotel trickled inside and—
Is that someone yelling? Wait, was that Ronald’s voice? Is he… wailing?
“Mister Dennehy, sir?” The young waiter from the Lusso Lounge stood in the doorway uncomfortably shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
What on earth was wrong? “Yes, Walter?”
“I’m sorry, but Ronald just had some kind of seizure or something. We’re already understaffed tonight. Now we don’t have a manager, and we need someone to take care of Ronald.”
Well, fuck.
Ben threw his cards on the table and scowled. Not only was his poker night ruined, but he was also going to have to look for another manager. Ronald wasn’t cut out for this job.
Chapter Two
