Page 13 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

“Anywhere but here,” Monique told them.

“We could’ve goneanywherebut here if you’d gotten dressed four hours ago,” Toya replied.

She hadn’t told them that this was where Trevor had taken her for their last anniversary date. This place brought back bad memories.

“This is a good spot,” Meka told her. “We can drink at the bar. We can gamble a little. Their restaurant is open all day, every day. Y’all know my thick ass likes to eat. Oh, and they have a lounge area where we can chill and listen to music. This is perfect for a first girls’ night out. This can be our tame night out. Next weekend, we can raise the bar and get a bit wilder. We’ll take baby steps for now.”

“I’m cool with the baby steps,” Toya said. “But we can get wild here too. The Cattaneo family owns this place. I swear all the men in that family are as hot as sin. Give me one night with one of them, and my last name will be Cattaneo by morning.”

Monique chuckled.

“I’m serious,” Toya told her. “I’ve been doing my Kegels and my squats. I’m sure I can bring one of them sexy Cattaneos to their knees.”

“You don’t care which one you snag, do you?” Meka asked, grinning.

Toya shook her head as she parked the car. “Any of them can get it. The last time I was here, I saw them walking through the casino. They had their suit and ties on, looking like bosses. I was like, yeah, they can get it. Even their security is fine. They can get it, too. All at the same damn time. Menage me, daddies,” Toya groaned.

Monique and Meka burst out laughing. She laughed until her stomach ached. It had been so long since she’d laughed that hard. But Toya was a damn fool. Monique dabbed the corners of her eyes, not wanting her tears to ruin her makeup.

She was crying again. This time, for a good reason. She’d almost forgotten how crazy her friends could be. She loved it. She needed it. Laughter was food for the soul. And her soul had been starving for a very long time.

Unlike Toya, Monique wasn’t interested in spending the night with a Cattaneo. But she would enjoy herself in their casino. Tonight, she’d begin rebuilding her self-confidence at the place where it had crumbled under her ex-husband’s words.

Staring out the window, Monique whispered to herself,“When I leave here in a few hours, I’ll be a new woman. I’ll leave behind the old and sad version of myself and embrace the happier version of me.”

Monique exited the car with her friends. Together, they strode up to the glass double doors of the Cattaneo Casino and Resort. She smiled at the security guard. He gave her a funny look before nodding and looking away from her.

Did he know her? Nah. He couldn’t know her. She didn’t really get out much. Toya was right, though. Even security was hot at this place. She looked back to get one last look at Mr. Sexy Security, only to find him looking back at her, also.

He had his phone to his ear as he stared at her. Was he checking her out? Smiling, she faced forward.Yup, she still had it.She was now glad her friends had talked her into wearing the freak’um dress instead of the relax’em dress.

Monique was excited about what the night would bring. However, at the time, she’d had no idea that the hot security guard wasn’t checking her out. He was actually reporting to his boss, letting him know Monique Rose had entered the casino. She’d also had no idea that she wouldn’t be leaving there with her friends in a few hours.

Chapter Two

MONIQUE

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Fear was an ugly and dangerous emotion. But it was a necessary emotion. Fear could save your life. For instance, in a dangerous situation, fear could make you run instead of trying to stick around and fight and possibly be killed.

It activated your fight-or-flight response. So, it had its pros. The problem was, its cons were a bitch. The downside of fear was that it could make you miss out on something great. It could make you doubt yourself and those around you.

It could keep you from achieving greatness and from achieving happiness. It could make you remain frozen in place for years. Monique was proof of that. And it was time she acknowledged that.

Maybe her current location wasn’t the ideal place for that acknowledgment.But it was what it was.Fear had kept her trapped in a marriage with a man she’d long known had stopped desiring her.

And his lack of desire had caused hers to lessen also. His treatment of her had caused her love for him to diminish over the years. She’d gone from missing him when he didn’t come home until late at night to being glad he wasn’t home.

When she’d started hoping he wouldn’t come home at all, she’d known something was wrong. Instead of placing the blame on him where it should have fallen, she’d put it on herself. She’d convinced herself that she was the problem.

She’d told herself as long as she could be a better wife, then her husband would be a better man, and all would be well in her marriage.How foolish!The problem hadn’t been her. It had been him.

In order for her husband to be a better man, he first had to be a man. The red flags had always been there, but she’d chosen to walk blindly down the path of love, seeing only what she’d wanted to see.

She’d chosen to believe in him, even when he hadn’t believed in himself. She’d supported him, even when he’d felt like he was the world’s biggest failure. She’d tried seeing the good in him, even when he’d shown her time and time again that there was no good in him.

That was her fault. She’d searched for a fairytale romance on the comedy aisle. And that was why she now felt her life was a joke. She’d known Trevor was doing her dirty. She’d known he wasn’t working late.

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