Jake:Say you had a beautiful woman joining you at a casino. What would you do to show her a good time?
Xan:Hallelujah!!! You’re not asking for a friend are you?
Jake:Not this time. ;)
Xan:Pamper the heck out of her: spa, dinner, drinks, dancing, high-rolling. Call downstairs for Brenda and toss some money at her. She’ll hook you up.
Jake:Thanks, Xan.
Xan:I’ve got some contacts there. I’ll make a few calls. I was really hoping you’d get the girl in the end.
Jake: Jury’s still out on that. Any updates?
Xan:Waiting. Will call tomorrow. It will be a big day. I’ll try not to bug you, but we’ll need to talk.
Jake:Ok.
Jake didn’tlike the tightness in his stomach thinking about whatever Xander wasn’t telling him about the deal. When things were good, Xan was full of details and information. When he didn’t say much, it usually meant things were bad. After the mayor’s house, when Jake left with Shelby instead of Daisy, something had shifted. Xan didn’t give him the full details on the phone earlier, but he suspected that things were falling apart.
One thing at a time. Jake would spend the day with Shelby tomorrow, doing his best to make her feel special and to forget, at least temporarily, what waited for her at home. Which would in turn help Jake ignore what he suspected were his own mounting problems.
After tomorrow he would talk to Xander about Obsidian and his future. He needed time to figure out how to make sure Shelby was a part of that future somehow.