Page 6 of The MC's Surprise
I shoved away the thought, forcing my feet to keep moving. If he wasn’t here, I’d leave a message. There was no reason to panic. You know, aside from the really big reason.
My mouth went dry as I approached the employees only door that led to the back offices. I was reaching out to open it when someone cleared their voice behind me.
“Can I help you with something?”
I didn’t know the person speaking, but that wasn’t really surprising. I only worked here for a month last summer. Her tone was haughty and suspicious and when I twisted around, she gave me an elevator look before finishing up with a sneer.
Ever met someone who you instantly knew was a bitch? Yeah, those were the vibes I got from this woman.
“Um… I’m here to see Vegas.” I realized how that sounded the minute it came out of my mouth, and quickly followed up with, “The owner. Not the city. I’ve seen the city.”
She gave me another long look, clearly picking apart everything from my outfit to my hair and judging me for it. It was a good thing I was never the kind of person to get upset about crap like that. If I wanted her opinion, I’d ask for it.
“You need an employee badge to go into the back. You can wait out here. Who should I tell Mr. Taylor is here?”
I almost snorted at the formality. The last time I spoke to him, Vegas hated when people were too formal with him. And he didn’t use his given name at all. He told me to call him Vegas or ‘hey, you’ over calling him Mr. Taylor. I didn’t mention that though. Maybe he changed in the last seven months. My gaze flicked to the new badge reader on the wall next to the door. Since this door only led to offices and the breakroom, it hadn’t had a scanner on it when I worked here. I hadn’t noticed it before now. Obviously some things had changed.
“Um… Just tell him I’m an old friend.”
Our fling, while hot as hell, was brief and he was a handsome man. I wasn’t entirely sure he’d recognize my name. And I didn’t want him deciding it wasn’t worth his time to talk to me. I needed to get this over with.
The woman stared at me, clearly waiting for me to give her a name. When I didn’t, she huffed and stalked away with a “Wait here,” tossed over her shoulder as she disappeared into the back.
My stomach twisted and I swallowed back the urge to throw up. It would be just my luck that the throwing up part of this pregnancy would show up right when I was about to tell Vegas he was going to be a father. Maybe I was cursed.
4
Vegas
Iheard her coming long before she knocked on my door. A smile pulled at my lips even before she popped her head in. While everyone else wore comfortable shoes to prepare for long hours on their feet, Charlotte always wore these high heels that would bring any man to their knees whenever she walked by. She said it was important for a manager to project power and class so that the guests knew who was in charge. I wasn’t about to argue with her, especially because usually she was right.
Like it did every time she came into the room, my heart stuttered and my chest tightened. Charlotte was the perfect combination of beautiful and smart. It made my head spin when she showed up in my office looking to work for me. I fell hard and fast for her the first time I saw her. She was fierce and determined, and yet when she was here in the office, she was all sweet smiles and soft touches on my arms that made me want to melt into the ground.
After two years of working together, I learned to school my reactions when she walked into the room. The crush I harbored for her wasn’t appropriate and she’d never shown any interestback, so I gave her professional courtesy and pined for her from afar. It was pathetic, I knew that, but any attempts I made to move on from her fell flat. The one time I thought I was moving on was when she took a month long vacation and I didn’t see her every day. The minute she came back, I fell back into old habits.
Her normal smile was missing when she stepped in and my brows snapped together as I straightened in my chair. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s someone here to see you. Says they’re an old friend. She looks shady to me. Like she’s hiding something.”
My frown deepened and I spun in my chair, pulling up the security feed. “Where?”
“Camera 7. She was going to waltz into the employee hallway without even checking with anyone. Who does that?” she demanded as she perched herself on my desk right by my elbow. It took work not to think about how close she was, or how her long legs were on display today with that skirt that bordered on unprofessional. Was I drooling? I might be drooling.
Forcing myself to focus, I pulled up the camera she mentioned. It pointed directly at the employee door. There wasn’t anyone there, but a quick switch to the next closest camera showed a face I never thought I’d see again.
Her reddish brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail and wispy bangs almost long enough to get into her eyes. Her sweet heart-shaped face made her eyes look huge, drawing attention to the hazel color that seemed to pop when she was all fired up. Small nose, plush lips, and barely there freckles across her cheeks.
She was a beauty, no doubt, but she screamed trouble just by looking at her. The last time I spoke to her, she was all sass in a tiny package and was bound to get herself into a couple of messes and draw the wrong attention. I found myself hovering to keep the more unruly guests away from her, and one thingled to another. She was the only person who ever succeeded in pulling my gaze away from Charlotte.
I never thought I’d see her again. She said she’d been in town taking care of her sick aunt and only needed to work for a little while so she wouldn’t have to dip into her savings. She left right after the annual Fourth of July party at the casino. I could admit to myself that I was disappointed she left without a word, but Charlotte came back a few days later and I forgot all about it. It wasn’t anything serious. So why was she here now? Maybe she needed another job.
That’d be… interesting. With Charlotte around, I doubted we’d pick up where we left off, but I liked hanging out with her. She was fun.
“Do you even know her? Or should I have security throw her out?”
I huffed a laugh, shaking my head. “Not necessary. She’s not lying. She worked here for a little while last summer. Just a part time thing. That’s probably why she felt comfortable coming back here alone. I’ll go talk with her.”
“No, no. You stay here. I’ll bring her back. You look busy.” She patted my arm, that sweet smile back in place as she pushed to her feet. The spot where she touched me felt warm. I tracked her as she left, my hands clenching into fists to stop the urge from reaching out for her. Damn, I had it bad.
