Page 80 of 4 Weddings and a Feud

“That was more the bride’s choice, but, yeah, I guess so.”

“And now you’re buying the Paradise. You’ve got a foothold in the center of the Strip.”

“True.” Pride swelled in his chest. “How are those permits coming along, Lev?”

“It’s fucking Friday afternoon, boss,” he called from the other side of the room. “It’s going to take me a minute.”

“Just get it done.”

“And Mary,” Jack said, making Alex’s stomach clench. “She planned the wedding. She helped you win Richardson’s support.”

“Barely.” Alex pulled his prickly emotional shield around himself like a coat. The thing was, it was scratchy and too small now. Like Mary had tossed it into the wash on hot and handed it back to him, a triumphant gleam in her eye. Stubbornly, he kept it up. “The wedding was a disaster. There was a fire, and we lost power.”

Jack cocked his head. “And still, Miss Richardson got married? And her father was so pleased he rallied support for your bid?”

“Yeah. Everyone lit up their phones, and it was fucking magical.” Except for the fact Mary wasn’t there.

“Seems like it turned out all right in the end. Why’d she quit?” Jack asked.

“Because we thought I’d lost the Paradise. Because she was cutting her losses.”

“Is that what she said?” Jack asked. “Mary didn’t seem like the type to care about that. Didn’t you say she forgave you after things went down with your father?”

“But…but she shouldn’t want to tie herself to a loser.”

Jack caught his gaze and held it. “Alessandro Villa, you’re no loser. Whether you’ve got the Paradise or not. Whether you’ve got a casino or not. You’re a good man. Mary saw that. So why did she quit, really?”

Alex couldn’t look at Jack, so he sank his face into his palms and rubbed his itchy eyes. “Because I pushed her away. I thought I’d be better on my own.”

“On your own? You’ve got Lev and me and a whole staff here. You’re not on your own. As a CEO, you should know about delegating. I’d be concerned about my investment if you thought you could do it all.”

“I know how to delegate.” Alex lifted his head to nod at Lev, still sweet-talking his contacts at the permit office. “See?”

“Sometimes others will do things their way, not a way we’d have done it. If I’m not mistaken, you’d have marched into the permit office and knocked some heads to get what you want, right?”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “Probably. Though I’d have wasted time driving there.”

“And you might have missed anyone who worked from home today. So, Lev’s way might be more efficient.”

“True. And I’m letting him do it his way. What’s your point?”

“Partnership isn’t only for business. One thing I’ve learned from forty years of marriage is that you can do anything with the right person at your side.”

Alex lifted his head from his hands, though his eyes still burned. “That might be true for you, Jack, but even if Mary were the right person for me, she’d never forgive me a third time.” He didn’t deserve happiness, anyway. Eighteen years ago, Mrs. Campo had speared him with that uncanny, unblinking stare and told him he deserved to live the rest of his life in misery.

She was right.

“You can’t know she won’t forgive you if you don’t ask her,” Jack said. “It might be worth it to have a partner like Mary. Love is like the frosting on a wedding cake. It makes something tasty even more delicious.”

“Love?” Alex scoffed. “I never said anything about love. Besides, feelings have no place in business.”

“I’ll have to disagree with you there, boss,” Lev said, walking back to the table. “The sweet old lady at the permit office, the one who goes to my church and pinched my cheek after my confirmation, just promised to get our demolition approved on Monday.”

* * *

Later that afternoon, after Jack and Lev left, the sinking sun blazed off the glass of the shadow box on his desk and speared him in the eye.

Instead of tipping the box over like he should’ve done and continuing to scan the spreadsheet on his screen, he leaned back in his chair, out of the beam of reflected sunlight, and rubbed where his forehead ached.

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